From Berlin to Bagdad and Babylon 1000078517

FROM

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

AND

BABYLON

BY

BOOKS

(H.

BERLIN

FROM

BAGDAD

SOUTH

UP

THE

BABYLON

AND

EL

OF

QUEST

THROUGH

ZAHM

MOZANS)

J.

TO

THE

A.

J.

DORADO

AMERICA'S

ORINOCO

SOUTHLAND

AND

DOWN

THE

MAGDALENA

ALONG

THE

ANDES

AND

AMAZON

WOMAN

IN

GREAT

me

INSPIRERS

SOENCE

DOWN

THE

TO

BERLIN

FROM

BAGDAD

BABYLON

AND

BY

THEREVJ.A.ZAHM,C.S.C.,Ph.D.,LL.D. (h. j. mozans) OF

KEMBER AND

OTHER

"along

THE LEARNED

THE

ANDES

AUTHORS'

CLUB,

LA

SOCIETIES; AND

DOWN

SOCltTi

AUTHOR

OF

AMAZON,"

THE

FRANQAISE

"UP

THE

DE

PHYSIQUE,

ORINOCO

"THROUGH

THE

AND

DOWN

AMERICA'S

SOUTH

ARCADIA THE

SOUTHLAND,"

ERHOALE

i^m\i,aa^^a^

D. NEW

AND

APPLETON YORK

:

:

LONDON

COMPANY :

:

OF

MCMXXII

ROME,

MAGDALENA," STCt

D.

BY

1922,

CO?YtIGHT,

AND

APPLETON

COMPANY

^3

niVTBS

1"

TU

UMITSO

tTATU

07

AMtltCA

TO

THE

BEST

LOYAL

EVER

CHARLES

OF

A

HAS

CENTURY

AFFECTIONATELY

ITS

COMPLETION

HAD

SCHWAB

EVERY

THE

DURING

OR

IS

M.

HOME

WRITTEN

HAVE

INSPIRING

HOSPITABLE

WHOSE

IN

FRIENDS

AND

MRS.

AND

MR.

OP

LAST

BOOK

I

QUARTER

EITHER

ITS

THIS

DEDICATED

VOLUME

CEPTION IN-

OF

PARAPHRASE

VERSES

FROM

Edwin

Arnold

By

In

I have

lands

many

And

my

many

And

nowhere

gathered From

from

I said

Nile

To

to

come

if

But,

There

Whiter

words

these

from

I

the

Pleasaunce

a

have

Lords

ways.

ing show-

of honey,

empty

were

gold. far

than

sweeter

things

marvellous

at

and

of

days:

my

pearls and

cups

coral,

or

giftless, and

country

and

than the

And

his

treasures

honey,

musk-hags,

and

hands

were

from

not

reed,

that

pearls and

and

brings

all

fruit of

my

of

seed?'*

my

no

token

home;

at

from

Sun

the

come!

art

some

green

cardamum

loath

was

hear

silk, or

grain;

secret, **0h

traveller

sweet

Kashmiri or

I

the

rose-hlooms,

journeys

stayers

is the

where

in

soul

should the

gain;

granaries

from

we

to

the

I

hut

and

pleasure

my

leen.

have

there

was

gardens

who

love

Or

corner

up

to

is meet

For

lovers

thousand

a

thou, It

and

hundred

a

And

and

a

seen;

companions,

friends

teachers

and

and

wandered, listened, and

and

wondered,

SADI

SHAIKH

brighter

Sultanas

brought

to

he

told.

than

feast. for

of Truth,

love-tokens, in

my

East.

FOREWORD following

The and

impressions

one

of

of what The

Asia.

and

West

Darius

Asurbanipal,

of

The student

Alexander

of

had

had

intense

an

of

civilization of and

the The

tourist

journey of

**the

as

East

with

the

the

days

tourist

and

in

Harun-

as

peoples who

one

history

between

the

of

a

condition

as

the

reaches

Goltz.

but

of the

"

passed,

portion

of the

oldest back

the

to

successive of

the has and

the

in

has

been

and

waters head-

the

Tigris

regard

most

of of

caliphs.

and And

left its monuments and

what

through But

and

the

Eden. the

the

It

of of

colonnades

these

et

has

and

and

any

other

and

carry

the

the

the

rians, Assy-

Saracens tions civiliza-

consecutive

its

of the

witnessed

of

the

more

origo

imperial splendor and

of

traditions

Babylonians Romans

each

of

fons

student

Bosphorus

than

whose

usually

past

the

theater

It is the

is

to the

eventful

connects

civilization

a

would

development

surface.

Garden

Greeks

palaces

long

humanity's

"

bent

East."

which

civilizations the

made

belt

Gulf

earth's

civilization

pleasure been

with

Persian

changes

under

the

der

present

interest

the

of

von

a

dered ren-

from

from those

in the

lower

unchangeable

storied

greater

us

as

intervene

the

on

having

as

is conversant

Near

and

been

of

Euphrates.

spoken who

which

lands

Danube

the

ordinary

of my

lifelong

and

the

I

which

through

countries

the

capital

nations

the

intellectual

social, economic, religious and

"

crumbling

has

Kolmar

only

not

which

not

between

greatest

to

and

I made

interested

one

as

"

and

question

in

journey

the

of armies

march

Bouillon

de

Godefroy

al-Rashid,

the

of

the

by

and

that

was

made

journey

Europe

migrations

the

by

observations

recent

a

long-ago

I followed

route

the

to

in the

was

famous East

of

greatest capitals

the

remains

during

received

of

result

the

are

pages

"

priceless

its temples gems

of

FOEEWORD

X

art. plastic

of these

Some

magnificentvestigesof

a

glorious

Palmyra, are still standing in the heart of to the roving the desert and have long since been abandoned the rapacious jackal. Others, like those of Bedouin or and Nineveh, were long buried Ephesus and Pergamum under sand and clay and have only recentlybeen unearthed by the pick and the spade of the explorer and the archgeolothe lonely plains on found, whether gist. But wherever and hillsides of Anatolia, or in the solitudes of the Syrian for the studious and Mesopotamian deserts,they possess traveler an attraction that is not offered in the same degree past,like those

by

of

other section of the wide

any

world.

mysterious ruins in the steaming jungles of the chillyplateau of Bolivia, which Yucatan or on speak of an enigmaticrace of quite alien to our own, the remains antiquityeverywhere found in the lands between Stamboul of forms and designs with which and Babylon are have we been familiar from our youth and which belong to the same Unlike

the

civilization from

which

is derived

own

our

the civilization

"

that had

its origin in the city-states of ancient

that

subsequently introduced

was

soldiers of Alexander

and

into western

Seleucus

and

there for centuries by the legionariesof To

the student

along the in many

which

respects, like that of At

museum.

every

granite column remains

tomb

of or

some

Roman

which

was

one

he meets

turn

enthrallingfascination. capitalor architrave in

Oreek

I selected

Now a

it is

nomad's

"

Asia

and

by

the

firmlymaintained imperialRome.

traveling through the Near route

Greece

East

cially espe-

"

the experience is,

passing through

a

vast

something

of

rare

remnant

of

a

marble

a

forlorn

a

hut; then it is

and

squalid Turkish village"all that stately temple or sumptuous theater of greatness. Again it is the fragment of a

near

a

erected

to the memory

of

one

who

played

important role in his day, but whose name and achievements have long since been forgotten. And hovering over these crumbling monuments of a misty past are legends innumerable, but all of entrancing human interest" an

an

FOREWOED

interest that is accentuated

inscriptioncarved findingof a terra

Latin

by the

that

characters

Esarhaddon

Minor

there

fondest

and

memories.

No

and

understood

back

to

the

or

marble

granite or

cotta tablet covered

Greek

a

with

or

cuneiform

stirringreigns

of

people especiallythose of Asia author always loved to mingle and retain the hospitalityhe will ever

the

kindness

of whose

a

slab of

the

are

whom

with

"

in

discoveryof

Sennacherib.

or

then

And

the

by

one

carry

xi

"

people

that

misrepresented

more

I know than

has

the

been

less

trious, gentle,indus-

of Anatolia. But of these I home-loving Osmanlis shall speak at length when relatingmy experiences in Asia

Minor.

Traveling and

student, I have

a

as

But

for students.

to record

at the

I have

observations

my

also written

and

same

as

time

impressions

a

student

endeavored

so

as

to make

general reader as well. And while I have given prominence to subjects that speciallyappealed of value to others to myself, these will,I trust,not be devoid of some wish to have in popular form who account an may of the most famous cities and peoples of the Near East when it was in full bloom in its infancy, or when civilization was the beneficent influence of Helenism and Christianity. under them

As

of interest

many

I

to the

parts

of this volume

confined

are

controversial

in character,

giving simply the results of my observations and impressions, but I have own taken of them pains to corroborate by the conclusions eminent scholars have devoted and investigatorswho to all the more important subjects long and careful study, and whose opinions,therefore, are entitled to specialweight. And that the reader, if so minded, nmy be able to control statements and deductions I have invariably given my references

have

to my

In the matter

not

myself

to

authorities. of the

orthography of Turkish and Arabic I have had the same names proper experience as Howorth refers to when he writes in his History of the Mongols: There are hardly two authors whom I have consulted who **

FOREWORD

zu

the

spell

is

spelling the the

in

names

different

so

there

that

Arabic

and

has

standard

this

I

have,

the

IhmerobOn,

I

the

am

the

philologists, satisfaction

Lobbeto,

but of

I

being

Pa.

shall,

I

trust,

**understanded

in

aim,

intelligible.

myself

Turkish is

adopted

to

the

have

this

quently, conse-

I

by In

encyclopedias.

and

exposed

aware,

sole

orthography

dictionaries

of

My

myself

from

system

therefore,

accuracy,

make

to

transliteration

impossible.

not

followed

English

Oriental in

if

been

accordingly,

for

nize recog-

arises

accepted

generally

no

their

to

This

aspects/'

Scientific

names.

difficult,

respect

yet

as

scholars

English

among

is

often

very

impossible

nearly

is

it

various

its

and

way,

same

that

under

name

fact

the

have, our

doing

criticism

compensation of

the

people."

of

CONTENTS FAOR

CHAPTER

I.

On

II.

The

Euxine AND

III.

Roma

IV.

The

Blue

Beautiful

the

Bosphorus

the

and

1

Danube

Story,

in

Legend

35

Nova

51

Hellespont

Homer's

and

76

Troy .

V. VI.

Cradle

The

of

Life

Home

Myth

Osmanlis

in

Anatolia

121

VIII. IX. X.

In

Footsteps

the

In

.

151

C7

Past

Crusaders

the

171 .

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Campestris

Cilicla.

Historic

Islam

.

Railway

Bagdad

The

.

94

.

VII.

.

Osmanlis

the

the

of

.

193

Present

and

220 .

XI.

Along

Trade

the

Routes

of

Near

the

253

East .

XII.

From

Euphrates

the

to

.

278

Tigris

the

....

Churches

XIII.

The

XIV.

Nineveh

XV.

of

Its

and

Floating

Down

East

the

303

Wonders

341

Tigris

the

in

a

370

Kelek .

XVI. XVII. XVIII.

.

.

Bagdad

402

Motoring

in

Garden

the

of

Eden

437

Babylon

471

Index .

.,

.

.

..

,.,...

Xlll

517 ..^

..,

.

.

.

BERLIN

FROM

TO

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

CHAPTER

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

eight beim

Nacht

zu

die

in

Dichtend

DANUBE

BLUE

dann

ich

Wenn

St

I

alleine

Wellen

schau% Mondenscheine

hlanken

Wasserfrau

Auf

die

schmucke

Ails

der

Danau,

Aus

der

schonen,

hlauen

Danau? Beck

Ratisbon

From

Berlin few

have

years,

world!

How

powers

for

of

intrigue,

nations

plunged

welter of

frightful

most

No

portion

has

as

the

once

1

When arises

from

the

most

the

world

narrow

meditation in

the

beautiful

bright blue

the during moonlight

*s

of

surface

so

many

strip

which

capital

of

Danube. 1

civilized

the

of

of

and

tell of

a

violated,

horrors

of

the

!

entire

so

history tions revolu-

great

connects

what

Harun-al-Rashid, I

for

battles

treaties

the

in

rival

prolonged

they

wars

solitary night, pretty water

the

how

and

miseries

destructive

witnessed

that

foiled,

the

palm-embowered in

there

of has

humanity

of

and

ambitions into

and

How

supremacy!

of

Europe

sanguinary

countless

commercial

and

military

past

recall

and

expansion and

struggles

the

schemes

Macchiavellian

evoke

territorial

diplomatic

of

during

throughout

reechoed

and

they

words,

chancelleries

the

stirred

echoed

have

they

these

How

Bagdad!

to

Budapest

to

contemplate from nymph

the the

was near

waves,

Danube,

reputed birthplaceof our metropolis of the HohenzoUerns the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

2

the

with

race,

proud Niflheim.

distant

far

in

once

swept Babylonians and Assyrians,Persians and Greeks, Saracens and Mongols in it surged of rapine and conquest. And across their careers and Goths, Turks and Tartars, the countless hordes of Huns belt have

this restricted

Across

during that protractedmigration of nations from the arid steppes of Asia to the fertile plainsof Europe. And across it,too, at the head of their victorious armies, forced their

projectorsof

all

and

Alexander

to Timur

because

the first book

As

from

domination

world

way

Ashurbanipal

and

Napoleon. tion a boy no part of the world possessed a greater fascinafor me than Babylonia and Assyria. This was, ably, probI

stories of the Garden

of Eden

this volume

of the

contained

read

ever

wonderful

; of

ous Babylon and its marvelples hanging gardens ; of Nineveh and its magnificent temand palaces; of the Tigris and the Euphrates whose made waters to irrigatethe vast and fecund were plain of deed, Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilization. So profound, inthe impression made was on me by the reading of

day

one

that

youthful mind conspicuous a role in the

After seemed I

great desires

to be able to visit the land

fascinated 80

one

and

my

many

when

years,

hotel

of human

the

Unter

Berlin making final arrangements

for my

Romantic Where And

Had

the

Worth

in haste

gloomed, to good Al Rashid

and

which

would

famed

have

City

of

delivered

been have me

Constantine

my

dreams

to

dear, dwelt,

disposed

taken

in

Linden

long journey

the genii

sorcerer

Love and

den

to childhood

name

direct route, I should

most

the

I been

Bagdad,

of

so

famous

on

progress.

shaped themselves that if by enchantment, in a

no

comfortable

was

history had so people had played

the realization

longer possible,events found finally myself, almost as

life

whose

whose

drama

of my

knelt.

to

follow

the Orient

the

Express

forty-ninehours later in the picturesque Boson

FEOM

4

BERLIN

ration of this To

TO

BAGDAD

magnificenttemple passed

of

the words

And Were As

apply

Strassburg:

Architect

huilded

his

with

into the walls

own

offeringsto God,

numerous

towers

square

parts of the cityremind marked time

of

can

son.

his great heart into these sculptured stones, with him toiled his children,and their lives

BuUt

a

father to

the Cathedral

Longfellow about The

so

from

rarelygiftedartisans and designers one

these

The

BABYLON

AND

a

when

of Florence

in

are

of similar

visible in towers

tain cer-

that

are

in San

feature the

one

which

Gimignano. They date back to nobilityof Ratisbon, like the noble families Dante's time, employed them as defenses

against their enemies. it is not

But

intention

my

objects which

countless

have

to describe so

brieflythe

even

long rendered

this famous

citya favorite objectto the tourist. To do even partial attractions and historical associations justiceto its multitudinous would require a large volume. to embark on one My purpose in coming to Ratisbon was of the small boats that here ply on the Danube, with the the river,with view of connecting at Passau, further down of the larger boats of the Danube one Steamship Navigation I Thence Company, which would take me to Vienna. pest, to Budaof the same planned to go by steamers company I had of the Danube, whence Belgrade and the mouth planned to sail by the Black Sea and the Bosphorus to old

Constantinople. But why, the reader roundabout

more

I

in the words

answer

Ignoiis Flumina

1 had 2

his

He

route

will ask, did I elect the slower of Ovid

to

the direct

one

by rail!

:

locis,ignota videre gaudehani, studio minuente

errare

always loved the

loved

than

rather

and

wander

over

water

unknown

curiositylesseningthe fatigue.

and

lahorem?

travelingby river has

places and

to

see

unknown

rivers,

always had

peculiarfascination

a

DANUBE

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

for

5

Besides

me.

this,I

speciallyeager to journey by the Danube from its source to its mouth. Having had the good fortune of the world's to sail the entire navigable length of many the doubly desirous of sailingdown largest rivers, I was been

for years

had

which

historic waterway

Euxine

the famed

with In

declares

Sea

of

charming

the

noted

Black

Forest

antiquity. travel-books, Victor

Hugo

:

is unique: it combines

Rhine

The

his

of

one

connects

the

quality of

every

rapid; broad, like the Loire; encased like the Meuse; serpentine like the Seine; limpid and green like the Somme gled ; mysterious like the Nile ; spanAmerican like with gold, an river; and, like a river of Asia, abounding with phantoms and fables.^

river.

Like

Hesiod,

Rhone,

the

it is

first makes

who

mention

of the Danube,

under

Ister,gives it the epithet of KaAAipceSpoc of Tethys the beautifullyflowing and calls it the son and Ovid Oceanus. was so impressed with it that he of his Paitic Epistles,that it is not inferior declares in one

the

of the

name

"

"

to the Nile:

Cedere

Hugo's

Danuhius

se

tihi,Nile, negat.*

of the graphic descriptionof some famed rivers applies with world's even greater truth to the legendary, the historic,the romantic, the picturesque Danube.

brief

No

but

in the

watercourse of fantastic

larger number

world

is tenanted

by

a

and

mysterious beings; some, like the swan-maidens and the water nymph Isa, making their home in its waters ; others,like fairies and pixies and and old dismantled elves,dwelling in the bays, forests,caverns castles

According 3Le 4

to

Rhin, Letter

on

its banks.

Pindar,

the

region about

XIV.

Ovid, Metamorphoses,

TV, 294,

295.

the

source

of the

BERLIN

FROM

6 Danube

was

land of

a

fruits.

choicest

the

enjoyed undisturbed lived

Apollo.

was

that Hercules

us,

in

grew

It

Danube

was

the

rich

as

people who

a

from

disease

and

and

myths and

groves epic,the

According to the great German at Pforring,a short distance was

averred,

was

into the

to its entrance in

it

which,

of the Danube.'*

sources

the rivers and mountains

ever

olive

the

brought

its headwaters

from

by

immune

were

peace,

and. teeming with

inhabited

was

BABYLON

AND

perpetual sunshine

profusionabout

And, the

It

BAGDAD

years, which they spent in the worship of from tells this highly favored land, Pindar

thousand

a

TO

legends

Euxine, as

of ancient

were

Hellas.

it Nibelungenlied,

above

Ratisbon, that the legendary heroine, Kriemhild, bride-elect of Etzel, took of her

leave

when

brothers

Hungary, where

far-off

she

on

from

her way

join her

to

was

the Rhine

to

husband,

new

^kingof the Huns, and where she her plans of wreaking vengeance to consummate was upon of her first husband, Siegfried. the murderers here be remarked in passing that the illustrious It may Albertus Magnus, probably the greatest scholar of the Middle Ages, reputed to be a magician as well as an eminent theologianand philosopher,was bishop of Ratisbon. after leavingRatisbon, in a cosy little About a half hour the foot of a wooded hill on steamer, we find ourselves near Etzel

the famous

whose

"

Attila

"

brow

rises,purely white, Temple of fame for all Germania's great. The

Seen at of the

a

distance

Parthenon, It is due

who

Walhalla

erected

it

it appears to be both in dimensions

to the munificence as

a

Temple

signally honored whose names are unknown, magnificentedifice. Among any

B

way

01., Ill, 13-15.

almost

of

reproduction

and

ture. style of architecLudwig I, of Bavaria,

for those

of Fame

Fatherland.

the are

a

duly

them

are

who

had

Some

even, in this

commemorated

the architect

in

of the

ON

BEAUTIFUL

THE

BLUE

and the Cologne Cathedral epic,the Nibelungenlied.

author

DANUBE

of the

7

great German

,

solemnly dedicated in October, temple was of a stirringaddress, said, 1842, Ludwig I, in the course and consolidate contribute to extend **May the Walhalla of the feelings of German nationality. May all Germans feel they have henceforth common a country race every of which they msLj be proud, and let each individual labor according to his faculties to promote its glory.'' It is the this

When

*'

of the word

use

that

sense

Hall

of

explains in

of tablets

Fame,

Alfred

and

Bede

Venerable

in its broad

German"

historic and

logical ethno-

existence,in this Teutonic of Hengist and Horsa, honor

the

the

Great.

the Austrian frontier,we Passau, near had glided a splendid opportunity, as our little steamer along the sinuous Danube, to observe the attractions of the celebrated Dunkelboden, so called from its dark, fertile soil. of the country through which Much a broad, we passed was lages unbroken plain,dotted with small farmhouses, pretty vilchurches adorned with chaletlike homes, and white surmounted steeples. by quaint, salmon-colored

Walhalla

From

at Passau

I embarked

commodious

steamers

Arrived trim

and

to

Navigation Company. these

boats

The

for Vienna of the

to the best of the excursion

Danube

appointments

all that could be desired

are

steamers

on

on

and

of the

Steamship

and are

one

service

of

fullyequal

the Hudson

or

the

Indeed, for one who desires perfect rest, combined with comfort, while sailingon the most romantic of nothing and picturesque waterway in Europe, I know I can than a few weeks' sion excurmore cordiallyrecommend St. Lawrence.

on

From

the Danube. time

glories of the many I spent

declare

the and

so

Rhine.

but

I

travelers should

great attractions

many

that

grandeur,

immemorial

the

be

in historic

the

and

sounded

the

last to depreciate

of this noble

happy days, but Danube, not only

also

have

truth

river

on

which

to compels me in scenic beauty and legendary association,

BERLIN

FROM

8

the

what

far surpasses

BAGDAD

TO

Romans

Superbus,

which

of interest

machicolated

and

since in ruins

halberd

not

and

of the

course

and

broadsword And

defense?

from

how and

much

vessels

as

old Froissart

people

whose

* *

honor.

' '

along

the

efforts to thwart

shown for

regarded

have

not

holds strongrounding sur-

pictures of the

Sposi,

rapacity

of

the

ing. consider-

now

he denounced

them

Paynims"; as men quencheth the knowledge of or

as

Danube in

the

days

gone

works

his natural

hears

one

stories

by and

and enemies.

In

bridge which he is said to have built the soul of his employer. Owing, however, of his

employer, he

about

of his determined

projects of

a

shrewdness he

of

weapons

pillagethe

are

right when

covetousness

the activities of the Devil

he

the crossbow,

:

Everywhere

whom

stories

/ Promessi

we

not

the robber-barons

to

or

long moss-

What

they

in his vivid

Saracens

than

worse

excessive

was

so

they

inaccessible

almost

titled brigands of the period which Good

could

would

prepotenti,as portrayed in his masterly idea of the insatiable some gives one

**

of these

chief

crueltyof

these

passing country. Manzoni,

Danube

's attention.

tales

the

were

confiscate

objects

still inhabited,others

speak, what

on

crenelated villages,

to engage one somber towers

and

time

of the countless

hate and revenge? romance, tell of wars and siegeswhen

sallied forth to

spent all my

much

was

to relate of the lawlessness

who

the

some

"

I

any

historic towns

walls

the

and

offense

make

castles could

old

they

here

there

"

tell of love and could

to miss

castles

If the massive covered

to call Rhenus

wont

were

to Vienna

wish

with

What

famous.

Passau

from

I did not

deck, as

BABYLON

"

the way

On

AND

those

Ratisbon in

is

exchange

to the superior

lost the remuneration

greatly coveted. Further down the river,near Deggendorf is a great mass of granite which the Devil is said to have brought all the from Italy in order to destroy the town, because its way so

,

people

were

too

religiousto please his

Satanic

Majesty.

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

BLUE

about to drop just as he was tunsuspectinginhabitants,the Ave

his massive

But

to let fall his burden

point is

another

At

when

adjacent monastery

in the

before

he

shown

a

Tower, and at stillanother

Maria the

rock

known

is

as

forced

was

his purpose. the Devil's

of rock

mass

called

the

on

sounded

was

One

compass

curious

a

9

load

bell

Evil

could

peculiar formation,

its

from

is

DANUBE

which,

Teufelsmauer

"

Wall.

DeviPs

According

to

There

on

the Demon

old Crusader

fiftyharnessed

And

he

embarked

men

at

Ratishon

fightthe Saracen.

Crusaders

Danube

an

came

With

To

These

ballad

time-honored

a

others

and

their

to the way that **he plucked up

that followed

them

Holy Land rocks

the

exasperated

so

from

down

the

neighboring

pitched them right into the channel of the river, But in this he was thereby hoping to arrest their progress. completely deceived ; for after the first rock came plunging made down the sign of the cross, amongst them, every man and uniting their voices in a holy anthem, the fiend was ance. instantlyparalyzed,and slunk away without further resistthe first stone he threw So huge, however, was that cliifs and

for

it caused

ages

river

which

swirl and

a

nothing

but

the

a

in this

swell

skill and

the Bavarian

part of the of

perseverance

' ' ^

engineers could remove. As the Danube moves majesticallybetween ever recurring with willow and birch,and wooded islets, heights green crowned with ruins of castles and monasteries tellingof with times long past, the veil of romance, which legend invests

everything,seems

variegated. Here which

King. the

one

"The

were

There

is the

declared dark

cavern

glens

to" be

J

p, 71

(by

W.

Beattie, London,

and

the

where

slain by Siegfried,lay in wait Danube

heavier

become

elf-haunted

are once

to

of the

ests forErl-

lindwurm,

for his prey, 1843).

more

primeval

home the

and

and

like at

BERLIN

FROM

10

spot is

stillanother maidens the

with

return

down

reputed

BABYLON

the

Hagen met the swanNibelungs to the lands of

the stream

Charybdis

Scylla and

the

AND

the lakelet where

Further

Huns.

Wirbel, the

his

on

BAGDAD

TO

the Strudel

are

of the

Danube,

of all kinds trysting-place

of

for

phantoms

and ages

and

monsters.

But

here

in

Imperial Danuhe's sober history has far for

every

and

revenge

spot

we

; of wars

than

to recount

more

pass

rich domain

has

its story of

involving the

and

legend, ambition, intrigue saga

loss of thrones

and

far-

of the then known world. reaching changes in the map At Diirrenstein,further down the river,are the ruins of the dungeon a great feudal stronghold in which is still shown in which tradition says Richard Coeur de Lion, on his from the Third exorable return Crusade, was imprisoned by his inThe Duke Leopold of Austria. legend, enemy, the finally telling how English King's liberation was effected through his devoted minstrel, Blondel, has long of poets and artists.^ been a favorite theme Diirrenstein that Julian the Apostate not far from It was down the Danube engaged a flotillafor his famous voyage the beginning of that long campaign which was to end so the sun-parched banks on disastrouslyfor him and his army of the far distant Tigris. At a subsequent period Charlemagne and his Paladins his campaign against the Avars. the Danube descended on followed saders, Later on he was by numerous contingents of Cruand his valiant band, them heroic Barbarossa among their way to Constantinople and the Holy Land. on "

It is safe to say

that

no

waterway

in

Europe

has

more

of vast armies the march heard or frequently witnessed 6iore frequently the echoed roll of battle than has the In its wide and fertile valley broadly sweeping Danube. 7

Cf.

A

History of

Vol. II, p. 419

(by

the

Life of Riohard

G. P. James, London,

Coeur

1864).

de

Lion, King

of England,

BERLIN

FEOM

12 Held

In

the

When

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

marriage festalon Whitsuntide then his high-horn bride royal Etzel embraced I she ne'er had found ween city of Vienna; she such myriads all to her service hound. wed, first

was

'Twas

TO

So court

the

that

and

with such high honors country flourished

all at every Every heart was

And

crown'd

fresh joy and

pastime found. smiles on each face were merry, seen; So kind the King was ever, so liberal the Queen.^ season

frequently in Vienna before, I tarried this time hardly long enough to refresh my regarding memory certain things and placesthat always had a peculiar attraction for me. its admirable and museums Among these were its delightfuldrives and sumptuous palaces. art galleries, But above all I was particularly ing eager to revisit the imposof the of St. Stephen, for it is not only one Cathedral noblest specimens of Gothic architecture in Europe, but is of the most beautiful temples of Christian worship also one in existence. Although erected in the twelfth century, it has survived all the siegesto which Vienna has been subject after seven and is still, centuries,the most conspicuous of the many grandiose structures of Austria 's superb capital. As I examined the exquisitecarvings of portal and window ized and delicate crocketed spire of this stupendous fane I realbefore how the builders of the Ages of Faith never as with the same care by men as wrought the parts unseen those which were exposed to the gaze of all. For they labored for God, and God sees everything and everywhere. And then, too, I desired to spend an hour or two at the Glorietta of Schonbrunn, of which, from a previous visit, I had retained such pleasant memories. From this enchanting of the cityand the spot one has a magnificentpanorama tles surrounding country the theater of many siegesand batin which, during the heyday of Ottoman the power, to tremble in the balance. fate of Europe seemed

Having

been

"

8

Adventure

XXII.

THE

ON In

memorable

the

DANUBE

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

siege

of

walls

1863, the

13 of

Vienna

of by the thundering guns already been breached the covered the Moslems, whose tents in countless thousands surrounding plain,and only a miracle,it seemed, could save Famine its impending doom. and and death the city from despair stalk through the beleaguered capital. One by wan the fast crumbling the soldiers of the Cross fall from one of the dying ramparts. Everywhere are heard the groans of its dismayed and enfeebled tants, inhabiand the \^ld laments who no are longer able to stem the resistless onrush

had

of the barbaric

their

press

infants

trembling virgins,sobbing as with dread break, are overwhelmed

would

to their

if their

and

bosoms

than

Mothers

host.

of

a

hearts

fate

worse

itself.

death

of the infidel horde But, behold ! The advancing columns horrorby some falter,then halt suddenly as if confronted inspiring apparition, or paralyzed by a colossal Medusa. What appalls proud Mustapha ^s haughty warriors ? What panic has seized his swarthy Janizaries 1 of John The standards Sobieski,the scourge and terror of the Moslems, are seen floatingfrom the crest of Kahlenberg. Presently the hero-king,at the head of his resistless cuirassiers,dashes like a thunderbolt against the enemy and the luckless troops of the grand vizier melt like a mist before the morning sun.

in proud Vienna's joy was town; Brave renown: Starenherg had won

Now

The

sweet

Cathedral

hells

rung

were

As

for a May-day festival. Sohieski's fame was And sung the Throughout lordlycapital.

The

Cross

Christian progress

had

Europe up

be inscribed

again triumphed had

blasted

the Danube.

in letters of

On

the

over

all Moslem

Vienna's

gold :

Crescent

and

hopes of further ramparts might well

FROM

14

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

Warring against the Christian Jove in vain, Here the Ottoman was Typhosus slain. Some are

twenty

extensive

Roman

town

miles

odd

ruins

supposed

of Carnuntum.

the fact that Marcus his

wars

with

east

the

Vienna,

to be

Hainburg,

near

remains

of the ancient

The

Aurelius

Quadi

of

and

from place is interesting spent three years here during the

Marcomanni.

Here

also

'

^ *

uted part of his Meditations/ which have contribthan all his achievements to perpetuate his name more Here Roman Septimus Severus was as Emperor. claimed prohad Emperor by his soldiers and here, too, Rome flotilla. And the empire station for a part of its Danube a of many had need flotillas and many frontier garrisons to keep in check the barbarians Danube along the extended North poured them its northern banks, when the prolific on he

wrote

a

forth From Rhene

her

frozen loins

to pass

Danaw, when her barbarous sons Came like a deluge on the south and spread Gibraltar to the Libyan sands, Beneath or

the

had hoped that successors Augustus and his immediate this broad waterway would serve as an impassable barrier, that they were but subsequent events showed mistaken. the Rhine, nor the Limes Neither the Danube, nor Romanus ^which had wall connecting these two rivers a high stone been constructed other defenses by the Emperor Probus, nor had been of the empire, which developed by his adequate to prevent the ever increasing success6rs, were into Roman incursions of the barbarians territory. Among and the Quadi, whose like warthem, besides the Marcomanni activities engaged the attention of Marcus Aurelius and Vienna Vindobona during his stay in Carnuntum the Suevi, the QepidaB,the Alemanni, the Vindelici, the were stock. Heruli, and other peoples of Celtic and Germanic These followed by Slavs,by the Avars, the Goths, the were Huns, the Alani, the Vandals, the Langobardi, who in ever "

"

"

"

ON

crossed

increasingnumbers their

impetuous of

Pillars

the

hosts

to enrich

and

and

to

laid waste

Sahara, from and

standard

with

his army

15

until

ally eventu-

swept the vast region from

of

Hercules,

aspired to plant the Gothic

DANUBE

originalhomes,

had

to the desert

the Baltic Sea to

the Danube

their

from

distant

far

lands

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

THE

the

the Caucasus

until

Alaric

on

the walls

accumulated

*'

secretly

of Rome

spoils of

a

triumphs.^* Gliding down the tortuous Danube past picturesquetowns and and villages and through delightful woodlands suncarries us over kissed vineyards our steamer the short soon hundred

intervenes

which

distance

Carnuntum

between

and

loyal old

the capitalof Hungary before it was transferred Pozsony to Budapest. In this cosmopolitan city of historic and traditional "

lore

relief the

incident

an

and

bravery

and

is recalled chivalrous

shows

how

son

in her

which

puts

character

in

strong

of the

garians Hun-

quick they are to act when a strong appeal is made to their loyalty and patriotism. Queen Maria Theresa, finding herself threatened by enemies all sides,convened the estates of the realm on in the throne room of the castle of Pozsony. the fair Here of St. Stephen on her head sovereign,with the crown young and

an

infant

but stirringaddress The

lay

disastrous

before

recent

this

Kingdom

remedy. of

our

invasion

our

The

own

at stake.

arms,

of and very

person,

in Latin

this brief

:

situation of dear

delivered

and

affairs has

our

faithful

States

moved

to

us

of

Hungary impending

the

Austria, the danger now over of a a proposal for the consideration existence of the Kingdom of Hungary, of

our

children

and

our

crown

is

now

Forsaken

in the by all,we place our sole resource and fidelity,arms long-tried valor of the Hungarians; exhorting you, the States and Orders, to deliberate without delay in this extreme danger, on the most effectual measures for the security of our of our children and person, of In

our

crown,

regard

Hungary

and

to carry

them

into immediate

execution.

of ourself,the faithful States and Orders shall experience our hearty cooperation in all to

BERLIN

FROM

16

things which

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

promote the pristinehappiness of this Kingdom and the honor of the people." The effect of this indirect and impassioned appeal was electrical. The assembled multitude,the elite of Hungary's and shouted, ''Vitam nobility,instantlydrew their swords Maria Theresa' *^" et sanguinem, Moriamur pro rege nostra life. Let us die for our Our blood and our King Maria may

* ^

"

From

Theresa." the

this moment

the entire nation

support of their sovereign and

her

rallied to

eventual

triumph

assured.

was

dramatic

This

episode is of Maria

equestrianstatue which

Platz Vitam

et

bears

by

Theresa

Coronation

simple

in the

but

an

imposing Hill

eloquent inscription "

sanguinem.

fact that

The

the

commemorated

of

Maria

Theresa

her

and

audience

spoke

German, on the memorable to is easily explained. For referred occasion centuries the language of diplomacy. been in Hungary Latin had in the University were Lectures given in Latin and the spoken by the deputies language of Cicero and Virgil was in Parliament. Indeed, until a f e\v decades ago, every man of liberal education was supposed to be able to write and speak Latin with ease and fluency. told me, **the I was *^When a Hungarian countess a girl,'' always Latin. language at table in my father's house was All of us, boys and girls,spoke it as well as our mother

Latin, instead

Hungarian

or

tongue." I met

many

Hungarian priestswho

spoke Latin

in

ence prefer-

One of them orator an was Magyar. of exceptionaleloquence and could give an extemporaneous in Latin without hesitatingfor a word and always address in the purest Latinity. to their

native

from the Foundation of the Monarchy by of Austria History of the House the Vol. IV, pp. 440, the Death to of Leopold Second, Rhodolph of Hapshurgh W. 441 Cox, London, 1820). (by XV. Chap. VI de Louis (Paris. 1828). IOC/. Voltaire's PrScia du SiMe of the title Rex instead of Regina Theresa Maria The to King application in Hungary which in accordance with a quired rewas peculiar custom Queen 9

"

"

"

"

that

her

signature on

all

public documents

should

be

Maria

Theresa

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

made

Englishman who

An

of the last

the middle

BLUE

DANUBE

journey up

a

century tells

the Danube

that

us

17

he heard

near

the

on

of

Hungarian priestsand a large assemblage of second-class passengers conversing in Latin with if it were their native tongue/' as facility as much The German traveler,J. G. Kohl, who wrote about the time as the writer justquoted,gives a part of the consame versation steamer

a

**

party

"

he had

Tihany during

a

understand

who

with

Benedictine

a

game

of billiards.

Latin

will

be

monk

at the

Those

of my in some

interested

peculiarwords and expressions used : '^Ubi globus Dominationisf** Where **

abbey

readers of

is your

"

of

the

ship's Lord-

balir'

Incipiamus." ^*Here. Let us begin." Please begin." ^^Dignetur procedere/' *^lbL

"

**

"

^'Dolendum

Si ccerulous

est.

pityI If the blue had

but

hue

venisset."

this way.

come

^**What

"

a

' '

''Fallit, fallit,''**It misses, it misses." ''Nunc mihi est,*' **Now the yelflavusrecte ad manum low ball is*right to my hand. ''Bene! Nunc Hannibal Bene! ad portam,"' **GoodI Good I Now, look out. Please double." "Dignetur duble,'' "

"

' '

"

' *

'*

"

^'FaZZz7."" "0

si homo never

one

miss."

**Keverend

falter et, esset invincibilis/'

nunquam

"

Nunc

Pater!

Father,

the

video,nisi

*'I

nothing except a

see

**Ah! I wished

Ah!

tota

positionis

"Nihil

cceruleum carom

est." positio difficilis now

very

et rubrum on

per cut

the blue

an

extra

good play and

"

difficult." ere

and

Subtiliter volui et nihil habeo,"

to make

**If

be invincible."

would

missed, one

"Reverende

"

**A

"

I have

velles." red." **Ah

me!

nothing."

Another Englishman declares : Magazine, Vol. XXII, p. 692. that in Hungary during my travels I frequently common so and dispute with great fluency and the postillionsconverse heard the servants Vol. V, p. 440. in that language." Cox, op. cit.y "

"The

Eraser's Latin

is

BERLIN

FROM

J8

Fecisti.

Bene!

"Bene!

made

[You have

TO

it. The

BAGDAD Finis

ludi."

is ended.''

game

reading the foregoingwho

After

AND

BABYLON *'Good!

"

GoodI

^^

will say

that Latin

is

a

language in Hungary?

dead

Budapest

From

Again

the

has

scene

to

the

Black dim

changed and

Sea descried

the Danube's

tide; Where glancing regal stream, their white bosoms to the morning beam, Spread A

silver crescent broad

With

towers

Their

marks

o'er the

sails

that skirt and

towns

battled walls in that

that

seem

to lave

majestic wave.

places of Pozsony to Budapest we passed many great scenic beauty and historic interest. Among them was Esztergom, which possesses the most beautiful cathedral in Hungary. It is the birthplaceof St. Stephen, patron saint the see of Hungary's ecclesiastical of the country and primate. No city in Europe offers a more superb approach than does Budapest to the traveler who enters it on the deck of of the Danube of the beautiful steamers one Navigation towards the twin city, Company. As we glide downstream immense of palatial structures an mass suddenly bursts on view. Among them is the imposing Royal Palace,which our of the many eminence the right bank on crowns an -spired From

House

of

Parliament, which

stands

on

the left.

Soon

we

glimpse of the beautiful boulevards along the river, with animated, which, at the hour of our arrival,are crowded are enjoying their 'daily happy multitudes, who promenade and watching the arrival and departure of the get

a

steamers

numerous

much

to the life of the

Hungarians all of 12

and

declare

smaller

craft

which

contribute

so

city. that theirs is the most

beautiful

of

European capitals,and, judging by one's impression the cityas seen from an arrivingsteamer, most visitors, Tour

of Austria, p. 372

(London, 1844).

BERLIN

FROM

20

stituted

lowland

Arabian ; and

Sandor

in the

broad

each

would

recognizeas he sings:

Petofi,when plains.

as

the

Throughout how

the

his

ert desof

the sentiment

own

only there I feel free. they please,quite unconstrained.

much

of the long contests

which

we

are

traversing

now

history that has now could it not relate regarding it is

the barbarians

between

does

as

of his much-loved

expanse

region

legend still lingers,but tell. And

muse

Magyar

confined hy harriers.

is not

One

It is

wander

can

eyes

his

word

Hungarian

interest,the

to awaken

poet

1 love the

My

much

as

the

"

scenic

little of

offers

finds in it

bard

important granaries of Central

to the traveler the Alf old "

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

of the most

one

Europe. Although for

TO

between

the Romans

and

Christians

most the

in these and

to

gle strug-

parts "

Ottomans.

It

that the Turks, under

Solyman the Magnificent, achieved, in 1526, the decisive victory which enabled them to hold Hungary in a state of vassalage for a hundred It was at the same and fiftyyears. place that the Ottoman forces, after being defeated by Sobieski in Vienna, made forced to relinquishthe their final stand before they were land which they had so long held in subjection. which for a time the the river is Illock, down Further was home, as it is the burial place, of St. John Capistran. It was

at Mohacs

was

this celebrated

Franciscan

friar

who

led

an

of

army

Crusaders, which he had collected by his preaching, to the assistance of Hunyady warrior Janos when this renowned II to raise the siege compelled the Turks under Mohammed of

Belgrade. Still further

down

stream

is the littletown

with its strong fortress,long known It is

Danube. marshaled far and

so

in 1096

wide

named

because

the hosts which

for the First Crusade.

as

of Petervarad

the Gibraltar

Peter he had

of the

Hermit

here

assembled

from

the

As wafted of

of the

the tones over

Serbia

appears

in

Danube

of the

bell of

vesper

peaceful waters,

the

the

DANUBE

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

the

and

villagechapel are White City"

a

the famed

distance.

21

**

Situated

at

the

fluence con-

Save, Belgrade, the capital

than two thousand been a Serbia, has for more years strategicpoint of prime importance. Occupied by Celts, generationsbefore the Christian era, it became, under the name Singidunum, a stronghold of the Romans, who held It subsequently belonged to the it for four centuries. occupied at various Byzantine Empire and, later on, was times by Avars, Huns, Gepids, Goths, Sarmatians, Turks, teenth Hungarians, Austrians, until in the beginning of the nineit their capital. The century the Serbians made Turks, however, did not relinquishpossession of its citadel

of

until 1867.

siegesor experiplaces have passed through more enced than Belgrade. more frequently the horrors of war its historical associations,I found little of interest Aside from in the city. The inhabitants had none of the gayety of the people of Vienna animation and and Budapest. Few

Their

cheerless

And

were

tragedies

many

impending

faces

like those and

is

of

a

living in

race

that has witnessed

constant

fear

of

disaster.

what

country, indeed, has passed through

more

and

For it is not too much to greater disasters than Serbia? say that during the past twenty-fivecenturies of its history it has been almost continuallyin a condition of social unrest number Times without the tides of and politicalchaos.

I

invasion land.

and

The

devastation

have

swept

over

this unfortunate

general poverty and intellectual stagnation of the people were aggravated by the follies of their rulers and by dynastic scandals that shocked the civilized world. For generationsat a time the administration of the country little better than organized brigandage. Unscrupulous was officials, livingin Oriental indolence,prospered on the lifeblood of the down-trodden peasantry, for whom justicewas but a myth. Blood feuds,political murders and internecine

BERLIN

FEOM

22

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

long endemic, and guarantiesfor life and property consequently,impossible. were, this was true not only for Serbia but also for the And

strife

were

"

for Roumania

and

along the Adriatic.

donia, Mace-

principalities So completely separated were they for the half -barbarous

the rest of the world

from

Bulgaria, for

for

peninsula

Balkan

of the

whole

that

of them

known

little was

in

they Europe until less than a century ago, when began to give stronger evidence of national consciousness than they had previouslyexhibited,and to manifest a united from the Ottoman themselves to liberate yoke, purpose

western

centuries. they had suffered for so many be contrary to the teaching of history would

which

under

it

But

suffered

by

period when due

deprived of their Nothing is farther from

to the Turks.

for instance

either individuallyor From well

the

point of

said] it

is

Balkan

races

"

the truth.

the Greeks

and

far

more

than

collectively Abated

the

Turks.

^hated

"

cruelties

during the long independence were

were

fact is that the various gars

all the

of the Balkans

the inhabitants

they

and

endured

that all the disorders

assert

one

another "

view

beyond

a

to

of humanitarianism

doubt

that

much

The

Bul-

they

"

[as has been less blood

was

during the five hundred years of of Turkish rule than during the ^ve hundred years have Christian rule which preceded them ; indeed it would illusion to It is also a pure been difficult to spillmore. think of the Turks as exceptionallybrutal or cruel; they are just as good-natured and as good-humored as anybody their military and religiouspassions else ; it is only when reckless and ferocious that they become aroused more are not the Turks who than other people. It was taught cruelty spiltin

to the

Peninsula

the Balkan

Christians

nothing

to learn

Peninsula; the latter had in this respect.^* of the

Balkan

But, notwithstanding the long and trying ordeal through have which the peoples of the Balkans era passed, a new i*Nevill

Roumania,

Forbes, in

Turkey,

The

p. 48

Balkans, A Uiatory of Bulgaria, Servia, Greece, (Oxford, 1915).

to be

seems

for them

dawning

assuring to however,

the

there

23

at last.

Education

is receiving

graduallylife. When,

are

civilized and

distinguishedBritish

the

as

are,

order

of the Balkans

speak

or

and

blessingsof

the

masses

think

we

DANUBE

law

and

attention

more

BLUE

BEAUTIFUTj

THE

ON

their inhabitants writer

Hogarth reminds us, certain salutary things to which is that **less than two hundred mind, among

its

Ireland

and

dens

smuggler

Save

and

itself before

which

I

the

Danube,

An

Austrian

years

its

and

its caterans

and

the

magnificent panorama the broad valleys of the

in

me

certain

I recalled

to recite in my

wont

was

in

^^

citadel

the

from

G.

bear

all roads

on

Scotland

caravans, '^

unfolded

that

highwaymen

moonlighters.

I viewed

As

its

had

England

ago

D.

alliterative

verses

youth, beginning with

awfully arrayed, Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade, Cossack, commander, cannonading come, Deal devastation;dire destructive doom}^ army

While

gazing at the sun-bathed vineyards, ruin-crowned other anheights and broad, verdant plains which followed one in rapid succession bore us seawards, steamer as our I was especiallyimpressed by the multiplicityof languages 1 heard For fellow spoken by the passengers. among my travelers were Germans, French, Turks, Serbs, Croats, Russians, Bulgarians, Roumanians, Greeks, Albanians, Italians, Poles, Slovaks, English, and Americans, and probably several others whom I did not recognize. There was, indeed, a Babel of tongues such as one would scarcelyfind elsewhere. How the famous polyglot,Mezzofanti, would have reveled in such a gathering where he could have held ^^

The

16

It

Balkans, p. 6 (Oxford, 1915). is

curious

Empire

"was

powers

in

upon

the

Danube, stands."

1915).

to

delivered

August, frontiers

where

the

Cf. Attila

remember at

the

1914, began of

and

of

spot their

Servia

modern

city

Attila's

that very

at

Singidunum the

Huns,

p.

first

the upon offensive. the rose

37

Attila

point then

(by

attack

Danube where

and Edward

the Roman upon where the Germanic directed the

where

his

armies

joins the to-day Belgrade Save

Hutton,

New

York,

BERLIN

FROM

24

all of

with

converse

of the

TO

BAGDAD

them,

he

as

AND was

wont

BABYLON to do

with

the

in

Propaganda,

from all Rome, who came the parts of the world and with the languages of all whom illustrious Cardinal was perfectlyfamiliar .^^ And almost as variety of garb of this motley crowd was manifold that of their languages and dialects. From as was students

the sedate

Englishman

in tweed

to the animated

Roumanian

Ottoman liberty,the tarbooshed dreamily fingeringhis tespis (string of beads), the sadin his Phrygian

faced

with

Serb

Albanian

in

cap

of

his conical

Astrakan

cap,

and

the

voluble

snow-white

fustanella,there was ceivable conevery the styles and variety of wearing apparel. And colors of the dresses exhibited even worn by the women greater diversity. They could be compared only with those a

of the infinitude

songsters of

of shades

and

adornments

of the feathered

flowers large aviary or of the multitudinous of a botanical garden. From Belgrade eastwards Oriental color becomes rapidly more pronounced. This results from the long occupation of the country through which by the Ottomans we are now between passing and constant communication Turkey and a

the Balkans. The

first

objects of

note

to

arrest

our

attention

below

ther Belgrade are the great ruined fortress of Sendria and, furdownstream, the ruins of the two castles of Galambocz These and massive Laszlovar. strongholds, located on opposite sides of the river,guarded what was long known **The of as Key of the Danube.*' They, like the scores ruins which we have passed on our from Ratisbon, are way rich in historic and legendary associations of the most

interestingcharacter. Near

Galambocz

is shown

a

great cavern,

in which, legend

reflect that it,St. George slew the dragon. When we of the patron of chivalry and practicallynothing is known the champion of Christendom, except that he suflfered mar-

has

iTSee

the

Life of

London, 1858).

Cardinal

Mezzofanti,

pp.

411-419

(by

C.

W.

Russell,

DANUBE

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

25

Lydda in Palestine before the time of difficult to account the Emperor Constantine, it becomes in this for the existence of this dragon- slaying tradition spot. Its origin may be due to pilgrimsor Crusaders, who in the same as they brought it from the Holy Land way popularizedthe cultus of the Saint in England as early as Coeur de Lion. the days of Arculph and Richard difficult to account for the after all,it is no But more St. George and the dragon here than at *'a contest between Silena in Libya, as we stagne or a pond like a sea,''near read of it in Caxton's version of the Legenda Aurea, or, to explain the associations of the martyr-knight with the Jack or the white ensign of of the Garter, the Union Order the British Navy. enter the wildest and we Immediately below Galambocz The along the Danube. grandest scenery foaming rapids at

tyrdom

famed

But

of the Arkansas far

more

rock

and

or

the

lower

of

Kazan

recall

the

Montana, although in magnitude inferior to the stupendous me

end

the

the Eomans

face of this formidable

gorge

the Yellowstone.

interestingto

commemorates

roadway which

or

it is far

grandeur

inscriptionat

an

cliffs of the

of Colorado

canons

and gorges

near

towering

the

and

or

than

the gorge itself was which is cut in the solid of the

completion constructed

defile. To

me

along

marvelous the

it seemed

western of the

one

of extraordinary of all the countless achievements in the entire length of the Danube imperial Rome valley. The inscriptionreads :

most

IMP.

CiES,

D.

NERVJS.

AUG.

But

GEEM.

FILIUS. PONT.

NEEVA. MAX.

TEAJANUS. .

.

.

ravine noteworthy than the wild Kazan and the wonderful Roman thoroughfare is the celebrated Iron Gate at the confines of Serbia,Hungary and Roumania. This narrow defile long constituted an almost impassable even

more

barrier to intercourse lower Danube.

between

the

peoples of the

upper

During low water, navigation,except

and

for the

a

which

channel

TO

BAGDAD

AND

completion,in 1896, of the livingrock on the

blasted out

was

BABYLON

the

impossible,until

craft,was

smallest of

BERLIN

FROM

26

This canal guaranseething cataract. tees for the of sufficient entire water steamers a depth year draft and contributes of considerable enormously to the as a highway of international importance of the Danube side of the

Serbian

commerce.

Shortly

below

Iron

the

Gate

bridge which

shown

were

we

remains

of

built

by Trajan across This was ment the Danube. even a more astonishing achieveof the roadway the construction than through the the wonderful, lifeI had often admired of Kazan. like gorge in Rome, which reliefs of Trajan's column represent,

the mammoth

stone

other

among

things,the

was

celebrated

campaign

of

the

peror em-

Dacia, and I was delighted to have the opportunity of the road and the bridge he to contemplate the remains built during this memorable period of his reign. Dacia, modern embraced which Roumania, is noted as being the ever possessed north of the only province that the Romans ^Hhe last province to be won, it was," as And Danube. Freeman puts it,*Hhe first to be given up; for Aurelian in

withdrew

from

it and

land,immediately

its

transferred

south

of the Danube.

name

to the

Moesian

^'^^

thing about Roumania, as the same eminent historian observes,is that although it has been cut all Roman off **for so many influences, forming, ages from of the great highways of barbarian it has done, one as migration, a large part of Dacia, namely, the modern still keeps its Roman Roumanian language no principality, In one way the land is to this day less than Spain and Gaul. Roman than more Spain or Gaul, as its people still call themselves name.*' by the Roman not The Roumanians are only proud of their Roman origin but take specialpleasure in recallingthe fact,especially when conversing with foreigners. **We are,'' they But

the

remarkable

^"

C/. Historical "Ibid., p. 71. 18

Geography

of Europe, p. 70

(London, 1881).

FROM

28

BERLIN

TO

would have carnage have the Russian army

and

They laughed

him

to

BAGDAD to

AND forthwith

cease

the

across

BABYLON

But

would

in six months.

Danube he

he

or

good as his In a brief space of time the Russians, accompanied word. in Bulgaria, and at were by their brave Roumanian allies, Plevna and Shipka Pass the fate of Turkey in this part of sealed and the greater portion of the Balkan Europe was at length liberated from the Turkish peoples was yoke. The Russians, under their gallant commander, Skobeleff, pushed on to San Stefano, within sight of the domes and of Constantinople. Then, by orders minarets from St. halted in his Petersburg, the conquering general was course justwhen Russia's long-covetedgoal, the capitalon within his grasp. the Golden Horn, was his distinguishedassociThe chivalrous ate, McGahan, whom Archibald Forbes, declared to be the most brilliant war that ever stricken with typhus lived,was correspondent scorn.

was

as

^^

vocateur

of

massacre

of innocent

of

one

the

three

Turks,

and

players,inevitably resulting in the necessary an outcry in the European press." Cf. Nevill

Forbes, op. cit. p. 66. "The Bulgarian Atrocities," according to "were

a

and

clever

unscrupulous piece

another

diplomacy

of

well-informed the

on

writer,

of the

part

sian Rus-

Committees. In May, 1876, the Foreign Office and of the Pan-Slavist and Odessa Bukharest Committees at organized an insurrection Bulgarian of the of Bulgaria, which broke out large towns simultaneously in many atrocities on Moslems, 'designedly committed by accompanied by abominable calculated best to the bring on a general insurgents as being the means ever in Bulgaria, by rendering the revolution position of the Christians, howintolerable the indiscriminate under retaliation peaceably inclined, so which the governing race them in selfto attempt, as to force sure were W. E. D. Allen in The Turks in Europe, p. 166 defence to rise.' (London, "

1919). writes have Forbes, "who gained reputation as war the most brilliant." "He be used to as regard McGahan of the swiftness of his movements. called 'The Cossack correspondent' because writers.* Frank him Millet names 'Will-o'-the-wispof war George Augustus of the most Sala he had met 'a ever cosmopolitan men pronounced him one scholar, a linguist,a shrewd observer, a politicianwholly free from party prejudice,a traveler as indefatigable as Schyler, as dashing as Barnaby, as of his age in recent years," avers dauntless his friend, as Stanley.' "No man Lieutenant the name done to bring honor of America on more Greene, "has I suppose throughout the length and breadth of Europe and far into Asia. Skobeleff of their respective professions. that he and stood at the head 21

"Of

all

the

men,"

I

correspondents

"

"

"

"Year

after

chanted

in

the year rude verse

anniversary requiem mass When used

he to

of

his in

praisesof

this

bold

by the peasants is premature death

the

was

riding

crowd

about

cathedral the

among kiss and

at

of

adventurer the

commemorated

Tirnovo,

the

Bulgarian hands, hailing him

vivid

and

by

writer

are

the every year the singing of a

capitalof Bulgaria.

ancient

villagesin

his

and

Balkans,

war as

time

the

peasants

their liberator,and

THE

ON after

and

a

BEAUTIFUL

BLUE

brief illness died

very

10, 1878, in the early bloom chief

mourner

his

was

of

in

DANUBE

29

Constantinople,June

His glorious manhood. friend, the noble Skobeleff,

bosom

a

who, with unfeigned emotion, declared at the grave of his he loved as a brother,that his heart illustrious friend,whom with

interred

was

Januarius

his beloved

and

that he

had

to live for. nothing more The gratefulBulgarians erected a splendid monument to of McGahan, whom the memory they recognized as their deliverer from the age-long domination of the hated Turks. inscribed the words, Januario On this monument were Aloy-

sio

Patri

McGahan,

to his home

transferred

were

little

in its modest

and

"

years

later his remains

town. New is

cemetery

resting-placea plain block the

Some

Patriae.

Lexington, Ohio, above

seen

his

last

granite which bears beneath deathless heroes name the simple but well-earned ute tribLiberator of Bulgaria,

On

the

of

left bank

of

the

Danube, slightlynortheast of founded Plevna, is the little town of Giurgevo, which was centuries commercial by that wonderful metropolis, ago Like its great rival,Venice, it was Genoa. long celebrated for its commercial and military activities in the Levant and in the Crimea. But that its merchant princes should have in that early their trade Danube extended to the lower cult diffiso period when the navigation of this great river was remarkable. and dangerous is indeed From I did Giurgevo I made a hasty trip to Bukharest. **The City of Delight,''as the attractive not wish to pass is named, without capital of Roumania calling on some friends

there

neither

the

but

of the

ravages

were

writer done

so

A

before.

an

in several

seen

country note

of the recent

joyful greetingsof there

not

the

capitalnor

few years

a

I had

whom

of

war,

erstwhile

what

was

years.

But

it had

been

sadness, in seemed

happy

and

consequence to dominate the

pleasure-loving

of the Bulgars who ag^itatedfor the choice of this wandering many head of the creation the his dispatcheshad as principality whose

much

to

establish."

F. L. Bullad, Boston,

1914).

Cf.

Famous

War

Correspondents,Chap.

IV

(by

FEOM

30

BEELIN

TO

BAGDAD

BABYLON

AND

people. It will,I fear,be a long time before one can again the epithet Dacia Fell Happy Dacia apply to Roumania it was of which it bore in the days of long ago, when one the most flourishingcolonies of the Roman Empire.^^ But the self-reliant people of Roumania not depressed or are discouraged by the present condition of their war-tried descendants of the Dacians, whom the country. These "

"

"

called

Romans confidence make

in their

of

Romanul three be

their

good

nations

**the

the

non

of

and

their

and

of

abilityto

"

men

dies

never

they

in

shows

"

and

are

what

may the rallied from

when

shall

abiding

the position among Their native proverb

Roumanian

manner

of them

war

men,'' have

honorable

an

world.

The

"

expected

havoc

to

civilized

what

words

of

recuperative power

claim

pere

warlike

most

they shall have again be free to devote

themselves

stimulating arts of peace. things that especiallyimpressed me in Among the many of gypsies. In no part of Roumania the large number was the world, it is said, are in proportion they so numerous

to the

to the

populationas

Dacians.

The

chief

among

the descendants

of the

reason

for

these

this is that

ancient

strange,

from India have met a dark-eyed, music-loving nomads kinder reception here than in other countries,where they have been regarded as pariahs and often treated with harshness bordering on cruelty. From Giurgevo to the Black Sea the broad, multi-islanded Danube majestically through the ever-expanding, sweeps

reed-covered "

and

lowlands

the home

the far extending

agriculture,which wealth

"

contribute

of the Balkan

acres so

Peninsula.

of many

devoted much Near

kinds to

to the the

of waterfowl

pasturage and commerce

and

villageof Ras-

22 After he established in the newly Trajan liad conquered the Dacians colonists. But acquired territory a large body of Roman by no they were all of Latin blood, for they were drawn, means according to Eutropius, from all parts of the Roman Numerous votive Empire ex toto orbe romano. besides those the colonists inscriptionsfound in the country show that among from from Gaul, Dalmatia, Italy, were Germany, Phrygia, representatives But, notwithstanding this complexity Oalatia, Africa, Egypt, and far-ofT Palmyra, of ethnical stock, it was always those of Latin blood and Latin speech "

that

dominated.

of

Trajan

stanza

^s

Black

the

on

of the

right bank wall, which

the

on

sova,

BLUE

BEAUTIFUL

THE

ON

during

the

river,we from

extends This

Sea.

far

is the colossal

Braila

Galatz

and

of

but

to Conwas

structed con-

the

steel

short while

a

hordes

the

the north.

from

dominion

in this

railway bridge justly regarded

part the

across as

of modern

Roumanians

"

Danube

country to into the colonial possessions wall of Probus, connecting the

Danube, completed in 1895, and the greatest engineering achievements At

remains

rampart

occupation

Eoman

this relic of Roman

from

of the world

the

31

what

see

earthen

prevent barbarian incursions of the empire. But, like the with the Ehine, it withstood Danube ever-increasingonrush of the savage Not

DANUBE

of

one

times.

great ports of entry "

greatly impressed by the activityand enterprise But I must of these flourishingentrepots of commerce. here more clares confess I was impressed by what tradition deDarius Hystaspes built a bridge to be the spot where of his famous the Danube at the time across campaign than five centuries B. C.^^ against the Scythians,more were

we

what

And

a

that f ar-oif time and

Trajan,

been

five centuries Darius

and to be

seem

this

in the

or

have

his resistless

barbarian

been

since

the

Great,

and

vicinityduring

intervened

between

Turkish

the

the

as

centers

and

twenty-

advent

legions. Certain spots of

perennialbattle

part of the Danube,

notable

the land

of

the earth

bordering of the most

history shows, is one

of them.

It is in this

part of the Danube

adequate idea its

here

that

of

leaders

has

Alexander

Philip of Macedon,

!

countless

have

hordes

this ill-fated land

war-theater

transcendent

of the

that

begins to have

one

size of this historic

importance

in

the

waterway

mercantile

and

an

of

life of

of this much discussed paign camilluminating account, with a map, The Geographical System of against the Scythians, see Herodotus, Vol. I, sec. 7, 8 (by J. Rennell, London, 1830). Cf. also The Five Great York, 1881) ; Monarchies, Vol. Ill, pp. 434, 435 (by G. Rawlinson, New The History of Herodotus, Melpomene, 87-143; E. H. Bunbury's A History of 23

For

an

of

Ancient till the

Darius

the Greeks Geography Among of the Roman Empire, Vol.

Fall

and

Romans

from I.,pp. 202-206, 217

the

earliest

Agea

(London, 1883).

FEOM

32

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

Europe. It is surpassed by no other European river except in the lovely park of Prince its source the Volga. From it delivers its Fiirstenberg, at Donaueschingen, to where mighty tribute to the Black Sea, the length of the Danube than two-thirds of is nearly eighteenhundred miles ^more "

that of

But and

**

our

famed

Mississippi.

in the amount

the

and

character

of the

traffic it bears

is incomparably people it serves, the Danube to our superior to the Volga and even great of Waters." The the is Volga, like Mississippi,

number

Father

of

only a national river,while the Danube majesticallysweeps and kingdoms and empires of through many principalities Europe and assures regions widely easy relations between in the past has served as separated. And, as the Danube the great natural route for the migrations of nations and the

warring

hordes

of Asia

and

Europe,

it is now, 's great highways of so

more

than

before,one of the world commerce and industry, and from present indications the day is not far distant when, economically,it will be the greatest. for this seemingly paradoxical assertion is The reason The importance of rivers is not due to their not far to seek. of water, but rather to the density of length and volume ever

the

the

population on their banks and to the industrial productivity of the peoples who dwell in their vicinity.Thus, of the most fernot only passes tile Danube through some

world, where intensive agriculture is carried but also facilitates to the highest degree of efficiency, of all kinds between the exchange of commodities distant nations and delivers supplies and the necessary raw terial malands

in the

to the countless

industrial centers

Of the affluents of the Danube

that

of middle

Europe. are navigable,or large than sixty,while the

rafts,there are more of the Danube of inhabitants along the course number alone is more than Add to this the myriads of fiftymillions. tributaries and this people who dwell along its numerous number will be greatly augmented. immense It will not of people who live along the only far exceed the number enough

to float

Volga

ON

THE

and

are

of

that

DANUBE

BLUE

Mississippi basin, if

the

It

States.

United

entire

it does

Napoleon considered the Danube that *Hhe center and Talleyrand declared

rivers

is not Paris

nor

If these

two

eminent

personages

stronger

existed

than

views

but the Mouths

much

have

would

Berlin

a

value

engineers, the highway has

of modern

the

king of gravity

of

' * -*

living they entertaining such

For, thanks of the

this

now

for

century ago.

for

of the Danube. were

reasons

pass sur-

indeed

not

was

that

reason

33

but will also far benefited by its traffic,

of the

that

equal

BEAUTIFUL

to the

Danube

as

genius a

great By

immensely enhanced. dredging the canal at the Iron Gate, by jettying the Sulina provement other imof the delta and by making innumerable branch of the river, the European along the course commercial

been

than charge for more of this great international half a century of the betterment waterway, has eliminated the dangers to navigation which the river navigable for previously existed and has made before possible. Since the establishment much larger craft than was Commission of this International by the Treaty of traffic passing through the of Paris in 1856, the amount has increased of the Danube mouth enormously. According to a recent officialreport of the Commission, SailingShips tons of two hundred registerhave given way to steamers tons register,carrying a dead weight up to four thousand tons and good order has succeeded of nearly eight thousand

Commission,

Danube

which

has

had

* *

chaos.''"

far-reachingutilityof the Danube greatly augmented by the construction of such it with the Tisza, and still the one which connects

But this is not all. The been

has

canals

as

by

more

the famous It

Ehine.

was

King Charles gunboats was 24

C,

matter

of

Kanal

which

Le

links it with

particularpleasure

of Eoumania

when

able,thanks

to the

Ludwig et

the

to the late

the Roumanian

Danube, Apergu historique,Sconomique Baicoianu, Paris, 1917). See Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.).

Cf.

I. 25

a

Ludwig

Kanal,

flotilla of to steam

politique,Chap. II (by '

BERLIN

FROM

34

London

directlyfrom and

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

to tlieBlack

Sea

by

of the Rhine

way

the Danube.

And

yet

When

more.

the

projected Danube-Salonica

and the Danube-Oder Canals, both Canal, the Danube-Elbe will tap under construction,shall be completed, the Danube the greatest industrial centers of middle Europe and will reduce the Suez by one-half the trade water route between and Baltic Seas as comCanal and the ports of the North pared of Gibraltar.^^ route by way with the present water controlled was Recalling the days when the Danube by barons the massive castles along the robber who tenanted Genoese all but paralyzed; when its banks, and trade was

and

treacherous

to collect

waters

of Wallachia forests

sailed their small

merchants

Venetian

and

of Russia

hides

and

when

it

;

furs was

from

grain

from

but

a

the

craft down

the

fertile fields

vast

Turkish

its

plains and

River

as

the

Lake, we can better appreciate its various phases of development during the past and more fullyrealize the vast expansion of trade which it has to be since its navigation was, in 1856, declared witnessed And to the time when free to all nations. looking forward artificial waterways, now all the numerous projected or of the Danube nearing completion, shall extend the arms and industrial metropolises of Central to all the commercial Europe, we can well believe that historic river will then, from the standpoint of international trade,be not only the most tant important river in Europe, but also the most imporin the world. merce Then, indeed,will this highway of combe, in the words of Napoleon, the king of rivers,and of Tallyrand, if it then, too, will be verified the statement it a century ago, **Le centre not justified when he made was de gravite de V Europe n'est pas a Paris, ni a Berlin,mais Black

aux 28

Sea

B ouches C/. The

but

was

a

Turkish

du Danube.*'

Orient

^^

Question, Appendix C

(by

Prince

Lazarovich-Hebeliano-

York, 1913). vich, New 27 of Cf. Baicoianu, op. cit.,p. 14. See also for an illuminating discussion Bassin du du this same Histoire La du Danube, Question Politique subject J^tudea dea divera Danube; rigimea applicablea d la navigation du Danube (by G. Demorgny, Paris, 1911).

36

FKOM

distance

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

the littleisland of Fido-Nisi

called from

the

number

great

infest its sea-lashed Russian

and

Serpent Island

"

of snakes

cliffs and

about

Turkish

BABYLON

AND

which

which,

sailors have

said to

are

from

so

"

memorial im-

time

told the most

fantastic stories. In

Leuce antiquity it was known as "Leuce, the white, where the souls of heroes "

According to Homer, placed in Iliad,were

the ashes

rest,^*

Achilles,the hero of the and deposited in a tumulus

of

golden urn This elevated the promontory of Sigeum in the Troad. on headland, visible far out on the ^gean, served as a Later for passing mariners. form landmark poets,however, inthat the body of Achilles was from the snatched us ferred burning pyre by Thetis, his goddess-mother, and transto the Island of Leuce where, with his bosom friend, and other heroes,^ it was Patroclus speedily worshipped by the Greeks who here erected a temple in the hero's this

For

honor.

Leuce

reason

Sea, written Hadrian, says:

it

whom

statue

It is destitute which

his

of

a

Periplus of the peror report to the Em-

There

who

temple, as cups, are offeringsto Achilles. in the

Greek

and

praiseof Patroclus, whom venerable whom

he

legend had

has

loved

in

it that

now

workmanship.

pastured only by

here

said

are

offeringsare more

Achilles,by existinga temple son

of ancient

and

touch

Many rings and

written

are

of Achilles

of inhabitants

those

to her

this island

of Achilles.

memory

Troy

the

as

of Achilles,others call it the others Leuce, from its color. Thetis

inhabited.

was

wooden

a

A

form

in the

chariot of Achilles,and is said to have given up

1

known

call this the Island

Some

goats

in

Arrian

historian

Greek

The

and

long

was

of Achilles.

Island

Euxine

a

valuable

to

offer to the in this

suspended gems.

few

a

All

these

Inscriptionsare also suspended in Latin languages Some are those who are disposed to honor Achilles

met

here

life,by hearsay,although

the he

shade of had never

Helen seen

of her.

THE

EUXINE

AND

THE

BOSPHOEUS

37

Achilles treat with

equal respect. Many birds inhabit this These gulls,divers, and coots innumerable.

island,as sea birds frequent the temple of Achilles. Every day in the their morning they take their flightand, having moistened wings, flyback again to the temple and sprinkle it with the moisture, which having performed they brush and clean the It is said that Achilles pavement with their wings. has have appeared in time of sleep both to those who approached the coast of this island and also to such as have been sailinga short distance from it and instructed most them where the island was safelyaccessible and where the ships might best lie at anchor. They also say further that Achilles has appeared to them not in time of sleep,or the mast, or at the extremity a dream, but in a visible form on of the yards, in the same the Dioscuri have as manner appeared. This distinction,however, must be made between the appearance of Achilles and that of the Dioscuri, that who the latter appear evidently and clearly to persons foretell a so navigate the sea at large, and, when seen, is seen the figure of Achilles whereas voyage, prosperous only by such as approach this island.^ ...

