909 



TURKEY IN ASIA. 



minlslied, though they have served for centuries as quarries of a neighboring city of 12,000 

 people. One of the first mounds approached, was formerly supposed to be the temple of Be- 



Ruins of Babijlon. 



lus. It is 2,200 feet in circumference, and 141 in height. Another mound is held to be tne 



remains of one of ihe palaces, with 

 the ruins of hanging gardens, which 

 were 80 feet high, and contained 

 3 acres and a half ; they were supj- 

 ported by masonry. Among all 

 the ruins are found fiagnients of 

 pottery, alabaster, &c. What is 

 called the tower of Babel, and 

 temple of Belus, or Birs Nimrood, 

 is near the Euphrates. Its ap- 

 pearance is that of a fallen and de- 

 cayed ])yraniid, with the remains 

 of a tower on the top. The tower 

 is 60 feet in height, and the rub- 

 bish whereon it stands 200. This 

 is the most conspicuous of all the 

 mounds of Babylon. It seems to 

 have risen in distinct stages or plat- 

 foims, of which the remains are 

 visible ; and the apparent tower 

 which now surmounts it, is but a remaining part of one of diese platforms. It formed the fourth 

 stage, and there were doubtless several other stages above it. 



How truly are fulfilled the prophetic words of holy writ, uttered when " the glory of king- 

 doms, the beauty of the Chaldee's excellency," was yet in the pride of power : " The wild 

 beasts of the forests shall lie there, the dragons shall howl in her pleasant palaces." 



13. History. From the earliest dawn of history to the present moment, these countries 

 have been the scene of the most interesting events, and the empire of the world has been re- 

 peatedly contested on the Mesopotamian plains. In the obscurity of early history, the great 

 empires of Assyria and Babylon are daily seen, overshadovving the known world, and finally 

 bodi yield'to the Persian arms, which swept all before them to the shores of the INIediterranean. 

 This in turn falls before the Macedonian phalanx and the genius of Alexander, and, on his 



TuiDcr of Babel. 



