AU EUPHRATES. 
Euphrates. were diffused by. sof: the ent of Pallacopas over 
——— penance dha Sea of the surrounding coun- 
“~~ try would be’ desolated. The waters thus drawn off, 
reach the main by a diversity of subterraneous courses. 
woul: : i in this: 1 
fuse its waters to irrigate and fertilize the plains of Assy- 
On this account the Satrap of Babylon, at a great 
expence of labour, cut off the communication, although 
the work, on being was found to. be insuf- 
ficient ; the embankment being composed of mud and. 
such like materials, was incapable of resisting the pres- 
sure of the water, and continued to yield it a passage 
through the canal. Alexander, the advan 
tage of Assyria, shut out the waters by a more solid 
and it: work, Ata short distance, a rocky soil 
wean founel-tihiiele, whee dit Unragirle anil pestonged to 
the Pallacopas, offered the double 
ices to admit the waters. of 
nalinto,the Bahr Nejiff. Lille belong fixed upon a 
convenient spot, he founded acity, defended by walls. 
Se My 
‘This retain tame of Alexandria, after 
Be i or tat ee tontins but on its becoming the residence 
ancient of a of Arabian prines, was c to that 
Alexandria. of Hira. It is now known by the name of Nejiff or 
Meshed Ali, and is supplied with water by a subter- 
raneous aque connected with the cut of i 
This the Wahabee, in order todistress the city, broke 
down, so that when ir was at Meshed 
Ali, in 1808, the inhabitants of te RT oo 
to bring their water in sheep skits, from a distanee o 
ity. town of 
’ Kerbela, or 1s a very fine one, though 
more ancient than the days of Alexancer, and su 
men:of which the walls of Babylon were built, a brid 
i baplieseg for the canbe 
n-- journey from Van, situated: 
"Though ‘the 
a 
y iSeentoe das dcad toveo teoreentanstial 
233- 
a bridge of 15 arches.at the town of Argish, three days Euphrates... 
uater the north-west side of ="y—" 
the lake of the same name, which is about 168 miles in 
circumference, but whose water is so brackish as to be 
fae known. that aa oh Nagy Wek sy city Babylon a. 
2 into two parts, flowi through it vi y the 
from north to: south. ie banks were with bricks, Euphrates. 
the inhabitants descending by steps to the: water, 
through small brass gates in a lofty wall, parallel with 
the river. Semiramis threw across a bridge of five fur- 
longs in length, and 30 feet in breadth, to connect the 
two quarters of the city, and erected a palace at each 
end of the bridge. These palaces communicated with 
each other, by means of a vaulted passage cut under 
the bed of the river, for which purpose an immense 
lake was dug, into which its waters were turned. The Waters of ~ 
course of the river, Kinneir remarks, might easily the Euphis< 
be diverted, as the banks of the Euphrates rise above tS “diverted 
the level. of the adjoining plain ; but, as he adds, it is 
difficult, to, conceive how it could be confined within 
the compass. of an artificial lake, without inundating the 
outeiades country, or forcing a passage to the sea. 
The waters of the Euphrates were again diverted by: 
Cyrus, when he took Babylon. Taking advantage ofa 
great festival held in the city, and when all its inhabi- 
tants were immersed in debauchery and revelling, he 
posted a part of his troops, destined for the attack, on. 
that side where the Eu tes entered the town, and 
another division on the side whence it issued out, giving 
orders that they should enter the city by marching along 
the bed of the ee, as — as they ae Barn te 
In the ing, he caused the great receptacles and ca- 
nals above a below the town t to be opened. By this 
means the Euphrates was discharged, and its natural 
channel left dry. The enterprize was greatly facilita- 
ted, and, perhaps, solely accomplished, in consequence 
of the negligence and disorder of the city, as that night 
the gates of brass which shut up the avenues from the 
river to the town were left open. 
When Kinneir examined the ruins of Babylon, he pyramid of 
mentions particularly a pyramid, six miles south-west Nimrood. 
of Hillah, called Nimrood by the Arabs, about 50 feet 
in height, from whose summit the windings of the 
Euphrates may be traced through the level plain of Shi- 
nar. Villages and orchards are seen to line its banks, 
while a few hamlets, in here and there on the: 
like on the surface of the ocean. 
Euphrates flows through one of the most. 
uctive regions of the earth, the icious po- 
icy of the Turk renders unavailing the bounty of 
nature, the baneful influence of _ ism convertin 
fertile plains into sterility, and itation of wi 
beasts. On those banks where once flourished the 
dest cities of the world, now languish ive-~ 
y insignificant towns; where luxury and abundance 
were universally diffused, a scanty pittance is now 
thered ; and where mighty conquerors have contended’ 
for kingdoms, the wandering Arab of the desert now 
vindicates his spoil. But the whole extent of country 
along the banks of the Euphrates must not be included 
in this picture of desolation. The a of Arme-+ 
nia, considerable part of which this river flows, 
so delightful to the imagination of poetry, 
seat of pa: 
radise. ' 
sop aarevocseees Eden stretch’d her line 
From Auran, myn oa the royal towers 
G 