A

short

brings

sail southwestwardly from in

us

view,

on

Trajan's

of

wall

starboard, of the important

our

It is located

of Constanza. and

the island of Achilles

had

at the

extremity

eastern

specialinterest

a

for

port sea-

because

me

poet Ovid was The privationswhich banished by the Emperor Augustus. this distant boundary of the Eoman he had to endure on its site is

and

Empire the

to the of the of the

Tomi

of

miseries

of the

to which

the

of his life among

Euxine

are

the

graphicallydescribed

in his Tristia

and

These

Dioscuri

by

Letters

and the of Achilles Dioscuri, alleged appearances electrical the lambent discharges known evidently Arrian, were called also Fires. corposant, Helena, and, when They are 2

barbarians

from Pontus. climate of this inhospitableplace was trying indeed from the palace exile who had just come disconsolate Caesars and who had so long enjoyed all the delights Roman capital. For here, to his eyes, the fields were

poet

The

the

shore

the

on

that

near

"

namely.

Castor

and

Pollux.

referred

to

as

St.

in

pairs,

by

Elmo's the

BEELIN

FEOM

38

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

and verdure, the spring without flowers,and snow eternal. The long hair and beards which concealed ice were he was whom the visage of the rude Sarmatians, among compelled to live,clicked with icicles. Wine froze and had without

cut with

to be

cold

was

sword.

a

more

According in his time

severe

arctic winter

memorable

temperature

fell

low

so

for weeks

and

people

able to pass shore.

were

European It

the ice

on

in this cheerless

was

than

from

foot

enclosed that

he

in

a

modest

might

during so granted.^

urn,

be

not

an

during

was

frozen

was was

the

the the

over

thick that

so

Asiatic

to the

and

frigidregion,far from home Rome's greatest poets spent the

friends,that one of of his life and here it was last eight years Before his death he had expressed a wish and

the

account

later when

the Euxine

the Bosphorus on

it

centuries

many

that

to Ovid's

should

be taken

that that

to Rome

exile after death,

as

he

died.

his ashes, in order

he had

been

of his life, but his request was not years many A tradition exists that a tomb was erected to his

in

scholars as much Tomi, but there is among doubt respectingthe existence,or location of such a tomb, of the poet 's there always has been regarding the reason as him banishment and on so by one who had showered many so great favors. of his According to a legend that Ovid recalls in one here that a elegies,Tomi was place of ill omen, for it was memory

Medea carved

limbs.

according to Inde Membra

From noted

her brother

murdered

the

And the

it

was

from

poet, that the

Thomis soror

most

dictus

strewed

and

locus

the

this atrocious

town

of Tomi

sea

with

his

fratricide,

took its name

:

hie,quia feriur in illo

frairisconsecuisse sui* remote

for the

has been antiquity the Euxine rors tempests and for the reputed ter-

fury of its of its navigation, as well

8

Tristia, Lib.

Ill, Elegia, III.

*

Tristia, Lib.

II, Elegia,

IX.

as

for the savage

character

THE

EUXINE

of the inhabitants called

called the

THE

its coast.

on

it Pontus as

AND

Axenus

For

the

"

BOSPHORUS this

39 the ancients

reason

inhospitablesea.

if to

placate its fury, by Euxine the hospitable sea

a

"

it

euphemism,

an

"

quently, Subse-

which

name

was

it has

since borne. the first name

But

simply

was

the

sea

Pontos

the Greek

"

word

The

excellence.

par

to this extended

given

for

body

sea

if it

as

"

of water were

traveler,Giovanni

noted

da

Carpini, a Franciscan friar,and Ricoldo da Monte di Croce, a Dominican missionary in the Orient, called it In the Itinerarium, howthe great sea. Mare ever, Magnum Piano

"

Blessed

of Mare

Majus

of Marco

Nigrum, it the

the

"

Polo

Friar

all.

Oderic

greater

who

sea

speaks

likewise Mare

name

Pordenone

does

Maurum

it bears

it does

as

"

calls it Mare

Jordanus

as

of

the

as

Sir John

But

Black

Modern

name

Viaggi

this is not

Sea

Mandeville

Mauros,

"

also in I

Maggiore,

of it

the

Mare

"

who

gives

in

Byzantine, as in there was, probably,

But Greek, signifyingblack. for callingthis sea better reason black than there was no for giving to certain other well-known the epithetsof seas all this it appears that what red,white, and yellow. From we

know

now

as

well

the

Euxine

or

Black

Sea

has

been

rich in

in

myths and legends." The not only for legendary Euxine, however, is famed associations but for having been for centuries a section of the great highway between It the Occident and the Orient. brated was by this route that Fra Oderic of Pordenone, that celederful missionary of the fourteenth century, made his wonjourney from Venice to China and other parts of the Far East. Polo It was route that Marco by the same the most returned traveler of the Middle famous Ages Asia from his long peregrinations in eastern to his home in the Queen City of the Adriatic. it was And by way of

names

as

as

"

"

the

8

Euxine

For

Marco

Way

the

that

various

Marco

names

Polo's

of the

Euxine

father

or

and

Black

Polo, Vol. I, p. 3 (trans, by H. Yule, London, Thither, Vol. II, p. 98 (printed for the Hakluyt

uncle

had

pre-

Sea, cf. The Book of Ser 1903) ; Cathay and The Society, London, 1913).

40

FROM

ceded

him

BERLIN to far-off

received

BABYLON

AND

where

Cathay

famous

the

by

BAGDAD

TO

they

cordially

most

were

Khan.

Kublai

of the important link in one time immemorial world's great commercial highways. From connected three great trade routes which there were It

China

India

and

route

which

of the

coasts

which

for

by

from

started the

and

Parthia other

One

down

the

to the Euxine.

thence

greatest interest for of the

one

than

Long

of made Arsinoe

India,long

his famous on

palus made the a

very

route

to the

is the trade a

"

commercial

West

the

which

crossed

Antioch.

in

ended

that

route

that

route

The and

Sea

Caspian

the

has

served for

highways

before

voyage

Bactra

made

as

more

the Greek

from and

the

SkyJax centuries

his

epoch-making discovery of

large volume

Karyanda Indus

before

to

Hip-

the existence

of

Ocean, which

of the Indian

ocean-bound

many

of

of the

mouth

Red

Sea,

for the invasion

his base

the

the moonstones

and

years.

Alexander

before

reached

route

present

chief

Arabian

and

great overland

caravan

and

at

sea

to Alexandria

and

"

river Oxus

us

world's

thousand

two

the

This

the

was

place ^long,like Babylon, a marketand world a great emporium

"

Mesopotamia

passed

phrates Eu-

Thapports

or

other

Persian

the

commerce

was

and

second

Sea

Red

was

the

of

Chinese

roads.

two

Bactra

races

and

Indian

the

by

third

The

Sidon.

and

Tyre

The

along the

India

from

went

Zeugma,

to

Gulf

to the

Indus

Antioch

to

proceeded

Aden, thence

to

river

latter

the Persian

was

of the

mouth

Mediterranean.

eastern

which

route

the

along this it

One

Europe.

from

whence

sacus,

an

ages

with

ran

and

for

for

also

was

trafiSc between

of the luxuries

immensely augmented India and Egypt,

of the Far

East

found

their way to the Occident by the great Oxus-Caspian-Euxine and trade route. And while the ships of Tarshish

Quinquiremes Rowing home With

cargoes

Sandalwood,

of Nineveh to haven

of ivory cedarwood

from distant Ophir^

in sunny Palestine, and apes and peacocks, and

sweet, white

wine,

EUXINE

THE

AND

bringing to Syria

were

BOSPHOEUS

the Land

of Malabar

the coast

from

and

THE

41

of the Pharaohs

ures treas-

and

The

spicy shore Ardhy the blest,

Of interminable

and

caravans

countless

merchantmen

were

ing busy along the Oxus-Caspian-Euxine route bearand Rome silks from to Byzantium and Athens China other stuffs from and Benares and and Bengal; muslin tortoise-shell the Golden from Kotumbara; Chersonese; Sind; drugs, spices, cosmetics, perfumes, indigo from from other pearls, beryls, and precious stones parts; from from costus Cashmere; pepper Malabar; gums, from the forests of spikenard,lycium, and malabathrum the Himalayas; and sapphires, rubies, and aquamarines from Burma, Siam, and Vaniyambadi.

always

"What

the

was

between

the

Occident, especiallyafter the establishment under be gauged by Romana Augustus, may the unprecedented demand by the fashionable

Pax that

for all kinds

of Rome

imperiled

of

Arabia

Orient of the

Tabriz

in

in Persia

of Venice

by

Far

and

Bosphorus,

this point the way

was

funeral

conducted

their

single item

indulged

Sulla, before

of

more

in

the of

pounds

had

sive expen-

Poppoea

that the merchant their

commerce

Passing through galleysproceeded

their chief

of

ously seri-

than

Bagdad by Hulaku Khan, and commercial great political

entrepot

enterprising traders

of the Sea

pyre

world

of

the Euxine

East.

and

which

the

Genoa

and

Middle

Crimea

the

fact

year.

a

became

cityof Asia, it was

the

on

the

while

thousand

consumed, while Nero

after the destruction

When,

twelve

than

more

burnt

produced

obsequies

a

the

the

At

Augustus, precious spiceswere aromatics

In

extravagance

of

time

finances.

for

funerals, the

incredible.

seems

luxuries

of eastern

imperial

the

for

aromatics

by

this trade

the

and

of

of

volume

on

the

princes with

Hellespont

to Kaffa

the Euxine.

continued

the

their

Azov, the Don, and the Volga to

in the From course a

port

BERLIN

FROM

42

Sea.

Caspian

the

on

TO

Thence

AND

their

journey

long overland

their

BAGDAD

BABYLON started

caravans

lofty mountains

over

through vast deserts and hostile nations to far Cathay in quest of the highly-prizedcommodities kilns and Kaffa

from

looms.

Other

traders

Trebizond

to

whence

broad, arid plains to Tabriz. of India

and

and distant of Chinese

directlyby sea they journeyed over went

Here

their

numerous

the rich fabrics of Persia

with

laden

were

on

vans cara-

and

the

rare

Isles of

the

these Spicery. From centers of Asiatic traffic, ported long lines of patient camels transtheir preciousburdens to ports on the Euxine where and Venetian ceive a fleet of Genoese galleys was waiting to re-

products

the merchandise of

cost

labor

much

so

the

among

Before

the

was

marts

at Sulina

for

of

Argonauts the tempestuous Euxine mariners

trust

themselves

of Ovid

its

and

"during

four

destinies

of

Africa;

that

alone

from

the

that

Venice

twelfth

that

Europe;

alone

Genoese

of

controlled

barbarous

Ages."

Nuova

Istoria

Letteratura

been

the

fifteenth does

In

the

and

the to

the

were

to

the words

was

hesitate

of the commerce

declare

arbiters

trade-routes

of these

commerce

Repuhhlica Origini aW Anno

have

who

century

not

Venetians

della

byword

a

to the turbulence

thronged

the

has

waves.

writer

inhabitants

dalle

at the

tributed subsequently dissouthern Europe.^

travelers

only

and

alone

they

their

Sua

to

Italian

an

centuries, the

they

dread

inferior

was

civilized

Middle delta

the

to its storm-lashed

fury

So paramount

of Genoa

and

risk and

I almost Constantinople, the time of Bosphorus. From

to the

voyage

among

6

which

and

much

so

expectant

embarking

dreaded the

collected at

of

that, of

Asia

continents; that

dispelled the

they

of

darkness

the and the

di Genova, del 8uo Commercio 1797, Vol. I, p. 7 (by Michel-

e

Giuseppe Canale, Florence, 1858). In

marked

contrast

and

Venice, the

Genoa and

sea

monopoly equally

furnishers it

to

this

of the

division

of the

commerce

between

world

Venetian

claim author, Fabio Mutinelli, would them for his countrymen. "To alone," he writes, "are

they alone open; of all the world which

possessed." Del

Commercio

are

the

poured

dei

channel

into

their

Veiieziani, p. 126

of

all the

hands

earth

and

riches

all the

cantile mer-

a

money

the

which

(V^enice, 1835).

For of the Kuxine trade routes interesting accounts during the period in consult with de la Mer question the reader may profit Histoire dn Commerce Noire (by Elie de la Priraaudaie) ; Le Danube, Chap. II (by C. I. Baicoianu,

Paris, 1917); Earliest

Times

Intercourse

Between

of Rome

India

and H.

the G.

Western

World

from

the

Rawlinson, Cambridge, Eng(by land, 1916) ; Travels Polo, Vol. I, Bk. I, Chap. IX of Marco (by Henry Yule, This is specially valuable for its numerous London, 1903). masterly work Polo, as well as those of the elder Polos indicating the routes of Marco maps See also Oeschiohte des Lev ante -handela im Mittelalter, Vol. II, through Asia. fir. 158 Wilholm Heyd, Stuttgart, 1879). (by pp. 76, 78, to

the

Fall

BERLIN

FROM

44

TO

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

fabled to close upon and crush all ships phorus,which were them. When Jason with that attempted to pass between his fifty-oared ship,the Argos, and his fiftyheroes set out the golden fleece he

for Colchis to fetch back

had

Phineus, who Harpies by two hitherto

he

instructions

the

to

great collidingrocks.

these

between

pass

obliged to ever, Thanks, how-

was

received

had

from

delivered

been

of the Argonauts, he

impossiblepassage

and

from the

the

tormenting

able to effect this

was

proceed without

to

seer,

ruption inter-

to his destination.

positionsthey

eyotlike rocks

the

this event

After

atic however, on the AsiBosphorus has, owing to the action of the

now

side of the

The

fixed in the

became

occupy.

one,

the waves. The elements, long since disappeared beneath other, on the European side, is also rapidly disintegrating,

and

will litter the floor of the

soon

shall retain

men

as

the Golden

and

the Argonauts

a

called

the shores

and

"

are

associations

bay

and

promontory

the Euxine the

Even

as

"

the

Symplegades

long and

are

exceptionally

are

do myth

with

names

and

historic souvenirs

and

varieties

and

as

literature.

of the Euxine

in the world

Nowhere

numbers

will endure

things of great historic and mythological phorus. in this respect surpassed by the Bos-

rich in places and

interest,they

Islands

the story of

fascinatingin myth

in art and

legend and the beautiful Although the Cyanean now

Fleece

for the

love

But

sea.

as

they

do

of this famous the

bestowed

Sea

about

tional legend, tradi-

cluster

in such

every

rock

and

waterway

that

nects con-

of Marmora.

upon it was

this channel

have

been

the as variously known Mouth, the Throat, the Door, and the Key of the Euxine. To-day it is frequently called the Narrows, or the Strait the Canal of Constantinople. But the appellationwhich or is still the most popular and that by which it is usually designated is that which has its origin in one of the earliest

manifold.

of

the

ancients

expressed in English, the name, Cow-Ford, or Ox-Ford, seems very prosaic, signifies

Greek

which

To

legends. As

THE

EUXINE

but the legend

THE

BOSPHORUS

it is based

which

on

poets and

with

AND

45

has always been

ite favor-

a

artists.

loved lo, the beautiful priestess of Hera at Argos, was of the jealousy of the by Zeus and was, in consequence into a heifer. goddess, metamorphosed Arriving at the side of the strait,so the fable runs, eastern she plunged into its swiftly-flowingwaters and swam to the European from

And

shore.

been

has

watercourse

time

that

the

to

known

present, this famed

the world

over

the Bos-

as

phorus. promontory of Anadoli Kavak the Bosphorus, we get a view of the long regarded as one of the most the

On of was

then

Covered

world.

pagan

twelve

to the

of

sumptuous

founded

Jason

by

for the

their

from it stood

a

Museum,

consecrated

prosperous

The

said

side

which

places in the cated temples dedia as place of most imposing to

have

been

giving TJrius,in thanks-

to Zeus

of himself

return

and

his fellow

nauts Argo-

successful

was

which

sailor who

The

and

of which on

gorgeous

Olympia. temples was

pricelessstatue

at the base

sacred

and

these

safe

site of Hieron

greater gods it ranked

pilgrimage with Delphi and

with

the Asiatic

on

a

expedition to Colchis. Within of Zeus made of ivory and gold, slab,now preserved in the British

inscribed

were

invokes

:

TJrius that he may

Zeus

Cyanean

the

either toward

voyage

words

the

enjoy a Rocks,

or

able ^gean sea, itself unsteady and filled with innumerdangerous shoals scattered here and there,can have a if first he sacrifices to the god whose prosperous voyage of gratitude statue Philo Antipater has set up, both because the

on

and

to insure

unlike

But thanks very

favorable

Delphi

to the labors

much

to remind

places,**not of Hieron in

so

many

augury

and

Olympia and

of French one

stone

of the

upon former attest to its to a

to sailors.

other parts of

where German

there

still, archaeologists,

past grandeur a

stone''

is

remains

of these historic on

the site

splendor and majesty. As the world, the temples of Hieron

BERLIN

FROM

46

served

BAGDAD

TO

quarriesfor peoples of

as

AND later age

a

who

knew

not

specialinterest in consigning And where, in days of yore, the them to oblivion. in the most of sacrifice, and the smoke clouds of incense superb of temples stimulated the fervor of vast multitudes from far distant lands, the traveler to-day finds nothing of the pristineglory of Hieron except what nature gave it its superb site and its enchanting vistas of the Bosphorus the gods of Olympus,

had

BABYLON

who

or

a

"

the Euxine.

and

the fall of

After

into

converted

been

Having

the Bosphorus, it

on

attack

the whole

army

was

of

enemies

vicissitudes.

many

strongest fortresses time and again singled out for the Byzantine Empire. Among Harun-al-Rashid

was

Bagdad with Constantinople and with from

way

the conquest of

had

of the

one

of them

celebrated

the most an

the

by

Hieron

paganism,

who

of effecting

view

a

led

it of the

Byzantine stronghold

and the At a later date Hieron Empire. of the the opposite side of the Strait fell into the hands on it was Not Genoese. captured by the long afterwards Sultan Bayazid I, **the Thunderbolt, and since then it has ' '

been A

is

a

short

distance

beautiful

encamped tree

possessionof

in the

to the

is here

southwest,

valley where their way

on

the Turks. the

the Crusaders

to the

which

seen

on

the

A

colossal **

of

name

Godfrey of Bouillon,''from a tradition that by this famous hero of the Christian host. Roumeli

At

Hissar, we

Bosphorus and one According and

to

Ten

his immortal

after their

which

famous

reach

from

of the of the of Asia

by

Alexander

Here, too, it ^

was

was

of

tree

planted

point of

the

Xenophon into Europe crossed over the heart of Babylonia did, the military weakness was

which, revealing,as it Persian Colossus, paved the Granicus, the Tssus, and Arbela

retreat

a

it

plane

tions. rich in historical associa-

tradition,it

retreat

Plane

the narrowest

is most

Thousand

said to have

are

Holy Land.

bears

shore,

European

here

that

"

way

and

the

victories

for the

conquest

for

the Great. that Mandrocles

of Samos

constructed

EUXINE

THE

the

AND

bridge of boats Darins

under

to

that

THE

BOSPHORUS

the vast

enabled

47

Persian

into

army of that

Europe at the time disastrous monarch's campaign against the Scythians. elated by his achievement Mandrocles thai; he had so was in the temple of Hera, in his native it commemorated Samos, by a picture with the inscription: cross

The

fish-fraughtBosphorus bridged, to Juno's Did Mandrocles this proud memorial bring; When he'd skill to gain, for himself a crown For Samos praise,contenting the Great King, But

large volume

a

would

notice of the countless souvenirs from been

the

without has

which

the Euxine of

scenes

required to give even a brief torical myths, legends,traditions,and hiscluster

the shores

Golden

and

the dawn

been

that have

about

to the

constantly a bone conflictinginterests and an

the

be

tragedies

From

number.

fane

Horn.

They have and romances intrigues of history the Bosphorus

of contention

important

convulsed

of the Bosphorus

Asia

rival and

among

factor

in many

of

and

Europe. And until a plan shall be elaborated for eliminatinginternational jealousies and harmonizing the antagonistic policiesand and creeds,it aspirationsof many peoples of divers races is not probable that the future history of this unique waterway that of the past. will be materially different from great

Altruism

and, from

wars

among

has

so

far been

present indications,the day

it will be revealed

/^

nations

confined

to words

is far distant

when

in deeds.

It is

not, however, through its legendary and storied its strongest appeal to the past that the Bosphorus makes It is rather through its scenic beauty ordinary traveler. the enchanting vistas it everywhere offers on both the Asihave for ages These the European been and shore. have been priviin song and story and few who celebrated leged to gaze them will say that their praises have been on exaggerated. From whatever point the Strait is viewed it "

Iatic

its

Horn

of

succession

the

are

Sublime

to the

accredited

ambassadors

to the Golden

the

There

minarets.

and

mosques,

along

tinuous conBosphorus an almost kiosks, palaces, chalets,bungalows,

bordering

sees

one

all

interest.

the Euxine

from

the entire distance

Almost

BABYLON

exhibits

and

objects of exhaustless

countless

course

highestdegree

the

picturesquein

is

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

48

imposing Porte,

homes

the

of

ous luxuri-

wealthy pashas and merchant princes tanas, of Stamboul, the superb marble palaces of sultans and suland all surrounded by inviting groves artistically of the

residences

parks

laid-out

rich in flowers

and

from

trees

climes.

many

glens and verdant dales are picturesq houses villagesand hamlets whose quaint wooden form a strikingcontrast to the magnificent structures which in their immediate vicinity. are beautiful valleys that debouch into the BosOf the many phorus Here

and

there

in shaded

Geuk

is that of the Great Asiatic

side

which

Su

appealed to pines, somber

Sweet

"

Water

"

the

on

strongly. Its and clumps of balmy graceful cypresses, and of mimosas its romantic wide-spreadingplanes, groves magnolias, and beech trees whose sycamores, pendent branches dip into the crystal stream tures present rarest picof sylvan charm and loveliness. minded They forciblyreof similar spots of scenic beauty which, me years in the far-famed Vale before, had so fascinated me of

Tempe

in northern

Great

the

as

me

most

Thessaly. Emptying

Sweet

Water

into the

is the Little Sweet

bay

same

Water

and

the

valleys of these two enchanting streams together with their common of bay constitute the so-called ''Sweet Waters

Asia.*'"

Their

long been

a

well

for

as

But

"pot "The reaeMi

of the

what was

attractive

favorite

groves

of

interested

me

the countless

Sweet Waters of the Golden

Bosphorus.

greenswards

pleasance for Ottomans

foreignresidents most

and

of Asia Horn are

groups

and so

and

have

Greeks

as

Constantinople. in this heart-gladdening

of merry

and

beautiful

chil-

the Sweet of Europe on the Upper Waters called in contradistinction to the salt waters

AND

EUXINE

THE

THE

BOSPHORUS

49

and brought here by their mothers for an to be everywhere. nurses outing. They seemed Running and leaping,laughing and shouting,singing and the bushes and dancing, vanishing among appearing suddenly rein the broad greensward, their littleforms were and perfect pictures of restless energy unalloyed happiness. dressed like children Many of the boys and girlswere in the Bois de Boulogne and their features one sees were in the East mated anidid I see a more just as fair. Nowhere or a more charming scene except, perhaps, on the who

dren

been

had

embowered

reaches

upper

And

in their

row

lightand

garbed

were

color, but the

To

as

was

sat

others

chaffya

still retained

we^e cloak the

earth

and

far

in mind

graceful feridgi and

and

in Southern of the

three

a

universal classes.

attractions

he

had

have

must

Persia.

Moslem's

sang

some

sun-kissed

the

such

It

of

supplies,in "

sweet an

repose.

enchanting spot

:

varied

in beauty may

the

chief est delights

land

color though

on

ows mead-

of the cedar and the vine, Where the flowers ever blossom, the beams ever shine; Where citron and olive are fairestof fruit, And the voice of the nightingalenever is mute; the tints of the earth and the hues of the sky, Where In

use

veritable paradise

trees, flowingwater, and

when

The

veil of somber

and

vaunted

of Damascus

Beram

fullest measure,

poet

the

surpasses

groves

of Shaab

The

of them

of Asia are quite as poets the Sweet Waters the Vale of Tempe to the ancient Greeks. For

poets of the East this spot is

umbrageous

a

caiques'. Most

to the

celebrated

enjoyingpleasant

of the well-to-do

women

the

themselves

formerly in almost

were

on

fully as quietlyconversing under

gaily decked

tchar

Ottoman

eastern

dear

few

a

which

yashmak among

in the

enjoy

to

Some

trees while

the umbrageous

Europe

Horn.

seemed

their children.

as

of

Waters

Sweet

Golden

of the

mothers

the

much

of the

banks

vie.

precludes

Space

place

of

large

structure

site

on

to be

the

is

Baghtcheh in

blanche

and

the

of

Only

condition

one

that

that

Sultan

and

surpass

in

world.

Architecturally

magnificence

Greek, Roman, styles

and

exliibits

the

Petrograd,

and

the

noted

in

Park

clad

and many "

an

emerald, each

Constantinople,

Vol.

* *

a

and

of

the

the

Palace

as

as

green

a

Baghtcheh, in

136

the

pearl placed between

(by

E.

A.

a

in size and

Grosvenor,

Boston,

is

sailles, Verin

foreground

a

words

ground backwith of

turquoise loveliness

"

I, p.

of

in Moscow.

Kremlin

the

the

what

Louvre,

Winter

Dolma

jewel multiplied

in

Renaissance

exteriorly

perennial of

should

combination

carvings, is, indeed,

writer,

million-fold.*'

in

by the

structure

Bosphorus

palace

lace-like

enthusiastic

and

palaces Vienna,

him

on

carte

tecture. archi-

of

style

strange

a

Abdul-

imperial palace

interiorly

,the snow-white

an

is

Ionian-blue

Imperial

its delicate

other

imperial palace of

the

the

completed

Turkish, Persian,

Schonbrunn

With the

it

both

in

the

every

Moorish,

admirable

most

and

was

Serai

given

was

of

most

the

Sultan

imposed

was

the

as

and

expenditure

a

phorus. Bos-

palace

of

one

architect, Balian,

matter

It is

gorgeous

the

the

by

favorite

most

stands

built

Kiosk

commanding

It is known

was

of

matchless

undoubtedly

world.

Armenian

His

is

in the

of

which

shores

the

its

the

along

the

II.

of the

one

to

Yildiz

been

from

and

on

what

palaces

Medjid.

hill

edifices

Abdul-Hamid

anywhere

seen

grandiose Dolma

Sultan

hill it affords

the

reference

having

as

marble

seen

of

foot

Kiosk

Yildiz

the

BABYLON

bay-indented

magnificent

of white

grove-clad

a

panoramas

At

of

residence

the

is noted

"

AND

passing

a

adorn

these

Star

of the

^Palace

"

which

Of

Bosphorus.

BAGDAD than

more

palaces

sumptuous the

TO

BERLIN

FROM

50

1895).

BERLIN

FROM

52

TO

BAGDAD

point of view which

velous

AND

the human

eye

BABYLON

contemplate

can

earth.^

on

Chateaubriand

ahnost the same expresses '^On n' exagere point quand

declares

he

sentiment

when\

dit que Con^ de Vunivers."^

on

^

stantinopleoffre le plus beau point de vue But notwithstandingthis almost extravagant statement, the

distinguishedlitterateur

does not hesitate to add

in

note, foot-

a

*'I,however, prefer the bay of Naples." Like Lamartine and Chauteaubriand, I, too, was greatly impressed by my first view of Constantinoplewhen seen from the deck of our steamer the mastit glided towards as thronged harbor of the Golden Horn, but, as I have stated elsewhere,^the prize,for the World's City Beautiful, must, to Rio de Janeiro, the incomparable me judice,be awarded capitalof Brazil. It is not within the scope of this chapter to give even a brief description of Constantinople. That is rendered of valuable books which by the scores quite unnecessary have been written on this fascinatingsubject. This, however, does not mean that I was not intensely interested in its countless attractions that they did not make or deep impressions on me and give rise to serious reflections. Far in visiting its available hour from it. I spent every and in contemplatschools,museums ing churches, mosques, its hoary, lichen-covered walls ruins, its battlemented and ivy-festooned towers which, for long ages, cast their 1 Among the usually known

is also

In

the

The

Mohammedan it is the Mother The

the northern

is referred

Tsargrad

as

are

prodigal in

the

Portal

of

to

Patriarch "

the

as

name

Castle

epithetswhich Felicity,the Gate the

Nova

Roma

this

Q

Voyage Through

en

to

it,

Happiness, the

the

of

Bosphorus Islands.

counting the water part of the Marmora"

Constantinople embraces from

But,

the

Euxine

although

to the

all

the

cities and cluding in-

of Marmora, of superficial extent the

Sea

of the Strait, the expanse is quite large, its actual

Horn Golden is land area

restricted. 2

tained. re-

To

of Csesar.

they apply of

New

"

is still

World.

Princes "

of it

peoples the capital of Turkey is of Constantinople. It

corruption

Greek

of the

speak

municipal government

municipality

a

Frequently it

to

poets, who City of Islam,

villagesfringing

the

love

eastern

Istamboul,

or

official documents

Slavs

of the

other

and

Stamboul,

Constantineh.

called

Rome.

Ottomans as

Orient, Tom. South

America's

Ill, p. 190 (Brussels. 1835). Southland, Chap. IV (New

York, 1916).

the

and paratively com-

NOVA

ROMA

53

the glimmering waters of the Sea of on trembling shadows than eleven hundred and served, for more Marmora years, the fierce of Avars assaults bulwarks effective against as

and

its

And,

Mongols. and

narrow

devious

which

If

building. shadowy

past

noble

and

and

graved en-

of

Cross

the

over

and

the

were

and

time

the last

city of Constantino

art and

virtue that

women

nected con-

intrigue and ambitious eunuchs,

blood-thirstysultans exalted

of the

of

heroism

the fanatic

chief played dislowers fol-

their intention

boastfully announced

Crescent

devoted

these

events

strange

stories

"

and

men

of Mohammed

plant the

dark

conquests

stories, too, of

by

the

special pleasure in

tyranny in which

and

pashas,

heartless

to

esque pictur-

inscriptionsand epitaphs blocks of granite, some on

or

of

stories

"

of violence

"

the

speak, what stories could not and incomplete inscriptionstell

sieges and

with

actors

inspected

could

they

letters

disconnected

deeds

through

way

originalpositionwhile others had been of some construction crumbling wall or now

the

in

my

garians Bul-

and

in their

were

used

of marble

slabs

and

houses, I found

scrutinizingthe letters and on

I threaded

as

streets

tumble-down

and

Slavonians

Persians,

and

Arabs

Goths,

and

to

from

remove

tian vestiges of Chris-

culture.

object to claim my attention after arriving in the majestic and solemn church, now Constantinoplewas The

a

first

Hagia

of

the church

however, Great

Church

"

To

Sophia.

of Santa

mosque,

Sophia

"

it is called

the

church

par

Divine *H

it is known

Greeks

the

More

Wisdom.

as

quently, fre-

MtyaXv] EKKX/jofa **The "

excellence,**

Exteriorly this masterpiece of Byzantine basilicas has the fortress. rounded Suraspect of a massive, irregular time-worn by

all kinds

of

low, unsymmetrical

shops, storehouses, baths, schools,turbehs idea of its originaldesign or external no came

from

and

Isidore

the hands

of its

of Miletus.

"

buildings "

one

can

appearance

Anthemius architects,

have as

it

of Tralles

BERLIN

FROM

54

TO

beauty of Santa

The

AND

Sophia, like

of the

churches

BAGDAD

BABYLON

that of

so

of the

many

Old

But even World, is within. within, the first impression of the ordinary visitor is one of disappointment. But its surpassing beauty and deur granfamous

quicklyreveal

themselves

and

then

one

stands

in

awe

Its marvelous

of design, its harmony of ornamentation, its lavish display of the finest wealth ters, marbles, porphyries,jaspers,serpentines,granites,alabasgold mosaics are bewildering in their effect and one can easilyrealize what must have been the splendor and secration, magnificenceof this august temple when, on the day of conthe emperor Justinian exultantly exclaimed: Glory be to God, who has deemed me worthy to accomplish such an undertaking. ZoAoijgjv, at Solomon, I have veviKyjoa amazement.

and

"

thee I

conquered And before

of

his exclamation

triumph was justified.For the spoils of paganism's great sanctuaries

had

much

so

the erection

towards

and

never tributed con-

embellishment

of

single Christian edifice. Among the massive columns which support the great arches of the basilica are eight of verdantique which were brought from the celebrated Temple of Diana at Ephesus. There are eight of porphyry any

belonged to the Temple of the Sun in Baalbek. These the giftsof the noble Roman were lady,Marcia, who, with characteristic piety, offered them, as she expressed it which

"

Ynlp

vpuxiKyjc[jov

TYic

oajT/jpiac^ for "

the

salvation

of

my

soul. In

addition from

these

to

splendid monoliths

there

are

umns col-

Temple of the Sun, at Palmyra; from the Temple of Jupiter at Cyzicus; from temples in Greece and cades Italy,Egypt, and the Cyclades. Its floor,walls, piers,arof every hue overlaid with precious marbles are the

"

snow-white from

marble

Lybia,

yellow, and

Phrygia,

and

Paros

from

green

from

marble

from

golden marbles Mauritania.

and

On

Pentelicus,azure

ble mar-

Laconia, flecked,rose, Marmora,

all sides

is

a

Synnada, magnificent

NOVA

EOMA

55

and shafts,capitals,cornices,lintels, display of wonderful fold. panels of colors as variegated as their provenience is manifrom In them see grayish marbles we sea-girt Thessaly, cipoUino from Proconnesus, verdantique from from from Synnada, lumachelle Euboea,)Pavonazzetto Chi^ Brocatel from Spain,Fior di Persico from Dalmatia, Bardiglio from the Apennines, giallo antico from distant and

Numidia

and

nero-antico

from

the

still-worked

while

Pyrenees,

of emerald

marbles

are

bianco

there

clime

every

are

the

far-off

quarries of Egypt and imperial purple.

green

Besides

is this all.

Nor

from

of every

marbles

of green

borders

hue

and

from

serpentine,columns

baster jasper of every shade, bands of oriental alaof the Nile, the land of clear honey color from the Thebes of porphyry from of the Pharaohs exedras all arranged so as to produce the most perfect harmony of and

panels

of

"

color

and

the most

impressive effect

in its

the beholders.*

tion, despoiled condiSanta Sophia is still one of the greatest,if not the greatest,triumphs of Church architecture,what must it not have been when and vaultings resplendent with *4ts domes figures''made it, interspersed with solemn gold mosaic what is in many respects the most magnificent temple of worship that the world has yet known. of the beauty The of Paris boasts Grand Opera House of its interior which is adorned with thirty-threevarieties

"When,

even

of marble

the

and

other

but

it cannot

Church

of

present defaced

on

ornamental compare

with

and

stones. the

It is indeed

matchless

tiful, beau-

interior

of

is embellished which by the Holy Wisdom ures spoilof the most superb temples of antiquityand the treasof the richest quarries of the civilized world. No other monarch had at his dispositionsuch has ever had Justinian and precious building materials for rare as the construction of Santa Sophia and it is safe to say that

*

For

son,

an

elaborate

account

of Justinian's

marvelous

Sophia Constantinople, Chaps. Ill, IV, London, 1894).

of Sancta

XI

temple

see

(by Lethaby

The and

Church Swain-

BERLIN

FROM

56

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

again have materials of such, uniqueness When all their richness and value. one, therefore,considers and the admirable in which they have been manner we can easilyunderstand how the legend soon arose utilized, no

will

one

ever

declares

which

workmen

building,the

story according Solomon

of

Holy

Wisdom

speciallyinstructed by

were

Nor

heaven.

from

the Church

that while

need

we

to which

far for

go

Justinian

the

set up

looking at the Great

a

was

angel

an

origin of statue

Church

*'

the

senting repre-

and

gnashing And is not surprised at the his teeth with envy." one rapturous expressions of Corippus, a poet-bishop of the he declares, Praise of the temple of sixth century, when as

**

is

Solomon have

to

silenced

now

the Wonders

yield the preeminence.

the wisdom

of God

Temple, the

other

have

the most

Two

rivaled

Presence.

strikingfeature

of the

shrines

Heaven,

the splendid fane

vestibule of the Divine But

and

one

of Santa

World

founded the

by

Sacred

Sophia,

the

' ' **

of this

ture magnificent strucfrom As viewed is its dome. below, it seems, as of the dome de Stael says of St. Peter's, ^^like Madame one's head," or as the Byzantian an abyss suspended over historian,Nicetas Acominatus, declares *'an image of the created by the Almighty." firmament architectural authority,Fergusson, speakThe eminent ing of Justinian's Internally,at least, masterpiece, avers, inevitable that Santa Sophia is the most the verdict seems **

which has beautiful church yet been perfect and most its furniture was erected by any Christian people. When strongly complete the verdict would have been still more in its favor.""

But

the

Ottomans,

in taking

possession of

this unique

destroyed its priceless furniture mosaic its matchless and and concealed decorations tures picpictures which Ghirlandajo declares are **the only paintings for eternity" with a layer of white-wash! sanctuary, removed

or

"

"

Pars V, p. 498 (by M. Glycas. Bonn). nAnnalium, ^History of Architecture, Vol. II, p. 321 (London, 1867).

NOVA

EOMA

57

despite although in its present condition,it is still, tects Moslem desecration,the delight of the artists and archifar from is as of the world, its interior exhibiting is the exterior of the the glories of its pristine state as Elgin an act of Parthenon, since its mutilation by Lord denounced vandalism by Byron as *'a triplesacrilege''" from tion displaying the peerless beauty of the sublime creand

"

Is it then

Phidias.

and

of Ictinus

any

wonder

that the

completion, regarded as that it has ever Empire

very held the

"

of the Greeks and of

as

St.

Sophia

Saint

heart same

of

the

place

Abbey occupy Italy,France, and England?

in the hearts And

is it

a

its

Byzantine

in the

Peter's,the Cathedral

Westminster

from

was,

of

of the

tions affec-

Eheims, peoples of

matter

prise sur-

that,

Though turhans

now

polluteSophia's shrine

still cherish

the

Greeks

of

to-day

the

designs

of

Providence, eventually be returned

and

that

Christian

liturgy,will wondrous

the

hope

that

it

will,in to them

of the Grecian worship, with all the pomp Santa again be restored under Sophia's

dome?

of II, the conqueror served Constantinople, took possession of Santa Sophia, he obsoldier destroying the mosaics of the Ottoman an ^'Let those things be,'* Mohammed with his mace. church dal cried,and with a singleblow he stretched the fanatical vanAnd at his feet. then, in a lower tone, he added, so but in another the historian knows **Who they avers, age God another serve religion than that of Islam?" may It is -related that

when

Mohammed

grant it ! Nor

have

the Greeks

ever

abandoned

the

when

of

day Constantinople. They lost to them by the

regaining possession of the City of claim it as their heritage, which was fortunes of war, and they patientlyawait wheel

hope

the turn

one

in fortune's

BERLIN

FEOM

58

The

citywon

The

Giaour

extensive

have

into

have

power, the buildingsand

been

has

the

written"

imagination rather than dwell

wrest J

used

of

greater part

young

a

it based

I have

But

in the

public Seraglio

as

the occupants of the

on

desire to

no

spaciousseat and

Wantonness, **the heart

which, for three centuries,was

victims

of innocent

passions of

basest

the

of

to

prison to the

pander

of lust and

heartless minotaurs

course,

and

a

of

wonders

the

Maximus

of Rome,

crime.

of Helen

drove

brave

of Troy,

they

^which

"

Greece. other

them

were

of

the cathedral

race

choicest

Here

an

were

sculptors exquisite

and feature horses

bronze to

Venice,

Marco

San

masterpieces of scarcely

other

the

master

the famed

and

a

as

the

carried off by Dandolo

were

adorn

now

forum,

beauty of form

whose ' *

after

collected

and

Among

distraught,

men

Lysippus

**

a

Minor, and

world.

of the ancient

as

were

Praxiteles

and

Modeled

world.

in which

museum

of Phidias

statue

the

it served

sculptures of Egypt, Asia

countless

condemned

palled

Sophia is all that remains of the which, in its heyday of splendor,was regarded

Circus

statues

of

often, alas! the hated

were

tory'* his-

of Santa

south

Hippodrome one

who

of Ottoman

the home

generationswas

of pleasure, but too

votaries

To

for ten

which

and

where

been

fact.

on

Wealth

Of

of

BABYLON

on

That

as

AND

for Allah from the Giaour, race from Othman's again may

come

park. About much

BAGDAD

time leaving Santa Sophia, I spent some which, since the grounds of the Seraglio,"

After

Turks

TO

less value

"

and and

beauty. Besides

serving as

a

race

the

course

Hippodrome,

had, it is estimated, a seatingcapacity of 7

Byron,

8

The

name

"Childe

Harold's

given by

the

Pilgrimage," Italians

to

the

Canto

II, Stanza

official residence

a

hundred

which and

77. of the

Grand

The

the

Turks

"

harem.

word

Serai, which

is derived

Signor

from the use Constantinople. residence of which is applied to any Persian serai, signifyingpalace a word with In English seraglio is frequently,but Sultan. erroneously, confused in

BERLIN

FEOM

60

BAGDAD

TO

AND

BABYLON

to me than the age-oldremnants Scarcely less interesting the massive of the Hippodrome and crumbling walls were the city's that for a thousand palladium against years were

the barbarian crowd

hordes

the memory upon and surveys the

of Asia as

one

and

Europe.

stands

around

scene

this

upon

It

!

one

What

visions

hoary

was

part ram-

thanks

to

impregnable walls of Constantinopleno less than to the Nova unique strategicpositionof the city that Roma was able so long to hold her place as the home of art and letters, history and philosophy; that, in spite of desolatingwars which everywhere raged in the rest of the world, and which carried their ravaging effects to her very gates, at times to be the world's she continued one sure refuge of law, justice,and freedom; that, notwithstanding internecine the strife,and changes of dynasties,her government was that for centuries afforded the greatestsecurityfor life one and property; the one under which commerce and civilization the

most

were

fostered

If the walls of

and

most

flourishing.

Constantinoplecould speak, what

stories could

they exposed

not

relate

of the

score

of

thrilling

sieges to which

! For vivid color and breathless interest they were the siege of Tyre by Alexander, the siege of they surpass by Godfrey de Carthage by Scipio,the siege of Jerusalem Bouillon as described in the glowing epic of Tasso. Unlike the last-named sieges,those directed against the city on the of historyby the magBosphorus stand out on the canvas nitude of the issues involved to religion, to nations, to This is particularlytrue of the sieges by civilization." Saracens, Turks, and Mongols, for,if these barbarians and ' ^

enemies

sworn

piercing the before

of

walls

the dawn

the

of this

been

name

had

greatest bulwark

of the reconstructive

work

succeeded

in

of civilization of the fifteenth

would learning, art, Christendom and disastrous beyond conception,while progress

century, the results have

Christian

social order

would

to

have

been

retarded

for untold

centuries.

Never, probably,in the history of our race has the possession of any city led to more devastating and longer

ROMA continued

was

in 673

has

death

's Moawiah

the

fair

but little more

"

"

61

to greater international

wars,

than

NOVA

^when

the

rivalries and

tentions con-

capitalon the Golden Horn. than a generation after Mohammed Moslems

under

the

It

Saracen

laid

then the siege to Constantinople, which was world. greatest and the richest city of the known They defeated but not crushed. were Knowing the incalculable the city contained and realizingfullyits supreme treasures mined importance as the center of a world empire, they deternever

to desist

from

their

until

purpose

nople Constanti-

the

Not capital and sovereign seat of Islam. until 1453, after eight centuries of deferred hopes, were their aspirations realized. For a much longer period has Russia had her longing eyes to call **The Sacred she was wont what City*' the city on of Asia and which had so long been the goal of the nations the days of Rurik, the reputed founder of Europe. From have the Russian ceased never monarchy, the Muscovites the peerlesscity of Conto the time when to look forward stantino be in the possession of Holy Russia, and would which links the Euxine with the when the strategicchannel was

"

would

Mediterranean For

a

thousand

to irresistibly

move

be under years

toward

Catherine

the

her

absolute

forces the

of

control.

Russia

Bosphorus

and

continued the

danelles. Dar-

Semiramis of the II, '^The her magnificent progress North,'' in 1787, made through Southern Russia the city of Kherson she entered under a triumphal arch which bore the inscription**The Way to Byzantium.'' As still further expressive of her faith in Russia's ultimate a gate in Moscow destiny there was **The Way named to Constantinople." But this was the Austrian not all. With Emperor, Joseph for a restored Greek Empire, II, she worked out a scheme the throne of which with Constantinople as its capital, was to be given to her second she of grandson. And so sure was effectuatingher plan that **the boy with sagacious prescience been christened had Constantine; he was always When

BERLIN

FROM

62

Greek

in the

dressed

struck, on

already been

had

medal

nurses

subjects. That foresightcould devise,a

lackingwhich

detail might be

no

by Greek

surrounded

mode,

BABYLON

AND

in the tongue of his future

instructed

and

BAGDAD

TO

side of which

one

was

prince'shead and on the representationof the young device indicatingthe coming triumph other an allegorical a

of the Cross

conference

the famous

At

river Nieman,

"

Crescent."

the

over

the

on

anchored

in the

I discussed

Alexander

and

Napoleon

when

raft

sian sovereignty,the Rusmonarch demanded, as his share of the partition,the City of Constantinople together with the Bosphorus and For this he was the Dardanelles. willingto concede to the ranean French Emperor the most valuable regions on the Mediter-

of the world's

for the division

plans

littoral and

projected conquest

to aid him

with

of India.

But

and

money

the

this

in his

men

ambitious

tator dic-

grant. Placing his fingeron the with where Constantinople was indicated,he exclaimed map Constantinople! ConstantinopleI passionate emphasis, At the empire of the world!'' That Never. would mean he again gave clear expression to his estimate St. Helena he declared ''Constantinople of the value of Constantinople when etre le centre et le siege de la est placee pour of Europe would

not

**

^^

universelle/'

dominion

Question, p. 139 et seq. (by J. A. R. Marriot, Oxford, 1917). "Political Whatever be said regarding the genuineness of the famous may it be no that "there can Testament" the Great of Peter question accurately tury. policy in the eighteenth cenrepresentedthe trend and tradition of Russian ambition. clearlyindicated as the goal of Russian Constantinoplewas of Europe by the help of Austria; a out to be driven The Turks good were with to be to be maintained England and every effort was understanding was 9

The

made

Eastern

to

years Russian

the

accelerate inherited

Whether

or

throne, Catherine The

1869). when

these

inspired the policy of

10(7/.Napoleon he

Field

famous

wrote,

in

Great's

the

op.

to

the

secure

most

Indian

for

brilliant

trade.

nearly forty

successor

on

the

cit.,p. 138.

I, p. 268 (by Albert Vadal, Paris, Moltke expressed a similar opinion

von

wurde

and

principleswhich

the

Marriot, ler. Vol.

Marshal

1846, "Rom

Persia

were

Peter

II."

Alexandre

et

of

dissolution not

eine

Weltstadt

durch

seine

Manner,

because Konstantinople of her world location. Oesammelte of her Constantinople because men, I, p. 165 Schriften und Denkwurdigkeiten des Oeneral-Feldmarschalls, Tom. Mr. D. G. Hogarth, in his von Moltke, Berlin, 1892). (by Grafen Helmuth "No other site in the world enjoys valuable East, declares: work, The Nearer durch

equal advantages, nor

seine

Weltstellung"

perhaps

ever

will

"

Rome

enjoy

was

them.

a

world-city

For

the

Isthmus

of

I

ROMA

NOVA

exactlya thousand

Almost

Russia ^s victorious

years after ^hedeath of Rurik, at San Stephano within sight

was

army

63

of the

City of Constantine. **At ^*we have reached our shouted the jubilantsoldiers, last,'' for Constantinople*4s goal and Czargrad'' their name ! ours Only a few hours more, they fondly believed,and supplanting the Crescent they would see the Greek cross of Santa Sophia and the dreams of ten centuries at the dome realized. finally minarets

and

of the domes

"

"

' '

not to be.

But it was the

her

which

goal on

Russia had

eyes

indeed advanced

had

been

fixed for

a

nearer

thousand

but the coveted

prize,though seemingly so near, was The Treaty of San Stephano had, grasp.

years,

yet far from her it is true,established

a

which it was

should

intended

and

Russia

treaty was the Great

dominant

Slav state in the Balkans

be but

a

simpledependency

of

but the stepping stone to Constantinople, scarcelysigned before England and others of a

Powers

at the

Congress

check

Russian

insisted of Berlin.

its revision.

on

Here

This

in Beaconsfield,

influence in the Balkans"

and

was

order

done ^*to

to

safeguard sisted requirements of Britain's Eastern policy,"inthe restoration of **the positionof Turkey as a on a European state" positionwhich had been practically lost by the treaty of San Stephano." **the vital

"

Suez and

is beset

by deserts, and that of Constantinople not only has

Panama an

open

has

not climate to be compared. fertile environment tween Asia, but its positionbe-

a

and and

most

Berlin

to

to the interior of both Europe and exposure the side of Russia on gives it an almost northern climate. Add to this a dry, sloping site,a superb harbor, an admirable outer haustible roadstead, easy local communication by way of the Bosphorus and an inexwater founded supply, and it is easy to agree that those who Chalcedon but left Byzantium to others, were indeed blind." Pp. 240, 241

easy

access

two

(New 11

seas

York, 1902).

i)oasted on

Beaconsfield

secured

"peace

with

his

honor."

from the

brilliant

England that he had clared correspondent,de-

war

not worth the paper on treaty, that "it was English writer, forty years later, stigmatized it "was lime concluded in a spiritof shameless as a treaty that bargain, with a subdisregard of elementary ethics and in open contempt of the right of It was future. civilized peoples to determine their own essentiallya temporary aa

which

it

soon

was

as

he

return

McGahan,

written."

read

the

An

rival imperialist states. And it sowed between arrangement concluded the Balkan in which seeds of the crop of 'Nationalist' wars peoples were in Europe, p. 179 (by to be embroiled for the next half century.''The Turks W. E. D. Allen, London, 1919). the

BERLIN

FROM

64

is stillin

Turk

The

the loud

and

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

standing is there notwith-

Constantinopleand

of statesmen

declarations

reiterated

Lloyd George that he was to be cast *'bag out of Europe for evermore, and baggage but, when one remembers that,since the days of Solyman the Magnificent, has downfall of Turkey as a European power the imminent of times ; that, since the been confidentlypredicted scores the Bosphorus nearly six centuries ago, reached Osmanlis for the hundred than fewer plans have been made a no partitionof their territory and that recently the English nople premier,Lloyd George, made the evacuation of Constantiat least by Turkey an essential condition of peace until he could have time to change his opportunistmind much asks oneself how fully longer the Sultan will successone his time -honored policy of divide et impera pursue and how much longer diplomats will continue to insist that the capital of the City of Constantine the maintenance as of the Ottoman necessity,and when, if Empire is a political of a thousand years will ever, Russia 's persistentambition From at last be realized." present indications there is little likelihood that the jealousiesof the more powerful nations of Europe respectingthe matchless capital of the Horn will abate or that the traditional abilityof Golden one Turkey's astute rulers to play off the Great Powers in the future than against the other will be less marked in the past. If, however, there is to be a transfer of Constantinople than other that of the Ottoman to some Empire, power to require that the aspirations of poetic justice seems Gladstone

from

to

'^

^^

"

"

Greece

Projects

Cent

12

Paris,

Partage

distinguishedRussian

koy,

in

he

"The

expresses declares: "

bread;

de

la

de

1281-1913

Turquie,

in

Greek

(by

T.

J.

lan-

Djuvara,

1913).

The

13

first consideration.

receive

should

"may

the

scholar, Prince

single sentence possession of

become

the

a

8

State."

indispensablefor

(London,

See

1916).

his

as

Eugene

dominant Straits"

the

possessionof Tsargrad

as

Calling, p.

a

"

Russia

the

lecture

idea the

countrymen Bosphorus and the

in order

condition

Saint

Nicolayevieh Trubets-

of his

of

Sophia^

to

secure

her power Russians'

her and

Hope

when danelles Dar-

daily portance imajid

EOMA

the

nationalityfrom

and

guage

65

NOVA of

Byzas until it was followers of Mohammed,

days

to the by the fortunes of war its own counts among this cityis claimed by the people ^hat Belisarius,a Pulcheria, a Tribonian, an Anthemius, a a and womenjwho ^men Chrysostom, a Gregory Nazienzus of achievement and in eminence were surpassed by none and who of the Adriatic their contemporaries west were of art and literature and the gloriesof the greatest home Russia when culture was yet a land of wild nomads this same And and people claims ignorant barbarians. Constantinople as theirs **by origin and by long possession, both under sort gone on a possession which has in some lost

"

Frankish of

One

Turkish

under

and the

rule.

* ' ^*

interesting and

most

of

Constantinople,but

picturesque sights in

far different

a

character

from

those

the lower on speaking, is to be seen Horn. the Golden the part Connecting Gfilata, bridge over is chieflyinhabited of the city which by non-Mussulmans, with Stamboul, which is occupied almost entirelyby Turks of various and Moslems this bridge is frequently nationalities, crowded color and from with people of every every clime. But what a noisy, jostling,struggling,wrangling, cosmopolitan throng one here encounters ! Here one sees representatives from all parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa bright-turbaned Turks, supple and chattering Greeks, jauntilyattired dragomans, gorgeously uniformed ka^asses, I have

of which

been

"

14

"The be

never

that

and

that

we

the

Eastern

speech

Greek

whole

extent

claim

is the

Leos, and

the

of

that

their

Basils.

nation of

and

race

for them

writes

Question,"

till the

that

nation

race

the

eternal settled

land

has

Europe

its

and

We

Asia

in the

And

face.

awaken

fears

some

while which

Constantinople can an empire. But it empire. Its lead

Essays,

to

Third

the

never

does

this do

fact

all

not

be not

annexation

may, lie on

the

head

by

dismemberment

Series, pp. 376, 277

a

the

for

Greek

Christian population; and with capital,the city of the Constantines, this on the score of simple justice,on

those

with the of

that

follow

claim

where

Greeks general philanthropy which, when of the name is not ashamed of philhellenism." "The fact that Constantinople has been Again, he declares: of South-eastern must be the head Europe is a practical fact score

"will

Freeman,

own.

of the

ancient

claim

historian

the

more

in

speech

own

We

once

look

surface, allay a

it

province; can

distant

of the

who

power

now

power that

(London, 1879).

and

annexed

stares the

fears

some

would,

is and

which

below

it must be the

concerned,

are

be head in

of

head an

all moral it."

us

surface,

which

the

ever

do. of versal unitainty cer-

Historical

FROM

66

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

Montenegrins, heavily burdened h^als, round-browed and sun-dried Bedouins white-kirtled Albanians, bronzed from Nubia from Arabia, shuffling and high-voicedeunuchs from the steppes and Abyssinia, and high-capped Tartars of Russia and Central Asia all vociferatingin a score of languages and dialects,all utterlyregardless of those who "

round

are

And

them.

about

such

partialgarbs I And yet they attract no attention in this motley crowd who here, as accustomed in the East, are to seeing people elsewhere appareled in garments of every conceivable styleand color. who observed **A man,'' as has been knows the by one Orient well,**may go about in public veiled up to the eyes, or clad,if he please,only in a girdle; he is merely obeying which his own law"" has prevailed following a custom his ancestors through countless generations. among found myself on the highest After a tiresome climb I once From this point one platform of the lofty Galata tower. view of Constantinopleand has probably the best obtainable a

variety of garbs

and

"

its environment.

The

beautiful,superb; but with

the enthusiastic

which

panorama

writer

I

not

am

who

is disclosed

prepared

declares

that

is

tainly cer-

to agree

*^

nothing on incomparable in its

it that it is globe can surpass I still contend that panoramic variety and sublimity! the palm for enchanting scenic beauty and for magnificent natural belongs to Rio de Janeiro. panoramas I readily grant, however, that in wealth of legend, this

"

' ' "

romance,

and

of every kind fascinatingcapitalof Brazil.

historic

associations

the far surpasses inclined to think that most on

descant

Rome

And so

I

am

astically enthusi-

sciously beauty of Constantinopleuncontheir judgments of the city's present beauties by the magic and the glamour of the historic

the marvelous

allow to be colored

who

of those

New

past.

Consideringthe Byzantine capitalas "^^ i^

Syria, the Desert and the Sovm, p. X Constantinople, Vol. I, p. 403 (by E.

(by A.

G.

the theater of thrillL.

Bell, London.

Grosvenor,

1908). Boston, 1895).

BERLIN

FEOM

68 was

the southern

on

BAGDAD

TO bank

AND

BABYLON

of this sheltered

haven

that

the

dation daring navigator,with his doughty Megarans, laid the founnamed of Byzantium after himself ^which was to role in the world 's great drama. play such a remarkable later almost A thousand Constantine to a day years and selects that of the city of Romulus the Great abandons empire. On foot, Byzas as the capitalof the great Roman with a lance in hand, the Emperor leads a solemn sion, procescommand divine juhente Deo, as he and, under phrased it traces the boundary of the future metropolis. "

"

"

"

"

"

assistants, astonished

His

the

at

over-growing

ference circum-

destined

to observe that capital,ventured of a great city had the contemplated area already been **I shall continue to advance," replied the exceeded. until the Invisible Guide who precedes me bids Emperor,

of the

**

half

me

It

dolo

"

forces

vain

the

Empire

blind

old

from

mental

this

venerable characters And

it

the was

when

passed Rome

fane

as

entrance

name across

he

see

in

slab

entered

Golden

one

Roman

The

marble

"

physical and occupied a place into

a

bearing

in almost

illegible

Dandolo. Horn

that

was

Mohammed

walls not

city without

able

through to

passing

This

II

New

effect over

an

the

defender, the valiant Constantine of the Byzantine Caesars."

its noble last

tragic event is vividly pictured by the poet Shelley when lyricaldrama, Hellas, he sings: 17

"

mosque, of the galleriesof the

the breached he

centuries

^whose

transformed

of Henricus the

"

arms."

to the last

was

But conqueror. into the ill-fated

body of Paleologus, the

lifeless

marble

a

man

of nine

capital of the

foreign

to

remarkable

Sophia until it to-day,one may

even

that the

vigorous

were

powers

in Santa

^*a dream

presumption

of

Dan-

"

impregnable

was

mausoleum

and,

**

led the doge of ninety-sevenyears awakened against Constantinople and

degenerate Greeks

from

that

that marvelous

' '

Venetian the

Horn

Golden

the

across

was

in his

NOVA

EOMA

69 A

chasm

in the wall

mountains, of Siamhoul; breach the in that ghastly And Islamites, ruins the Like giants on of a world, In the dust in the lightof sunrise. Stand Olimmers a kinglessdiadem, and one Of regal part has cast himself beneath Another The stream proudly clad of war. barb In golden arms spurs a Tartarian As

of

two

the gap, and with his iron Directs the torrent of that tide

Into

And

seems

he is

of

men.

Mohamet.

"

"

mace

Constantinople had been an impregnable For nearly twice bulwark against the forces of Islam. that space of time she had successfullyresisted the menaces of the north and attacks of the barbarians Goths, Huns, and had proudly Avars, Russians, Bulgarians, Chazars of Chosroes, Timur, Bayazid, Harun-aldefied the power Rashid, and other leaders of savage hordes from Persia, Unlike Old Rome, which quently freArabia, and Central Asia. opened her gates to invaders from the north of the never once yielded to her Teutonic and Danube, New Rome foes. than of Slavonian a Although besieged more score For

six centuries

"

"

times

able

was

long which had

to withstand

continued.

so

this

And

reduced

the

and

from

thirteenth

assault

every

extended

once

been

fourth

the

between

she

did

the

Tigris

that little was

century^" she

however

after

furious

the

to

left of

or

vast

empire the Guadilquivir it but the capital

itself, which, at the time of its capture by the Turks under than a besieged fortress. Mohammed II,was scarcelymore How the occupation of Constantinople by Mohammed the Conqueror, has complicated the political, military,and conditions of Europe for nearly five centuries economic is of gloomy history. Owing to its matchless matter a tion posiit was 18

the Tom.

long the natural

According to city sustained,

the from

eminent the

center

Austrian time

of

of the world

historian,

its foundation

Von

Hammer-Purgstall,

until

II, no fewer than twenty-nine sieges. Histoire (Paris, 1835). II, pp. 428, 521-523

's commerce,

de

its

hammed capture by MoVEmpire Ottonum,

BERLIN

FROM

70

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

Europe and Asia. Destined by nature itself to be the seat of two worlds, Constantinople perial well observes, remain the seat of immust, as Freeman rule as long as Europe and Asia, as long as land and sea keep their places." the

clearinghouse

between

*'

^"

transfer of the capitalof the Roman Empire from nople the Tiber to the Golden Horn, the foundation of Constantiof the master-strokes in the in 330 A. D., was one egic historyof civilization ^indeed from the material and stratpointof view,I hold it to be the greatest.Rome, Paris, The

"

came London, Vienna, Moscow, Madrid, Berlin,"Washington,beof the rulers in the capitalcities by the gradual acts remade But in ten years Constantinople of years. the center of the civilized world. Nothing so stupendous in civic origins has ever been accomplishedbefore or since, with rare and partial for its effects have been maintained course

tion eleven,nay, for fifteen centuries. The foundaof Alexandria by Alexander, of Antioch by Seleucus have some Mecca, Jerusalem,Cairo,Delhi have parallels. histories. Peter's creation of Petrograd had fluctuating has ended in hideous failure. a splendidmistake,which was Constantine as But the creation of Constantinoplemarks of the trulygreat,beside Julius,Trajan,Charles and one Washington.^^ for

breaks

But

remarkable

more

Queen City of

said of the

the

of imperialrule. continuity the Golden

From

her

the time when

marvelous tine Constan-

the

Fer

Rome

Bosphorus is

yet been

capitalof the empire from the Tiber Horn, when, in the works of Dante,

transferred

New

has

anything that

than

"

cedere al Pastor

si

fece Greco,^^

all its wars ^notwithstanding

Op. cit. p. 251. According to Augier

to

and

vicissitudes,

18

de

Busbecq,

the

scholarly Flemish

diplomat,who,

in

Court, sixteenth century,spent eight years at the Ottoman "is Constantinople a citywhich nature herself has designed to be the mistress of the world. Asia, and is within reach by It stands in Europe, looks upon Sea and its European the south and the Black of Egypt and the Levant on sea Vol. 123 and Asiatic shores on the north." Letters, (trans, by D. Forster, I, p. Paris, 1881). 20 Frederic Harrison, The FortnightlyReview, June, 1919, pp. 840, 841. 21 Became a Greek Paradiso, XX, 57. by ceding to the Pastor.

the

middle

of the

ROMA all its changes of and

^has been

"

our

is

something

seat

that is

race.

empire

of

the local center

was

the continuous

This

empire for sixteen centuries. in the history of without parallel

of

Rome

71

religion,all its changes of laws

and

race

institutions

and

customs

NOVA

for

barely four

turies cen-

royal cities that once flourished the Nile were all of the Ganges, the Euphrates or after some centuries of splendor, and have long abandoned thage, lost their imperial rank. Memphis, Babylon, Tyre, CarAlexandria, Syracuse, Athens, had periods of glory and Paris have but no great continuityof empire. London centuries ; and Madrid, been great capitalsfor at most a few Berlin,Vienna, and St. Petersburg are things of yesterday civilization.^^ in the long roll of human in the valleys

The

.

.

.

exceptionalcontinuityin Constantinoplemay, it has been asserted, **be ultimately traced to its incomparable physical and geographical capabilities. it But while I contemplated the capitalof Constantino as and ethereal atmosphere of an lay bathed in the tremulous and recalled its past history,enveloped afternoon autumn like in the mist of years then seemed more a history which This

' '

"

a

confused

and

vivid

stirringand wars

and

troubled

sieges

dream

actualities and

so

of its rather

the erstwhile

the renowned

Among St. John a

center

Chrysostom, *Hhe

width

' ' ^^

of culture

catalogue is Frederic

23(7/. the

the envy

Harrison, The author's

this Castle

of

of

Great

which

of art

thought and literature, as of the

some

There

the

was

ever

the illustrious calls the

was

scholars.

brightest scholarly heard St.

in

ory Greg-

greatest Oriental

Photius, astonishing and

of modern

and

culture.

were

was

Villeman

was

veritable

greatest preacher

There

There

a

the theater

religionand Church.

poet of Christendom.

22

of

of the Eastern

pulpit. Nazienzus, whom

and

the

home

rulers

Christian

presently lost sightof

frequently been

its ecclesiastical

luminaries

of

conquests

the Caesars has as

I

"

record

than

' '

^^

whose whose And

learning librarythere

were

Fortnightly Review, April, 1894, pp. 439, 440. Inspirers, p. 16 (New York, 1917).

72

FROM

those

two

BERLIN learned

AND

BAGDAD the

women,

BABYLON Eudocia

Empress

and

Anna

Princess

* *

' * ^*

in

was

the famous

framed

was

the

vated Comnena, who, as Gibbon phrases it, cultipurple,the arts of rhetoric and philosophy. of Justinian, Constantinoplethat, at the command

in the

It

TO

Code

that

his

bears

name

"

of jurisprudenceand important of all monuments is stillthe which, notwithstanding subsequent modifications, basis of all legislation throughout the civilized world. It was here that Byzantine art took its highest flights. but one Rome of the churches of New Santa Sophia was from artists and architects drew their inspiwhich western ration. and Giotto this in the paintings of Cimabue We see the most

and

the

in

edifices which

Italian

countless

exhibit

the

Byzantine influence. And it was here, in the libraries and monasteries, that was preserved that precious heritageof Greek thought and to be transferred Greek genius,which, at a later age, was to Western Europe, and which, through the activity of sance. Byzantine scholars,was to be the foundation of the Renaisquest During the period immediately preceding the Conof Constantinoplethere was, declares Gibbon, **more nople books and more knowledge within the walls of Constantiof

evidence

of the West.''

from

24 25 we

that

years Arabs when

at

defence

the

the

civilization and

this of

Seljouks, height

and

in sea;

countries

Queen City

the

of

the

"

their of

V, Chap. LIII. recent writer, "when a

declares

Byzantine Empire Asiatic

against

checked

Vol.

"Indeed,"

for

power;

that

the

during

and

by its missionaries evangelized, and

the

"

invaders,

century

a

barbarism,

midst

that

state

of

Empire,

Roman LXVI.

Europe and

pressed the flightof the the East, Greek learning

of the Turks

Fall of the and Op. cit.,Vol. VI, Chap. the

land

arms

Decline

consider

the extensive

dispersed over

2*^

the

**When Muses"

be

could

than

both

the

which

advance this

maintained

for

was

of the

period a

Russians

a

beat

wide

it

thousand back

the

Ottomans,

represented by

commerce

and

the

South

Cyrillic alphabet invented; that in preservingand to its care multiplying manuscripts the existence of a great the birthplace that it was is due; and classical literature finally, part of our has exercised of Italian a greater power painting, and that its architecture than other Spain to India; we can style, reaching in its effects from any the world's its influence on history.'*History of Greece hardly overestimate to the Present From Its Conquest by the Romans Time, B.C. 146 to A,D. 1864, Vol. I, p. vii (by George Finlay, Oxford, 1877). Slavonic

peoples

were

KOMA

asylum

sought an

NOVA

the first of Greek

Among

of Dante

in the land

and

scholars

to find

Petrarch

Chrysoloras. They

Manuel

of the Arno

the banks

on

73

received

in the universities of the Peninsula

of every

of their

others

at the

of Leo

courts

of

countrymen

cordial welcome

more

with

and arms

open

lectured with signal

and enthusiastic students of eager condition. But nowhere were they and

and

age

Lascaris

numbers

to vast

success

and

the Tiber.

congenial home

a

Janon

were

were

and

than X

later

a

in the

palaces of

Nicholas

and

date

V.

^"

accorded

the Medici

Under

such

a

and trious illus-

letters flourished amazingly and patrons, Greek ment movequickly prepared the way for the great humanistic in the literarytriumphs of Politian, that culminated Eeuchlin, and Erasmus. But the fall of Constantinoplewas epoch-making not only in its relation to the Humanistic effect

economic

the

on

Before

Europe.

the

Empire has happily been

world's

the

achieved

But

and

no

development the

of

conquest of the

than

Europe

inimical to commerce power those Christian nations for

had

sooner

the

were

and

*'by a to

also in its

East, this region constituted of designated as *Hhe nerve-center

of the Ottomans

Orient

but

of the

commerce."

into the hands

between

commercial

the Ottomans

GrsBCO-Roman what

and

Renaissance

whose

it passed

great trade

routes

completely

blocked

still more benefit

inimical intercourse

mainly carried on. then imperative for Europe, unless it was It was pared prethe its trade discover with to forego a East, to new be beyond the interference route to the Orient,which would

between

the East

of Ottoman

power.

by history "

Among

and

two

**the the

West

This

of the most

' '

was

much

desired

decisive

rounding by Vasco

da

result

was

plished accom-

events

in the

world's

Gama

of the

Cape

besides distinguished Hellenists enormously Italy contributed

Lascaris

of

and loras, Chrysoinitiating and who reflected undying honor of the Renaissance, and on developing the work Theodore be mentioned the Greek must Gaza, Gemistus Plethon, John name, Cardinal Chalcondyles, and Argyropoulos, George of Trebizond, Demitrius Bessarion Hellenist of Oxford, declared, who were all, as Hody, the noted "viri nullo wvo perituri." 26

whose

"

more

labors

in

towards

BERLIN

74

FROM

Good

Hope

and the

TO

BAGDAD

discoveryof

far-reaching achievements

politicaland of

southeast

the New

**the center

to the

Europe

shifted from

of the

Alexandria, Venice, Genoa,

deprived

at

.

the

the cities of

Atlantic.

stantinop Con-

Marseilles

were

fell swoop of the economic and political which had for centuries belonged to them"

the Mediterranean, which

and

.

from

one

preeminence .

' '

By these cial, gravity,commer-

of

northwest;

littoral to those

BABYLON

World.

intellectual, rapidly

Mediterranean

the

AND

for ages

had

*'been

the

reduced almost to highways, was greatest of commercial the position of a backwater. names capitalby Among the many given to the Ottoman it by the is that bestowed the peoples of the East upon the Earth-Divider. In view Arabs, namely. El Farruch has been said in the preceding pages of what no epithet could be more expressive of the truth. For, since the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople,together with its the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, has two appanages, "

^^

"

the chief line of demarcation

constituted and

the

West,

of the most

One

solve

diplomacy has yet to solution

about

a

of the

Bosphorus

Islam

and

and

East, it unselfish

more

applied than

seems

and those

of the

status

city

the powers

of

cannot, apparently, be

sordid exploitationof the lands

a

that

historic

of Europe.

nations

by

which

impotent to bring

been

of the problem or

problems

relations between

the

the Christian

effected by conquest of the

has

war

"

is the future

"

solution

the

As

delicate

difiScult and

East

the

the Crescent.

and

the Cross

between

between

has

time

the

methods

Christian

more

based

force

on

arrived

now

and

when

should

be

international

rivalries. We Greece our

much, very much, and Rome, have come

owe

art

and

that molds To 27

literature-

the mind

her, therefore,we Marriott,

op.

and owe

cit.. Chap. II.

to the East. our

From

her, through

civilization and

her

the purifies an

From

has

come

heart

immense

the

culture, religion

of Christendom.

debt

of gratitude,

CHAPTER THE

HELLESPONT

Us

to Asians

IV AND

TROY

HOMER'S

Now

fly

Already Of

hope,

that

*neaih

the

eager

of

each

through

Already My

cities

nerve

longs

flutter runs

a

to he

away;

other

light of

feet, new-winged

let

renown!

suns

for travel,

to

yearn

stray.

