Part 12

In the intermediate space, close to the narrower wall, but in the rubbish of the fallen walls, and not _in situ_, several foundation cylinders of Sardanapalus were found (Fig. 96), with the following text: “To Marduk, the King of all the Iggigi and Anunnaki, the creator of heaven and of earth, the predestinator of the final aim (?) who inhabits Esagila, the lord of Babil, the great lord. I Sardanapalus, the great king, the mighty king, the king of all, king of the land of Assur, king of the 4 quarters of the world, son of Esarhaddon, the great king, the mighty king, the king of all, king of the land of Assur, the ruler of Babil, king of Sumer and Akkad, the repopulator of Babil, builder of Esagila, renewer of the temples of all cities, who appointed the rites in them, and established their regular offerings which had come to an end, and restored the statutes and ordinances as of old, grandson of Sennacherib, the great king, the mighty king, the king of all, king of the land of Assur, am I.—Under my government the great lord Marduk held his entry into Babil with rejoicing and entered upon his dwelling in Esagila for ever. The regular offerings of Esagila and of the gods of Babylon I established, the protectorship of Babil I retained. In order that the strong should not injure the weak I appointed Shamashshumukin, my twin (?) brother to reign as king over Babil. Also I filled Esagila with silver and gold and precious stones, and made Ekua shining as the constellations in the sky.—At that time Imgur-Bel the dûr of Babil and Nimitti-Bel its šalḫû, which had become old and fallen, had sunk to the ground. In order to make the fortress of Esagila and the temple of Babil strong, with the might of my troops with all haste (?) I caused Nimitti-Bel its šalḫû with the art of the brick god to be made new and raised its city gateways. Door leaves I caused to be made and placed them in its doorways.—Future prince, under whose rule this same work may come to ruins, consult wise artists. Imgur-Bel the dûr, Nimitti-Bel the šalḫû make according to their ancient excellence. Behold the records of my name, and anoint them with oil and offer a sacrificial lamb, lay them near the records of thy name, so will Marduk hear thy petition. Whoever shall destroy the records of my name or of the name of my twin (?) brother with most evil deed, and will not lay the records of my name near the records of his name, him may Marduk the King of all behold with wrath and destroy his name and his seed in the land” (trans. by Delitzsch).

Thus the inscription refers expressly to the building of Nimitti-Bel alone, and it is important to discover from which of the two walls it came; that, however, cannot be ascertained at present. It is true that the cylinders lay close to the narrow outer wall, but the fact must be taken into consideration that at the foot of the broader wall there is a much larger bank of its own fallen rubbish than there is at the base of the narrow one, and that any object such as the cylinders which came from it would roll down the bank much nearer the narrow wall than that from which it fell. If the cylinder belonged to the thick wall, Nimitti-Bel must have been a double wall; if it belonged to the narrow wall, the thick one may be Imgur-Bel; certainty can only be obtained by further excavation, which must level the greater part of the thicker wall, in order to bring to light the records which are probably hidden somewhere inside it. Such levelling would so greatly disfigure the ruins that hitherto I have avoided entering on the work, but it must be done before the conclusion of the excavations. The difficulties connected with the mud walls on the Kasr are very similar, though with some slight differences. Here also the simplest solution would be to identify the thick wall with Imgur-Bel and the narrow one with Nimitti-Bel. Many difficulties, however, arise against doing so. The moat wall of Imgur-Bel lies to the west of the Southern Citadel, where these mud walls actually do not survive. According to the above-quoted cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar surrounded Babylon on all four sides with the wall Imgur-Bel, while the two mud walls enclosed an area which undoubtedly was open towards the west. Here also complete and decisive understanding of the problem must await further excavations.

At the site of the 14th tower from the north in the thick wall there is below a piece of wall the breadth of the tower, which consists of Nebuchadnezzar’s burnt bricks laid in asphalt. A small drain roofed with high-pitched slanting bricks pierces this block of brickwork and continues for 19 metres farther to the east. This block of brickwork, which is 4.2 metres broad and contains the channel, gives the impression of being a roadway, and therefore one would expect to find a gateway at this place in the city wall (Fig. 97). Both walls, however, are so ruined here that nothing of the kind can now be recognised. The brickwork of the drain is strengthened with small pilasters at the sides, which grip into the ground like teeth, and would clearly prevent any slipping of the walls which slope towards the east. The drain itself also continues westward.

Apart from this, on the entire length of 1½ kilometres of the city wall, there is no indication of any gateway. A short distance from the southern end there is a small mound with walls of burnt brick laid in asphalt, which may perhaps be the remains of a gateway, but which is not yet excavated.

