Chapter 6

[38]Fig. 6, V; and see further, p. 58, n. 1.

[39]The present crude brick walls of the Ḳaṣr fortifications date from his reign or from that of his father.

[40]The meaning ofnimittiis not quite certain.

[41]In 648b.c.; see further, Chap. VIII.

[42]Figs. 7 and 8, A and 1-3. Fig. 7 gives the ground-plan of this corner of the citadel. In Fig. 8 the quay walls and fortification-walls are given in section along the north front, looking from W. to E. In Fig. 8 the quay-wall "2" cannot be shown, as it is practically a westward extension of "I."

[43]A.

[44]It was built by Sargon within the last five years of his reign, when, after his signal defeat of Alerodach-baladan in 710b.c., he ruled Babylonia as an Assyrian province. He did not ascend the throne, but contented himself with the title "Governor (shakkanuku) of Babylon," though he claimed the older title of "King of Sumer and Akkad." See further, Chap. VIII.

[45]Cf. Delitzsch's translation in Koldewey, "Babylon," p. 139; Engl. ed. p. 138. Elsewhere in the building-inscriptions the Ishtar Gate is named as belonging to Imgur-Bêl and Nimitti-Bêl.

[46]E and F in Figs. 7 and 8. In Fig. 7 it will be seen that there are remains of a building (I) at the western end of the two walls, between them and the quay-wall B. This may have been the quarters occupied by the Captain of the Wall.

[47]Nos. 1-3 in Fig. 7.

[48]On the meaning of the name, see below,p. 36.

[49]E and F in Figs. 7 and 8.

[50]See above, p. 23, Fig. 3, Z; cf. also, p. 24, n. 1.

[51]Cf. Delitzsch's translation in "Babylon," p. 135 f.

[52]See above, p. 33.

[53]See above, p. 34.

[54]Its employment with the determinativenâru,"river" or "canal," does not prove that it was at this time a canal in the strict sense. According to the explanation offered in the text, it would have been a section of the river, including an open basin and probably a canal. In earlier periods it may have been simply a canal, which led off from the river at this point.

[55]See above, p. 28.

[56]See above, p. 30, Fig. 6, N.

[57]On a foundation-cylinder from Sippar in the British Museum (No. 91114; A. H. 82—7—14, 1042) Nebuchadnezzar writes: "For the protection of E-sagila and Babylon, that sandbanks(pu-ri-im)should not form in the bed of the Euphrates, I caused a great fortification to be made in the river, of bitumen and burnt-brick. Its foundation I laid in the abyss, and its head I raised mountain-high"; cf. Ball, "Troc. Soc. Bibl. Arch.", X., May 1888, Pl. IV., Col. ii., ll. 19-24, and Langdon, "Neubabylonischen Königsinschriften," p. 106 f.

[58]See p. 30, Fig. 6, T, and p. 32, Fig. 7, N.

[59]Fig. 6, P, R. It re-entered the river close under the citadel-wall, for its outlet has been found in the later river-wall of Nabonidus. It was perhaps the canal called in the inscriptions Libil-khegalla, "May it bring abundance." It will be seen from the plan that the remains of the canal to the south-east show a narrow channel (P), less than three metres in breadth, but widening westward of the Sacred Road (G) into a broad basin (R). This represents a reconstruction, probably of the time of Neriglissar, who built a bridge for the road across the canal. Formerly the road crossed the canal by a dam with walled embankments, of which traces have been found below the canal-walls. Beneath the embankment the water probably flowed through grated sluices like these spanning Nebuchadnezzar's narrow channel between his river-fortification and the citadel.

[60]See above, p. 30, and cf. Fig. 6, V.

[61]I., 181.

[62]If we except the foundations of the Ishtar Gate, this door is the only structure recovered on the site of Babylon which gives us an idea of what a building looked like above ground-level. Elsewhere the ground-plan is our only guide.

[63]See p. 30, Fig. 6, D.

[64]Fig. 6, C.

[65]Col. vii., 1. 34.

[66]Fig. 6, A—C.

[67]Fig. 6, e and f. The hatched wall, which runs between them (g), was a temporary containing wall, also of crude brick.

[68]See above, p. 30, Fig. 6, E.

