The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1923-03-09

during the golden age OF Babylon,
rapidly dcterioratcd.
Under the AbbaSSid CaliphS. with Il
combination OF Arabic and Persian
culture. Bagdad WAS founded on the
1igriS in the very center OF the river
plain-the splendid, gay. wicked Bag
dad of the Arabian Nights. Mcsopo-
tamia'S prosperity. though much less,
was still relatively great. and Bagdad
was for Il while the metropolis OF the
world. its inhabitants at one time
numbering 2,000,0OO souls.
Declined Under Turkish Ru'c.
When The Turks got possession Of
the Caliphate and carried its seat on
TO the west, Bagdad withrrcd: and
under Turkish rule the TigriS and
EuphrateS valley entered it's darkest
period. The few canals that had con
tinued To function property joined
those that long befor, had fallen into
disrcpair, becoming cloGged or break
ing their banks and causing floods.
Much of the ~jncomparably fertile soil
became and has remained until today
bare plain or ooZy swamp. Only a
small percentage Of the rich valley
has for generations produced any
crops.
After the Young Turks came into
power in 1908 reclamation work was
undertaken in the TiSris and Eu-
pirates plain ana some Roadway was
made. Since the British occupied Bag
dad in 1917 this work laS been carried
| much farther.
MCSul is one Of the cities Of AIeso-
potamiu which entertained high cx-
pectationS Of revived commercial inn
portance aS Il result Of The completion
Of the Bagdod railway. Il WAS Brought
suddenly into. tho foreground OF the
Wc:ld war by the Russian operations
in 1916.
This town OF about @O,0GO people,
three-fourth Of whom are MoslpmS, is
situated on the right bank of tile Ii.
girls, 220 miles above Bagtlad ana Just
opposite the extensive ruins Of the
great ASSyrian capital OF Nineveh.
The great mosque, with its odd lean
ing minaret, is the chief architectural
feature OF this otherwise unimpressive
looking city With its crumbling lime
stone walls enclosing cemeteries that
occupy almost rs much space rs the
labitations of the living.
Mosui's Peculiar Bridge.
One of the physical peculiarilies of
Mosul is the bridge over the Tigris,
nonpn.ttnr thic .nnfip,n p,l,,I "A
ancient Nineveh with the ruins OF tho
parent city. One-siXth Of the bridge
is IN ordinary span which joins the
right bank and Il small island. Beyond
the island the traveller crosses the
wider branch OF the river by means
OF Il p0ntoon or boat bridge. AS the
high waters of May reccdc the Tigrls
Uncover the silt-enriched islands
around MosUl, ana by mid-summer
there is IL bountiful harvest of melons
and other fruit
Among the places Of interest pointed
out 10 the traveller in this section Of
Mesopotamla is the tomb OF Jonah,
on the left bank of the river. recall
ing wildly tn mind the history of the
mighty metropolis. founded, supposed
ly, by Minus and the famed Semi.
ramis more than two Thousand years
before the Christian era.
Mosul has undergone many vicissi-
tudes since its capture by Tie Arabs
I'm the Seventh century. II achieved
its greatest prosperity during the lie
cline OF the ciliphatc. Syrlans and
Seljuks held 1t successfully during the
Tenth and Eleventh centuries, after
which cane n final flare of splendor
under the rulership OF the remarxpble
atabes general, Zengi.
For a short time during Inc Seven
teenth century Mosul was occupied by
the Persians, but IL was soon restored
and remained subject 10 the Ottoman
empire up to the time of its occtipa'
: ton during the Wor!G @Gr. :,