Catullus,

Galata's

of

from

awaking

After

spent much

tower

more

time

the

veil

to

I

I had

than

there

and

Twilight, delicate

protracted reverie on the summit found, to my surprise, that I had

a

lofty

ethereal, and

mosques

originally intended.

beginning

was

minarets

and

Grand of

de

Rue

Pera

of the

on

But

ofiSce and

tranquil I could

fascinating with

Chanak

for

banks

The

friend

had the

the

to

popular

resorts

from of

repose

the homes

palace-fringed Bosphorus. T had

the

been

to

been

made

that

steamer

Dardanelles.

I had

the

of

ments arrange-

evening

very

One

such

of

long

my

visit

the

near

it, but

pressing

from

gazing

prevented

me

site

of

ancient gagements enon

spot

Forever

the

the

on

always

Where

A

take

to

times

to

mated ani-

through

returning

part

previous day

had

dreams

An

longer in the contemplation

no

scenes.

Several

Troy.

of the

Kalesi,

unrealized

its way

on

counting-room

linger

a

it

relaxation;

and

amusement

cares

part of

"

cypress-crowned

its way

slowly wending

was

fall and

to

Stamboul.

heights of solemn, crafty, mysterious pageant

XLVI.

few

moments

Golden

Horn,

stood

old

Troy,

she

oar

venerable

to deathless

consecrated

after

a

steamer

began 76

to

name,

fame.

left

round

her

moorings

Seraglio

in

Point.

)y which

they

of groups Broken surrounded.

are

low,

somber

the

above

lonsters

The gathering gloom. rise like dark, shadowy

the

Stamboul

of

minarets

and

lomes

in

twinkle

Pera

and

alata

77

TROY

HOMER^S

AND

HELLESPONT

THE

wooden

houses

quiver

stars

in the

of the Bosphorus are and, while we jwift-flowingwaters walls and towers jtillgazing at the venerable, ivy-mantled the enter that so long guarded the City of Constantine, we to the ancients as the Propontis known lea of Marmora "

"

the

**

says

the Pontus

before

sea

there

in the world

is not

other

any

Herodotus

of which

the Euxine

or

sea

wonderful.''

so

nel in the storied chanfollowing morning we were of the Thracian familiarlyknown more Hellespont" now Like the Bosphorus, the Hellespont is the Dardanelles. as plated and historic interest,and, as I contemreplete with human the

Early

its

I rugged cliffs,

Fort

section

that

is

here

recording tales adorn.

tree

every

particularlytrue of Nagara, formerly known

This

it

and

rock

Each

that

words

Lucan's

recalled

the Strait of

as

channel

of the

at For

Abydos.

was

Here And

It the

here

here

was

with to

army

that

cross

of the

Salamis

by

his

prey,

frustrated counted

entered

myriads Greece

hostilityof barbaric tocles,when

army,

the

enabled

shore

the

the

fleet,and

to

his vast way

to

repress

in

intellect and

the

epoch-making victory

of

of

all the wantonness

pride;

his

on

the

conquest. Accompanied of his Persian invader, sure

plans

with

spanned

despot sought

But

all his

that

across

swam

Xerxes

thralldom

of Persian world."

bridge

Thracian

the

barbarian

**the

that

here

was

double

to

over

deadly bonds

freedom

it

And

perished in the flood, of mournful Hero stood.

venture-loving Byron

the

the famous

Greece, where the

the tower

Hellespont.

Straits

Leander

young

after

his

treasure

defeat were

and

deadly

by Themisgone,

he

was

BERLIN

FROM

78

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

to flee like the meanest

fugitive. The Italian poet, Luigi Alemanni, tells in a single line the fate of the proud organizerof this widely heralded campaign when he writes : forced

than

More

a

century and

A

god he

a

less than

camef

half

after

a

he

man

fled,

flightof Xerxes,

the

ander's Alex-

Parmenio, crossed the Hellespont at it had been bridged by the ambitious and the place where at, or near, tliis spot vainglorious Persian despot. It was army,

under

Barbarossa

Frederick

that

Crusade.

Third

And

crossed

it was

at this

at

the

head

of

the

spot that Solyman

same

of Orkhan, passed from Asia to Pasha, the warlike son standard Europe, where, in 1354, he planted the Osmanli faith and where it has ever since flown as a sign of Moslem of Moslem

and We

the hated

victoryover

disembarked

Europeans usually

the town

at

call the

of Chanak

Dardanelles.

point of

Kalesi, which It is noted

as

Hellespont the channel here is about fourteen hundred and was yards in width until recently the headquarters of the general in command of the Turkish forts which defended troops in the many

being

at the narrowest

Giaour.

the

"

"

the

Strait.

long-discussedplans Russia, for joint dominion

In the

of

always insisted

monarch of

the

Strait

Bosphorus of

the

and

on

of Napoleon and

of the world, the

securing possession

Constantinople But

Dardanelles.

the

but

French

I

Alexander Russian not

also emperor

of

only the

just

acquiesce in the Czar's demands. phorus seemed disposed to yield the Bosand even Constantinople, but nothing could induce the granting to his ally of him for a moment to consider the key to the Mediterranean. control of the Dardanelles insisted that,owing to its geographical posiAlexander tion, should belong to Russia ; that,having the Dardanelles Constantinople,he should also hold the key to the jEgean. But Napoleon retorted that,if Russia possessedthis imporrefused persistently For while Napoleon a as

to

"

tant

she would

waterway,

of the

constant

a

at

menace

HOMER

to

"S TROY

and

79

mistress

become

once

of the Levant

commerce

also be

AND

HELLESPONT

THE

not

of

India, but she Toulon, to Corfu, and

only

would to the

of the world.

commerce

the

But

Czar

his advisers

and

not

take

a

refusal.

again have so good an tal opportunityof gaining possessionof the long-coveted capithe Bosphorus and of the channel connecting the on when the Mediterranean with Euxine as Napoleon was counting on their cooperation with him in his great schemes ruption of conquest in Asia. Negotiations continued without interof Tilsit to that of Erfurt, and from the conference nothing stood in the way of their successful issue except the strait between the Marmora possessionby Russia of the narrow In return for this Alexander and the -^gean. was prepared to accede to Napoleon's every wish. They realized

In

a

that

letter of

they would

would

never

Caulaincourt,the

French

Ambassador

at

Petersburg, written to Napoleon in 1808, the envoy declares that Russia, **once mistress of Constantinopleand its geographical dependencies, will go with us not only to India, but to Syria, to Egypt, wherever we judge it may useful to employ her fleets and draw her armies. Besides this,she will leave the French Emperor free to organize the south and the middle of Europe as he may elect. Reserving for herself only the affairs of the north, she will abandon to him the direction of all the others,will not interfere with his gigantic operations,will renounce all jealousyand will St.

consent the

that the

partitionof

partitionof the

Concluding his Let

world.

the Orient

shall in fact become

*'

letter to Napoleon, Caulaincourt

majesty

reunite

writes:

Italy,perhaps even Spain to the France; change dynasties,found kingdoms; demand for the cooperation of the Black Sea fleet and a land army conquest of Egypt; demand guarantees whatsoever; any make with Austria any exchanges that may be expedient; in one word, let the world change place,if Russia obtains your

BERLIN

FROM

80

TO

Constantinople and

the

statement

the Dardanelles And

could

as

outlet to the offer have

tempting

more

a

Russian

a

shall,I believe,be uneasiness.^

clearlythan this remarkable which Alexander placed on

more

value

supreme

BABYLON

everythingwithout

anything evince

Could

AND

the Dardanelles, we

her consider

able to have

BAGDAD

Mediterranean?

been

made

to

leon, Napo-

Europe and seeined on the point of becoming the dictator of the world, than that which was dangled before his eyes by his ambitious ally? But the compact that Russia so eagerly desired was not to be made. both the Czar and the Emperor appeared to be For when who

then

was

the arbiter of

their

agreement on domination, Spanish an

near

diplomacy

were

and

ambition

valor

long-discussedplans of world and patriotism and Austrian

concerting to to

prepare

check

for

his

the Corsican's

ultimate

vaulting

downfall

at

Waterloo. In name

The

a

precedingpage

"

El

Farruch can

same

For has

been

and

has

an

reference

has

been

Earth-Divider

"

made of

"

to the Arab

Constantinople.

be applied to the Dardanelles. equal reason during long centuries it,with the Bosphorus, with

effective barrier between

constantly

held

in

check

the East

and

the West

Russia's

aspirations much towards the Mediterranean. How longer will El continue to keep apart the nations of the earth, Farruch of the and how long will it prove to be the paramount crux Eastern Near Question and the occasion of long and sanguinary This is a question that only the future wars? answer. can and, apparently, the very distant future "

"

After

inspectingthe

fortifications of Chanak

Kalesi

and

making a visit to the site of ancient Abydos, is supposed to have surveyed his vast army whence Xerxes it crossed the Hellespont,and whence has a splendid as one view of the narrowest part of the Strait,we prepared to continue our journey to the site of ancient Troy. Kilid Bahr

and

1 Napoleon Rusae et Alexander sous /, L* Alliance I, p. 306 et aeq. (by Albert Vandal, Paris, 1896).

Le

Premier

Empire^

Tom.

HOMER

AND

HELLESPONT

THE

^S TROY

81

Greek Eren Keui, a flourishing objectivewas where we purposed stopping over night. This short village, Our

first

Our road trip of about three hours we made on horseback. wooded hills,welllay along the edge of the Strait over cultivated valleys,and picturesque villagessurrounded by From the hills we numerous vineyards and olive groves. sonese, Cherhad splendid views of the Dardanelles, the Thracian and the distant ^gean, **many-fountained Ida*' beyond the Trojan plain. also On our way a town we passed the site of Dardanus "

known

Teucris

as

which

^from

"

the

Dardanelles

epithet Hellespont, Sea of Helle given to the Strait is derived from

The

name.

also been

"

of the channel

entrance From

been

is said to have

Helle,who

eminence

an

overclouded

ahead

prospect that of us, lying in We

burst a

were

upon

tremulous

the dark

saw

Eren

sky, we

an

her

that bears near

under

drowned

outline

We

lost

^which the

azure

has

mythical

name.

Keui, which we captivatedby our

its

the southern

near

view.

For

reached the fascinating

some

miles

haze,

of the Trojan plain,

dim, as things at distance seem Through the fastwaning lightof summer

Misty

"

takes

and

at reaching the spot which, for me least,had been one of peculiar and ever-growing interest since,as a youth, I had fallen under the magic spellof the immortal author of the Iliad and Odyssey. And I was not long on the plain of Troy when I realized the full force of Byron's words when he declares : It is

no

time

eve.

in

thing to read the Iliad at Sigeum and on the Ida above and the tumuli, or by the springs with Mount and plain and the rivers of the Archipelago around you, another thing to trim your taper over it in a snug library one

"

this I JcnowJ^ But 2

Note

there to "Childe

is

nothing

Harold's

in

this historic

Pilgrimage,"Canto

region

III, strophe XCI.

that

will

FROM

82

BERLIN

AND

BAGDAD It is

ordinary tourist.

the

appeal to

TO

BABYLON

circumscribed

a

which

eight miles long by four broad, on little beyond a few bare hillocks and tumuli about

plain

he will

and

see

occasional

the poor people who here have their tered home,' and hear littleas he treads his way through the scathunts

villagesof

or

brakes of

that

ground except the voice

at intervals

solitarybird which

a

of the

much

cover

bursts

into song

and

then is still. Nor

anything here

is there

iconoclasts

who

those

to attract

only deny that Homer

not

self-satisfied the

wrote

Neither is there but also deny his very existence. and other here to impress the followers of Wolf atomists

insist that the Iliad is but

who

a

Iliad

anything so-called of ballads

collection

of

rhapsodists.* Still less is there here aught to interest those who not only maintain that Homer and his authorship of the Iliad are myths but who

number

composed by

a

also

that

contend

believingthat

there

there

such

was

that the traditional that there

or

which

3

is

How

times

is !

the

now

Then cities, all of which

their

Troy

such

was

a

a

evidence

no

place

condition

according were

If we money. villages,existed here own

conflict

of the

probably

as

Trojan plain

or

for

posing sup-

in this place,

Trojan War,

from

it contained

and

autonomous

further

Troy the

for

whatever

in the Iliad,

to Schliemann

consider

as

located

was

graphicallydescribed

so

different

in ancient

ever

is

that in

the

classical

of

what

"eleven which

eleven

it

was

ing flourish-

five coined

cities, besides

that antiquity and itants, inhabseventy thousand how such of people could astounded and amazed we are large masses have found the means of subsistence of the present here, whilst the inhabitants of have the in the seven villages providing for difficulty greatest plain poor their these cities an miserable And ancient dance abunexistence. not only had of food but also so they were populous and so rich that they could on wars and, as their ruins prove, they could erect temples and many carry other public buildings of white been ornahave mented marble; Ilium especiallymust of such sumptuous edifices." with Results the vast number a of Troja, and Discoveries the Site of Homer's Latest Researches on Troy, pp. 345, 346 (New York, 1884). tion colleccontention main *"The that the Iliad and the Odyssey were a was and of songs different times of values and at unequal composed very each into shorter that, like the Niehelungen Lied, they could be resolved lays, of these heroes, The famous more celebrating the deeds of individual heroes. their Achilles for example, like Siegfried, had, it was ultimate maintained, 8chliemann*8 worshiped as divine." origin in mythological personages, once Excavations, an Study, p. 17 (by C. SchuchArchceologioal and Historical hardt, London, 1891).

two one

of these

"

the

city of

simultaneously

Ilium

itself

"

had

at

least

BERLIN

FROM

84

served pre-

careful topographical

a

convinced

so

for it that he

claimed

of all that tradition

he

Patroclus,were

Trojan plain. And

of the

survey

BABYLON

this he made

After

golden urn.

a

AND

of his friend

hero, togetherwith those in

BAGDAD

TO

was

promised

to

prevented by fortify the New Ilium/ but was premature death from carrying his projectinto execution. Similarly Julius Caesar,of the gens Julia, which traced of ^neas, and was its origin to lulus, son proud of its legendary descent from Trojan^stock,lavished honors on Troy," as did also the Consul Livius, who offered sacrifice enrich

and

Troy,

7

Ilium,

or

the

as

excavations rebuilt

destroyed and known period it was

shown,

was

Roman

Ilium

as

Schliemann

of fewer

no

than and

Novum

and

During

honored

was

have

Dorpfeld

times.

seven

the

as

the

city

It was because of this consequently, as the parent of Rome. the first of that Constantine establish the Romans to planned origin of locating it on the site occupied seat of empire on the plain of Troy instead the Golden Horn. the Bosphorus and Fortunately he by Byzantium between of

^neas

and

fabulous

still bears Ilium

his

spot where

has

stood

since

the

city which

noble

name.

Novum

for

was

the

plundered by

time

long

a

in

Turks,

the

of

seat of

beginning

the

fourteenth

it

since

bishopric,but,

a

the

was

it has

century,

in ruins.

lain

1876);

new

is

which

"He

the

has

marvelous

long-forgotten ages

in it before and

We

us.

Schliemann

very has uncovered

at

carried

back

We and

had

Greeks when

are

the

not

as

tribes

rude

not

as

and

Greek

much

to

of

the

Dr.

to

neolithic

age

conveyed to

A. H.

Minor

of the

jade

home

new

the

a

which

Dr.

thing of yesterday. the Assyrians

the

traffic

to

of

of

the

south, but

the

in

are

had

axes

already begun

as

world

tradition

empires of Aryan forefathers

the

precious stone

discoveries

Sayce, in

modern

Greek

Prehistoric

another.

to this

itself is but

had the

nowhere

and

of Ida

which

the

when

time

a

ceptions con-

spade'

and peaks are lying bathed have the strength

the

of

our

the

of

Orient

the

came

we

Hissarlik, the Iliad

Schliemann's

Professor

art."

which

to

as

barter, and travelling caravans from one extremity of Asia owes

Greece

how

know

to

culture

yet exist, when their yet, perhaps, reached

did

Hittites

the

of

'research

Asia

can

the

forgotten

and

penetrate into a past of existence. By the side of one

We

still indebted.

begin

now

mission

that

for

will

The

prehistoricHellas

of

revolutionized

impulse to that results throughout over light has broken

the

given

itself.

Greece

in

antiquity,has

of classical

study

the

past,

producing such

than

more

has

into

era

of

the

already quoted. the creator of prehistoricGreek justly been acclaimed has introduced," writes Oxford's distinguished Orientalist,

work

Schliemann

archaeology.

see, epoch-making investigations

(New York, Troy and its Remains of the Trojans (New York, 1881); and

his

mentioned, Troja above Ilios, the City and Country the

Schuchhardt's Dr.

of Schliemann's

accounts

illuminating

For besides

"a

the

preferenceto

his

gave

the

and

Kuen-lun

archseology in general history study of Greek to Dr.

introduction

Schliemann's

Troja, pp. viii, ix. 8

like

According

Suetonius

to

the

Constantine of the

Lucan

Great,

both

Horace

Julius

and

Ccesar

Ilium

contemplated making

"

Troy

"

Augustus, the capital

Empire.

Roman not

and

makes

Julius

Circuit

eamatai

only

visit the

Ilium

of his

and

day

place survey" "

nomen

memorahile

Trojae

"

"each

story'd

HELLESPONT

THE

HOMER'S

in

acropolis of Ilium,

the

on

AND

the

TROY of

name

85

Rome,

and

not

tion only exempted it from tribute but also gave it jurisdicthat part of the surrounding country known over as

the

Troad. would

If then, one

visit it

must

one

withering doubts

the

free from

with

criticism and

authorship of

in his

and

And

war.

that

years

there

Greek

whom

tells us, who

sand thou-

identityof the

one,

he

was

ancients,who

the most

cherished

dwelt

So paramount, indeed,were the immortal

*'

he

held by the

was

respecting the identityof

who

man

hy the nine.^

in which

wavered

never

blind old

The

the

calls poeta sovrano,

recall the estimation

must

in the existence

that for nearly three

question regarding

Dante

Of mortals We

the

no

was

only

personalityof Homer marvelous epic on the Trojan

remember

must

we

belief not

atomistic

also in the

city but

of Priam's

"

raised by modern

reasonable

a

one

of its spiritusloci, Caesar and Alexander

and

did Byron

as

Troy, if

influence

experience the magic

would

the spell of

under

come

Scio's

on

rocky isle. influence of

the reputation and

whose

genius had breathed inspiration that it was into the national life of Greece dition said,when trastill fresh, was respectinghis sublime achievements poet

' '

Seven

cities

which

Through but

also

has

and

state

him

proud, indeed, that

livingHomer

solemn

vow

to

begged

restore

populoSy grata vice mcenia Phrygihus, Romanaque

AusomidcB

jEneas

dead

Priam's

were

the

of

Romans

Pergama and

Ilium

of

their

its ancient

us,

surgent. their of

descent from Cornelius Scipio

of

their

that

forefathers

they exultingly

:

0 patriay 0 Mcenia

"The

city to

reddent

command the countrymen, under of the home Asiaticus, on getting their first view from the Trojan shore, were so moved, Virgil informs exclaimed

his bread.

"

Restituam So

the

register a

honors

for Homer

contend

now

dignity find

it

and

but

divom

domus

Dardanidum

!

of

Ilium

power

observes

Ilium

being

et incluta thus "that

hello

prodigiously enhanced the

Ileans

assumed themselves exaggerated importance as the recognized parents of all Rome." History of Greece, Vol. I, p. 328. must

9

natural,"

Purgartorio, XXII,

102.

Grote,

we

to quering con-

BERLIN

FROM

86

BAGDAD

TO

AND

BABYLON

Homer

genius of

[declaresa recent writer] was shiped worerected to his honor god-like and temples were as at Chios, Alexandria, Smyrna, and elsewhere ; games were in his memory; also instituted Apollo and Homer were the at the one as Argos, actually worshiped together god of song, the other of minstrelsy.^^ The

j( Filled with these thoughts and with

poet^s masterpieces, the Trojan plain and the places which when of the

I visited

with had

I first became

Iliad,

For

life-longlove of the

a

unrestrained haunted

so

and

nook

every

plated contem-

rapture

my

youthful imagination

acquainted with the sublime time being I forgot all about

the

of

corner

pages

Wolf,

of the atomistic Lachman, Hermann, and other advocates matchless theory respectingHomer's epic and, like a child reading a fairy tale,I loved to picturebefore my eyes the

wonderful which

which

events

seemed

to

me

spectators three

Homer

almost

as

thousand

SHU

in

And

siill in

so

real

as

vividly describes they were

and

to the actual

ago.

years

Andromache

complains, Troy remains; Still Ajax fights still Hector's dragged along, our

ears

sight the fate of

"

f

Such

Fancy

dwells in Homer's

strange enchantment animated

I

song.

strolled

along the storied Simois, which sprouted ambrosia-like pasture'' for the horses of Hera and Athena, and the serpentine Scamander which tered formerly enfair-flowingwith silver eddies" the Greeks the shores of which hauled up a bay upon their ships, and 1 stood of before the reputed tumuli as Achilles and Patroclus, Ajax and Antilochus. But it was 1 ascended the hill of Hissarlik, vivacious far when more was

as

**

**

"

"

which

Schliemann

Troy. view "

From

has

identified

as

the

site

of

Homer's

the

highest point of this elevation one has a that is truly entrancing. On the north pont is the Hellesthe road, as the ancients merians conceived, to the Cimthe Hyperboreans and all its myth and with "

10

Troy,

Its

Legend, History

JJew York, 1916).

and

Literature, p.

122

(by

iS. G.

Benjamin,

AND

HELLESPONT

THE

the

To

legend.

island-studded

west

are

the Greek

Tenedos, whither

the

87 of the

waters

murmurous

the

Near

^gean.

TROY

HOMER'S

line is vine-clad

coast

fleetwithdrew

while

the wooden

being taken into Troy. Further beyond is LemHephsestus is said to have fallen when he was nos, where is rock-ribbed To the northwest hurled from Olympus. ing Imbros, and further afield is Samothrace, from the towerlooked down Troy during peak of which Poseidon upon is the eminence To the northeast its investment by the Greeks. of Callicolone, whence Apollo and Mars, the protectors of Ilium, watched the operations of the contending To the eastward is snow-crested Greek and Trojan armies. Zeus .observed the combatants whence Ida whose lofty pines and valonas horse

was

"

"

Wave

aloft tuneful,scented,dove-emhowering shade, And and *neaih twilightbroods as gray soft As when of yore the shepherd Paris strayed With glad CEnone; while their bleatingflocks the wild thyme bright with ambrosial Grazed dew; lovers piping *neath the overshadowing rocks And Laded with love the breezes as they flew. Their

It

was

wistful

on

such

gaze

fair

"

Clad

Helen,

in the

Yes, I dreamed famed dreamed

abode

burnt

as

beauty of

thousand

a

a

thousand

the topless towers

1 had

of Menelaus

was

wont

to fix her

who

launched And

Helen

that

panoramas

ships

of Ilium,

previously dreamed his faithless

and

stars

in Helen

Sparta,the ;

as

I had

gold-abounding MycensB, the home of Agamemnon, when I had dreamed plating contem**King of men"; as desolate Delphi, Corinth, and Olympia, their glory and their temples in ruins ; as I had dreamed the on gone summit of cloud-capped Parnassus, haunt of the Muses, and in

*'

'^

BERLIN

FROM

88

of the

the banks

on

TO

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

Plato

ripplingCephisus,where

taught

where

and

Girls and Crowded Matter

At

all these

to

recall

to hear

places,as Greeks'

and

their

to make

the

and

hoys, women

on

bearded

treasure

lives

men

in their hearts

happiness.

a

Troy's citadel,I loved of beanty and the marvelous poets, and its required no spur

the site of

love

mythopoeic faculty of their for the moment, in actual to fancy to imagine that I was, communion with the thoughts and feelings of the world's of beauty in art and literature. masters

plainof Troy [ithas

The

only

not

of

the works

said] has been

been

heroes, but of

scholars

have

written

which

been

and on

a

battlefield

geographers, and the subject form a

literature to themselves." much

This is true. But, however have

disagreed about

about

the

the

location

of the Simois

courses

students

of the Iliad may

of the

city

Scamander

and

of

and

Priam, certain

details,all have been compelled to recognize the of the poet's topographical descriptionsand accuracy the appropriatenessof the epithetswhich he applies to the most strikingfeatures of the enchanting landscape which he so graphically depicts. He does not, of course, give the minor

numbers

demand,

to

numbers

distances, as

and

that

a

civil

map.

This

canons

of

and

of his critics would

some

engineer would require would violate entirely the But

poeticaltreatment.

distances

so

far

as

they

are

for

seem a

most

he

does

necessary

to

tour-line con-

mentary eleuse

give

though his realities in the highest degree idealized,nevertheless,so fully are do they meet the general exigenciesof time and place that thorthat Homer was they prove almost to demonstration

realityto

iJ

the action

of the poem.

Highlanda of Turkey, Vol. I, p.

Odyssey, Vi,

51

et aeq.

22

(by

And

H.

F. Tozer, London,

1809).

(2)

THE

HELLESPONT

AND

HOMER'S

TROY

89

oughly familiar not only with Troy but also with all the surrounding region/^ The epithetsappliedby the poet to the mountains, islands, less rivers,and other natural features described in his matchwork

with Thus

he

that

show

by hearsay he speaks of the

them,

when

have

must

not

been

quainted intimately acby personal inspection.

but **

of the rapid current Hellespont,of the broad-flowing and eddying Scamanthe der, of *Hhe peak of lofty Samothrace appearing over of Imbros,'' thus enabling Poseidon to intervening mass from look down the plain of Troy, we its summit on are convinced that the author of the Iliad had carefullyexamined the spot the objectshe so vividlybrings before our on And view. it is in his graphic delineations of so lofty,*' **many-fountained'' Ida, of many-crested,*' **dazzling" * *

* '

* *

' *

**

**

Olympus, the reputed seat Eternal storms of the gods, which never Disturb,rains drench, or snow invades, hut calm. So

graphic and of

that

Homer

Dante,

but most

then

was

that

Chap. 13

"He

one

den

will verstehen

Dichter s

declared:

"Now

I know

that

Lande

Gehen,

visiting the salient

most

had

Homer

^'

Trojan features

plain,

with

of the

landscape

passed along here."

the

Eothen,

IV.

who

would

Homer's

Smyrna, Orhis

in

later

:

impressed was Kinglake, after of the poet'sdescription of the

Regarding

But

of the

of

master

Mxiss in Dichter'

So

those

surpass

epithet and of brief who exact description, had the rare pressing faculty of exthe import of a whole sentence in a singleword. I than ever before impressed with the truth more

Wer

12

epithetsand descriptions

respect he constantly reminds

consummate

of Goethe 's words

accuracy that he

the

are

they far

In this

poets of Greece. of

indeed

exact

de

whichever

understand

birthplacean

the

poet

must

anonymous

poet long

Rhodos, Colophon, Salamis, tua. patria certat, Homere, of

these

place

the

visit

immortal

the ago

poet's country." wrote:

Chios, Argos, Athence, bard

was

born, if in any

As **

BERLIN

FROM

90

TO

wandered

we

the

along

AND

BABYLON

willow-lined

Mendere

flower-fringed"Scamander

**

divine'' and

BAGDAD

and

"

the

"

threaded

through clumps of tamarisk, agnus eastus, and odoriferous Artemisia, frequently stopping in our course beautiful lotus or asphodel and to gaze to admire a on spring-abounding Ida's heights,whence swift-footed Iris of aegis-bearing Jove, sped to sacred Ilium at the command way

our

* '

**

the

questionarose

the

**king of gods

to the location of the

as

and

Olympus,

whence

men"

Surveyed the walls of Troy, the ships of Greece, The flashof arms, the slayersand the slain}* doubt

The

peaks and mountain

the fact there

by

in Asia

and

^Egean

of the

islands

raised

was

Minor

that bear

ranges

in Greece

are

nearly

the

a

the of

score

of

Olympus, generic name

name

Olympus is almost a chain of in this part of the world for a lofty mountain or On the confines of Mysia and Bithynia and mountains. of Ida, which overlooks the Trojan visible from the summit which is called Olympus, plain,there is a high mountain which

writers

many

summit

But

of them,

Iliad, XI,

18

Thus

whose

on

gods.

of the skies}^

the

even

visitor

casual

environment

its

which

Olympus

to

he

twenty

other

IV,

peaks

'the

Olympus

261

gods mounted, II, p. 226 (by (by R. p. 30

of

(New crowned Jove

York,

Davey, Walsh,

been

Earth

that

had

the

describes

"

The

York, 1897). London, 1836).

in

declares

lofty

poet with

another

Parliament

seat

the is

fifteen

tradition

Asia, writer, "is

the everliving crags and his subjects. Vol.

Constantinople, Vol. I, Mary Wortley Montague

Olympus: The

of this

Inhabitants.

Cf. also

Lady

the

by popular Its

Sultan

speaking

Olympus, amongst

chosen

'whose

up

ascension.'

and

and

"This,"

1885).

New

Olympus,

has

The

snow'

with

first in

W.

this

gods."

the

of

name

named,

so

R.

Mysian

the

received

abode

Vol.

the

our

89, 90.

has

chief p.

of

Homer

Troy

which

the distinguished geographer, Elis^e Reclus, of the Galatian Olympus, says positively: "West

first that

calls

one

precision.

marvelous

^^

the

to

with

familiar

thoroughly

as

of the

the senate

that the

to prove

quite evident

it is

Mysian or

to be the

the home

convened

Jove

party sufficed

such

declared

single quotation produced by the Hellenist

a

was

have

mythology placed Where

the

fact that

the further

and

of heo/venlypowers.

BERLIN

FROM

92

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

heroes. It would, realityof at least one of Homer's contribution to the Homeric too, be a most interesting tion quesand would be speciallygratifyingto those who, in spite of certain modern have unfalteringly critics, clung to the of the

concerning Homer, Troy, and the Iliad which universally prevailed since the days of Aristarchus views

have and

the HomeridaB. The

blind bard

of Chios

is to-day,as

then

he

always

has

he

shall love supreme always will be so long as men excellence in letters, wonderful a livingpersonality whose

been, as

epics have

exercised

wider

a

of

the intellectual progress

on

combined.

and

a

our

race

potent influence

more

than

all other

epics

No

books, except perhaps those of the Bible, been have have more frequently quoted nor ceived reany from attention more poets, orators, dramatists, and of literarystyle. lovers of the noblest models fact is the giftof immortalitywhich remarkable Another his has conferred Homer, with Jovelike power, upon heroes. Although but the creations of the poet's genius, of flesh and blood, in all the they stand forth to-day,men them which characterized turies vigor and freshness thirtycenago.

of

men

any

And

there

who

are

never

have

been

better known,

the children

among

whose

or

names

more

in song and story than the undying characters frequently occur of the Odyssey and the Iliad, These facts impress he surveys lover of Homer the plainof Troy from as every

are

have

the

tombs

the

question whether tombs

and The

.

.

.

and

of

unearthed the

and

the

remains

great Agamemnon

of Homer agency conjecture is that these the

enjoyed through

renown.

now

remains

such may

or

exposed his

to

view who

compeers

protracted longevity of

a

very

well

be

the

tombs

of

his

company." the Dr. "I have Schliemann, same writing on subject,tells us: never doubted that his charioteer a Agamemnon, King of Mycense, by name Eurytheir followers and were medon, a princess Cassandra treacherouslymurdered either at the ox by ^Egisthus at a banquet, 'like an manger,' as Homer the later in the bath as or Clytemnestra, by tragic says, poets represent; Agamemnon

and

I

firmly believed

Acropolis"

of

the

that

Mycenae.

.

.

.

murdered

"My

firm

had

persons

faith

in

the

been

interred

traditions

in

made

the me

in the late excavations Acropolis and led to the discovery my immense treasures." their with of the five tombs Mycence; a Narrative of at and Discoveries Reaea/rchea Mycence and Tyryns^ pp. 334, 335 (London, undertake

1878).

HELLESPONT

THE

the

spot

of

of

Troy of

efforts Chevalier

claims,

its

as

firm

Thou

0

All

The

linked

Hath

His

tale

to

What Their

though still

Still, The

the

god-built

of

Priam

and

the

ten

long

thy

of dream

long

thou

visions

thy

in

of

the

turrets,

these "

age

riven

hath

the

poet

dust

mighty and

struggle,

given

every

the

long,

name.

woes

upon

thy

so

hath

lyre in

still

owe

wove

thy

and

than

thou

thy forever

the

's

page.

hast

past.

pain, last.

Le

other

some

song,

man

another's

to

men.

dost

blind

Hector,

ill-informed

truth,

a

unto

immortality

who

memory

Thy

the

more

for

the

shown,

world-sung

echoes;

hearts

of

legend

many

story

And

that

of

to

stirring

Its

recollects

during

an

Troy

has

forever

Troy,

weft

golden

of

Yes,

god-breathed

That

93

Notwithstanding or

glory

ever.

magic

the

to

immortal.

Schliemann

as

livest,

heroes

Demetrius the

as

basis

a

is

also

transfer

to

and

Agamemnon,

jealous

a

TROY

Pergamus

bard's

and

Homer

of

HOMER'S

war.

Achilles

like

the

blind

the

Trojan

the

And, the

stood

which

on

achievements

years

AND

lain,

fame;

stand

ity, local-

on

CHAPTER CRADLE

THE

Time's

Have

few

curious

for

footsteps

poor

now

may

with low

Through

circles

spit

toads

venom

supine;

all

lie,

columns

winds

of evening

sigh.

gold

vaults

where

forth

where

priests adored.

stored.

was

Michel.

Nicolas

Our

to

rail

is

"

side

next

Brusa

easily to

eager

There

indeed,

are

was

from

that

Pliny

his

fled after

Carthaginian

great

this the

celebrated

general

city, which

stubborn

letter

Trajan,

increasing

the

to

rites

and

to

being

respecting

the

eventually

to

1

Plinii

faterentur,

had

of

one

members

the

first

of that

97. certe

pursued

to

notices

^

offer

capital

able is remarkwriters

of

which

was

Caesars.

enim duhitaham, "Nequi qualecumqxhe dehere et inflexibilem obatinationem 94

rifices sac-

all pagan

Roman

incipient Church the

rapidly

specially

letter in

structio in-

regarding

then

were

themselves

This

of

mistress

become

be

made

It

wrote for

asked

by refusing

officialdom.

Roman

Epiatulae No. pertinaciam

who,

Bithynia, he

who

the

that

prosperous,

which

to

Eomans.

Brusa.

by persistently avoiding

and

gods

in

anciently

the

and

cially espe-

tions associa-

"

of

of

governor

policy

and

numbers

observances,

obnoxious as

in

was

maintain

large

Christians'*

of

I

by

founder

once

was

the

who

the

while

sect

defeat

cursion ex-

partly by

to Brusa

was

his

was

Younger, to

and

steamer

authorities

concerning **the

It

varied.

some

short

a

place, for its historic

this famous and

was

Constantinople.

from

Hannibal

that

"

partly by

"

accessible

numerous

are

Prusa

which

see

visiting Troy,

after

trip,

fire

shrine,

the

the

choke

and

flood

admire?

to

cross

hroJcen

ivy

rent

hramhles

Rough And

thick

and

rage

pilgrims

Cell, long arcade, high, altar, Bound

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

scythe, man's

stern

Left naught A

V

quod puniri."

easet

OF

CRADLE

THE

history Brusa

In Ottoman

THE

OSMANLIS

is notable

for

95

having

been

the

and capital of Orkhan, the second ruler of the Osmanlis resort of Moslem ars, scholfor having long been the favorite artists,poets,and dervishes who enjoyed a great reputation f or their their coreligionists reputed sanctity. among of the Ottoman after the transfer And even capitalto Adrianople and subsequently to Constantinople,Brusa continued to be

here

one

of the

sacred

were

buried

the

cities of the

Mohammedans.

first six Osmanli

For

sovereigns

besides

princes and here **more than five hundred pashas, theologians,teachers,and poets sleep their first Padishas.*' their last sleep around Among the which that of the turbehs particularlyimpressed me was Serbian princess who, although the wife of a Sultan, was untainted the religion of her Christian able to preserve than

more

parents. were

of Ottoman

score

Here

erected

were

and

mosques

"

and

a

for

historians.

public buildings whose

centuries In

medrcsses

numerous

a

beauty

favorite of

theme

"

size and of Moslem

leges coldeur gran-

poets

design, richness of material, the mosques especiallythe even to-day regarded as the

of exquisite finish some renowned Green are Mosque architecture. most perfect specimens of Osmanli most Our visit to Brusa ideal was an enjoyable and was introduction to our long journey through the Ottoman sessions posFor in this old capitalof the sultans we in Asia. find more strikinglyexhibited than in noisy, metropolitan

and

"

"

Constantinople those Asiatic and

cities

dreamy

But

"

dominant

characteristics

apathetic immobility, undisturbed

of

most

quietude,

repose.

before

we taking the train at Haidar Pasha spent a Keui which day in wandering through Scutari and Kadi the Bosphorus from Stamboul. Like Brusa are just across both of these places especiallyScutari are distinctively Oriental in character and are well worthy of a visit. Both of them, too, have toric played prominent roles in the long, hisovershadowed so past and, although they are now by the great cityof Constantine, they,nevertheless,offer many "

"

BERLIN

FROM

96

that

attractions

Scutari

well

are

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

worthy of the attention

of

the

the historian.

and

student

TO

formerly known

was

as

Chrysopolis "

the Golden

City. Its special attractions for tourists are the Howling Dervishes, whose peculiar devotional exercises take place brated Thursday, and the Great Cemetery which is celethe largestand most beautiful Moslem of burying as

every

places. It is

than great forest of cypress trees, more three miles in length. Each has its tombstone, grave Some of the epitaphs I observed one. usually a very modest were touching,especiallythose that terminated very that a Fatihah the first chapter of the with a prayer Koran might be said for the soul of the deceased. a

"

"

This

chapter [writes Sale, the learned translator of the and held in great veneration Koran] is a prayer by the Mohammedans. They esteem it as the quintessence of the whole Koran, and often repeat it in their devotions, both public and private,as the Christians do the Lord's Prayer.^ .

It is which

.

.

integralpart

an

of each

of the five daily prayers

said by every good Mussulman. recited over the sick,at the conclusion it

but of the

repose

the

It

are

soul

of

place

the

it reads

Eodwell

is,above

of

an

all,the favorite

is,moreover,

portance action of imfor

prayer

the

departed taking,in this respect, Catholic reqiiiescat.As translated by of the

:

God, Lord of the Worlds! The compassionate, the merciful! King on the day of reckoning! Thee only do we worship, and to Thee do we cry for help. Guide the straightpath, Thou on us Thou has been gracious; with The path of those to whom

Praise

he to

"

Whom

As

2

The

art

wandered

we

place

Thou

of

so

Koran:

1870).

many

not

angry,

and

who

go

not

astray.

along the pathways of this myriads of Mohammedans

Commonly

"

called

the

Alcoran

of Mohammedf

last

resting

from p. I

Condelphia, (Phila-

CRADLE

THE *

siantinople

of

number

the

as

as

men

and

from

Scutari

I

"

who

women

was

were

97

impressed by absorbed

here

departed,*or in tending the flowers These with the quiet mourners, graves.

for their dear

in prayer

the

adorned

which

well

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

make

turtledoves, which

countless

funereal

of the

branches

trees

cypress

their

home

in

the

and

which

seem

to

give to this moan, keep up continuously their subdued gloomy necropolis a solemnity and an impressiveness that cities of the dead almost lacking in such ostentatious are and the Campo Santo of Genoa. Pere Lachaise as the Great Cemetery brings us to the A short drive from of Kadi Keui which, like Scutari,is also a part town modern of the municipality of Constantinople. It was formerly known

as

Chalcedon

and

was

founded

seventeen

years

fore be-

Byzantium. By the oracle of Delphi it was designated because blind its founders **the city of the blind,*' were the superior position of the tongue of land on the opposite tinople the City of Constanside of the Bosphorus, on which

as

to

stands.

now

Like

witnessed

cities in this

other

most

vicissitudes

many

and

part of the world has

been

it has

repeatedly

tured cap-

by invading armies from both Asia and in antiquityfor its temple of Apollo and Europe. Famed tinguishe disfor having been the birthplaceof Xenocrates, the most of Plato's disciples,its temples and palaces, the sultans as a after its capture by the Ottomans, served and

sacked

of the Bosphorus whose home is on the West himself is that "he considers cemetery of Scutaria of Constantinople turns a stranger and a sojourner in Europe and the Moslem his remains his last lingering look to this Asiatic will not cemetery where when be disturbed the Giaour regains possession of this European city, an 3

The

desires

event

why

reason

to

be

which

buried

he

the

Ottoman

in the

is

firmly convinced

will

sometime

come

to

pass.

Thus

the

yearning for his native soil; like Joseph in the land of his bones he exacts a promise from his people that 'they would carry which 1 in my have the land hence' like ^acob, says in and 'bury me grave London, of Canaan.*" 1836). Constantinople, p. 13 (by R. Walsh, 4 Mohammed to visit graveyards frequently "Visit enjoined his followers think for "of he of futurity." a graves," verity they shall make you says, of his two the "Whoso visiteth Again, he declares: graves parents every of the two, he shall be written a pious child, even Friday, or one though he might have been in the world, before that, disobedient to them."

dying Egypt

Turk

feels

a

TO

BERLIN

98

FEOM

stone

quarry

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

they required buildingmaterial

when

for their

in

Constantinople. But, although not a vestige of remains, it will always grandeur now mosques

former

Chalcedon's be remembered

as

the

council held in 451 the fourth (Ecumenical cityin which was the teaching of condemned of the Church, in which was and Eutyches and the Monophysites respectingthe human in Christ.

the divine nature

I recalled the fact that

When

council,including the representativesof the absent and thirtybishops; attended by six hundred bishops, was of these belonged to the Eastern than six hundred that more this

of the episthe very small number copate found in this, part of the world, it was

Church, and remembered is

that

now

the

to understand

easy

Minor

in Asia

culture

and

condition

present backward

Syria.

and

of civilization What

a

great doctors of the the Cyrils,the Gregories,the Basils,the Oriental Church Ephrems, the Chrysostoms ^whose learningand eloquence change, indeed, since

the

days of

those

"

"

their time

from

have

of the whole short

A Pasha

the

been

admiration

of Christendom. to the north

distance

military hospitalwhich

of Kadi was

the

Nightingale's heroic labors during the she occupied while here which rooms intact and

as

edification

and

I

passed through them, I

beautiful tribute to her in the

verses

Keui

is the Haidar

scene

of Florence

Crimean are

War.

The

preserved Longfellow's

still

recalled

:

Lamp shall stand In the great history of the land, A noble type of good. A

Lady with

womanhood.

Heroic Nor The The Saint

a

wanting here palm, the lilyand the spear, symbols that of yore even

shall he

Philomena

bore,^

of noble the qualitiesof heart and mind long admired been her for has by greatly enhanced Florence Nightingale but admiration which the recent publication of certain letters of hers, previously unknown, B

The

world

has

BERLIN

FROM

100

that

panoramas

TO

AND

BABYLON

scarcely less fascinatingthan

are

along the famous

seen

BAGDAD

driveway

between

those

Sorrento

and

Amalfi. of the Marmora, as they gently lap dancing waves along its curving shore,are as soothing as a lullaby to a The

cradled

child. old

same

as

whose

the

reached

the

murmuring

are

of the trim

crews

proudly floated

arms

they conveyed the ports of the Euxine

as

they

the

of the seafaring greeted the ears they passed by nearly three thousand years

which

and

all the while

story that

Megarians ago

And

their

on

sies argo-

flagsand pennants

of India

treasures

Venetian

China

and

from

to the

gem-blue haven of the peerless The the of Adriatic. noonday sun, playing over Queen the ripplingwaters, changes them in rapid succession from the

color

delicate

of

the

lapis lazuli

to

the

scintillating

of the opal.

iridescence

ing Along the coast line one contemplateswith ever-increasest delightcountless views of entrancing beauty and interrocks

moss-covered

gray

"

and

loveliness

which

reposeful silence

olives and

;

are

of

ever

trembling vines

and

tender ing wav-

picturesque adobe cottages with adorned romping children who graceful creepers; and women make the air ring with their joyous shouts ; men colorful garbs quietly performing their daily in the most ish from the fevertasks and all the while completely immune the toilingmillions of Europe haste that so distracts and converts their life into a long and troubled and America figsand

nightmare.

The

oranges

is that

secret

is satisfied with little.

plot of ground such

conditions

On

traveling town

was

in Asia

of the

over

under Minor.

classic

was

to cultivate

we

in the

undisturbed

Under in the

even

Valley. reminded

were

For

Empire here

ant peashis small

is perfectly happy.

ground.

the Roman

It

he

to remain

Happy

arrival at Ismid

our

him

Osmanli

find nothing to envy

he would

lot of the denizens

the normal

Permit

and

in peace

of his family and

bosom

;

one

this

that

small

of the

that Diocletian

we

were

Turkish

largestcities had

his seat

I CRADLE

THE

OF

it was

of Government;

THE

OSMANLIS

here that he

againstthe persecutions

Christians

he abdicated the throne.

It

here

that death claimed

Constantine

in

neighboring castle

that

a

began his sanguinaryand

in his

was

101

it

here

was

imperialvilla near

the Great

Hannibal

that

it was

and

committed

suicide.

ous birthplaceof Arrian, the illustridiscipleof Epictetus,who, from notes of his master's lectures,prepared the famed Discourses of Epictetus. He the scarcelyless celebrated Anabasis also wrote ander of AlexNicomedia

And

the

was

the Great.

first stop,however,

Our where

waiting for day previouslyto

found

we

ordered the

take "

araha

an

us

the railroad

drive from

hours'

at the littletown

was

us

which

to Isnik

which

of Lefke

had

about four

"

is but

we

a

small

lage vil-

houses, but which

and Byzanduring Roman tine of Nicaea, the rival of Nicotimes was, under the name media. while in the possession of the Sultans of Even of art,poetry, and science scarcely it was Rum as a center and Bagdad. And while Conthan Cordova stantinopl less renowned in the possession of the Latins,after its was capture by the Crusaders, Nicaea served as the temporary capitalof the Byzantine Empire. a stronger There are few placesin Anatolia which make appealto the student than the ancient cityof Nicaea. Its churches, ivy and fern-covered ruins,walls,baths,theaters, towers, gates,aqueducts,sarcophagi,bas-reliefs, mosques, esting of all kinds are in the highestdegree interand inscriptions of mud

and

offer

antiquaryor To

us

Nicaea

once

we

famous

of most

preciousmaterial

for the

the historian. was

Belie

and, as

mine

a

a

of nobler days and noblest arts,

wandered

city,we

among

seemed

the ruin-covered to hear

the

streets of the

monitorywords

Lightlytread,'tis hallowed ground.

BERLIN

FROM

102

AND

BAGDAD

TO

object in visitingthis famous knowledge so much as impressions. I was But

BABYLON

place

my

not

was

attracted

thither

magnet that drew me to Troy and Chalcedon. a local picture of I wished to get the local color and secure a place which has filled an important page in historyand the goal of contending armies for centuries was which the

by

same

"

predominant

oecumenical

noted

first General

its condemnation

witness

a

of ruins

scene

of two

But

of the

the was

Church's

councils.

first council which

The the

been

Christians.

visit to this

for my

reason

the fact that it had most

and

Europeans, Moslems

and

Asiatics

Council

was

held here in 325

of the

of Arianism

and

Church.

likewise

was

It is noted

for the formation

for

of the

cil which, as subsequently amplifiedby the Counsince been the symbol of of Constantinople, has ever but also by those faith used not only by the Catholic Church which are no longer in communion with Churches Eastern Churches well. of the Protestant and by many Rome as the seventh In the second council of Nica^a,which of was the Church's in 787, general councils and which convened the doctrine of the Iconoclasts,which condemned was so the cause long agitated the Eastern Church and which was of so many relentless persecutionsthroughout the whole of the Byzantine Empire. Even Moslems, who regard kind of representation of the human form as an every execrable fanatical and pitiidol,could not have been more less in their dealings with anti-Iconoclasts than were Leo the Isaurian, who was suspected of favoring Islamism, and his son Constantine Copronymus. During their reigns,not to speak of those of several of their the churches successors, of the Byzantine Empire were statues as bare of images and Creed

Nicene

as

were

By two

a

women

the mosques of Medina and Damascus.^ of events it fell to the lot of peculiar combination "

the

Empresses

Irene

and

Theodora

* For an of the two interestingaccount oecumenical Hefele'f scholarlyHiatoire dea Concxlea, Tom. I, Livre XVIII (trans, by Dom H. Leclercq,Paris, 1910).

"

councils II and

of

Tom.

to undo

Nicnea see Ill, Livre

of the Iconoclastic

the work

and

to

of the noblest

numbers

of the empire, whose

women

103

put a stop to exile,the imprisonment,

the

caused

of countless

the death

or

and

emperors

had

persecutions which

the

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

CRADLE

THE

only offense

men

fidelity

was

to the faith of their fathers.

the spot that

two

on

of Nicaea

condition

accepted

from

Christendom

bishops

a

witnessed both

between

contrast

creed

which

the the

the

Orient

present

th*eassembled

that at the time when

to that

visit to

a

has

since

ever

been

symbol of faith of nearly the whole

the

as

In Asia

of

and

subscribed

fathers

than

occasions

What

Occident.

the

Minor

momentous

of hundreds

assemblage

to awaken

competent

more

are

past gloriesof Asia

of the

memories

and

in Anatolia

things

Few

of

I

Minor

alone

four

hundred

there

fifth century,

in the

were,

no

And an fiftyepiscopal sees. that every enacted imperial law was city should have its civitas own bishop unaquceque proprium episcopum haheto.^ this once ishing flourBut what a change has come over than

fewer

and

"

portionof

Nicaea,Chalcedon, and

"

councils

held

were

Church.

the Christian

and

Ephesus

Roman

cities

famous

in which

"

in

which

The

four

times

general all

were

to capitals of provinces have long since been reduced ruins. So completely, indeed, had Ephesus disappeared from known about its topography even sight that little was until the Austrian ArchaeologicalInstitute began its exca"

there ^vations And

but

Cf.

than

more

decades

two

ago.

it is throughout the

so

Great [Anatolia." 8

little

The

Historical

and

length and the which, in popular cities,

Geography

of Asia

(by

p. 93

Minor,

breadth the W.

of

heyday

M.

Ramsay,

iOndon, 1890). "

"The

fate

[ofnumerous

of these others

fthroughout

Asia

united

with

cities," observes

whose

Minor

names

decaying

are

ruins

traveler

recent

a a

part mark

of

classic

the

sites

in

Anatolia, "is that

history. Everyvehere where

art

and

barbaric

of past Everywhere are evidences power. all the prostrate columns and splendor and greatness. And over and entablatures,the domed black-green cypresses, the fertile mosques and the great desert, the dark-visagedmen and the silent,veiled women

"Were

the

spell,undefinable

human that

race, rose

and

the

land

crumbled

but

wondrously

of luxurious

long

before

fascinating,of Asia;

magnificence,the the

western

world

abode had

the of

cradle

culture ment, refinebroken

valleys lingers of

the

mighty empires emerged from dark-

BERLIN

FROM

104

Empire

of the Roman

BAGDAD

TO

for their splendid temples,

noted

were

BABYLON

AND

theaters, and baths, gymnasia, colonnades, Greek all graced by masterpieces Roman amphitheaters,which were of art in marble Greek

matchless tenanted

or

by

the soil whose

Cicero's

originals

nomadic

few

a

only homes

lament

frequentlyreplicasof either entirely deserted now shepherds or poor tillers of small mud hovels that barely

are

"

from

protect them

bronze

and

are

"

the elements. the

over

cities of Greece

desolate

reechoed

the

traveler

may

in

ruin-covered by Anatolia. This is particularlytrue of that part of the country Ionia. In literature,art, history, known once as philosophy,she long vied with Attica herself. For, among her distinguished Homer Anacreon of Teos, Mimsons are of and Herodotus, the Father Apelles, Parrhasius nermus, in her once flourishingcapital,Miletus, History. And site is now whose occupied by the fever-stricken villageof Palatia,lived that galaxy of philosophers Thales, AnaxiHere the geographers, Hecamander, and Anaximenes. be

everywhere

"

charts. Aristagoras planned the earliest known the birthplaceof the rarely giftedAspasia Here, too, was

tsBus and

the wife of Athens, after she became Pericles,is celebrated in history as the first and most

whose

in

home

famous

salon the world

In Ionia

has

known.^"

originated that brilliant and highly intellectual

societywhich a French temps de la Grece. For

ever

face

in the

even

writer

has

of recent

happily named

discoveries

it may [writes a distinguishedOrientalist], of western

hesitation that the Greeks of what

the first full-bloom a

Greek

destined

ness;

has

the

soothed

civilization

come

soul

in

of

myBticism comforted

and

of

it with

1918). (by W. A. Hawly, London, p. 317 10 See in Science, p. 12 et aeq. the author's Woman

Sparta

produced

Hellenism, that is

to full consciousness

subtle anguish and

too, birth-place,

Minor

of highest possibilities

to attain the

the

we

in

prin-

be said without

Asia

call pure

le

of itself and the

Hellenic

religion that hope." Asia Minor, every

(New York, 1913).

THE

CRADLE

however,

the

accident

of

for

other

its claim

Whatever

genius.

OF

Ionian

THE

to absolute

section

of the

geographical position vital link between

a

its individual

name

East

Greek

of all the that

it

shape

in which

la

ne

Nor

the

who

the

of

the

literature,but and

man

took

alphabet

it about

to carry

were

that

and

islands

and

men

it to mention

belongs to,

or

elan

man,

the

final

the

ized civil-

for, the de genie duquel cares

poets, while

Father

the

second

*^The

where

Homer,

the mainland.

was

Hippocrates, the oracle of Medicine, first saw birthplace of AIcsbus and in the

stands

called

less prolific

'*

Lesbos, the

and

fringed Ionia

than

Cos, where

*'The

which

women

first of whom

being

imposed tion designa-

^^

in famous

the

and

any

follow the development

between

art would

were

day

than

more

only

ignore that *'bel statuaire attique*'?

republic of

the

must

not

that

the Greeks And

world.

of

Students

in Ionia

was

served

from

race

and

of communication

know

est

where

means

Hellenic

regard with peculiar the city-Stateof Hellenic type first

to adolescence.

grew

priorityin culture,

All who

people.

of free social institutions

the land

105

West, terminology as

Oriental

on

of the whole

interest

OSMANLIS

forefront

enjoyed ^^

Poetess

the

unique

Homer

as

of

was

Suffice of

physicians the light Sappho, Greek lyric

distinction called

of

*^The

Poef

But and

where in

immortal

their

once

of

schools

the

and

Sappho, Asia

Alcaeus works

Minor;

lived and were

where

used

labored as

Zeuxis

books text-

and

surrounded of were Appelles and Parrhasius by crowds admiring pupils; where Hippocrates and Galen of Perauthorities in medical long the supreme science, gamon, of scientific born; where were Hipparchus of Nicaea, founder first became

astronomy,

famous;

where

Aristarchus

and the East, pp. 8, 9 (by D. G. Hogarth. Oxford, 1907). Another view when Orientalist, H. R. Hall, expresses substantially the same Greek civilization in Ionia that the new he tells us that "It was Ionia, arose; survived, taught the new the old ^Egean blood and spiritmost in whom Greece,, ^-i^

Ionia

eminent

her coined gave the Phoenicians deemed the

the

Earliest

and money from before

ends Times

of

the to

and her shipmen. forcing letters, art and poesy, her new culture them, carried to what then were

earth." the

Battle

The

Ancient

of Salamis,

East History of the Near p. 79 (London, 1916).

from

BERLIN

FROM

106

the most

of Samothrace,

than

more

brilliant

of the

there

career,

of those

names

BABYLON

critic and

intellectual wilderness

an

even

AND

celebrated

antiquity,began his

of

BAGDAD

TO

and

who

but

were

grammarian is

little

now

edge knowl-

scant the

once

glory

Hellas, as well as of Anatolia. The erstwhile homes of art, science,and literature in Asia Minor have shared the fate as Olympia, Carthage, and Syracuse. Only a same of

few

broken

were

once

How come

mutilated

and

columns

remain

statues

of what

great cultural centers of the ancient world. does not the explorer in Anatolia unexpectedly dead city on a mountain slope or in a hidden

the

often a

upon

hollow, which

was

abandoned

choked

with

a

thousand

brushwood,

years

ago,

whose

whose

palaces and covered with a tangle of vegetation, whose theaters are tombs hidden marble the only are by brambles, where lutely human being ever seen is a wandering shepherd who is absoindifferent to these marvelous ous vestiges of a marvelpast! has not frequently seen And what traveler in Anatolia and statues built into walls and houses, mutilated columns and beautifullycarved friezes and capitalsput to the most Nor in this land is this all. Everywhere ignoble uses? of the most delicately of countless Pompeis untold treasures streets

are

chiseled

marbles

in the

which

pride

of

adornment

days of price and

the

into

cast

lime

art-lovingGreeks

kilns

"

and

marbles

Romans

the which, for generations, were the cities which the chief and they embellished of the superb structures of which they formed

above

were

been

have

part. of the memories But, if the ruins of Anatolia awake renowned former once ters cengrandeur of cities which were of art, science,and letters, they likewise carry us back to the days when the Osmanli chieftains became the heirs of the Eastern Caesars and when they gained the mastery of that portion of the world which from of history the dawn a

has transcended in which

were

all others located

in human

the

proud

interest ; the territory cities of Tyre and

BERLIN

FROM

108

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

called Ilderim rapid movements, was lightning;^ who retrieved the losses inflicted by Timur; Mohammed, Murad II, the antagonist of Hunyady and Skanderberg; of Constantinople; Selim I, Mohammed II, the conqueror annexed who Kurdistan, Syria, and Egypt, and Solyman of his

the

"

Magnificent,the

victor

besieger of Vienna. another

one

"

succession founded

empire

by such dismay, as well Sultan

But not

for

in

and

did

eight such

the

feeble Bayazid II

the

ceed sovereigns suc"

in

broken un-

other

was an country; never and extended turies during two so splendid cenIn the hour of series of great rulers. a as

master

was

Never save

the field of Mohacs

on

any

in the moment

of

triumph, the

Turkish

of the situation.^^

only were

Emirs

the Ottoman

period eminent as rulers they, as well exceptions,

and as

and

Sultans

empire builders.

of this

With

few

of their successors, sessed, posfacultyof choosingthe right

many

Napoleon, the rare for the right place. This is especially men noteworthy in their choice of generals,admirals, and grand viziers who which they filled with selected for the high positions, were without regard to their nationalityor accisuch distinction, dents them of birth. and Jews were Among eunuchs, and and Polish Greek Italian, German renegades.^* the Italian Cicala,the victor of Karestes; the There was Mehemet German Sli,son of a Magdeburg musician, who like

the main

commanded Croatian the

clerk became

Crimea.

Chief

army

the among

Italian Ululj Ali, the Greeks

in

Bulgaria;

leader

Omar

of the

who

Turkish

from army

a

in

the

the great admirals were Kheyr-ed-din and Urug Bar-

York, 1888). Story of Turkey, p. 78 (by Stanley Lane-Poole, New historian that tells us the ablest Hammer-Purgstall generals and statesmen the reigns of Selim and under Solyman the Magnificent those who raised the Ottoman of prosperity were ing Empire to its acme renegades. Durthis period no fewer of ten than out of the grand viziers eight were likewise apostates. "Si done la puissance ottomane foula aux pieds tant de nations, ce resultat ne doit pas ^tre attribu6 au caract^re indolent et grossier des Ottomans, mais k I'espritde ruse et de finesse qui distingue les peuples et slaves, k la t^m^rit^ et k la perfidiedes Allanaia et des Dalmates, grecs k la perseverance et k I'opini"trete des Bosniem et des Croates, enfin k la valeur et aux talents des ren^gats des pays conquis." Hiatoire de VEmpire Tom. (Paris, 1835). Ottoman, VI, p. 452-454 i2T/ie 18

The

"

"

barossa It

THE

CEADLE

from

the island

the

and

]\[editerranean

the Arab

OSMANLIS ;

Piali

aid

able

was Magnificent,

the

Solyman

of Lesbos

chieflythrough

was

THE

OF

Pasha,

of the

to

109 from

tia. Croa-

last three

that

control of the

secure

states of Northern

Africa

and

devastating raids not only to the coasts of beyond the Strait of Italy,France, and Spain but even returning to Gibraltar, to waylay the argosieswhich were ( 'adix laden with the gold and jewels of the Indians." But more distinguishedthan the Sultan's noted generals the long series of men who and his corsair admirals was his

extend

to

Vizierate.

Grand

occupied the

The

most

famous

of these

Abyssinian eunuch Bashir; the renegade Jew, Kiamil Pasha; the Herzegovinan, Mohammed Sokalovich; the Albanian, Mohammed, Kiuprili,who, from a kitchenthe most noted grand boy in the Sultan's palace, became ruled the great Ottoman vizier that ever Empire. He was in the Grand Vizierate by his son succeeded Ahmed who, as a statesman, was scarcelyless celebrated than his father. A short interval after Ahmed's death, Mustafa Kiuprili,a second son of Mohammed became grand vizier and his rule consurfimate marked was by the same statesmanship that Their so distinguishedthe rule of his father and brother. rise is especiallyinterestingfor,as observes Von Hammer, **the history of the empires of the Orient offers only four instances of members of the same family succeeding one another in the dignity of the Grand ^^ Vizierate. the

were

"

In this brief reference

to the

men

who

achieved

such

tinction dis-

in must

we

role

in

Three

buildingup and extending the Ottoman Empire, not forget the women who played so important a the history of Turkish politicsand statecraft.

of the most

Eoxalana, who

passed from

imperial harem the

1*

1893 16

The

)

notable

to become

of these a

the

Story of

the

Barlary Corsairs^p.

Op. cit.,Tom.

I, p.

18.

the

Muscovite

public slave market to the wife of Solyman the Magnificent

greatest of the Ottoman

.

were

56

Sultans ; the Venetian (by

Poole

and

Kelly,New

York,

BERLIN

FROM

110

at

Safia who

an

BAGDAD

TO

early age

abducted

was

BABYLON

AND from

her

home

on

Canal, taken to Constantinopleand sold to the she had a son Sultan Murad III,by whom who, after his III ; Aimee Dubuc Sultan Mohammed father 's death, became born in de Rivery, who, like the Empress Josephine, was the littleisland of Martinique and who, in her youth, was an of Napoleon Bonaparte, but intimate of the future consort of Algerian pirates by who eventually fell into the hands of Algiers. Thence sold in the slave market she was whom she was conveyed to Constantinople as a present to the she bore a son who came beI, to whom Sultan, Abdul Hamid Mahmud II, the grandfather of the late Abdul the

Grand

Hamid

11.

By

their

gained

women

these

beauty,wit,and fascinatingmanners influence

unbounded

an

the

over

three

Sultans

able, remarkand, what is more tagonists anthey were able,notwithstanding their numerous in the harem, to retain their ascendancy in the of youth and affections of their lords long after the season beauty had passed. In overweening ambition, diplomatic ing unfailingresourcefulness in high resolve,in achievfinesse, in the face of the greatestobstacles, these three success tunate forChristian captives were worthy rivals of their more their lives

with whom

cast

were

sisters of the West

Medici, and From out

the

the

Marquise

preceding

de

pages,

Capello,Catherine

de'

Pompadour. it is

clear,as

Freeman

points

that,"

the

institution

of

the

for the Turk

and

dominion.

they kept

days of Ottoman well-nighbrought down the

from

West, Greek

the councils

Grand

bondmen

Vizier

Op. cit.yp.

or 340

to the

from and

a

et

Captain seq.

.

condition

.

won

During

the

the most were

a

tribute-children

the armies Pasha

of

very

empire

the

subject caste. East, voluntary renegades

Slavonic

commanded

and

They

it for him. .

the

was

greatness the native Turks

brilliant

Manumitted

children

tribute

of the Ottoman

keystone

10

Bianca

"

born

directed

of the Sultans.

A

in the faith of Islam

noted

indeed

was

subtlety of devil of

by to

away

devise of

chains own

provide against

Their conquerors. most vigorous frames whom

those liberators

of

own

such

the

a

did

111 the

craft and

tremendous

conquered

engine

nations

best blood

was

were

drawn

degeneracy in the blood of strongest and fairest children, and the most lects, precocious intel-

any

marked

had

nature

their

OSMANLIS

Their

hands.

their the

THE

portent. Never

man

or

their

a

as

The

tyranny.

riveted

OF

CRADLE

THE

race,

were

out

carried

as

chiefs

off to

and

become

of their degradation. This fearful specialinstruments with the possession of Constantinople, combined institution, and with the marvelous hereditary greatness of the ruling from the common family, preserved the House of Othman the

fate of Oriental

According a

Turkish

to

race

dynasties. a

long prevalent opinion,the Osmanlis achieved

who

the

conquest of Asia

are

Minor

ters masEurope and before they became The fact is they had subof the Byzantine Empire. jugated the entire Balkan peninsula before they obtained than the northwest of Anatolia, corner possession of more had maintained and Adrianople as the Ottoman capital before Mohammed quest II, after the coneighty-seven years it to its present locaof Constantinople,transferred tion the Bosphorus. on in their earliest days, comNor were the Osmanlis, even posed nomads entirely,as is so often asserted,of Turkish from it. They were the East. from welded Far from the heterogeneous elements Greeks, Cai-ians, Phrygians, Galatians,the followers of Osman, and other peoples who then inhabited the northwestern And, part of Asia Minor. of as early as the reign of Orkhan, the son and successor not only Osman, this complex blending of peoples became

before

they

invaded

"

a

distinct So

heirs that

far

race

are

of the

but the

a

race

Osmanlis

with from

a

national

consciousness.

regarding themselves

as

Turkomans Seljukian Turks or as transformed to remove this erroneous they have always endeavored impression which has so long prevailed concerning

BERLIN

112

FROM

their

people.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

distinguishedhistorian,Mouradja

The

d'

Ohsson, declares: Osmanlis

The

^*Turk''

the word

employ

when

referring

According to the Osmanlis, Turk belongs only to the peoples of Turkestan the epithet lead a stagnant life in and to those vagabond hordes who to the the deserts of Khorassan'T All the peoples submitted of Osmanlis Empire are designatedunder the collective name of the Monarchy, and they from Osman I, the founder called Turks peans. do not understand why they are by Eurothe idea of the most As they attach to this word allows marked insult,no foreigner in the Empire ever to

himself

The

to

use

it in

Osmanlis, while

even

brutal

and

coarse

a

man.

speaking to

as

we

have

still confined

them.^^

seen,

to Asia

were

Minor.

of

mixed

But

blood,

after their

expansion in Asia they in blood the most became cosmopolitan and vigorous race had known since the days of the Greeks the world and Romans. Greek, Turkish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Albanian, sian, Armenian, Wallachian, Hungarian, German, Italian,RusTartar, Mongol, Circassian, Georgian, Persian, the ancestry of the Osmanlis, this was Syrian, Arabian who, under Solyman the Magnificent,made the whole world of blood tremble. In richness the only parallel to the in modern Osmanlis times is the present population of the United States and Canada. It would, indeed, require an analyst of superhuman power to determine ethnological conquests in Europe

further

and

*^

"

''^^

the

percentage of Osmanli

blood

in the

present inhabitants of the western part of the Ottoman Empire.^" Nor is this all. From the day of Orkh^n and Murad I,

the Osmanlis

^f

Tableau

^"The

York.

have

Oin6ral Foundation

been

de

V

of

the

classed

Empire Ottoman

as

raiders

like the devas-

Ottoman, Tom. II, p. 217 (Paris, 1790). 117 ^(by H. A. Gibbons, New Empire, p. y y y "

1916).

Freencuin writes to the eame eflfectwhen he declares "between JanliMiries and the mothers of all nations, the blood of many a be phyilcallyanything rather than Turkish." Op. cit.,p. 187. *"

renegades, Turk

must

THE

CRADLE

tatinghordes

of Timur

OF

THE

OSMANLIS

Gen^is

and

113

Kahn.

Nothing could the truth. So far indeed were be farther from they from being a predatory people like the Mongols and Tartars from the days of their founder, a race that they were, of This was colonists and empire builders. the secret of their and

success

of the

explanationof

the

trian AusSultans, which, as the eminent Empire clared historian,Joseph Von Hammer-Purgstall, has de**was more rapid in its rise than Rome, more during en-

The

that

of Alexander.''

which

causes

of the Osmanlis into the vast

were,

as

there

Osmanlis

of

of Osman

warriors and

successors

the

to

ment achieve-

which to

had

enabled and

occupy

tribes

small

subdue

the

of

Western

' ' ^"

were so

and

Empire Europe.

of

those

to

Empire.

But

rapid development

the four hundred of his

Germans

and

Roman

from

to the

extraordinary results in so short a period of the historian gree deFinlay points out, **in some

similar Goths

contributed

armies

of such

the

development

of the

than

time

the marvelous

"

which

other

contributory causes masters quickly to become to make

Chief

themselves these

among

were

of the

tine Byzan-

to the whole

menace

a

enabled

the

tions conflictingambiByzantine throne and

aspirants to the the rivalries of the petty chieftains of the Balkan sula Peninand the commercial jealousies of Venice and Genoa. All these anything like joint purely secular aims made action of the Crescent possible. against the followers quite imIt

numerous

Caiitaciizenos, a traitor

was

Andronfcus

of

Europe. 20

A

After

History of

Time,

Vol.

three

which

tribe

over

population and

degraded of the

the

state

Hellenic

Second, the

number

the

the

Byzantine throne, he

from its Conquest ty the Romans these causes (Oxford, 1877). Among

special attention. contemporary nations

of

Osmanlis

Greece

deserve all

the

introduced

who

usurping

Ill, p. 475

military conduct. Danube

II,

the widow

to his empress,

country between iEgean. Third, the

of its race.

judicialand

''First, the in

to

of the

gave the

Finlay superiority of the

religiousconvictions diflFerent Adriatic

depopulation

civil administration

which

races

and of

and the

into his

Present indicates Ottoman

in moral

composed

and the

Sea,

the

Empire,

the

Black

the

Greek

and

the demoralization

in

gle strug-

his infamous

againsthis legitimatesovereign. By

trayal be-

more and country he contributed of his empress of the single factor to the ultimate downfall any

than

Byzantine Empire. the de^ot It was

^

Stephen

Bukcovitz

Bayazid

to whom

he commanded

It

the Franks.

and

Greeks

formed

who

alliance with

his sister

he gave

Serbian

the

was

an

wife

as

prince emir

the

even Army forces,after "

When the Osmanli againsthis coreligionists. at Angora, were their signaldefeat by Timur

faced

with

Tartars, it

of the victorious

annihilation at the hands

with

for whom

and

contingent in the Ottoman

a

the

in his contest

him

support

to

invited

Paleologus who

Theodore

into Greece

Osmanlis the

in his

soldiers to aid him

exchange for six thousand

Orkhan

emir

to the

marriage

in

daughter,Theodora,

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

lU

was

Greeks, Genoese, and Venetians who saved them from the Dardanelles destruction by transportingthem across their relentless purand the Bosphorus to Europe where suers the

unable

were

But

these

Ottoman of

to follow them.

only

are

few

instances

received

conquerors

Europe.

a

**In their

from

of the aid which

the

Christian

conquest of the Balkan

the

nations

peninsula

it is

remarkable," declares a recent writer, **that the Osmanlis never fought a battle without the help of allies of the faith and under

blood

the Moslem

of those

yoke.'*'' The

the region of the Danube

was

beholden

more

they

And

putting

were

victories of

largelydue

were

of his Christian vassals.

he

whom

Bayazid

in

to the

tion coopera-

in his invasion

of Hungary

to the Wallachians

than

to his

famed corps of Janissaries." ""

Gibbons, op

"

"^'^^ *^" Ottoman !lL?*ir!"."^'*"'*"*"^*^ wmum

cit ,

mor

Wir. ""vt

p. 173.

