BAG 
fpotic fway. Thebafliaw is continually extorting money 
from the inhabitants, and none fuller more than the mer¬ 
cantile jews and Chriftians, many of whom are put to the 
molt cruel tortures in order to force their property from 
them. This feries of oppreffion has almolt entirely driven 
them out of the city, in confequence of which the trade 
mu ft fuffer conliderably, they being generally the princi¬ 
pal merchants in the place. In the months of June, July, 
and Augtift, the weather is fo extremely hot, as to oblige 
the inhabitants to live in fubterranean apartments, which 
are arched over, to admit a freer circulation of air. The 
houfes are generally large, built of brick and cement, and 
and many of the windows are made of elegant Venetian 
glafs ; the ceilings are moftly ornamented with a kind of 
chequered work, which has a noble appearance; mod: ol 
the houfes have a. court-yard, in the middle of which is a 
plantation of orange-trees, which has a pleating effect. 
The foil, which would produce not only every neceffary 
of life, but almoft every luxury, is, through the natural 
indolence of the Turks, and the many faults in the go¬ 
vernment, in a great meafure uncultivated and negleiSted. 
The revenues are computed at 125 lacks of pialtres, or 
1,562,500k fterling; but a quarter part of this is not col¬ 
lected, owing to the flothfulnefs of the Turks, who fuffer 
Che Arabs to plunder them of the remainder. This in 
ffome meafure accounts for the cruelties and extortions 
that are continually practifed here. As the baffiaw lives 
in all the fplendour of a fovereign prince,' and maintains 
a large army, he could not be able to defray his expences, 
were he not to have recourfe to oppreffion and injuftice. 
By his extenffve power, he aCts almoff independent of the 
Porte, and only acknowledges it, to draw a balance annu¬ 
ally in his favour. 
The bazars or markets are large and extenffve, covered 
with arches built of mafonry, and divided into different 
ftreets, filled with (hops of all kinds of merchandize, to 
the number of 12,000. Every thing a perfon can have 
occafion for may be had here, being annually l'upplied by 
the Smyrna, Aleppo, and weftern, caravans. The num¬ 
ber of houfes in the city is computed at near 80,000 ; and 
each houfe and (hop pay an annual tribute to the baffiaw, 
whicfms calculated to produce the fum of 300,000k fter¬ 
ling. 'O11 the north fide of the town Hands the caftle, 
which commands the river; and confifts of curtains and 
baftions,.on which fome very long cannon are mounted, 
with two mortars in each baftion. 
The city, which is fortified by lofty walls of brick co¬ 
vered with earth, and ftrengthened by towers and baffions, 
fin-rounded by a deep ditch, is in the form of an irregular 
fquare; but the walls in many places are broken down, 
occafioned by the difputes which happened on the death 
of Abdulla bafliaw a few years ago, when two competitors 
arofe in Bagdad for the bafhawic, who fought feveral times 
in the town and citadel, and laid great part of it in ruins. 
In the interim, the governor of Muffool and Nineveh, be- 
ing appointed baffiaw by the Porte, came hither with a 
confiderable army, and took poffeffion of the fovereignty, 
vanquiffiing his two opponents. There is a communica¬ 
tion between the city and fuburbs by a bridge of boats ; 
the only kind of bridge which that river will admit of, as 
it is broad and deep, and in its ordinary courfe very rapid. 
At certain feafons it fwells to a prodigious height, and 
overflowing the country occafions many moraffes on that 
-fide oppolite the city. Among thefe are feveral towns 
and villages, vvhofe inhabitants are laid to be the ancient 
Chaldeans : they are of a particular religion, which they 
pretend is that of Seth. The inhabitants of Bagdad are 
compofed chiefly of Perfians, Armenians, Turks, Arabs, 
and Jews, which laff aft in the capacity of fchroffs, or 
bankers, to the merchants. The Jews, notwithftanding 
the fevere treatment they meet with from the government, 
are induced to live here from a reverence to the prophet 
Ezekiel, whole maufoleum they pretend is a day’s jour¬ 
ney from the city. Befides the Jews who relide here, there 
are many that come annually to vifit the prophet’s tomb. 