Upon the ruins of the wall and near it there are numerous clay coffins, often as many as 30 between one tower and the next. They are widened with a bulge on one side, and many are anthropoid, and may belong to the Persian or latest Babylonian period.

The exploration of the inner city wall cannot be regarded as complete. We will now turn back to the Kasr to study the northern extension, which abuts on the Southern Citadel.

XXVI THE PRINCIPAL CITADEL

That part of the Kasr that is enclosed on the south by the two mud walls, and on the north by the deep valley in square 7 of the Kasr plan (Fig. 13), we call the Principal Citadel. It was enclosed by a fortification wall, which in the east ran by the side of the Procession Street and in the north turned westward in the great valley just mentioned, where it must have reached the Euphrates of that period. The Principal Citadel in this quarter is, however, only the outcome of a second scheme of Nebuchadnezzar, and the one that was actually carried out. The first scheme, which does not appear to have been carried out, only enclosed one half of the area which was later built upon. Of this we have found the remains of a thick wall in the centre of the Principal Citadel which was intended to form the northern end. It (_k_ 13) ran from west to east, and where it reaches the Procession Street it turned in a southerly direction to join the bastion of the fosse wall at the Ishtar Gate. The wall of burnt brick laid in pure asphalt is 17 metres thick, and is therefore one of the strongest and most massive fortification walls we possess. At the part already excavated there is a doorway which leads through the wall and looks like a long passage. On the north side there are outstanding towers; the extension to the west and eventually to the south we have not yet made out. It is only built to a height of 6.8 metres above zero, and at 4.25 it rests on a foundation banquette.

Of the second completed scheme a terrace of brick rubble was constructed over the entire area, of which the upper level lies at 8 metres above zero. On this terrace stand the foundation walls of the palace, which even now rise as high in parts as 15.5 metres. At about this height the ancient pavement must have been laid. The space between the foundation walls was built up with brick rubble. Thus, in comparison with the Southern Citadel, immense care has been bestowed on the regularity of the foundations. The area lies immediately north of the Arachtu wall, which points to the conclusion that the Principal Citadel was constructed in the bed of the original watercourse, and this explains the unusual form of foundations both here and in the western part of the Southern Citadel, which also overlapped the ancient Arachtu wall.

In the great courts round which the palace buildings are grouped, as in the Southern Citadel, the filling of brickwork is not arranged in a solid mass but in the form of long blocks about 2 metres in breadth and height. One course of these runs from east to west, the next above from north to south, as is clearly seen in _m_ 12, and again in the south-east corner.

The bright yellow bricks in the upper parts are some of the hardest and best of those struck by Nebuchadnezzar; 7– or 3–lined stamps are used almost exclusively. In the narrow, often scarcely measurable joints there is fine white lime mortar as hard as stone, and here and there matting or reeds, which, however, do no damage to the hardness of the brickwork. In the lower parts the bricks are redder and softer and the mortar is grey, less solid, and reddish at the edges. For this reason the brick robbers have here preferred to work underground in search of the lower bricks, which are more easily removed. Thus the high walls have been largely robbed of their supports, and they are now sunk and split, as though they had been flung together by an earthquake (Fig. 98).

During the progress of the building the details of the plan were frequently altered. Walls were thrown down and doors were displaced, so that at every 10th or 12th course a new plan was adopted. The royal builder must have insisted very specially and with great energy on his own wishes being carried out, for no architect would of his own free will alter plans so frequently during the course of building.

The decorations were still more splendid than those of the southern palace. Remains have been found of large reliefs consisting of a beautiful blue paste, similar to lapis lazuli. The figures were made up of separate pieces, each of which only contained a small part, such as a lock of hair. On the back of these separate pieces there was a prismatic addition, by which they were affixed to some background of which we know nothing.

Paving stones of white and mottled sandstone, limestone, and black basalt were used for the pavements, at any rate in the courts. They measure 66 centimetres square, and bear on their edges the name of Nebuchadnezzar, and in one case that of Evil-Merodach (Fig. 99). Here also the ceilings were not vaulted, but according to the inscription quoted later on, they consisted of cedar, cypress, and other wood. In the entrances stood gigantic basalt lions similar to those of Assyrian palaces; of these we have found immense paws and other portions in the north-east corner.

All these facts we have gained as the result of the comparatively trifling excavations hitherto undertaken. These are limited to the central portion with the thick wall mentioned above, a cutting against the east front, and a similar one against the north front and on the north-east corner, but they have occupied a great deal of time owing to the amount of rubbish, as much as 8 to 12 metres deep or more, which has had to be cut through. Limited as the work has been, it has already yielded abundant proofs of the treasures of art and learning that Nebuchadnezzar and his successors heaped up in this portion of the palace for the “amazement of mankind,” as the king states in his inscription. It must always be remembered in this connection that the Kasr has been burrowed over, not once or twice, but repeatedly by brick robbers, for it is not without reason that the mound bears in addition to the name Kasr that of Mudshallibeh, which means “the overturned.” Here in the Principal Citadel this is more apparent than in the Southern Citadel, for here not only the foundation walls but also the spaces between them, which in the Southern Citadel consisted chiefly of earth, have yielded a supply of the greedily-sought brick materials.