Ramsay

who

does

strength and !l![!"?.k!!l"*?^ J.^^' the vaaqultbad

^t 1-.,^..^^

Chriitians: Turkiah force and

s^^.

ilmSSTmi) "TW

CbrittlaM

^^^^^ "^

w"rt

'*"''

^"""^

cnubed

Latin

or

their

history than

fraud

"^*"W, however ^""'^^

by

people

hesitate to declare: "It has alskill of Christian allies that the Turks not

^*'^''*

the arts and

hroad."

^"'^"^^ri^9, p.

arms

of their own

271

et

seq.

brethren

property. sequestrated

of their

"eMion

payment

of

capitationtax

moderate

a

they lands by

and

thus

were

law which of Moslem protection tian controversies of rival Chrisnotice of the religious no its Christian This liberal policyof Islam towards sects. subjects"a policywhich safeguarded their persons the

enabled to live under took

it did

property" followingas

and

when

Even

they recovered their

refused to accept the Koran the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

116

tyranny of the Lower

Empire

marvelously rapid

in the

of

domination easy In Asia Saracens.

the heels of the odious

on was

an

extension

of

"

Islam

conquering

the

factor

important and

in the

Ottomans

and

Mohammedanism Minor, particularly,

tine triumph because it was opposed to Byzandespotismwhich was the objectof universal execration.

achieved

But

an

easy

nothing, probably, contributed of the Osmanlis

rapid conquest in matters to those

of

religion.This

whp, from

towards

the

their

ance spiritof tolerwill,I know, seem strange

their

of the atrocities of

youth, have listened to the story that mythical personage, **the Moslem

with the sword

warrior

than

more

in

hand

one

and

the Koran

in the

other." But

[writes one

who

has

made

a

special study of the actuated by policy,

whether their tolerance was inbject], by genuine kindlyfeeling, or by indifference, the be

gainsaidthat the Osmanlis

were

fact cannot

the first nation

in modem

historyto

lay down the principleof religiousfreedom tile comer-stone in the building of their nation. up During the centuries that bear the stain of aa

unremitting

persecution of the Jew tad the Moslem Omanlis.'* To

one

who

[in western Europe] the Christian lived together in harmony under the

is familiar with

the

teachingsof

the Koran

and Uie poUcy of Islam since the days of Mohammed there U notiiing surprisingin this tolerance and religiousfreed"n which Osmanlis and Moslems have

always

'

-R

A.

OlbboM,

op, oil.,p. 81.

accorded

\

OF

CRADLE

THE

THE

OSMANLIS

117

subjects. **Let there be no compulsion in religion/'^"declares the Prophet, and again it is written, to become believers! **Wilt thou compel men No soul can believe but by the permission of God.'*" their Christian

Nor

these

were

of

Koran

similar

Islam

in their

There

have even

and

other

numerous

import

ignored by

ever

dealings with

declarations

their

of the

the leaders

non-Moslem

of

subjects.

been, it is true, frequent outbursts of persecution among Mohammedans,

of fanaticism, which

sulted re-

sufferingon the part of the Christian population and in putting in force against them intolerant very the But ordinances measures. persecutions and harsh the result of religiousantagonism as of not so much were in much

conditions political traceable

at the

distrust

time.

Not

few

a

of them

are

of the

loyalty of Christians towards their Moslem rulers or to the intriguesof Christian nations like Russia whose have been responsible secret emissaries of the agitationin Asia Minor for generations for so much be traced to the bad faith of certain past. Others again may in their dealings with Moslem ers, rulEuropean powers to

a

to the

or

**

harsh

and

officials*' in the service

Neglected Christian and

as

insolent

of Mohammedan

the Eastern

brethren

in the

of the

powerful rulers

their Christian the

as

have to have

banished

subjectsor did

the

Moors,

to have

27

Sura Sura

28

The

26

certain raro

put into execution II, 257. X, 99. 100. erudite Assemani,

persecutions of

the

I

sacerdotum

medicorum

altercationes."

(Rome,

been

or

Christians

of

by

the

easy

from

part

for

English

have

Ibrahim notion

Vatican

Mohammedans,

any

out

ions their domin-

the

or

the barbarous

Librarian

by their

utterly rooted

It would

(in 1514)

been

the fectly per-

(in 1646) they con-

Library, writing declares:

of

"Non

Christianorum ipsorum sfmultyrannica magnatum potestas, in gentem suam de supremo imperio praesertimscribammque Orientalis Bihlotheca Clementino-Vaticana, Tom. Ill, Pars, II

persecutionis procellam excitarunt

tates, et

Selim

been

for the most

them

Jews, for nearly four centuries.

possiblefor

have

West, unarmed

of Islam

Spaniards

sovereigns."

Christians

utterly defenceless,it would

of Christian

behavior

1719"1728),

mutuse

licencia, prsBSulum fastus,

TO

BERLIN

FROM

U8

BAGDAD

BABYLON

AND

just as Christian subji^cts, ccived of exterminating their Shlahs with the had massacred forty thousand

the former of religiousbehef among aim of estoblishinguniformity subjects. The muftis who turned the his Mohammedan cruel purpose did so as mindfl of their masters from such a Muslim tolerance.^'^ the exponents of Muslim law and

survival,''therefore, ''of the Christian author pertithe same nently as the presentday, is,''

"The

very

Churches

to

tolerant observes, *'a strong proof of the generally towards

governments

Mohammedan

the

of

attitude them.""

Ecclesiasticalwriters of the epoch of the Mohammedan the rapid progaccord with the

explanationof quitein armies, which was

conquestgive stillanother of Moslem

reM

spiritof

wished, they declared,to chastize to and to compel them their infidelity God

the time.

the Christians for do

for their manifold

penance not

was

In

heresies.

their view

that

the astounding conquests of the Mussulmans

"Tk" Preaching of Islam, #WtA. pp. 422, 423 (by T. W. ""Ibid., pp. 79, 80.

History of the Propagation Arnold, London, 1913).

of

a

it

the

Muslim

and Of all wbo careful study of the character have made religion of a of Asia, no an Urn MobMunedanB one probably, is better qualifiedto express the As than M. A. de Gobineau. "pIldMIOB tke subject under consideration of thorough investigationduring several years residence IMmH them, among ko dots not hesitate to declare that if one separates religious doctrines from political there necessitywhich has often spoken and acted in its name, U ao religionthat is more indifferent tolerant, one more might almost say

rs^rdlocmens' deaori dot "ossohBaas k le

qa

la

faith than

eo

cas

flat Wplko

a

ou

"Cette Islam. dispositionorganique est si forte d'Jfitatmise en jeu a port6 les gouvernments tendre de tout pour k unit6 de foi, la tolerance

la raison

faire arme ^t^ la regie fournie

Qu'on ne s' arr^te par le dogme. cruaut^s dans "ioteaeoo,aux comniises dans occasion une une ou Bl oo regarde de prds, on k d^couvrir tardera ne des causes pas y de passion humaine toutes politiques ou et de temperament chez le lla ou la population. dans Le fait religieux n'y est invoqu6 que Les Religions et les PhilosopffoUxU ot, en r^alite,il reste en dehors." r Am4 MMdMw Central, pp. 24, 25 (Paris, 1865). .

.

.

I

What

haa hwo

said of tne

tolerance

of

the

Osmanlis

distinguishedOrientalist,Prince Ajjatho Mlswtis of the

4M* ""

Prophet

l$lam. Vol. V,

^.fjy"" P*'

"Ml^, sioche

^odarooo ...

.

,

d'una

"Gli

or

of

Caetani,

the claims

peoples of for

the

Arabi," he writes in his monumental p. 4 (Milan, 1912), "nei primi anni non ragioni di fede, no si diedero pena alcuna sotto rislam, dopo le prime conquiste, i toUeranza si era mai religiosaquale non

OF

CRADLE

THE

OSMANLIS

THE

of Christians.

led to the apostasy of such vast numbers the

rather

was

that

easy

so

it

but

were

as

much

the

as

these

to

quished. van-

writers

of divine vengeance, or, as it,peccatisexigentibus victi sunt

instrument

an

of

conquest of Islam

then, according

arms,

expressed

them

victors

surprisedthe

Moslem

the

It

defections

widespread

rendered

which

churches

heretical

and

numerous

119

of

one

Chris-

tiani,^^ As

the small

traverses

one

of the Osmanlis

territorywhich

the cradle

was

reflects that the people to whom

and

the in-,

from their Sugut gave his name were, first appearance in history,almost within sightof the City of Constantine, one cannot help admiring their marvelous from transformation retainers of a village chieftain to of vast territories heirs of the empire of the Cajsars,to masters in Asia, Africa, and Europe." From the humblest

emit* significant

of

Sagrada,

Oeografico de la Igleaia de Espana, Tom. view when he declares Hergenrother hold the same that Islam of the for the degenerate Christians was a Strafe punishment Orient whose moral of sacred corruption, religious schism, and desecration Handbuch for it. things through arbitrary state-power had paved the way der Allgemeinen Kirchengeschichtef Tom. I, p. 748 (Freiburg im Breisgau,

^^UEspana XXXVII, p.

312.

Teatro

Cardinal

"

"

1884). The he

distinguished historian, F. "The

writes:

the

Prophet

on

the

enmities

and

Barbary

X.

Funk,

Carthaginians were the

were

conquerors

States

and

the

West

expresses

a

similar

safelygathered under free of

continue

to

Africa, the

their many

opinion when

the

standard

victorious divisions

of

march and

the Eastern Christologicaldisputes had given rise among Christians their task." A Manual Church of Historyf greatly facilitating Vol. I, p. 132 (London, 1909). 32 "Estimates of population," observes worthy, Marriott, "are notoriously untrustbut it seems probable that at a time when Henry VIII ruled over about four million Suleiman numbered people the subjects of Sultan fiftymillion." The

to

which

Eastern

"After

Question, p. 89

(Oxford, 1917).

the

conquest of Constantinople,"writes Finlay, "the Ottomans became the most have acted who a dangerous conquerors part in European Roman Their at Dominion, history since the fall of the western Empire. the period of its greatest extension, stretched from Buda the Danube on to Bussora the Euphrates. On the north, their frontiers on were guarded against the Poles by the fortress of Kamenietz, and against the Russians by the walls of Azof; while to the south the of Aden secured their rock authority over the southern of Arabia, invested coast them with in the Indian Ocean, power the complete command and gave them Sea. of the Red To the east, the Sultan ruled the shores of the Caspian,from the Kour to the Tenek; and his dominion stretched of the westward coast along the southern Mediterranean, where the farthest limits of the regency of Algiers,beyond Oran, meet the frontiers of the empire of Morocco. the Ottomans quest rapid By steps completed the conof the Seljouk sultans in Asia sultans in Syria Minor, of the Mamlouk and

Egypt,

of the

fierce corsairs

of northern

Africa,expelledthe

Venetians

and

a

of

Vol

from the

of ruler

V.

and

Cret",

Cypnu" J"ruMilem

boait tb"

for

immovable

remain

p.

e

the

continents,

(Oxford,

1877).

find

that and

he

the

and a

lord

of

the

master two

seas."

ers rul-

throne

a

the standing notwith-

destined to

of It

of

many

History

to

come.

Knights

Malta.

at

the

was

brilliant

seems

drove

shelter

can

Mohammed

generations

long

who

which,

and

ago,

Archipelago, to

of

quarters,

many

and

of

boast

can

occupied

days

the

many

;

series have

centuries

Levant, sultan

Ottoman three

of

the

Europe

rare

a

from

from

menaces

from

five

nearly

Conqueror,

in

who

sovereigns

immovable

been

baa

which

of

line

to

history

early

their

in

point

who

people

a

dynasty

continued

longest

the

of

became

gradually

they

beginnings

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

120

St.

was

no

John vain

kingdoms, of

Oreece,

CHAPTER OP

LIFE

HOME

Truths

OSMANLIS

THE

can

he

never

did

doubts

Though

VI IN

confirmed

of

traveler

''Pericles''

of

peninsula is like **the

Orient

and

the Asia

far

as

is the

It

Road,'*

bridge

from

Ephesus

Persia.

southern

cities required,

ninety days. pilgrims

To

make

according

And were

it

was

wont

the to the

to

the

back

and

subdue the

on

in

the

**

famed

which

their

Susa

two

tian Chris-

the

Europe

crossed Holy Land, and .the bridge also which was Crusaders under iGodefroy de Bouillon, Louis VII

to the

the

and

France,

Jerusalem

recover

The

1

Frederic

The

course

Historical

of

Barbarossa

from the

Geography

the

they

sought

by of to

Mohammedans.

Anatolian

of Asia

when

in

less than

from

way

tended ex-

these

historian, no over

Royal

which

between

the

West.'*^

to far-off

journey

to pass

again

route

same

Sea

bridge

the

ize revolution-

by Herodotus,

same

their

Persians, Arabs,

the

the -^gean

on

East

passed

described

found

passed

India.

made

which

over

graphically

so

has

it

said,

of Greece, under

the

of

well

been East

Macedonian,

heart

Asia

that

attempts

has

as

all followed

Turks, have

Mongols, many

the

as

the

battlefield

great

of the

to conquer

knows,

Topographically

civilization

the

bridge

same

which,

the

; and

the

Occident.

civilization

of Alexander

guidance across

the

well

the

immemorial

time

been

for the

borders

historian

from

has

over

religion, art and Greece

For

I.

which

that

this,as the

Minor

great bridge

a

into

way

Asia

the

between

And

indeed.

saying much

than

turn

V,

greater interest

possesses

studious

a

Railroads.

Anatolian is

Minor

part of Asia

enough,

sleep.

ever

Shakespeare

No

ANATOLIA

Railroad

Minor,

1890). 121

p. 23

is, for

(by W.

M.

the

Ramsay,

most

don, Lon-

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FEOM

122

in Eoman

part,the same as that of a greatmilitaryhighway the and Byxantine times from Nicaea to DorylaBum. And Ismid and Eski-Shebr, between scenery along it,especially is often of rare beauty and grandeur. In placesit is much of

like that

southern

is the

There

same

Colorado

and

succession

of

valleys dotted

emerald

with

stretches of meadow

land

happy flocks,noble

forests

In

sycamore.

"

homesteads, broad

sprinkledwith

localities the

some

smiling landscapes

modest

of oak

California.

northern

sleek

herds

and

pine, walnut vegetationis almost

and

and of

fringed by a wild tangle and brushwood of bramble tapestried with clematis and in a flaming settingof dog-rose and ivy and woodbine luxuriance tropical

and the road

is

azalea. As

approach Bilejikeastward

we

of the

snow-capped completely

Mysian OljTnpus the character of the scenery duDj^es. The grade of the road rapidly increases and as and we pass along gorges through tunnels and canyons, over bridges and describe innumerable curves realize we that are

ascending the famed table-land of Anatolia and nearing Sugut, the earliest home of the Ottoman Turks. we

are

Eski-Shehr,from which a branch of the Anatolian Railroad to Angora, the ancient Ancyra, is a flourishing runs town and, thanks to its finelyequipped railway shops, is the home of a largenumber of railway employees and their families. Before the world war excellent school for the an benefit of the children of the employees was established here and was well attended. It was conducted the German on

system and instruction

was

given in German.

Among

the

languagestaught,besides German, were Greek, French, Turkish,and Armenian. The town is noted for being the chief center of the world's supply of meerschaum, a commodity from which the Turkish some

revenue.

From

Government Eski-Shehr we went

derives

a

hand-

to Afium-Kara-

k-**!!i ^"^^^'^ ^^^^ quantitiesof opium annually and thence to Konia, anciently tapped, Iconium,which is are

Uis

western

terminus of the Bagdad

Railway.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

124

tives Conservafled in adoptingtowards them what the English ** Gladstone's bag and baggage policy''? aptlyteraed

Let

see.

us

be

First of all it may

who

been

littleor

actuated by selfish be asserted

it may

of the above

most

dictmen in-

by people who

been made

personalknowledge of them, or by people governed by passion or prejudice or have

no

been

have

have

Turks

againstthe have

premisedthat

a

as

fact that cannot the Turks

lived among

have

that those who

motives. political

or

ondly, And, secbe gainsaid

any

length of

opportunityof becoming intimately acquaintedwith them find them to be thoroughly good, And the longer one gentle,brave, and loyalto the core. them

lives among IB one

had

have

time and

an

and the better

real Turk

the Osmanli

"

class ^nd bourgeoi^

them

knows

the greater

This is

for them.

's admiration

one

true of the especially those of the peasant particularly

"

in Anatolia.

These

are

as

honest

and

uprightas they are temperate, pious,and religious. The pietyand the devotion of the Moslems, their gravity and solemnity and reverential attitude during prayer, whether in the mosque or elsewhere,are of such character to make as the least religious. a deep impression on even **I have never entered a mosque," writes Renan, without shall I say it? ^without a certain a deep emotion, and regret at not being a Mussulman." **

"

"

*

This devout character

of the Mohammedans

impressed Renan, appealed the poet who

wrote

with

:

Most

honor

Whose

is in them everywhere! mosque amid reveVs wildest din,

Who

In war's

to the

men

of prayer,

discipline, rollingdeck,in thronged bazaar, In strangerland, however far. severest

On

"l/ltUmisms

#1

te B9Um"t. p. 10

(Paris,1883).

which

so

foundly pro-

equal force

to

LIFE

HOME

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

ANATOLIA

IN

125

differentin their reach Of thought, in manner s, dress or speech,---' Will quietly their carpet spread, turn the humble To Mekkeh head, As if blind to all around, And deaf to each resounding sound In ^ritual language God adore. In spiritto His presence soar. And in the pauses of the prayer, in Rest, as if rapt glory there. However

if not

Many, been

obtained

origin,at

of the

respecting

least in the minds

in the ludicrous

regarding When

most

the

harem

the

Osmanlis

of the

life of these

is referred

have

which had

have their

great majority of people,

conceptionswhich harem

notions

erroneous

have much

been current loj^g maligned people.

to in

it is Europe or America pictured as consisting of a swarthy, fierce,and sensual ered' pasha, seated on a broad divan, garbed in richly embroidwith a highly ornate tentedly robes, armed scimitar,and consmoking his narghile while his ever-youthfulwives are entertaininghim with music and dance and song. Nothing could be more preposterous, or further from the and not polygamy is the rule in reality. For monogamy the Ottoman Empire especiallyin Anatolia, and always has been. The Koran does,indeed,permit polygamy but under such restrictions that a plurality of wives is confined to those who due provisionfor their support. able to make are And is daily becoming the wealthy monogamy even among more prevalent. Thus the late Sultan,Mohammed V, unlike of his polygamous predecessors,had but a singlewife some and to her, also unlike his predecessors,he was legally a

married.

Indeed,

so

unpopular

Mussulmans

has that

polygamy eminent

become

among

lightened en-

authority on the had a Pope and subjectdeclares that *'if Mohammedanism a Church, in a word, an authority always living and invested with the rightto modify the precepts of the Koran, an

harem

disappeared."*

already have

certain that polygamy would Much

of the age, it is almost

to the needs

adapt them

to

in order

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

126

prevailingmisconception concerning the rance ignolife in the Orient arises from the lamentable lands regarding the true meaning of western in our the

of

To

harem.

the word

it is

better

know

should

who

many

with a place of debauchery, whereas, it is,on synonymous from the the contrary, the very opposite of this. Derived word Arabic harhn, Turkish harem, it signifiesanything forbidden

which

home

Moslem's

thing or place. Thus the part of a of is assigned for the exclusive use

sacred

a

or

It is their sanctuary to which

is called the harem.

be but the half of

It may

of

wing harem

"

of the household

members

story and

the

is the best and

most

Henry

de

who

have

of

visited

laughable they |"M fottiMUtion exists

can

for

ItUiUted

that

iBMlwlvM,

that

"rladWidual Util a

Into

an

"that

so

an

idea

an

of

East, to the very never give a reason unaccountable

a

delinquency;the

mob

intrusion

wives

ffafUive ceasing the

the

fancy

that

moment

*7*J* " PH5*"*"'* "'"*""

Pardoe,

in

their

the

EngUih ---

Grace

woman,

their

is held

The

of

Bosphorus

Ellison, who

"

*

T?*l ***!*f*^'" P"*'**^ lectures

is

r^tTT!!!!!! Ulif! f*

.?*

MiUlI^J' *y"'*'

**fthe

.u

'^^ ~~

secretary

of

a

^^'" ^*^'" ^^ y""'' ^^^ ^"*'* "^ '"^^

****

'"oP'nB

to

hear

thou

in

the

121

"ntimate

at

it is not How

little

once

when

sacred by the Turks popular disturbance,

so

the

.

\i!!*

evident

of

cases

p.

the

by Europeans

prejudice. be

must

an

while

harem,

victims;

door

(Loadon. 1830). ..

had

sufferingtheir

never

of

who of

for

JStudes,

et

is attached

name

harem, or woman's apartment, inviolate even they remain in on

designate occupied by

that

Englisliwoman impropriety

the

part of

to

L'Islam, Impressions

fact," writes

Turkey,

never

in

occupies the

commodious

employed

term

visitors.*

women

harem

haremlik, while

Castries,

(Paris, 1912). " **lt is an amusing

knowledge

usual is

apartment

"Count

and

houses

the building. The wife's

the

palace on the Bosphorus but it is still the the sacred abode, the sanctum sanctorum, of the

ordinary Ottoman

upper

family.

of hair,''or

House

**

males

no

marble

a

feminine In

Bedouin

a

friends

of the

members

except the immediate

admitted

are

and

servants

his wife and children, for their female

violence

and

the

harem and

betray after

separates him Danube, p. 126 ^

the

familiar London

to

search

with on

the Turkish

life

of

life,

certain

not must society: "You Many who might come Clearingimproper revelations, and

lecture.

revelations

and

go

away

die-

husband friends

is known

"

ANATOLIA

he

127

receives

his male

selamlik, and is generally on the 's apartment is always recognized

as

The

floor.

ground

IN

where

receptionroom

his

"

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

women

The occupants of the haremlik by its screened windows. thus see everything in the immediate can vicinitywithout being seen. The harem name applies not only to the wife's part of the sections

the home

but

also

tram

and

steamers, and

cars

to

in railway stations and trains. has a

much

very

women's

to recommend

It

it.

to what

Mohammedan

institution that

an

its occupants

secures

of Oriental

their apparent counte^rbalances

But, contrary

on

waiting rooms on compartments railway

privacy which, in the estimation

than

women

to the women's

harem, thus understood, is

The

for

reserved

more

women,

loss of liberty.

is usually thought, the harem

institution.

is

It

long antedates Islam for, as archaeologicalinvestigationsin the Orient clearly in the evince, there were separate apartments for women buildingsof ancient Persia, Assyria, and Babylonia." not

a

Nor

do

the inmates in their

imprisoned

as

from

Mrs.

it.

Mohammedan

For

the

harem

houses

consider

like birds

in

Meer

of

account

seven

of visits to harems

B.

Assyrian

an

harem de

a

married

years

the

in

Far

cage.

time

a

in Luck's

of

Sargon,

dans

Tom. AntiqutU, See and also the II, p. 435, et. seq. (by G. Perrot 1884), Chipiez, of the prehistoric palace of the Kings of Tiryns, as given in Schiieaccount mann's Tiryns, p. 239, et. seq. (New York, 1885). According to Dr. Dorpfeld and other eminent archaeologiststhis palace, the oldest in Greece, is distinctly oriental in plan and its smaller was Cf. also obviously a harem. megaron iSchuchardt's For 31. Schliemann's Excavations, tions interesting descripp. more

centuries

themselves

who

Ali, an English lady gentleman and resided twelve

illuminating

an

than

of

in

C,

Turkey

see

Eistoire

and

I'Art Paris

the

Syria, consult

Bosphorus

and

the

Danube, p. 125, et seq. (by Julia Pardoe, London, 1839), and the Inner Life Both of these of 8yrta, Chap. XI (by Lady Isabel Burton, London, 1884). women during their sojourn in the East, had exceptional opportunities for

studying the real by its inmates. The

life of the

harem

where

they were

always cordially welcomed

of wearing the veil, it may here be remarked, dates back if not far, Cf. Genesis, xxii:65, and fully as far, as the harem. iii:23. Nor is the wearing of the veil in the Orient to-day confined to Moslem Moslem other Christian and women. women non wear

almost

custom

Isaiah,

as

have

worn so

women

it from often

of the

time

made, Orient

immemorial.

that

and

it

was

How

erroneous,

therefore, is the imposed the veil

that Mohammed them incarcerated

inhumanly

entirely

in

the

harem!

it

and

ment, stateon

the

FROM

now,

India, clearly states she writes

life when

harem

:

infancy

to

irksome. means life is by no and their amusements, and einplo"Tnent8 tastes, nor suited to our not exactlyto our of

kind

they modes

our

it

-that

fancy

and

dissipatingtime

of

profitably.Be

more

these

though

they of

might spend

we

ladies,

Muslim

the

it may,

as

are

of education,

mode

the less relished by those for whom They, perhaps,wonder equally at some

invented.

were

confinement, this They have their

not

are

of

view

Oriental women's

the

from

ladies accustomed

To

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

128

to me always I have been long intimate, appear with whom happy, contented and satisfied with the seclusion to which born ; they desire no other,and I have ceased to they were with

of intercourse

partakers of

be made

regret that they cannot

the world

deem

we

so

freedom

that

essential to

our

finement happiness,since their health suffers nothing from that conby which they are preserved from a variety of and temptations; besides which they would deem it snares disgracefulin the highest degree to mix indiscriminately from educated who with men not relations. They are are infancy for retirement and they can have no wish that the should be changed which custom keeps them apart from the societyof men who are not very nearly related to them. Female society is unlimited and they enjoy it without

restraint.* What the

has been said of the harem

yashmak of

the veil

"

race

or

by

worn

creed.

may

Oriental

most

When

women

spective irre-

women,

in

appear

and

they have great libertyin this respect, if veiled this garb or the tcharchaff, many possesses

public, properly "

tages advan-

"

which

Christian

loath to forego. For it enables them to see

as

well

as

of

also be asserted

Moslem

would

women

like the latticed window

be

of the harem

without

being seen and like the caliph of the story,they can freelymove through a crowd without having their identityknown. oped envelFurthermore, when in her /"?ri;ec-" cloak" and of yashmak, the person the Oriontal "OlwrrtitoM

is

woman on

tk4

as

secure

MiMffu"man"

as

in the harem

of India,

p.

168

and

(London,

she

1917).

is

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

all the

safeguarded against

thus

her

to which

cities,are

frequently exposed.

suffragettesof

Stamboul

may

their

Parisian

hats

gorgeous

that many

convinced the

creations

for

the

and

the

ferijee and yeldirmee and

to the

wearer.

secure

which

Ottoman

yashmak,

which

have

women

reports

are

ill-founded

cruel

from writers

husband

all the

as

purpose

the

continuous

am

hash-oordoo

kinds

to endure

one

the

these

about

Turkish

life

his wife's as

same

of certain

judge by the accounts fancy for fact, the average makes

said

been

women

quite gladly exchange the tcharchaff or

for

or

the

serve

To

who

for

privilegeswhich

has

much

Again

would

Eedfern

I

but

larger

Ottoman

the

European

gowns,

women

and

the

"

the immunities

and

insults

in the

of

the

envy

western

of Worth

Some

129

and

annoyances

sisters,especiallythose

western

so

ANATOLIA

IN

and

"

of

all

apparel

treatment

their husbands. who is

substitute Bluebeard

a

Such

martyrdom. fantastic

tales

that

and long obtained credence respecting the harem other matters man pertaining to the everyday life of the OttoTurk. But, as in these things it is impossible for a man first-hand to obtain a information, I shall quote from who had woman exceptional opportunities of becoming life of the Osmanlis thoroughly acquainted with the home have

so

of Anatolia

and

whose

conclusions, therefore,are

of preponderant

value.

giftedwife of Sir W. M. fessor ProEamsay, the distinguishedarchaeologistof Aberdeen. extend whose investigations in Anatolia Ramsay is probably the greatest over a period of thirty-five years livingauthorityon the history of this part of Asia and on As Lady Ramthe manners and customs of its inhabitants. say his expeditions on frequently accompanied her husband This

led him

which had

to very

nook

the

and

of the

corner

country, she

absolutelyunique opportunities for studying

life of the

her **

is Lady Eamsay,

woman

cases

Ottoman

observations of

she

brutalityon

Minor.

of Asia

women

does

not

hesitate

the part of

a

man

As to

a

the home result

declare

towards

of

that

his wife

hundred times

a

are

TO

BERLIN

FROM

130

Britain"

this country"" Great

*^

classes of

the lower

among

commoner

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

they

than

in

are

Tur-

Iwy."' and

8uch teBtimony coming from a witness so competent trary should be conclusive. The reports to the conimpartial who have traveled in Anatolia are of no value of men

80

these

that

whatever, for the simple reason

For

poMibly get information at first hand. everywhere absolutelybarred to them,

could

men

and

not is

the harem tion informa-

what

necessarily be based on idle Women, however, and therefore quite valueless. rumor when total strangers, are always hospitablyreceived even by their Ottoman sisters. And if they are able to speak the ing in becomlanguage of the country, they have littledifficulty quitefamiliar with the everyday life of the people. But extensive their travels in Anatolia, how matter no men, will all be forced to confess with a noted English traveler" they might get would

existed for

to have

Much

has

female

journey,the

"'throughoutour been

said not

be

may

sex

' ' "

at all.

us

evil in Turkey.

the divorce

said about

Turkey, p. 108 (London, 1897). ful Belgiojoso who spent three years in making a careof the Turkish "The household tlndj of the people of Asia Minor writes: of the Christian to add, that rcMinbleg pMMot sorry peasant and, I am ^

Uv"rydu^ Life

Tbt

Uw

in

PrfaMBMt Chriatina

former

would

"Aniiers.

and

cuttoms

of hit nature

which

to

With

equal fidelityis neither religiouslaw, nor by publicopinion,nor by local be is led to it simply through the goodness usages; be any idea of causing grief to his associate would

often

serve

the advantage is fld"Iit7. iapoecd on him by civil or

in

as

favor

a

of

for

model

the

Turk,

the

for

latter.

his

MpVfBMlt. Tnrklth peatant cherishes his companion as parent and as lover; doM ho knowingly or willingly oppose her; there is no provocation towhkh hi will not cheerfullysubmit I have through love for her. "*""

mmwT

...

oW,

adored and decrepit,infirm and hideous, led, comforted by tet old BOB with and long, flowing,silverybeards, strong, serene as eye *"**' OHcntal Earemt and (New Scenery, p. 108-110 SrS VaJf*'"^^"

""""

voata

EngUsh journalist. terms Sidney Whitman, who ."j^'Hf***'"**'" long with tome of the moet distinguishedmen of the Ottoman Jf"ll"0"T Empire, into Jj* "" *" **The stranger, whatever his opportunities, only comes with on

was

ym* IKHli

ODf

Ut

half

of

the

olMer^ation. from

Ifl.Jr'^ i."*^?r**^

""*

Mohammedan

hit

very

eight.

population; In

i"oir

m^mmn

the

ContUntinople.where the made and cmtomt. tha gifted and

other

of

course

opportunity of approaching

T^rkfh Memories, wl?.i*'**/^**^^^*~^" iroA wnu^

the

a

all

Turkish

is barred

my

visits woman

p. 267 a

(London. 1914). specialstudy of the Turks,

brilliant

Lady Mary

Wortley

Th"

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BEBLIN.

FROM

132

of husband

author, in referringto the attachment

wme

the Turk-

and wife for each other,declares that among Joan

and

Darby

with

peasantry**one meets qnentlyas in England.'' iih

fre-

as

'"

far removed

"How

But

stranger

a

which

only to

are

be

than

to

to is that

Mohammedans

and

the possessionof

women

pictures,in

referred

yet

any

gen-

"

biscuit tins."

on

seen

error

Ottoman

an

odalisqueswhose

that the Ottomans

asserts

deny

then,''asks

we

the seductive

tkman, "from the Eaat,

are

soul

a

as

erally gen-

well

as

a

opinion originated or gained such wide acceptance is impossible to say. I have to hold such a view, and there is Ottoman known an never for it in the Koran. And yet in an certainlyno warrant article

on

an

in the

Place

Woman's

**

such

How

existence.

future

few years ago by a noted duchess ** stated that Mohammedanism

written

World,"

but

a

England, it is explicitly far as as consigns woman, concerned,to the level of beasts,for-

are psychicqualities hiddingher forever

the

hope

in

of salvation.

"

^^

A few

quotationsfrom the Koran will suffice to show how In the twentieth groundless is this statement. sura "

chapter "

0

my

read:

we

servants"

enter

into

ye

Paradise,

and

ye

your

wives,with great joy.

Again

the T\""r}U! declares:

Hut lio who

doeth

believen, they shall j-^,

..^

good

works"

enter

into Paradise.

**"" condition J**'"**"**";'""

^JP^JiliMa

upon

the

Moilem

Zl^r? ^1 "L .r ^*** "---.~_-r tS^T-TL^E-JJT!?? ?" ^ ^

^

"""'"'"-

of women It may

in

,

"

or

Burprise

**' Mohammed confer "" "*M""iuu"ru uouier "^ ^*^'" **"^" ""^ *^*

granted lSr!l*** "*!** ;^^"^*"on

female"

Turkey,

'"^'

'

kTlTniJ!^

woman.

be it male

"a

married

property rights in the Soi kTirj^J'** "**^*"'1':;" Turkey." "nillliL^^li'^^i^ ^**T ^ '"'"':^ *^* ^ '^""*

amount

the

even

women upon *^e middle

to

vast

and

a

woman

greater greater

Roman

law.

by

women

the

States

United

now

".

'"

/"IhW

"

^^

""1^5rVta /Sfil^^^

Bowman

'"

Dodd, New

^*'''*'^' P-

^'

In

York,

the

Palaces

1903).

"^""^^"' ^""")

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

In the

thirty-thirdsura

Verily

the Moslems

of either and

the

of

men

and

the

and

the

fast and

chaste

God

remember

and

sex,

and

men

the

the true believers the of

women

devout

women,

veracity,and

and the humble patient women, and the almsgivers of either women,

who

the

and

men

13?

the

humble men

devout

veracity and

and

patient men

ANATOLIA;

it is written:

of either

the

and

sex,

IN

frequently, for a great reward.

forgiveness and

of

those

and

women,

fast, and

who

women

God

men

sex,

the chaste

either

hath

them

the

who

sex

prepared

all true Moslems According to the teaching of Mohammed, for the women enjoined to pray for the dead are as is sufficient evidence of well as for the men. This, of itself, "

belief in

Islamic

of

confined

who

of the

beasts

life for

all

are,

class of Moslems

to that

of their

future

doubtless,in deny immortalityto women, There

sex.

men

the

spective mankind, irrewhere, Turkey as elsebut

these

**who, having made

faith,*'prefer to class themselves field by denying that

wreck ship-

with

they themselves

are

the

have

souls.

it may

Surprising as tributes

to

women

can

seem

be

to

some,

found

than

no

more

those

beautiful

given

in the

contains the traditional which Koran, or in the Hadith In one place the Prophet declares teachings of Mohammed. and all things in it are **the world valuable but more able valuthan that

*^

all is

women

a

are

his followers

that

virtuous

woman";

the twin-halves

in another

of men."

he asserts

Again, he tells

gains Paradise at the feet of the mother have his truly remarkable ; and yet again we that the ground on which statement is beneath Paradise walk." mothers Are not these amazing words to proceed the lips of a seventh from century Arabian? One need spend but little time in Anatolia to find that the men the Osmanlis most lovable people. are a among What first impresses one is their good manners. Whether they live in a palaceor a hovel they are always self-respect' '

**

*Hhe

son

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

m

ally In this respectthey continuing,courteous, and dignified. is a remind one of the peopleof Spain where courtesy this strikingcharacteristic of the national heritage. It was Osmanli that led Bismarck to declare:

only gentleman is the Turk."

In the Orient the

swept and scrubbed be

may

and

said of their coffeehouses

And

the

restaurants.

with

contrast

in marked

are

scrupulously

as

are

dwellingplace."

Dutch

a

as

respect they

In this

humble,

homes, however

Their

same

is cleanliness.

national characteristicof the Osmanlis

Another

of

those

the Greeks and Arabs. for the tional excepthe but of the Osmanlis, cleanliness sons rea-

courtesy and

usually advanced

are

...

Lieutenant

""

Wood

(London* 1872),

in

it should his

llohnmnledan societymore Tho MM

broad

line

but

yet

iMtvwn

that

faintly

their It.

lad

.

.

a

drawn

the

rich

Source

than and

Asia.

polished the

Indeed,

natural

all

the

gravity

of

inferior

the

poor

in

Here

unreserved of

it

classes

deportment

which

of a Hindustani from the awkward as These characteristics of the people of i the gallant explorer of the Oxus, are "

Oxus," p. 194 European and

the

between

in

manners

familiaritybreeding contempt, .

of

difference

marked

Central

in

to

of

good for the Moslems

is the

strongly separates the

has huperiors

of this

' ' ^"

hold

"Journey

"Nowhere

writes:

Their

**

its adherents.

true

were

**

Pears, inculcates cleanliness has helped to diffuse courtesy and

it

sobriety; self-respect among If this

satisfactory.

far from

Sir Edwin

writes religion,** and

to account

endeavored

have

Many writers

lower

the

of

walks

civilized

life.

lower

classes

and, the

in begets self-respect possess differs

innate

an as

far

rusticityof Central much

an

self-

from

the

English which

so

striking

in

Asia, more

is

society intercourse

the inhabiUnU of Anatolia. Another author writes : "The fine manners of all classes of Mohammedans to Conetantlnople constant of admiration were a source It was to me. as

if

eighteenth century Cafeje and the very I unobtrusively polite "

M

um

Ma

k"

"

traaU" -

"

other, and even towards older fashioned,the more

the Giaour himself, prejudiced, the Turkthe more *'^" "-*' manners, gracious and delightful ill* his^ S''f7 *"*** ^** ^"''^^^^"' ^^^- ^' (by Richard PP- 280, 281

Au

them

civilly.The

V%^iUwYorV\m*^'^

Rreat Turkish '^"**."' JA**I^* ^\'" ^*^*" " i^Lir^ tTt' ^^.^*^^*^l**" P ^* (London, 1793). Z!l} I

ladies." declares that "^"^^

"icety as

those

'

^"Dminuiion

of th" Greek

Empire,

p. 624

(London, 1903).

keen in

observer, Holland."

which,

Morocco

Egypt and

all travelers

as

the

far from

often

know, is very

IN ANATOLIA

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

135

in these

When

case.

tries coun-

shall

we

for the matchless assign a reason courtesy of the hausfrau^s Castilian hidalgo or for the Dutch singular love shall probably find an acceptableexplanaof cleanliness, we tion of the seemingly innate courtesy and cleanliness of the

be able to

of Anatolia.

Osmanlis

both

universal

contrary to almost

And

and

men

women

are

a

belief,the Osmanlis,

of very

people

industrious

its. hab-

particularlytrue of those who make their living So the soil and by tending their flocks and herds. by tilling dence the traveler has ample eviconcerned far as the men are is

This

the time

lives from

of their toilsome

he

leaves

the

swift-flowingBosphorus until he arrives at the foothills of ing As to the women the picturesque Taurus. they are, accordknow them to those who best,as laborious as the men. A competent witness,one who is himself an Ottoman, who and whose born and bred in Anatolia ing was testimony regardthe domestic

impress of truth,is the who, having spent many as

clever

and

of his

Speaking No

qualitiesare women

peasant

as

their

so

much

brothers

and

sought

the domestic

work

to

in

husbands

needle

Diary of Writing to 16

that

the

embroidering numerous,

described."

a

work

their needles

veils in

and the

domestic

of

their

holds, house-

are

always

and

embroidery.^"

or

Turk, p. 54 (London, 1903). poet, Pope, Lady Montague and

provinces the

humble

business

declares:

the

Princesses

riageable mar-

especiallywhen discharging their away daughters of well-to-do

The the

:

in average

In the

ones.

are

with indefatigable

busy with

after

managing their the fields, more

compulsory military service. people, besides attending to are

he declares

countrywomen

besides

women,

affairs,have

very

entertainingHalil Halid England, writes English

native.

a

you

in

years

the clearest

bears

life of his countrymen

great

ladies

robes, surrounded same

Op. cit..Vol. I, p.

manner

110.

as

pass by their we

their

find

"I

time

maids,

at which

Andromache

can

their are

and

assure

looms

always Helen

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

136

the details I have given [he from It will be understood try continues],that the popular notion prevailingin this counis much harem mistaken. and the life of the of the harem do not

harems

in Turkish

Women

reallypass

their time

in

water-pipes all

and eating sweetmeats smoking Of the day long. they are as fond course,

of sweet-stuffs

as

sofas

lyingon

down

on

couch

a

Turkish

couches

or

women

of this

ladies

most

But

country.

to lie

of others is considered in the presence vulgarityof the most disgracefulkind.

by

given in books and on in exhibitions,is either the work the stage or shown of of imaginative Turkey's detractors or simply the work who know nothing about it and whose object is to persons attract the curiosityof English people by exhibitinggrotesque sightsand thus to make money. Many Europeans [writesthe same author] who pay a flying The

of representations

visit to the Levant book

about

hasten

and

to sit down

and

write

a

their

experiences,derive all their information their cicerones and interpreters [worthless and unscrupulous

from

fellows whom

ignorant and worst

shameless

products

Probably it is once

life

harem

on

remarked:

our

cheats] who

of non-Mussulman

something from

justlydenounces are,

as

natives

of this that

account

a

as

class,of the

of the

Levant.

countryman of mine such we books, especially English,about ourselves,we always learn **When

those written in

author

them

a

read

which

we

never

knew

or

heard

of

before.""

**But," it will be asked,**what about the morality of the Turks"!

This

about which

harem.

as

is

a

many

question that erroneous

is

continuallyasked

notions prevail as

about

and the

One

might answer by saying that,where passion is given free rein,poor human nature is about the same in "U parts of the world. I shall, however, replv in the words Of the witty and vivacious Lady Mary Montague who,

wnting from to

If

a

Constantinople where her husband England,declares:

friend in

Op. ""!.,pp. 64. W, M. 99.

was

sador, ambas-

As

morality

their

to

it is

Harlequin, that

commit

ladies don^t that I

Now

forbear

to

it is with you sin the less for not

one

I

can

say,

being Christians.

their ways,

I cannot

vices'' of which

**the infamous

quote the words

the

among

Mussulman

chief theater, it will be to

purpose

years

many

the

the

Moslems

of

who

one

who

and

sufficient

thorough a knowledge of them as any recent the distinguishedCount it,then, true,''demands

Castries,**that

de

Orient

in

than

these

Occident?

the

of

Islam

is the

result

which

travelers

These

vices of mature

and

Berlin

than

It would

be

for

would

More

all countries.

vices

of

are

more

numerous

writer. Henri in the

This

reputation given to superficialgeneralizationswithout have scarcely anything to write. to age are, unfortunately, common them are indulged in Paris, London,

in the entire

Orient."

difficultto find people who

natural

has

has, probably,

as

**Is

like

the Turkish

and

;

137

^^

present

our

spent

good conduct,

or

little acquainted with

a

ANATOLIA

justas

is said to be

Orient for

am

IN

treme admiring, either the exemplary discretion,or exhave all writers of the that given accounts stupidity

of them."

As

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

virtues

than

are

are

the

more

Osmanlis

guished distinwho

by oppression or corrupted by power. Their love of the simple life is remarkable. Often their To this they may add a little only fare is bread and water. cheese and fruit and some vegetables. The majority are vegetarians. Of those who are not, their meat diet consists and fowl which is usually prepared chieflyof mutton with rice or with vegetables. Beef they rarely eat and pork for its use article of food is strictly an as proscribed never, by the Koran. And yet, notwithstanding their frugal fare, they are and for their health noted strength. **As strong as a Turk" has long been a proverb. And when the one sees

have

18.19

not been

debased

Letters, Vol. I, p. 104.

amazing burdens carry,

one

is

which

ready

frequently

of Stamboul

the hamals

proverb is

that the

to admit

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

138

than

more

ju8tifie"l water, for the is chief beverage of the Osmanlis absolutelyforbids the use of intoxicatingdrinks of

The Koran

kind

any

whatsoever.

dramshop does

the

For

not exist.

does, however, love his little

He

of black coffee.

law

interdicted originally

its

doctors

of the

invention

of the

the Moslem

Although

cup

Osmanli, therefore, the

the

as

use

countries

devil,the drinking of coffee in Mohammedan

is

universal.

now

than only one prettierpicture of contentment Osmanli peasant taking his cup of coffee before going an in the morning or after the labors of the day, and to work that is when he indulgesin his favorite pastime of Kaif which is perhaps best expressedby the Italian phrase,dolce ^baggy trousers far niente. Garbed in his brown shalvar and sitting blue jacket,red sash, and white stockings, ing before his home under a tentlike plane tree, quietlysmokwith drooped eyelidsand rapt countenance, his narghile, he is the personification of comfort and happiness. Tranquil, immobile, absorbed in an enchantingreverie,how far is he not removed from the unbridled desires and malignant of the restless populace of our envy large cities of the of

I know

"

"

"

Weat! Ah!

qxLil est

Quand What

a

subjectfor

tout s*

doux

de

ne

rien

the brush

of

a

faire

de nous!

agite auiour

Villegasor

""Th* aoUd traveler and Orientalist,Sir "MS IM mMBing of the word Kaif, bo

Richard

Fortunyl

Burton,

frequentlyheard

""

a

in

'"

graphically

the

East

Near

MvoiiBg "T^ **"*

of animal existence; the passive Uoinior, the dreamy tranquillity, the

enjoyment of mere sense; airy castle-buildingwhich 1 Ai ***" **' ^^" vigorous,intensive, passionate life of Europe. I?u ik**** I *"" i* *" excitable nature and ^^^} oj" lively,Impressible, exquisite sensi'"'' voluptuousnessunknown j"*y wilfr'*"^! '"^^''^y to northern regions PF*M*" It placed in the exertion of mental and physical powers; Ei"ra earth eommanda ceaseless sweat of brow; and damp, dull air fjyi!*^"xclUment, exercise or change, or adventure, or dissipa#^ lor

li

waatoltomtthiBg upoa

IM

ttaftka of

a

better.

In

the

bubblingttream

East or

man

under

requires

but

rest

the cool shelter of

a

and per-

FROM

BERLIN

them

water

to drink."

ftrong

a

sympathy people and

Society for the Prevention

No

is needed

Cruelty to Animals

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

140

gentle and

this

exists between

for

Osmanlis

the

among

of so

hearted tender-

anything like the dog, which cruel treatment would be impossible.Even is considered as an unclean animal, is always treated with Osmanli will gather together the folds of kiiidness. An with the his garments to prevent his coming in contact time gladly divide with impure brute but will at the same it his last morsel

There

few

are

who

writers

are

of them

he says

does

one

and

for

children; such

veneration

much

so

as

in

If

a

man,

"

helpless,the aged tender

of mature

even

of those innocent

one

^thereal Turks

"

respect for parents, such

for the mother.

fihoald be seated

the

:

the Turks among find solicitude for the poor, the

Nowhere,

with

familiar

more

Academician, Pierre distinguished

the

this is what

And

Loti.

of food.

than

real Ottomans

that

all domestic animals

little

years, cafes,where

alcohol has

always been unknown, and his father should unexpectedlyenter, he rises,lowers his voice,extinguishes his cigarette, and humbly takes a seat behind him."

Ehiewhere author

writes

Their

the

sympathetic

same

and

magnanimous

:

littletowns

located in the

their villages, interior, their country homes, are the last refuges not only of the calm but also of the patriarchalvirtues which and are more

disappearingfrom our modern honestywithout blemish ; veneration of of a kind that is not longerknown to us more

world:

loyalty and children for parents ;

inexhaustible hospitality

and

chivalrous respect for guests; moral delicacy, even the most humble among all" even towards animals; unbounded

elegance

niul native townrda ranee

for whomsoever

Mfiirf"4" ifOttOoMfif.p.

40

is not their enemy; (ParU, 1913).

;

kindness

religious

serene

faith

141

ANATOLIA

IN

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

them after leaving our arriving among and cynicism, of noise and scrap-iron,

When prayer. of doubt Occident and

as

if suffused

with

and

confidence

he has

remounted

the

of time

towards

to the

Golden

Age."

applicable the words English traveler,Walpole, who, when speaking of pitabilityof the people of Turkey, tells us that

of the

feels

one

believes

epoch,

indeterminate

alone

course

perhaps,

near,

do

now

find

we

in

the

the

hos-

**in the

Nessafer

Oda

and some

are particularly

In Anatolia

East

peace

of

the

is set apart by A sum villagethe guest-chamber of Plato. for supplying these; though usually the the government he receives,adding a what more wealthy traveler repays small gratuity.'*''* of to-day are heirs of the In hospitalitythe Osmanlis

us,

were

wont For

of old

of the Greeks

best traditions

to say

Jove

'Tis Jove

who,

as

Homer

informs

:

unfolds

hospUahle door:

our

that sends

the

stranger and

the

poor,^^

strikinginstances of Osmanli hospitality is an experience of my of which I have recentlyheard good the Reverend Paschal Franciscan fessor friend, Robinson, Proof History in the Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. Some to years ago he had occasion travel through the greater part of Asia Minor. During the of his journey he was months seven always the guest of the Turks, who all Moslems. And were yet, although he entire stranger among and courwas an them, the generous teous Osmanlis him with the most everywhere received cordial hospitality. Not only did they supply him gratis with food and shelter,but they also provided him with the of transportation from means one necessary place to would And another. never they accept the slightestcompensation One

of the most

for their services. 23 ^^ 26

Les

Massacres d'Arminie, pp. 19, 20 (Paris, 1918). Ansayrii, Vol. II, p. 144 (London, 1851). Cf. Schliemann's The Odyssey, XIV, 57, 58.

Troja, '

p. ^

338.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

142

months during these seven the equivalent of only me] were [Father Paschal assures dollars. And, although the passport reAmerican quirements seven been in Turkey have always exceedinglystrict, asked me for carried a passport and nobody ever I never in Anatolia was one. My habit which I always wore my

My actual travelingexpenses

passport. But for members not are

order,Father

of his

PaschaPs

is

case

exceptional.In Moslem lands the Sons of St. Francis always shown similar kindness and consideration and

have been

since the famous

ever

of Assisi with the Sultan years lands t

By

of the Poverello

of

dred Egypt at Damietta eighthunbe found in other greater hospitality

Can

ago.

interview

the

hammering reiteration of a tradition which, for most part,had its originin the reports of imaginativetravelers and which has,in recent years, been greatly fostered by a subsidized press bent on forcingthe dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, the Osmanlis have been pictured as of cruelty. To judge by certain monsters propaganda articles and brochures

which, within

recent

years,

have

been

given world-wide currency, the average Ottoman is like the viceroy described in Don Quixote, who ''every day hanged a slave;impaled one; cut off the ears of another; and this upon so little animus, or so entirelywithout cause, Uiat the Turks would

doing it,and

because

have Uved among their a

own

it

he did it was

the Osmanlis

gentlenessand

sense

of

merel/for the

his nature. and

have

^'^^

sake

People

of

who

learned to admire

justicewould

denounce

such

characterizationas absurd. the ""During

wnUt

a

of

two

I have

French Colonel from

hjtrd !L^!? ;^ ? m Anatoha a

murder

fmUJM

S^%^ "fC/. Fim.

years

V

or

'"'"

Asia

theft.-

a

traversed

could

Minor, -J

This

Innumerable

the country,''

is not

have

the evidence

foreignerswho

give similar testimony." '

UU

ia

Turquie Agonisante, p.

49

never

(Paris,1913).

have

it apply only to the

does

Nor

of the present

testimony regarding them their history.

century of

in every

Osmanlis

143

in like

History abounds

time.

ANATOLIA

IN

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

surprising [writes the historian Finlay] how well in its extensive Ottoman government preserved tranquillity

It is the

dominions, and established a greater degree of security for property among the middle classes,than generally prevailed in European states during the fifteenth and sixteenth This end was obtained by a regular police,and centuries. by the prompt execution of a rude species of justicein In the populous cities of flagrantabuses and crimes. cases in Constantinople, of the Ottoman Empire, and particularly contained

which

than

inhabitants

more

any

three Christian

reigned in the midst of a great caused by extreme social corruption, wealth, the conflux of different nations, and the bigotry of several hostile many of every and admiration religions,excited the wonder observant imperturbable stranger. Perfect self-reliance, the vicissitudes of to fortune, and equanimity,superiority for laws the Ottomans a calm temper, compensated among which were notoriously defective and tribunals which were infamously venal. Knolles

the

barbarous

to

see

a

murder

or

a

theft

mitted com-

to European gentlemen accustomed of wearing swords all occasions, on of the highest rank, distinTurks guished and military exploits, walking about

custom

surprised

were

' '

Turk.

any

seldom

**You

says,

by

which

order

capitals,the

see

for their valor in

in the power of provincialtowns, unarmed, secure public order and the protection of the executive authority even

in the State.^" it is

But, 28

A.

from "Et

than

the

reported atrocities of the

Greece to the Present from its Conquest by the Romans V, p. 161 (Oxford, 1877). Finlay gives the following quotation writes who as Turco-Grcecia, p. 487, of Crusius vigorously in favor

the

Osmanlis mirum

as

est

Knolles inter

audiri, vim iniustam tanus refugium totius quodque omnibus, tam ibus

not

History of

Time, Vol. of the

asked, do

iustitia in

the

or

orbis

scribit:

infimis

administretur."

in

ferri, ius

non

remarkable

Pierre

barbaros

quam Could

statements

Loti. tanta

tantse

urbi

colluvie

cuivis

dici.

Ideo

ConstantinopolinSul-

quod

omnes

miseri

here

ibi tutissime

tarn Christianis quam of history be more verdict

summis, the

nullas

quoted!

csedes

lateant: infidel-

explicit

their tation repuis lished estabfrightfuldeeds of savagery for the most to this peradventure? An adequate answer in Armenia

TarkB

beyond questionwould

the Balkans

and

lead

that

prove

the

far afield,for

too

us

champions

few

unlike their enemies, have

Osmanlis, political

or

information, therefore,respecting To atrocities in questionis almost entirelyone-sided.

and knights-errant, the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

144

our

those, however, who side of the

question I

documented

work

careful

A

isonte,^

desirous

are

Ottoman

the

the

recommend

thoroughly Loti entitled Turquie Agon-

would

Pierre

of

reading

of

perusalof

will convince

this work

impartialreader that in this,as in "the unspeakable Turk** is far from

every

other

any

question,

being **the homicide kind*' he is so frequently picturedto be. of all human I would not, however, have it inferred from the foregoing pages that I ignore the corruption and organized bribery the government is made

and the extent to which the interests

of those

who

govern

rather

to subserve

than

those

who

governed. This condition has existed in Turkey from time immemorial, not only in the administration of governmental are

affairs but in the administration But

it

is,unfortunately,a

of the Orient Nor

from

condition

of

that

exists in all parts

Constantinopleto Peking.^"

I blind to the incalculable miseries

am

to which

peasantry of Anatolia are exposed by the ravenous gatherers who rob them of their little savings and many

of them

in constant

J*""'""" *"i"informing brochure, Lea atHrordingto tiie eminent """"^"^i*.

Vaahtrr,

''Inferior officials cheat

01

The

penury.

""

tHVW

well.

justiceas

the

Massacres traveler

neople, and

opportunity to

exactions D'Arm^nie

and

the tax-

keep cruel-

(Paris, 1918).

and

Orientalist, Arminius the latter again avail themEvery one in that country

cheat the officials: t9ry Am and twindlea. Nor is such behavior looked as anything upon "^ the contrary, the man, on who is straightforward and """proper; ^^ ^ "*" ^' ""'^' spoken of contemptuously as a fool or f %. Tk0 Lift and Adventures of Arminius Vamhery, written by Himpw tM (London, 1914),

!Jk

-u V%^

^ilJi

*"'h*ve degenerated

since

JK* ail?^ .Lf** .""**?"^u"*' ^^^\^

'"'""

Slkir\!j

' .

twentieth

I!L!!I*!Si^'**? ^^ "Ue#a4rw, IWL

^^'^

year

in three

the

days of Cyrus and Darius! carefully instructed from things alone-to ride, to draw

^""

truth--,a.",.)o.ai 6,

rpla

mov***

Iwntvtip

na^iau rov, Kal roifvttv Kal

airi

n..ra.reos

d\r]eiit(je%i." 1,

ANATOLIA

IN

OSMANLIS

THE

OF

LIFE

HOME

145

agents of Turkish misrule are almost of Turkish It is these oppressive measures incredible. maladministration, coupled with the opening of the Suez trade Canal, which have done much to close the overland soulless

ties of these

much

owed

Anatolia

to which

routes

of its former

perity. pros-

that the

reorganized Ottoman ernment govwill succeed in eliminating the crying evils here ship indicated, but they are of so long standing that statesmanwill be required to deal with a of the highest order almost situation which is now desperate. In marked contrast to the administrative ruption bribery and corhave so long been the bane of Turkey, as which of so many Eastern well as countries,is the remarkable spiritof tolerance which distinguishesthe Ottoman ment. governof religiousorders the members Thus when priests and nuns ^were dially corcruellydriven from France they were the reputed home of intolerwelcomed ance by Turkey fanaticism and ^where they were guaranteed full their and apostolate of education liberty to continue charity."^ The trollable opposition raised a few years by an unconago to the passing of a procession in honor mob of the Blessed is still Sacrament through the streets of London It is to be

hoped

"

"

"

"

in the memory of all. Contrast this with the attitude of the people of Constantinople to a similar ceremony. The of the procession is translated from the following account fresh

Turkish

On

Sunday

underscore

last

fete

signor Nardi, It is

31

the

and

interestingto

was

articles

took

the word

of the

which

the Stamhoul:

newspaper,

concluded reads:

in

"It

was

all

which

the

Ottoman

here

note

annual

procession "

^I

of

"

that

between

1535

is forbidden full the

in the

and

molest

the

to

liberty

Tom.

Treaty

France

Christians

government

toire de VEmpire Ottoman, Jonquiere, Paris, 1914).

the

liance Corpus Christi. The brilof Monheightened by the presence the Catholic colony of the neighbor-

annual

religion which they have included religious freedom with

place

has

to

of

of

the French

practice." all

other

Amity

and

Sublime

Commerce

Porte

of one in matters of their This of guarantee

nations

"

a

guarantee

always faithfullycomplied. Cf EisI, p. 171, 173 de la (by the Vicomte

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

146

hear

and

its first

to see hood assembled in the prettychurch emerged the procession pastor Towards five o'clock

amid

either lined the way on to the music of liturgical hand the sacred cortege marching In front of the Salesian Fathers. and the band ehanU the faithful,then the walked the school children,after them Monwhile in the rear clergy and notables of Makri Keui, surrounded by the clergy, bore the Blessed awt

of spectators who

concourse

signor Nardi,

Perfect

Sacrament. with

degree of

a

of

for the space

order

was

tact which

an

hour

the

maintained

did honor

by the police

to the

And

force.

processiontraversed

the

gayly

newly quarter, which had graveledfor the occasion by the orders of the worthy and ever-courteous president of the municipality, Sherif Effendi. Such ceremonies leave a pleasant impression in a decorated

streets

been

of the

is free to practicehis everyone to the dictates of his conscience.^^

eonntry like Turkey where

religionaccording The to the

freedom

same

of worship, notwithstanding reports

contrary, is enjoyed by the Armenians.

They

are,

schools and besides,left perfectlyfree to have their own to retain their own language. They have not had such the Armenians libertyin Russia. **For six hundred years declared of the Turks, contented under the dominion were of their bishopsa few years ago, and they would, doubtone it lets,be still livingin peace with their old masters were not for the machination of Russian propagandists and Armenian revolutionists. The proof of this is that *Hhe ' '

highroad from

Trebizond

to Erzeroum

is dotted

...

Christian monasteries

and

churches

unmolested

for

with cen-

tnries.""

Napoleon I boon' Turks

wont

to say

that

lie,given twenty-four immortal. start,becomes But, when lies about the have been repeated for generations in spite of the

MQiMUd

was

a

from

Turkey and the Ottomans, p. Lucyj M. 142, et. sea."/ (by f v j York. 1911). ^"''**** i/emoHet, p. 128, et passim See "4!!i.'^*^ (by Sidney Whitman). ^ VIII Hor"e6ocfc, G. H. New Chap. York, rrf?^iiT*^ (by Hepworth, " l*"l"c"" of the tiuUan, pp. 420, 427 i***'* Bowman (by Anna

OarMii.

N"w

"

"

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

148

have so long notwithstanding the lurid tales that less, Osmanlis, they have, neverthebeen circulated about the would least expect to find loyalfriends where one the testimony of those I have adduced in their favor

But

them.

long association

from

who

them

know

for their

them

and admire

these witnesses

Among

learned

have

them

among

to

ties. quali-

splendidhuman

to the virtues of the Osmanlis

whose competence French, English,and American men is unimpeachable. is as incontrovertibleas their authority

are

It

ing

them

among

priestsand

German

find French, Italian,and

should

and

to the number

to add

easy

were

we

ops, bish-

of the various teach^ Sisters of Charity land religieuses the Osmanlis have spent long years among orders

,/who

Empire and in all parts of the Ottoman would confirm that already introduced. It may, however, be is that of friends and

urged that the testimony sympathizers. It affords

Terrible

in the Pall Mall

has had

gentleman who war

as

been

well

in

evidence of the

Serbians

might, but

from

me,

the pen

fore, thereciation appre-

recently of

a

peared ap-

Serbian him

in

all that has fullycorroborates and is as the preceding pages great an writer 's nobilityof soul,as it is a splendid

tribute to the character We

"

question

opportunityof knowing

an

It

in peace.

as

stated

Gazette

has

which

Turk"

in

the generous

specialpleasureto reproduce here of "The

their testimony

are

of

a

whilom

foe

fightingagainst the

:

Turks

with

all

our

I am unjust to them. fectly percertain that every Serbian soldier,marching now and Albania, and every victoriously through Macedonia wounded Serbian lying somewhere in a hospital,and every Serbian mother, sister, wife, sweetheart, who has lost her son, or her brother, or her husband, or her lover, on one of the many would bloody battlefields, applaud my effort to do justice to our tate And, therefore,I do not hesienemy. to say a good word for the Turk. I do homage not to

the "f

we

Turk, but Novtmbtr

do not wish

to truth.

29, 1912.

to be

HOME

LIFE

OF

OSMANLIS

THE

Turk

IN

ANATOLIA

149

shall I

perhaps call him a normal He believes in God, and prays excellent man. Turk to God more intenselythan an average earnestlyand more he persistentlyand honAnd normal Christian does. estly or tries to conform his every-day life to the commandments of his great Prophet. He is charitable, worthy; honest, trusthe is modest, yet dignified;he is proud, but not vain ; he is brave, but not boastful ; he is sober, clean, polite; he is generally poor, but always hospitable; and he is patriotic, and suffer and without a murmur, die, ready to starve for his faith and the honor lent, of his country. But this excelis heavy, slow virtuous, and God-fearing brave man and somewhat stupid,and in the electrical and aeroplanic stand against scientific organizatwentieth century cannot tions and of the clever, sharp-witted quick-firingguns Greeks, Serbians, and Bulgars. of the Balkan nations for nearly The Turk was master five centuries. During all those centuries he consistently refrained from interferingwith our national churches and with our village the libertywhich the municipal life. From and our Church Turk left to our try, municipal life in the counre-born. our political libertywas But, notwithstanding tolerance non-interference with our his religious and his villagelife,we hated him as long as, and just because he victories have deprived But now, when master. our our was of our him of his position as master countries,we will be although he is pleasedto have him for our friend,because not exactly a jolly'* ^he is certainlya good fellow. An

average is an ?

or

"

"

"

**

"

different

How

Turk," painted by from

delineation

if not

on

years

of him

based

was

in Asia

who

of those and have

virtues

on

Minor

This is the verdict of those "

him

**The

Unspeakable tion by life-longassociaof Sartor Resartus, fancy and prejudice,

patheticignorance !

great trouble

one.

judge

knew

who

one

that of the atrabilious author

whose

The

portrait of

is this

and

have

only words

their

lived of

to-day

who

are

among

is

most

the

praise for their

abounding goodness

an

economic

competent Osmanlis many

of heart.

to

for

natural It is the

of

verdict

this

least

seeking policy

it

the action

ments^f

real

Although make

plea

a

I do

not

for

more

long exhibited been did

they

are,

dbange as

tolerance

injustice I

feel

well

as

can

never

the

West,

to

them I

between

tify jus-

requireEast-

that

the

of

others.

those I

fully

am

them.

ago-long

misunderstandings

referred

to

in union

and

in

them

as

urging

a

a

the so

who

We

change.

and

East

long

misrepresentations peoples

self my-

statesmanship,

Christianity,

separate

know

warranted

Equitable

and

so

unconsciously to

came

have

Having

who

between

and

I would

who

people

a

barrier

harmony.

the

Osmanlis,

the

to

to

knows

such

continue

self-

Acting

against

as

demands

Islam

the

coolly proceed

phrase,

charity, remove

Eoman

endeavor

the

toward

before

towards

Christian

hope

to

for

for

number

that

of attitude

brief

a

tolerance

the

to

do

to

conquest.

hold

such

among

grave

of

it to

flourish

Europe.

thinks

who

one

every

lust

is the

reason

alien

Western civilisatrice^oi

while

civilization

em

diplomatic

by alleging, intrench

and

and

empire

the

of

dismemberment

the

to

Greek

right they

makes

might

and

of

nations

dominant

the

that

theory

the

on

of

stress

they

rose

quite

is

altruism

such

But

splendor.

of

heyday

the

in

it did

as

more

the

as

as

it behooves

help

to

Were

resources.

blossom

again

would

this, Ajiatolia once

natural

its marvelous

develop

and

Empire

Ottoman

the

of

part

are

economic

its

in

assist

to

those

that

and

individuals,

for

as

Powers

Great

the at

nations

for

obligatory

man

of

charity

Christian

of

of

words,

empty

not

are

precepts

the

that

believe

who

God

of

brotherhood

the

to whom

women

fatherhood

the

and

and

men

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FBOM

160

should

as

the

above live

THE In its

VII

BAGDAD

RAILWAY

and military,not political the

the World

CHAPTER

most

sequences, speak of its commercial, conthe is Bagdad Railway of haps per-

to

securing hy Germany important event which

since the Franco-Prussian

has

occurred

in

the

Old

War.^ Andre

Ch^radame.

Konia, ancientlyIconium, we reached the junction of and the Bagdad Railways. From the Anatolia economic an of supreme and militarystandpoint,both roads are tance imporwith to the Ottoman Empire. They supply commerce of communication between the interior long needed means and the seaboard, and enable the Sultan to conduct the of his extensive administration territory with far more and despatch than was cally, before possible. Politiefficiency however, the Bagdad Railway is incomparably still more important. No great railroad has ever attracted more owed to its name; has ever much so none attention;none and fired the imagination of Germans has ever mans; Ottoso At

and

has

none

ever

so

the

exhausted

resources

of

provoked greater struggles for its control. both roads have a specialinterest to the student Historically and the historian of the classic not only on account lands through which they pass but also on account of the long and strenuous efforts which several rival nations made diplomacy

to obtain

or

from

and

operate

and

the East.

the Sublime the

great road

Porte

which

the authorization was

to unite

So

to build

the West

greatly has the Bagdad Railway modified the Near Eastern Question, so completely has it changed the data and the consequent solution of theproblem, and so perfectly iLe

Chemin

de

Fer

de

Bagdad, p.

226 151

(Paris, 1915).

of

journey, originand struggling beginnings of many things a clear conception

its history dovetail into the narrative

does that

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

152

a

of the

brief account

to

of the road is necessary

subsequent chapters. diverse, as the ambitions of

our

that shall be said in

Many and them birth, have gaperb capitalon

those

who

gave

by rail the the Bosphorus with the mysterious city the distant of Hanin-al-Rashid on Tigris. there few projects of a century ago Two-thirds were which

Cabinet

proposed

were

the

been

with

to the House

and

unite

projects to

more

insistence

of Commons

to the

well

as

as

to

British

English

than that which had for its object the construction capitalists of a railway which, startingfrom a point on the Mediterranean,

should

cross

Mesopotamia

in

the

direction

of

India. The

originalplan called

would

connect

It

based

for

the Mediterranean elaborate

overland

an

with

the

which

route

Persian

Gulf.

of the

ley, Euphrates valwhich had been made Colonel by an English officer, Chesney,in 1835-1837. The primary objectwas to shorten the journey from England to India,which was then made the Isthmus across of Suez, or round the Cape of Good Hope. The preliminary of this contemplated line was survey was

on

an

survey

made

by order of the British Government which voted "20,000 for expenses. Materials for two armed steamers were, under with ahnost Orontes

to

the direction

of Colonel

Chesney, transported

insuperabledifficulties from the mouth the Euphrates. This gallant officer had

bxB command

a

well-equippedstaff

of

of the under

engineers and

men

of

and the work teieiioe, which the expedition set out to "x""te was performed, as the officialreports show, in the moat thoroughmanner. More than two years were devoted to Uie Usk

r^on

of

exploringthe Euphrates,the Tigris,and the through which they flowed,and the enthusiastic ler felt sure

his labors

were

to issue *^in the

con-

BAGDAD

THE solidation

and

Great

between

But

perfectionof Britain

and

quickly and

how

KAILWAY the

153

communications

overland ' ' ^

India.

his

completely

illusions

were

pelled dis-

I

I returned

When

the

from

in 1837

East

[he wrote long with the full belief that a question of such after] it was Britain vast importance to Great nationally,politically taken and commercially ^would be at once by up warmly had been opened the Government and the public. The way "

"

difficultieswhich

"

been

overcome;

were

favorable

In

the

have

years

one

1851

a

at

had

time

one

Arabs

and

looked

the

formidable

Turkish

had

Government

But thirtyprojected line to India. since passed, and nothing has been done.^

to the

ing organized in England for realizranean Chesney's plan for connecting the Mediter-

company

Colonel

was

with the Persian

Gulf.

A

firman

obtained

was

from

everything was ready for beginning work As the enterprise was not supported by the except cash. English capitalistsconsidered participation government, to justifyinvestment. The in it too hazardous company's concession funds. lapsed for lack of the necessary The question was again taken up in 1872 and referred to a Parliamentary commission. But, although Colonel Chesney^s plan of building a road along the Euphrates was this time in favorably received,it was again abandoned favor of the Suez Canal, a large interest in which had been purchased for England by her astute premier, Disraeli, who value of this was quick to perceive the paramount between England and her possessions in the passageway and

the Porte

"

"

Orient.*

During 2

Narrative

Government 3

many

years

thereafter

this

new

route

between

of the Euphrates Expedition carried on hy Order of the British the years 1835, 1836 and 1837, p. 360 (London, 1868).

during

Ibid., p. viii.

Lord Palmerston, it is interestingto observe in this connection, did not hesitate to declare in Parliament that the construction of the Suez Canal, as *

planned by but a trap

De

Lesseps, was physically impracticableand gulliblecapitalists.

set for

that

the

project was

TO

BERLIN

FROM

154

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

that the Europe so absorbed public attention But towards the Euphrates Railway was almost forgotten. and

Asia

end of the century

road

taken

were

projectsfor constructingthe

numerous

by several

up

groups

financiers of different nationalities. the projectof an Among these was

Sig.A. Italian,

etti,who, acting in behalf of a company soughta concession for Englishfinanciers, of

a

line which

should start from

promoters and

of

Toni-

of Italian

and

the construction

Alexandretta

on

the Mediterranean

which, following the Euphrates to Bagdad Gulf. at a point on the Persian and Basra, should terminate for building a number of He also sought a concession to extend to Khanikin the of which was branch lines, on one and

In addition to this he asked

frontier.

