136 



THEOPHILUS G. FIN'CHES. I.L.D., M.R.A.S., OX 



country to annex. It might supply grain of which this country hss 

 such a limited amount. AVe have to import, it is said, foiu:--fifths 

 of our needs every year, so it would be decidedly advantageous if 

 we could profit by the fertility of Babylonia. 



Mr. Eouse suggested that the queen-mother referred to m:ght 

 have been a princess of the house of Xebuchadrezzar. That is rery 

 probable, and of course if she was Belshazzar's grandmotha' it 

 would explain the mourning for her. But we have to comider 

 that any other princess of the royal house may have been moirned 

 for in the same way. 



As to whether all my statements are from inscriptions— Xo, 

 they are not, because a great many of the points are not toiched 

 upon by the inscriptions. I haA'C drawn upon the Bible r<cord, 

 and upon Berosus as quoted by Josephus. Berosus is sometimes 

 not quite trustworthy. I regard the Biblical record as being 

 superior in that respect. 



The extent of Babylon was the last question. Of coiu-s, we 

 know it was reo:arded as a citv of enormous size. How larsre it is 

 difficult to estimate, because I believe no traces of any oute* wall 

 are found. The portion thrown on the screen is described as ^eing 

 about the size of Munich or Dresden, and would be the old city. 

 It would correspond with what we call " the City in Loidon. 

 Naturally the increase of population made the construction of hcuses 

 outside the walls absolutely necessary. It always occurs with g-eat 

 capitals, and that was the case with Babylon. 



The meeting adjourned at 6.25 p.m. 



AY R ITTE X C OMMUX IC ATIOX S . 



Dr. Thirtle : — 



The fact that Xenophon speaks of Balylon as Assyria " s 

 highly significant. Clearly the two names were regarded at the tinr^ 

 as connoting the same thing. I suggest that the practice is ex 

 plained by the fact that the prestige of Old Babylon survived in 

 the conquering empire of Assyria. Does not modern usage illustrate 

 the designation of countries by two names ; one old, the other more 

 recent *? Beyond Cjuestion, the old-time America is continued in the 

 modern United States ; and moreover, in common speech (not too 



