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Show C1ET BABYLON. Though cpntolnlnjc two million InliabitanrsT Babylon was not closely built ti like .London or I'aris, but the bouses of the city were much scattered, and parts of the town had n neaiI-9uUma aspect. as-pect. Great areas of pasture land also wen included within the walls, so that the city could well-nlghsup-portlU inhabitants bytho product of Its own rich acre. When Cyrus, King of 1'ersla, laid siege to the city, in thu sixth century before Chri&t, "Babylon was provisioned for twenty years, and could undoubtedly un-doubtedly have held out fornn indefinite in-definite period had It not twenfor the careienness or treachery that gave the fou au entrance. Tho most extraordinary architectural architec-tural work of Babylon before its fail was the "Hanging Gardens," hlch King Xebuchadnezzer erected for his wife, Amytis. Southern Syria is a region of most Infernal heat 'In summer, inasmuch as it i a level plain and the climate ttrul-troplcal. And thus it was that Xebuchadnez-zer Xebuchadnez-zer undertook the task of building for hhroval bride nso.t of terraceu irardtn far above tho let el of the earth. It wan au artificial mountain moun-tain -SO) feet In height, and reared -a it Ii Urracts restiugupon columns, the whole bound together by a wall twenty-two fitt thick. Uu the upirmot terrace were reservoirs for irrigation, supiilled with river water by au engine worked by laves. The terraces, thus raised upon columns, were overlaid with earth to a depth mj tilde til-de ut to t-upport the largest trcesr, and" artlllual streams, with llsh in them, flowed along the ter-nice?, ter-nice?, descenillog from one to another an-other in miniature cataracts. When Cyrus sat di u before Uie city to besiege it the Babyluuians laughed at him. They had proisIons enough to lost them iwenty years and they knew that all the strength of the Persian army could nevergU tlirou jh their impregnable im-pregnable walls. Unhappily the Babylonians had a weakness for oing on periodical sprees. On the night uf the capture King BeUIiaz-zar BeUIiaz-zar was personally conducting a most gigantic jamboree, in which the whole metropolis was joining wiUi enthusiasm. The guards w ere careless and Cynn took Uio opportunity oppor-tunity lu drain -oil" the Kupbrate into the distant artificial lake. Then tie marched his soldiers into the city along tho bed cf tho stream, tud, finding thu river gates open, firnceedtd to the Aery Uoor of the palace, where an orgy was progre-j mg. BeUhazzar came forward, .word in hand, and was slain. By way of parenthesis, a few curious little facts about Babylon are north mentioning. There was me large tribe among thn people hlch give to Its w omen authority, tliemen looking to them forcontrol. is when ordinarily look to their ausband. The rato ol Interest marged for money, as shown by tables dug up, was three, four, and five per cent. Frctmcnt memoranda nave been discovered In clay, as to full prices and cut prices. A tiniplc ystem of divorce vai'provldej. If either party did not Ukeone'j m,atc. the match could bo. 'declared OH at any time by returning the purchase money, acd cancel-mg cancel-mg tne marriage contract. There werenopbjslcians In Babylon, but the tick were brought or came to the marset place w here their fellow citizens cit-izens were obllnl by law to In--tpect them .and to give advice, in ca.e they had ever suffered similar troubles. Cyrus did not destroy Babylon after he captured the city. But the town ceasing to be the abode of dominion, do-minion, shrunk, and about W B. C, a large part of its Inhabitants migrated and much of lis enclosed territory was plawed up. What re-nainsofihucitr re-nainsofihucitr I; fount (oday in the shape or ' uiorruous roofinds hlcli archanlogUtt are fond of tll;gmg into, Ke. |
