The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1870-07-09
Babylon.

This great city was one of the wonders
of the ancient world. The city was situa-
ted in vast plain. We learn good many
particulars of it's grandeur from Herodot,ls,
the celebrated ancient historian Accord
ing to him-and he is generally regarded
as the best of authority-it was in the form
of a perfect square, and was upward of
fifty miles in circuit. 1t was surrounded
by wide and deep ditch, lined with brick
work and full Of water, and the soil dug
out was made into bricks, with which the
wall was built eightyseven feet thick and
three hundred and fifty feet high. The
bricks were baked in furnaces, and hot
bitumen was used to cement them together
At every thirty layers of bricks, layer of
reeds was placed. The sides of the ditch
were first built in this manner, and then
the walls above them. In the walls there
were a hundred gates, twenty five ON each
side. All these gates were made of solid
brass, and of prodigious size and strength.
The Euphrates ran through the city,
dividing it into two parts. In the wall
lining the river there were smaller gates,
also of brass, from which steps conducted
of the great gates there were three watch
towers, ten feet higher than the walls, with
four such towers at each of the four angles
of the wall, and three more between each
of those angles and the next adjoining gate
on either side. There were, however, but
two hundred and fifty towers in all, as they
were omitted on that side where the NOR
asses rendered such protection unnecessary.
The grand square was divided into twenty
five grand streets, which intersected each
other, thus parting the city into six hun
dred and twenty-six squares. Each of the
streets went quite across the city in
straight line, extending from principal
gate on one side to another on the opposite
side. The vast squares formed by the in
tersections of the streets were not built
upon, but we're laid out in gardens and
pleasure grounds; and the houses that
lined the streets stood at some distance
from each other, and were of three and
four stories in hight, adorned with all the
splendor of the ancient oriental taste.
At each end of the bridge was a magniti-
cent palace. The old palace was situated
on the east side of the river, and the new
palace on the west side. The former of
these palaces took up four of the squares
already spoken of, and the other, nine of
these squares. The temple of Belus, which
stood next the old palace, occupied another
square. The old city lay on the east side
of the river; the new city, built by Nebu-
chadnezzar, Oh the west side. Both cities
were included in the circuit of fifty miles.
To fill this immense city with inhabi-
tants, ACKNOWLEDGMENT carried thither
a multitude of captives from Judea and
other countries which he conquered. But
he failed in carrying out his great PLAN
The city was never supplied with inhabi-
tants according to its capacity. This
great monarch died before he had time to
carry out his plan; and twenty-five years
after his death the royal seat of the empire
was removed from Babylon to Sheesan (the
Chusan of scripture,) by Cyrus, which put
an end to the growing glory of the former
city, and it never tlourished afterward.
The temple of Belus was constructed by
ACKNOWLEDGMENT on the ancient structure
supposed to be the tower of Babel. The
original tower was square, and was half
mile in circuit. 1t consisted of eight tow
ers, one built over the other. 1t was GER
tainly one of the most wonderful works in
the world, not excepting the largest of the
pyramids. The perpendicular measure
of the great pyramid is but four hundred
and eighty-one feet, whereas the tower was
nearly six hundred feet in breadth. The
upper part of the temple, as fitted up by
ACKNOWLEDGMENT, was the placet he princi-
pal devotions were performed, and was
held as exceedingly sacred.
An immense wall was built around the
temple by this monarch. 1t was some two
miles and half in compass. In this wall
were several gates, all of of solid Brass
The brazen sea and other brazen vessels
which were carried to Babylon from the
temple of Jerusalem, seem to have been
employed in the construction of these
gates.
The name of the ged to whom this tenn
pie was dedicated was Bel. He is supposed
to have been the same with Nimrod, and
l. loI Rail- snio
and Nimrod from his rebellion; for Bel
(or Baal, which is the same nance signifies
Lord, and Nimrod rebel, in the Jewish
and Chaldean languages.
Xerxes. But he, on his return from his
Grecian expedition, demolished it almost
totally, having first plundered it Of all its
immense riches. He found here several
statues of massive gold, one Of which is
said to have been fifty feet high. The en-
tire value Of the gold in this temple seems
almost incredible-no less than 5000, 0O0,-
600. All this Xerxes took away when he
destroyed the temple.
Alexander, when he became the possess
sor of Babylon, determined to rebuild the
city and the temple, and actually COM
menced the work; but his death, which
took place soon after, put an end to the I'M
dertaking. Had he lived and made that
city the seat of his empire, as he would
have done, the glory of Babylon would no
doubt have reached the hight that Nebu-
chadnezzar aimed at.
The city is supposed to have been built
in or near the site of the tower of Babel,
spoken of in the old testament. That story
is familiar to all our readers. BY many it
is now considered allegorical, as it is diff
cult to admit that so extensive an under
taking, requiring a large population and
extensive revenues, could have been under
taken by grandson of Noah, even admit
ting the years lived by men in those days
to have been of the same length as the
years now are.
"A member of a yeomanry calvary regi-
I