CHAPTER XXIII.

State of the Ruins of Babylon.--Cause of the Disappearance of Buildings.--Nature of original Edifices.--Babylonian Bricks.-- The History of Babylon.--Its Fall.--Its Remarkable Position.-- Commerce.--Canals and Roads.--Skill of Babylonians in the Arts.--Engraved Gems.--Corruption of Manners, and consequent Fall of the City.--The Mecca Pilgrimage.--Sheikh Ibn Reshid.-- The Gebel Shammar.--The Mounds of El Hymer--of Anana 419