THE FALL OF BABYLON AND DANIEL V, 30. 



15 



and does not the Book of Daniel say that Belshazzar was slain 

 at night ? 



Dr. Pinches writes — 



The probahih'ty is therefore that ' the son of the king ' 

 Belshazzar, held out against the I'ersians in some part of the 

 capital, and kept during that time a festival on the 11th of Mar- 

 ches van, when Gobryas pounced upon the place, and he the rightful 

 Chaldaean king was slain as recorded in Daniel." — The Old 

 Testament in the Lif/ht of the Historical lieconls of Assi/ria and 

 Babylonia, pp. 418, 419. 



The solution of the whole matter seems to be afforded by the 

 plans of the ruins of I>al)ylon showing the course of the walls^ 

 illustrating AYeissbacli's Sta.dthild con Bahylon, published by 

 Hinrichs, Leipzig, by whose kind permission they haA^e been 

 reproduced by the present lecturer. The plans show that 

 there was a not inconsiderable portion of the city enclosed 

 with walls, situated on the western bank of the Euphrates ;. 

 but the main portion of Babylon, containing the royal palace 

 and the great temples, was on the eastern shore of the river. 

 What therefore occurred at the taking of Babylon by Cyrus 

 would seem to have been this : On the 14th of the month 

 Tammnz (June-July^ Sippar was taken, and King Nabonidus, 

 who would appear to have been in it, fled. He probably crossed 

 the river in escaping from the Persians, and took refuge in that 

 part of the city of Babylon which was on the western side of 

 the Euphrates. Gobryas and the Persians pursued him, and 

 two days after — on the 16th of the month — the citizens opening 

 the gates to the enemy, the king was captured. Thus in the 

 words of the inscription : — " On the 16th day Gobryas . . . 

 and the soldiers of Cyrus without fighting entered Babylon. In 

 consequence of delaying Xabunaid was taken prisoner in 

 Babylon." 



This outlying portion of the city on the western side of the 

 river would seem to have been regarded by Nebuchadnezzar as 

 an outwork of Babylon. In the India House Inscription he 

 says — 



" and to the city for protection I brought near an embankment of 

 enclosure beyond the river westward." — Records of the Fast, 

 1st Series, p. 125. 



On this view Gobryas had, it is true, "entered Babylon," but 

 he was very far indeed from having really gained possession of 