[69]East India House Inscription, Col. vii., 1. 61—Col. viii., 1. 18; cf. Rawlinson, "Cun. Inscr. West. Asia," Vol. I., pl. 57, and Langdon, "Neubabylonischen Königsinschriften," p. 130 f.

[70]Fig. 6,a.

[71]A, B and C.

[72]Fig. 6, J.

[73]Markedbandcon the plan.

[74]See further, Chap. V.

[75]Fig. 6, B.

[76]Such jars, or alabastra, were highly esteemed; and the royal factory need not surprise us, since the king not only employed them for his own use, but sent the larger sort away as presents. In the Persian period we know that Xerxes despatched some as royal gifts, inscribed with his own name and titles, as far afield as Egypt and the western coast of Asia Minor.

[77]See above, p. 28, Fig. 5.

[78]See Fig. 6, F; this portion of the ground-plan of the palace is given on a larger scale in Fig. 9.

[79]Fig. 9,b, candd.

[80]Fig. 9,fandg.The courts (numbered on the plan 1-3) are square like the small courts or light-wells in the rest of the palace, and like them were evidently left open in order to give light and air to the chambers round them. In the Persian period one of them (No 1) was roofed over wholly or in part, as the bases for two pillars, formed of palm-trunks, are still in place, which were clearly intended to support roof-beams. These are indicated by solid circles on the plan.

[81]See above, p. 30, Fig. 6,d.

[82]See p. 42, Fig. 9,e.

[83]Fig. 9, 1. This is the court roofed in during the Persian period (see p. 44, n. 1), evidently to secure the king a second covered passage-way when passing from the Throne Room or from some of its adjoining chambers to the private palace.

[84]See below, p. 62 f.

[85]Fig. 11, I.

[86]B. in Fig. 6 and 11.

[87]Markedhon the plans.

[88]Fig. 11,mandn.

[89]In Fig. 11 the reference letterl., to indicate the building, is marked along the gangway.

[90]It is marked on the plan, and lies between the entrancemand the south-east corner of the building.

[91]Theκρεμαστὸς παράδεισοςof Berossus, theκρεμαστὸς κῆποςof Ctesias and Strabo, thepensiles hortiof Curtius Rufus; their descriptions are quoted at length by Koldewey, "Babylon," pp. 95 ff., Engl, ed., pp. 90 ff.

[92]Koldewey's explanation, that the total circuit of the building has been confused with the length of a single side, need not be invoked, in view of the natural tendency of ancient writers to exaggeration in such matters, especially when reproducing measurements at second or third hand.

[93]This objection seems to me to outweigh any correspondence in details between the architectural structure of the Vaulted Building and the texts of Curtius Rufus or Diodorus.

[94]For the probable reason for this practice in temple-construction, see below, p. 63.

[95]See above, pp. 31 ff.

[96]Nebuchadnezzar has left us a description of his building of the gateway in the "East India House Inscription," Col. v., 1. 55, Col. vi., 1. 21 (see Rawlinson, "Cun. Inscr. West. Asia," I., pl. 56, and cf. Langdon, "Neubab. Königsinschriften," p. 132 f.). He records how he decorated the building with wild oxen and dragons in enamelled brick, roofed it with cedar, and set up in it doors which he sheathed in copper and fitted with thresholds and hinges of bronze. He also set bronze oxen and dragons beside the entrances; bases for some of these appear to have been found by the excavators.

[97]Fig. 14, B and D. In the plan the structure of the gateway, built of burnt brick, is indicated in black. The adjacent fortification-walls, of unburnt brick, are hatched; so too are the areas covered by parts of the temple of Ninmakh and the palace.

[98]The outer gate-house (B) has doors 1 and 2; the doors of the inner gatehouse (D) are numbered 3 and 4.

[99]C.

[100]Fig. 15.

[101]Figs. 14 and 15, Nos. 3 and 4.

[102]See above, p. 28, Fig. 5.

[103]Nos. 1 and 2.

[104]Fig. 16.

[105]Fig. 15,aandb.

[106]Fig. 15,c.

