CHAPTER XIX.

ASSYRIANS. — BABYLON.

Assyrians — their name rests chiefly on Nineveh and Babylon. — Chaldæans at Babylon — order of priests. — Their astronomical observations. — Babylonia — its laborious cultivation and fertility. — City of Babylon — its dimensions and walls. — Babylon — only known during the time of its degradation — yet even then the first city in Western Asia. — Immense command of human labor possessed by the Babylonian kings. — Collective civilization in Asia, without individual freedom or development. — Graduated contrast between Egyptians, Assyrians, Phenicians, and Greeks. — Deserts and predatory tribes surrounding the Babylonians. — Appendix, “Nineveh and its Remains,” by Mr. Layard. 290-307