122 HORMUZD RASSAM, ESQ., 
Turkey, the Levant and Asia Minor. It is very remarkable 
that the Turks term the latter province Anatoley _J,bb! 
the same word dvatodyn which is used in Greek in St. 
Matthew (ii, 2) for the east, the country of the Magi. 
I am also of opinion that the prophecy alluded to im the 
10th verse of the 72nd Psalm was fulfilled by the Magi; 
and although the exact land of Sheba is still shrouded in 
mystery it seems to me that it will not be extraordinary 
to suppose that, as one of the grandsons of Abraham by 
Keturah, named Sheba, was sent to the “east country” by his 
grandsire, a province in Northern Mesopotamia was called 
after him. 
I may conclude my lecture with a few words on the 
subject of our Assyrian and Babylonian researches, as I know 
that this Institute has always taken a deep interest in them. 
Since my explorations were stopped at the end of 1882, 
owing to the expiration of my firman, no excavations have 
been allowed to be carried on in Assyria and Babylonia on 
the same condition as I was permitted to enjoy. Conse- 
quently the four important sites which I was anxious to 
examine in Babylonia, Assyria, and elsewhere, are now lying 
dormant for want of proper representation at headquarters. 
I am grieved beyond measure that the remainder of 
the palaces and temples which have been discovered by 
us, are now lying buried underground, and, worse than 
all, that in Babylonia, especially, valuable records are being 
destroyed daily, through the clandestine excavations of 
the Arab diggers for the sake of selling what they find to 
native brokers for European purchasers, who smuggle them 
out of the country. 
The Porte does not permit now any antiquities to be ex- 
‘ported, but those who wish to make researches are only 
allowed to take squeezes and copies of any object found. 
This proposal was made to meas far back as 1876, but I 
refused to have anything to do with such a one-sided benefit. 
When Sir Henry Layard was appointed ambassador at Con- 
stantinople, however, he at once used his influence with the 
Sultan, and I was then allowed to send to the British Museum 
all antiquities discovered, but gave all the duplicates to the 
Ottoman authorities. 
I feel confident that if our ambassador at Constantinople 
would use his influence with the Sultan, His Majesty will not 
say No to a proper representation to him, especially when he 
