596. Sir Ri Ker Porter's Travels.in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Se. 
gives authority for seeking in At, the re- 
mains; of several places! of that \conse- 
quence,’ besides those .of the great capi- 
tal,. ‘The words are these, from Genesis, 
“ And the beginning of his kingdom was 
Babel; |,and; Brech, and Accad, “and 
Calneh,in-the land-of. Shinar.” | Hence, 
we may /find, one here; and the third 
name: in the; above; enumeration seems 
not.very dissimilar to that of Akarkouff. 
Ammense pyramidal piles, like this of 
the 'Fepessé Nemrood, at Akarkouff, 
seem to be peculiar marks by whicii we 
may discover the sites, at least, of the 
earliest settlements of mankind; but to 
what different purposes tliey were se- 
verally applied, must, with most of 
them, always remain a matter of con- 
jecture.. With regard to the Tepessé, 
LI should suppose the mass we now see 
to be no more than the base of some 
loftier superstructure, probably de- 
signed for the doubie use of a temple 
and.an observatory; a style of sacred 
edifice common with tlhe Chaldeans, 
and likely to form the principal object 
in, every city and town devoted to the 
idolatry, of Belus, and the worship of 
the stars. 
THE RUINS OF BABYLON, 
November 9th, 1818.—I was now 
fully embarked on my long-anticipated 
expedition; and having passed the gate 
of the western suburb, I looked around 
me. onthe vast extended Chaldean 
plain east of the Euphrates, with a de- 
light that seemed for some minutes to 
send me on the. wing over its whole 
interesting: tract; \rangivg both sides of 
that) mighty river, and to wherever thc 
majesty of Babylon tad flowed down its 
venerable stream. 
According to Herodotus, the walls 
were sixty miles ia circumference, built 
of large bricks cemented together with 
bitumen, and. raised round the city ia 
the form of an exact square; hence they 
measured fifteen miles along each face. 
They were eighty-seven feet thick, and 
three hundred, and fifty high, protected 
on the outside by, avast diteh lined with 
the saine, materials, and-proportioned in 
depth and width. tothe elevation) of the 
walls. ., They were, entered, by. twenty- 
five gates on each sides, made of :solid 
brass; and additionally strengthened by 
two hundred and, fifty towers... Within 
these wails, rose, the, multitudinons 
streets, palaces,.and) other, great, works 
of Babylon ;, including. the. temple, of 
Belus, the hanging gardens, and all the 
magnificence which constituted this city 
the wonder of the world.’ A branch of 
othe Euphratesoflowed/through the city, 
from, the north ‘tosthe: south; and was 
crossed by-asttong bridge, constructed 
atthe foundation, of Jargenstones fas- 
deneds together »with oleéad> and: \iron. 
Wohilecitowas building; ‘thercotrse of 
the iver was turned into.allarge basin, 
tothe: west of the town, which bad! been 
cut/to:the:extent tof forty square miles, 
and: seventy-five feet deep, for-ial yet 
nobler purpeses> to receives the same 
ample stream) while: the great artificial 
banks were  crecting» of: brick, Gaveach 
side of the Led of the river, ito secure 
the country from its:too abundant oyer- 
flow. Canals were cut for this purpose 
also; one of these led to the immense 
basin already! described, | which, when 
required, disembogued the ‘river into its 
capacious bosom ; and always continticd 
to receive its superflux; returning the 
water, when -necessary,* by ° various 
sluices to fructify the: ground. During 
the three great empires of the:East,:no 
tract of the whole appears to’ have been 
so reputed: for fertility; and riches::as 
the district of Babylonia; and/all arising 
from the due management: of: this 
mighty stream. |» Heredotus ‘mentions, 
that even when reduced to the raik-of a 
‘province, it yielded)a revenue «to the 
kings of Persia that. comprised balfitheir 
income. And the terms in which: the 
Scriptures describe its natural, as well 
as acquired, supremacy when it was the 
imperial city, evidence the same facts. 
They call it, ‘ Babylon, thes glory ‘of 
kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldee’s 
excellency: The Lady of Kingdoms, 
given to pleasure; that dwellest:care- 
lessly, and sayest inher! heart, £-am, 
and there is none else. beside me!’ 
But now, in’ the same expressive Jan- 
guage, we may say,! “She'sits jas a 
widew on the ground.» ‘Phere is) no 
more a throne for thee, O daughter of 
the Chaldeans!” | And) for the aban- 
dance of the country, it. has vanished as 
clean away, as if “the besony of deso- 
lation” had! indeed sweptit from nerth 
to south; the whole land, from the out- 
skirts! of Bagdad to the farthest stretch 
of.sight, lying a melancholy waste. 
"Dhe »present’ pepulation of this part 
of the ycountry cobsists of acracecot 
Arabs, called: the tribe of Zobiede ; -bui, 
from their situation, beings much in 
contact with the Turks, they have lost 
{heirnational character ofindependence, 
and acquired in-its stead rather degrad- 
ing than -clevating habitss «In)times of 
tranquillity from openly «declared war- 
fare; these people and their chicf are 
responsible 