Persian

to cultivate the

the

unoccupied government lands along

of the railroad

course

In return

during the

for this authorization

irrigationsystem which should valleyto its pristine fertility. an

There

was

also

a

French

group

by

all

means

of the

term

he

sion. conces-

agreed

to establish

the

tes Euphra-

restore

of financiers

by M. Cottard,a distinguishedrailroad endeavored

for authorisation

in their power

who, headed engineerin Turkey, to

secure

a

sion conces-

for

buildinga railway which was to be a prolongation of the Anatolian line to Bagdad and Basra and to follow essentiallythe same course along the Euphrates as the projectedroad

of

Sig. Tonietti.

In addition to the two projects just mentioned was of the Russian Count Kapist,who to build

proposed

which

should start from

a

line

Tripoli,in Syria, and, passing

Bagdad, should terminate at Koweit on the Persian Count Kapistand his associates pretended that they a"8ured

that

of the eventual

Gulf. were

cooperation not only of English but capitalists also of the British Government." The applicants for these divers concessions ever, howwere, all doomed to disappointment. Never before had so many, so antagonistic, and so powerful interests made so "-Itmalll to Koweit

Ry./'Ifatiqnql Review, p. 464, May.

1902.

BERLIN

FROM

156

battle and

Teutonic

BABYLON

AND

legendary disappearance of

the

and

BAGDAD

TO

that great

figure of

in the Cilician stream.

romance

' '

When

assistingthe Sultan Mahmud II the German the Ottoman to reorganize on plan he was army offered by Asia greatlyimpressed with the possibilities von

Moltke,1835-1839,was

field for

Minor

as

Others

of his

a

German

and

commerce

enterprise. good policy

thought it would be to divert the current of German emigration from America to Asia Minor. And, although the Porte had always been

opposed there

countrymen

to all schemes

colonization

to believe that the Ottoman

reason

was

of German

in

Turkey,

Government,

after the completion of the

Bagdad Railway, would consent to German colonists settling in certain places in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. For, several decades before the Germans had

secured

the concession

to build the

the friendliest relations had

tinopleand Berlin. defeat

of France

This

Turkey

not

students in her army,

existed between

Germany

in the world.

only maintained

a

among

whom

the

was

thenceforward

goodly number

Germany, but also had

many

after the

reorganized

was

For

road, Rail-

Constan-

particularlytrue

was

in 1870, when

the firstmilitarypower

as

Bagdad

German

of

military

officersin

distinguished Field Marshal

Goltz Pasha. It was,

however,more than a half century before '8 idea of developing Anatolia and Mesopotamia

Moltke

practical consideration.

gven

George IMotsche come

von

Siemens, the

Bank, who,

nnder

like

It

then taken

was

up

distinguished president so

many

von was

by

Dr

of

the

of his

countrymen, had Germany's Weltpolitikand, like caught in the current of the Drang nach

the spell of

had been tti"^

irr?:T^.*^"'f ''''^''''^^ ^^ th" ablest of the ""^^^ ^^' ^^'''^ ^^^ L^'/r'T* gathered about Wm but also ^

^^^

^^^

"""^

^

was

a

great favorite of the German

"'' ^^^"' T^lZ^Lif clearness of rare

vm,on,

saw

""^

War

Lord.

Mesopotamia,but, with

that this

developmentcould

be

BAGDAD

THE

RAILWAY of

achieved only by the construction broad

reclaim

To

Gulf-

the

lay between

which

wastes

157

railway through the

a

Bosphorus

civilization the

for

the Persian

and

long-neglected

Euphrates and the Tigris and to restore to and fertile plains of their ancient splendor the broad of and Mesopotamia Anatolia so long the favored home his dominant to the became ambition, and humanity of his cherished project he directed for years, achievement address and with marvelous persistency,his indomitable and savoir faire. Slowly but surely his dream began energy valleys of

the

"

"

to be realized. the Anatolian

Before

Railway

completed

was

the Turkish

Army was eating bread made from Russian flour ; now of Asia Minor. using grain grown in the fertile acres the advent

of the

railroad

the interior

of Asia

Minor

before

that

wretched than The

that

on

result

freight on imported from their

for

the railroad

and

Russia

not

singleton

a

the seaboard

of

grain

or

the

Before

grain from

the

so

greater

United

the

tween be-

were

was

peasants then

needs.

own

And

communications

domestic

that the Anatolian

was

wheat

enough

the

the

it is

States.

grew

advent

only of

ersed region trav-

reached the seacoast for by the Anatolian Railroad completed the export of wheat export. After the road was and other cereals became, in a very short time, an important item of

from and

The

commerce.

twice

to

vests peasantry received **for their har-

four

times

the prices formerly paid

the

to the railways brought revenue (Ottoman) treasury.''" The cost of the railway was great, indeed, but greater far was its value to Turkey, for it was not only the best but also the only practical means of jointed bringing the disof that large empire within members reach of and of control,'' order bringing security and cultivation, and civilization, to a country-that once had been the most **

**

fertile 6

on

Nineteenth

Ubid,, p.

earth." Century, 1085.

^

p.

1084, June,

1909.

have

should

Germany

That

Railway

building the Bagdad

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

158

of such

face

in the

and England competitorsas Russia, France, familiar with surpriseto those who were not and

Powers

the Great

among

who

and

the Porte

II was Abdul-Hamid suspicious engineeredin Turkey, which were in behalf of Russian

Russia

knew

who

and

affecting Great Britain,

or

looked

was

attributes publicist

brilliant French

A

between

of all schemes

at the Porte

long diplomaticgame foregone conclusion.

accurate

an

existed

nations

in

played

of

British interests,the outcome

or

the

relations

the

had

who

certain of the western

was

then

was

strained relations which

the

how

or

it

strong a great

well informed

not

were

respectingthe diplomaticgame as OcmBtantinople. To those, however, knowledge of

for

received the concession

the

as

upon

a

of the

success

way securing the concession for the Bagdad Railfrom of great ambassadors to the fact that the era closed at the Prance and England at the Sublime Porte was periodin question that in the year immediately preceding in

Germans

"

the irade

publicationof

"the there

then

was

**an

utter

of the

in

concession of

bankruptcy

great

Constantinoplefrom these two countries." Opposed to the English, French, and Russian dorSt and almost isolated

from

his

1899," at

men"

Ambassa-

colleagues,was

the alert

and

sagaciousBaron Marschall von Bieberstein,the noted ambassador from Germany who, accordingto an anonymous writer in the National influential the most Review, "was of the ambassadors

Yildiz,and, in thoroughlysensible and practicalcast at

to the functions of

diplomacy,had

and successfullythan actively to

promote

the

business

accordance

with

of German

ideas

used

his

minister

any

interest

of

the as

position more

had his

done

before

nationals

in

Russia

to

Turkey.

""

Not "ecore

to

speak of the failure

the concession

"IffoffMlA

CMlnry,

for

p. Mtt

of

France

and

buildingthe Bagdad Railway,

er "#".,

May.

1914.

it

THE

it

declared

be

here

may

from

doomed

were

the Suez

Canal

territoryof

BAGDAD

the

England *s hopes of securing beginning. Her control of very

occupationof Egypt, which

Turkish of the

denunciation

159

that

and her

a

RAILWAY

vassal,not Sultan

**

the

as

in

predisposed Abdul-Hamid

to

speak

the

was

of Gladstone's

Great

favor

Assassin,*' all and as Germany

of

strongly predisposed him writer

A

againstGreat Britain. National Review, referringto

in the

this sub-

'

ject,declares: For

many to likely go when

as

an

been so Turk had never the immobile years in the world for any purpose out of his way a opportunity to do the English Government

English influence

discourtesy or almost

said that

be

wealth

of the detested

Hamid

to

give to

an

even

a

bribe

a

island would

disservice;and it may worthy of the fabulous not have

Englishman what

induced

Abdul-

he could give to any

else.^"

one

that the concession for announced officially the building of the Bagdad Railway had been granted to a German the syndicate, there was great jubilation from Rhine what was to the Vistula over regarded as a great thusiastic victory for Teutonic diplomacy and enterprise. The enof the Fatherland fancied that they already sons the well-equipped trains of the Bagdad Railway saw ning runWhen

it

was

**

in the

track

of Alexander"

from

the

Dardanelles

to

of the

embouchure

Shatt-el-Arab,and exulted in the where the Mermnadae, the Achaemenidse,and thought that the Greek, Roman, Arabic, and Turkish failed, conquerors there Germany had a good prospect of success." In Turkey the diplomatic victoryof the Germans meant of Teutonic a great exaltation prestigeand a corresponding

the

^'

^^

diminution

of

the

credit

and

influence

of

the

defeated

Powers. In

France,

the

10

June, 1901, p. 629.

"

Nineteenth

predominant positionof

Century, p. 961, May,

1914.

power

and

influ-

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

160

interpretedas a complete and as an event which subversion of the Eastern Questioni spondingly the solution of this long-standingquestion corremade completment les diflficult**ce qui houlverse du probleme et par consequent sa solution posdonnees acquiredby Germany

enoe

was

"

had long been the disinterested protector of a nation whose moral and material elevation of she had constantlysought and had spent in all branches

[writesM. Auble]

France

activityof

human

of francs. she

with

saw

under

she loved

What

a

regard

to

about

was

sorrow

the influence of

to

second

a

as

milliards

many

her

escape

France,

and

come

rival."

hated

attitude toward

the Bagdad

It had, for obvious

reasons,

Russia's hostile.

country

that unfortunate

Railway her

been

was

no

less

policy since

and

member eventually disthe Ottoman Empire. Her objection to the road that it contributed was immeasurably to the financial, political, and strategical strength of Turkey, and that this would completelyfoil all her well-laid plans for her ultimate partition. She also regarded the road as a menace caucasia, to Transthan this,she feared that it would, in but, more the possession of Germany, halt her further advance into Western Asia and mayhap, a stepping-stone to prove,

the time of Peter

Germany's

the Great

annexation

But the resentment

So

long as she competing lino !"

or

controlled towards

Minor. Britain

Russia.

for serious

reasons

1888, Baron

of Asia of Great

that of either France

greater

to weaken

far greater than

was

She had

at stake

more

apprehension for

the Suez

Canal

India she felt

Hirsch's Railroad

and

secure.

the

there

But

through the Balkan

and

future. no

was

Avhen,in Penin-

Cli^nulmine.op. c\t., p. V.

^""*" -.J*r!^ ^iL"t'*'^H"5"*w "

a*o*r"l

iUlm!^ \ pwMi

^SI-TSt

aaraMrau

3** .**

U ""

^"""*

^" ^" Societ"5 de

Dolot. ont parconru y avail

labas

^"'*'n *** ^ci^i"

une "*

en

1914

Heconde

Paris

Syrie et la Mesopotamie inlassable France, aimant

plus belle

*** ^'^''*^^^ (I?iBlU AttCliP loiTI*** la.

Gtegrapliiedc

la

page

dans

Son Jff^portance,

I'histoire des,

Avcnir, p.

25

sula

completed

was

with

to

the

Western

161

RAILWAY

BAGDAD

THE

Bosphorus Europe, and

connected

and

steps

stantinopl Con-

taken

were

to

through Anatolia and Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf, alarm, bordering on dismay, took possession of her publicistsand statesmen. The politicaland military importance of an overland which Gulf railway from the Bosphorus to the Persian could not be reached estimated. by a hostile fleet could not be overextend

this line

noted

English authority

in

wrote

1917] and the Bosphorus so long as the forts of the Dardanelles remain intact the Sultan and his allies enjoy the advantages in a limited area the Bosphorus, the Sea of a naval power Indeed

[as

a

"

of Marmora of

a

the Dardanelles

and

fleet. This

enables

"

the Sultan

^without the and

possession

his Germanic

allies

Europe to troops or foodstuffs from rapidly to convey Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia and vice versa, in the fere face of the Allied Fleets,which are powerless to intervery in areas protected by defences which had proved, as had to expect they would one impregnable.^* prove, English writer Bagdad Railway the doom enterprisein the Near East. Another

Is the

same

saw

of

in German

control

English trade

fate [he asks] to be meted

and

of

the

French

out to the French

the nonrailways in Syria as that which has overtaken Are they to be absorbed German railways in Asia Minor? into the Bagdad Railway, or be cut off from any prospects of development? On the further side of the area, are the British communications into the Tigris to be starved up and our submission, and is the trade of Manchester great industrial

by-laws

in

centers

the

to be

placed

at

the

mercy

of

of variable

or railway companies owned In the present temper of largely controlled by Germany? British diplomacy, a German victory of this kind is,I am of possibility, however sorry to say, not outside the bounds

^*The

statutes

Geographical Journal^ p.

33

et

aeq.,

July, 1917.

162

TO

BERLIN

FROM

momentous

may

bat also to

our

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

not only to be the consequences, If it be future. whole political

the

dominate

enterprisewill Oennan arms India and wlU extend along two great

our

trade

achieved,

countries

west

of

to the frontiers

Gulf. Regions the head of the Persian of communications the main line of the maritime cably, the less irrevobut none the British Empire will gradually, complexion and bias become invested with a political out of harmony with our vital interests."

Egypt lyingupon of

But

and

this

to

not

was

all.

Judging by

the articles that filled

English press after the concession for building the the great Bagdad Railway had been granted to Germany, would that this concession in England was fear of many Turkey by the Teutonic lead to a protectorateover Powers;** that it would permanently diminish English the

**

credit in the

East

throughout all

and

Islam"

and

exalt

that it involved the prestigeat Britain's expense; mercial ousting of England from their '^former politicaland comprimacy in the Ottoman Empire ; that,to quote a out of Asiatic Turkey," British writer,it would us squeeze the diplomacy of Germany had succeeded in squeezing as surrendered to her territory OB out of East Africa where we which was ours by virtue of having been explored by Speke, Grant and Stanley."" In the meantime the Teutonic Powers were trying to the necessary "ecnre prise. capital for their stupendous enterFrom the very beginning of their vast undertaking they,under the lead of Dr. Siemens, presidentof the Administrative Board of the Anatolian Railway, fully realized the difficulties in securing the funds they would encounter German

' '

**

**

to requisite

cover

But to achieve

the

success

cost of their colossal work.

enormous

they had

recourse

to all the methods

Review, p. 777, May. 1011. **r** f""'^*"^*''y t""" British Wrlianient April 8. 1903. Lord E. Fitzmaurice -1 ??!r*?'.*? with the future TLaIa! of thia .t*" **?"*"^^^*^"^ "Bound up *" P''"^^"*'^y ^*'" future of large imSSmliL a1"W politicalcontrol "" MwopoUmia and the Persian Gulf." "*". *J*?**'* ^fftl ""rA" -'

u

"

"

yoftmighHyBemeie, p.

216,

February,1914.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

164

to who were eager capitalists group of English in the building of the Bagdad cooperate with the Germans of Gwinner, the successor von Bailway" to Herr Arthur doubt director of the road, leaves no as Siemens Dr. von

of

one

a

about this whatever. fact is

The

[Sir Clinton writes]

violent and

the very

oflScialcircles. But the

the

be

can

with

will meet

German

recent

the Government

a

events

those

will

circles, present

doubt; at the

no

by

reflected in

or

enterprisewhich

cooperation in any or, I might more

moment

history of

in

shared

and

newspapers

of its intensityoutside

there

moment,

ited exhib-

feelingagainst Germany

bitter

by the majority of our of people. a large number This is a feelingwhich, as show you, is not shared by for

sacrificed to

here, and has been involved in politics

become

has

the business

that

could

be represented,

justlysay, misrepresented,as

which violent hostility

ment govern-

our

feeling prevailed London with the majority; having really gone into the matter, owing to the newspaper campaign a frenzy on which it would have been quite impossible to counteract or has

anti-German

The

to consider.

.

.

.

influence.**

Ab

a

result of

the Czar

an

in November

the Kaiser

and

all share in the

of Potsdam

importantmeeting

Bagdad Railway.

between waived

1910, Russia

The

drawal for this with-

reason

it is

asserted,the willingness of Germany to allow Russia to build a railway in the north of Persia which ahould eventuallyconnect with of the Bagdad branch a was,

Bailway The

at Khanakin

reaaon,

on

the Persian

therefore, why

internationalized, as was

the

hia asaociateB,is manifest. ""rA"

Ktnaletnth

Century, p.

the

1090

Bagdad

desire The

et

frontier.

of

Railway Dr.

nations

aeq., June,

was

Siemens

not

and

constitutingthe

1909.

"German not shared feeling waa by loned men like Sir Edwin Pears na.

fairlyand ,_

pi tm,

^.

.

VovMibtr, 19M.

in

inviting British

loyally." The

Contemporary

coopera-

Review,

Cordiale

Entente

RAILWAY

BAGDAD

THE

unwilling

were

outside

the line without

accept the proceeded

to

thereafter

concessionaires, who

the

offer to

of

struct con-

assistance.^"

financiers

and

165

of France

and

England of the Bagdad Railway found that internationalization were preparing to was impossible and that the Germans build it without their cooperationthey bethought themselves of killingthe enterpriseby creating a financial vacuum : of capitalbe created around **Let a vacuum the Bagdad writes M. Andre Geraud, who had no Railway," ironically his countrymen and their sympathy with the methods English allies had adopted in their dealingswith the German concessionaires,*4et the Anglo-French air-pump be set in becomes the pecuniary oxygen action,and then, as soon as to languish and rarefied,the Bagdad Railway will be seen When

the

statesmen

die."^^ But

this method, it

discovered,utterjyfailed to have the desired effect. It neither deprived the railway of resources checked its activity. **The airnor company pump,'' as M. Geraud wittilyremarks, broke down as soon was

soon

**

it was

as

"

started.''

truthfullysaid that not be built by a single power. the Bagdad had been made The statement same regarding the Suez Canal, but France, under the lead of De Lesseps, showed the enterprise and the genius of her people were what united in an they were capable of accomplishing when to reflect on them undertaking that was imperishable glory 20

passed when Railway could

M.

Auble, 1

meme

it could

time had

The

enterprise du

presentee au profiterdes

debut,

Chemin

une

de

The

22

Ibid., p. 1313.

Nineteenth

Bagdad

wrote:

pour

Century,

"We

After

cannot

de

Bagdad c'est

lui donner

p. 1312,

all

Railway

Fer

allemande,

ceuvre

oflfres allemandes

21

of the

matter, writes:

cit.,p. 16. referringto this

op.

be

est

caractere

elle

"

elle s'est

n'

June, 1914.

negotiations looking

had

qu'

en

voulu a pas international."

qu'on

parce

un

"Si

telle

reste

failed, M.

towards who

Geraud,

help regretting

that

the

tion internationalizais

two

evidentlya powers

who

archist, mon-

held

old religious protectorate, and France her protectorate of the Orient sanctioned by the Cyprus Convention England the protectorate of Anatolia of one laid down in the such beneficent should, generation, have space

the

"

"

weapons. that was

In ...

order

that

so

responsiblein England

much

and

destruction

France

was

could the

be

rule of

consummated,

democracy."

all

FROM

166

TO

BERLIN

BAGDAD

BABYLON

AND

of

humanity. way Confident in their abilityto construct the Bagdad Railunaided, the Germans, under the guidance of able not long in demonstrating to the world that were financiers, and

redound

at the

same

to the welfare

time

their

that which

to

in the Land

in no wise inferior to enterprisewas of the French the magnificentachievement

led of

the Pharaohs. The

hostile attitude of the

Anglo-French

not Bagdad Railway was by the publicistsof Germany.

the

allowed

to

pass

the

From

towards

press

unnoticed

day that

the

authorizing the building of the great railroad was issued they had been enthusiastic about the enterprisethat advantage to the was, they felt sure, to be of inestimable Fatherland. They descanted especiallyon it as an agency trade in the Near East, whose for developing German merce comhitherto had been almost entirely in the hands of their rivals. They fondly pointedto the day, in the not distant future,when they would be able to exploit the vast mineral riches of Asia Minor, and when Anatolia, Syria, irade

and

Mesopotamia, as a German would direction,

result of intensive

culture

under

be able to

supply them with untold stores of grain, wool, cotton,fruit,petroleum, and other commodities to their control of the Bagdad ; when, thanks Railway and its branches, they would enjoy a virtual monopoly of The

near

eminent

eastern

commerce.

German

engineer,Wilhelm von Pressel,who had served the Fatherland so long and so well in the Ottoman Empire," prepared plans for connectingEurope with Asia by a tunnel under the Bosphorus. But his fellow countryman, Siegmund Schneider, insisted that the two "ontiuents should be connected by a bridge,which he de"cribes in a dithyrambicfashion which most vividly exhibits the exalUtion

of the promoters

of the great Berlin

to

dad Bag-

Hallway. brochure.Lm Ohemint (2ttrkh.Vi)2"^'**'*"*

de

Fer

in

Turquie

d'Aaie

The

RAILWAY

BAGDAD

THE

167

effect [Herr Schneider

architectural

writes]

of the

richlygilded,suspended from massive piers, crowned by glitteringcupolas and minarets, brilliantly This bridge would illuminated at night would be fantastic. metallic

mass

constitute

formidable

a

the Turkish

with which

works

of the enfilade of fortified

closure

bristle.

coasts

Its debouches

heads, Europe would be defended by powerful bridgeteries with armored its piers would be armed rotary batsink any squadron whose long range would infallibly

in Asia

and

that would

of the future

Strait.

into the

venture

directlyfrom

will go

The .

.

Berlin

trains

express

.

Babylonia

to

in

five days."

engineers confidentlyasserted that the day was trains de luxe equal to any in Europe distant when

German not far

America

or

would

and

required caravan

the

from

was

Nor

in

Bagdad to make

this

was

the

cover

distance

hours. sixty-five between

journey

nople Constanti-

between The these

time

formerly cities by

two

fiftyto fifty-five days.^* empty

an

No

boast.

road

has

ever

been

solidlybuilt than is the Bagdad carefully or more Railway. Roadbed, culverts,revetments, bridges are of The sleepersare the strongestand most durable materials. of metal, while the steel rails are speciallymade for sharp and fast and German curves heavy trains. engineers declare that they are At a time the heaviest in existence. when the heaviest rails used in the United States weighed hundred one pounds per lineal yard, those selected for the And it Bagdad Railroad weighed twenty per cent more. so is with the warehouses, the offices, and especiallythe stations

more

all

along

structures

that

the

line.

they

are

it is the firm conviction

designed that emergencies, such so

^^

Revue

25

According

Susa

"

a

de

somewhat

massive *^

called

German

of many

that

are

the last-named

Castles.'' these

Indeed,

buildingswere

as they might serve strongholds in sudden as uprisings of lawless nomads

Geographic, to

So

Herodotus

p. 398, it was

greater distance

May, a

1902. three

than

from

months'

journey from Ephesus Constantinopleto Bagdad.

to

TO

BERLIN

FROM

168

Nothing

fanatical Moslemd.

or

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

left to chance.

was

So far

engineeringscience could forecast the alities made for all eventunecessities of the future, provisionwas save only such a cataclysm as a world war, which experienceand

as

"

threatened to interrupt the continuityof civilization. to the end and

As in

aim

of the

Bagdad Railway

we

are

left

doubt.

no

[writesProfessor Diering] be true to ourselves In all by emphasizing and cultivatingeverything German. diplomacy and financed undertakings engineeredby German We

must

German

with

money

the oflSciallanguage must

be German.

ish French, which has been the officiallanguage on TurkRailways, must disappear. There must be a German school near large railway station; and in these every and schools both the German Turkish languages must be employed in givinginstruction ; any other language will be Hence

merely taught. Only speciallyselected and well-educated teachers should be sent to Turkey. Above all,German medical men must be introduced into Turkey's railway system. ence influfor German medium the best They are spreading and for awakening esteem and affection for Germany. On broad lines it is now quiteclear what form the future Turkish to From Empire will assume. Tripolis across Persia and on to the ridgesof the Caucasus, German energy without injuryto the sovereigntyof the Osmanic State will cooperate in Turkey's renaissance and in the development of her treasures. But our enemies,togetherwith their tories languagesand schools will disappear from the terrimoney, which they hoped to divide among themselves.^" "

"

is another German explicit i':(iuiilly the ulterior objectof the TeHpcotiiiL" 1 one

'

'

niciuut

high-road of

uiiich leads from

Alexander

"

the world

Europe the highway which

Monafhefte, MMjfMilitfAtf ^

I4i,jMiB"r7,1917.

writer,Herr Trampe, Bagdad Railway.

to

[he declares] is the India" the road used by

leads from

September,

1916.

Of.

The

the Danube

via

Quarterly Review,

THE

BAGDAD the

Constantinople to

RAILWAY of

169

the

Euphrates, and by northern to the Ganges. Persia, Herat, and Kabul Every yard of the Bagdad Railway which is laid brings the owner What of the railway nearer Alexander to India. performed be achieved and Napoleon undoubtedly planned can by a third treading in their footsteps. England views the Bagdad Railway as a very real and threatening danger to undo herself annul its and rightly so. She can never or valley

"

effects."

increasinglyhostile attitude of the Entente Cordiale the Bagdad Railway, the violent ebullitions of the toward had portended trouble. No sooner press of the rival powers the concession for the building of the Bagdad Railway been than it began to weigh as a nightmare announced officially The chancelleries of the Old on a great part of Europe. World clearlythan ever before began then to realize more of the great oriental highway. the boundless possibilities in it the virtual doubling of the saw English statesmen of the Persian fleet at the head German Gulf, and then the cry was heard throughout Britain, **Let us have the Russians than a great power at Constantinople rather on The

the Persian

Gulf."

Bagdad Railway [declares an English writer] was which due as much damnosa to a lack of was a licereditas, imagination and effective organization on the part of our business community in the eightiesand nineties of the last to a mistaken century, as it undoubtedly was policyin those The

I

critical years

Small

beginning

of the chief

one

as

of the

be entailed

27

Der

28

The

of the

Government.^^

great World

contributingcauses decade

second

that, whatever may

part of the British

wonder, then, is it that the Bagdad

the very

from

the

on

of the

political, economic, as

a

War

Railway

was

considered

of the terrific cataclysm

twentieth and

result of the most

century and social adjustments stupendous struggle

die Dardanelles (Stuttgart, 1916). Kampf um Review, Quarterly p. 628, October, 1917.

of

BERLIN

FROM

170

it

history,

the

relations

did

the

which East

destined

is

far-reaching introduced

and of

made Persia

Greek known and

people to

India

the

and

West

the

and of

campaigns

profoundly

more

even

Orient

the

between

modify

to

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Occident

Alexander Greek

and the

Babylonia.

riches

than

the

Great,

culture and

to

the

the

ders won-

stood

Iconium

times

Roman

In

and

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BEBLIN

FROM

172

intersection of

the

at

designatedby Phny

several importanthighways celebrated city According to a urhs celeberrima^a most had for its first bishop Sosivenerable tradition,Iconium was

who of the seventy-two disciples,

one

in the

episcopalchair by Terentius,

chosen

body of disciples.Equally noteworthy

that Iconium

was

converted

been

to have

to

likewise

one

of this

is

the fact

St. Thecla, who

said

is

Christianityby the Apostle St. of the

is the heroine

She

Paul.

birthplaceof

the

succeeded

was

patros,

Acta

Pauli

Theclce.

et

she was greatly earliest ages of the Church the known as she was venerated in Asia Minor, where ' ' In the Greek * * Apostleand Proto-marty r among Women. the

From

Church and

the

her feast is celebrated under

the title of

Equal

of the

the

tember twenty-fourthof SepWomen

/'Proto-martyramong

Apostles.''

here, according to

And

on

venerable

a

store,is the tomb

oriental geographers set much the

the Divine," who, under

tradition

name

on

which

of ''Plato

of Eflat,is revered

by the

thaumaturgus. The origin of this so distant from singulartradition in this part of Anatolia the real burying place of the immortal philosopher is one

local

populationas

a

"

"

of the curiosities of Ottoman

folklore.^

Iconium from 1099 to 1307 was During two centuries is still and of Rum^ the capital of the Seljuk Sultans regarded as one of the holy places of Islam. Many of its Boltans were and, during the patrons of art and literature, "

"

zenith of its splendor, this

Seljukianmetropoliscould of nearly as many collegesand students as Bagdad far-famed capitalof the Abbasside Caliphate. Its present chiefest title to fame Jelal-ed-din-Humi,usually known

is the tomb

famed

and

for knowledge and

wisdom

as

Mevlana. was

boast "

the

of the noted He

the founder

was

of

t for of "n "Plato in the Folklore interestingarticle on this subject, see Om 1C"ala PUlw." School of by F. W. Hatluclc, in the Annual of the British v.. Will. Athr*' " i ro" Roma" because it was, before its conquest by the Seljuks,a

port:

'

."

RomaO'BytantineEmpire.

the author

and

the Dancing Dervishes

in Persian

celebrated

poem Sufi system of

His

of the

in which

verse,

pantheism.

173

CRUSADERS

THE

OF

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

**Mesnevi,^'a is instilled the

successors,

as

heads

of

Dancing Dervishes, have their residence in Iconium and theirs is the right and the privilegeto gird each Ottoman

the

Sultan, sword

his accession

on

of Osman.

the

to

throne, with

which

imposing function,

This

the

historic is performed

Mosque of Eynb in Stamboul, has been likened to the coronation Emperor. by the Pope of the Holy Roman By those who know them best the better class of Dancing, properly,the Whirling Dervishes, are described or, more as being a very tolerant and large-minded people. Thus it is said that '4n the dangerous period in the winter of 1895key, religiousand national feeling ran high in Tur1896, when it was mainly owing to the Mevlevis that the softas of Konia were prevented from attackingthe Christian population in the

of the town.''

^

Moslems, not regard

orthodox

represented by the softas with and mollahs, do sympathy the peculiar ceremonial practicesof the various orders of dervishes, especiallytheir use of incense,music, and lighted candles To the strict followers of the Koran in publicworship the of worship of the Mevlevis and Rufais, characteristic forms the Dancing and Howling Dervishes, as more commonly known the

But

are

certain

distasteful

as

as

Anglicans

modern

of the Church

as

are

the ritualistic services the

to

conservative

of

members

England. As to the esoteric doctrines of dervishes,especiallythose based on the Mesnevi, they declared by the doctors of Islam to be quite irreconof

kthe are

cilable with

both

the

Koran

and

the

Hadith

"

t

traditions

of Mohammedanism.

It must

be

the accepted said

that the

vishes performances of the Dancing and Howling Derof perfox-manceswhich are resorted to as a means detaching the minds of the devotees from all things earthly

bizarre "

and

8

attaininga See

Turkey

in

state of

Europe,

spiritualecstasy

p. 185

"

(by

C.

are

to the casual

Eliot,London, 1908).

southern

our

exhibit far than

dignityand

more

in their devotions

reverence

in their camp-

noisy Africans

and

revivals

dervishes,however,

solemn

The

negroes.

the excitable

do

certain

little different in kind from

spectatorbut of

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

174

meetings and revivalisticgatherings. Surrounded by a barren and desolate country, Konia, from when seen afar,looks like an oasis in the desert. It is by mountain situated on an elevated plateau well-watered with

blessed

and

streams

their

it for

choose

It

was

Seljukian Turks

led the

that

attractive features

these

climate.

salubrious

a

to

luxuriant

gardens and to the city's and add much

capital. Its

long been famous picturesqueness especiallywhen viewed from a distance. For when one enters the old Seljukian capitalthere is little have

orchards

"

Of the old Greek except a few mosques. citypractically nothing remains aside from the fragments of friezes,cornices,bas-reliefs, and ancient inscriptions

to attract attention

which

are

found

in the walls

which

surround

the erstwhile

other Seljukian capital.^Here, as in so many places in Anatolia, the Turks, when requiring material for their and palaces, converted the imposing temples of mosques the Greeks,Romans, and Byzantines into quarries for stone, and lime. As in Nicaea,a great part of the space within the walls of Konia is covered with crumbling ruins overgrown

with scene

weeds

and

bushes.

in his mind's There

eye

The

when

have

poet must

he

had

such

a

penned the lines :

temple in ruin stands Fashioned by long-for got ten hands; Two

a

Out

Of

three columns

or

Marble

and

upon

the

and

granite with time!

things

many

grass

It will leave to

come

than

a

stone,

overgrown no

the

more

things before.

Modem

Konia, a good part of which lies outside of the of the Seljuk capital of the thirteenth century, it eomposed of one-story buildings,constructed chieflyof

walk

wood

and

sun-dried bricks.

But

amid

all the

squalor and

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

OF

THE

CRUSADERS

175

distinguishesthis historic citythere are several medresses and colleges ^which will well repay

that

decay mosques

"

"

careful inspection. the buildings deserving particular attention is Among the splendid tekke of the Dancing Dervishes, in which is of this peculiar of Hazret the tomb Mevlana, the founder the **Blue Mosque*' from It is popularly known order. as the exquisitesapphire and turquoise blue tiles which until recently covered the cupola that rises above the great turThere is nothing in Brusa, Stamboul, beh of the founder.

Cairo

or

that

can

surpass

its rich and

delicate traceries

and

arabesques, its profusion of jeweled lamps, its wealth, wondrous faience,its magic glories of precious tapestries, color over

the looms

from

and

above

and

kilns of Persia

all this wealth that

and

India.

of ornamentation

does

But

there is

a

exist in the

ordinary For the dervishes,unlike the orthodox Moslems, mosque. make a specialappeal to the emotions of their followers, their hence and widespread influence and popularity world. throughout the Mohammedan here to affect the There is,however, no attempt made emotions through any of the plasticor pictorialarts. In other mosque in this respect the Blue Mosque, like every The Islam, is absolutely devoid of paintingsand statues. is that Moslem law proscribes all representations reason of the human pious, form, either in painting or statuary, as imbecause they are regarded **as encouragements to idolatry and as profanationsof God's chief handiwork."* med, According to one of the traditional sayings of Moham^^AVhoever draws a picturewill at the day of resurrection to blow a spiritinto it ; be punished by being ordered do ; and so he will be punished as long and this he can never Nor does the Prophet leave any doubt as to God wills." as of the punishment, for he declares explicitly, the nature

religiousatmosphere

*In of

the

chance

work!

Koran, and

Avoid

Sura

not

V, it is written, "O

and statues, that ye them

divining arrows prosper." may

believers! are

an

surely

wine

abomination

and

games

of

Satan's

**

painter is

Every

painter,**If you of

and

to artists that

houses

pictures,make

pictures

frequently

may

one

and

flowers

of

landscapes,provided there

be in them

human

in the homes

form

divine.'*

of Moslemism

according

all

to another

into the house

enter

But

images

are

of the

saying in which

is

of trees

and

of the

cession con-

in Mohammedan

see

of

even

delineation

no

tells

of this

trees

of **the

strict adherents

rigorously tabooed, for, Prophet, Angels do not '*

into that in which

dog, nor

a

and

them

It is because

souls,*'

things without

ever, saying, how-

pitilessstatement

make

must

anotlier

In

in hell-fire." this

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

greatly modifies

he

the

BERLIN

FROM

176

pictures.'"

are

Konia

is

souls.

Most

Turks,

who

to the

flourishingcity of about sixty thousand of its inhabitants, like those of Brusa, are pure rigidlyadhere not only to the religion but also a

now

and

manners

however,

a

goodly

besides

of their fathers.

customs number

whom

of

there is

There

Greeks, Armenians, also,among

the

is

here,

and

mans, Ger-

employees

of

the

Bagdad Railway, a sprinklingof Swiss, French, and Italians. Among the various institutions we visited,none gave some

us

decades from

The care

all

agreeable surprise than those established

more

by the Priests

ago

France, which

Sisters have of the poor

a

school and

and

French

nun

the great difficulties she

to all who

Nowhere

AoMi

she exhibits

Gabriel did

very

dispensary,and

to

them

Nowhere better

their devoted

greatly beloved is the

advantage

by

zeal

than

of

in

enthusiasm,notwithstanding frequentlyencounters, never abates happiness that communicates with

itself

her.

Anatolia,except probably

nn*.

condition.

prosperous

her

in contact

come

in

a

Sisters of the Assumption

creed.

seen

foreign missions, where where

a

sick has made

classes,irrespectiveof

the ardent

and

in

are

and

here

"?.."" SJ.v" J^ll^:?'. ^. Mathews.

in

Brusa,

Calcutta,

1809

has

one

)

"The .

because

a

opportunity to study the manners simple pastimes of the genuine Turk

and

better

and

and

Theaters

world, which

are

by

debarred

are

that contribute of

his leisure

total absence

of these

with

in the

center

has

them

Of such

his

of

way

His

him

ments amuse-

he is content.

in France

club

and

great

a

and

the

restaurant

home

no

the haunt

may

to indicate

and

come

and

will, affairs,

at

the coffeehouse

restaurant,

congregate there,

its attractions

go

crucible.

common

alcoholic liquors of any

people who

"

his own thoughts, pursue of feelingand of sense

ore

the club or

the

people ing spend-

the try siing-place

and

each

own

flinghis

IntS the

food

have

as

place where

Think

no

Like

of public men;

Of wealthy idlers

Unlike

a

the

coffeehouse, which, to

States.

Is the resort

Or

the

than

coffeehouse

the Turkish

A

western

alike,they

pleasure of

extent, takes the place of the restaurant club in the United

not.

of all the entertainments

quite satisfies

that

simple indeed, but

are

Most

to the

much

so

hours

the

binding

more

America, the Anatolian

and

Europe

in Konia.

Persians.

and

notwithstanding the

But

customs

them, they have

is

that

custom

a

of the Medes

laws

than

assemblages, like those in and women frequented by men

all social

From

know

we

as

operas,

177

CRUSADERS

THE

OF

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

are

as

and

kind.

it is

limited

as

Aside

serves

from

the

usually well-patronized, they are simple. In

confined to coffee, pretentious places these are tobacco, and, occasionally,the Medak, or story-teller.In the more sumptuous places of the larger cities there is also music, but it is generally of a very inferior quality,for the instruments employed are for the most part limited to the

a

less

drum, In

most

marked

a

tambourine,

Anatolia,

as

and

he

or

in all Moslem

popular character. that

two

attains

Not

three rude

guitars.

countries, the MedaJc

is

infrequentlyhis abilityis

the rank

of

a

personage,

and

a

so

his

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

for

and

festive occasions are in great demand The admirable he is liberallyremunerated.

services them

TO

BERLIN

FROM

178

on

ho can,

in which

unaided, fillthe role of entire

manner

of the

casts

in perversatility sonating the people of different nations, and in imitating the facial expression and even the tones, phraseologies, of the Turkish empire are really of the multitudinous races most

characters, his marvelous

diverse

of unending astonishing and are to his audience a source delight. Not a few of the Medaks, in addition to histrionic talent that would do honor to the best European stage, have

giftof expressionand

a

a

them

the rivals of the most

With

such

more

elaborate

the

entertainers

invention

of facility

improvisatori. readily forego our if they were even

Italian

eminent Turks

can

of amusement,

forms

make

that

available.*

always

perennialsource

a

of

of the coffeehouse.

attractions aa

drolleries

the stories and

But

Lowell

of the

Medak

pleasure

are

"

These

"

not

although the

chief

partly supplied,

are

playfullyputs it,by

so

horn i^ymph io Bacchus By Morpheus* daughier, she ihat seems Oified on her naial mom By him unih fire,by her with dreams Nicoiia,dearer io ihe Muse Than all the grapes* bewildering juice.

kind

The

"

Although Mohammedan

the

use

world*

of tobacco and

was

although

long forbidden

in the

its lawfulness

is still

"fnWinmH,

whom women a" are writing of the Eastern Btorv-tellers,among '''excite informi us they sometimes but terror mor" or thej pity, Bkturt to tbair audience those brilliant and fantastic visions whieh fcti|titly tilt ptlrliMMiy of the eastern m The imagination. physicians frain order tlMm to their patients ^MOMMead to soothe pain, to calm

illM

MM.

.

to

'

to

"jj" IMmm

akep after

.

long watchfulness; and these story-tellera, their voices, soften their tones and gently oa Mi the sufferers." Fi""e Historical sleep steals over of tk9 If* af Bouthtm Europe, Vol. I, p. 02 (Bohn Edition). Bhelkul Ulam issued a vigorous fetwa he dtagainst it in which that tu '^was contrary to the Koran" use and that ^'smoking waa a aod ahnoiiaabla practiceof the Qiaour^ which no trua BeUever should or

alarsd

DTodttM

.

ateluMaa, modulate

BERLIN

TO

of the dark ambrosia

that

FROM

180

tent

Bedouin's

gladdens the

so

pasha'spalace.

and the

the dispellest

thou

Coffee!

0

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

great; thou

edge. paths of knowlpeople of God and the

the

from

wander

who

those

bringestback

of the

cares

Coffee is the beverage of the cordial of His servants who thirst for wisdom.

coffee

When

and is is infused into the bowl it exhales the odor of musk except to the of the color of ink. The truth is not known the foaming coffeecup. God has wise who drink it from deprived fools of coffee,who, with invincible obstinacy it

condemn

injurious. gold and in

as

are the place of its libations we in the enjo5nmentof the best and noblest society. Coffee is tinguishe which it is disinnocent a drink as the purest milk from as

Coffee is

our

Tarry with thy coffee in the the good God will hover over

only by its color. place of

preparationand in His participate

its

thee and

the graces

There

feast.

of the

salon,the luxury of life,the societyof friends,all furnish a picture of the abode of happiness. the cup-bearer presents the vanishes when Every care delicious chalice. It will circulate freelythrough thy veins If thou doubtest plate and will not rankle there. this,contemdrink it. Grief the youth and beauty of those who exist where

cannot

it grows

before its powers. Coffee is the drink of God's this be the

will drown

we

the

scorn

Oreat th"

iweetncBS

ground

has

wine-cup.

purityand

reason is not

coffee

people; in

who

adversities

our

Whoever

sorrows.

of

to those

answer

once

its qualities. In it in its fire consume our

and

the

blissful chalice will

drink !

Thy proclaims it genuine.

appreciatedby

is added

to

the

Let

it is health.

doubt

seen

Glorious

ence itself in obedi-

humbles

; sorrow

connoisseurs

boiling water,

color Drink

in cofifee the

is the seal with

con-

drinking. When

pot should

be

taken

off

Dm fire and the coffee stirred up in the water it with a teaspoon. Then "bould be put on the Are again until the froth rises up. It is then poured Into the cups. It is better to pour out the coffee slowly, placing the pot on ih" fire at short intervals, and thus getting more froth for pouring out into the cupi, as the taste of the coffee is supposed to be better with the yellowish froth on the surface. It is on of this idea that account in

greedy people

Turkey round turn

on

chooee a

those

cups

that

tray, leaving those

to be eerved."

have with

Halil Halid's

the

most

less to

Diary of

froth

the others a

Turk, p.

when who 244

coffee

is

handed

waiting their (London, 1903). are

181 condemn

foundation.^"

without

and

CRUSADERS

THE

the prattle of fools who

not

regard

fidence and

the oriental

for

much

So

OF

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

of

surcease

and

care

the

are

and

the pleasure it offers its listless, of the

amusements

Let the distinguishedEnglish writer,

of the Orient?

women

which

sorrow

What

habitues.

dream-loving

coffeehouse

life and manners knowledge of Turkish not surpassed even was by that of the well-informed ing Lady Mary Wortley Montague, give a reply to this interestbut ill-understood question. In the quotation given she

Pardoe, whose

Julia

about

the

of them

can,

writing

is she

says

in other

sisters

of

women

ceteris

parts

Constantinople,but paribus^be asserted of

of the Ottoman

what their

Empire:

ish great fallacy[she declares] to imagine that Turklike birds in a cage or captives in a cell; females are be it Turk, Frank, far from it;there is not a publicfestival, Armenian Greek, where or they are not to be seen in numbers their carpets or in their carriages,sursittingupon rounded by slaves and attendants, eager and delightedspectators Then of the reveltheir have and they gilded tering glitcaiques on the Bosphorus, where, protected by their veils,their ample mantles and their negro guard, they spend long hours in passing from house to house, visitingtheir acquaintances and gathering and dispensingthe gossip of It is

a

"

the

city.

All this may

and

indeed

must

startlingto

appear

persons

contrast to this wildly lyrical praise of the fragrant and which from the Arabian berry, is the denunciation beverage made declared of Islam who it to followers hurled was against it by the orthodox of the ministers Devil and the four of to public morals be a menace one three and the other "During the sixteenth being wine, opium, and tobacco. centuries stantinople seventeenth coffee-drinkers were persecuted more rigorouslyin ConTheir than winebibbers have in England or America. been ever himself IV drunkard who the bloody Murad most a was unrelenting enemy of coffee under He and his nephew, Mehmed the use forbade IV, pain of death. used in order to patrol the city in disguise, k la Harun-al-Rashid. after him of the law. violation A perto detect and punish for themselves any sonage 10

marked

In

delicious

"

"

"

...

no

following but

as

Mene. p. 24

straitlaced

more

'The

decision:

it is used it may (by H.

to

also G-

be

than

Retayling

nourisshe a

common

Dwight,

Charles

New

of

II caused CofTe

court

a

be

to

hand

innocente

down

the

Trayde; Sedition, spredde Lyes, and scandalyse Create Nuissaunce,' Constantinople Old and New, may

"

York,

1915).

an

wives

in the world

littletrammelled

so

women

no

There

slaves.

morally manacled

were

Turkish

that

to believe

themselves

accustomed

have

who

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

182

probably,

are,

free to

; so

come

suitably unquestioned, provided that they are attended,while it is equally certain that they enjoy this privilegelike innocent and happy children,making their pleasuresof the flowers and the sunshine and revelling,like brightness,profitingby the birds and bees in the summer less the enjoyment of the passinghour and reckless or thoughtand

go

of the future/^

written,the libertyof the Turkish has been greatlyextended, as have also her opportunities so long of obtaining a higher education,which were

Since these lines woman

were

her.

denied

foregoing it

the

From

both

Orient"

and

men

in their

out of life "

women

own

^getquite as

"

way,

peoples of the much pleasure

the

that

seems

of

course

do

as

"

luxury-

our

loving people of the Occident at the expenditure of far greater effort and wealth. But in this,as in other things to his taste. De gustihus non est disputandum. one every "

much

But

as

medresses

and

traveler of

a

be interested

one

may

the

customs

of the of mind

turn practical

in the mosques

and

of

the

people

will find

his attention in the splendidbarrage which about

decade

a

of the Konia.

ago,

city,for

and the

of

a

valuable land which in Asia

German

would

UTAt

miles

to the

the broad company,

east south-

plain of which, by

^the Beushehr

"

and

enterprisingmanagers acres fiftythousand

otherwise

remain

arid

and

of productive. un-

being the first undertaking of Minor, and has already been of untold

important work Bmutif

constructed

was

its

as

value to the inhabitants of Konia thU

to engage

more

neighboringlakes

hundred

It is notable the kind

a

has enabled

"

odd

irrigationof

of two

Sogla Geul irrigatenearly

to

the

It is the work

the waters utilizing

twenty

some

Konia,

is

sure

to

of the RoMphorus, p. 127

Plain. lead

to

The the

(London, 1839),

success

of

construction

of similar

CRUSADERS

THE

FOOTSTEPS

OF

reservoirs

in other

THE

IN

183

parts of Anatolia, with

the

broad stretches of this longhappy result that many neglected and deserted country will eventually be restored and populousness. to their former fertility Time Asia Minor, which was, as history informs me, when has long been presented in many parts by pictures of utter barrenness and of the most fertile one desolation,was in the world. and productive and flourishing It was from this land, as DeCandolle has shown, that Europe received of its most important fruits and cereals, as well many "

as

of its most

many

Minor

valuable

and

shrubs

From

trees.

Asia

the

peach, the plum, the cherry,and the apricot, the quince and the mulberry, and probably also the apple and the olive. From it also came wheat, barley,oats and came

lucerne

and

for these

doubtless

was

in this

the

led

Crusades

Barbarossa.

abandoned

by the

to take

worthy of

note

cityby

train passed and

there

we

For

over

a

unlike

those

forces

and

storm

was

found

the

on

compel

capitalwe

and

the

of Barbarossa

the famous

reached

city was

the Sultan

found

to

little

chain

of the

that

a

villageswith

by diminutive not

that it

great part of the distance our level plain,sparsely populated. Here

small

were

legend located

by Godfrey de Bouillon

old Seljukian

until

Mountains.

be noted

but the army

enemy,

the

old

an

plants. It

race.

Godfrey's

for peace. After leaving the

Taurus

our

it may

Frederic

sue

of

cultivated

that

leaving Konia

of

forced

useful

reasons

region the cradle

Before route

other

numerous

tracts are

mud-built

of land

everywhere

under

houses

rounded sur-

cultivation,

visible in northern

Mexico. What was

the

impressed

paucity of

to utilize the 12

us

in other and

its inhabitants

marvelous

natural

resources

Plants, p. 439 (Paris, 1885).

C/. his Origin of Cultivated

Botanique Raisonnie

here, as

et seq.

parts of Anatolia, their total of the (New

York;

failure

country. GSographie

Although the

equal to that of France, one-fifthof that of the French Republic.

of Asia

area

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FBOM

184

is but its population And yet the natural

is

Minor

of the country

resources

are

enormous,

properlyconserved would suffice to support several of its presentpopulation.Rich in valuable minerals

and if times

all kinds, its untold

flora,too, is

as

counts

of the world. six of which

of

treasures

stance, oak, for invarieties here than in any other part more in Anatolia, twentyFifty-two speciesoccur varied

as

of valuable If the water,

and

properlyconserved

trees

as

No

it was

every

are

"

states under of

had

and

such

distinct

such

territory. It is

such

seen

host

a

and

eras

Worse but

memorable

wantonly

year

forest

resources

Minor

developed,Asia

country perhaps has

in this

practicallyunknown,

mineral, and

in the

science.

unknown

of one long ago regions of the globe. flourishing be

But

to exist elsewhere.

not known

are

The

it is valuable.

part of the world, forestry is an still Not only is arboriculture thousands

Its

left unmined.

are

ore

the most

stroyed. de-

were

would

again populous and

succession

of perous prosof historical cences, reminisa

such in

various

the

tions distribu-

beginning

of

names history for its barbarian kings and nobles whose stand as commonplaces and proverbs of wealth and luxury. The magnificenceof Pelops imparts lustre even liant to the brildreams of the mythologist. The of Croesus, name King of Lydia a as proverb for his enormous goes riches. Midas, King of Phrygia, had such abundance of the precious metals that he was said by the poets to have the power of turning whatever he touched into gold. The tomb of Mausolus, King of Caria, was of the seven one .

wonders

Bnt

.

.

of the world."

as

it is now,

this

country,once so famed for its wealth powerful and opulent kingdoms,

and its splendidcities, for its Greek

or

'*

Barbarian, of Pontus

BketchtM,Vol. ^^BUt"frical

I, p. 116, 117

and

(bj Cardinal

Bithynia Newman,

and

London,

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

Pergamus

choice volumes*'

is

"

its two

with

Pergamus"

"

so

and

poor

frequently suffer from famine consequent on improvidence and railroad

of the

advent

the

and

promised establishment long materially improve the

and the ere

its

neglected that from

and

people

miseries

all the

failure to utilize the vast

hoped that the introduction of irrigation of an efficient forestry will dition conpresent sad economic will

country, and that fair Anatolia

of the

thousand

hundred

It is to be

their reach.

within

treasures

185

CRUSADERS

THE

OF

once

more

of commerce marts covered, as of yore, with flourishing there are umns now and magnificent cities where crumbling colof Greek temples and scattered fragments of Roman sepulchre of palaces and amphitheaters a veritable be

**

"

the

past." traversed for a considerable The plainwhich we now was distance gravellyland,alternatelymarshy and dry and not infrequently very saline. Rocks of a volcanic character were

often visible.

here

and

there

camels

and

There

littleevidences

were

long droves occasional

and

of

heavily

flocks and

of life

burdened of

herds

except

donkeys wandering

Turkomans. in the deserts

of camels

Trains

always had

a

of Asia

peculiar fascination

trains of the Peruvian

and

for

Bolivian

me.

Andes

and

Africa

Like

they

the seem

have llama to be

and to the work speciallyadapted to their environment the invento perform. Before tion which they are called upon of the steam all but engine both, in their sphere, were

Cf. Discovery in Greek Lands, p. 57 et aeq. (by F. H. Marshall. Cambridge, See also A Century of ArchoBological Discoveries, p. 166 ff. (by A. 1920). York. 1908). Michaelis, New 14

journey through Anatolia than the during our Roman author a once wrote, superb cities of which Magnificas Asice perreximus urhes. until they were unknown the sites were covered of these even recently disThe site of the of famous the Europe. archaeologists temple of by

Nothing utter

Of

many

Diana

at

structure in

impressed

Asia

Paestum, monuments ancient

Ephesus once

was

Minor

does

Girgenti,

not

was

classed one

and

in Athens,

Greek

more

us

of those

destruction

as

identified one

of the

until seven

find

1869.

although

wonders

of the

anything to compare Segesta which, with the are

architecture

the in

most

remarkable

existence.

with

the

this

world.

celebrated Nowhere

stately temples exception of the wonderful and best preserved groups

of of

TO

BERLIN

FROM

186

AND

BAGDAD

sure-footed llama

the indispensable"

oil

BABYLON

dizzy mountain

camel in torrid,interminable heights,the thirst-resisting of the locomotive these deserts. Even since the appearance in demand as as much ever. nsefnl animals are apparently

Foriin

addition to

merchandise,as formerly, transporting

they are stillin constant use in exist, goods to such roads as are alreadyin operation. delivering In the regionof which I am now speaking, one, at times, gees only three or four camels at most ; at others there are where railroads do not

a

hundred

or

allloaded to the limit of endurance.

more,

But

they appear in the gray, barren,undulatingplain, they,with their drivers,at once give life and color to the landscapewhich is else but a dull study in monochrome. Their leader is usuallya dirty, key unkempt, diminutive doncontrast to the statelyanimals that subin marked missively

whenever

"

follow him somnolent red

"

^which is

bestridden by frequently

Turk

wearing a faded old fez and trousers,with his legsreachingalmost to

As the

graduallyapproaches one

a

voluminous the

ground.

hears the

jingling and the light-stepping donkey clangingof largerbells of the heavy,lurchingcamel. But we also caravan

of the bellsof the the

presentlydiscover that both donkey and camels are decked with gaudy trappings adorned with beads and cowrie shells.

These,however,are

not

solelyfor ornament, as

suppose, but rather to avert the evil eye

East,is even

more

one

might

which,in the Near

dreaded than itis in any part of southern

Italy. How

the camel

^

times

even

when

carries

one

back to

patriarchaltimes,to known was only

the domesticated horse

in warfare I As a longline of betasselled camels came near our train one day,they seemed by their sneers and the lofty manner in which they held up their heads to be conscious of their ancient lineage and to resent the trespassing by the Bagdad Railwayon what was long their exclusive domain. But to judgeby the general appearance of the country" the old patchedtents, the reed huts,the hovels of unbaked mud, the peculiargarb of the the people, primitivemethods of

memorable

celebrated them,

poeticalmasterpieces that have but think the subject of the cannot

we

is

Delivered

Jerusalem

BABYLON

the

and

wars

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

188

than

wonderful

more

that

of

theniai."" several passes important of them

There

are

the most

this celebrated pass Asia

and

Syria

is the famous

Minor,

has

been

long known

one

From

Cilician Gates.^^

PyUe Cilicue,or

the

as

through the Taurus, but by far

the

time

gateway between Asia

southwestern

between

morial imme-

and

Assyrians,Hittites,Persians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Crusaders passed through them. Asurbanipal, Cyrus the Great, and defiles. Sapor I led their armies through their narrow Cyrus the Younger and Xenophon pushed their way through to fateful Cunaxa. them on their way Alexander, Cicero, Harun-al-Rashid led their armies through this narrow southeastern Europe.

It

passage.

Crusaders

also traversed

was

by St. Paul, by hosts of the

by pilgrimsinnumerable

and

from

the

earliest

of the Church.

ages

On

our

of Alexander of Bozanti.

and

Here

from

eastward

followed

we

the Crusaders

in the footsteps

far

as

as

the Vale

the

the

through the

passes

the Taurus

across

way

Bagdad Railway diverges slightly old military and trade route which

Cilician Gates.

the old historic route

to

As

low preferred to folpassing through nearly eleven we

miles of

railwaytunnels,we left the train at Bozanti Khan proceeded by carriagethrough the Cilician Gates to

and

Tarsus.

We

were

well

had, in

of

drives

one

world.

On

dothed

with

repaid for so doing,for we the most mountain delightful

each

side of the road

forests of pine and risingfar above these was the ""

Ibid.,p. 258.

("CaIM

bj Clctro Tauri^Pyla,

were

other

quence, conse-

in the

towering heights evergreens,

sky-piercingsummit

while of

IN

OF

FOOTSTEPS

THE

Bulgar Dagh

Further

whiteness.

with

covered on

our

a

THE mantle

And To

jaws,

the

overhang

snow

abrupt

pass

of

dazzling

expands

mountain

with its accumulated

seems

of

189

way The

Its strong

CRUSADERS

breaks,

crags,

the world.

give life and variety to the majestic scene, we saw circlingthe fantastic peaks and hovering above the of great barenecked beetling crags in quest of prey, a number to be fully as large as the vultures,which seemed rivals of the condor lammergeier of the Alps and no mean And,

as

if to

of the Andes.

The

narrow

gorge

perfectlyto Cicero

known

as

the

Cilician Gates

answers

appellationof Pylae-Tauri,gateway of And it corresponds almost the Taurus. equally well with he declares it **but Xenophon's description of it when broad enough for a chariot to pass with great difficulty." which rushes On both sides of the mountain torrent along the historic roadway are lofty and almost vertical precipices that could easilybe so fortified as to convert it into a could hold a large Thermopylae, where a handful of men indeed at bay. It was by fortressing this pass that army Ali was Mehemet long able,in defiance of the power of the Turkish Sultan, to retain control of Syria. Shortly after emerging from the PylaB Ciliciae we catch first view of the famed Cilician Plain, the Cilicia Camour pestris,which occupies so large a page in the history of this Through it we see coursing like silver part of the world. the Sarus, the the distant rivers of familiar names bands in the vicinity of The road Pyramus, and the Cydnus. is fringed with forests of pine and the pass plane trees, flows a leaping,laughoutstretched branches under whose ing, tuneful stream which is ever making the same gladsome it did when music St. Paul passed this way as bearing the joyfultidingsof the Gospel to the receptivepeoples of Asia Minor. But as we near the plainwe note a marked change *s

"

BERLIN

PROM

190

TO

AND

BAGDAD

Vegetation is not only in character. semi-tropical

in climate.

more

almost

The

with

laurel,bay, cedar, evergreen

olive. with

There

thickets of

are

wild vines

and

luxuriant road

but

and

which

is

is bordered

oak, wild fig,and

myrtle

creepers,

BABYLON

oleander

wild

draped

greatly enhance

of the enchantingscene. pictaresqueness in all the verdure It was along this road, embowered bloom of a semi-tropical and climate,that the weary

the

and sore foot-

Crusaders

passed after their long and toilsome march through the burning desert of Phrygia. Now that they had crossed the formidable Taurus, the greatest barrier athwart their long line of march, and were at last about to tread the sacred soil of the Holy Land, we can easilyimagine the joy with which they chanted their favorite hymns, the enthusiasm with which they filled the air with their war cry, Dieu le vetdt. Clad in polished armor, shiningbrightlyin the Syrian sun, and exultantlymarching under their great banners, they form a magnificentpageant, worthy of the chivalry of the Ages of Faith and of the noble cause in which they have magnanimously pledged fortune and life. And as

the Christian host

above pictures, liliesof

moves

onward

towards

its

goal, '*one

the lines of

steel,the English leopards,the France, the great sable eagle of the Empire and

then the other coats of the rons great houses of Europe" chevand f esses and pales''" ever triumphantlyapproaching the Holy City until at last

they are

above the

Holy Sepulchre the

crosses, argent the arms of the Still

and

or,

followingin

unearthly, wonderful

the five as

potent

should

be

the

most

city of Tarsus, the was

with

heavenlyJerusalem.''

after the fi^lly, old fhis

banner

privilegedto ''plant

footstepsof the Crusaders we delightfulof drives,arrived at the birthplaceof St. Paul the Apostle.

the firstcityin which

Baldwin

and Bohemond and flew their colors after crossing the had followed in their footstepsa

tye Taner^ laonu. We

the Brave

ortlie

romantic

way

from

great part

the

legend-wrappedBosphorus

Cydnus-the Cydnus

in which

Alexander

to

the

so

im-

FOOTSTEPS

THE

IN

OF

prudentlybathed, where

THE

CRUSADERS

191

Cleopatra met Anthony and where

legend long had it that Barbarossa truth of history bids us declare in whose hero footstepswe had

lost his life. But that

the

this

great German so closelyfollowed from the far-off Danube his embarkation on perished not in the waters of the Cydnus but in those of the Calycadnus, several "

"

miles

score

to

of the

northwest

the

more

famed

Cilician

Gieuk Calycadnus the modern that Gu kingship, perished the noblest type of German the Kaiser history and legend have so Redbeard, of whom he met his fate was fabled The spot where to tell. much the to have been indicated long ages before by a rock near said to bear the portentous words river 's source, which was maximus Hie homhium perihit ^here shall perish the It

stream.

then

was

in the

"

**

"

' '

"

greatest of

men.

although history had declared that the heroic Romishis admiring subjectsknew better. cher Kaiser was no more, Like Charlemagne, Desmond of Kilmallock, Sebastian I of he still Brazil,Napoleon Bonaparte, and other worthies,'^" in the fulness lives,but has retired into strict seclusion till, of time, **he shall come again full twice as fair and rule his people." According to one is over legend the monarch fast asleep in the castle of Bordenstein, or in the vaults of the old palace of Kaiserslautern. But according to another the under slumber legend, he is held by enchanted Kyffhauser mountain. All,however, agree that he sits But

Taciturn, sombre, sedate and before

table

* *

through which his fiery-redbeard has which it has coiled nearly to the floor,or around grown itself nearly three times." Here, like King Arthur, of 20

Aa

crowned advent

a

stone

grave,

legend and

has

armed

of Anti-Christ

Bonaparte,

it is

it, Charlemagne and

girt with

when

he

will

sleeps in Odenberg, in Hesse, where trusty sword, La Joyeuse, he awaits the

awake

and

deliver

Christendom.

parts of France, will again return to restore the country to its pristineglory. When Louis the Napoleon submitted under that the vote their plebisciteto the countrymen, many impression gave it was in support of his famous uncle. supposed

in

his certain

192

FROM

whom

it

he

rests

is

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

Mr^wru5

written/

AND

quondam

rex

BABYLON

rexque

until

In Hath A

need voice

from

The

solid

Through

all

The

horns

The

wild

Shall The

Shall

the

of

war

fling

of

Barbarossa

the

blare

of

his come

beard. shall

rise

cries;

that

their

champion

air

battle

blood

weird)

shaggy

startled

Teutonic

start,

accents

*s

wake.

dispart,

splinters

those

and

chair,

sleeper

shall in

recess

vaults his

the

Kaiser

the

dim

round

slab to

deep

the

trance

he,

as

mountain's

mountain

loose

old

of

ravens

(Responsive

The

distress

his

granite

And

her

through

spectral

And

such

the

ring

Oermany

when

warriors

tell

pierce

Shall

The

of

to

Shall

The

day

dark

some

could

once

stir

Berserker, abroad, own

and

Almain, again.

then

"

scare

futurus/'

CHAPTER IN

HISTORIC

IX CAMPESTRIS

CILICIA

Domes, minarets, their spiry heads that rear, Mocking with gaudy hues the ruins near; Dim and marble crumbling colonnades walls, Rich columns, broken statutes,rooflesshalls; Beauty, deformity,together thrown, A maze of ruins,date,design unknown "

Such

is the scene,

It is doubtful

history has been

the conquest Time hath Nicolas

whether,

in any in less

condensed

won.

Michel.

part of the world, than

more

in the

picturesque region formerly called Cilicia. Roughly speaking, it and by the Mediterranean comprised the trianglebordered area

of the Taurus and Amanus Its Mountains. loftyranges rich alluvial plains,watered by the celebrated Cydnus and Pyramus, Sarus, and Pinarus, early attracted a large population, climate who found there not only a mild and serene abundance the plants and but also a soil that yielded in rare the

fruits

most

although

useful

to their

the economical

by Strabo

and

sustenance

value

Cilicia Campestris

"

of the ^was

comfort.

Cilician Plain

great, it was

But, "

called

rather

the

politicaland military importance of this country that made it the prize of contending nations from the earliest dawn of history. In the days when Hittite and Assyrian fiercelycontended for universal empire long "

Ere

Rome

highway between royal road between

it

was

the

It

was

the

was

heard

was

the martial

built

or

tread

smiled

Asia

fair Athen's Minor

Persia

and and

of the armies 193

charms

Mesopotamia.

Greece of

on

which

Xerxes, Cyrus,

II"

Barneses

and Alexander.

Napoleon

Asurbanipal" the

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

194

the of

Napoleon Assyria"

BABYLON of

Egypt"

led

and

their

torious vic-

along this road and, like the warriors who had in the fertile precededthem, found subsistence for their men hosts

valleysof the Pyramus and the Cydnus. It

frequent sanguinary conflicts during

field of

days of Zenobia, the It

**

Sassanian

the

and

Byzantine Emperors

the

Timur

was

a

between

during protractedwars

of strife

arena

a

the

Pompey and Cicero, of Mark Anthony and rarely giftedbut ill-fated Queen of the East/' continued

also

was

Kings,

tween be-

and

Jenghiz Khan, and, in the Sultan of Constantinopleand his recent times,between Pasha of Egyptambitious and rebellious viceroy,Ibrahim Three of the decisive battles of the world war were fought the Osmanlis

It

the Cilician Plain.

on

that Alexander

won

victorythat

gave

a

and

of the

was

his memorable

region between Euphrates and paved the way made

continent.

was

It

him

Septimus Severus

when

**the

game

the

control

and

the

triumph

of the world

's

at

greatest

five hundred

years

his rival Pescennius

natives

of Asia."

historic

more, of the West

Mediterranean

than

more

crushed

the

"

Niger,

troops of Europe asserted their usual ascendant

the effeminate

once

Darius

victoryover

for the brilliant

the master

here that

later

over

of the Pinarus

the irresistible Macedonian

vast

Arbela, which

the banks

on

spot that Heraclius in a most signalmanner, over

And

defeated showed

it

was

on

Chosroes the

this and

superiority

the East.

But in addition to its celebrity as

the theater

for world

like so many Cilicia, other supremacy, have described in the preceding pages, is noted of romance, of myths, and

of contests

regions we as

a

field

legends innumerable.

Among

the

strange romances

that still await

novelist and historian is that connected life and deeds of the Turkoman All Uin

Uglu,who

a

with

the pen of the extraordinary

freebooter,Kutchuk

century ago had his stronghold in the

moun-

fastnesses near Issus. Here, during forty years, he openly defied the authorityof the Porte and the Great

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

196

consul was only a few months later that this same arrested and imprisoned by the audacious freebooter. And, had long notwithstanding the cordial friendship which It

was

the two

existed between liberate his

men,

prisoner until

the ruthless marauder

extorted

he had

from

did not

him

a

very

large ransom. of the hapincarceration And less during the eight months' consul,Kutchuk Ali was it from shame for ill-treating visited his hapless victim or old friend? never once an him to his presence. admitted But, to show the character of this singularbrigand,he did not fail, ant, through his lieutenof sympathy and conto send to his prisoner words solation. "

"

Tell him

[the captor said] that unfortunatelymy coifers were empty when fate brought him into this territory ; but let him not despair,God is great and mindful of us. Such misfortunes and

him

be of

and

inseparablefrom

are

from

the lot of all born

good cheer

; a

Abdul

Rahman

mercy,

and

all

right

came

at

of

of

men

to fillhigh stations.

similar doom

during nine months Pasha; but I

once

the fate

has twice

in the never

been

condemned

despaired

last,"^Wa

^anm"

nown, re-

Bid

mine, cell of

of

God's God

ig

bountiful.^ When of

one

is told that Kutchuk

Ali,during his fortyyears

desperado's life,never had more than two hundred men, and frequentlya far less number, it seems incredible that he was so long "ble to defy not only the Porte but even the greatest of Europe. But we powers forget that the notorious Calal)ian bandit.Era Diavolo, during the same a

period and with It

wa"

"

much

smaller

band

of

outlaws,was wantonly perpetratingsimilar atrocities in southern Italy.And only a few generations earlier that the notorious

CapUm the

a

naval

Kuld power

roving the high

was

seas

of the civilizedworld.

Barker, op. eit.,p.

82.

in open

defiance of

IN

CILICIA

HISTORIC

CAMPESTRIS

197

popular legends in Cilicia is that of the Seven Sleepers. According to the Christian version they brothers who fell asleep in a cave near Ephesus seven were during the persecutionof the Emperor Decius, and did not II awake until the time of Theodosius nearly two hundred however, contend that the years later. The Mohammedans, of the most

One

"

in which

cave

ten miles

this

preternaturalevent Because

of Tarsus.

northwest

was

about

of the prominence

Koran, the Cilician cave the Moslems has become a favorite place of pilgrimage. among Mohammed has, however, elaborated the story by of the Seven Sleepers and introducing the dog Al Rakim the

Prophet gives the legend in

occurred

"

descantingon

the

the

"

that Allah

care

took

of the bodies

of the

sleepersduring their long, miraculous sleep." But it is in classical legend and myth that Cilicia is the mouth of the Pyramus, near speciallyrich. It was according to Homer, that Bellerophon, after his fall from

Pegasus, Forsook

hy heaven, forsaking humankind, fieldhe chose to stray, A long,forlorn,uncomfortable way. Wide

o'er the Aleian

Mopsuestia,which

formerly one of the largest and most fabled to have been was flourishingcities of Cilicia, founded of during the Trojan war by Mopsus, the son Manto and Apollo, while Adana, the most important commercial center on the Sarus and the Bagdad Railway, owes its name, legend has it,to Adam, its fabulous founder. A notable feature of the history of Cilicia is the number of crowned within

heads

died

or

found

their last restingplace

its borders.

died of fever at

Constantius, the son of Constantino, Tarsus, while marching Mopsucrene, near

legend about people sleeping preternatural lengths of time has an in both the East nations and the West. place in the folklore of many We have already noted the traditions the long sleeps of Barbarossa, concerning But other Charlemagne, Napoleon, and other distinguishedcharacters many instances tales in might be enumerated showing the prevalence of similar lands the sleepers of Sardis, mentioned from by Aristotle,to Rip Van many Winkle, immortalized by Washington Irving. 8

The

who

was

honored

198

TO

BERLIN

FROM

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

rival,Julian the Apostate. It was peror, body of the Apostate Emthat the embalmed to Tarsus who had been transfixed by a Persian javelinbeyond in Tarsus that the Tigris, was brought for burial. It was Maximinus, the last of the great persecutors of the Church, the Great, died in the greatest agony Constantine prece"ling of a frightfuldisease a visitation, accordingto many, for and

againsthis nephew

"

persecutionsof the blasphemies against their

his barbarous horrible was,

informed

are

we

Tarsus, where celebrated

which

his monument

himself

"

and

for his

Savior.

remains

to the Greeks

was

the famous

was

monarch

the mortal

Assyrian ruler known

napalus. On

Lord

and

It

by Strabo, at Anchiale, the port of entombed

were

Christians

a

stone

of

the

Sarda-

as

beneath

statue

epitaph attributed to the Assyrian ^which,as rendered by Byron in his "

tragedy **Sardanapalus,'' ran: Sardanapalus, The In

King

and

son

of Ancyndaraxes

built Anchiale

and Tarsus, day Eat, drink and love; the rest's not worth one

Asurbanipal,accordingto

a

fillip*

this

which was inscription posed supin a few words the guiding principlesof this life, evidentlybelonged to that class of Europeans who are seeminglybecoming daily more of whom the numerous to express

poet speaks in the words

:

Esse

aliquosmanes

Vix

pueri credunt,^

et

sulterranea regnd

The population of Cilicia, as might be expected from

having been from time immemorial naUons of the Orient and the

the great

of the

arena

has always Occident,

^^ Alexander, t^^Bi^^i^il^Z'Ji' ^"''^L?^ U.".^" -^^"^"^/

JTSTj^ "

been

II, 6.