[107]The adornment of the gate's foundations, as well as its upper structure, with reliefs, may in part be explained by their temporary use in flanking the roadway during construction. But the decoration of sacred buildings was not intended merely for the purpose of artistic display. It had a deeper significance, based on the belief that the use of sacred emblems ensured the protection of their tutelary deities. And this perhaps offers the best explanation of the presence of the Weather-god's Bull, and of Marduk's Dragon, upon the foundation-walls of the building. The lion, Ishtar's own emblem in her character as the goddess of war, was employed, as we shall see (cf. p. 58), upon the two walls leading to her gate.

[108]See Fig. 15; its position is indicated in the southern doorway (2) of the outer gate-house. This was the first part of the gateway to be discovered, as it stands higher than the rest.

[109]See Fig. 17.

[110]The same process was employed for the Lion Frieze to the north of the gateway; see below,p. 59.

[111]See Fig. 18, B, B. The fortified areas to the west of the roadway, which Nebuchadnezzar built out as direct extensions of the Southern Citadel upon its north side, are still in course of excavation. They have been christened the "Principal Citadel" and the "Northern Citadel" of the Ḳaṣr. The most interesting construction yet recovered there is a broad canal (Fig. 18, J), to the north of the palace-area of the Principal Citadel; this was evidently left uncovered, and it must have drawn its water-supply from the Euphrates through grated openings in the western wall. To the east of the roadway lines of defence were thrown out corresponding to those of the two later citadels. The foundations of their eastern wall, approximately parallel to the roadway, have been uncovered; but the whole of this area was destroyed by the Euphrates when it changed its course, and only the main fortification-walls can now be traced below the deposit of silt.

[112]The red enamel has decomposed and is now green. All the lions, like the enamelled beasts of the Ishtar Gate, were found in fragments.

[113]Compare the plan on p. 30, Fig. 6, where the Procession Street, in its course past the Citadel, is lettered G.

[114]Cf. Koldewey, "Die Pflastersteine von Aiburschabu in Babylon," pp. 4 ff. The limestone is termedshadâ,or "mountain-stone," and Koldewey suggests that it was quarried in the neighbourhood of Hit on the Euphrates. The quarries from which theturmina-banda,or breccia, was obtained have not yet been identified.

[115]The course of the Procession Street may be followed in the plan on p. 83, Fig. 31; it is there marked A. The Temple of Ishtar of Akkad is lettered H.

[116]Fig. 30, G.

[117]Fig. 30, E, F; compare also Fig. 27 on p. 74, with the same lettering.

[118]Fig. 27, the gate numbered 2.

[119]See Fig. 27, where the course of the road is lettered A, as in Fig. 30.

[120]Fig. 27, B and C.

[121]See above, p. 23, Fig. 3, where the position of the two temples is indicated by the letters N and M. The line of the city-wall along part of the south side is indicated by the mounds lettered B.

[122]For the position of the temple in relation to the Ishtar Gate, see above,p. 31, Fig. 6, where the temple is lettered J, and the Ishtar Gate H.

[123]See p. 64, Fig. 20,d.Compare also the reconstruction in Fig. 21.

[124]See below, p. 71.

[125]See below, p. 69.

[126]I., 183.

[127]Cf. Exodus, xx., 24-26.

[128]Cf. I. Kings, viii., 64.

[129]See I. Kings, vi., 20.

[130]Ezekiel, xli., 22.

[131]Cf. I. Samuel, 6 [7]. For a discussion of the evidence relating to the Hebrew practices, see especially the article "Altar," by W. E. Addis, in the "Encyclopædia Biblica," I., Cols. 123 ff.

[132]See below, p. 69 f.

[133]See p. 65, Fig. 21.

[134]In some temples, as in E-zida, the temple of Nabû at Borsippa, and in the earliest remains of E-sagila (see below,pp. 71ff.), semicircular fillets take the place of sunken grooves.

[135]Fig. 20, A. The description may be followed by means of the index letters and figures on the plan, which are explained below it.

[136]In Fig. 20 the passage is numbered 11 and 12.

[137]They are so narrow that they can hardly have served as store-chambers.

[138]See Fig. 21.

[139]The grave was hollowed out of the massive brickwork of the outer wall, in the extreme north-west corner of the palace.

[140]Cf. "Babylon," p. 118 f.; Engl. ed., p. 110 f.

[141]In the ground-plans, which are here reproduced, the same lettering is employed, as far as they correspond, for the principal features of each building.