At the north-east corner (Fig. 100), in _q_ 8 of the plan, before our excavations began there was a great basalt figure of a lion trampling on a man who lay beneath him with his right hand on the flank of the animal, and the left on his muzzle. This latter has been chopped away by superstitious hands, and he is marked all over by the stones and flint balls that have been, and are still, flung at him; for he is regarded as the much-feared “Djin.” On one side the Arabs have dug out a deep hole in his flanks, which is now filled in with cement. The reason of this is as follows. A European once came here, and inquired about the lion, which he had probably read of in the books of earlier travellers. The Arabs showed it to him, and after looking at it attentively, he chose from among the small holes in the basalt the right one, into which he thrust a key and turned it, whereupon his hand was immediately filled with gold pieces. Having accomplished his practical joke the traveller went his way, unable as he was to speak Arabic. The worthy Arabs, however, in order to render the treasure available, hammered this hole in the lion, which must have caused them immense labour, for the stone is extremely hard. The figure is not completely carved, and is still little more than blocked out. It therefore looks more ancient than it really is, for it can scarcely be earlier than the time of Nebuchadnezzar (Fig. 101). People are divided as to its meaning. Some see in it Daniel in the lions’ den, and others Babylonia above defeated Egypt. But a concrete past is throughout this period never represented otherwise than in reliefs, and, on the other hand, it is foreign to Babylonian art to take as a basis the representation of an abstract idea.

Close to the lion but deeper down was found a fine large stela of white limestone, which the “governor of the lands of Sukhi and of the lands of Maër” caused to be made in his honour (Fig. 102). His name was Shamashresh-ussur, and his lands lay in the neighbourhood of the Khabur, on the Euphrates. He caused himself to be represented in the midst of the gods worshipped by him, and the name of each figure is inscribed close to it. In his left hand he holds the club with the rounded stone head, the same that is in use here to-day and called “Hattre.” When the club has the same shaped head in asphalt instead of stone it is called “Mugwar.” His right hand, which is clenched in votive fashion, is raised to the statue of Adad the weather god, who stands before him, with a long beard and long hair, and with shafts of lightning in his hand, and a feather crown on his head. His girdle is wound twice round his body, and then tucked in slanting, exactly as the town Arabs of to-day wear their girdles. Next to Adad stands the somewhat smaller statue of Ishtar. She is raising the right hand in greeting, and is leaning on the bow with her left, upon which her star Venus is resting. The arrangement of her hair differs from that of a man, as one lock hangs long in front of the ear. The third statue is largely broken away. The three great shields worn by the figures in front of the lower part of the body are remarkable, but they are found on representations of other divinities. They hang one above another, and are held in place from behind by ornamented bands. We must suppose them to be gold plates, and they do not occur on the dress of human beings. The statues stand on pedestals, which are decorated with a pattern representing mountains, rows of semicircular peaks which form the same scheme of decoration that the cotton-printer in Persia to-day uses to express mountains on his so-called “Perde” hangings. Other divinities beside these three are introduced by means of their emblems: Marduk by the shafted triangle on a pedestal, Nabu by his writing-stick, Shamash by the winged disc of the sun, which, however, is half broken away, and Sin by the new moon. The relief is worked in the flat level manner characteristic of the Assyrian provincial style of the seventh century B.C.

On the stone face surrounding this sunk relief there is a Neo-Babylonian inscription of many columns, which is thus epitomised by Weissbach: “It begins with a sudden invasion of neighbouring foes (the Tu’mânu people) who were some of them killed, and some overthrown (col. 2, 17–26). Restoration of the fallen canal of Suḫi and inauguration of the same by a trial voyage (2, 27–37). The planting of date palms and setting up of his throne in Ribaniš (2, 38–44). Founding and laying out of the town Gabbari-KAK. Malediction (col. 3). With this the inscription originally ended. The governor, however, continued his works of peace, the planting of palms and introducing of bees (?), and described these further in the 4th and 5th columns.” The stela was inserted in a plinth with the aid of a tenon at the base, as was always done with stelae. This one does not appear to have arrived in Babylon by peaceful methods. As a rule a prince would not have allowed any addition to be made to his inscription.

