August 1, 1895.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



y.^* AN ILLUSTRATED -"^^ 



MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE 



SIMPLY WORDED-EXACTLY DESCRIBED 



LONDON: AUGUST 1, 1895. 



CONTENTS. 



A True Story of Old Babylon. By Theo. G. Pixches, 



M.E.A.S. (Illustrated) 

 Digestion in Plants. By J. Pextlaxd-Smith, M.A., B.Sc. 



(Illustrated) 

 Antivenine. By Dr. J. G. McPhebsox, F.K.S.E. 

 Leaping Beetles. By E. A. BriLEB, B.A., B.Sc. {Illustrated) 

 On the Distance of the Stars in the Milky Way. By 



C, E.IJTON. (Illustrated) 



The Cluster Messier 46. and the Nebula Herschel IV. 



39 Argus. By Isaac Eoeeets, D.Sc, F.R S 



Letters :— Datid Flaxbbt ; Alfbbd J. Johxsos ; C. F. 



Marshall 



Science Note 



Notices of Books 



A Day on a Scotch Moor. By Habrt F. Witherbt. 



(Illustratedj " 



The Exploration of the Surface of the Globe. By 



Prof. J. LOGAX LOBLET, F.G S. 



The New Sea-Fish Hatchery at Dunbar. By L. N. 



Bapexoch 



Some Recent Patents. {Illustrated) 



The Face of the Sky for August. By Hebbeet 



Sadleb, F.R.A.S 



Chess Column. By C. D. Locock, B.A.Oion 



169 



171 

 175 

 176 



179 



182 



182 

 184 

 IfU 



is.i 



187 



188 

 190 



nil I 



191 



A TRUE STORY OF OLD BABYLON. 



By Theo. G. Pinxhzs, M.E.A.S., Department of Egyptian 

 a»d Assyrian Antiquities, British Museum. 



ACCORDING to the accounts and data that have been 

 handed down to us, Babylon, the capital of the 

 ancient realm of Babylonia, was the largest and 

 one of the most magnificent of the cities of 

 ancient times. Though its area greatly exceeded 

 that of London, it is nevertheless doubtful whether the 

 number of its inhabitants, even during its most prosperous 

 days, reached anything like a million souls. Within the 

 walls, however, were large tracts of cultivated ground, 

 where produce of all kinds, especially grain and dates, was 

 grown, providing sustenance for a large population : and 

 it is probable that no siege, however long, could have 

 starved the city into surrender. How Babylon was at last 

 captured by draining the Euphrates we all know. Had 

 the skill to defend the city been there when the Persians, 

 on that fatal night of the 11th of Marcheswan, entered the 

 city, and the son of the king died, the power of the native 

 rulers would probably have lasted much longer than was 

 really the case. 



How far we must go back to reach the beginnings of the 

 great city, it is impossible to estimate. AU that can be 

 said is, that it came into prominence about 2300 nc, and 

 was probably, even at that date, a place of considerable 

 importance. To the whole Assyrian- speaking world, even 

 the Assyrians, who were often the enemies of the Baby- 



lonians, it seems to have been a place of romance, for v 

 was the seat of the worship of Merodach, the chief of the 

 gods, and the capital of the country wherein had taken 

 place of old all the wonderful things told of their gods and 

 heroes and men of renown. To them all it was "the 

 seat of life " ' and " the gate of God," f but to the 

 nati%'e Babylonian it was more than all this — it was the 

 seat of the empire, a great city of celebrated fanes and 

 temples, with many a mystic rite and belief—" the ,f;lory 

 of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency." 

 Many a life of joys and sorrows, of happiness and of 

 pathos and of tragedy, has been lived under the shadow of 

 the great towers of Babylon and P>or3ippa, on the site of 

 whose busy streets reigns now only silence — the silence of 

 a place utterly forsaken of men. From time to time this 

 quiet of the tomb is broken for a while by the pick of the 

 excavator, raising to startling lifeliheuess many a ghost of 

 bygone ages to haunt the world — and then, again silence 

 and desolation. 



A HousE-s.^LE AT Babylox. — It was winter at Babylon 

 in the year 553 b.c. Nabonidus, the father of Belshazzar, 

 had been king for two years, and peace and commercial 

 prosperity filled the land. A little knot of about eight 

 persons had assembled for a not uncommon business 

 transaction, namely, the selling of a house and orchard. 

 There were the seller, the representative of the buyers, 

 four witnesses, one of whom was Iddina-Marduk the 

 money-lender, and two scribes, Kapti-ilSni-Marduk and 

 Nabii-zer-lisir, who, if they wrote the document now extant, ; 

 must henceforth be regarded as having been, in then- time, 

 past-masters in the art of beautiful writing. 



The property sold consisted of a house and plantations 

 at Borsippa, a city which was, at this time, practically a 

 suburb of Babylon, and was renowned for its great temple- 

 tower, named fi-zida, ; The extent of the property is given 

 as " 7 canes, 5 cubits, 18 fingers," and it was disposed of 

 for 11| manehs of silver. It was a man named Iba 

 who was purchaEing the property of its owner, Daan- 

 sum-iddina, but he merely transacted the affau- by the 

 authority of Abil-AdJu-natanu and his wife Bunanitum 

 (also spelled Bunauitu and Bunanit), who were now the 

 real owners of the property. Ibfi took possession of the 

 house and paid the money. As for D.ian-sum-iddina, he 

 had henceforth no part in the property, for he had sealed 

 the deed with his name, and had given it to Abil-Addu- 

 natanu and Bunanitum. The copy of the seal of the two 

 absent piu-chasers having been examined and pronounced 

 to be genuine, the names of the witnesses and scribes, 

 which latter impressed their seals, were added, completing 

 the document. The date is " Babylon, month Sebat, day 

 24th, year 2nd, Nabu-na'id ( = Nabonidus), King of 

 Babylon." 



The Loan to make tp the Purchase-moxey. — One of 

 the witnesses to the above, Iddina-Marduk, son oflklsa, 

 son of Nur-Sin, has already been mentioned. He it was 

 who advanced to the couple a sum sufficient to make up 

 the amoimt required to pay the purchase-money. Whether 

 he had advanced the amount as a friend, or had had an 

 agreement drawn up, we do not know, but as at the end 

 of two years and three mouths the loan was still unpaid, 

 Iddina-Marduk, being a real man of business, had a tablet 

 drawn up to the following effect : — 



* In Akkadian Tiiitir, in Assyrian sohnlli lilaii, " Babylon, the 

 seat of life" (fenerally transcribed BtibiUi, siibat halali) being given 

 as BogiA so^a«a |3[aAaT.] during the Greek period. _ 



f In Akkadian Ku-Dingirra, in Assyrian Bt'ih'ili or Babel. 



X See the reproductions (obverse and rcTcrse) iUustrating this 

 paper. 



§ Eegarded by many as the Tower of Babel. 