[142]It will be noticed that this orientation is least apparent in E-sagila (see below, p. 74, Fig. 27), and in the temple of Ishtar of Akkad (Fig. 25).

[143]Cf. Weissbach, "Babylonische Miscellen," p. 20 f., II. 17-21.

[144]See above, p. 23, Fig. 3, E.

[145]See p. 74, Fig. 27, C.

[146]See Rawlinson, "Cim. Inscr. West. Asia," I., pl. 67, Col. I., 11. 21 ff., and cf. Bezold in Schrader's "Keilins. Bibl.," III., ii., p. 72 f., and Langdon, "Neubab. Königsinschriften," p. 210 f.

[147]The main entrance to the temple was approached through an annex on the east (Fig. 27, D), of which the external walls only have been traced by tunnelling, while its interior remains still unexplored. It will be noted in the plan that the main entrance to the annex is again on the east side, marked by a recess in the enclosing wall, almost opposite the main entrance to the temple. The approach to the annex was doubtless by a branch of the Procession Street, which must have left the principal roadway opposite entrance No. 4 of the Peribolos (see Fig. 27).

[148]Cf. "East India House Inscr.," Col. II., 11. 43 ff., and Col. III., 11. 21 ff.

[149]The κἀτω νηός, to distinguish it from that on the temple-tower.

[150]I., 183.

[151]Cf. Koldewey, "Babylon," p. 202 f.; Engl, ed., p. 207.

[152]Cf. Koldewey, "Die Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa," p. 43.

[153]See above, p. 23, Fig. 3, Q.

[154]Marked A, A, A in Fig. 27.

[155]Cf. Koldewey, "Babylon," p. 185; Engl, ed., p. 190. Some idea of the probable appearance of the immense enclosure may be gathered from the reconstruction in Fig. 28.

[156]Fig. 27, F.

[157]Fig. 27, B.

[158]During the recent excavation of the tower the outer facing of burnt brick has been uncovered along the north side, and it was seen to have been decorated with twelve tower-like projections. A considerable fragment was also found on the west side; and the exterior measurement of both these sides of the tower was ascertained to be ninety-one metres. The crude-brick core measures about sixty-one metres along its north front. See "Mitteil. der Deutsch. Orient-Gesellschaft," No. 53 (April, 1914), p. 18.

[159]The outer stairways were eight metres in breadth, and sixteen steps are still preserved of the one in the south-west corner; cf. "Mitteil. d. Deutsch. Or.-Gesells.," No. 53, p. 19.

[160]Fig. 27, II and J.

[161]Fig. 27, E.

[162]Fig. 27, G.

[163]Fig. 27, Entrance No. 2.

[164]This arrangement is suggested in Fig. 28.

[165]I., 181.

[166]See above, p. 75.

[167]See Fig. 29, G.

[168]C and D.

[169]The bronze step of Nebuchadnezzar, preserved in the British Museum (see above,p. 27, n. 1), seems to have come from the temple entrance in the south-west front, facing the temple-tower.

[170]Fig. 29, A.

[171]Fig. 29, B.

[172]In the engraving, in order that the wedge and the dragon should stand out in relief, the surface of the stone has been cut away round them. This gives the lowest story of the tower an appearance of having arched openings in it. It should, of course, be solid, like the other stages of the tower, the apparent openings being merely due to the exigencies of the engraver; cf. King, "Boundary-Stones and Memorial-Tablets in the British Museum." p. 25, n. 1. A photographic reproduction of this portion of the stone is given,op. cit.,Pl. xli.

[173]In the "Athenæum," Feb. 12th, 1876.

[174]See Scheil, "Esagil ou le temple de Bêl-Marduk," in the "Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres," vol. xxxix. (1914), pp. 293 ff.; and cp. the "Étude arithmétique et architectonique du texte," by Dieulafoy,ibid.,pp. 309 ff.

[175]See above, p. 74, Fig. 27, F.

[176]Fig. 27, E.

[177]According to M. Dieulafoy's theory, the tower itself was built in five stages, standing on a massive base (kigullu,) which in turn rested on a plinth, or terrace, extending over a great part of the temple-court; thus, including the temple at the summit of the tower, the eight stages of Herodotus would be explained.

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