The thrones and palaces of Babylon and Ninevah from sea to sea; a thousand miles on horseback (1876) (14797870523)

Identifier: thronespalacesof00newm (find matches)
Title: The thrones and palaces of Babylon and Ninevah from sea to sea; a thousand miles on horseback ..
Year: 1876 (1870s)
Authors: Newman, John Philip, 1826-1899
Subjects: Babylonia -- Description and travel Iraq -- Description and travel
Publisher: New York, Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: Princeton Theological Seminary Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



Text Appearing Before Image:
TOMB OF THE PROPHET JONAH, AND THE RIVER KHAITSSER. tablets, a pair of colossal human-headed bulls, two fig-ures of the Assyrian Hercules slaying the lion, and thewalls of an antique chamber. These, however, are butthe promise of richer results, which the impatient ex-plorer is now anticipating with confidence and delight. Half a mile to the north-west is the larger of the twomounds of Kuyunjik. The river Khausser flows near itssouth-eastern base. It is nearly a mile and a half in cir-cumference, and is ninety-five feet high at its south-eastcorner. The area is equal to a hundred acres, and ap-
Text Appearing After Image:
^^v ^ BABYLON AND NINEVEH. 295 pears to be a mass of transported earth. If artificial, itoccuj^ied twenty thousand men six years to complete theplatform. Its flat summit is annually plowed, which isthe fulfillment of prophecy. The rains of the centurieshave cut deep ravines down its sides, which are nowchannels for the torrents in the rainy season. On thenorthern end is a ruined village; near it is the whitetomb of some Moslem saint; and between the villageand the tomb is the broad, steep road that leads to thesummit. Ascending the beaten path in company with Mr. Hor-muzd Eassam, the distinguished explorer, we were soonwithin the excavated palace of the renowned Sennach-erib. The great structure had been uncovered by Mr.Layard, so that we could now traverse its spacious courts,its lengthened halls, its many rooms, and examine withadmiration its beautiful bass-reliefs, and contemplate itsgrand fagades. It stood on an artificial platform ninetyfeet high, which was covered with a pavemen