BAG <Sr 9 
Two chapels are permitted, for the pfe of the Romifii and 
Greek perfuafions. In the City are feveral large beautiful 
mofquesj but into which Chriftians are never fuffered to 
enter, if known to be fuch, for fear it fhonld defile them. 
The Mahometan women are very richly dreffed, wearing 
bracelets on their arms and jewels in their ears : the Ara¬ 
bian women have the partition between their noftrils bored, 
wherein they wear rings. There are alfo a number of 
antique buildings. At the diffance of about ten miles, 
ffand the ruins of the Tozver of Nimrod. Whether this 
tower was at firff of a fquare or round form, is now diffi¬ 
cult to determine. The height of the ruin is 126 feet ; 
the diameter of the largeff and middle part about 1000 
feet. It would appear to be'folid to the centre, yet near 
the top there is a regular opening of an oval form. The 
circumference of that part of the tower which remains, 
and is above the rubbifh, is about 300 feet; but proba¬ 
bly, could the foundation be fee 11, it would be found of far 
greater extent. The prefent Turks, Jews, and Arabians, 
are fond of believing this to be the identical ruin of the 
ancient tower of Babel; for which they aflign a variety of 
reafons; but all fo void of probability, no confidence can 
be placed in them. It appears to have been a beacon or 
watch-tower, to give notice of the approach of an enemy : 
or perhaps was tiled as an obfervatory to infpect the mo¬ 
tions of the heavenly bodies; which fcience was lo much 
cultivated among the ancient inhabitants of this country, 
that even the Grecians, though defirous of being efteem- 
ed the inventors of ail arts and fciences, could never deny 
the Babylonians the honour of having laid the founda¬ 
tions of affronomy. 
BA'GENBON HEAD, a cape of Ireland, in.the At¬ 
lantic Ocean, on the loath coaft of the county of Wexford. 
Lat. 52. 9. N. Ion. 6. 48. W. Greenwich. 
BA'GENDON, or Bag'genton, a village of the 
county of Glouceffer, near which a battle is faid to have 
been fought between tire Britons and Saxons, in the yeay 
556 ; it is three miles north of Cirencefter. 
BAG’FORD (John), a celebrated antiquary, and col¬ 
lector of curious old books, prints, See. was originally a 
flioemaker, afterwards' a bookfeller ; and laftly, for the 
many curiofities wherewith he enriched the famous library 
of Dr. John Moore, bifhop of Ely, his lordffnp got him 
admitted into the Charter-houle. He was feveral times in 
Holland, and other foreign parts, where he procured many 
valuable books, prints, &c. for the earl of Oxford, who, 
after his death, pure ha feel all his collections, papers, See. 
for his library, in 1707 were publilhed, in the Philofo- 
phical Tranfactions, his proposals for a general hiffory of 
printing. He died at Iliington, May 15, 1716, aged tixty- 
five years. An account of his entries for a general hiffory 
of printing, is in the catalogue of tiie Harleian collection 
ot MSS. A number of his letters to Humphry Wanley 
may be feen in the Britifh Mufeum ; and a large part of 
his collections is in the public library at Cambridge. 
BAG'GAGE, f. [from bag ; baggage, Fr.J The fur¬ 
niture and utenfils of an army.—The army was an hun¬ 
dred and feventy thoufand footmen, and-twelve thoufand 
horfemen, befide the baggage. Judith. —Riches are the 
baggage of virtue, they cannot be fpared, nor left behind, 
but they hinder the march. Bacon. —The goods that are to 
be carried away, as bag and baggage. —Dolabella defigned, 
when his affairs grew defperate in Egypt, to pack up bag 
and baggage, and fail for Italy. Arbuthnot. —A worthlels 
woman ; in French bagajle.-, becaufe fuch women follow 
camps.—A fpark of indignation did rife in l}er, not to 
fuffer fuch a baggage to win any thing of hersi Sidney. 
Packing up the Baggage, vaj'a co/ligerc, was a term 
among the Romans, for preparing to go to war, or to be 
ready for an expedition. The Romans diffinguiffied two 
forts of baggage; a greater and lefs. The lefs was car¬ 
ried by the foldier on his back, and called farcina-, con¬ 
fiding of the things rnoft neceffary to life, and which lie 
could not do without. Hence colligere farcinas, packing 
up the baggage, is ufed for decamping, cajlra movere. The 
greater 