""^ ABsyrian discoveries, ?f r*.! S i?^^ I*'^?* Ch" rLlkH*^^' r^ j^y ^- Kinns. London. 1891). J ""

see

V

ttrjf Dojft ictll

laugh

and

"ay

you

rave.

its

For

of

an

Graven

HISTORIC

IN the most

CAMPESTRIS

CILICIA

cosmopolitancharacter.

In ancient

199

times

Medes

Persians, Assyrians and Babylonians, Scythians and bent on the purpose Hittites foregatheredhere, sometimes of commerce but more frequently on the prosecution of war and conquest. To-day we find here Syrians and Arabians, and Ansaryii, Turkomans Greeks and Armenians, Kurds and

Osmanlis, and representativesfrom divers parts of it this heterogeneous character Africa and Europe. Was rise to their widespread repuof the Cilicians which gave tation

and

perfidyand untruthfulness dicet? proverb Cilix hand facileverum for

and

that led to the

Knowing the complex character of its inhabitants, one is cians not surprised to learn that the gods and idols of the Cilithe people themselves manifold and that as were as all the promiscuity of the divers their worship exhibited Baal and Astarte, Isis, whence nations from they came. Ishtar,and Osiris had their altars alongside those of Mars and Mercury, Zeus and Aphrodite. There indeed, a was, time

just before

"

the

advent

of

the

world's

Redeemer

"

Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia, truth,the pantheon of paganism. was, in very During the zenith of its glory,Cilicia was one of the most But it has long densely populated countries in the world. since so fallen from its high estate that, like the lands of the Nile and the Euphrates, it is a region of ruins. So great of time and warring mortals indeed have been the ravages that ruins of cities, evidently of an age after Alexander, in history,at this day, astonish the adventurous yet barely named traveler by their magnificence and elegance. hundred thousand two counted Mopsuestia, which once inhabitants,was an archbishopricand for a time the capital of the Kingdom of Lesser Armenia, now numbers less than the home thousand. of the poet a Anazarbas, which was Oppian and Dioscorides who, during fifteen centuries was an undisputed authority in botany and materia medica, has

when

it could

be

said that

**

' ' "

' *

6

History of Qreeoe, Vol. X,

p. 311

(by

W.

Mitfprd, London, 1810).

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

200

is this all. Of

Nor

' '

long since been level ^vith the ground. proconsul places mentioned by Cicero,when he was many the sites are unknown. even of Cilicia, by its legendary and Because of the strong appeal made

lingeredlonger in Tarsus than in any other ited visother places we spot in the Cilician plain. Like many is as rich in myth and journey, Tarsus during our

historic lore

Tarsus

myth.

one

associations.

founded

was

Jupiterand Danae, while

of

son

to

historical

literary and

it is in

legend as According the

we

by Perseus,

his fabled

on

expedition

so against the Gorgons. Another has it that the city was because named Pegasus, the winged horse of Olympus, of his pinions.^ Josephus, however, dropped there one identifies it with the Tarshish of the Old Testament, whence and Solomon the ships of Hiram brought their treasures of

and gold." tin,silver,

From

IT, we

learn that

under

Salmanasar

B. C.

It

Tarsus

their

and

when

he went

Centuries

in

"

passed by

with

a

Tb"

on

a

of

and Parisii,

Greek

word

and

Tarsus and

commerce "

^was

as

little island in the

ditch and

slaves,and its duction the legendary introalphabet by Cadmus

runaway

of the Phoenician

Ville Lumiere

huts

Qallic

"

La

and

London

but

was

rampart*^' and

great and literaryactivity.While yet only a collection of Seine, inhabited by the became

veatiired

solve

fortified

occupied by half -savage,

for pinion ia taraoa.

probablymiKled to

a

*'a thick wood

"Cf. Joeephut.Antiquitiea of the Jeica, I. 6; VIII. MMVfte

Capitoline

the

on

the

quest of Europa.

center flourishing

mud

erected

century,

before

several centuries

probably laid before

was

into Greece

Paris

Remus

sanctuary for homicides

foundation

of the ninth

the middle

in existence

mjihical Romulus

of Salmanasar

captured by the Assyrians

was

about

thus

was

Obelisk

the Black

inscriptionon

an

wlmt

huu

7. 2.

The

of the hy the similarityof sounds always been a riddle to historians

Jewish words

two

and

hisand

Scripture

ronmeotatont.

""*Ol.pldtimautem ""

' "

"*'

Df

BriUnnl n"w

vocant," says Ccesar, referring to the capital London, "cum sylvas impeditas vallo atque fossa

iiu-ur"loncii liostium itenu

uaMicu, Lib. V, Cap. 2L

vitanda

causa

convenire

consuerunt.'*

IN

woad-stained

thought and

and

CAMPESTEIS

Britons, Tarsus ranked as a knowledge with the world-famed Its schools

Alexandria.'^^

by

CILICIA

HISTORIC

of

numbers

vast

and

students

gymnasium,

while its agora

and

Socrates,drew

large

lecture

center

of

of Greek

Athens cities, rooms

from

quented fre-

were

far and

in Athens

as

concourses

201

in the

near,

days of and old,

people, young

of the only the current news science,and philosophy. day, but also questions of literature, Empire as a throughout the Eoman Although famed and as civitas libera et mimunis a free city a capitaland of eastern trade, its proudest boast was a great emporium found scholars. Here were that it was a cityof schools and Here were phers philosopoets and orators of marked eminence. Platonists of many schools.Stoics and Peripatetics, to discuss

assembled

who

not

"

"

Epicureans

and

"

their enthusiastic

followers

and

problems which of thoughtful men from their

have

all with

all seriously discussing the the attention

engaged to

our

time

own.

In the

long list of

luster to its

name

Athenodori, one and

same

the

other

men as

produced by Tarsus, teacher

had been

of whom the

of

friend

of

or

students, were the tutor

Cato

and

who

added

the

two

of Julius Caesar

the

instructor

of

the Academicians Stoics. Among Augustus. These were the preceptor of Marcellus, the son of was Nestor, who was of Tarsus, Octavia,sister of Augustus. Other eminent men the philosophers, Archimedes mentioned by Strabo, were and Antipater,the latter of whom was highly praised by the most Cicero, and who, next to Zeno, was as consi(^ered of the Stoics. There also Strabo, the great eminent were and Artemidorus, geographer, the grammarians Diodorus and the poets Dionysides and Aratus, from whose poem, **Ph"enomena,''St. Paul quoted the pregnant words, **For His offspring,"in his epochal address too are to the we the Areopagus. Athenians on full of learned men from was According to Strabo, Rome Tarsus, in whose schools,as has been well said,was taught 10

strabo, Geography, XIV,

51.

in its

which

from

course STstematic

dopedia."" But the floweringof so and religion was philosophy William

providential.Sir

the

in

borne

the

to educate

and

time make

the

convinced

so

during long study

who

should

world, and raise that world up to level the Hebrew people and the spiritual

sympathize with

to

of

in due

to intelligible

race

Gneco-Roman level of

of this

Its peculiar suitability

...

the Jewish

religionof

of preparation in

of him

the mind

mould

**ency-

geographical environment

cities.

and

of the Cilician lands

word

our

suitable place that has

one

society and

of

conditions

is

the present writer

on

the instruction,

tiles." Apostle of the Gento have been birthplaceseems

Ramsay

that he writes '*that it was been

get

we

ages many the great '*

selection of his

The

circle of

whole

completeness the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

202

the

the moral of

ability

religionin its perfected the citywhose institutions was

the Hebrew

8tage,lay in the fact that Tarsus best and most completely united the oriental and the western

character.

perfect; that

was

the two But

the Tarsian

.

.

in Tarsus

even

impossible so long

was

elements

that

Not .

inharmonious

were

state

was

the religionof

as

and

mutually hostile.

successful

more

the union

than

other of the great cities of that time in in which the oriental society,

producing an

spiritin

to

union

attained in

thought and action.

the

guided by

a

Greek

degree

In others the Greek

always anti-Semitic, was on attaining supremacy Tarsns

some

and

too and

strong and

crushingout

qualitiesand

societywhich

was

on

powers

of the

any

gamated amal-

the occidental

higher plainof which was spirit, a

too all

resolutelybent opposition. In used

were

the whole

more

and

Asiatic

in character."" In Tarsus

the future apostlecame

into close contact

with

the greatest teachers and scholars of his time, and was thus prepared to enter the intellectual arena with the keenest minds of Greece and Rome. Being, as he could

proudly

St. Paul t"i^fiil^^^?is^'L^'^*^iF^^'^^** Appendix on

(ImSUvtSl)

*''

^^^^^^^^

^'^

^^

and Seneca, p. 271. ^*/" """"^ Thought, pp. 88, 89

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAU

TO

BERLIN

FROM

204

And of foreignlands. of yore, laden with the treasures that Cleopatra abandoned stream up this now yet it was the to answer Bailed in her gorgeous barge when she came as

surpassing triumvir is admirably address, she led captivethe great described by Shakespeare, who, following Plutarch, paints

pictureof her entrance into Tarsus, which was dazzling splendorof oriental magnificence:

the famous then in the

barge she

The Burnt

them

With

hurnisht

throne, beaten gold,

a

love-sick.

were

the

silver, of fluteskept stroke which they beat,to followfaster, were

oars

to the tune

Which

'As

in, like

the water; the poop was the sails and so perfumed that

winds

made

And

sat

on

Purple The

by her

How,

Anthony.

challenge of Mark

amorous

the water

of their strokes.

For

her

own

person

she did lie It beggaredall description, cloth of gold,of tissue, pavilion, OUrpicturing that Venus, where we see

In her

fancy outwork

The

side her

Stood

pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,

With

divers-colored

old

capitalof

historic

those which

did seem. they did cool.

wind

fans whose

To glow the delicate cheeks And what they undid did.

The

each

On

nature.

which

ful is,of truth,a cityof a wonderall her proud memories among

Cilicia

past. But have made

her best known

throughout the

ages of her

longest are not those and abounding wealth and luxury, her superb monuments palacesand temples,long in ruins ; not those that clustered and

which

will endure

the

aroiind her poets and philosophersand made

sanctuary of the Muses and her one-time Alexandria

as

the home

; not

a

favored

those of her schools and

eminence of

her

as

nasia gym-

and

the rival of Athens

learningand

culture

; not

those

of Persian as

satraps and Roman proconsuls who here lived the famed representativesof imperial authoj'ity; not

those awakened

by

the presence

an Asurbanipal, Alexander,or

a

within

Cicero

her ; not

gates of those

an

associ-

CILICIA

HISTORIC

IN

ated with the love-enmeshed * ^

^ '

and

debasing passion

a

which

of

a

he bore

to whom

is that she

who

Jerusalem

from

witness

of

servant

that

No;

the birthplace

was

disowned

was

the bond

he became

family because

foiled ambition.

a

tent maker

poor

the fateful

and

Anthony

immortal

her

has rendered

Mark

both perished the ignoble victims

Siren of the Nile, who

of

205

CAMPESTRIS

by his own the Crucified,

to Rome

;

of

one

who, while preaching the good tidingsof the Gospel, toiled night and day lest he should **be chargeable to any one^'; one who, while preaching the Kingdom of God, was accused of Jews turning the world upside by the Thessalonian down'';^* one who, during his long and fruitful apostolate his almost and superhuman labors in the service of his the frequent victim Master, gloried in persecution and was of stripesand chains and imprisonment ; one who the was '*

fearless

teacher

the

and

Church, and whose centuries,been

strong supporter

of

the

infant

matchless

teen Epistles have, during ninethe guide of doctors and professors; who wrote his own one epitaph when he declared **To me to live is Christ,and to die is gain, and who, in the capital of the CsBsars,won an Apostle's exceeding great reward whom his contemporaries knew a as martyr 's crown ; one Saul, otherwise Paul,^"of Tarsus. ' '

"

in Cilicia I made

While

Armenian

regarding the Europe and America

truth

convinced

Turkish

Acts

to ascertain that

massacre

I had

in 1909.

to horror

so

the

stirred

long been respecting

reports circulated like the reports disseminated atrocities in Cilicia, that

throughout 14

specialeffort

a

of

most

the world

of the

the

regarding

Apostles, xvii

similar atrocities

other

so

6.

;

to the Romans, the Epistle of 8t. Paul on declares "I honor Rome of : orators, Chrysostom, greatest pulpit other counts; acfor this reason; for, though I could celebrate her praises on many for her wealth, for for her greatness, for her beauty, for her power, all these things, I glorify her for this her warlike exploits, yet, passing over and loved them, and to the Romans, in his lifetime wrote that St. Paul 15

In

one

of his beautiful

St. John

homilies

the

"

reason,

present among

was

Wherefore

them. on

this

other

Tom

account

them the

and

city is

I admire

conversed on

this

her, not

on

Oeuvres splendid decorations." 308 1871). (Paris, XVI, p.

with

them,

and

account

renowned

account

of her

Completes

de

ended

his

more

gold, her Saint

life among all others; her columns or

than

Jean

Chrysostome,

TO

BAGDAD

frequentlyascribed

to the

Turks,

them

of Armenian

since 1885

that in

grew

Minor,

and their innocent

themselves As

the result of my

my

previous views

of

conviction in Asia

massacres

their riotous

countrymen

investigationsI not

were

the

of Constantinople in 1896, **the

in that

as

revolutionaries, by

Annenian

And

probably the majority

well

as

most, if not all,of

that

propaganda,

Nihilist

Russian

inspiredby

parte accounts

ex

ties recallingthe activiof them revolutionists, many

greatlyexaggerated.

were

were

and

actually occurred

had

of what

BABYLON

AND

BERLIN

FROM

a06

am

action,had

put

outside the law.'' satisfied that

now

foundation.

without

in Cilicia

organized, it was averred, by of Salonica the Moslem Jews surpassed in frightfulness 's long and any that had taken place during Abdul-Hamid troubled understands reign. When, therefore,one the origin of the Cilician massacre, one safely conjecture may The

massacre

"

"

the

of

cause

have

so

But,

most, if

shocked in

the world

matter

a

not

all,of the others

during the

of such

import

the terrors

of the

Turkey

which

last four decades. as

I prefer to give the views Cilicia when

in

great

the

under

one

of those

who

sideration, con-

visited

in Adana

massacre

stillfresh in the memory of everyone, who by long or residence in Armenia well acquainted with its people are

were

and

thoroughlyfamiliar

are

Armenians

resort

of the Ottoman

in order

with

well of

which

to

achieve

an

English traveler who studying the question

exceptional opportunities for IS

to

measures

their

independence

Empire.

Many influences [writes who

the

disposed towards

the

Armenians]

went

had and

to the

the

njaking

(Cilician) some massacre, more or less, the obwmre, part taken in planning it by the Turkish Jews of Salonika and others belongingto the deeper causes or faith and race which ever underlie these horrible affairs. some local and exhibited the inconceivable were dom unwisas

^at

which with

Armenians Moslems.

so

often

displayin

their larger dealings

HISTORIC

IN

CILICIA

CAMPESTRIS

Cilicia [known during the Crusades is

district closely connected

a

and

independence; which

in

the

downfall

of

here,

the

followed

with

207

Lesser

as

Armenia]

Armenian

history and period of liberty

sudden

Abdul-Hamid,

Armenians

their

aspirations. Their clubs and meeting-places were loud with boastings of what was Post cards to follow. soon were printed showing a map of the future Armenian kingdom of Cilicia and circulated nationalists marched through the Ottoman post. Armenian in procession in the streets bearing flagspurporting to be to life again. The name the flag of Lesser Armenia come of the future king was bandied about, no aloof nebulous Armenian land but, it is said, a well-kno^vn personage, of the Cilician plain,held in peculiar disfavor owner by the Moslems. was Giving a fuller meaning to these matters the steady assertion that an Armenian gathering in army the mountains of rumor like an by Hajin and Zeitun army the legendary Royalist Army of Jales which terrorized ^would presently march Adana revolutionary France upon and set up an Armenian kingdom again. unrestrained

gave

to

vent

"

"

Sober

Armenians

of Cilicia tell you that these pronow ceedings folly,the work of revolutionary societies and

were

hot-heads

and

that

But

held aloof.

approved

was

the

there and

of the Armenian

mass

be

can

supported by

the

and

many,

movement

intended

to

in

it had

; that

that

doubt

no

population

fact,got beyond the desired to go more control both of those who slowly and those who disapproved of it altogether.^* the whole

involve

is here

What

who

know

their lurid atrocities

"^^

Across

1917).

them

of

in certain

Asia

same

Minor

best

do

not

frequent

on

as

Foot,

those

pp.

be

affirmed

Armenia.

For

hesitate

to declare

that

inevitably recurrent

Minor

which

35, 351

truth

of

Greater

and

parts of Asia way

revolutionaries

greater

even

compatriots of

accounts

in the

with

can

their seditious

those

hot-brained

said of the

Armenia

Lesser of

race

(by

are

preted inter-

first published

were

W.

to be

J.

Childs,

New

York,

and

of Adana

horrors

regardingthe

Constantinoplein

in 1909, and of

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

208

other towns

of Cilicia

We

1896."

sided get only oneingly reports,if not glar-

reports respectingthem, which exaggerated,are in nearly all instances Turk. bloodthirsty'' condemnation of the

in severest

**

No

probablyhas her people

one

and

a

Questionthan has the G. Hogarth, sometime

the Armenian

study of

made

has

or

key knowledge of Turmore thoughtful

accurate

more

a

traveler

noted

fellow in the David Orientalist, Universityof Oxford. With an experience of several years in Armenia, he frankly declares,writing of the Armenian

and

Question: So far

as

this vexed

I understand

the graver trouble is the presence which of the defiant Kurdish race fattest and

the flocks are Armenian's

an a

for

The

Whatever

that

in

of

t"rror

in

Constantinoplewhich

so

in his

horrified

on

sent

the

up

is

does

Cross, for

nor

the other

nor

war

the Kurd

peace. neither of Crescent

emblem

one

massacre

like

cutting

leaguingwith him in a in common the troops resisting

the sake

bears neither

IT

villageswhere

fair,now

most

women

the Sultan's

to restore

of Armenia

in the heart

raids the

of

source

throat,now

hostile tribe and

done

the

matter, the

he

heart, but

civilized

world

provoked by the revolutionary activities of the Armenians. After their intention of applying the having boldly announced torch to the city and "reducing it," as their posted placards phrased it, "to of ashes," a party of audacious a dcwrt young conspiratorsproceeded to blow the Imoerial Ottoman made the Bank, while others of their associates up pMmmatia quarter flow in the blood of helplessinhabitants. During eighteen w^M,

hours

Adana,

the

carnage

which

and by throwing bombs 43rBAiiiit"

who

detailed to suppress the wont days of the Paris Commune (by Pierre Loti). wtre

Without

the

from

the

Armenians windows

outbreak, of

1871.

rivaled

caused the

upon

by

anything

Cf. Turquie / ^

their

of

use

soldiers,

Turkish

in the

recorded

Aaonisante, y

"

p. t-

174

to pretondinff

absolve the exasperated Turks for their part in this I ask "what would the people of New mav BiMMcre. York do if a f"PiifBmob from the East Side with the red flagat their head were to attempt to blow up the SubtreasuryBuilding and to make the of high same use tm"UMlvt"tin their wanton destruction of life and did menian* the Aras property in thi"lr ghastlywork in Constantinople?" The will be suffianswer cUnt attenuation for the conduct of the infuriated this frightful Turks on oocMion. And yet,according to the reports flashed through the world at the tloM. this maMarre. like that at Adana and at numberless other was

MptlUof

Uld

Turk

to

the

Is

places,

charge

of the

"unBi)eBkableTurk."

always guilty,the

Armenian

never.

It

was

the old, old story: the

CILICIA

HISTORIC

IN

CAMPESTRIS

just because he is Ishmael, his hand who has aught to lose. The

for

Armenian,

is

the Armenian

behind

few

Armenians

by becoming their lives

who

man

not

nationalism,his would be intolerance,

did he stand "

committed

of such

alone .

societies

secret

have

members it

against every

all his ineffaceable

passion for plottingand his fanatical side thorn in the Ottoman a negligible but

209

societies

and

there

technical at

.

are

treason

period

some

.

of

the Kurd, and behind the Kurd Russian; or, looking west, it espies,through the ceaseless sporadic propaganda of the agitators,Exeter Hall and the Armenian Committees. The cause beTurk begins to repress because we sympathize and we sympathize the more he

"

and

represses,

the

sees

the vicious

so

habitually,however,

do

than

more

administrator, oppress ? So far only,one party to this suit with

echoing through The

them

circle revolves. Does

repress? have

we

Does

heard

its stories of

one

he

he, as version

outrage and

for national

long cry

independence. of the accused has been shut hitherto by fatalmouth ism, by custom, by the gulf of misunderstanding which is

fixed between

the

If the Kurdish

a

Christian

and

Question

could

the Moslem. be

settled

by

vigorous pean againstirresponsibleEuroa

Marshal, and the Porte secured support of sedition,I believe that the Armenians would not have much to complain of,like the Athenian more allies of old,than the fact of subjection a fact,be it noted, rules by right of five of very long standing ; for the Turk hundred years' possession,and before his day the Kurd, the Byzantine, the Persian, the Parthian, the Roman, preceded "

each

other

over-lords

as

of Greater

Armenia

to the

misty days of the first Tigranes. The Turk claims certain ence, existthe right to safeguard his own rightsin this matter the right to smoke nests as Zeitun out such hornets' which has annihilated for centuries past the trade of the Eastern Taurus, the rightto remain dominant by all means "

not I

outrageous. see

no

questionat

issue but

this of

outrage. For

the

alisms sympathy with aspiring nationsympathy not over cogent in the subjectreligion, or and kept so much of the have won of those who mouths ^orld as we: Arria must draw the dagger reeking from rest there

is but academic

her

she

breast before

own

it with

band

can

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

210

conviction

any

to Paetus."

To

speak in

me

than I

to

From

express.

can

I have

youth

my

painful

more

thized sympa-

with them in their great sufferingsand, like most people who depended on one-sided information, I

other

maltreated been

responsiblefor

have

been at

flashed

once

greater part of

the

Were

they victims

driven

from

it

great

and

which

report in

massacre

fiendish Turk.

intrigue and

aggression, and forciblyseparated from their

of Russian

their homes

Again

families?

a

the fanatical and

perpetratedby

Asia Minor

of

the world

over

and

have

crimes

the

sensational

A

to the Osmanlis?

imputed

Kurds, who

murderous

the lawless and

by

raided

the Armenians

Were

Turks.

caluminated

much

maligned

to the much

all their misfortunes

attributed

WEB

is

this fashion of the Armenians

that

the Turk

was

at the bottom

was

for seditious outbreaks they suffer reprisals

of it all. Did

plottingHuntchagistsand revolutionaryArmenians extraction ? Still again the hue and cry was

of

of foreign raised in

that the soulless Turk, always the Europe and America Turk, only the Turk, was the guiltyone. Armenian agitators, Armenian

Armenian jacks-in-ofiSce,

provoking the Turks in order

revolutionary

to retaliate

to force the intervention

on

their

of the Great

mittees com-

offenders

Powers

^" "

these political mischief-makers go scot-free while the ever vilifiedOsmanli is pilloried before the world as a monster of

and iniquity The

Asia

demon

a

Anatolian Minor

incarnate.

Halil Halid, who

and

who

spent many

the matters

on

under

asks, **Did the humanitarian ^"A ""

Wandering

Pierre

Scholar

Loti telU

AMAMlnation

mi

the

of

in the a

hands

French

Levant, consul

was

born

and

bred

in

in

menting England, comconsideration,pertinently British public know these

years

(London, pp. 147-150 in Asia Minor who

1896).

barely escaped

of an Armenian agitator who, when questioned the life of the functionary,coolly replied: "I did ^^" Turks of it and ty "" **"*"' might be accused in the hope that the FraM would riM after the murder Lea up against them of their consul." d*Arminie,p. 50 (Paris, 1918).

ranrding

hit

attompt

^f*

on

of

gives most

he

sake,"" ligion'8

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

PBOM

212

people,who

our

should

mind, a distinct shock, but does not change prejudices.And when the same in the least their life-long nian, Aliens, Greek, Armewell-informed writer declares that have

open

an

**

the Turk"

Circassian thrust him""

by fraud

take his little parcelof land

''on

side and

one

force""

or

he

is

suspected of being a specialpleader and his testimony is rejectedas worthless. a be said that I too am specialpleader for But it may the Turk. Nothing is farther from my intention. My sole that it is not all

I have

found

"The

Turk's attack his

you

nothing

on

the truth

known

desire is to make

patienceis

almost

I have

found

it,and

the side of the Armenians.

inexhaustible,but when

is aroused and and children his anger control it."^^ Then, like all other

women

earth

on

as

can

mankind, when stirred by religiousor political sedition and foreign fanaticism or goaded on by domestic intrigue,the Turks also resort to reprisalsand massacres It may, that startle the world. however, be questioned in all their history the Turks have whether perpetrated of

races

such refined atrocities in

as

characterized

the

Eeign

of Terror

France, Russia

and dragonades in Poland, Serbian in the Balkans, unprovoked deeds of Bulgarian savagery violence instigatedby Armenian in Asia revolutionists Minor. But of all the people involved in these unspeakable outrages the Turk is the only one who is not pardoned. Why not! He has never been granted a fair hearing before

the great tribunal of humanity. Prom the foregoingit is evident that the Armenian tion Queswill not be settled so long as Armenian agitators are "D. ^

O.

Hogarth, op. oit, p.

"i!l!?i*L?*i^'* ^"*7 "^ Vj"J*ir"',. T"*""* M

"*^*'

atp"lt at

77.

Ibid.,66.

t4mt

tltelM,

IM

on

nalbaura

^

^"*"*'P-

''0""

^29 (London, 1903). ils so dechainent ejcaap^r^fl

"Alors," declares contra

ceux

que,

leur a denonc^s les plus dangereux responsablea comme de la patrie. H61aB! oui, les Turca ont massacr^! le recit de leur tueries que a toujours t't6 folleraent ^ plaiair;je pretends aussi" et IJi-bas .

.

.

jJpnK^datouUfoli SKT-L

v!^i ""'*'^\"

ZSmt ^^wlr^'^T nm"i

aui

Kurdet

dent

**

je n*

personne

beaucoup plus lourde part des crimes ai jamais pria la defense." Op. cit, p.

commis 22-24.

CILICIA

HISTORIC

IN

allowed to

with

sow

CAMPESTRIS

the seeds

impunity

213

of sedition in Asia

long as they are abetted by European nations whose manifest pire.^* goal is the partition of the Turkish EmIt is also evident that,so long as present conditions like those provoked by the persist,sporadic massacres Minor,

or

so

Cilicia and

in

Armenians

involve

conditions

These

Constantinople are

also the

greater and

inevitable.

tant impor-

more

Turkish

Question,or, speaking broadly,the Mussulman cannot, without grave sequences, conQuestion. The Great Powers treat Turkey as a pariah nation. This the everof adherents of the Prophet will not increasing number The

tolerate.

hundred

two

millions of the Faithful

it remembered, the chief factors in the Near which

can

lands

now

long

run,

being

executed

but

have

treaties and

Cross

barriers

since Greek

West As

the

long as

Great

and

"

of nations

the

"

existed

battled

with

and

between

present

of

in the

can,

of

all peace

stillfarther

strengthening

the

East

and

the Plain

on

are

Mohammedan

spiteof

result

Trojan

The

Powers

that in

and the Crescent

have

that

by

result

one

leagues

separatingthe the

so

be

tion, Ques-

the Moslems

of nations. play in the arena exploitationand conquest in

of

schemes

never

Eastern

fair

accorded

not

be settled

are,

of

the

Troy.

wandered

of Tarsus, made through the suburbs fragrant by the invitinggardens and orchards of lemon and of were we deeply impressed ^with the possibilities orange, we

exceptionallyrich

the

alluvial soil of the

Cilician

Plain.

Having all the fertilityof the Nile it should, if drained,t irrigated,and scientifically farmed, sustain a population 24

"Lord

no

this subject Professor, now on Commenting Salisbury protests in the strongest terms of acquisition in Asia Minor. schemes any

Russian

or

abroad

German

Britain

that all

the

Frenchman

or

entertains

more

no

that

sure

a

in

British

William

Asia

Ramsay, has

Britain

There

believes

who

designs

Sir that

him.

statesman's

tained enter-

is, however, probably The tions protesta.

Minor

writes,

never

.

.

merely word

make can

people be

never

consular department to aid referring to her creation of a new "as a pieceof statesmanship, crafty her in compassing her designs,he observes and master-stroke; though I think no one a unscrupulous, but able, it was look without will back it to ever blushing for the jockeying by us among effected." Years which Wanderit was Impressions of Turkey During Twelve

trusted."

ings, pp. In

words

the

And,

142-144

(London,

light of

recent

of Sir William

on

1897).

events

British

how

significant

policy and

"

almost

prophetic "

are

these

diplomacy regarding Turkey^,

for the

productionof

and

cotton

it is

climate

In soil and

Trajan.

and

Pompey

it in the days of

inhabited

that which

greater than

even

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

214

cane

sugar

large crops Germany.

or

kinds it yields

districts

favored

the most

as

Texas

as

Louisiana, while in cereals and fruits of many as

favorable

as

of France

or

the foothills of the surrounding irrigationis needed near mountains,andadequate drainage is requirednear of the four chief rivers that bring fertility to mouths ing plain. For, as it is now, a great part of the land border-

But

the the

described Baucis

is covered

Mediterranean

the

with

in his beautiful

by Ovid

like that

swamps

,

story of Philemon

and

:

procul hinc stagnum, iellus hahUahilis olim, celehres mergis fulicisque palustrihusundm?^

Hand Nunc

During

the past few decades a great for made the better, is attested by the as American agriculturalimplements -which

change has been of large number are

found

now

throughout the plain-andthe hundreds of ginning machines, looms,and thousands of spindles ^mostlyfrom England "

"

which

are

in the cotton

seen

factories of Tarsus

But, althougha great advance which vast

obtained

a

and

has been made

third of

a

over

Adana. the

dition con-

there is yet the Ottoman ment Govern-

century

for

ago,

improvement. When shall awaken to the necessityof conservingits natural it shall systematically resources,- when reforest the territory, room

whose

and despoiled,

been formed Caicia

precious woodlands

once

shall

by

have

so

sadly

duly drain

the vast swamps which have the neglect of its treasure-giving rivers,

Campestriswill again be worthy

legendtells us

been

it once

of the

name

bore"

which

Garden of Eden. it 18 now, the whole extent of Cilicia from the Taurus to the Amanus-and from the mouth of the Cydims to the hcgdwaters of the Pyr"mus is remarkable for Ab

chiefly

.

"

^tri^ eoot" And

rfiwK, a dreary lake ""y'e

amd

htUem*

haunt

the

is seen,

waters

green.

Metamorphoies,VIII, 24,

25.

HISTORIC

IN

ruins

of cities^and

CILICIA the

CAMPESTRIS

sites of towns

whose

215 names

very

forgotten. Everywhere on the plain and on the girdling will see crumbling fortresses built by Genoese one foothills, and Venetians ; moss-covered strongholds of Saracens and marble and columns colonnades, Crusaders; Corinthian arches,and vaulted roofs of Christian churches ; reminders this historic land of mediaeval warfare and of days when stroyed, of barbarian was hordes, who deswept by inundations by fire and sword the arts and labors which were the pride of western Asia. once Everywhere one observes of Roman fragmentary remains bridges and arches, of of Greek altars attributed to aqueducts and causeways, the Persians Alexander his victory over to commemorate ; dilapidatedwalls and towers and sepulchral grottoes with the sites occasional Greek or Arabic inscriptionto mark an of Corycus, Pompeiopolis, and Anazarba those cities of renown, where their inhabitants could quietlyrest under their vines and figtrees, the incursions of predatory free from are

,

"

Clite'ans and who

savagery,

Tibarehi

spread

and

barbarians

terror

and

of Hun

devastation

and

Scithian

wherever

they

could

the gratify their lust of cruelty or plunder. It was their work of boast of the Mongols that so complete was where extirpationand erasure*' of certain cities, they had wreaked their full fury of rapine and murder, **that horses the ground where might run without stumbling over they had stood. once Judging by the calamities that have **

'*^"

Count

of Justinian, vividly describes, Marcellinus, one of the first ministers this single sentence, the frightful depredations of Attila when dreadful Pene totam "Scourge of God" Europam, invasis excisique civitatihus This sentence atque castellis,conrasit. perfectlydescribes the depredations of Timur and in Western Jenghiz Khan during their terror-inspiringcareers Asia. Of Jenghiz Khan the Arabian Ibn writes that he traveler, Batuta, "came into the countries of Islamism and The same destroyed them." thority auand Samarcand says that after destroyingsuch great cities as Bokhara "he killed the inhabitants, taking prisoners the youth only and leaving the He then passed over the Gihon and took possession of country quite desolate. all Khorasan and Irak, destroyingthe cities and slaughtering the inhabitants." His son, Hulaku, laid Bagdad in ruins, whence he proceeded with his followers to Syria, continuing his depredations "until divine Providence put an end to his career." Travels The of Ihn Batuta, pp. 87, 88, 89 (trans, by S. Lee, 2"

in

London, The

a

1829).

English historian, Marshman,

writing of

the

elder

Mongol

conqueror,

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

216

populous cities of Cilicia one of St. in the expressivewords would say that they were, Prosper of Aquitaine,depredationevastatcB^ravaged by inflictedon

been

the

once

depredationsas ruthless as those the frightful irruptionsof Timur

that

characterized

ever

Jenghiz

or

of culture

This indiscriminate destruction of centers of

marts as

already

have

we

who

the Osmanlis" for

Empire

seen,

the

have

been

I refer

Turks"

the rulers

five hundred

than

more

attributed to the Turks.

is often

commerce

Khan.

years,

and

But,

especiallyto

of the

Ottoman

not like the

were

Mongols and Tartars, a nation of raiders,but a nation of Their object,therefore, colonizers and empire builders. who not to destroy but to construct and develop. Those was is in great measure this charge, which gratuitous, make forgetthe wholesale destruction of the hordes of Timur and Jenghiz Khan, not to speak of other raiders,and lose sight of the fact that

to ashes

reduced

were

of the most

some

by

the

famous

armies

cities of the East

of Greece

and

Rome

miles in than thousand the Caspian to the Indus, more "From one laid waste with fire and sword "stent, the whole by the ruthless country was followed It was the greatest calamity which who barbarians Jenghiz Khan. been since the Deluge and have the human five centuries had befallen race

decUret:

barely sufficient Antiquity

the

to

to

repair that

Accession

desolation."

of the

Mogul

History of Dynasty^ Vol.

India

from

I, p. 49

Remote

(London,

1842). and Christian its "*WeU world shrink down might the Mussulman upon terrible knees in the presence of such visitation. 'We a God/ writes pray Ibin al Atbir, 'that He will send to Islam and to the Mussulmans someone wbo

can

protect them, for they

are

the

victims

of the

most

terrible

calamity,

the men killed, their goods pillaged,their children carried off, their wives radnead to slaveryor put to death, the country in fact, laid waste.' Juveni "ajt that in the country traversed by the Mongols, only a thousandth part of the Dopulationremained and where there were thoupreviously one hundred inbabitants there remained "aaa but a hundred. with *If nothing interferes tba growth of the population in Khc Khorasan and Irak the from to now Ajem vill not be the tenths daj of resurrection,' he adds, 'it will of what before it was tiM eoaqoMt.'" History of the Mo i H. Mongols, Part III, _

IWHI

)

p.

.

Howorth,

(by

.

the fairest portions of the iw'^'u'^"'nd "his followers tramped ^"" i^mot and the sword in their hands, forestallingthe day of y** ^^5J" *""" "?nimbUng into ruin many old civilizations. His creed to sweep ""]* ^**" haunts of slaves ** and of luxury, that his herds ^!Lf might i^'^I free from It does make Lii "'^P **^* ^^^^ fiH'een dusty feet. over

was

**

was

?** foy

*" ^^^^^

*******^^*^ ^^^^ to*1223 eighteen million ^211 w fcttndred and human seventy thousand and beings perished in China '* "*" n*nds of Jenghiz and his followers; a fearful hecatomb IMWU Um until one mamonr forgetsthe other features of the story." "!., Part I, p. 113.

.^?L" ?

255*f*'J* WBMB

^^

HISTORIC

IN than

more

a

CILICIA

thousand

armies

of the

before

the

advent

Timur

who

razed

before

years

Ottoman

CAMPESTRIS the

217

of the

appearance

in

Syria, Greece, and ander AlexIonia. Thus, to mention only a few instances,it was the Great who destroyed Halicarnasus, the birthplace of the historians Herodotus and Dionysius. Here stood the of Mausolus, classed magnificent tomb by the ancients the seven of the world, the ruins of which wonders among in 1402 used by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were, for building their castles. It was the Roman as a quarry who general Mummius brought ruin to the famous city of in truth, rebuilt by Julius Caesar,but This was, Corinth. later period, by the only to be destroyed again, at a much It was the Emperor Aurelian who Greeks themselves. doomed to destruction Palmyra, the magnificent capital of Zenobia, almost during the heyday of its architectural prosperity. It was the Goths who splendor and commercial the temple of Diana of the at Ephesus, another demolished in ruins word's even wonders, while the city itself was

has

been

ever

conquerors

of the

devastating Timur.

Sardis,the capitalof Croesus,whose

al-Ashraf, ruler of Egypt famed

cityof Tyre

antedated

for

destruction ;

who the

are

so

heaps

Syria,

after

Malik

was

Solomon.

and

of years

thousands

Asia

there

before

the advent

of

,

at work

was

an

agency

that is usually quite disregarded by those

propense of ruins

impute

to

which

to the

**

overspread

"

Mongol.

name

who

Unspeakable Turk" large part

a

whose an Empire great Ottoman agency is incomparably greater than ever or

It

was

destroyed the its long and eventful history which

in western

the Osmanlis of

and

the reigns of Hiram

Moreover,

wealth.

of untold

synonym

a

it

But

This

is the earthquake.

history this irresistible countries

power

has the

been

lation of annihi-

power was

From

of the

that of Hun the

dawn

of

in action in nearly

Mediterranean, and has, times without number, exhibited its relentless fury from Cilicia to Sicilyand from Egypt to Dalmatia. In Palestine, all the

bordering

BERLIN

FROM

218

Syria,Asia Minor," and In the

world

shaken

was

subverted.

greater part of

by seismic disturbances and

Time

appallingviolence.

most

cities were

whole

Greece

BABYLON

AND

and Valentinian,the

rei^ of Valens

the Roman

BAGDAD

TO

again the

of the

massive

walls

Constantinople,its palaces,churches, and monasteries under the earth's paroxysmal movements, and crumbled of

the extent of the disaster inflictedwas At

Cyzicusa temple which

be

as

stable and

beyond computation. its builders fondlyhoped would

durable

as

as

the

instant,leveled with the ground,by earth shocks

that have

In the destructive

pyramids of those

one

visited Asia Minor

earthquake of

was,

from

365 A.

in

an

periodical time immemorial.

D.,no

fewer

than

fiftythousand persons lost their lives in Alexandria. But probably no city in the world has suffered more from seismic vibrations-than Antioch,which is near the southern border

of Cilicia. Here

in the

terrific earthquake of 526 full quarter of a million

A.

D., the loss of life totaled a people. During the celebration of a public festival in Greece, at which a .vast multitude had assembled, 'Hhe whole populationwas swallowed up in the midst of the ceremonies.'' It

was

in Greece to

during this period

The declme Minor

same

an

condition declining

of the

that led to the

causes

of Greece and

trophe widespread catasof earthquakes began ravages important cause of the impoverished

that *Hhe

figurein history, as and

of

country." economic

"

and

social

operated with equallydire results in Asia

Syria and Palestine. When, therefore, we

template con-

the countless ruins of once famous cities, that are "o conspicuous in a great part of Greece and Turkey in ABia, let us assignthem to their real causes-not ^Hhe ravagwg Turks,-but the devastating Huns and Goths,Tartars and Mongols,Persians and Saracens, and the blind and volsive ""

con-

forces of nature.

Piter In hii riiitoria NaturaltM

^Pro9tlU,

'

o"*,

"''^*

vol.

II

ft"

^^""'^'

1, p. 224

^r\*^^

Pnno^patu;

7,

~~"

XII

urhihua

Asia,

una

(by George Finlay,Oxford, 1877).

X

CHAPTER

Properly what

in

put

wound

in

of

the

appreciation without the

and

of the

times

established detail with

of

The and

Sultan

from

everywhere phorus Deserts.

What

by the Hadith, based

the

on

Mecca, has

and

the

force

IB

well

is not that

jr"A0M"l

their

of the

part under

of

theocratic the

the

of

a

eyes

acts

or

them

and

the

of loyal adherents

known. un-

religious

Bos-

the

on

Koran

of

every

prevails

Arabian

is ordered

legislativetraditions

sayings

great

for

government

Syrian

"

theocracy

is both

the

the

is quite

Padishah

prescribed by

by

Founder

that

Islam,

in the

with

once

successors

the Mollah

of

people

inhabitants

life is regulated

Bedouin

body

reputed

as

civil

palace

of the

of its

his

as

gent intelli-

an

and

which

is

Prophet

of

of

Islam,

of

prescriptions emanating directly or indirectly Allah, and which are, consequently, immutable.

evident, therefore, that

history "

and

Hilaire/

with

The

long lived

so

which, in the

from It

as

the

to the tent

of this

"

civil functionary, and

a

less

or

familiarity

revere

that, outside

thoroughness

a

only

religion professed

is obvious.

reason

religion

customs

they

by Mohammed their

and

of the

whom

have

Empire

East

adequate

an

Turkomans

Arabs,

Ottoman

and one

The

Prophet.

Osmanlis,

more

St,

Near

manners

knowledge

of them

majority

life and

of the

accurate

an

the

through

travel

can

one

work

consequences

may

J. Barth:^lemy No

his

our

to-day.

even

us

see

which

and

entailed

has

this work

which

discard

must

we

prejudices and it, independently

national

has

he

appreciate Mohammed

to

religious and

PRESENT

AND

PAOT

ISLAM,

of

Islam 9t

U

will

Coran,

p. vii

not

only

(Parii, 220

who

one

is ignorant

of

seriously misunderstand

1866).

the

people of

the

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

will also be compelled,

but

countries

Moslem

221

PRESENT

shall be long in their midst, greatly to revise his For he will soon cover, disprevious notions respectingthem. he

before

have

as

and

their many

great

very

his sojourn

knowledge

no

or

he knew

of

virtues. is

Moslems

the

among

that while

him,

little

had

their defects,he

all about

As

before

others

many

and

prolonged

he

acquainted with them, he will find that most based on ungrounded of his views concerning them were prejudice or age-old stories that had no other basis than crass ignorance or un-Christian hatred. Not only this ; he he had been those whom will gradually learn to admire taught to despise and, if he be of a deeply religiousnature, of the late find himself he may endorsing the statement **I love the Moslems because Gordon: General they are better

becomes

of God.'*

ashamed

not To many

incredible that so history it seems egregious errors regarding Islam should have

the

student

and

so

of

who otherwise well informed men are long prevailed among and disposed to be fair in their judgments of all although Islam peoples,regardless of creed or color. For in so many has been described books, there are yet educated people who, in the words of the learned Padre Marracci,^ so

^ *

' '

**

believe

Moslems * ' *

the moon,

and

**have than

2

that

that

the

hoc

in

"Neque

and

who,

gotten much

not

idolaters

are

Turks

falli

secta

Auctore

of the

Mother

in obedience

was

work

the

on

by most

Das

to

Lehen

on

folio

Latin

a

successful known

Q

Koran

three

embraces

of

the

to

of Islam

knowledge

polygamy.''

opinor

p. 6 (Patavii, 1698). Lodovico Padre Marracci,

Regular

Mohammed

hodieque

ex nostris, aliopaucos videam, ut Mahumetanos adoratores existiment, aliasque de Agarenica Textns neptias efifutiant." Alcorani Universus, Tom. I,

me

non

ejusque

in the

further

cum

indoctos, Mahumetiearum Idolatras, Lunseque ac Mahumeti

quin

adore

the scholarlySprenger writes,

as

allow

who

was was

which

earlier

a

the of this

command

translation

of the

who

God,

volumes

tarn

rerum

he

religious of

the

confessor

of

Pope

Innocent

Pontiff

that

he

published

spent forty

with

the

non

rudes

text

of the of

the

best Koran

and copious notes, and is the Koran attempts to make

the

Christian

world.

und

die Lehre

dea

Mohammed,

order

years in notable

Vol. II, p. 181

and

of

in

the

Clerks

XII. his

his

Arabic, as

It

great

life.

It

panied accom-

being

the

ism Mohammedan-

(Berlin, 1862).

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

questionof the inhabitants of Central Africa, until the explorations of unknown practically

If it were who

TO

BERLIN

FROM

222

a

were

Speke,Stanley,and Livingstone,we

should not be surprised

know

nothing about explain the widespread

that

geographersshould

even

it

But

them.

have and

the Moslems,

,

relations with

in constant

been

have

regarding a everywhere obtained played so important a role in history as than twelve centuries who during more has

ignorance which

people who

difficult to

seems

to

next

Christian

the

-

nations

of Europe. the West

But, although the contact between the East and has been uninterrupted since the time Moslemism To plant the Crescent

misrepresentationsof

the have

Crusaders

to the

that the most

were religion

must

have

that

Mohammed

present time.

and

the

And

put

of the stories

"

as

false

strangest thing is their originators

foundation

no as

and

Mohammedans

in circulation when

that they had

known

followers

his

the days of the

from

extravagant tales about

their

Many

o'er the Cross,

intermission

without

continued

essayed

they

were

in fact. ridiculous

"

long current respectingthe Arabian Prophet and the religionwhich he founded due to the Trouveres were and the Troubadours, A great majority of the Chansons de Geste exhibit a pitifulignorance of the tenets of the were

Saracens,and ^

not

a

few

to the

most

Islam.

Although neither

both the

of them

contributed

to

give

revolting fables respecting Mohammed Leo the Isaurian

enemies

of

nor

vogue

and

well, Oliver Crom-

images,were more opposed to idolatry to the worship of images than Mohammed, or in La Chanson nevertheless, de Roland,^ the Franks are represented under the walls of Saragossa as avenging their "

i

""il WrwmouU i^9 ""mfom A

wtmiU

^r^mwmt

sworn

fait bien oerchier "(

la vile,

le" mahumeriet:

44 It, d ouigniseM qu 'il tindrent, M%kum let vdU". " ire9tutet Lftl CCXCVl.

PAST

ISLAM, at Roncesvelles

defeat

AND

PRESENT

223

by mutilating and

destroying the

idols of their enemies. In

the

Chanson

beautiful

chanson

d^Antioche which

declared

"

does

not

truth'' only the unadulterated Pelerin, in the beginning of his followers

the

confusion

dire

contain the

"

poem,

of

be

to

"a

fables

any

author, Richard asks

God

Mohammed

"

very

but le

to

put to especially

those

Qui croient

et adorent

de Beaudouin

In the Roman

lengths. By

la

de

figure Mahom,

Sehourc, the

author

goes

strange aberration he makes the emblem of Islam, as the Cross the idol of Mohammed of Christianity.For, in this chanson the is the emblem is represented as wishing to abjure de Porthieu Comtesse to stillgreater

faith before

her

readiness

the

to be

Saladin

voel aourer;

and

expressing her :

aportez-le-moi-cJia,

Saladin, on his part, is pictured as ordering the idol convert brought for the adoration of the newly made

to Mohammedanism

Qu* When the

Sultan

the effigyof the Prophet

to adore

Mahom

And

a

:

on

aporiast Mahom,

it is remembered

relentless

enemy

that of

absolutelyproscribed the ;

when

it is recalled

et celle Vaoura,

Mohammed

was

all his life

images of all kinds and that he representation of animated tures creathat images of all kinds have been

in the world from studiously excluded from every mosque the time of the Prophet until the present, one would think that such misrepresentations as those spread broadcast by found little acceptance, or have the troiweres would have false. been as short-lived as they were the object of Had the trouveres been to perpetuate animosity among tians Christoward Moslems they could not have devised a more effective method of achieving their purpose.

and

to foul

had

was

recourse

denounced, cruel

Richard, author

ently they always consistinvented

despitethe

entire reforming

tory of his-

of Islam

fact that Mohammed

And

was

intoxicatingdrinks as he was to the this alleged disgraceful end

of

was

this,

during his

opposed to the of images ! use

much

as

career

most

the Mohammed, pilgrim La Conquete de Jerusalem,

fable that the founder

well-known

a

standing Notwith-

by swine while helplesslyinebriated/

devoured

Not

of

of the chanson

the odious

fabricates

fair.

unquestioned verdict

and

demise

respecting the

as

of the Prophet.

death

legendregardingthe

well

chroniclers

and

trouveres

the concordant

what

favor

Batisficdwith making them

as

means

discredited

to be

had

his followers

and

Mohammed

But

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

224

use

of

theless Never-

Prophet is assignedby the pilgrimRichard and by Guibert de Nogent medans the reason as why Mohamin his "Dei Gesta per Francos" eat pork ! never notions regarding attention to the erroneous I call special which of the and Islam Mohammed pervade the pages de geste, as chansons they are samples of other errors equallypreposterous regarding a people who should have been better understood, and as they help to explain the ing originof many similar misconceptionswhich, notwithstandthe

*

all that has

persist,among force and

Even

been

said and

written of

large masses

to the

people, in

contrary, still

all their

original

crudeness.

long after the

time

of the trouveres

there

were

not

wanting historians and divines who were willing to repeat the sillylegends of the chansons de geste whenever they thought they would thereby give point to their attacks on "

4. /.

io9di a'ala d* un fort vin enivrer; Uti; quant il "'en volt aler, "" "" IMM place vit. I. fumier reveraer; ti oolchc, ne t'en volt treatomer: jMoflMt iArmtra$igUrent poro, ai com j'oiconter; Im t"99me

ror

99

n"

volt

juia de char Vv.

^f.

de

pore

goater.

(Paris, I860). jUBta promus ""^"" ratione, contemnunt JitClffi^If"""

tv"? fUrfSt lU IV, p.

6547

eoMumicrunt.

(Parlt, Ift79).

et

acq.

Reoueil

dea

Hiatoriena

dea

qui

morsibus

Croiaades, Tom.

225

PRESENT

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

the leaders of the Prophet. Thus, among Reformation, the distinguished Orientalist,Bibliander, Mohammed and seriouslyinstitutes a comparison between declared him to be either Gog or Melancthon the Devil. Magog, if not both together.'' Voltaire,in writing of the Koran, of which he had as other things which an acquaintanceas of many superficial the Koran

the

or

engaged his flippantand caustic pen, declared it to be *'Ce a chaque livre unintelligible qui faitfremir le sens commun book which makes common sense page'' ^that unintelligible writers before and at every page. And, like many shudder that his fictions were since his time, he was fully aware totally at variance with history. But, as has been well lic expressed by Hurgronje, **he wanted to put before the pubTartuffe and thought he might lay the part armed an "

* * ^

Mohammed.

upon

again, like

Others

writers

many

of

our

day, had

own

a

religiousobject in their attacks upon Islam. against the For, under pretense of waging war nefarious tenets and practicesof Moslemism, they secretly had in view an assault on the Turkish Empire, or, as a noted Swiss Orientalist long ago declared, all their efforts were et perfidice really directed in oppugnationem Mahometance Turcici regni,^ until the present there From the days of the Crusaders cessation of the campaign of vilification of has been no there has for long been no as everything Mohammedan the part of certain in politicalhostilityon abatement Centuries nations of Europe againsteverything Ottoman. Jianc ferro et flamma ah orbe the cry was ^^Pestem ago

as political

7

"As

a

sample

Church Mohammed "the

and

following

Christus

well

a

the

this

on

modest

ubi

non

etiam

R.

p.

title-pageof

Mahometes:

works

controversial

subject," Mr.

Mohammedanism,

testimonia, plene, fuse, imvicte torum

of

as

solum

a

B.

79

per

the in

(London,

ponderous

omnes per solideque demonstratur

verum

of

Smith

1876),

work

Sanctam alios

theologians of the interesting work calls

written

in

Scripturam, probandi modos

Mahometem

formed Re-

his

esse

on

attention 1666: ac

Reformaet

unum

genera, ilium

fit mentio, Antichristum." de quo in Sacris magnum York, 1916). ^Mohammedanism, p. 12 (New ^Historia Orientalis, Dedication p. 5 (by J. H. Hettinger,Zurich, 1660).

verum,

to

Anti-

BABYI.ON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FPOM

226

pest of Islam must be driven from cry is in GladTo-day the war the earth by fire and sword. out stonian phrase,**The Turk must, bag and baggage, get of falsehood of truth and how much much How of Europe." outcries against recent there have been in the most

depeUendam

the

againstthose livingin the Ottoman Moslems, especially passions and the selfish interests which blind the writers of the age-longantipathies prefaceto

In the

ignorance of his

of the

work

his monumental

time

past. on

the

laments

Marracci

Lodovico

Padre

those

blinded

present as they have erudite

shall

the violent

be free from the

the historian

only when

determined

will be

Empire, and

the

esse""

Koran,

prevailing

the

regarding everything

the

Mohammedan

paucityof books of value respectingthe religionand practicesof so large a part of mankind, as the adherents

and the

of Islam.

have written learnedly and Although [he writes] some solidlyon these subjects,there is nevertheless no concealing the fact that others,through ignorance of things Saracen, omit

often

the

things,which them

cause

truth

excite the to become

publish fictitious

and

laughter of

the

Mohammedans^

and

in their error.^"

obstinate

more

fabulous

and

But, notwithstanding Marracci 's eloquent plea for a more thorough study of Islam, his words fell,for the most part, deaf ears." It was not until our on own epoch that a critical investigation of the Koran was begun and that a reallyimpartial inquiryinto the life of Mohammed was

seriouslyundertaken. diBsimulandum vero ****Q5"I nonnuUi "^Mtrint, ex

MmiStM, WlUrtat

Vwfmmmu; '*

""""

rerum

Men

were

still in doubt

non est, licet Sarracenicarum

*" *^** widespread ^f'**^'*"* Orientalist,Adrian '"J*^******^

errors

quidam

eflficerent."

IfMlMMMlfM, IB

thU

p. Mil rMpectr

U

more

and

more

deciplvelle convinced

Textua

Alcorani

and concerning Mohammed than two Reland, wrote more

"fOi*Qo"tldi" bu^kU magisque experiormundum and

to the

docte, satis solideque ignorantia, vera plerumque risus protulerunt, quae Mahumetanis

Act* ac fabulosa in medium in errore obatinatiores suo "otque Tom. I, p. 1 (Patavii, 1698).

become 2SST?t 7*^**1^*^^^7, VMitt to bt dMtlTed

as

et

prceconceptis

that

governed by preconceived opinions. (Utrecht, 1705).' la there not still room

teachcenturies

his

De for

the

world

Religione

impWe-

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

228

fast;

the month's or Observing the Ramazan 6.*Making the pilgrimageto Mecca once in 4.

lifetime.

a

of this creed,it is of the clearness and simplicity has so sigWorld nally difficultto understand how the Western of Mohammed's failed to comprehend the real nature In view

teaching.

It is

of the countless books

the authors

pronounced

againstMohammed

ludicrous

invectives against his followers so ardently attached. they were

or

their

they penned

when

sincere

diatribes

their bitter and the

and

religion Had they been Christian charity they

which

to

how

the Prophet and his religioncould

on

and

honest

been

have

conceive

equallydifficultto

by a spiritof fairness and could so easilyhave ascertained the truth about the doctrine which they so strangely misrepresented and the people was a whom maligned. For there never they so pitilessly salem time since the day Saladin entered the Holy City of Jeruaccompanied by its bishop,who had gone out to greet actuated

the humane

; never

conqueror

of

time since the Poverello

a

missionary to the Sultan of Egypt, when of good will,seeking the truth and nothing but the men truth,might not have had all the information desired both Assisi went

about

by God Islam

who

and

should "ealou8

when

have

he declares

that

given heed

Father

M**KiilU

QMMf,

between

porro

EvaAg.

falsa

II. 40.

the Cross doctrina

words

the

is

the

of

false doctrine

no

of truth." of the

defame

to

"

learned

They and

experiences

of his brothers

they might bring

eiiBts

there

counsels

est

in religion, taught followers of Islam to a

the

knowledge of the Gospel and to a they done so there would not be BOW

**

Marracci,who, guided by

the Mohammedans

how

recalled

something

to the

lions mil-

the

directlycommissioned

as

should

does not contain

have

practicesof

the

Mohammed

its followers

which

and

the way to Heaven. always exhibited such readiness

Augustine

them

of Islam

looked upon to teach them

Those

among

a

the doctrines who

St

as

love of the Crucified. that inveterate hatred

and qu"

the non

Crescent,and aliqua

vera

Had that there

intenniaceat."

PAST

ISLAM,

AND

229

PRESENT

of so separation into two hostile camps millions of people who hundred normally should many the same fold and under be in the same Shepherd. For, contrary to what has been so often said and written and more, there is much, during the last thousand years No less an much authority than the good in Islam. very illustrious Cardinal Hergenrcether declares :

would

be that

not

for civilization the peoples ought to prepare in barbarism, notably those of Africa. Those most advanced it is necessary fetishism to to lead from peoples whom monotheism in their low degree of culture and brutal are sensualism materially aided by such a stepping-stone in their transition to Christianity.^* Islamism

began his marvelous

Mohammed

When

his

reform

in Arabia

countrymen

were,

of

career

in many

religious respects,

deeply sunk in vice as the most debased tribes of Central Africa. idolaters who addicted to the were They were grossest and most absurd fetishism. Trees, stones, shapeless trivial of masses things in nature dough and the most There a specialdivinityfor was were objectsof adoration. each of the countless tribes of the peninsula. In Beit-AUa as

"

House

of God

in

"

Mecca, there

Here day of the year. object of worship a

it was

heaven

averred,

a

different

idol for each

the most

jealouslyguarded black stone that was reputed to have in the days of Adam stone which, a originallyof immaculate whiteness,but

"

fallen from

also

was

was

"

was

^*Eandhuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschicte, Vol. I, p. 748 (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1884). "'It can be readily understood trader how the sight of the Muslim at prayer, his frequent prostrations, his absorbed and silent worship of the Unseen, would that with of the impress the heathen African, endowed strong sense osity Curimysterious such as generally accompanies a low stage of civilization. would thus parted imnaturally prompt inquiry and the knowledge of Islam who aside convert win might have turned over a might sometimes had it been offered unsought, as a free gift." The Preaching of Islam, p. 418 (by T. W. Arnold, London, 1913), This Marracci view than two was more emphasized by good old Father humani centuries he wrote: "Si ethnicus intellectus captum exceago when conditioni dentia, vel natural! ct imbecilitati dificillima, si non impossibilia, .

.

.

cum

Alcoranica

ilia obviis ulnis

comparaverit, statim Op, citfTom. II, p. 9.

doctrina

accurret."

ab

his

refugiet et

ad

which

TO

BERLIN

FROM

230

AND

BAGDAD

subsequentlyblackened by

was

the

BABYLON

myriad

tions oscula-

worshipers. the Arabians noted for this all. Not only were Nor was practice their loathsome idolatrybut also for their inhuman of disposingof female children at their birth by burying of its sinful

alive. And

them not

so

their

great was

for

infrequent occurrence

an

that superstition father

a

it was

to sacrifice his

offended deity. of an child to appease the fancied anger Besides this,blood feuds, sensuality of the vilest kind, drunkenness,and utter disregardof even the natural rights of

as

were

women

heard

set out to

Mohammed

peoplewho the

were

as

their

general results

were

fatal.

widespread and When

rampant

so

steepedin

to these preach monotheism vice people who had every "

Gospel but had long abandoned

its sublime

ings teach-

he encountered practicesof idolatry, all quarters. So the strongest oppositionfrom the hostilitydisplayed by friend and foe relentless was foredoomed. withstandi seemed that his projectedreform But, notthe jeerswhich greetedhim on every side and the persecutions which he endured for years, he was ally eventusuccessful beyond his most sanguineexpectations. Here we have the spectacle of a man that could neither for the abominable

read

write

who, after twenty

of incessant

struggle, had succeeded in extirpating a system of idolatry which, by fosteringmorals the most depraved and practicesthe most hideous, had for centuries made the fairest parts of Arabia reeking sinks of iniquity.In place of a blighting and debasingfetishism he substituted the worship of one God, the Greater of heaven and earth who is eternal, a God omnipotent,merciful; who presides over the destinies of all His creatures ; who sees all their actions,even the most secret;who punishes the wicked in another world and rewards the good, and who never abandons them for a single nor

years

"

inBtant either in this life or in the

to

He

preaches sobmission,the most humble and the most confidingsubmission, to the holy will of Him who is not only the Author of their existencebut also their unfailingsupport and their one

come.

omniscient

just and

periods of the day

at stated

of Ramadan

thoughts to Him during life and

who

who,

the

give to this and

one

annual

an

which

worship God

is prayer fast during the

is

designed to direct his has created him, who sustains him weal

for

for

or

in all its the

will be

woe,

was

camel

driver

adopted is nothing

races

many

new

of

destined to be

and nations in every clime. There in it. Mohammed never pretended to introduce

by

his

simplicityas preached

unlettered

such the doctrine which

;

the sole

fast which

is Islam essentially world Arabian by

Such

Mecca

a

231

after death.

Sovereign Lord to

"

PRESENT

And

judge.

is required to

the Mussulman

month

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

thing any-

He

simply proclaimed to his benighted countrymen not a new revelation,but, as he always insisted,the and Moses and Christ,as long-forgottenfaith of Abraham new.

he understood

With

it.

the

of Christianity, based on exception,therefore, the Old and New and Testaments, with all its marvelous there is no beneficent consequences, religionin the world which can justly be compared with Islam or which even remotely deserves to be placedin the same category.^'^

And, with the exception of Christianityand Judaism, it has recognized and is the only religionin the world which It is,therefore,far superior to consecrated monotheism. the debasing paganism of Greece and Rome. It is loftier and

nobler

the

selfish and

It

is

than

the

repugnant

materialistic

incomparably

dualism

utilitarianism

elevating

more

of Zoroaster

than

of the

and

Confucius. fantastic

of Gautama metempsychosis and the atheistic Nirvana age Buddha, which, with Confucianism, holds in spiritualbondand a great majorityof the teeming millions of Central

Eastern The

shows

Asia. eminent how

near

in his account 16

doctor

of the

Church, St. John

he considers of the creed

of

Islam

to

Mohammed,

Cf. J. Bartli61emySaint-Hilaire,pp. cit.,p.

x.

of

Damascus, Christianity when, he treats

it

as

a

heresy analogous

to Arianism.'^

illustriousAbbot

of

Saracens,

its title

as

"

Saracenorum

Sedam

Dante, who

manner

he

as a

of the

treats not

which

but

heathen

similar

a

a

tion transla-

a

is

opinion, as

work

a

"

In

conclusively indicates."

"

almost

distinguishedas

as

of

*'

logian theo-

a

as

schism.""

and

scandal

like

in hell not

poet,places Mohammed

sower

a

as

to have

one

paganism but of the heresy of the Adversus Nefandam HcBresim sive

was

as

was

of

was

Venerable, the

against Mohammedanism

work

his

in

evinced

Koran,

of the

made

the

Peter

the first

Cluny,

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

232

Arius, by denying the divinityof Christ, had prepared of God in the Son only a for Islam, which saw the way

prophet who,

but subsequently claimed, was St, Jerome, in his memorable

Moslems

as

of Mohammed. the precursor ^ords Igemuit totus orhis

et Arianum

"

est

"

the

itself Arian

"

of the

errors

uttered

world

sigh and

a

the

expressed

of Asia

one-time

Africa

and

miratus

esse

to find

astonished

was

the

prevalence

of

The

sions dissen-

heresiarch.

Alexandrine

in the churches

se

grave

that followed

close

immensely heresy of Arius of conquest. For the assisted Islam in its lightningcareer divided and degenerate Christians of these two continents of the but one were easilypersuaded that Moslemism was

upon

dissemination

of

Christian

sects and

various The

followers

the

not

of Mohammed

a

religion.

new

formerly the victims of calumny on account of their allegedbeliefs and practices. Now it is the organizationof Islam and the character of its services that seem to give rise to the most religious understan mis-

Thus, according to

many

were

modern

Ltfter, "i**P*fl^ereti6tt" PatrologiaQrcpca,Vol.

writers,the XVIV,

Col. 763

Sultan et seq.

of

(Migne

EdltlOB). ""

**8omma

DtMMqtM

vero

Dei

hujui Filiui

hieresii intentio

est

ut

Christus

Dominus

ut

neque

credatur; sed licet magnus Deoque dilectus homo IMIMI puruii et vir quidem sapiens et proplietamaximus Quae quidera olim OMboll macbinatione seminata istum deinde concepta prirao per Ariura per BitaBim. "cnicet Machuinet, provecta, per Anti-christum toto ex vero secundlAboIlram "n lnt""ntlonem complebitur." Petri Vencrahilia Opera Omnia, "* /carina, Vol. Tom. CLXXXIX 2?* ^"'"^'0P"" (Mipne Edition). **^""i""*tor dl Bcandalu e di uciama Inferno,XXVIII, 35. esse

'*

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

PRESENT

233

ing, NothTurkey is to Islam what the Pope is to Christendom. That the however, could be farther from the truth. of the Ottoman, Ommiad, Abbassid or caliphate,whether comparable with the Papacy is dynasties, is in no way in all clearly evidenced by the fact that Islam has never its history regarded the Caliph as its spiritualhead."^"

the

Again

writers,

same

constantly refer

well

the

to

as

modern

many

priests

fact is that Islam

The

Mohammedanism.

as

the

and has

elers, trav-

clergy

not and

of

never

in body as it is understood is no There the Christian world. ordination,no priesthood to bind and loose,no confessional, with powers no baptismal and mediator between no man font, no altar,no sacrifice, is in fact no one There God. possessingany specialpowers through ordination to perform any act that any adherent could not as rightfullyperform. For, Islam, as of Islam has been well said,is and has always been **the lay religion it is true, the Khatib There excellence,' are, par in prayer leader but neither preacher and the imam

anything like

had

has

clerical

a

'

"

"

the

nor

one

sacerdotal

"

the

other

character

"

possesses

of

the

of anything whatever Christian priesthood or

the of

hereditary Levites of ancient Judaism.^" They are usually selected on account of their grave deportment and their knowledge of the Koran and of the traditions of Islam, but otherwise they might be replaced by a mufti or kadi whose occupationsare analogous to our lawyer or judge. the

The

chief

imam, whose

of the

purpose

19

C. Snouck

Hurgronje, Mohammedanism

20

The

of the

duty

imam

"is

y

stand

to

in

function

closely

York, 1916). p. 129, et seq. (New front of the congregation, facing

Kibleh or Mecca-pointing niche, at the appointed hours of devotion, that he recites aloud the ordinarily,as every one knows, five times a day, when devotional time for the various public prayers, marks postures, and, in a word, ever, howacts him, from whom, as fugleman to the worshipers ranged behind Primus he is distinguished by no inter special dress, caste or character! but nothing more. The Khatib. or preacher, usually reads out of an pares; well-thumbed more old, book, or, though much rarely, manuscript sermon short seldom ing exceeddelivers the a discourse, performance, Friday extempore

the is

minutes

ten

khatib, mason,

Eastern

or a

in

whoever green-grocer,

duration

Once .

else or

Questions, p. 91,

may

seq.

or

(by W.

the

mosque,

the

imam,

the

is a houseduring the prayers, anything else, as before." Essays on G. Palgrave, London, 1872).

officiated

pipe-maker, et

outside

.

.

have

reaembles that of

AND

a

precentor,is to

preserve

order

known

large class of functionaries distinctions gradational ulema

act like

may

public lems Mos-

of that

any

ulema, there

as

are

no

worshipers themselves.

the

among

in

of the

performedby imams, khatibs,mollas, or

be

The

BABYLON

the religiousfunctions

whether

But

worship.

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

234

priestsand

sometimes

may

be

sidered con-

people, but the ulema themselves, who ought to know, strongly and consistently So alien,indeed, is character. insist on their non-priestly as

priestsby uninformed

all classification to Moslemism, idea of

very

all the details of their

course inter-

intimate him

made

Mohammedans

the

familiar with

creed, did

thoroughly hesitate

not

to declare, referring to their religiousorganization,

when "

long and

Palgrave, whose

the laity,that

is the

distinct from

as ecclesiasticalorganization

an

with

to Islam

abhorrent

so

'Each

for himself

one

notions

erroneous

the real

objectof

it was

up

that

and

a

dred hun-

ing generallyprevailrespect-

so

are

jnosques

as

numerous

khatibs

and

imams.

The

is to indicate

the

direction

of Mecca.

respectingits mosque

sums

almost

an

^^

traditions confirm.'' The

all' is

us

Koran

the

of what

literal translation

for

God

and

primary

as

those

use

of

a

Originally

simple platform with a wall at the end facingMecca. In facingthis wall the worshiper looked towards what was to him the holiest city in the world. In southern climates this primitive type of mosque the answered sufficiently chief purpose contemplated. But the more rigorousclimates of the north required roofed places of worship, which eventuallydeveloped into the magnificent structures which finds in onia,Brusa, and Constantinople,as well now one ma in cities much farther south,such as Damascus and Cairo a

"

and Jerusalem.

Bat

the

his mosque

reverence

and

which

that which

a a

Mussulman

Roman

entertains

Catholic

for

feels for his

82. "0".""l..p.

