VALLEY OF SHIRAZ. 
705 
Assyria, and became a distinct kingdom of itself under Dejoces, 
Ecbatana revived; the new sovereign repaired, and so enlarged 
it, as almost to merit the title of its founder, and fixed his re¬ 
sidence there during a reign of half a century. But when we 
recollect, that upwards of four hundred years before the exist¬ 
ence of these two princes, Solomon’s temple and palaces were 
erected under the auspices of a people dependent on the As¬ 
syrians, who had then been lords of Asia for nearly ten cen¬ 
turies, can we doubt Ecbatana having been a city of much older 
date than either Dejoces or Arbaces. Media, as a province 
of Assyria, would always need a governor; and here, probably, 
was his capital from the earliest times. These reflections stimu¬ 
lated my desire to visit Ecbatana, to compare what I might see 
there with the objects of my observation at Persepolis. In 
drawing a parallel between the architectural plans and ornaments 
of the latter place, with those so particularly noted in the book 
of Kings, of Solomon’s temple and palace, their pillars, double 
capitals, carved knops, open flowers, and palm-trees, chapiters of 
lily-work, and supports of various sorts in the shapes of lions, 
oxen, and winged figures, the resemblance appears so striking, I 
cannot but assign them the same origin ; and believe, in addition, 
that were the mounds of Babylon and Nineveh to yield up their 
buried treasures, we should not only recover the lost links in 
the descent of architecture, but find even a nearer affinity be¬ 
tween their principles and the remains at Persepolis, than that 
which connects the buildings of modern Europe with the taste 
of ancient Greece and Borne. 
On leaving the little Persepolitan temple, which commands a 
beautiful view over the adjacent country, we descended into the 
4 x 