The ancient Hittite stela which was found to the east of the lion (Figs. 103, 104) must also be regarded as booty. On the front of the somewhat coarse-grained block of dolerite there stands the weather god (Teshup?), with the rays of lightning in his left hand, the axe in his right hand, and a sword in his girdle. He wears a short-sleeved garment, peaked shoes, and a remarkable cap with a knob at the top and horns or double rims at the sides, as well as bracelets and an anklet on the right foot. The lips are shaven, and a long lock of hair falls down on his shoulder. The rounded back of the stela contains a long, well-preserved inscription of Hittite hieroglyphs,—a script which is still undeciphered. There is a similar representation on the east side of the outer citadel gateway of Sendjirli, and no doubt our stela comes from the same region of Northern Syria. The style of its relief is between that of the citadel gateway and of the town gate of Sendjirli, and it may therefore be ascribed to the tenth century B.C. (see F. v. Luschan, _Ausgrabungen von Sendschirli_, iii.).

The same prolific site yielded also a basalt paving stone with an inscription that showed it to belong to the palace of Adad-nirari (ii.), the son of Asurdan, son of Tiglathpileser (Fig. 105). Whether this palace of Adad-nirari (911?–891) stood here or in Assyria cannot be proved. At any rate this paving stone appears to have been set in the Principal Citadel of Nebuchadnezzar as an object of interest.

Fifteen fragments of dolerite with inscriptions belong to stelae of the same kind as one that was found by brick robbers shortly before the beginning of our excavations, in the north-east corner of the Principal Citadel. It is an upright semi-cylindrical block inscribed on both sides, on which Nabonidus reports in detail on his endowment of temples in Babylon and other places (see Scheil, “Inscription de Nabonide,” in the _Recueil de travaux rel. à la philologie_, etc., xviii. p. 15). A block of dolerite which formed part of a thick large stela was found in _r_ 9 of the Kasr plan. It contains in Neo-Babylonian writing a duplicate of the famous inscription which Darius Hystaspes (521–485) engraved on the rocks of Bagistana in Persian, Susian, and Babylonian.

The numerous fragments of building cylinders which have been found on the Kasr, naturally refer principally to the building of the palace, the Ishtar Gate, and the fortification walls. The greater number are Nebuchadnezzar’s, but there are a few of Sardanapalus, Nabopolassar, Nabonidus, and Neriglissar.

A number that were found actually in the Principal Citadel are of buildings outside the Kasr, such as Etemenanki, and of buildings outside Babylon. Thus we have an inscription of Nabonidus of E-ḫul-ḫul in Haran, one of E-bar-ra in Sippara, and one of Nebuchadnezzar from E-ul-la in Sippara, and also an E-an-na of Sardanapalus and others. It appears therefore that such documents were systematically collected and preserved in the Principal Citadel.

Any one who compares the comparatively small area that is excavated with the extent of that which is yet untouched, and realises how much has already been found, will see how much yet remains to be done and acquired in the Principal Citadel, apart from the gain to science that would ensue from laying open the palace buildings.

The palace did not extend quite as far as the fortification wall on the north. The foundations of the front consist of excellent brickwork laid in asphalt and reeds, while in the foundations behind broken brick laid in lime mortar is employed throughout.

Between the palace and the fortification walls there was an open strip in which a wide canal, originally 13 metres broad, which led from the Euphrates, flowed from here almost to the eastern wall. Smaller conduits, 1.2 metres wide, roofed over with tilted bricks, branched off from it through the massive foundations of the Principal Citadel to supply it with water. They were connected with the palace level by quadrangular well shafts. The embankment of the canal in front of the palace and of the northern fortification wall, projecting from their foundations, formed a rampart 2 metres broad, and at this level we have fixed our zero, which serves as the starting-point for the level of the entire city and its buildings. The water-level of Nebuchadnezzar’s time was at about this height, for here the projecting courses of the coverings of the smaller conduits begin, and the pavement in the door of the northern wall is only some 1.5 metres higher than our zero.

It is obvious that the great canal was open above. It was later replaced by a smaller one only 1.8 metres wide, which runs beside its southern bank wall and was certainly covered in. At this later period a broad road 9.5 metres wide led between the palace and the north wall, which consisted of three brick courses laid in asphalt. Upon it were Parthian houses and brick graves. We cut into them with our trench at the mound “Atele” (_n_ 8). On this hill, which rises to 18 metres above zero, stood in Oppert’s time a nebek tree; the Arabs believed that this had grown out of a tent stake that Ali had driven in here. From a shoot of this tree the solitary nebek sprang that still flourishes in the long low region of the Northern Citadel.

For a time I held the opinion that this canal was the Libil-ḫigalla, because bricks with the Aramaic stamp “Libilḫi” were found here. Later on, however, similar bricks were found on other parts of the Kasr, which rendered my earlier reasons fallacious.