BAALBKC. 



BAALBEC. 



language is very regular in ita construction, and abounds in word* 

 ft/^fir4~l t<> compliment The word notlazomahuizteopixcatatzin, 

 namely, my esteemed lord and reverend priest and father, is the word 

 commonly used by a Mexican in addressing a priest This word U 

 thus analysed by Clavigero, no, my, tlazontli, cttrenfd, mahuiztic, 

 iwerad, teopixqui (god-teeper), prit*, tatli, father. 



The Aztecs cultivated the arts of oratory and poetry. Few of their 

 moral, religious, historical, and dramatic performances have reached 

 us. They had orators who spoke on certain public occasions, such as 

 on embassies, elections of kings, marriages, and other ceremonies. 

 Specimens of these discourses have been transmitted to us by Father 

 Sahagun in his ' Historia General de Nueva Espana,' (Aglio's 

 ' Antiquities of Mexico,' vol vil) 



The Aztecs were not acquainted with the art of alphabetic writing, 

 but represented past events by means of certain hieroglyphics. In 

 writing any series of hieroglyphics, Humboldt says that their order 

 was from right to left, beginning at the bottom of the page and pro- 

 ceeding upwards ; but Clavigero says that if the painter began his 

 series at the right superior angle of the canvass, he proceeded horizon- 

 tally from right to left ; if he began at the opposite superior angle, 

 he continued perpendicularly downwards; if he began at the left 

 inferior angle he proceeded horizontally to the right ; and perpendi- 

 cularly upwards when he began on the opposite inferior angle. 



To such as may be inclined to study the antiquities of the Aztecs, 

 Lord Kihgsborough's excellent work ' On the Antiquities of Mexico ' 

 will be found both interesting and instructive. It includes fac-similes 

 of the Mexican paintings in the Vatican, in the Borgian museum of 

 the College of Propaganda at Rome, of the Codex'Tellcriano Remensis 



at Paris, of those of the Institute of Bologna, of the libraries of 

 Oxford, Berlin, Vienna, and Dresden; and also several collections 

 belonging to private individuals: the rare and excellent collection .,!" 

 engravings of Mexican monuments made by Captain Dupaix by order 

 of the Spanish government : a description of the paintings and monu- 

 ments in Spanish, Italian, and English, with numerous judicious and 

 learned notes and criticisms ; and the original and interesting ' Historia 

 General de Nueva Espana' of Father Sahagun, never before published. 

 Some notice of the remains of ancient temples and other buildings 

 recently discovered in the country of the Aztecs will be found under 

 AMERICA, Anliijuitia of. 



The following is a chronological table of the kings of the Aztec 

 dynasty, taken from Clavigero, vol. iv. pp. 61-55 : 



A.U. 



Acumapitzin 1352-1389 



HulUlIihultl 1389.1410 



Chimalpopooa 1410.1422 



Izeoetl 1423-1436 



Motnumt-llhuicanrina 1436.1464 



Aiajacatl 1464.1477 



TUoc 1477.1480 



Ahutzotl 1480.1302 



MottzunuuXocojotz'm 1602-1 520 



Cuitlahuatxin, reijmed thicc months . . . 1520 



Quauhtemotzin, reigned nine months . . 1521 



(Clavigero's Storia Antica del if emit o, Cesena, 1780; Humboldt' s 

 Jfittoirc Politique du Royaume de la Nmtrette Etpagne ; Allot fit tor- 

 ague, on Vnei det CordMira; Aglio'e Antiquities of Mexico, London, 

 1830). 



B 



BAALBEC, a ruined city in Ccole-Syria, is situated according to j 

 Rennell in 34 1' 30" N. lat, 36 11' E. long., at a distance of ] 

 44 miles S.S.E. from Tripoli, 42 miles E.N.E. from Beirut, and 125 

 miles W.8.W. from Palmyra. The name signifies in Syriac ' the City 

 of the Sun ; ' accordingly the Greeks called it Heliopolis, which the 

 Romans appear to have retained. The native name however survived 

 its Greek synonym, which probably was seldom used by the Asiatics 

 at any time. 