"TW piMS

word Of

ii **iiMMqn""

worship.

derived

from

the

Arabic

maajid which

a signifies

Again,the

unlike the church, is

mosque,

parish. There worship in a particularmosque. like that khatibs any jurisdiction,

as

in the

assemble

in the mosque

to Allah

with

one

mosque

have

of

Catholic

a

for

mosque

as

those

who

imams

a

and

pastor, over

Worship

prayer.

congregationalonly in so far happen to gather there,unite in

the direction

under

individual,as

nevertheless

the

Nor

know

be called

may

who certain individuals,

prayer

the center

never

which we religiousorganization is no congregationcomprising

of that kind of

those who

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

236

no

with

than

of the

Moslem

imam, but

has closer aflSliations Wherever

another.

it is

he

happens

calls for prayer, there is his mosque there he joinswith his fellows in worship.

to be when

and

the muezzin

In the Ottoman

Empire

the

imam,

far

so

as

he is

charged

than a paid servant. specialfunctions,is no more Outside of actingas precentor,or fugleman, at prayer his to officiate at marriages and chief duties are funerals. of that spiritualrelationshipwhich is none There exists the Catholic priest and his parishioners between of ; none that love of a father for his children, and none of that affection of children for their father,which exists in every Catholic parish; no one who is in any sense the shepherd

with

of

his flock "

admonish

the

to assist the

weak,

to

direct

the

erring,to

remiss, to upbraid the sinner,and lead those

aspiringto holiness life. Far Bpiritual

higher degrees of perfection in the from feelingthe need of such a guide and superior,the Moslem prides himself on his abilityto dispensewith such aids which he would regard as curtailing his religiouslibertyand his independence circumscribing of action. He prefers to lead his own life,without let or hindrance,without monitors or directors, and to be free. If "o

to

to follow those votaries disposed,

of

pleasurein

partB of the world, who Compound for sins that they'reinclined By damning those they have no mind to.

to

other

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

237

PRESENT

the religiousspiritof fully understand without the Mussulman knowing something of the prayers which he is wont to address to the Deity. No class of men, of God Allah more frequently probably, have the name This is particularlytrue of their lipsthan the Moslems. on is legion known and devotees their number those as But

cannot

one

"

"

"

"

dervishes.

day is the dawn, at midday,

Prayer five of Islam.

and

night

loud

a

At the

Muezzin

second

of the

five

pillars in the afternoon, evening the minaret and repeats iu

a

ascends

voice:

is great. I bear witness that there is no god but is the apostle of God. I bear witness that Mohammed ! Come to salvation I to prayers

God God. Come

But

from

be

said only when

the clothes and

body

worshiper as well as the place of prayer are all impurity. Moreover, the prayers, whether

free

prayer

of the

privatelyor form be

can

times

no

the Most

in common,

and

in

deviation.

*^God

words

may

be recited

must

specifiedpostures There

are

is great,''**I extol

constant

according to from

which

said a

scribed pre-

there

repetitionsof the

the holiness

of my

Lord,

High.'' Holiness

to

Thee, 0 God!

And

praise he to Thee I is Thy name! Great is. Thy greatness! There is no deity hut Thee! Great

A

devout

of prayer

Mussulman no

less than

will recite these

similar forms

seventy-fivetimes a day. But these no variety or change, become, after

words, which admit of ceaseless repetition, rather and

and

a

mechanical

than

a

mental

act

in the nature of lip service than frequently more the prayer of the Christian,which consists not only in acts of praise,as in the above words of the Moslem worshiper, are

and thanksgiving. The impetration

but also in acts of

approach

nearest

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

238

to

reads

of the Koran, called the Fatihah, which

Bura

is the first

Christian prayer

a

lem's Mos-

:

of all the worlds. The compassionate the merciful. King of the day of reckoning! Thee only do we worship, and to Thee, only do we cry for help, Guide thou us in the straightpath.

Praise he to God, Lord t

With

who

And

Thou

whom

art

hast

Thou

path of these to whom been gracious.

The

not

angry,

astray. Amen,

go not

^which has this prayer only to compare ^with been called **the quintessence of the whole' Koran But

have

we

"

^'

"

Father''

the **Our

to

of the Christian

prayer

in the very

manifest

is

that there

shows

Noster, which

of the Pater

comparison

the It is

and that of the Mohammedan.

first word no

between

difference

the vast

see

Christian

the

between

Mohammed believed conception of God. in God, feared and obeyed Him according to his light,but, not recognizingHis Fatherhood, he did not and, from his the

and

Moslem

view of the

Deity,could

Their

because

known

not

this from

as

God

a

God

It is

of fear, not

Our

Father.

"

"

enjoys the blessed

so

God

a

his followers.

with

How

of

love,

different is

of the Christian

to his

privilegeof calling God

Father.

"

Denymg maintain and

is

the relationship sonship

Creator, who Abha

God

not love Him.

the

Fathership

nearest

God, Moslem

that it is impossible for

God, they contend, are

there is

of

a

approach

to

to love Him.

men

of different

difference of genus

there

theologians

can

Man

natures, and where be

love,they contend, is

no

man's

love.

The

ance persever-

in obedience to Allah.

Again, accordingto no

love of

which, as

the

theologians,there can be God for man, for love, say they,implies change, God is infinitely perfect,is impossible. When same

to

philosophers,is

and

But

in this case,

shall

or

of God

superior to

of Moslem affects

so

others,the

many

so

gians theolothat

man

common

sense

specialdivine illumination? to arrive

them

of their relations to Him

and

Moslem

by

a

in

enabled

has

in Islam

as

call it

we

that **God

ing meant, accord-

' ' "

to God.

comes

man

eminent

of the most

Al-Gazali,one

239

all that is

is said to love man,

therefore

God

PRESENT

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

at

a

than

the Koran

conception attained

ever

was

and

casuists

philosophers and anything found in

of many

"

truer

"

incomparably in the

or

tional tradi-

teachings of Mohammed. I need only adduce the beautiAs a proof of this assertion, ful of the Persian imam, El Kachiri,who, discarding prayer the cold and formal acts of praise prescribed in Moslem worship, pours forth his soul to God in these touching and heart-felt words

:

Thou, 0 Lord, threatenest me, with which will forever deprive me of Thy do with me Thou wilt,provided that as from

Thee!

this

poison than

God

from

agitationwhich suffer

rather

There

is

will be

a

a

bitter

bitter

what state

continual

separation ! 0 Lord,

presence I be not forever

more

no

For

separation. do except be in

a

can

of

a

arated sep-

fatal

nor

soul

rated sepa-

inquietude and One

torment?

would

thousand

hundred

deaths; for, after all, they would not offer anything so terrible as the privation of the vision of Thy divine face. All the evils of the world, all the most and acute painful diseases joined together, to me seem incomparably easier to bear than this removal It is this transitoryremoval which from Thee. renders our lands would would a

sterile ; which dries up and infects it be if it were eternal? Without burn

not

word, upon

which

a

it is us

causes

; it

is

only Thy all kinds

through it of

BihliotMque

Hague, 1777).

so us

of hell

hot.

and

In

ers show-

Thy absence,it is,

all the evils of hell."

24 Cf. Aspects of Islam, p. 199 1911). ^^

it,the fire

sustains

good things and

What

waters.

that it becomes

which

presence

our

OrientaUt

Tom.

et

II,

(by

seq, p.

81

D.

B.

MacDonald,

(by BarthMemy

New

York,

d'Herbelot, The

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

240

,

This prayer is fullyin keeping with the teachingof many mystics of non-Semitic origin,who, contrary other Moslem entertained respectingthe to the vulgar notions so widely

80

far

consists in the

enjoyment This ineffable happiness,they aver, beatific vision. transcends all the other joys of paradise that they the elect in heaven

happiness of of the

that the infinite

declare paradise,explicitly

Mohammedan

claims Paradise, 0 Lord," exone the Sheik el Alem, **is desirable only because Thee ; because, without the light of Thy beauty, there sees

completelydisappear

These

the words

of

for Jesus

Arabic

"

of the afflicted man

Thy words. by hearing Thy

The

from

but

remarkable

less

no

than

so

poet of Persia who, in addressing

Mussulman

a

to Isa

heart

The

**

it.

^*

pallon us.'* two quotationsare

it would

himself

before

soul

"

says

draws

:

all his consolation

life and

resumes

vigor simply

is pronounced. If the mind of man able to raise itself to the contemplation of the mysever teries of the Divinity,it is from Thee that it draws the light that givest him the attraction them and it is Thou to know by which he is penetrated.^^ How of

name

language of a Christian speaking of the Saviour, Jesus Christ I

like the our

less excusable

Far

than

ignorance of

grace

doctrine

Moslem

in dispositioneverywhere manifested to regard Islam not only as a disintegrating Europe and America Those organizationbut also as a decaying power.

and

who

is practices,

thus

the

minimize

the

ever-growing strength

of

one

of

the largestreligious bodies in the world exhibit the fatuity of the ostrich which imagines danger does not exist because it is unseen* For

generations past the western world informed that Mohammedanism

rooriband and

that Christendom

op. eit, Tom. '"i'HjirUlot,

WD*

Brnttlot. op. eit.. Tom.

II, p. 106. IT. p. 361.

has

has as

a

nothing

periodicall religionis been

more

to ap-

PAST

ISLAM, prehend from it. are unfrequented and

AND

It has

assured

colleges of Moslem

law

support

; that the

generally disregarded and

and

that and

But

that

is under

an

neglected

are

are

Islam

241

the mosques crumbling into ruins; that schools

and

for lack of financial

been

PRESENT

languishing

or

precepts of the Koran

frequently openly flouted; ter eclipsewhich portends disas-

extinction. what of

words

the

are

facts? whose

Palgrave

of Mohammedan

authoritative.

Were

Writing

from

makes in

of

years

the

declares

and

schools,chapels

the

the circle of

pages

would

; new

works

in the

investigations

shores

his words

1872, he

them

answer

of the the

on

Euxine

question:

:

attempt the catalogue of mosques,

I to

built within

best

can

sixteen

conditions

interior of Arabia

to the

I

colleges,

like,repaired or wholly fresh own personal inspection alone my "

hardly suffice to contain it. Trebizond, Batoom, Samsoon, Sivas, Keysareeyah, Chorum, Amasia, and fiftyother towns of names unknown, or barely in Europe, each can known boast its new and renovated of law, places of Mahometan worship; new schools,some others of grammar, others primary, have on sprung up several

"

side

every

the

highways.

increase

.

.

in the

Islam

;

steam

has

much

must

.

of charity and public bequest adorn Meanwhile, year after year sees a steady

number

undoubtedly contributed also

be

put down

by all,high

birthplace of their the

pilgrims to

holy places

and

not

to

the

a

years

ago:

on

growing

eagerness

low, to visit the sacred

soil,the Prophet; while the pride

the triumphant exultation that welcomes It may them home. thousand

of

littleto this result,

religionand is manifested each villagetakes in its *'hajjees'' all-engrossingsympathy that accompanies their and

a

the

and, although the greater facilitation consequent

manifested that

of

in

parture de-

of the

entire lace popunot have been less

it certainly could

not

have

been

more.^"

nearly half a century since the noted author Narrative of a Year's Journey through Central and

Although of the 28

it is

Op. cit.yp. 122,

et seq.

Eastern is

Arabia

penned

evidence, so far

no

as

the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

PROM

242

paragraph just quoted, able to

been

I have

gather in

Africa, that the current fiftyyears revival is running lower than it was

travels

in Asia

and

rejuvenescenceof Islam less marked resistant or less persistent. long Not only has Mohammedanism but

moribund

as

it has

changelessin doctrine

implements of **when "the

the

which

East"

ago,

as

are

are

the

the

same

is

nor

less

declared

been

my

Moslem

to be

immemorial, been

time

also,from

of

its power

nor

the

there

resented rep-

agricultural to-day

as

and Proserpine went a-Maying through Enna" mony into harand its ways of bringing Islam difficulty with modern society as comparable to squaring the "

circle." from Again, what are the facts? So far is Moslemism from of the it came the hands when being what it was Prophet,or from what it is as exhibited in the Koran, that it has been constantlyundergoing modification in religious doctrine and practicesince the days of the first caliphs. Not to speak of the countless changes which have insensibly

been

tianity, by the quiet but continuous action of Chrisinnumerable others have been brought about by the teachings of Plato and Aristotle,by Roman law, Neoeffected

Platonism,and

other

similar

but

ible persistentand irresistinfluences. This is practically in the hadith manifest modified and developed by canonists,dogmatists,and as mystics to enable Islam **to shape religiousordinances of old customs'' **to adapt itself to the peculiar characor teristics and stages of development of the people whose it wishes to win." allegiance

Per not onlyhave law and custom, religious teachingsand politicaldoctrines clothed themselves in Hadith form

[writesone

danimn],

of the most

but

eminent

everything

in

authorities

Islam, both

on

that

Mohammewhich

has

worked itselfout through its own strength,as well as that which has been appropriated from without. In this work foreignelements have been so assimilated that one has

in the Gulf of

its death blow

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

244

Don

Lepanto by

of Austria

Juan

Sobieski. the walls of Vienna by the immortal that Moslem again,what are the facts? It is true

and under

still,

But

still divides

law

canon

parts are yet to be won

these two

as

or

are

into Dar

al-Islam"

ing accordof war," of Mohammedanism in the possession

al-harh"Ahode

and Dar

of Islam"

Abode

the world

to it

by the sword, yet it is,

is nevertheless, equallytrue that this distinction

now

practically of the

that the Christian Powers of territorial able to curtail Islam's schemes world are now expansion and render forever impossibleall hopes of world and military But, although Islam as a political a

letter and

dead

conquest. is

power

no

longer

present" it is

not

to

true

activities or

be

apprehended "

that she has

that

her

at

discontinued

propaganda

for

least

her

in behalf

the sionary mis-

of the

in than it was religionof the Prophet is less determined have the days of Saladin or Solyman the Magnificent. We from to us that come the authentic tokens only to scan convinced that Pan-Islamevery quarter of the globe to be ism is to-day a greatermissionary force peacefullyaggressive "

fanaticallypersistent ^than it has perhaps ever been in any period of her history.^reliable statistics Let us According to the most see. medans and fiftymillion Mohamabout two hundred there are now in the world,^^and this number, stupendous as it in their is,is rapidly increasing. The strongest agency phenomenal development is the annual hadj or pilgrimage but

to Mecca

"

which

every

free Mussulman

is

required to

make

"""The

of Islam is not, as often has been maintained, spiritualenergy so with its politicalpower. On the contrary, the loss of political and power worldly prosperity has served to bring to the front the finer Islam "piritualqualitieswhich are the truest incentives to missionary work. has learncMl the uses of adversity and far from decline in worldly prosso a perity being a presage of the decay of this faith, it is significantthat those show countries that been rule have ""fy Muilim Christian longest under tkeiQielTM most active in the work and of proselyting. The Indian Malay VokMBaMdans for the display a zeal and enthusiasm spread of the faith, wbieh one looks for in vain In Turkey and Morocco." T. W. Arnold, op. oit,

ecmmeniurate

p. 4S6. 427.

MAfieording Um

Bombtr

to Dr. Hubert of Mohammedans

Jansen's painstaking Verhreitung dea in the world in 1897 was 259,680,672.

lalams,

PAST

ISLAM, at least

in his lifetime.

once

Sacred

the

AND

PRESENT

During

the

245

period of

the

Jiadj,

and sees City of Moslemism gathered around walls a vast, surging throng of devotees, which

within

its

ranges

from

two

from

to three

hundred

thousand

strong. They

from the snowpart of Asia and Africa islands of swept steppes of Siberia,from the coral-fringed the Indian Archipelago, and from the tangled jungles of tars, Senegambia and Abyssinia. Turks, Kurds, Persians, TarChinese, Malays, Egyptians, Berbers, Nubians men of all colors and of countless tribes and tongues they all foregatherin the Sacred City of Arabia to get inspiration and strength to win proselytes to the creed of Mohammed. come

every

"

"

"

From

Mecca

half -pagan

where

ceremonies

which

his

religion,every

the

surpassinggreatness of

hadji

is thrilled

one

every

Mohammed

incorporated into

to his

returns

by the peculiar

Moslemism

home, and

imbued

with

exulting in the being numbered

thought that his is the blessed privilegeof the followers of the Prophet. Each one is a zealous among and is prepared, if need be, to give agent of Moslemism in disseminating its principles and in contributing, his life, the realization of the hopes far as in him lies,towards so the final world true Mohammedan of every triumph of "

Pan-Islamism. Such

a

determined

missionaries, stirred

of

army

to

a

by their experience in what is to them the holiest spot on earth, has during the last few decades achieved results that are positivelystartling.Not in centuries frenzy

of enthusiasm

has

Islam

so

Christendom.

And

at

the

present, on

to counteract

defiantlythrown never

before

followers

the it

was

of Christ

their well-directed

gauntlet down so incumbent,

to

campaign

use

every

to as

effort

of Mohammedan

proselytism. No

agency

is overlooked

towards "

their

success

by the Moslems in

their

that will

world-wide

tribute con-

ganda propa-

traders, shepherds, soldiers,husbandmen, shopkeepers, all are mollahs, muftis, marabouts engaged in "

TO

BERLIN

FROM

246

of winning converts

unceasing work ubiquitous, religionof Mohammed.

the

same

the

But

to

persistent"werethat possible" just mentioned, are the legions of proselytizers active

more

the

than

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

and

nearly a hundred Among them are different orders and millions of members. hamal to the proudest all classes of people from the humblest zealots known

shah ardent

dervishes who

as

sultan.

and

reformers

as

the

powerful propagators

alone.

Africa

northern

for

These

the extension

propagationof

are

of

the revelation

all

has

members to labor

Pan-Islamism

for

and

in ceasingly un-

the

in the

contained

as

are

order

sworn

of Allah

who

that

The last named yet known. lodges with six million oath-bound

or

of such

of Islam

has

world

zawivas

count

They count untold thousands and Sanusiyahs the Wahabis

most

undoubtedly the

now

ity unexampled has been their proselytingactivbetween Egypt and Cape Colony during the last few decades that millions have been brought under the banner whole of the prophet. Frequently in equatorialAfrica to Moslemtribes have, in a short period of time, been won ism by the unflaggingzeal and resistless enthusiasm of its Koran.

So

missionaries.

Every instrumentalitythat promises brought into requisition. With the

in their

success

the

tatingly is unhesiview

of

firming con-

continuously of converts, they have everywhere increasingthe number established schools,orphan asylums, and printing presses, and in Christian countries they have erected mosques. Only latelya great mosque was completed at Petrograd. Converts to Islam are found in Japan, Jamaica, British Guiana, and Brazil. The number of immigrant Moslems in the New

wavering

World

own

ranks

and

than one recentlyestimated at more hundred and fiftythousand, most, if not all,of them fired with the same zeal for the propagation of Mohammedanism was

as

their brethren in Asia

of

India,where accordingto the most are than sixtymillion adherents more

thoro

and

Africa.

In the various

parts available statistics, of the

Prophet,

the aimnal

to six hundred

ten thousand

from

247

PRESENT to Moslemism

of converts

number

estimated

AND

PAST

ISLAM,

is variously thousand.

conclusivley that Islam is very far In the vigorous from being either totteringor moribund. prosecution of the campaign which is to make Pan-Islamism not only a dominant but a dominant religiouspower ity as well,it exhibits all the pertinaciousactivpolitical power of its palmiest days. It is everywhere winning victories and greater victories. It is and ceaselesslyplanning new These

the

facts

prove

vigorous

most

the

and

force that confronts

Church

the

resolute

most

to-day.

that Islam

is approaching dissolution

ponder the

words

Dead

of the Arab

buried had

and

or

anti- Christian

Those

think

who

extinction

should

poet :

they

seen

me,

so

their

ready tale

they spread; Yet

I lived to

see

the tellers buried

all themselves

and

dead.

In the space

I have

preceding pages

available

actual tenets

give

to

and

an

status

endeavored

in the limited

statement

regarding the

honest

of Moslemism

in the past

as

well

ously present. While, on the one hand, I have studieschewed everything like detraction,I have, on the other, as carefullyavoided anything that could reasonably as

in the

be

construed

Mohammedanism. to compare for

as

an

apology It has

Moslemism

either

never

with

for

Mohammed

or

for*

bid! mind, God forChristianityas a means

entered

my

Creator for or attaining to a true knowledge of our is realizingthe highest spiritualideals of which our race capable. No, Christianity, especiallythat form of it which has sanctified and crowned the lives of a St. Jerome, a St. of Assisi, a St. Theresa, a Joan of Arc; which Francis of an presided at the sublime meditations Augustine of of Aquin, of a Dante Hippo, or a Thomas Alighieri,of a Christopher Columbus ; which has given to the world such heroes matchless and heroines of charity and self-sacrifice St. Vincent de Paul, a Father as a Damien, a Sister of

TO

BERLIN

FBOM

248

Charity, or

Little Sister of the Poor;

a

truest, the holiest,the most the

AND

BAGDAD.

BABYLON

that for

is the

us

beneficent of all religions;

word revealed that contains in all its fullness the piness which must be our guide to a world of hapthe

one

one of God, eternal in the life beyond the tomb.

many,

are

however, compel justice,

and

Truth

Nor

there be any

can

Islam

things in

many,

very

doubt

us

that there

to admit

to extort

tion. admira-

our

achieved

that Mohammed

drinkthings for the improvement of his idolatrous, The countrymen. sodden, vice-steeped,feud-wrecked beautiful things Koran, we must confess, contains many regarding one's duties towards God and one's neighbor;

many

directlyor indirectlyderived from the the doctrines of the the Old Testament, or from New or Notwithstanding all this, however, the early Church.

but all of them

are

teachings of Islam

as

are

far beneath

truths of Christianityas

Prophet Son

saving

comparab in-

and

and

is the gross

the all-pureand

beneath

of Mecca

the

sual sen-

all-perfect

of God.

again to the previouslyquoted opinion of Cardinal serve as a steppingHergenroether,Islam can and as such is worthy stone from fetishism to Christianity of our sympatheticstudy and appreciation. deeply Among the countless amiable, honest,hospitable, But,

to

recur

religiousMussulmans lands God

there is

and who

holy will were to them.

a

that every

large

would

number

make

any

who

are

but

yearn

finds in Moslem for

union

sacrifice to conform

it but clearlyand

They

traveler

unmistakably made

awaitingthe

with

with His known

arrival of the Savior's

and will receive the word of salvation with joy messenger and thanksgiving.The spiritual unrest Moslems; among the ever-increasing attempts at social and doctrinal

form; re-

the very zeal which loyal Moslems even exhibit in extendingthe creed of the Prophet"the only form of religion with which they are really acquainted" attest their "Agerness

in

seekingthe

truth

and

explain their ardor

in

PAST

ISLAM,

they deem

propagating what the Most High. Add

to all this

leaders time

well

as

a

as

Islam

the

Christian

249

only revelation

of

a

; when

missionaries

that

the

be made

rapprochement between the vast organizationsof

and

to arrive Christianityshould endeavor understanding of one another's doctrines and

better

of

Mussulman

serious effort should

a

the Crescent

and

to be

kind

effectingsome

the Cross

PRESENT

widespread feeling among among when

has finallycome

towards

AND

at

a

tices prac-

when, risingsuperior to that age-long antipathy and that mischievous odium theologicum which has so long kept them in a state of implacable hostility, they should strive ;

to meet

of the More

another

one

as

brothers

in

Lord

one

and

children

as

Father.

same

than sixtyyears

ruler

Abd-el-Kader,

ago

the

giftedAlgerian

**If the Mussulmans and patriot,wrote: Christians would their divergence give ear to me, I should cause to cease become brothers.''^* and they would

The

and

feel that the moral of mankind

supposed

are

to

and

not

be.

so

The

a

similar to

view

is daily increasing. They

religiousideas irreconcilable

of the various

they

as

greatest barrier

of sentiments

communion

entertain

distinguishedemir

of the

that

who

of Moslems

number

between

are

ordinarily

towards

Christians

races

a

and

nearer

medans Moham-

move by ignorance and prejudice. Rethis barrier and the way, they contend, will be prepared gious for intellectual sympathy and, eventually,for reli-

erected

has been

union.

Notwithstanding the long

centuries

of

wars

between

the

far from are so Crescent, Mohammedans regarding our Savior, as is commonly supposed, with the tained hatred and contempt which Christians have usually enterfor Him for the Prophet of Mecca, that they have He which is inferior only to that with which reverence a

Cross

8*

leur

and

the

et les Chretiens

"Si les Mussulmans

divergence,et ils diviendraient

it VIntelUgent, Avis

a

freres

Indifferent,p.

105

me

pr^taient 1' oreille,je ferais cesser et k I'interieur." Rappel (Paris, 1858).

k I'exterieur

is

They believe that earth and, having slain Antichrist,

Christians themselves.

regardedby

again return to establish a reign

will

He

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

250

and justiceamong men. of peace last be triumphant and the They believe that truth will at According to the sword will be sheathed forevermore. amalgamation of Shiahs of India there will then be an

will

of universal peace

of

ike Parliament

In

of

something and charity

highest sense

in its truest and dream

then, finally,will be realized

Christianityand

and

Islam

the Federation

man,

of the world.

would

and

to offer

seem

there

But

Redeemer.

world's

of the

vating ele-

more

favorable opportunityfor preaching to peculiarly

Gospel

the

Moslems,

existingamong agitationnow spiritual for a purer of them aspirationsof so many The

creed than that of Mohammed

Tennyson's

them

a

the

tunately, unfor-

are,

There insuperable difficultiesin the way. and the unprincipled are, first and foremost, the selfish diplomacy aggressions of the European Powers, which nullify quent in advance all projectsof Christian propaganda. The freexhibitions of very questionablemorality oii the part of certain European diplomatists who have manifested a

almost

total

disregardof

the most

conquests of Christian utter

an

humanity and

and

barbarous

helped to England ""An ^

Amarican

It tb"r" rain

fair

nam*

CkrisUam

^"* iMMriit

often

methods

which

Moslems

and

black

Mohammedan,

p. 236

(New

Engllih author writing of Our *prtatige' serves as an

'" *"^ **^^^'""*^***"iJii^**"!*' "wf iaa btlUi thai to

deatroywhat

we

in the

campaign

to wash

away massacre?"

ruthless

York,

the

British for

^^ ^*

querors. con-

in

Transcau-

Tripoli, asks: on Italy's

stain

the

G.

F.

Herriclc

in

1912).

excuse

cannot

not

Italy in Tripoli,of

of

Italian

heavens

by

cruel

most

the religion of their

Coast," of Russia

sweet

played dis-

thesie things have

"

campaigns

in the

times

at

to the

recourse

writer, referringto the

deep

have

ruthless

elementary rights of

the most

had

; the

covenants

of warfare

to

recent

enough

mada and

""

have

the Gold

on

nations

disregard of

commend

The

solemn

*^"

war

on

committing entity that

retain

is the

the what has

Gold we

Coast

should

juggled

us

prerogativenot

and

Christianity of too

too

we

can

has

time

The

the

It

of

intelligence zeal

win

of

a

of

for

Christ,

Crusades be

the

ratione;

"*I atUck fore*

Pet"r

what

should a

Mohammad.

cry

not

as

people

be

sed

our

not

reason;

the

ut

non,

Venerable the who

war

Deus

lo

the

and

to

be

make

should,

in

God

flaming tempered

Crusade all

that

volt

the

a

And

inspired

be

wisely

of

Christian

of

the must

voice

the

^by

"

in Padre

old

good

shall

It

cry

of

Crusade

a

by

Father.

to dren chil-

men

in

which the

sade, Cru-

new

wills

the

it.

"

nostri

people in

faciunt,

saepe

Peter often

hate

do

but

his of

as

for

Assisi; by

"

opens

are

which

expositor

of

Savior,

amore."

attitude

calamo

Lully;

the

the

souls

of

which

Francis

our

was

odio,

non

by

which

with

V08

you, but

old peace

**"^ggre(!i\oT Md

a

heavenly

same

of

the

Venerable.^^

the

the

of

Raymond

a

Peter

souls

et

Crusade

a

of

love

lingua pen

be

must

ardent

the

by

the

and

evangelist

teaching.

by

replaced

be

Marracci,

perpetuate

but

words

the

in

such

West.

the

Crusade

new

a

shall,

sword

and

fire

which

for

come

of

souls

God-created

the

from

East

into

God-created

the

separated

have

centuries

long

to

right

conquest

misunderstandings

fatal

the

and

hostility

deep

tended

has

which

and

suffering

untold

of

lust

innocent

the

and

weak

the

plunged

has

which

cannot

makes

might

abiding

that

control

soon

Gospel

the

Crucified,

the

that

theory

accursed

our

of

followers

the

of

acceptance

eventual

an

; we,

abjure

soon

nor

love

and

peace

to

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FEOM

252

the

proud

in

first

the with

against

sensitive

verbis;

are

Mussulmans

that

would as

are

the

by

not

with

words and

have

673.

col

words; the

vi,

non

cit.,

op. with

These

missionary and

sed

but

arms,

love." book

armis

Venerable,

a

shows

hearing

followers

of

CHAPTER ALONG

TRADE

THE

XI

ROUTES

OF

THE

NEAR

EAST

Beautiful old stories, Tales of angels,fairy legends. Stillyhistories of martyrs. Festal songs and words of wisdom; Hyperboles, most quaint it may he, Yet repletewith strength,and fire, And faith how they gleam. And glow and glitter! "

Heine.

Apart from its imposing few things in the Near East

subjectsfor

more

its trade

do

course

same

of the

Ur

messengers

from Now

Susa

as

they

of

are

storied past,

greater interest

reflection to the serious

which,

routes

of the

monuments

did

Chaldees

into

of the

Great

when the

the

for

land

traveler

part, follow

most

Abraham

or

fared

of Canaan

King sped along

forth

and the

when

Royal

gest sug-

than the from the Road

to Sardis.

ance. roadways follow the lines of least resistBut, owing to the peculiar topographicalconditions of many East, the traveler's choice of parts of the Near direction is necessarily limited. In the broad pitable and inhosdesert his course will necessarily depend on the location of the few existingsprings and wells and wadis, while in the mountainous regions it will,in great measure, be governed by a few In and widely-separated passes. too, where broad and deep rivers are to be many cases, crossed, the direction taken, especiallyduring the season of rains and floods,will vary with the condition of oftenfords. changing and frequently treacherous The celebrated Royal Road, of which Herodotus gives so in point. The of student graphic an account, is a case as

then

the

253

*"

ancient history is surprisedwhen

emporium

the famous

its circuitous

capitalof

and

of Croesus,but the

he learns

when

evident

he first observes

the one-time

between

course

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

254

Persia

comes of it be-

reason

something of the character

through which it passed. He then discovers before the that the prehistorictravelers" long centuries first selected who days of Cyrus and Darius and Xerxes" the plainsof Mesopotamia route between this long and roundabout of the country

the shore

and them

morasses

as we

a

route

took

which

and dangerdeserts and pitiless ous high mountains railroad engineer did simply what a modern

over

"

similar circumstances

do under

would

of the ^gean"

chose

"

for their

turesome ven-

journey the line of least resistance.^ that the word **road,'' It must, however, here be observed used in the Orient,rarely has the same meaning which is rarely anything road There attach to the term. a or

beasts

Susa

and

travelers between

line of route

the

than

more

marked Even

of burden.

Sardis

by the footprintsof the Royal Highway

nothing more

was

than

It

this.

of builders the great road only when the Romans antiquity became masters of western Asia that its leading cities were connected by roads in our conception of the word. Now, however, only traces of these splendidhighways constructed by the Caesars exist,and roads available for wheeled vehicles are in most stillalmost as rare parts of the Near East as they were in the time of Tigranes or Tiglath-Pileser. was

"

"

* For referred

A

helpfulmap, indicating the to

the

third

volume

o!

course

Rawlinson's

of the Five

Royal Road, Great

the

Monarchies

reader

is

(New

Much York, 1881). this on light is also thrown interesting subject by Bnoell'i valuable work, The Geographical System of BerodotuSt Vol. I, Sec. II (London, 1830). It U well, in reference to this subject,to recollect that the ordinary policy

of the Asiatic monarchies not that of holding immense was continuous areas of territory, but the comparatively simpler one of safeguarding the great hi^h"It is important to remember with this in connection W^Jl of Mamunication. niPid eooqoeet like that of Alexander. To conquer the Achcemenian empire the effective occupation of all the area within its extreme ]^ mean frOBtMrt" that would have been a task but man's lifetime" one exceeding tw eonqoMt of iU cultivated districts and the holding of the roads which ^^- ^''* ^"**** ^f 8eleucut,Vol. I, p. 22 (by E. R. Bevan, ~

'

liSr"*"

TRADE

ROUTES

OF

EAST

NEAR

THE

255

But, although the great majority of eastern roads have than felt a spade or pick-ax,and are nothing more never evanescent or shiftingsand, footprintsin spongy swamp most of them an air of legend nevertheless there hangs over and

food

much

for

had

We

known

as

Here

the followers

here

for

of the to Rome

a

long

of Christ

great empire

it

also

which

as

of

Antakia, formerly its greatest splendor Crown

Beautiful,'* **The

and

Eye

of Christendom."

first called Christians

were

of the most

one

and

influential seats

generations it ranked next the most as important emporium the Caesars. During a long period terminus of the great trade route

Church.

in the was

was

to

days

the

Metropolis

Alexandria

and

Tarsus

in the

**Antioch

time

Christian

affords

can

from

to go

East,*'^'The

of the

over

he

as

capitalof Syria, which was

and

the

find in any of the great civilized regions of the modern world.

more

wished

stimulates

preeminent degree

a

thought

of the

highways the

in

of the traveler

mind

which

historic association

and

romance

of

the western

For

borne

was

The

for distribution among

and

of Ormus

wealth

of Ind

of Greece

the marts

and Rome.

But

mains visitingthe scattered reof this once famous city and we perforce boarded a train on the Bagdad Railway and started for Aleppo, whose history is in some respects scarcelyless eventful than that of the erstwhile capitalof the Seleucids. of the Bagdad We left the Cilician Plain road, Railby way

lack

of time

prevented

which

took

us

from

us

several

over

well-constructed

steel

of tunnels in the Amanus bridges and through a number Range. One of these tunnels, said to be the longest in than three miles in length. The roadbed, Turkey, is more bridges, tunnels, stations,and rolling stock of this noted line compare favorably with those of the best railways in Europe and show, better than words, what great trade

development

in the

when

Near

East

they put

its

their

projectorshad

millions

in the

in

templation con-

Bagdad

Will they

Railroad.

investment!

for their stupendous

return

receive any And, if so,

ever

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

256

Echo

when?

asks

"*When"T The

aiidin the the Taurus can

Range along the railroad in the Amanus plainon the way to Aleppo is much like that of and of Cilicia Campestris,where one Mountains

scenery

the

trulysay with is

There And

smile

a

poet Bryant fruit,and

the

on

laugh from the hrook that

a

Evenrwhere

one

through lands

that

to the

runs

flower,

the

on sea.

tory, placesthat are famous in hisand profane. Everywhere one passes during thousands of years, witnessed the upon

comes

sacred

both

smUe

a

and Assyrians and Hittites, Persians and and Parthians, Mongols and Saracens Greeks, Romans Turks. And everywhere are ruins of Christian temples and monasteries which recall the gloriesof the early Church, devastations

of

the triumphs of her reminders

of the

the followers as

dangerous

demanded

days

of the

when

Roman

or

they

Empire and when blood,on the ground

persecuted regarded

were

that

silent

as

Sassanian

to the

their

serve

governors

Crucified because

foes of the religionof Zoroaster. of worship but littlenow remains arches

which

martyrs, and

satraps

they

houses

of these

Of many

the

were

except a few crumbling disintegrating pillarsand doorways. Of others

all that is left is buried

under

a

brush-covered

tell where

a

half-famished goat is seekinga little sustenance whence or a Turkoman shepherd is watching his nearby flock.

Notwithstanding,however, churches

and monasteries

have

the

fact

long

that

ceased

of

most

to be

the than

more

heaps of dusty rubbish,there are still a few edifices of the long ago in a comparatively good state of preservation. Among these one of the most notable is that of KaPat Sim'an

to the northwest

of Aleppo and

from

but

a

short

the railway. KaPat the Caetle of Simon is

a

from the fifthcentury and

is unquestionably the most

"

Simian"

which

distance

is the Arabic

monastery church

which

for

dates

admir-

TRADE

ROUTES

OF

THE

of ruins in northern able group this magnificent mandra,

about

the

these

were

NEAR

EAST

Syria. According or

monastery,

was

257 tion to tradierected

pillaron which the noted St. Simeon Stylitesspent thirty-sixyears of his life and where, by his extraordinary austerities and superior holiness of life, he was tion the edificaof countless thousands far and from near. Among Empress

the

Emperor Theodosius Eudocia, as well as other

of the

II and

his consort, the

distinguished personages

Byzantine capital.

Styliteshere referred is often thought to was not as unique in his but the first of the long line strange mode of life. He was of stylitaB, and or pillarsaints,whose peculiar asceticism undoubted so sanctity made deep an impression on their pleasure-loving contemporaries not only in Asia but in Europe as well. But more extraordinary than the ruins of churches and It may

here

be remarked "

that the

Simeon "

greet the traveler in every part of the which are due to the Levant, are the imposing monuments from and which are found in surprising numbers Crusaders southern to northern Palestine Mesopotamia. Crowning heights and protecting strategicpasses, precipice-encircled of architectural beauty and massive they are marvels deur. grantary which belonged to the great MiliThose, particularly, Orders and vie in vastness soliditywith the great ube. strongholds which are the glory of the Rhine and the Dannot only highly fortified strongholds with They were bastions,barbicans, and donjons which served as places of refuge to the surrounding population in times of stress and also lordly palaces with spacious halls danger, but were and noble chapels and chapter houses worthy of the great castles of France and England. than the massiveness and grandeur No less remarkable of these venerable the charming locations which ruins are And then the picturesquenames which were they occupy. given them by their Frankish builders ! Among them were such appellations as Blanchegarde, Chateau Pelerin,La monasteries

which

Pierre

a

even

gave

of the Air.

Built

snow-capped Hermon lordly strongholdsof

and

Star

of

flanks

commanding

these

Lebanon

when

poeticalname

more

el-Hawa"

called it Kokab

famed

BABYLON

Desert, and Castle Belvoir,to the last of which

du

Arabs

the

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

258

they the

on

cedar-

the Crusaders

Knightly Orders of the medisBval times have about which ope envelthem all the glamour and chivalryand romance can the most noted castles of the Tyrolean Alps or the TusApennines. As I contemplatedthese fascinatingruins and the superb sites which they so adorn and recalled the

and of the

which

stirringscenes of the most that

romantic

they had

poet and

the

not

more

they witnessed and that too, in one epochs of the world, I often wondered frequently supplied themes for the

novelist.

in his Jerusalem

Tasso

Delivered

richness of material idea of the marvelous gives us some here awaiting the writer of fiction no less than the literary of sober artist in the domain history and archaeology. Where, indeed,could a true romanticist find better locations for the plotsof his stories than in the wonderful old castles of Karat el-Hosn,KaPat-es-Subebeh,or Burj Safita grandiose in their which aeries been have yet fairylike lofty the houses of the bravest Knights who have ever couched a lance and which, despitetheir present dilapidatedcondition, "

"

for centuries all

have

been

parts of the world.

itself to tales of

famous and

"

And

Antioch

and

places which

exploitsof the Crusaders been

what

identified with

of travelers

land

and

the most

are

Carmel, Tyre witnessed whose

found and

the most have

names

from

readily lends

more

than that in which

romance

places as

Jerusalem

the admiration

glorious names

such

Ascalon brilliant so

long

of Christian

chivalry! It is

a

long step from

"adea to the

the

highlyrevered

in all Moslem

countries.

superb

tekkehs In

or

the Near

the

country. These

in almost

tekkehs, which

which

mezars

East

the publichighway, in everywhere"along

quarters of largecities and

of the Cru-

monuments

they

the most

deserted

abound are

seen

crowded

sections

frequently serve

of

the

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

260

grims large. They are frequented by pilparticularly the from all parts,who prostratethemselves before

shrines is

of the saints to whose

tombs

the

offeringsand where at

for hours "seeks where him

devout

the authority which

he

and

pray

Moslem/'

faith withholds

his

what

*'The

time.

a

more

liberal

shrines they often make Kuenen

as

from

himself

chant

and

him

hymns tells us, seeks it

recognized forbids

for if*

to look

to

According

a

departed Moslem it is

For

widespread opinion the bodies of saints are not supposed to undergo a

traditions,that when

belief,confirmed

common

the tombs

of saints and

the ruption. cor-

by countless martyrs

are

the appearance have accidentallyopened their remains blooming, their of being freshly buried: "their faces are bright and blood would issue from their bodies, eyes are if wounded.

' ' "

Not only is the Moslem of the term, but his tomb to live and

have

in which

is his house

he receives

to him

recourse

saint not dead, in

acceptation

our

in which

he continues

the petitionsof those

in their difficulties. And

yet

who more.

he can implicit belief of his devotees leave his tomb, go on long journeys and return again. Firmly believingin a great invisible organization of saints and in the picturesqueal-Khader, who is reputed to wander continuouslythrough the lands of Islam performing everywhere the will of Allah, and in the countless but deceased still very active and ubiquitous saints,the life of the pious Mussulman is indeed, as has truly been observed "hedged around everywhere by the Unseen. Our journey from Tarsus to Aleppo was able a rarely enjoyAt every turn of the road we one. saw something of unique historic or legendary interest. Everything mountain crags, swirlingrivers,foaming torrents,moss-covered castles,crumbling churches, that would have enraptured a

According

to

the

' '

"

RwUw, 1880, "l^jytowory -fcl'STT^! ^^T^**^"of a

(by RJehard

F.

p. 302.

Pilgrimage

Burton, Boiton, 1868).

to

El-Medinah

and

Meccah,

p.

299

Hobbema

or

that

motionless

were

which, under

**we

giving

are

these

Saracen

fantastic

shapes, the figure of the

was

Verily," I said to of the jinn and they

of

a

of

crest

gray

donjons and

vapor,

in the land exhibition

an

us

dark

mance ro-

traveling in

**

fable.

of eastern

rock

261

bright,cumulus clouds seemingly, had grouped

near

mountain

the

from

fashioned

of

of Norman

hovering

And

strongholds.

to be

the

influence

into the forms

themselves

giant

above

EAST

of glamour and

while

masses

magic

some

NEAR much

so

all the

seemed

we

held

"

fairyland. High

veritable Amanus

Ruysdael

a

THE

OF

ROUTES

TRADE

their

panion, com-

are

here

inanimate

over

power

my

for their Having the authority of Mohammed belief in these supernatural beings of smokeless fire,is it Mussulman ascribingto surprising to find the untutored he cannot conceive what their agency as being done by It is the jinn means? human riding in the whirlwind," that cause, he firmly believes,the gyrating pillarsof sand the desert and the portentous waterspouts to sweep over to rise from the troubled sea, as it is the jinn that transform nature."

**

countless

into

clouds

of

forms

animate

and

inanimate

readily discerns in a clouddappled sky. Should one then be surprised at the exquisite pleasure which the wonder-loving followers of the Prophet oriental

nature, which

find in the

recital

Nights and

a

fancy

so

stories of ''A

of the famous

Night

' ' "

stories

in which

Thousand

the marvelous

is

so

conspicuous and in which the jinnplay so important a role ? While densely populated region,we traveling this once that in the triangle comrecalled a saying of the Arabs prised between Hama, Antioch, and Aleppo are found the remains

of

cities.

This

we

within

intact.

""But

statement

this

area

the fourth

from

caused

fewer

than

is, doubtless,an

''over

a

and

hundred

three

willingto accept the

were

are

no

estimate

exaggeration but

of Reclus

that there

Christian

hundred

to the seventh

sixty-five

century

and

towns

ing dat-

stillalmost

""

for the

the

roofs

have earthquakes which to fall in nothing would

here

be

and

there

rent

missing except

the

the

walls and woodwork

there

Then

are

landscape-^ach with tomb and lightedlamp.

with

a

note

small

to

Around

implore the aid, if

fruit and

not

frequently of them

many

have, presumably,

who

women

oil and

offeringsof

to make

and

of

groups

and

Kiblah

a

which

tekkehs

dome-covered

the countless

the

stud

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

262

the

coin to the

we

come

guardian

intercession,of

local

the

saint.

ever-interestingobjectsthere are humble of which one rejoicesin of the country folk,every homes mulberry tree. Frequently the scene or its fig,plaintain, tents and enlivened by flocks and is sprinkledwith nomad and by long lines of herds which dot the green expanse, swaying camels which slowly bear their heavy burdens along the long-neglectedhighway, still continuing their of years, notwithstanding the arrival service of thousands The of their great competitor the iron horse. increasing of trade and the need of rapid communication demands the construction of railways in Asia as necessary as make in other parts of the world, but the lover of the picturesque when the locomotive will hope that the time will never come will entirelydisplacethe camel, which seems to be an essential feature in every eastern landscape. This thought comes with specialinsistence as the shriek of the railway to me whistle announces arrival at Aleppo, where train of a our in place of a caravan of camels to be as cars appears incongruousas at the Jappa Gate of Jerusalem. While in Aleppo we the fortunate were guests of the Franciscan friars,the best and most gentle of hosts. They these

Besides

"

"

"

received had

the

a

third of

a

manners

of

to

me

their

customs

the

Aleppines during

of its

*^"JJderiof ^iirllA^tlTJ*** Md otter bard

more

drawn

Thanks

people,they

recent from the

expcDBive." The M^MO tfOttl^Mmw

to their

thorough knowledge

and

mAt"rialt and

hospitalitywhich they in Egypt and the Holy

century before.

residence in Aleppo and more

cordial

same

graciouslyextended

so

Land

with

us

my cities.

short The

quarries Earth

enabled

and

removal

of the to

me

sojourn

of the

of

district

long see

among

the

basalts

would

Its Inhabitants, Vol.

have

IV,

in and

Agostino, whose

Padre

learned

been

kindness

extreme

forget the

never

have

otherwise

would

than

them

263

possible.

of

the

I

shall and

courteous of

knowledge

Aleppo continuallyreminded

about

EAST

NEAR

THE

OF

ROUTES

TRADE

everything

of his learned

me

who constant was my confrere, Frere Lieven de Hamme, I spent many guide and friend during the happy weeks and its environs. years before in the holy cityof Jerusalem the two There is,however, a great difference between and holy is a city of sacred monuments cities. Jerusalem memories while Aleppo is noted as Syria's busiest interior At

mart.

present

than

fewer

no

populationis

about

the

heyday

three

hundred

in

but

thirty thousand counted

its

of

and

hundred

one

its prosperity it souls.

thousand

It

the Orient great entrepot of trade between Then and the Occident. brought silks from great caravans Persia, spices,drugs, China, carpets and tapestry from India the and Spioe pearls, and precious stones from then headquarIslands of the Malay Archipelago. It was ters for a large colony of Venetian, Dutch, French, and who here exchanged the products of the English merchants of the East. for the prized merchandise West traveler who Pietro della Valle,the distinguishedRoman visited Aleppo in 616, was immensely impressed by the So great was transactions. magnitude of its commercial involved the amount of money never that, he says, it was And counted but always weighed in boxes. no one, he assures spoke of sales or purchases that did not us, ever to sums which amount ranged, at the lowest,from forty to then

was

a

the

thousand

hundred For

long time Aleppo

a

in the East the

7 e

"Nel

non

ottanta

Viaggi When

far fa

o

centomila

di Pietro one

and

of their

le mereanzie, mai compra della

remembers

que

vendita

o

piu

a

Valle, Vol. the

minuto

non

I, p. 331

purchasing

illustrious patrician compared indeed considerable.

India

East

si eontano, ma dove

non

of the chief trade

one

was

centers

companies. greatest prosperity the amount

of the Levant

period

si

scudi.^

with

what

si pesano non

intere

casse

corran

of

di denari;

quaranta, cinquanta,

si parla e sarebbe (Brigliton,1843).

of money power it is now, the

ing Dur-

in sums

vergogna."

of the the time mentioned were

BERLIN

FROM

264

here

transacted

business

to these two

counted

no

For, in addition

enormous.

was

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

the British Factory here great organizations, all the fewer than eighty firms,besides which

leading countries of Europe had here their factories or of securing organizationsof factors or agents for the purpose their share of the great trade of the Orient. of the Far At that time a great part of the commerce and Bagdad. of Basra Then to Aleppo by way East came

population of

the

it does

whereas

and

Gama and

of

number

than

more

Bagdad's

thousand

one-fourth

of

inhabitants

has

mercial proportion. The great decrease in the comimportance of these two cities was partly due to pestilence. But the great discovery by Vasco da

of

all-sea route

an

the opening of the

trafficbetween small

count

now

hundred

two

in

diminished

war

not The

number.

that

exceeded

Basra

between

Canal

Suez

the Mediterranean

fraction

of what

it

the West

and

reduced

the

the East overland

the Persian

and

Gulf

to

in the

palmy days of the great European factories of Aleppo, Basra, and Bagdad. the Bagdad Railway According to the plans of its projectors, is to restore this overland trade to its former tude magniand even and value. greatly add to its amount a

was

It is difficultfor the modern

the present overland form the

true

any

old

traveler

between

routes

conception of trade

caravan

conducted.

the

stupendous scale the two emporia

between

Although

he passes along Aleppo and Basra to as

the distance

places is nearly eight hundred

miles

and

between most

on was

which merly for-

the two

of the road

passes through the inhospitable Syrian and Arabian deserts and the difficultiesto be encountered, at the time of which we

speaking,were

are

the number and

world

a

life in this

seems

caravans

in

of merchants

and

they were manifold, who ventured capitalists tune for-

grave

and

as

forbiddingand dangerous part

of the

almost incredible. And

the magnitude of the the value of the merchandise they transported

singlejourneywas

In the

as

caravan

with

yet

more

which

astonishing. Delia

Valle

traveled

there

ROUTES

TRADE

large tents. Tavemier, counted

more

crossed this

in

When

men.

the

of the

That

the

1745

there

desert

EAST and

persons

celebrated

six hundred

camels

French and

four

265

forty or traveler, hundred

Englishman, William thousand

two

were

the number

far less than

was

NEAR

ns," fifteen hundred

he informs

were,

THE

OF

that

Beawes,

in the

was

But

camels!

caravan

Eldred, when a century and a half the journey from earlier he made Bagdad to Aleppo with with laden camels four thousand spices and other rich But the largestof these caravans much merchandise. was in 1750 went which from smaller than the one Bagdad to camelg composed of five thousand Aleppo and which was of his countryman,

John

**

'*

and

hundred

eleven

men.

Gulf

and

the Mediterranean

from

two

to ^ve

thousand

trade

When was

camels

the Persian

between

of

brisk, caravans

most

crossed

the

desert

twice

John

Aleppo and Bagdad. The Dutch traveler, Huyghen Van Linschoten, attributes the great prosperity of Ormuz to the fact that it was located on the great

trade

route

year

a

between

The

to India."

value

of the merchandise

carried

by these

great. Thus we are told of Carmichael, which an English trader, one thirtymules, fiftyhorses, and twelve hundred often

was

hundred

very

of

which

were

laden

with

caravans

caravan

of

consisted

of

the

camels, **six

merchandise

valuing

that carried the on nearly 300,000 pounds. The caravans in the words of a trade between Aleppo and Mocha were, esteemed writer of the time, indifferentlyrich if they ' '

**

less than

carry

ducats

two of

million dollars

gold either

or

one

hundred

sand thou-

Hungarian, Venetian,

or

Moorish.'' Op. cit.,Vol. I, p. 353. to the East Linschoten The Van Indies, Vol. I, Voyage of John Huyghen "Merchants come 1885). (pub. by the Hakluyt Society, London, p. 48 thither" Ormuz "from India with ships loaded with spicery and precious other wares, stones, pearls, cloths of silk and gold, elephants' teeth and many "and which Ormuz these in which of Hormos" they sell to the merchants 'tis a city of imthe world mense turn all over to dispose of again. In^fact carry Polo the Venetian The Book trade." of 8er Marco Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, Vol. I, p. 107 (trans, by H. Yule, London. 8

9

"

"

"

1903).

"

mation foregoing statements are illuminating in the inforand the suppliedrespectingthe size of the caravans of merchandise they transported,but they give us

The

amount

idea of the great fatiguesand

no

for

inhabited

throws the

which

had

caravans

beyond he

tells

the

of

character

the

which

of eighteen years

country in

1581

in India

and

Returning

traverse.

to

his long wanderings

from

deserts

cheerless

part by hostile and plundererick, Venetian traveler, Caesar Fred-

light on

some

incurred

were

most

the The

seeking Bedouins.

that

dangers

in the long journeys through the were

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

266

that:

us

Aleppo is forty days' journey, in which the Wilderness, in which they make thirty-sixdays over thirty-sixdays they neither see houses, trees nor people that inhabit it,but only a plaine and no signe of any way I say in thirty-sixdayes we in the world. over passe the wildernesse. For when from Babilon two we depart dayes wee by villagesinhabited until we have passed passe then within two dayes of Aleppo the river Euphrates. And have villagesinhabited.^** we From

Babilon

to

...

As

precaution against attacks by Arab robbers, Pietro della Valle informs us that it was to post always necessary at night a strong guard around the caravan. During the entire night this guard runs around the camp shouting a

**

"

is their custom

as

their enemies

to their friends

"

keep away.''"

to

all this to the anxious

was

caravan

and

to be

How

on

the alert and

conducive

to

members

way-worn

sleep of the

I

But While

beasts and

Moved

on

they were Although

"

a

together o'er the plain mighty caravan of pain,

not

it

entirelycut off from the rest was long generations before the

Vol. ^'""y"^"". I!?M*?"^'',* """" attorno

,

!""".

men

al

V, p.

campo intorno

L"IM""r*2il^"',??'* *

Vol

I

Sl"*'"

*""^* ^

*^

446

della e

invention

of

(Glasgow. 1904). carovana

.

.

gridavano, (secondo

nemici

of the world.

che

non

molte .

la

sentinelle

lors

si accostassero."

usanza)

che

agli

Op. cit,,

tion is

in it

II,who of furthering the projects of of Egypt, of Persia, the Khedive of Mecca cordiallyjoined in this

to the late

chieflydue

power-means The Shah Pan-Islamism. saw

a

and the Sherif and

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

Ulema

Hamid

Sultan, Abdul

great enterprise.Contribution from rich and poor towards world. Luckin from all parts of the Moslem the work came and Rangoon, $300,000; contributed $140,000;Madras now the less than $200,000 on while an Indian Prince spent no

engaged

were

which

was

Islamism

One

most

was

this

to further could

the

wheels. But on virtuallya mosque pilgrimsappreciate the road still more the sacred

the

railway medan Moham-

of

cause

anything

is its prayer pilgrims,

diers sol-

Caliphate than

car.

Pan-

else whatever.

Hedjaz Railway trains,which

of the

the devout

to reach

of

holy cities of the

it is

them

thousand

seven

construction

than effectively

more

feature

appealsto

which

and

the

than

closelyto the Osmanli

more

before

in

fewer

the two

to combine

world ever

No

station alone.

Medina

strongly For

them

majority of

because

the

it enables

cities of their heart 's desire without

dent fatiguesand dangers that are inciincurring the many to the slow-moving caravans. For what with the plague, the cholera, the treacherous Bedouins, and the to the withering desert sun the mortality of the exposure pilgrimsto Mecca is enormous. To

the observant

than interesting

traveler to

in the East

contemplate

the

few

things are pilgrim caravan

more as

it

Winds

slowly in one line interminable Of camel aftercamel, or

is

suggestive of serious thoughts regarding Moslem belief and practice. more

Many there are who account for the wide spread of Islam, which now numbers two hundred and fiftymillion adherents,by declaring that it is an easy and sensual religion. But

good Padre

even

the first to make

an

exhaustive

Marracci,who

was

one

of

study of the religionof

Mohammed,

OF

ROUTES

TRADE

that

saw

this

THE

NEAR

explanation

EAST

tory.^' satisfac-

not

was

269

Mussulman on to obligationincumbent every ^which is imposed both by the Koran and give liberal alms by tradition;to observe the strict and very trying fast of and water abstaining during the day from Ramadan, tobacco even ual though engaged in the severest kinds of manat least once labor, and to make during his lifetime the arduous and perilouspilgrimage to Medina and Mecca, The

"

"

would

rather

seem

to

act

as

an

effective

deterrent

to

the

acceptance of the religionof the Prophet. To

those

account

for

the

of

success

Islam

on

the

that **it attracts

by pandering to the self-indulgence the pertinent question: men,*' Voltaire addresses

theory of

who

Were neither

there eat

imposed

upon

from

drink

a

you

four

law

that

should

you

in the

morning until ten month of July ; at night through the whole that you from wine should abstain and gaming under penalty of should make a damnation; that you pilgrimage across burning deserts ; that you should bestow at least two and a the poor ; and that having half per cent of your on revenue accustomed to eighteen wives, you been should suddenly be limited to four ^would you call this a sensual religion? nor

.

.

.

"

"

lay such

self-indulgenceas a factor in the success of Mohammedanism forget that **a motive of of itself,make the fortune of a sensuality could never, plicity religion. They forget what a strong appeal the very simmakes of the Moslem creed to a man naturally medanism religious.For, reduced to its simplest expression,Mohamembraces but two fundamental ^belief dogmas Those

who

stress

on

' '

"

in God

and

stripped

of

belief in all

a

future

life.

**A

creed

theologicalcomplexities and

so

precise,

so

consequently

13 Vivendi licentia,inquies, illos allicit. Ita puto: sed aliquid aliud est nimirum hsec superstitio quod illos sub boni verique specie decipiat. Habet Religione reperitur et quea quidquid plausibileac probabile in Christiana videntur. consfentanea naturae Hysteria ilia fidei nostrae quae legi ac lumini et impossibibliaapparent, et praecipue quae nimia primo aspectu inchedibilia ardua humanse naturae censentur, penitus excludit." Op. cit.,Tom. I, p. 4. '^'^ Dictionnaire "Mahometanisme." s. v. PhilosopMque,

80

be accessible to the ordinary understanding,-might

power

to

possess

of

winning

does

and

into

its way

certain

measure

nature

by

a

he spares his conviction

marvelous

the consciences

of men/*

possess

in

Mussulman

to every

a

innate; that every follower of Mohammed tion missionary ; that in the pursuitof this avocaneither labor that

of chivalrous

kind

pected ex-

a

indeed

They forget that proselytismis is

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

270

is forced

one

pride which

; that

expense

nor

to

**

notice and

the average

intense is

so

the

admire

Mohammedan

takes in his faith.''" Nor

will impress the

is this all that

out of consideration

Leaving followers

of

he

Mohammed,

of Moslem

teaching,he

the lives of the

will find much Whatever

admire.

he is forced to respectand

candid

cannot

help admire

observer.

unworthy

more

in

Islam

think

he may the

that

devotion,

acterize the zeal,the earnestness, the spiritof sacrifice which charThere are, for of Mussulmans. so large a number

them-,for the indigentare instance,no poorhouses among abundantly provided for otherwise.^^ still is the importance which they remarkable But more with which they, five times attach to prayer and the fidelity hammed prescribed by their religion. Moa day, recite the orisons the key to Paradise is said to have called prayer and

to have

declared

it to be of

more

value

in the

eyes

of

fasting,almsgiving, or a pilgrimage to Mecca. his followers When we see regularly saying their daily before satisfyingtheir they may be, even prayers wherever clude cravings for much needed food and drink, we must conthat they take the reputed saying of their Prophet Allah

than

Mankind the Church, p. 289 and (by G. A. Lefroy, London, 1907). eertain Bolidaritycharacterizes not but all only family relations Mcttom theoretical Mekty. There are no paupers; almsgiving is not a mere obligationbut an essential religiousduty reallydischarged. It may be replied ibat there are many beggars. There are and the spectacle is very unpleasant; but from the beffsars' point of view, could they, given their misfortunes, have better life? If one a limbs has twisted or incurable malady, including any is it not more liitneei, healthy,interesting and lucrative to sit begging at itrttt eofBtrt than to be the inmate of a charitable institution? One thing It Mftaln Moslem starve." beggars never 176 (by Turkey in Europe, i*

""**A

"

air Charles Eliot,Undon,

p.

1908).

much

very

OF

ROUTES

TRADE

and

to heart

have

THE no

doubt

EAST

271

of its supreme

ment mo-

^

and

efficacy.^ their

of

It is because

profound religiousearnestness, the poor

abiding charity towards

their

FAR

and

suffering and

them natural virtues that those who know their many have such good reports to give of the Mohammedans,^* fain

would

them

see

day shall disappear

of ages loving Christian shall animosities

Fold

the One

constitute

of Islam

assist the followers

himself

and

and

western

prejudices and

when

and

towards

finding peace

and

our

among when the

the

welcome

people, and will

known

better

best

every

soul-

missionary to of becoming members happiness under the a

Shepherd.

One

truthfully say with Delia Valle that I found very little in Aleppo that was specially the people, especially riguardevole ^noteworthy. But able to visit in their homes, were ing. charmthose I was most And of never-failing interest were the representatives people, I

of her

Outside

can

"

of many

lands

I met

whom

in the

In the last named

bazaars.

of every

and

race

and.

mosques

Asiatics

places were

sect and

and

streets

costume, **with

and

cans Afri-

their

pressive ex-

henna-tinted

with

ning cunnails,with narrow ^wild Bedouins, lordly Turks, grim-visaged wrists" and and athletic Persians Kurds Turkomans, handsome and Circassians,artful Greeks, astute Armenians,^" crafty

hands, "

Lieutenant

17

the

Wood,

have .

and

however

young,

have

It is not

with

minds

the

omission."

its

excuse

I observed

of the that

.

ject, Oxus, referring to this subboth old Mohammedans,

the

by fatigue or suffering from hunger and thirst, self-indulgenceto their duty to their God. the mere force of habit; it is the strong impression on of is so important that no circumstance can duty prayer of the Oxus, p. 93 (London, Journey to the Source out

thought

them

that

.

worn

all

postponed

their

gallant explorer

"Often

writes:

of

1872). These

18

what

good reports

Ricoldus

de

about

Monte

century, has to consideret quanta genter

thirteenth

reverencia

ad

affabilitas

ad

JEvi 18

Regarding

cheat

Greek

"it

and

are

not

of

missionary

recent

date.

among

them

Bead in

the

non "Quis enim obstupescat si diliad pauperes, devotio in oratione, misericordia et prophetas et loca sancta, gravitas in moribus,

of them:

say

.

Dominican

.

.

et

ad suos." Peregrinatores Medii Leipsic, 1864). has wittily business, Mr. Curzon Turks to cheat two Franks one Frank, to cheat one Jew, it takes six Jews to amor

(by J. C. M. Laurent, p. 131 the Armenian's capacity for

that, while one

Dei

a

extraneos, concordia

Quatuor,

remarked, to

nomen

Mohammedans

Crucis,

takes

two

four

Greeks

the

with

"all with

Jews"

greed''and all,as

eyes glittering in the days of the

bent prosperity,

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

272

yellow

city'sformer

fires of

cial commer-

trade but in transactions far

on

more

limited. I found is

Aleppo

an

additional interest here in the reflection that

on

the

frontier" extending from linguistic

Alex-

Biredjik on the Euphrates" which separate the peoples of the flowery Arabic speech from those of the

andretta

to

laconic but

more

line Turkish

to be heard

ceases

Syrians,like

The

ancient

the Arabs,

is

it is true,is stillthe Jacobites

as

it

tongue liturgical

a

Syriac, no

Syrians

as

well

as

of

if

a

one

for Arabs

Syriac,

of the Maronites

that

origin. But,

priestsstillunderstand it. For

centuries

for

was

of Semitic

Christians

only

to

except a few villages

declivities of the Anti-Libanus.^"

the eastern

of their

remains

now

confined

now

ment. govern-

Semites, but

are

of this

ojBficesof the

in the

of the Ottoman

tongue, the Aramaic, little

sort of dialect which on

except

militaryadministrations

civil and

South

vigorous Turkish.

less

no

other

small any

and

oriental of

number

longer speaks

the language of

versation con-

The long time been the vulgar Arabic. lems, Christians,however, speak a less pure form than the Mosof Mohammed, for the adherents by their constant ary literreading of the Koran, become familiar with the more has

forms

During

for

a

of classical Arabic. the Seleucid

and

Byzantine domination, the predominant language of educated people in Syria and Asia Minor was Greek. But in these,as well as in other regions formerlybelonging to the Ottoman Empire, we now find the most chMt

extraordinaryanomalies

Armenian." Researches P. Toter, London, 1869). AMording to Dr. Schliemann,

(by

OM

in

the

of

linguisticdistribution.

Highlands

of Turkey,

Vol.

I,

p.

8

H.

however, the palm for business abilitymust the Greeks from the island of Lesbos. Lesbian "The Greeks," h* t*II" ui. "have the of being the merchants in the shrewdest reputation it is allegedthat in cities the commerce world; as a proof of which is in the iMMids of Lesbians not a Jew is to be found." Troja, p. 324. ""Tbs iMrnsd Benedictine.Father Parisot, has recently collected the vocabudialect which is threatened Ury of this loUresting with early extinction.

M

ftwarded

to

ROUTES

TRADE

there

Thus

NEAR

EAST

villageswhose

in Anatolia

are

THE

OF

273

sole inhabitants

Church and where belong to the Orthodox that the priests, the Greek language is so little understood in order to be understood by their people, are obliged to In preach and read the services of the church in Turkish. Cyprus, on the contrary, there are Turkish villageswhose inhabitants speak only Greek. But this is no more singular Turkish than to find a frequent occurrence newspapers characters. Armenian These in Greek or literary printed in curiosities are, however, eclipsedby a Jewish newspaper characters is printed in Hebrew Constantinople which although the language is Spanish.^^ I have said that outside of her people I found very little in Aleppo to attract attention. I, of course, visited the who

Greeks

are

"

"

castle

great mediaBval the

from

city and view

of the

south

wall

of

a

the

Citadel

of which

summit

surrounding country.

far less than

me

the

called

"

a

small block

mosque

near

of basalt the

citadel

"

one

But

that has this

which and

I

dominates

magnificent impressed

a

saw

which

in the bears

a

inscriptionlike those which have, during the last few decades, been brought to lightin ever-increasingnumbers tolia. throughout the greater part of both Syria and AnaBy the superstitiousnatives it is held in great veneration, for it is supposed to offer a sovereign remedy for all ophthalmic affections. We were assured that the smoothness of the stone 's surface was due to the frequent practice of the afflicted of rubbing their eyes upon it.^^ The character of this inscriptionwas not new for to me I had seen in the Imperial Museum similar ones of many Constantinople and elsewhere, but its location in this commercial capital of the Near East transported me in fancy curious

This

the Jews and Moors peculiarityis explained by the fact that when expelled from Spain at the end of the fifteenth century tens of thousands of Jews migrated to Salonica and Constantinoplewhere Spanish is still spoken of their descendants. by large numbers 22 A like superstitionattaches to nearly all similar remains of antiquity not Some only in Syria but in Egypt as well. are reputed to have special virtues for those suffering from tic-douloureux from rheumatism or for which affections they are said by Orientals to possess even greater curative ties proper21

were

than

their

famous

panacea

"

the

bezoar

stone.

back

to

according

Abraham,

BABYLON

the time

when

the Patriarch

tradition,was

wont

milk

to

of the citadel and distribute the milk

cave

a

to

AND

BAGDAD

period antedating

a

flocks in

TO

BERLIN

FROM

274

his

in alms

in the possession of Aleppo was with Egypt and Assyria; a power that ranked a power which, nearly two thousand years B. C, overthrew the first an alliance,on equal terms, Babylonian djoiastyand made with Rameses II, the greatest of the Pharaohs; a power which, in its palmy days, bore rule over the greater part of Syria and Asia Minor. believed by scholars that there were Until latelyit was only two great civilizations in the ancient East Egypt in and Babylonia. But recent discoveries Sinjerli, Boghazother places have proved conclusively that Keui, and many there was third civilization which was a synchronous with those of the Nile and the Tigris and which, in the days of its splendor,prevailedfrom Nineveh to Smyrna and Ephethe poor."

among

Then

"

from

and

8US

reaches

the headwaters

of the Orontes

to the lower

of the

Halys. Far back in the Mycenean period, when the Cyclops,according to legend,were buildingthe massive acropolisof Tiryns, and when, as far as **the first pale glimmer of Greek tradition'' will enable us to judge, the people of Greece *'were awakening to intellectual life,'* this third civilization" until a half century unago entirely Btispect^d ^was erectingmonuments which are to-day the "

of the learned

amazement

for revelations

the the

world

startlingas

as

and

which

any

of those

decipherment of the Rosetta unlockingof the secrets of the

Mesopotamia by

Grotef end

In this extended

whose

^

an

or

of inscriptions

extraordinary people probably, according to

physician, and a Christian, of Bagdad, who century thus refers to this curious

41.

"

.

^*''^ "^ ^^^ ^*^"*''"^8

*

cave

where

he""

Abraham"

K

^'" '"^^^^'^ *'^""""*^"e tZTmllk !ili-*^"^***'"

" otSr.U^^^'!*** ^'^ to'f-Milked .

au^m ""*""""

by Champollion

"**^*^^*'o^ ^*"e eleventh "''

ki

it

that followed

cuneiform

cultural development may

i^tSS^^K

prepared

Rawlinson.

region lived

Arabian wJltiJ*AullIij*!' ti""^Jl

yrr**?

and

stone

have

XLi^n^^ ^*Ay?"" P9l"9Un0 Ond^r the

*"

yet

^^ ^*"ed

Moalema,

p. 363

or

people used nott-asking

Ualab"

Milked."

(London, 1890).

to

for

come

thus

one

Cf,

G.

of

le

BERLIN

FROM

276

by the

rewarded

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

glyphic extraordinary finds. Not only hiero-

most

like inscriptions,

brought Hamath, were with large palacesand

to

those

on

blocks

the

found

light but also remains

fortresses

adorned

with

at

of cities

sculptures

surprisingcharacter.

of the most

by such eminent orientalists as Halevy, and in France; Hrozny of Austria; Jensen Winckler, in Germany ; Sayce and Hogarth, in England, showed that the research

Further

forgotten cities and the authors of the written in boustrephedon fashion strange scriptwhich was the Bible speaks of other than the people of whom no were Hittites.^^ All our knowledge of this mysor as the Hettites terious of these

builders

people,outside the Sacred in this

We

became

to them

in

Text, is what has been gained since the publication in 1872. country of the first Hittite inscriptions

know

now

of the brief references

that

as

a

power

*^The

Land

of the

Hittites'*

of the

past when the Assyrians took possession of Carchemish and when, following their capture this celebrated stronghold,they entered Asia Minor in

of 718

a

B. C.

memory

"

but

Thenceforward ruled

was

in

a

few

years

after the foundation

the

region so long inhabited by the Hittites succession by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians,

Greeks,Romans, and Ottoman Turks. Notwithstanding,however, the fact that have

of Rome.

scholars

now

at their

and valuable Hittite monudispositionmany ments they have, nevertheless,thus far sought in vain for a bilingual that will serve inscription as a key to the Hittite language and which will force the Hittite sphinx to reveal her long-guardedsecret. This much desired key may any day be uncovered by the spade of the archaeologist. ^Vhat

the results of such tared compare

a

discoverywill

Many who are competent in importance witli those

be

only be conjeeto judge think they will that followed the decipherment can

of the

of Egypt and the cuneiform hieroglyphics luitcnptionsof Assyria and Babylonia" that they will dis-

ItTitSifTpHf 3'mil^''*'*"

*" ^*'

^'"^'^

^''"^"^ Supplement,

p.

ROUTES

TRADE an

intimate

and

the

earliest

and

Italy, and

close

with

influences

on

I

those

its

soon

thought

of

with

hold

race,

I

*'L*

E.

Orient, qui de

which

M.

