Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1917-05-17

MOSQUE OF Shrl
~ AGDAD, the capital Of the Cal
Il iphs, which fell to the British
few weeks ago, Is city
around which gather more Of
history and tradition than any other
spot yet involved in the war.
With a known record reaching back
1900 years, the city has been trod by
most Of the great conquerors whose
names flash across the stories of the
Orient, and has twice fallen from daz-
zling splendor to almost complete de-
cay.
The waxing and waning of tho city's
prosperity has depended on the trade
flowing between India and Persia and
the coast Of Asia Minor. Standing in
what was almost the only cultivated
part Of the great valley Of the Tigris
and Euphrates. the dusty camel cara
vans from Teheran and Samarcand,
Ispahan, Kabul and Kandahar drew
into it. to rest and prepare for the
final effort across the desert to Tyre
and Sidon, Lydia and Acre.
The merchants from the ends of the
world met to dlcker and quarrel In its
great bazars, and to its markets were
sent the rarest Jewels, the finest fab
RIGS and the fairest slaves.
When the Oriental traffic died down
after the conQuests of Alexander, when
the Parthian cavalry drove the camel
trains from the deserts, the city died.
When the power Of Islam rose and
safety was re-established 1t was re-
founded and aourished again. Finally,
when the route to the North, along the
Saspian, was opened, ConstantinOple
took its place as the great mart Of the
East, and the city relapsed to Its pres
ent f0rlorn state-rich only In memo
ries and the veneration which Is paid
its shrines by Jew and Moslem.
Once Famed for It. Gardens.
The city was once famed for its gar
dens. The two great rivers are there.
scarce twenty-five miles apart. and
were, during the periods of the city's
wealth, connected by many canals.
Then the whole plain blossomed like
Eden-many traditions declare that
this plain was the very garden where
Eve and Adam named the animals.
But these have now been filed by the
blown desert dust and the fields are
bare.
Some students Of the Revelation de-
clare that the millennium cannot begin
till this plain is again watered and
peopled.
The first of the great historic names
connected with the city is that of
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon
the Nebuchadnezzar Of childish story.
He was not the founder of the city,
for records have been found dating
back to 1000 b. C.-several hundred
years before his time-in which the
city is mentioned. But the enslaver
Of the Jews built q quay at the city,
which still stands, and, though sunk
en- several feet during the $500 years
since he poured the nbations for its
cornerstone, can be seen when the wa.
ter In the Tigris Is low.
There are many reminders Of the
captivity of Judah in and around the
city. Within q few miles stand the
tombs Of Joshua, Ezra and Ezekiel,
prophets Of the exile. Outside the city
IL the famous well of Daniel, into
which the prophet is supposed to have
been thrown during one of his contro-
versies with the Medean king.
From this time to the Christian era
the city almost vanishes from the
record. It is mentioned occasionally
for q few hundred years and then
forgotten. Two hundred or 800 years
after Christ q traveller reports that
the site Of the ancient city held moth
ing but a convent. The Parthians held
the desert beyond and the great valley
was empty.
The resurrection Of the city came
In 762 A. D.. and 1t is then that the
history which made the name known
the world over began to form. Man
sur. the founder Of the great line OF
Abbasid Caliphs and the descendant
Of the prophet, fought his way up
from the Arabian desert and chose 1t
as the site for q capital. The city
was laid out on a magnificent plan.
1t was I'VE miles across the city from
the north gate to the south. The
canals from the river ran everywhere.
and mosques and gardens rose togeth-
er, till the palace Of the great Caliph
was empowered In fragrance that was
all the more wonderful because Of thu
parching desert just beyond the walls,
City Built Of Brick.
The city, like all In the great valley,
was built Of brick. There Is no stoEe
for miles around the rivers. and wood
is equally scarce. except for the way
ing date palms which crown the vii