The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1916-01-07

ment.
And springs and crops;
How many a place Of pleasure
Serving their delight.
L (God) gave them to another people,
And neither earth nor heaven
weeps."
The booty which the Moslem con-
querors of the twin cities took was
one Of the greatest Of all antiquity.
About 10000 Arab warriors took part
in the assault upon Ctesiphon. The
share Of each in currency, precious
metals and jewels, was worth 10000
silver drachmas, after fifth of the
loot had been set aside for the caliph
and his treasury, and another fifth for
the widows and orphans Of the soldiers
who had fallen in the campaign.
Before the Arabs left Ctesiphon they
set the white Palace" afire, after re-
moving every object Of value, among
them the largest Persian silk carpet
on record. The carpet was about
300 yards long, 100 yards wide, made
entirely by hand, and 1t pictured
garden.
The birds woven into the carpet had
been fashioned Of precious stones, as
were also the flowers. Saud decided
to present the carpet to the caliph.
But Omar was an ascetic Of the most
extreme type. When he saw the
splendid example of the silk-knitters'
art, he merely said:
What shall do with this handi-
work of these devil-worshippers. d.
vide it among the leaders Of the
troops"
The splendid carpet was hacked to
pieces.
During the recent battle between
the Ottoman troops and the British,
the remains of the white Palace"
splendid even in their ruined state,
as number Of large photographs in
the Stamboul museum show, we're fur
Their devastated by the Turkish and
British artillery fire. The extent Of
the damage is still unknown, but It
brings to mind verse from an epic
poem which the Persian poet Firdusi
composed on the fall Of Ctesiphon:
"In the imperial palace at the gate,
The spider, chamberlain by fate,
Draws shut the curtain,
While in Efrasiab's royal halls
Sounds weird war music Of the owls"
Seleucla and Ctesiphon were built
to take the place of Babylon, which
latter city fell rapidly into decay after
the death of Alexander the Great.
Seleucia itself was founded by Sc
leukus, son Of Alexander's favorite
general, Antiochus. The building ma
terial was furnished by the ruins Of
the wonder city, Babylon. For many
years the left bank of the Tigris, OPP
posite Seleucta, was the site Of splen-
did gardens and fertile fields. Mean
while the Partian dynasty of the Sass
andes had again made Persian pow
erful state. Seleucia lay on and COM
manded the main road from Syria to
Persia and India, and the Sassanides
therefore decided to counteract the
existence OF its very important
strategic base by taking the left bank
of the Tigris and founding. there the
city and fortress OF Ctesiphon.
The new city grew rapidly. It is
said that when Saud took 1t. 1t had
over million inhabitants, while the
population Of, the territory, north, east
and south Of 1t, numbered no less than
3,5O0,OOO Plenty Of water from the
Tigris and most fertile soil, two
essentials which in the hot climate Of
Central Southwest Asia, produced
great agricultural wealth made this
aggregation possible. German capital
and engineering are employer today
to drive the encroaching desert back
and re-establish once more the pros
came with his fanatic swarms Of
Arabs. wv liz