Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1873-08-02
AMONG THE RUINS OF BABYLON
AND NINEvEH. 2

glish arch@ologist, who is now on a
expedition in the valley of the Eu
pirates, sent out by the proprietors {
the London Telegraph, writes that h
has had capital success, and has recoy
cred many valuable tablets. His Las
letter relates to the supposed site G
Nineveh, now Kouyunjik and Nebt
Yunas, connected by long and irreg
ular line of mounds enclosing spac
large enough for great city. He re
marks that if these represent the wal
the Bible and other accounts of its ex
tent would not be borne out.
There are, however, ruins beyon,
this wall, and l think that the ridge
may only represent the wall of an inne
portion of Nineveh, the city itself ex
tending much beyond this space. Th'
question of the extent of the city O
Nineveh can only be settled by exca
vation inthe mounds beyond the walls
especially the mound Yaremjah. The
disappearance of the city's outer wal
is easily accounted for, as the people
are even now using the materials from
the mound for buildings, and the pres.
ent wall itself has completely disap-
peared In many places" !"
He sketches the history of the place
so far as it can be made out from the
inscriptions.
"The city of Nineveh, together with
two or three neighboring places, was
founded by Nimrod, King of Babylo-
MIA, at some early but unknown period.
1t was probably at first only fort. to
keep the Babylonian conquests in this
direction; but temple was founded,
even then, to the goddess Istar. on the
mound of Kouyunjik, Probably in
the nineteenth century B. C. the region
round Nineveh was under the domin-
ion of the rulers of the city of Assur,
a place some sixty miles south of MIN
eveh; and Samsi-vul, one of these
princes, rebuilt the temple of Istar.
This temple again falling into decay,
was repaired by Assur-ubalid, King OF
Assyria, fourteen hundred years B. c..
and again it was rebuilt about centu-
ry later by King Shalmanesar, one of
whose brick inscriptions l have found
during the Daily Telegraph excava-
tiOns. Throughout these centuries
Nineveh was gradually growing in
power and wealth, and about 1850 b. C.
it became one of the capitals of the
country, the temple of Istar was res
tored again with great splendor, and
palace built at Kouyunjik by Assur-
risilim, King of Assyria. The city was
now adorned with noble buildings and
monuments, down to the time of Sam
si-yul III, King of Assyria about 1880
B. B. After this its history is blank
until the time of Assur-nazir-pal,
King of Assyria B. C. SS5. He rebuilt
the city of Calah (now Nimrud), and
made considerable additions to the
temple at Nineveh he also had a pal
ace here. A portion of one of his in
seribed slabs has been found during
this expedition. Shalmanesar III, son
of Assur-nazir-pal, continued the
building of the temple at Nineveh, but
paid most attention to the city of Ca
lah, where he chiefly resided. The old
capitals Assur and Nineveh appear to
have grown discontented with his con-
duct, and towards the close of his
reign they led revolt, and placed the
crown on the head of Assur-daan-p pal,
the oldest son of the King. In all
twentyiseyen of the principal cities de-
clared for the revolution, and the King,
giving the command of his army to his
younger son, Samsi-vul, the country
was now torn by civil war between
the two brothers. The details of the
are unknown to us, hut Samsi-
vul conquered and obtained the crown.
Assur, the oldest capital, never recov-
cred from the effects of the war, but
at once revived. and buildings
were erected here by Samsi-vul and
his son, Vul-nirari. The latter mon
arch raised a temple to Meredach and
Nebo, the Babylenian deities, and
built a palace on the mound called
Nebbi Yunas. The consort of this
King was the famous Semiramis.
A period of trouble followed, and on
the arrival of the Assyrian power by
Tiglath Pileser III, B. c. 745. the capt.
tai was placed at Calah. Subsequently
Sargon founded a new city on the
mound of Khorsabad, and although
he rebuilt the temple of Merodach
and Nebo, Nineveh was in a great
measure neglected for the new capital.
On the accession of Sennacherib, b. c.
705, that monarch determined to res
tore the city of Nineveh, and make it
his capital. At this time the old palace
was ruined, and the stream of the
Khosr, which ran under the south side
of the palace mound, had undermined
the foundations and rendered the
whole structure untenable. Sennach-
crib began by turning the stream of the
Khosr, making it take bend to the
south then clearing away the old
building, he increased the size of the
mound by the land acquired from the
Khosr, and raised magnificent palace
there. Another royal building he
raised on the neighboring ground of
Nebbi Yunas, and second palace at
Kouyunjik for his son, besides numNr-
GUS other structures. Nineveh oy ,
the greater part of its magnifcence to
its rebuilding by Sennacherib. who en-
ployed thousands of captiyes taken in
his wars to labor on the structures he
raised. He also built the walls of the
city and towers round it for defence
At the gates of the city were winged
bulls similar to those at the palace
The bulls at the palace are the most gi-
gantic / have ever seen. On the muir
der of Sennacherib his son Esarhad-
don succeeded. He built a palace at
Nebbi Yunas, but did not confne him
self to Fineueh. He erected build
ings at several cities.
His son, Assur- bani-p the greatest
Assyrian monarch, rebuilt the wall of
Nineveh and some of the palaces of
Sennacherib. One of them, now called
the North Palace, was adorned during
this reign with the most beautiful
sculptures, showing wealth and dsplen-
dor in the capital remarkable for the
age. The grand library Of Nineveh
was also in great measure the creation
of Assur-bani-pal. The city was now
at the height of its prosperity at Its
feet lay the then known world, from
Lydia and Egypt on the west to Susi-
ana and Media on the east. Through
its gates marched the victorious army,
bearing the riches Of Egypt and the
spoil of Tirhakahah, King of Ethiopia.
Here Nicho, the father OF Psammiti-