1850.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



25 



pavement, a small image was deposited, intended as a protection 

 to the hoiiseliold. The entrance was guarded on either side by 

 human-headed hulls, or sphinxes; the former were from 10 feet to 

 16 feet in height. The Assyrian sphinx was winged— thus adding 

 the idea of uhiiiuity to that of physical and intellectual povyer; 

 they oecui)ied the same position here as in Egypt, and were in a 

 like manner a type of the governing power. 



Assyriaa Sphinx. 



The colours used by the Assyrians were the same as those em- 

 ployed in Egypt — copperas blue, red and yellow ochres, lamp- 

 black, and calcined gypsum. There is no doubt that they were 

 skilful workmen, and well acquainted with the use of metals. Of 

 their skill in carving stone, we have only to examine the human 

 head of the bull, and the small black obelisk, now in the British 

 Museum, fully to satisfy ourselves. 



I shall close this account of Assyria with another extract from 

 Berossus, relating to Nebuchodonasor. He says: "Nebuchodona- 

 sor ordered the captives [Jews, Syrians, and Egyptians] to be 

 distributed in colonies in the most proper places of Babylonia; 

 and adorned the temple of Belus, and the other temples, in a 

 sumptuous and pious manner, out of the spoils he had taken in 

 this war. He also rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on 

 the outside; and so far restored Babylon, that none who should 

 besiege it afterwards might have it in their power to divert the 

 river, so as to facilitate an entrance into it: and this he did by 

 building three walls about the inner city, and three about the 

 outer. Some of these walls he built of burnt brick and bitumen, 



and some of brick only When he had thus admirably fortified 



the city with walls, and had magnificently adorned the gates, he 

 added also a new palace to those in which his forefathers had 

 dwelt; adjoining them, but exceeding them in height and in its 

 great splendour. It would, perhaps, require too long a narration, 

 if any one were to describe it: however, as prodigiously large and 

 magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. In this 

 palace he erected very high walls, supported by stone pillars; and 

 by planting what was called a pensile paradise, and re[)lenishing it 

 with all sorts of trees, he rendered the prospect an exact resem- 

 blance of a mountainous country. This he did to please his queen, 

 because she had been brought up in Medea, and was fond of a 

 mountainous situation." This account places Nebuchodonasor 

 before us in an amiable and poetical light, building up mimic 

 mountains for his young Medean bride, to woo her into forgetful- 

 ness of her exile: for we can imagine her pining in the wide plains 

 of Babylonia, being, as Berossus says, "fond of a mountainous 

 situation." 



Nineveh was destroyed by the united arms of Cyaxares, king of 

 Persia, and Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, 606 B.C.; and Babylon 

 shared the same fate in the following century, 538 B.C. 



The ancient Persians do not appear to have been so learned or 

 cultivated a people as the Egyptians and Assyrians, and evidently 

 borrowed much of their architecture from their more civilised 

 adversaries. When Cambyses conquered Egypt (52+ b.c), he not 



only carried away rich spoils and many works of art, but also 

 skilful artificers; and it is evident that 'Cyaxares and Cyrus were 

 not more scrupulous with regard to the Assyrians. We may form 

 some idea of the appropriating propensities of the Persians, when 

 we read that Ptolemy Euergetes, when he invaded the Persian 

 dominions, brouglit back 2500 statues and other Egyptian works 

 of art. According to the most ancient native authorities, Persia 

 dates as a kingdom from a very remote period, and was governed 

 bv a race of kings called the Pai'shdadian, or distributors of justice; 

 the most celebrated amongst these was the renowned Jemsheed, as 

 familiar a name in ancient Persian history as that of Shah Abbas 

 in more modern times. Persepolis is said to have been founded by 

 this race of kings, and hence its native name is Tackt-i-Jemsheed, 

 or the throne of Jemsheed. The only other ancient Persian 

 cities of which any tradition or ruins exist, are Ecbatana (the 

 ancient capital of Medea), Susa, and Pasargadoe, the royal city of 

 Cyrus. 



