Chapter 10

The most important chamber in the building was the long gallery or saloon, which had been called the "Hall of Assembly." The various parts of this palace included the royal apartments, the harem, and the temple, with its great seven-stage tower or observatory. The very extensive and systematic explorations carried out by the French explorer M. Botta had restored the remains of one of the most beautiful of the Assyrian palaces. The usurpation of the Assyrian throne by Sargon the Tartar in B. C. 721 placed in power a new dynasty, who were lavish patrons of the arts and who made Nineveh a city of palaces. Probably on account of his violent seizure of the throne, Sargon was afraid to reside in any of the existing places at Nineveh--though he appears for a short time to have occupied the old palace; he built for himself Calah, at a short distance to the northeast of Nineveh, the palace town of Dun Sargina, "the fort of Sargon," one of the most luxurious palaces--the Versailles of Nineveh. The ruins of this palace were buried beneath the mound of Korsabad, and were explored by M. Botta on behalf of the French Government, and the sculptures and inscriptions are now deposited in the Louvre. Compared with all the Assyrian palaces, later or earlier, this royal abode of Sargon stands alone. The sculptures were more magnificent, while warmth and color were obtained by the extensive use of colored bricks. Some of the cornices and friezes of painted bricks, of which Mr. Boscawen exhibited drawings, were most rich in ornament. The chief colors employed were blue and yellow, and sometimes red and green. Having described the general construction of this remarkable building, Mr. Boscawen proceeded to speak of the character of Assyrian art during the golden age (B.C. 721-625), and he illustrated his remarks by the exhibition of several large drawings. One of the most elaborate of these was the embroidery on the royal robe. The pectoral was covered with scenes taken from Babylonian myths. On the upper part was Isdubar or Nimrod struggling with the lion; below this a splendid representation of Merodach, as the warrior of the gods armed for combat against the demon of evil, while the lower part was covered with representations of the worship of the sacred tree. The general character of Assyrian art, its attention to detail, and the wonderful skill in representing animal life, as exhibited in the hunting scenes, was next spoken of, and Mr. Boscawen concluded by a brief description of the royal library, a most important part of the great palace at Nineveh.

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