284 
BABYLON 
they were masters of Assyria ; all north of that boundary having 
formerly belonged to the dominion of N ineveh. It was not till 
after the destruction of the latter capital, by the father of Ne¬ 
buchadnezzar, that Babylon attained its acme of glory under that 
great prince himself. And, in advancing towards its prodigious 
remains, (apparently doomed to exist for ever, in some form or 
other, an awful monument of confusion !) it may not be disagree¬ 
able to refresh our memory of the subject a little, by a clear 
view of the city, as it is represented in the descriptions of our 
best authorities. 
According to Herodotus, the walls were 60 miles in circum¬ 
ference, built of large bricks cemented together with bitumen, 
and raised round the city in the form of an exact square; hence 
they measured 15 miles along each face. They were 87 feet 
thick, and 350 high, protected on the outside by a vast ditch 
lined with the same materials, and proportioned in depth and 
width to the elevation of the walls. They were entered by 25 
gates on each side, made of solid brass; and additionally 
strengthened by 250 towers. Within these walls rose the mul¬ 
titudinous streets, palaces, and other great works of Babylon ; 
including the temple of Belus, the hanging gardens, and all the 
magnificence which constituted this city the wonder of the 
world. A branch of the Euphrates flowed through the city, 
from the north to the south; and was crossed by a strong 
bridge, constructed at the foundation, of large stones fastened 
together with lead and iron. While it was building, the course 
of the river was turned into a large basin, to the west of the 
town ; which had been cut to the extent of 40 square miles, and 
75 feet deep, for a yet nobler purpose ; to receive the same 
ample stream, while the great artificial banks were erecting of 
brick on each side of the bed of the river, to secure the country 