We have the same extravagant accounts of the walls of Persian 

 as of the Assyrian cities. According to Herodotus, Ecbatana was 

 surrounded by seven walls, each one rising above the other towards 

 the citadel, and each painted a different colour; and the walls of 

 Susa are described as above 120 stadia (15 miles) in circumference. 

 After the kingdoms of Persia and Medea were united under Cyrus 

 (550 B.C.), Ecbatana was the summer, and Susa the winter residence 

 of the monarch, on account of the warmer climate of the latter city. 

 The royal treasures were kept at Susa, and the palace is described 

 as having been built of white marble, and its pillars covered with 

 gold and precious stones; indeed, the Persians, though at first 

 hardy and simple in their habits, appear soon after their union 

 with' the more luxurious Medes, to have imbibed that taste for 

 gorgeous colouring, and elaborate ornament, that distinguishes the 

 Persian architecture at the present day. 



The remains of Persepolis, Ecbatana, and Pasargadoe, are suf- 

 ficient to show that the same style of architecture prevailed 

 throughout the Persian kingdom, and how nearly it resembles, in 

 some respects, Egyptian architecture, and in others that of Assy- 

 ria. Quintus Curtins speaks of Persepolis as "the glory of the 

 East," and says that no other city existed that could be compared 

 with it. Diodorus Siculus says, "A triple vvall encircled the palace. 



The first wall was 16 coudes in height, defended by parapets, 



and flanked with towers; the second wall was in form like the first, 



but twice its elevation The third wall was a square, and cut in 



the mountain, being 60 coudes in height. It was defended by pali- 



sadoes of copper, and had doors of the same, of 20 coudes high 



The first wall was to inspire awe, the second for strength, and the 

 last for the defence of the palace." The principal ruin now re- 

 maining of Persepolis is called the Palace of Forty Pillars: the 

 first object that attracts the eye is a large and high square plat- 

 form, which is divided into 'three parts, each raised above the 

 other. The stones of which this platform is constructed are of 

 enormous size, some as much as 52 feet in length; and most of 

 them from 30 to 40 feet in length, and from 4 feet to 6 feet in 

 height; they are carefully hewn, and most of them polished; and 

 so admirably fitted, that even after this lapse of time the joinings 

 are almost imperceptible. The communication from one part of 

 the platform to another is by means of a staircase, so wide that 

 ten horses might ascend it abreast. The columns and fragments 

 around would appear to have formed a vast portico; four pilasters 

 remain, each 4 feet in thickness, and from 24 feet to 25 feet in 

 height, probably forming the entrance, as on these are carved the 

 human-headed bull, precisely similar to those found at Nineveh. 

 Sir John Chardin speaks of thirteen columns as standing when he 

 visited Persepolis, two hundred years ago, but several have since 

 fallen; the columns are of white marble, with fluted shafts of slen- 

 der proportions. The Persian capitals occupied a great proportion 

 of the height of the column, and were of singular form— some 

 being ornamented with rows of small volutes, something like the 

 curls of an old-fashioned bag-wig, while others were surmounted 

 by busts of the unicorn-bull: the bull being sacred to the worship 

 of Mithra, it may be presumed that the columns with this form of 

 capital were part of some religious structure. There are several 

 niches yet standing, that no doubt formed part of the wall of the 

 building: such niches are frequently seen in Persia at the present 

 day, and are occupied by vases of flowers or plants. 'What makes 

 these niches at Persepolis worthy of remark is, that they are 

 finished with the bead-and-cavetto moulding, precisely similar to 

 the doorways in Egypt. Another interesting part of the ruin is a 

 terrace, on 'which are carved two ranges of bas-reliefs, representing 

 a procession; the figures are a little less than 4 feet in height, and 

 bear a remarkable resemblance to the Assyrian sculptures.— 1 erse- 



6* 



