INTRODUCTION. SOME ACCOUNT OF BABYLON, BEFORE AND SINCE IN re-publishing Mr. Rich's Account of the Ruins of Babylon, as they existed when he visited them in the year 1811, it has been thought desirable to prefix a sketch of some of the leading circumstances connected with the history of that celebrated city. Many circumstances combine to make this rather a difficult task to the Editor, and one which must necessarily be very imperfectly executed. The present account, which is drawn up from a very interesting Memoir on the subject of Babylon by M. de St. Croix, that appeared in the "Mémoires de l'Academie des Inscriptions" in the year 1789, and is referred to by Mr. Rich, will enable the reader to follow the history of this city through many ages. The Editor а has added, from other sources, some further particulars, which seemed requisite in order to complete the account; but has endeavoured to make the whole as concise as was possible, consistently with the object in view, which was to revive the recollections of some readers, to supply information to others, and to assist the traveller in the East, who can rarely carry many books of reference about with him. The first mention we find in history of Babylon, or Babel, is in the Bible. In the tenth chapter of Genesis, at the tenth verse, speaking of Nimrod, it is added, "and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar."* It is surely worthy to be observed that little if any further notice is taken of this great city in the Sacred Volume, until the time of its connexion with the history of the Jewish people, and, even then, our attention is chiefly directed to the punishment and ruin that are about to fall upon it for its wickedness. During this interval it had become the splendid capital of a most powerful empire-the teacher of other nations in every kind of knowledge -the mistress of the world in arts and sciences, and civilization! But all these things, so great in the eyes of men, are passed by in silence, or slightly referred to in the Bible, that History of Nations, written * This is supposed to have been about 2300 years before Christ, or about 1300 years after the creation of the world. by God, who there points out to us what He accounts of importance in history, and what insignificant. He tells us that the advancement of nations in civilization and knowledge are nothing in His sight, unless there be a corresponding advancement in reverence, and obedience, and love to Himself, and in true loving-kindness among men, to each other. It would be well for mankind if they would but look upon things truly, as they bear upon the wonderful history of man which is eternal; and they would be much helped in so doing, if they observed how these things are spoken of by the Creator and Father of Men.* Of Babylon-that glory of kingdoms, that beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, that city so great among the nations of the earth-He speaks only with indignation for having striven against Him; for having been proud against Him; for having been unmerciful; for having been given up to pleasure; for dwelling carelessly; for saying, "I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children."t Her wisdom and her knowledge, God says, perverted her; her enchantments and the multitude of her sorceries made her brutish, and * A very remarkable book has lately been published, entitled, "The French Revolution," by Thomas Carlyle, which contains a most powerful unveiling of this true history, and sweeps away all the unrealities and falsehoods with which men endeavour to delude themselves. This work is, surely, a great gift to men, in this day of confusion and perplexity. May it prove a word of warning, and not of prophecy, to England!—ED. Isaiah, chap. xlvii. she said in her heart, "I am, and none else beside In order to obtain any details concerning this great first sample of man's mighty works, by which, during so many ages since, he has been dazzled and intoxicated, notwithstanding the warning thus early given him by his faithful Creator, we must have recourse to other sources, which, however, are very abundant, for Babylon appears to have been an object of admiration to all the ancients. By some of the ancient authors the building of Babylon is attributed to Semiramis,† who probably embellished, or enlarged it, and hence got the name of being its founder. The principal works which rendered it so famous were the walls of the city, the palaces, quays, and the bridge, the lake, banks, and canals; the hanging gardens, and the Temple of Belus. The city stood on a large and very fertile plain. The walls were 87 feet thick, 350 in height, and in compass 480 furlongs, or 60 English miles. They were all built of large bricks, cemented together with bitumen. A trench, deep, wide, and full of water, surrounded the city. "It is proper," says Herodotus," that I should say in what manner the earth removed from the trench was disposed of, and how * Jeremiah, chaps. 1., li. + Herodotus tells us that she raised an embankment worthy of admiration through the plain, to confine the river Euphrates, which heretofore often spread over that level country like a lake. the wall was constructed. The earth, as fast as it was removed from the trench, was converted into bricks, and baked in furnaces; when thus prepared, melted bitumen was used instead of mortar,* and between every thirtieth course of bricks there was a layer of reeds. The sides of the trench were first lined with brick-work, and then the wall raised in the manner described." The gates, of which there were 25, were all made of solid brass.† At different intervals between these gates were towers, said to have been 10 feet higher than the walls. The reader is probably aware that some of the ancient authors describe the walls of Babylon as being drawn round the city in the form of a square; and that 25 streets, each 15 miles long and 150 feet broad, went in straight lines to the 25 gates, which were directly over against them, on the opposite sides, so that the whole number of the streets were 50, whereof 25 went one way and 25 the other, directly crossing each other at right angles. And besides these there were also four half streets, which had houses only on one side, and the wall on the other; these went round the four sides of the city next the walls, and were each of them 200 feet broad. By these streets thus crossing each other, the whole city is described as cut out into 676 squares, each of which was four furlongs and a half on every side, that is, two miles and a quarter in * See Mr. Rich's observations on Gen. xi. 3, in the " the Ruins of Babylon," p. 98. Isaiah xlv. 2. Memoir on |