The city is pleasantly situated on a rising ground immediately 

 under the Anti-Libanus and near the junction of two plains, one of 

 which slopes towards the north and is watered by the Asy, the ancient 

 Orontes, the other towards the south drained by the Li tano, the ancient 

 Leontes. The Asy enters the sea below Antiooh, and the Litan(S a 

 little north of the site of ancient Tyre ; and both these rivers rise a little 

 north of Baalbeo. The Litand receives a great increase of water from 

 a fine fountain close by the city walls. These streams are augmented 

 by several constant rills from the melting snows of Libanus. This 

 abundance of water must at all times have rendered Baalbec a 

 delightful residence. 



When the city was in a flourishing state it is probable that the 

 advantages arising from its commerce with Tyre, and its connection by 

 caravan routes with Palmyra, Antioch, Damascus, the Euphrates, and 

 India may have been very great. The history of the place is very 

 obscure ; but from two Roman inscriptions of the time of Antoninus 

 Pius, there can be no doubt that it was then a place of some 

 importance, under the name of Heliopolis. These facts are also 

 confirmed by several coins of Roman emperors. 



At what time and by whom the city was first founded is wholly 

 unknown ; even the epoch when the temples, which from their style 

 must be attributed to the Roman period were erected, is matter of 

 much uncertainty. John of Malala ('Hist Chron.' xi.) says, that 

 vCliiu Antoninus Pius built a great temple to Jupiter at Heliopolis, 

 near Libanus in Phoenicia, which was one of the wonders of the 

 world. From several Roman imperial coins found here it appears 

 that Heliopolis was constituted a colony by Julius Csesar ; it received 

 part of the veterans from the fifth and eighth legions in the time 

 of Augustus, and was eventually made ' Juris Italic! ' by Septimius 

 Severus (Ulpianua, lib. i. ' De C'ensib.') Several coins which appear 

 to belong to Heliopolis are preserved in the British Museum ; three 

 of them are here given. 



Abulfaragius says that Constantino built a temple here, and that 

 he abolished a custom of this place which permitted the promiscuous 

 use of wives. We learn also from the 'Chronicon Pasohale,' p. SOS, 

 that while Constantine closed the temples of the pagans only, 

 Theodosius destroyed some, and converted the great and famous 

 temple of Heliopolis into a church. Church history gives little 

 more than the names of some bishops and martyrs of Heliopolis. 

 When Mohammedanism became prevalent this part of the country fell 

 under the government of the Ommaiade caliphs, during whose time 

 Baalbec was still a considerable city. 



The area inclnned by the walls contains the great temple, with its 



In and portico ; a smaller temple, or perhaps basilica, which is the 



best preserved of all the buildings. There is also a very singular and 



unique circular temple, and a curious column on the highest situation 



within the walls, which possibly may have been n clepsydra or water- 

 clock. The portico, or propylaca, which formed the grand front to the 

 buildings connected with the great temple, faces the east, and ia 260 feet 

 long. It is adorned with twelve columns. The columns with tlnir 

 pedestals are about 57 feet high ; and the whole height of the order 



Copper coin of Septimius Scvtrus. Actual sat 



Copper coin of Philip the Elder. Actual fizc 



Cupper coin of ntaeilia, Phlllp'i Emprcm. Actual ize. 



with its attic and podium is about 93 feet. On the pedestals of these 

 columns are inscribed vows in favour of the empress Julia Domna 

 and her son Caracalla. The portico leads to a hexagonal court 

 190 feet long by 266 feet wide, beyond which a quadrangular court 

 or forum is entered, 405 feet long by 440 feet wide. The great 

 temple, to which the approach was through these buildings, forms 

 the western part of the vast structure. Its length is nearly 290 feet, 

 the width 160 feet, with ten columns in front and nineteen at the 

 side ; when perfect it was from the ground to the top of the pediment 

 ' high ; the columns with their pedestals are 71 feet 6 inches 

 high, and the entablature 11 feet 9 inches. 