"

Hittite few

de

Vogue,

intact

conserver

longer makes

no

"i

When

surmised. have

and

the

of

speech St.

continued

Paul

of their

religion,

the

heard

e

Hittites

the

has

the

been

which

history of

French

noble

our

savant, the of

the

le noble

d' autrefois,'' the

East, lege priviOrient

privilege

of

times.

ceased

Lystra

the promise

d'histoire,a

celle

history

it in

at

have

that

said

once

preserving intact that of former be

our

of Western

of

of basalt

records

years

sait plus faire

ne

to

and

domains

Greece

Aleppo to-be-deciphered inscriptionand

of

Vicomte

peoples

Europe

to priceless contributions recalled what the distinguished

they

Crete,

immensely

block

mysterious

wonderful

the

of the Hittites

and

of the

divers

277

politics.^^

during the last

unearthed

late

in the

hopes

one

"

EAST

contribute

of southeastern

the

on

Cyprus

connection

another

one

gazed

will

they

NEAR

the culture

of

civilizations

art, literature,and As

between

of the earliest

knowledge Asia

relation

that

THE

OF

to

be

a living tongue cannot even much later Lycaonia, but how

of

be

it

other Minor spoken in certain cannot parts of Asia be determined. As now a people they doubtless long survived and, although "it is believed that they were by neighboring races, gradually absorbed some of them still exist, with their the early distinctive characteristics, among hills of the anti-Taurus range." We likewise in when to the of are ignorance as and languages Egypt of their Babylonia gave place to those to "the According Sayce conquerors. still written and in the time read of Decius, the hieroglyphics were Egyptian characters of cuneiform in the of Domitian." were Babylon employed age Ancient The Empires of the East, p. ix (New York, 1886). may

to

^

febhoale

t

XII

CHAPTER

the dates

scrutinize

We

TIGRIS

THE

TO

EUPHRATES

THE

FROM

things, Of long-past human hounds The of effaced states, We

out

works

of dead

delightful

a

and

here, once

the

on

more

and

mysterious hour

that

been

replete

longed rivers

we

dalay, 'eed

'*If

spent

with

its

Euphrates

on.

akin

nothin'

the

a

with way

we

of

the

were

a

of

were

toward

the every

genial Syrian

interest

East

had

sun

pleasure,

or

is bounded

we

by the famed

feeling,indeed,

in

Kipling's a-callin',why, you

Bagdad

erstwhile

the

on

our

deserved

the

of

Manwon't

Our

strewn

name

of

which

we

showed

**

of

granary

advent

of

the

ruins

and

tive, objec-

that

dotted

made

its

rolling uplands

over

this

northern iron

frequently passed 278

under

lay through

puffing locomotive

cultivation

station

first

our

course

with

the

at

Crusaders

towards

way

The

the

fruitful valleys and

notwithstandingthe Andj^ caravans

of

Euphrates.

villages. state

Railway

camp

fertile country

alternatelyalong

wmding

ber num-

Although

expressed

the

whose

turned

the Tigris. Our

the

soon

on

mud-built

whose well

'eard

train

Jerablus the heart

the

that

that

hosts

else."

site of

Baldwin,

and

to

friends

Orient.

peculiar land

Aleppo,

Franciscan

faces

our

under

the

on

you've

Boarding

with

had

somewhat

was

road

in

Syria, is legion, we

spell-weaving

to set foot of the

in

Etna/'

on

sojourn

hospitable

else

everywhere

as

Empedocles

amiable

our

and

charming

their

by

* *

all-too-short

an

delightful by

doubly

made

hands.

men's

Arnold,

but

and

words

men's

dead

search

Matthew

After

kings!

of deceased

lines

The

region Syria."

horse, the or

overtook

FEOM

likelyto It

continue

but

was

a

few

for

a

long

time

after

hours

to

And

1 have

had

279

patientcamel

come.

leaving Aleppo Euphrates as

caught the first glimpse of the barren through arid wastes and washed sand. Although, like Ulysses, I Much

TIGRIS

THE

TO

that the service of the

proof conclusive

were

is

EUPHRATES

THE

rocks

that

we

it flowed

hills of

and

known; cities of men climates,councils, governments, and

seen

manners,

than my first things that thrilled me more view of this famous waterway. For, notwithstanding the fact that I had spent my dred early boyhood within a few hunmiles of the Mississippi,I was familiar with the name of the Euphrates before I had heard of that of our great Father of Waters. And when, after nearly three score of waiting,I at length found myself actuallywalking years of this stately river along the sandy marge a river that seen

* *

few

' '

"

my

and

earliest

reading told

felt personal contact

me

had

its

source

in Paradise

"

with

in very truth an it,it was event in my life. It was, indeed,like meeting again a favorite friend of boyhood days. The emotions I then which that were evoked have been experienced and the memories

expressed in part in the beautiful

apostrophe

of the poet

Michel:

All

hail,Euphrates! stream of hoary time, Fair as majestic,sacred as sublime! What thoughts of earth's young morning dost thou "bring! What hallowed memories to thy bright waves cling! The bowers are crushed where Eve in beauty shone, Ages have whelmed, beneath their ruthless tide, Assyria's glory and ChaldcBa's pride: But thou, exhaustless river! rollest still. Raising thy lordly voice by vale and hill; Sparkling through palm-groves, washing empires' graves; And gladdening thirstydeserts with thy waves; Mirroring the heavens, that know no change, like thee, A glittering dream, a bright-leavedhistory! "

river in the world

No

in the annals of

has

played

and

none,

traditions

of nobler

boast

race,

our

the It

history has no record. the contending powers between

whom

Eastern

Rome.

as

the

of

repute the

the

loved

dilate

to

and

the

it

on

Euphrates

of the

name

it at

crossed

Land

long the barrier

was

of the East

West

as

occurs

;

of

one

Birejik,but

few

a

scholars ised Prom-

to the

his way

on

early

as

to

According

chapter of Genesis. patriarch Abraham

second

of peoples of

names

of the earth.

the great rivers In the Bible

of long-

secrets

Greece, of Parthia and tired in singing its praises

never

geographers

Arabian

and

poets

of

cradle

and

of Persia

the forces

between

the

rocked

whisper

waters glistening and murmurs forgotten d}Tiasties its

and

the Nile, can

even

illustrious history,or

its fertile banks, it is believed,was mankind

role

a

soul-stirringlegends. On

and

is richer in beautiful myths

prominent

so

not

more

a

or

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

280

north

miles

of

spanned by the great steel bridge of the God had made which Bagdad Railway. In the Covenant with him the dominions to extend of his posterity were **from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphraeven tes." of the Lord to **go And, obedient to the command

where

it is

now

^

forthfromkindredandout

ham Abra-

of his father's house

.

.

took

Sarai

the substance which

which

they had

the

they

had

in order

their flocks and that had

the

to find the

we

noted

from

the

L^

^f^y.

"*

this inve"tigation"

^''*'** *"d

not

the Nile, as

souls

and

it ourselves for

sustenance

fertile

same

the way from of the sinuous

plain

Aleppo

on

one car

crossed

the

all

they Crossing,then,

Haran; ^

and

son

all the

and

necessary

traversed

But **Tho River," **The Great

*it?SS'!j* V* T^^ni

we

attention

our

of

of Canaan.''

Djerabis and probably by

tracks that

land

spot where

herds,have

engaged

so

his brother's

gathered

gotten in the

Euphrates near

they must,

Lot

and

out to go into the land

went

to

his wife

.

caravan

window.

River,"

was

as

probably

the Jews

what

usually supposed.

is

now

called

known

FROM

EUPHRATES

THE

THE

TO

TIGRIS

281

celebrated in profane more Euphrates, was sacred history. This is particularlytrue of that the

of the stream

the modern

between

of Bir

towns

than

and

in

stretch Rakka.

which

the adjoins Djerabis, where Hittites had the great capital and the powerful fortress between which enabled them so long to control the commerce Assyria and Babylonia on the east,and Phoenicia and Egypt famous It was the west. at the same on stronghold that II won PharaohNebuchadnezzar a signal victory over It

Carchemish,

at

was

Necho

Chosroes

that

I crossed of his

at the time

boats

he had

as

crossed

allies. It

Asiatic

and

his Greek

and

here

was

also

river

by buildinga bridge of third campaign against the Byzantines it at Obbanes in his first expedition at Bir, formerly known as was the

It against Justinian. the Bridge and that Crassus Seleucus Nicator Zeugma the Roman passed into Mesopotamia, where general met such a tragic fate. It was at Thapsacus that Xenophon in the and Cyrus the Younger crossed the great waterway so campaign that terminated disastrously for the Persian Monarch It was here also,nearly a hundred at Cunaxa. wards later,that Darius crossed fleeingheadlong eastyears "

"

**

with

his broken

Alexander the

famed

same

slaked

headlong

their

witnessed

army

after

at his heels.**

river

horses'

thirst.

It

was

Issus, with

in the waters

Julian

the

was

of

the

Apostate that

waters

same

of

the brilliant campaigns of Heraclius,the splendid

Tradition a

It

that Trajan and

triumphs of the Caliphs, and Timur and Jenghiz Khan. that

the battle

informs

us

the

that it was

frail craft carried

down

Herodotus

of

devastating hordes these

tawny

in his memorable

waters

visit

Babylon. And long before this date it was up the Euphrates, that Gisdhubar, the mythical hero of the great Babylonian after having epic,proceeded on his homeward voyage secured the good will of '*by a suitable sacrifice,'* heaven for his undertaking.^ But, what has already been

to

3

the

Sayce's Lectures Religion of the

on

the

Ancient

Origin and Growth Babylonians, p.

of Religion 410

(London,

as

Illustrated

1898).

hy

Lucius

Euphrates

the

in

are,

world."

the ancient

lines that

steamer

day

is not

that

are

in

under

operation,and construction

Babylonian plain its

far distant when

**The

which

achievements

will witness

Jews

that the

planned or

works great irrigation the

to show **

are

to the vast

BABYLON

rollingwaters of truth, charged with the history of And, judging by the railroads and

enough

than

said is more

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

282

old-time

Great

the

for

storing re-

fertility,

River'*

shall rival the

of the

glories

Babylon and its hanging gardens in the days of the city'sgreatestsplendorand power. had anticipatedspending several days in Djerabis We in order that we might have an opportunityto examine the that have recently been uncovered remains of Carchemish of by the spade of the archaeologist.The great number sculptures,both in relief and in the round, which have been the a flood of lighton unearthed here are destined to throw histories of the great Ilittite empire, cultural and political and, when they shall have been thoroughly investigated, tially us greatly to modify, if not essenthey will no doubt cause of the views we have long entertained alter,many peoples respectingone of the most powerful but least known of the ancient world. Excavators here are fondly hoping these that they may have the good fortune to turn up among venerable ruins the long desired bilingualinscriptionthat shall enable them to decipher the strange Hittite script that has so long baffled scholars. Such an inscription would supply them with a key to the history of a nation that was so long a rival of Egypt and Babylonia,and its discovery would truly mark a red-letter day in the annals of oriental of

research AnptUtu

and

scholarship.*

writing In

tUlUtiont,

referi

his Liher

to

Kttpbratei. **P\toei JNiOm

"e

a

Memorialia, Cap. II, of the origin extraordinary legend in connection

more

of the

con-

with

the

ideo

pitcet quia bello Oigantum Venus perturbata in trariMfiguravit.Nam dicitur et in Euphrate fluvio ovum piscia in oolumba adaeditae dies plurimoa et exclusiaae deam et benignam hominibua ad bonam vitam. causa Utrique memoricB piacea

ors^iimimM ""Mnoora"m """"r

loooti."

Mctfiv

the -^*ir*^tt*fl.*?H^^*"* report on

oiUHi

(by D.

Brltlab

0.

MuMum,

Me

the

excavations

made

at

Djerabis on

illustrated monograph beautifully

Hogarth,London, 1916).

behalf

Carchemiah

knowledge of

the

to

immensely

add

the historian and

rapidly increasing

our

of this

inhabitants

former

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

284

famous

once

potamia parts of Mesorender such a conjectureeminently probable. We interruptedour journey between the Euphrates and the Tigrisby making a short side tripto Urfa, formerly the It,like Tarsus, was once a celebrated great cityof Edessa. literarycenter and for that reason, if for no other,it had, for at least

in

discoveries

Recent

land.

of

one

party, a

our

is rich in both

in historic memories

legends as well as and profane. According and

it with the Arach

specialattraction.

very

East, Urfa

all the old cities of the

Like

other

many

so

to

a

Bible,it

of the

legend which

Jewish

myths sacred

identified

founded

by Nimrod, Another legend

was

mighty hunter before the Lord.''" Trisattributes the city'sfoundation to Enoch, the Hermes the tradition megistes of the Orientals. Equally fabulous was about the tent of the patriarch Jacob, which, it was averred,was preserved in Edessa until it was destroyed by in the reign of Emperor thunderbolt Antoninus. But a these and similar tales regarding the antiquity of Edessa all based on myths and fables,for its history dates only are the beginning of the little Kingdom from of Osrhoene, **the

which

There of the

founded

is,however,

until 132 B. C. a

legend"

early Christian

Edessa It

not

was

and

which

Church

deserves

of the most

one

"

more

which

beautiful

is connected

than

a

passing

with

notice.

supposed for a long time to explain why Edessa became, at an early date, not only the first Christian city of

was

Mesopotamia account

the

but also its greatest religiouscenter,and to for its preponderating influence in the spread of

Gospel throughout

the

Orient.

Humanly

speaking, good fortune could not have befallen so humble a commnnity as that of Osrhoene,which was at first composed of

such

but

a

oonrse

small number of

of

and which,in Christians,

events,would

have

i" due ltoi^Uln**J vli!!!?'* ?fi MottttUIn of NImrod-of the

made

but slow

the natural

progress

in

the Mussulman name-Nimroud Dagh-the which stands the citadel of Urfa. od

elevation

a

THE

FROM pagan

Jewish

or

EUPHRATES

TO

THE

environment

which, if

not

TIGRIS

285

openly hostile,

decidedly indifferent. fondly believed,had been from the No, Edessa, it was and had beginning marked by the seal of specialprivileges, been destined by Our Lord to receive the saving truths of His apostle/ This is the meaning the Gospel directlyfrom **The of the legend usually known as Legend of Abgar," of the towards the middle which was developed at Edessa third century and which for centuries had an extraordinary medans Mohamin the West well as in the East, among as vogue was

Christians/ among to this legend, the report of the

well

as

as

miracles of According Our Lord, having reached King Edessa, Abgar, who was afflicted by of certain tribes beyond the Euphrates and was with a incurable malady, sent to Jerusalem a messenger an to come to letter addressed to Our Savior, begging Him him. But Jesus repliedthat He could not go to Edessa cure ing and ascendbut that He would, after executing His mission would him of His discipleswho to heaven, send one

effect his

cure

and

at

the

same

time

to him

announce

the

tidings of salvation. of Church of Caesarea,**The Father Eusebius History," said is our chief authority concerning the letters which are to have passed between They were, Abgar and Our Lord. of the historian assures us, long preserved in the archives Edessa. The

copy

of the letter of the

King

to Our

Lord

reads

:

Abgarus, ruler of Edessa, to Jesus the excellent Savior who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard the reports of thee and of thy cures as formed perFor it is said by thee without medicines or herbs. the blind to see and the lame to walk, that that thou makest 6

In the

of St.

"Testament

"Benedicta

Ephrem," as given by Assemani, occurs civitas, sapientum mater, quce ex vivo Ilia igitur benedictio in accepit. ejus discipulum per .

benedictionem

.

.

the

words

Filii

Edessa

ea

ore

maneat

I, p. 141 (Rome, Sanctus Orientalia, Tom. apparuerit." Bihliotheca 1719). d* Edeaae ^ juaque 4 la Politique, Religieuse et LittSraire Cf. Histoire R. 81 Premiere Duval, Paris, 1892). Croisade, p. (by

donee

BERLIN

FROM

286

that thou healest those

demons, and

And

the dead.

raisest

and

disease

impure, spiritsand afflictedwith lingering having heard all these

out

castest

lepers and

cleansest

thou

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

things concerning thee^Ihave concluded that one of two things must be true : either thou art God, and having come from down heaven, thou doest these things, or else thou, I have therefore who doest these things,art the Son of God. trouble

to

For

I have

and

are

to

come

heard

which

heal the disease

and

me

that the Jews

I have.

against thee

murmuring

are

take the

wouldest

plottingto injure thee. But I have a very citywhich is great enough for us both.

yet noble

this

To

thee that thou

to thee to ask

written

Blessed

appealingletter

of the

the

King

art thou who

hast

after I have

fulfilled them

believed

in

Savior

small

replied:

without

having For it is written concerning me, that they who seen me. have seen will not believe in me and that they who have me will believe and be saved. not seen But in regard to what thou hast written me, that I should come to thee,it is necessary for me to fulfillall things here for which I have been sent, and

to him

again

up I will send

that

to thee

thy disease and are

sent one

of my

give salvation

thus

to be taken

after I have

been

that he disciples, to thee

and

to

up

taken

may

heal

those

who

with thee." The

letter of Our

Lord,

amplifiedas is as

But

me.

me

'*The Doctrine

as

seen

of Addai."

given by Eusebius, was in

an

apocryphal work

I refer to it because

sequently subknown of the

concludingsentence of the letter in which Jesus is made to say to Abgar regarding Edessa, **And thy city shall be blessed and

the

enemy

shall not

prevail against

it for

ever.**

It

because

was

letter to

King

of this promise of Our

Lord,

that

Abgar became

and

of his

doubly precious in the eyes of the people. For they regarded it thenceforward

palladium of their beloved cityand felt sure theywould never again bo at the mercy of their foes. as

His

a

ttieal

BUtory,

Blc

I, Chap. XIII.

that

THE

FROM

EUPHRATES

TO

THE

TIGRIS

287

the futility Chosroes, resolved to show to the Edessenes of the promise on which they so confidentlyrelied,and time to prove the falsityof the at the same determined 544 to lay siege to Savior's words, proceeded in the year the place. The besieging Persians pushed their work so vigorouslythat the inhabitants of the beleaguered citywere in despair. In this extremity, according to the almost legend, the King of Edessa went to the gate with the letter of Our Lord and, unfoldingit and holding it aloft,reminded should the Savior of His promise, that no enemy ever vail preagainst it. Immediately an impenetrable darkness enveloped the foe and prevented it from advancing further. the During several months Cl^osroes blockaded city In without, however, being ^'able to effect an entrance. and exasperated Chosroes tried despair the discomfited to reduce the city to submission by cutting off its water did he achieve his purpose than a supply. But no sooner number of magnificentfountains issued forth within the city and his nefarious frustrated. The Persians design was thus compelled to raise the siege. were which the citywas But this was not the only occasion on from its foes. For every time thereafter,the thus rescued beset by their were story continues, that the Edessenes enemies, it sufficed to produce the letter of the Savior and read it before their enemies to compel them to withdraw. I have selected this as a type" probably the most tiful beausimilar legends that were type of many long current in the Orient. retain their Indeed, not a few of them old-time popularitynot only in the East but in the West well. This is particularly true respecting the legend as of Abgar. will appear remarkable But what to more "

readers

of

century of there have

our

the been

authenticityof and

Our

Lord.

critical and

skepticalage, is that in every Church, from the third to the nineteenth, eminent the

scholars who

have

correspondence between

Among

distinguishedauthorities

them as

maintained

King Abgar

it suffices to mention

Tillemont

the

such

in the seventeenth

in the nineteenth.

Cureton It

and Rinck, Cave, and eighteenth

in the

century, Assemani

3ABYL0N

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

288

Lord

letter of Our

belief in the genuineness of the

of the

because

was

King Abgar that

to

Ages regarded as

Middle

during the

was

and

for disease

panacea

a

it

an

as

**

against againstall kinds of dangers" and hail and perils by sea and land,by day and by lightning of doubtless because night,and in dark places.''"It was of this this widespread belief in the phylactericefficiency prevailedin England as late as the letter that the custom last century, and traces of it stillexist to-day,for people to amulet

talisman

or

hang up a copy of the letter in their homes.^^ tion, Interesting,however, as is the correspondence in quesof it is now pronounced by the general consensus scholars to be apocryphal and must, therefore,be relegated similar fictions with which the mythoto the limbo of many supplied the credulous and age -pcBic East has in every wonder-loving West. But fascinatingas one may find the myths and legends of Edessa, they must prove but secondary to its long and eventful history. For, in the days of its glory it ranked An

"

ancient

Baxon

Prayer Latin

and

in the

manuscript

times, in which the

British

letter

of

Apostle'sCreed. of

version

the

Rufinus,

At

the

the

occurs

civitate

loco

dias

carmina

tua, sive in oinni diaboli ne timeas et

Our

Museum

contains

Lord end

to

of the

words:

"Sive

inimicorum

nemo

Abgar

service

book

of

Lord's

the

is in the letter, which in domu tua, sive in Et

dominabit.

tuorum

inimicorum

a

follows

insi-

(sic), et inimiti tui expellentur a te: sive a grandine, sive a tonitrua omoea (sic) non "oeaberis, et ab omni periculo liberaberis: sive in mare, Bive in terra, live in

dfo, aiyein nocte, sive ambulet balnierit,accurus

in

locis

obscuris.

tuorum

destruuntur

Si

quis hanc epistolam secum Relative Syriao Documents to the Earliett Eetabliahment Edessa and the Neighboring OanmirieM, from the Year after Our Lord's Ascension to the Beginning of the Fomrth Century, Discovered, Edited, Translated and Annotated by the late W. Oureton, p. 164 (London, 1864). See also The Book Ceme, of p. 205, "I"M. (by the enidit* Benedictine, Dom, A. B. Kuypers, Cambridge, England, in

pace." Cf. Ancient of Christianity in

1902). 10

For

a

critical diacussion

of the

"Legend

of

^

VBglise d'Bdesse et La Ligende "rof"l,Paris, 1R88). prmctlce *iii^ UUtbe Uct

of

.1

**--

-

io

Abgar"

(by the learned

see

Les

Origines de

L. J. TixSulpician. i' "

letter as a philacteryprevailed in England 'The common had there have it in their people' places in a frame with a picture before it and they generally devotion regard it as the word of God and the genuine .

JUSitf^/i^T*^^ nMw "f Christ. "

Abgar

keepingthis

oentury.

In nany

d*

.

.

have

a

recollection of

Shropshire."Cureton,

op,

having

oit.,p. 16$.

seen

the

same

thing

TO

EUPHRATES

THE

FEOM

TIGRIS

THE

289

of the four as one Nisibis,Damascus, and Antioch the rival great cities of Syria. As a center of trade it was then the great emporium of western of Palmyra which was Asia. Through it passed the highly-prized products of of Egypt and to the marts India and China on their way

with

Rome."

^r^

As

a

literarycenter, it was,

as

writer

recent

a

observes,

world

and the the Greek admirably situated between hand with Oriental world. Communicating on the one Antioch, on which it depended and on the other with Persia, with India, the capital of Greater Armenia, and even well placed to profitboth by the culture of Osrhoene was Greece and the powerful originalityof the barbarous tries coun-

**

of the East.

where

became

in which and

blended

intimately

of its inhabitants

nationalities

well

as

religious beliefs brought there by merchants tended to give the city a physiog-^

diversity

strangers and

of

not unlike that

nomy

the confluence

it were,

as

worlds

two

various

the

the

as

of

ideas

the

It was,

of Alexandria.

' ' ^^

sufferinggreatly from a destructive inundation in restored the early part of the sixth century, Edessa was by Justinian such a magnificent scale that it was on reputed of the wonders of the world. According to Arabian to be one After

writers there

at

were

one

time

no

fewer

than

three

hundred

Edessa.

around

These, like similar institutions in Asia Minor and Europe, were schools of intellectual culture in which the lover of learning could devote himself to the acquisitionof knowledge in entire peace and security. of learning One of the most celebrated of Edessa 's homes and

convents

11

In

the

celebrated with

the

which

province mart

in and

monasteries

of

called

about

Osrhoene, Batne, where

Edessenes

and

held

in

this

informs

us

rich

the

merchants

a

day's journey

Indians from

and other

of

the

from

Edessa,

Seres

cities

at

came an

to

was

a

trade

annual

Here, Ammianus

fair

September. ad convenit multitude promiscuce fortunae commercanda quae Indi et Seres aliaque plurima vehi terra marique consueta." Rerum Gestarum, Lib. XIV, Cap. Ill, 3. For trade an as a illuminating map showing the importance of Edessa center de L'Euphrate de times, see V. Chapot's La Frontiere during Roman Pomp4e a la Conquite Arabe, facing p. 402 (Paris, 1907). 12 L. J. Tixeront, pp. cit.,p. 7, et fieg. was

Marcellinus

.

place "magna

in

the

month

FROM

and

culture

that known

was

School

**The

as

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

890

of the

sians,'* Per-

chiefly largely Christian refugees from Persia. Its foundation was due to St. Ephrem, who so eclipsedall his contemporaries in scholarshipthat their works voluminous 80

of

Column

*'

Syrians," **The high esteem were informs

Jerome

widely read

so

were

fell into oblivion.

soon

acclaimed

was

in

publiclyread

churches

some

the

of

Prophet Church,'' **The Harp of the Holy Spirit." And his books held, that they were, the

us,

So

they, and

were

their authoritythat their author

great were

the

his works,

were

teachers

and

its first students

because

in

so

St.

as

after the

Holy Scriptures. It

and literature reached It

the

in the works

and

Mediterranean of Bardesanes

which

is

' '

But

at its best

in the Peshito

neither in Edessa

nor

Syrian Church ever produce such eminent of so great literarygenius as a Basil or a men We Chrysostom or a Gregory Nazianzus. are,

Eusebius, a however, indebted

to

Syrian scholars

for

the

of many

preciousGreek works which otherwise lost,and for thus having passed on **

ancient

the

did the

scholars and

been

quently subse-

what

seen

St. Ephrem,

and

and in Tatian 's * * Diatesseron. elsewhere

into

molded

was

the classic speech of the Syrians from

became

Tigris to

their highest degree of development.

that Syriac

in them

was

that the Syriac language

in the schools of Edessa

was

Greece

to the

greatly instrumental

Arabs"

in

whq

putting it

translation

the

lore

the

in their turn at

have

would

of so

were

disposal of

the

scholars of the West. There it men

was

is but little in Urf known

as

Edessa

flocked to it from

all

a

to-dayto and

when

show

what

students

parts of the East

as

it was and to

one

when learned of the

greatest seats of learningin Christendom. There is,it is true, a great castle standing,and walls and towers that date back to the time when Edessa was a Latin principality under Baldwin,and evidences of the city's former pation occuby Romans and Persians and others, but there is

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

292

1850

in

Spanish Capuchlus, Fra Joseph of Burgos and Fra Angel de Villa^ubbia, took up their abode in this city of noble achievements. They had tc and world-famed memories difficulties and fanatical agencies that had face the same It

Urfa

at

also

thus

was

when

two

The old arrayed against their brethren elsewhere. schismatic Greeks, Syrians, and Armenians joined forceg with the Mussulmans, the Jacobins, and the Nestorians as to render the foe and left nothing undone against a common undertaking of the new missionaries a failure and to compel But the admirable the country. them to leave patience of the good fathers, their great self-abnegation, theii been

the poor and the distressed abounding charity towards all hearts, and churches, schools, and asylums soon won it was not long into existence as if by magic. And sprang until large numbers belonging to the dissident Greek, churches Syrian, and Armenian began to return to the Church

of their forefathers

Church

of Rome.

than

Nor

and to

were

apply

the

pressed im-

less

Mohammedans

the Christians

missionaries.

of by the superior^virtue veneration for Father Angel was

Their

great that they always called the Latin Church of Father

with the

for union

AngeP'

Abuna

"

Angil KiUsssi

' *

sc

Churcli

The

which

name

a

"

the

i1

still bears. But

the

Capuchins

spiritualand works

and

reform

by the zealous Sisters from

the

Forbidden

they

lives to the poor

I noted

enthusiasm

among

in their labors compare I had

and

"

the

country they,with

own

generouslyoffered to labor far-off Mesopotamia. As

whom religion

fromLons

seen

in the

le Saunier,

them in the

Laws''

sufferingand

rare

vineyard

self-denial,

of the Lord

their cheerfulness

the poor with some

ne^

seconded

*'

the illiterateof their

in

ably

a

all theii

by the iniquitous Association

devotingtheir

Urfa, I could but

in

For most

were

of St. Francis

of

only agents

intellectual life in Urfa.

of mercy

France.

not

were

and

in

and

afflicted in

of their sisters

leperhospitalsof

Hawaii

FROM

EUPHRATES

THE

^who,although always of disease, were, form beings I had lighthearted happiness that could

TO

in contact

THE

with

TIGRIS

293

the most

repulsive I thought, the most buoyant and all enjoying an aboundmet ing ever come only from a heroic sacrifice in the service of God and humanity. On our return to the railway we were greatly impressed Its by the fertilityof the soil in the vicinity of Urfa. orchards and gardens, gay with flowers and fruit trees of all kinds and lemons, apricots and mulberries, oranges figs and pomegranates ^were a delight to the eye and the city, which it **the formed a garland around gave of a grandiose villa." smiling appearance found About hour after boarding the train we selves ouran Belikh, one crossing the dried-up bed of the Nahr in Mesopotamia. It was its of the most noted streams on "

"

"

"

banks "

and

"

that

only

a

located

was

distance

short

the

famous

once

long been in ruins and only their home Haran

figures in

Hebrews.

the

great wealth

of

attested

fact shows

our

course

It has

Haran.

families

chronicles a

of northern

make

now

round

history. For what well-watered region of

about

of

both

long time it was Mesopotamia

prosperity. But

great change

in

flora and

Arab

For

and

the

the face of the land

a

few

earliest

the

of all the roadways

center

a

city of

of

there.

Assyrians and focus

to the north

that

a

has

now

the and

a

singlewellcome

over

since its first mention

Haran

sandy desert was with remarkable fertility, is

the

then

a

rich

a

by undoubted records according to which this part of Mesopotamia was favorite hunting ground for the kings of Egypt and a notable

a

Assyria, for abundant Thus

as

the

here

fauna.

big

was

game

it is anywhere

Assyrian

This

King,

at

is evidenced

once

present

as

in

varied

and

as

equatorialAfrica.

I, 1120 Tfglath-Piljeser

B.C.,

declares, Ten powerful bull-elephantsin the land of Haran and on the banks I killed;four elephants of the Habour alive vl took. Their skins, their tusks, with the living * '

elephants,I brought elephants

to be

are

city of Asshur.''"

found

in

the wild

they formerly roamed Lebanon range, has long been from bii^on

According this

to

Thare, who

his

son^s

to

the

land

* *

Go

and

world's It

as

she

It

was

received

Land

which

children's

of the Chaldees

they

from

It

came

far

as

the Lord from

the

thy

as

the

until the

mand com-

kindred

he

thence

was

to be

was

children

to his kindred

his servant

Isaac

of

wife

went

of his

home

of

advent

the

Redeemer.

was

sent

of Haran,

son

"

thy father's house."

into the Promised children

and

forth out of the country and

of

out

out of Ur

Canaan:

here that Abram

was :

and

brought them

and dwelt there."

Haran It

and

of

the

Abraham.

daughter-in-law,the

son

into

go

his

the

Lot

and

Sarai

the

as

is that of the

as

Patriarch

the

son

and

son

his

Abram

his

took Abram

on

of

Asia,

Mississippi. the book of Genesis, after Haran, son of

named

father

the

was

Thare

**And

based

city was

celebrated

once

Western

complete

as

no

than

nearer

westward

region.eastof

the

tradition

a

far

as

To-day

state

disappearance from

where

American

BABYLON

to my

Their

far-off India.

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

294

it

and

was

going

was

this

same

in

in Haran a

about

Canaan

from

to

or

to

get

wife

a

that he found

springwith

a

her shoulder.

in the

beautifullydescribed that he

spent twenty years

and

years

for the flocks

"

tender-eyed Leah"

son

that idyllicepisode

in the service of his uncle,Laban six years that his uncle gave him, and fourteen

daughters" 'Hhe

his

for

the fair Rebecca

pitcher on

region that witnessed

in the early life of Jacob so ^ book of Genesis. It was here

that Abraham

Haran

for

his

two

''the beautiful

and

well-favored Rachel." " What a delightit was in this distant Mesopotamian plain,

where "C/.

countless The

Old

of Auynaand ""G"neiis

lambs

Testament

in the

Babylonia,p. xi:

"Ibid., 17.

31.

200

still skip about Light of

(by T.

their

solicitous

the Hiatorioal and Record G. Pinches, London, 1908).

Legends

FROM

THE

mothers,

EUPHRATES

they did when

as

father's flocks in the Dante

who,

TO Leah

long ago,

in his Terrestrial

THE

and

TIGRIS

Rachel

295

tended

their

to recall the noble fiction of

Paradise, makes

these charming

of

humanity's youth^thesymbols of the active and the contemplative life as are Martha and Mary in the New Testament what ! And a pleasure it was to read on this romantic ground jn my well-thumbed Divina Commedia women

the oft-conned

verses

:

About As

I

when believe,

the

hour,

Venus

from the east lightedon mountain, she whose orb Seems always glowing with the fireof love, A lady young and beautiful,I dreamed. Was passing o*er a lea and, as she came, Methought I saw her ever and anon Bending to cull the flowers;and thus she sang: Know would of my name ask. ye, whoever That I am Leah: for my brow to weave A garland, these fair hands unwearied ply. To please me at the crystal mirror, here I deck me. By my sister Rachel, she Before her glassabides the live-longday. Her radiant less no eyes beholding, charmed Than I with this delightfultask. Her joy In contemplation,as in labor mine.^^ First

I

loath

am

happy and

home

dear

with

the

to leave

of Rachel

to them

this patriarchal Arcady Leah

and

without

"

this region,in which

and

Rebecca

referring to oriental fancy

a

^the

"

and

those

in the who

Abraham, with

them;

Pharaoh

;

Version

King James

attains

gave

the

Pharaoh

them

owner

sent

to

of them

Isaac; the to

and

"

**

Isaac

near

fable associated its loftiest

flight.The thirtypieces of silver for which Judas betrayed his Master, were, it was fabled,coined by Terah

once

Iscariot Thare

"

given to his son bought a village

village carried Solomon, the

son

them of

to

David, ""

the

follows the but Dante 94-108. teaching of who, writing on the active and the contemplative life,declares: activa "Istae duae vitae significanturper duas Jacob: quidem per Liam, uxorea mulieres Dominum duas et hos-, contemplativa vero Rachelem; quae per per activa Marvero pitio receperunt: contemplativa quidem per Mariam, per Art. i. tham." Theol. Bumm. Pars II, 2d3B, Q CLXXIX, i"

Purgatorio, XXVII,

Angelic

Doctor

BERLIN

FEOM

296

building of his temple ; and Solomon

for the

thence

them

to

some

BABYLON took them

'' about the door of the altar.

round

placedthem taken

AND

BAGDAD

TO

and

They

were

by Nebuchadnezzar, who gave youths who had been his hostages.

Babylon

to

Persian

youths then gave the coins to their fathers who were Christ was the three born, and they saw Magi. When His star, they, taking the pieces of silver with them, set Edessa Arriving near out on their journey to Bethlehem. found by some traveling they mislaid the coins,which were merchants, who spent them in the purchase of a seamless tunic which an angel had given to some shepherds. Informed of these extraordinary facts.King Abgar got possession of These

the tunic and

the

pieces of

silver and

sent

them

to

Our

gratefulrecognitionfor the good He had done him the tunic but The in healing his sickness. Savior retained sent the pieces of silver to the Jewish treasury. These the thirtypieces which Judas received for delivering were into the hands his Master of the chief priests and which after the traitor had hanged himself, were used for the purchase of a field for a burial place for strangers.^ Lord

in

^

After we

leaving what

was

little of interest

saw

the home

once

until

we

of the Patriarchs

reached

Nlsl!bis. But

Nisibis,like Haran, is interestingrather for what it was in the distant past than for what it is at present. Like Haran, it was a once busy and commanding mart between the East and the West. Now, however, like Haran, it is littlemore than a mass of ruins which are eloquentwitnesses of ancient power and splendor. This is evidenced by the remaining arches of a great bridge across the Gargar on which the city was built and by the crumbling walls and columns

of

a

remind

temples of

great cathedral one

whose

of those which

so

florid Corinthian

distinguishthe

ments orna-

famous

and Palmyra. BalaljDec

As I contemplated the three or four hundred hovels which make it seemed difficultto believe that up modern

Ni^lbis,

"T

of

Cf. The

Batra

Book of the Bee, p. 96-97, from the Syriac of Mar (trans, by E. A. W. Budge, Oxford, 1886).

Solomon, Bishop

THE

FROM it

TIGRIS

THE

schools

a

of

bulwark

TO

city of palaces and in Mesopotamia Rome

once

was

EUPHRATES

297

the

and

great

and against Persians Parthians, and that it was for centuries compelled to endure to begin with, a constant change of rulers. The Armenians,^ after a long siege, its founders. Lulcullus, took it from After the crushing defeat and captured it from Tig|r"ies. wrested it from death of Crassus at Haran,^" the Parthians of Trajan and It next fell into the power the Romans. became under a stronghold of the Roman Septimus Sejv^^us master colony established in'theseparts. Sapor I became of it in the year 242,but it was soon by the Romans retaken and Maxjini^an, under Gordianus recognizing III^Diocletian the importance of this strategicpoint and foreseeing that it had be subjectto the attacks of the enemy, would inevitably Marcellinus it strongly fortified. Ammianus gives us some

idea of the formidable

Niiibishad

he declares

that

against the

invasion

But

and

schools

whose of

courses

When

study

fame

were

Orient

the

as

a

barrier

the famous

stronghold of the controlled it; it was to Africa

extended

those

also

a

Italy

of their

Alexandria.^*^

closed

was

utmost

and

certain

and

of Rome

of Edessa

school

for

celebrated

as

were

as

a

that

nation

whose

literarycenter

only

not

to the

served

of the Persians.^"

was Ni^ibis

importance

of its fortifications when

character

in 489

by

of its Bishop Cyrus and the Emperor Zeno on account tendencies,its teachers and students repaired Nestoijian where to Ni^ibis, they became the most zealous advocates of 18

Students

assassinated of

the

Moon.

place

same

with

a

18

of The and

will

remember of

one

his

that soldiers

general Crassus treacherouslyslain in

Roman

was

Persian

the while

Carcacalla

Emperor on

a

visit

the

to

was

temple

a crushing defeat at the vicinity while in a conference

suffered the

satrap.

"Quae jam

viribus

history by

Haran

at

restitit

Mithradati

a

maximis."

Oriens

regni temporibus,ne XXV, Cap. IX.

a

Persis

occuparetur,

Lib.

Ill, Part II, p. 927, et seq. Cf. Assemani, op. cit.,Tom. naitre vit dans Nisibis, "la grand metropole nestorienne, 20

premiere phenomene de

Universite

Justinien

qui ne

clerge nestorien pire Perse sous 1904).

theologique,

excitait

les

I'admiration

pent

donner

a

de

la

que nous cette epoque

son

ses

murs

la

theologie. Ce premiers du sacri palatii et etonnement quwstor du id^e avantageuse de la culture une publics

cours

histoire.'*

Dynastie Sassanide, {224-632)

Le

de

Christianisme

p. 301

(by

dan

VEni'

J. Labourt, Paris,

Nestorianism

they subsequentlybecame

as

ruins of this old

must have Ni^i'bis

metropolisshow at the

Damascus

and

it was

when

been

city

and Antioch

BABYLON its most

active

Persia.

propagators in The

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

298

what

important

an

ranked

period when

with Edessa

they were

at

greatness. And history tells fertile and densely populated region it was of what a us rounded surthe capital. In the days of its splendor it was once by marvelously fruitful gardens and grain fields the Khabur were the valleys of the Gargar and while and their extensive for their olive groves famous tions plantathe Khabur, which of cotton. Many cities and towns on noted cotton markets have once long been in ruins, were this valuable whence shipped to Mosul and staple was converted Chilat in southeastern Armenia, where it was The word into muslin. muslin, as is known, is derived from and

the zenith of their power

because

Mosul the

this fabric had

have

long

were

in this

Another

and

of cotton

cultivation ceased

origin there.

But

the manufacture

both

of muslin

important industries they

to be the

part of

its

once

Orient.

the

of this

part of Mesopotamia, noted by It was where at Nisibis its forests. historians,was good timber was abundant," that the Emperor Trajan had a to be used on the Tigris.^^Now the large fleet constructed entire country is so treeless that anything larger than a shrub is rarely seen. So uncommon, indeed, is a tree of size that when it is deemed one any worthy of a occurs, **The Oak of Weeping," under specialname, even as was which was buried Debora, the nurse of Rebecca." feature

'*

Nor

round

is the desolation about

Haran

which

and

so

characterizes

the

regions

Nisibis

exceptional in northern Mesopotamia. It is typicalof the entire country extending from the Euphrates to the Tigris. But according to the

"PeuteringianTable"

this vast

studded

towns,

"i M

with cities and

Dion Casslus,Eiatory of Rome, Genetis xxxv : 8.

Bk.

belt

of which

of

land

there

I, XVIII, 26.

are

was now

once

but

and

sandstones, gray

rose

The

are

illumined

are

ordinary landscape

flanks and crest of Jebel

into

a

on

and

form trans-

land. fairy-

tain Sinjar,a picturesquemoun-

our

of the poppy,

red

glowing

like

by splendors

veritable

riot right,exhibit the same of lightand shade. contrasts marvelous same there is the delicate violet of the iris,at the range

massed

phantasmagoriasof light which

of color and the most

asphalts,brown

graniteswhich

of antediluvian monsters"

groups

black

rocks"

fantasticallyformed

and

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

300

of At

the base

summit

all. is the

above

color,the the

quoise soft,tur-

deep, steady empyrean. the wonderful, mystic afterglow Then there appears and which completely transfigureseverythingon mountain plain,and lightsup the scene with a lightthat rarelyshines in our cloudy,mist-enveloped clime. In the clear western sky, the evening star hangs like a solitaire. Presently tions there flash-out in rapid succession the stars and constellaand the dethe wonder light which, in the long ago, were of the shepherds and the priest astronomers of blue of the

Assyria and Near

our

Chaldea. tent the

camels, relieved of their burdens, are the scanty broom and brushwood which

quietlybrowsing on in these parts constitute their chief sustenance. Their Bedouin odorous masters, seated in a circle,around an entertain one another fire, camp by recounting past experiences and adventures and by singingtheir favorite songs, most of which in a minor key and characterized are by the

frequent occurrence

of the

gives

to their doleful

heard

one

we life,

can

never

welcome

terrible

name

note

of

chant

a

forget.

the hour

Amid

such

of

Allah, which

sadness scenes

that

once

of nomadic

of sweet

repose, when, beguiled by gentle dreams, we, like the lotus-eaters of old, soon become quite unconscious of the fleeting of time passage and

of all the world

beside."

circumstances," writes i/iVfl!" ""Jj* It Influenced

one

through the body. Though

who your

knew

the desert well, "the mind mouth glows and your skin is

FROM On

THE

EUPHRATES

THE

TIGRIS

301

the last

day of our journey between Djerabis and nation contemplating at times the prevailing abomi-

Mosul, while

* ^

of desolation

referred as

TO

Haran

and

of

a

to the novel

gazed

we

''

the

on

viewed

ruin-covered excitement

hallowed

land

in Nisibis

the

waste,

which

of the fate

ally continu-

we

had

been

ours

patriarchs about

of

splendid Traversing a region of hoar antiquity,whose annals and legends so captivatethe fancy, turbaned where nomads, happy in their felt tents, enjoy the unrestricted freedom of the desert,ours a sensation was in the rush and turmoil and savage and a pleasure unknown of our high-pressure civilization of Europe and energy America. And while the eye delighted in the marvelous in the landscapes ^where rugged succession of contrasts with alternate endless mountains plains and spots of home

of letters and

a

once

culture.

"

**

like islets amid

lie strewn

verdure

shoreless

seas

of sand"

pondered on the whirlpool of vicissitudes the regions of which has made Mesopotamia unique among the earth ^where,during its long and eventful history, and grandeur civilization has been succeeded by barbarism But one as surveyed this land of by decay and death. former glory and present desolation,one loved to think of an before his eyes the sands that expiring epoch were fast running out; and the hour-glass of destiny was once the mind

"

ever

"

**

"

"

"

"

humid

heat; your heat, yet you feel no languor, the effect of and its tone recovers lightened,your sight brightens, your memory are and become powerfully imagination exuberant; your fancy spirits your stir up all around and the wildness and aroused you sublimity of the scenes morale whether for exertion, danger or strife. Your the energies of your soul frank and cordial, hospitable and single-minded:the improves; you become hypocriticalpoliteness and the slavery of civilization are left behind you in dilate and their pulses beat strong as they All feel their hearts the city. hear Where do we the glorious desert. from their dromedaries down look upon of the another illustration is It it? of a traveler being disappointed by has he that Nature however truth returns to unworthily ancient man, with

parched lungs

are

"

...

to the conformed tastes have your the tranquillityof such travel, you will suffer real pain in confifilon of bustle and will You of civilization. anticipate the turmoil

treated

And

her.

believe

when

me,

once

returning^o

pleasures with

Depressed repugnance. feel incapable of bodily or return your and and the care-worn The air of cities will suffocate you exertion. mental like a vision of judgwill haunt ment." of citizens countenances cadaverous you and Meccah, Vol. Narrative Personal of a Pilgrimage to Al-Medinah

artificial in

its false

life,its luxury and

spiritsyou

I, pp. 150,

151

will

(by

for

a

Richard

time

after

F. Burton,

London,

1893).

BERLIN

FROM

302

turned

being

again

that

travel-worn,

2*

Naturalut

A

finally

we

emporium

on

completed

we

on

celeritate

Exatoria,

the

Tigris VI,

BAGDAD

TO

its

inoipit XXVII.

It

base/'

another

lap

arrived

arrow-swift

vocari.

AND

at

of

BABYLON

with

was

our

Mosul,

this

journey the

once

tion reflec-

and

that,

famous

Tigris.^*

Ita

appellant

Medi

sagittam.

Pliny,

CHAPTER THE

Xm

CHURCHES

OF

Nestorian, Monophysite

EAST

Other

and

Holy Father, keep them given me ; that they may be

THE

in

Thy

one,

as

Eastern whom

name we

Churches

also

Thou

hast

are.

St. John, xvii: 11. Our

arrival

for many

at Mosul

Not

reasons.

to

was

us

a

of

cause

the least of these

was

gratification the very

dial cor-

reception tendered us by the good Sons of St. Dominic whose hospitality to wayfarers like ourselves has always been as proverbial as that of the Franciscans. Indeed, the friars of both these venerable religious orders seem, particularly in the Orient, to have made their own, the beau-, tiful Armenian from God." saying '*A guest comes As for myself, I was speciallyglad to be in this famous old city,for it is located the Tigris which I was almost on The of both of to see the Euphrates. as as names eager these

rivers

celebrated

had

been

ever

associated

in my

mind

youth and, seeing their tawny waters for the first time, they evoked of boyhood pleasant memories many days when I loved to picture to myself the remarkable by these two peoples who dwelt in the fertile land bounded achievements marvelous great waterways, peoples whose the then than did, in maturer more impressed me years, who dwelt matchless deeds of those incomparable men on from

my

the banks But was

my

earliest

of the Nile chief

that I there

and for

reason

had

a

rare

the

Tiber.

rejoicingon our arrival at Mosul tions opportunityto complete observa-

which, during the greater part of our journey, I had been are making on the condition and influence of what I do not speak of an the Eastern known Churches. as 303

Church," about which so much has been written, organization,as contradistinguished from a an

''Eastern

such

for

Church,

Western

the inhabitants

is

There

a

a

this

Prelates

and

Arabi

is another

whom

Patriarch

:

people called there

Then

Catholic] and Abbots

Mosul, declares

of

they

call the

Jatolic

several

pointsof

Nearly five and

These

[he

means

Archbishops degrees and sends Baudas [Bagdad]

of all other

though

does

there

is

in Latin a

and them or

to

countries. ber great num-

very

all Jacobites

countries,they are and Nestorians; Christians,indeed, but not in enjoined by the Pope of Rome, for they come of Christians

worship

creates

Patriarch

that

know

must

these

Christians.

Jacobite

quarter,as to India, to Cathay, .iustas the Pope of Rome you

and

description of people

and

into every For

Polo, in writing of

traveler, Marco

called Nestorian

are

have

fiction.

mere

kind of

Mohammed.^ who

is

Venetian

noted

The

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

304

in those

the

fashion short

in

the faith.^

a

half centuries

tian after the illustrious Vene-

lines,the erudite historian and Hammer-Purgstall, referring to the Orientalist,von inhabitants of the terraced city of Mardin, located between and Edessa ''There and Sunnis Mosul, wrote: Shias, Catholic and Schismatic Armenians, Jacobites,Nestorians, Chaldaeans,Sun, Fire, Calf and Devil worshipers dwell traveler

one

over

had

the head

These

dictated these

of the other.''

*

quotations from writers who lived in such widely separated periods give one a fair idea of what has long been the religiousaffiliationsof the greater part of the population of Mesopotamia and what, with slightchanges, they are still to-day. and Pagans just mentioned Dismissingthe Moslems as without the purview of this chapter, a few the on pages "

W"

"

J*" )

1903 "

two

have Book

in a previous chapter how unfounded is this statement. of Ber Marco Polo, Vol. I, p. 60 (trans, by H. Yule, London,

seen

.

Omehichie

der

Jlohaner,Vol. I, p.

191

(Darmstadt, 1842).

THE different reader

CHURCHES

Christian

to form of

relations

to

bodies

THE

EAST

305

above-mentioned

intelligentestimate

an

of these

some

OF

Churches

will

of the

aid

present

of the East

and

the dition con-

of their

another.

one

We

begin with the Nestorians as they constitute the oldest of the existing dissident Churches. The Arians, Novaof other heretics who gave such tians,Paulinists,and scores trouble to the early Christian Church have long disappeared and of students know what only heresiologynow doctrines they reallyprofessed. The distinguishingtenet of Nestorianism, which its owes to of Constantinoplefrom 428 origin Nestorius, Patriarch to 431, is the assertion that in Christ there are two persons

( "

the human

of Christ

and

the divine

is the

Mother

"

and

of

the denial

God.

as

defined by the third (Ecumenical

in

431, is that in Christ there is but

of the

Son

of God of God

the Mother From

"

"

and

that

the

that the Mother

Catholic

The

Council one

held

person

Blessed

"

at

doctrine, Ephesus

the person

Virgin Mary

is

"cotokoc.

its beginning Nestorianism

has

been

essentiallyan eastern organization and was cessors early adopted by the sucof the ^^Parthians,Medes, Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia,'* who, on the first Pentecost, were so amazed the Apostles in Jerusalem to hear speaking in divers

On

tongues the wonderful of

and political separated from

account became

soon

Banished

took

Nestorian west in twin *Act8

Edessa

them

under

other

the Nestorians

reasons,

the

rest

of

Christendom.

by the Emperor Zeno, they The Persian fled to Nisibis which then belonged to Persia. creed as King, learning that they did not profess the same he was that held by the Byzantines, with whom always at war,

from

of God.*

works

in 489

his

protection.From

time

the

almost ten forgotChurch, which eventually became of Mesopotamia, had an extraordinary development his the East. palace, in the For, although from

city of Seleucia-Ctesiphon,the of

that

the

Apostles, ii: 9,

11.

Nestorian

Katholicos

BERLIN

FROM

306

larger number

the

Syria

and

to Arabia

sent missionaries

to far-off India

went

and

Egypt, by

and

China.

In the

the Nestorian centuries,when attained its greatest development, the jurisdiction

Church

rivaled

Katholicos

of the Nestorian

in extent

greatest of the Byzantine Patriarchs. ruled

of the Nestorians

head

bishopswho

stationed

were

For over

a

that

of the

then

the

vast

number

preme su-

important points in Asia

at from

and

to Malabar

Mosul

from

far

fourteenth

and

thirteenth

of

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Jerusalem

to Java

and

Peking.' But

this

from

the zenith

reached

then

hordes

of Timur

part of middle Mohammed.

who

greatness and

Asia

swept

the

Aral

the

over

Sea

the

to

had

began

lem by the Mosthe

greater

and

est subjectedto the fiercprofess the religionof

not

Tartars

which

power,

hastened

was

then

did

Church,

In addition to the disasters which

footstepsof

from

which

and western

persecutionall the

of its

Its downfall

decline.

rapidlyto

Nestorian

period,the

from

Delhi

Persian

followed

to Damascus

Gulf, the

in and

Nestorians

suffered

schisms and internal greatly from quarrels. These, coupled with the devastations of the Tartars, from which they never recovered, eventually reduced what was the greatest Christian

organization in Asia to a poor and insignificant community in the bleak region of Kurdistan the frontier between

on

The Lake

Nestorian Van

Mar

Shimum

eSee tbe

1

and

U^

lan

Lord

III

map

ezteniive

Patriarch Lake

"

Persia

of

and

Simon.*

and

of the

A

always

between the

assumes

title

strikingpeculiarityof

Mulert'a Atlas the Nestorian

territoryoccupied by

"l^ning

Turkey.

lives at Kochanes

now

Urmia

Heussi

and

zur

the

Kirohengeschichte for during its greatest

Church

Patriarch,

described as by a noted traveler of tbe hewn-stone and stands the on edge very ravine through which a winds branch of the a 1 T*"*^ passage led us into a room scarcely better lighted . window closed by a greased sheet of coarse The tattered paper. ? f .u*T^* ^P*"^*"^^" * ^""'"''' ^*^8 **"" whole of its furniture. ^^^ Patriarch were and hardly less worn the ragged. Even n **' ^^^ "2 piastres, about the Porte had lOs.. which ****" monthly on his return to the mountains W was long

cwitury.

'is

solidlybuilt

of

SIk*^^'if o^"";*"an""ng ti^ ny

amall II

a

Tl!^

idlSTiTS ""

Sll!!?^"*"**^*'*?. promiMd

in

arreari

I, and

be

waa

supported entirelyby the contributions

of

his

faith-

BERLIN

FROM

308

TO

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

of worship and religions observance, tain all its peculiarities in which they actuallyconflict with except in the rare cases This is evidenced

Catholic dogma. of the Chaldeans which

exactly the

are

have used from

abode

and that

was

of conversion

and Lower

Kurdistan

his nephew

"

Nestorians

took

rite.

But

so

their

up

Catholic

one

that the Patriarch

family

fruitful

was

of

Mesopotamia afterwards soon resignedhis position Mar Yohannan successor applied for

and

into the Church

admission

there but

of the Chaldean

one

their work

and

missionaries

the Dominican

Mosul, they found

in

Nestorians

the schismatic

as

same

converted

liturgy

time immemorial.

in 1750

When

the Uniates, or

"

in the rites and

of Rome.

He

immediately by five of his bishops

was

and

followed

most al-

by the greater

part of his peoplein and around Mosul. Romeward of the Nestorian This rapid movement pastors and their flocks is partly explained by the fact that they for remaining separated from valid reason saw no a Church which taught the same doctrines as they themselves had always believed and which, during long centuries of persecution,they had preserved intact. But their reunion with Rome hastened by the tact and zeal of the learned was and sympathetic Dominicans whom all soon learned to revere

and

these poor the Mother established where

both

love.

For

but earnest Church for

on

them

souls

and

these devoted

people the most

schools bodies

in

priestsnot only aided

becoming

reconciled

with

lenient terms, but they also and could

asylums receive

and

much

hospitals needed

care.

In Mosul

inup-to-date printing establishment was Btalled in which were printed the Scripturesand other books in Arabic, Syriac,and other languages. A seminary was

founded

an

for the benefit of Chaldean

students destined for the priesthood. The education of girls was entrusted to the highly cultured Dominican Sisters of the Presentation of Tours, France. Not only did they assume charge of and preparatory normal schools but they also opened in-

CHURCHES

THE

OF

THE

EAST

309

for the working girls dustrial schools for girls,especially

city. They

also took

charge of dispensaries where of poor and sick people received free of charge thousands which their condition and treatment the medicine required and which, before the arrival of these ministeringangels

of the

of mercy,

not

were

available.

of all these

In view

facts is there

of Nestorius

of the followers

the final return

anything surprisingin to communion

withEome?'

"

Marco Polo found Jacobites,of whom in Mosul Christians indeed, but not in the fashion many differs but little, except enjoined by the Pope of Rome*' This in one point of doctrine,from that of the Nestorians. point of doctrine is in one respect the very opposite of the the dogma of the Nestorians. For, whereas distinguishing divided Christ into two Nestorians against the persons His unity,the Jacobites, Catholic doctrine which maintained that there is in contrary to Catholic teaching, asserted

history of

The

the

* *

"

"

but

Christ

decreed

divine, as

and

nature

one

and

human

(Ecumenical

in 451, by the

divinitythat it is called physitism. And because, in its early stages, it was championed by Eutyches, an archimandrite outside

monastery known

Eutychianism.

as

The

usually called Jacobites,after Jacob Zanzalos, early and zealous propagator of the heresy. So far

statistics

as

larger than

is somewhat the Dominicans

7

"La

progression

1856, de retour

began

30,000

d^finitif

des

des

en

Nestoriens

them

to lead

Chr^tians

40.000;

a

a

et6

la

la

foi

back

to

suivante; Tout

donne

portera

bientot

1900, 66,000. k

who

that of the Nestorians

was

dently ar-

so

of

a

also are an

was

of Jacobites

available the number

are

Mono-

Constantinople,it is Syrian Monophysites

of

the walls

of

Council

humanity and

Lord^s

Our

the

the fusion of

this heresy teaches

It is because

Chalcedon."

two, the

not

when

obedience

en

k et

to

1750, z^ro; esp^rer que

en

le

definitivement

Cathofait accomDlit, a 140,000." Les Missions un XIXe (Paris, 1900). Steele, p. 271 at the General 8 For definitions of the Church Councils of the docrmatic of Nestorius heresies Chalcedon the and and Ephesus against Eutyches seo

ce

nombre,

liques

si

ce

Francaises

n'est

deja

au

Denzinger'sEnchiridion,

pp.

52, 65.

They

Rome.

name

Mardin

or

of Mosul.

and

potamia Meso-

Patriarch,who always takes Ignatius with the title of Antioch, resides at Diarbekir on the Upper Tigris to the northwest Although they all talk Arabic, the Jacobites use

and the

throughout Syria

scattered

are

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

310

Their

Malabar.

the Syrian liturgyof St. James. of the missionary labors In consequence

Capuchins

and

Dominicans,

the

of the Franciscans, of

majority

the

with Rome under the again in communion Their Patriarch of Melchites or Syrian Uniates. name with the title of Antioch usually resides at Beirut. He has live in Mesopotamia. From eightsuffragans,most of whom the distant when present indications the day does not seem be reunited more Jacobites,like the Nestorians, shall once with the See of Peter, from which they have so long been separated. Church which has long been cut off from Another Eastern

Jacobites

are

"^

the

of the

is that

of Christendom

rest

Armenians.

Like

early adopted Monojphyjsi Jacobites,the Armenians tism, a doctrine which they still retain. Although many of them have returned to Rome, the majority, known as

the

Gregorians from

St.

of

still Moriophysites.They

Armenia,

are

Gregory

Illuminator,the apostle

the

have

ous vari-

on

occasions

sought corporate reunion with the Church of their fathers,and, judging by their friendly attitude towards this union may take place at any time. Catholics, A peculiarity about the Armenian Church is its intensely national in the

It is indeed

character.

world, for its only members

Uniates

"

are

Armenians.

held the Armenians

**NiobG

national

church

whether

Gregorians or religion which has

together in spite of centuries of persecution in of spite the tyranny of Seljuk satraps ;

of nations''

daughters

"

It is their

by Persian sultans ; in spiteof the pogronas other people in the world, no and

the most

of

"

the

Erin

"

of Russian save

only those

of the

but invincible long-suffering ^has their religionserved

stronger bond of union than it has

to the

To

autocrats.

real sons as

cruellyharassed

a

THE

CHURCHES

downtrodden

and

Armenians.

unparalleledtenacityto and

God

live

grant it

Statistics

may

be

regarding the If

one

the

have

311

enabled

them

language and they

achieve

"

number

may

with

ture litera-

day

one

their national

of Armenians

"

pendence. inde-

are

very

to believe all the horrible tales

were

last few

of Armenians

would

their

preserve

soon!

EAST

It has

in the hope that

during

massacres

THE

ever

unsatisfactory. circulated

OF

decades

by Turks

to conclude

and

that

about

wholesale

Kurds

and

brave

and

the

Russians,

patriotic extinct. is now race Fortunately we have positiveevidence that these bloodcurdling reports have, for politicaland other un-altruistic motives, been greatly exaggerated and one

that there

is

stilllivingin what far from The

Katholikos

of Armenians is not

Empire

the

is the

Gregorian Church, who

of the

Patriarchs

Illuminator, resides

of Etchimiadzin

This

the Ottoman

old line of Armenian

St. Gregory

monastery

once

was

the number

millions.

three

of the from

that

to believe

reason

monastery,

Erivan

near

which

has

descended

in the

famous menia. Ar-

Russian

in

been

cessor suc-

the

seat

of the

formally ceded nearly five centuries,was to Russia, after the Russo-Persian War, in 1828, and since has been that time the Katholikos subject to a Muscovite which has left him so little liberty of Russianization process Patriarchs

for

of action that his

patriarchatehas

been

reduced

to what

is

virtuallyonly a primacy of honor. trol Church is largelyunder the conIn Turkey the Armenian tan of the government. For, as far back as 1461, the Sulof this Mohammed II, in order to have the Primate nople Church under his direction,raised the bishop of Constantitrary As a result of this arbito the dignity of Patriarch. of Constantinople action of the Sultan the Patriarch and

not

the real

the Katholikos

primate

In addition

of Etchimiadzin

of all the Armenians

to the two

Patriarchs

has

ever

in the

since been

Ottoman.

just named,

pire. Em-

the Arme-

two

counts

Church

nian

TO

BERLIN

FROM

312

the result of schism

as

BAGDAD For

others.

AND

BABYLON

some

centuries

usurpation,it

and

ago,

forced

was

to

Patriarchs of Jerusalem, and Sis recognize the self-styled in Cilicia. But, although the schism has been healed, the still tolerated. Patriarchs They are, however, only are titular and have

Monophysitism and

It

was

has

what

Like

has been have

a

Egyptian Monophysites

since

been

and

known

other schismatics

Copts

of

who

tuted consti-

Coptic Church.

Copts,^since

the

their

with the rest of Christendom,

out of communion

suffered

the

as

Armenians,

been

all the persecutions and

in all the internal dissensions

The

not

these

the Jacobites

schism

also by

such.

only by the Jacobites large part of the people of

embraced

was

but

Armenians

Egypt.

as jurisdiction

no

that

have

been

involved

the lot of the

of the East.

Egypt

now

number

half

about

a

million

usually resides of Alexandria. He pretends to in Cairo, is the Patriarch of the Evangelist St. Mark, the be the direct successor first bishop of Alexandria, and claims jurisdiction not only over Egypt but over Abyssinia as well. Like the other Eastern Churches, that of the Copts has its own peculiar rites and old Coptic in her She uses customs. liturgy it has for centuries been a dead language and is although no longer understood by any of her priests. As is the case with most of the Nestorians and Jacobites,the language of the Copts is Arabic. like the sparsely scattered And schismatics of Syria and Mesopotamia, the great majority of the Copts and Abyssinians live in a state of extreme Their

souls.

chief ecclesiastical

ruler,who

poverty and ignorance,although their and

them

benefits of

coreligionists are

now

making

and

give them

an

some

of the

of Francis-

** apparently derived from the middle part of the Greek which means Egyptian. It is, however, always used to membor of the Egyptian Monophysite Church.

Aigyptoa A

trymen coun-

efforts to elevate

elementaryeducation. of the missionary activities

*-T ^^^^ ^**^*^

lodicaU

fortunate

in the social scale

In consequence

word

more

THE

CHURCHES

OF

Capuchins,Jesuits,and

cans,

Uniate

Copts and

Copts bears

the

the

title of

**

and

The

there

their

Uniate

called Melchites.'^

are

EAST

Lazarists

Abyssinians

increasing. Like

THE

are

now

number

Syrians,

Primate

Patriarch

313 many

is gradually the

Uniate

of the Melchites

of

Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem and all the East.'' On speciallysolemn sions occaFather he is called of Fathers, Shepherd of Shepherds, Priests and Thirteenth High Priest of High tle.'* Aposweeks salem Although he spends some annually at Jeruand Alexandria, where he administers the affairs of his flock through vicars,he resides during the greater part of the year in Damascus. The chites liturgy used by the Melis usually celebrated in the is the Byzantine which Arabic ever, language. On certain very solemn occasions,howthe language of the liturgy is Greek. all Eastern is that Churches of the Unique among of this interestingand flourishMaronites. The members ing all Catholics and it is their proud boast communion are that their Church has never tainted been by heresy. It is certain,however, that they were Monothelites and once **

taugh^a

which

doctrine

But this pl:|ysi1^sm. the

Crusades

was

but

form

of Mono-

at the time

heresy they abandoned

of

his submission

made

their Patriarch

when

veiled

a

to

Since then,despite partialdefections and centuries medan of oppression on the part of their schismatic and Moham-

Rome.

neighbors, their faith has been orthodoxy. the

population of

considerable

a

Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, and Palestine.

Western

reliable estimates

to the most

is about 10

is besides

There

Lebanon.

terrupted practicallyunin-

the entire

constitute almost

Maronites

The

of

Melchite

hundred

three is

a

According

available their total number

thousand."

Grseco-Syriac word

The

usual

signifiesimperial.

which

now 11

applied Cf.

Orients,

to the

Verfassung p.

384

(by

Uniates und I.

of these

of

place It

Christians to of the at the outbreak Monophysite schism and of Chalcedon decrees the who Palestine, and Egypt accepted Church. Catholic the to and in the to Constantinople loyal Emperor those

is

in

number

was

in

given Syria,

remained The

name

lands.

gegenwdrtiger

Bestand

Sdmtilicler

Silbernagl,Rengensburg, 1904).

Kirchen

dea

The

but, curiously enough, this Antiowith him by no fewer than five other

title is shared

of whom

Patriarchs,two These and

strange to

And

titular.

of

Patriarchs, the last named

Latin

not

say,

of these

one

Catholic,

whom

language used in

The

lives in Antioch.

of the Jacobite

Patriarchs

the Melchite, Syrian

and

Churches

lic. three Catho-

schismatical and

are

the schismatic

are

Orthodox

and

Anti-

Maronitarum,

ochenus chene

the

resting place.

is Patriarchus

Patriarch

title of the Maronite

centuries

their last

found

have

Patriarchs

Maronite

for

where

Lebanon

in the

of Kanobin

Mary

of St.

is the great monastery

of their Patriarch

residence

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

314

is only six Patriarchs

the Maronite

liturgy is ordinarily Syriac. But to priestswho are not familiar with Syriac, permission is given to sufficiently but Arabic writtenj^yriac perform the liturgyin Arabic "

characters. But

needs

word

a

in Malabar.

of St. Thomas love

Apostle, it Nestorian a

the

to trace

missionaries

At

a

At

any

the

majority of

with Rome

the

name

peculiar rite of their

a

**Uniates called

own

NesMono-

became them

in

are

by over

once

were

of them

phy sites. Now, however, with

founded

was

rate, they

later period most

under

the

to St. Thomas

their activities extended

when

great part of Asia.

torians.

their Church

probable that it

more

Christians

Malabar

Although

originof

seems

the so-called Church

said about

to be

munion com-

of Malabar," the

**Rite

of

Malabar." -

The

different Churches

in the

which

preceding pages

the interest of the observant at least two

questionswhich

the originally which

have

real

no

cause

communion

and

have which

engaged

our

tion atten-

fail to enlist

cannot

traveler in the Orient, suggest demand

of these

with

an

schismatic one

What

answer.

was

organizations

another?

And

how

explain the tenacitywith which each of them, during more than fourteen centuries,has clung to its peculiar rites and customs

and

and despite all liturgies,

the

vicissitudes

of

dria such

this great city had

as

Thenceforth

Monophysitism

imperialismwas

witnessed.

oppositionto Byzantine

identified with Egyptian nationalism. under

the Mohammedans

when

before

never

in its

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

316

Amru

swept

And

Egypt,

over

the hatred of the Copts for the Melkites that great was they sided with the Arabs againstthe forces of Byzantium. the cause of their downfall. But this with Monophysitism was The great days when the Christian Pharaoh the was forever.'' chief bishop of the East have gone And by a Constantinople,Alexandria's strange irony of fate it was detested rival,that was eventuallyto hold the second place the patriarchatesof the Church a positionwhich, among since the days of St. Mark, had been held by the worldfamous metropolis of Egypt. so

* *

"

"

The

attended

which

events

almost

the

introduction

of

physitism Mono-

repetitionof those which of this heresy into Egypt. occurred on the entrance And which led to the introduction of Monophysitism the causes into the two countries and favored its development there the same. For Antioch, the capitalof the were practically mies, Seleucids,as well as Alexandria, the capital of the PtoleGreek a was city and each from the disruption of Alexander 's Empire had been a center of Greek civilization and culture. But neither the Syrians nor the Egyptians had into

become

ever

other

or

Nor when

was

Syria were

a

reconciled to the intrusion

Greek-speaking peoples into their native lands. their antagonism to foreigndomination diminished

their countries became

of Rome

appanages

They clung as customs

of the Macedonians

and

tenaciouslyas ever languages of their fathers

and

laws

and

welcomed

an

to the

and

tium. Byzan-

opportunity of concealing under the guise of heresy their hatred of Caesar's religion as well as their ill-concealed to Caesar's empire. disloyalty In spite of the repeated efforts of the Emperors of to Constantinople Egypt and Syria ""

Port"toue,op. oit., p.

conciliate their disaffected

subjectsin

and

that

15.

to

suppress

a

heresy

was

a

THE constant

CHURCHES to the

menace

abortive.

And

when

Monophysitism their

OF

State, all

the

that

Moslems

and

made

the conquest of Islam

been

in the

Syria than

for

that

of

the

which

schism

was

of the

of of

an

it

was

in

outlash

of

in the Levant

schism from

the was

it had

as

penalty paid by no

less

terrific

its

high estate and dishonored a province in the the Saracens. For just as it

that led to the downfall

greatest and

proved

Syria

found

But

Egypt

degraded it to the rank ever-extending dominion

endeavors

invaded

easy

Nile.

reduced

317

anti-imperial feelingswhich

as

its disloyalty and

EAST

their

its inhabitants

long pent-up national Delta

THE

of Alexandria"

the seat

celebrated

most

patriarchate in the it schism that heralded the ingloriouscollapse so was of her great rival" Antioch, the third city of the empire" Antioch, where the followers of the Crucified were first East

"

called

Christians. has

What

been

Monophysitism

outlet

of

Syria holds equally true introduction and rapid diffusion was

of

as

an

feeling in Egypt and

national

it in Armenia.

Its due

great measure hatred

of

said

to

jealousyof

the Orthodox

Church

in and

of the

But far more than Byzantine government. in the case of other Eastern Churches, Monophysitism is the religiousbond that during long centuries of oppression and persecution held the Armenians together as a nation and that,especiallyduring recent times, has won for this long-suffering people the sympathy of the entire civilized world.

Only those studied there

have

who the

traveled

aspirationsof

its

in

the

Near

peoples can

East

and

fullyrealize

larly Simifeelingof the Eastern Churches. only those who have carefullystudied the history of these various ecclesiastical bodies can duly appreciate their of the Church the great Latin present attitude toward

the intense

West has

and ever

The

national

understand been

one

that

national

conservatism

which

strikingcharacteristics. Churches" the Eastern especially loyaltyand national pride count

of their most

truth is that in all

the Armenian"

remarkable

for

religiousconviction

than

more

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

318

This, strange as it may the Church; before

dogmatic teaching.

or

that the nation

means

appear,

BABYLON

theology. To envisage the State

of

precedence

politicstakes

that

comes

separated from the Church, do in the West, is as we distinct from religion, as politics patriotas it is to a alien to a Syrian or an Armenian as grand vizi6r. For this reason Persian mollah or an Ottoman as

Churches, like the theocratic government of have always Islam to which they have so long been subject, attributed so paramount an importance to everything that

the Eastern

bears specially

by their age-long

in this view

confirmed

been

they have

And

character.

life and

their national

on

Porte which, in organizing its by the Sublime ality. Christian subjects,made religionthe basis of their nationtreatment

Thus

Nation

the Armenian

"

inheritingthe Millet

nation

Latin

are

known

was

with

and

the various

as

Millet

the Churches

of

of the Ottoman

From

the Latin

"

Nation.

And

Egypt, Syria, Mount

Christian

other

of the Latin

^while Catholics

"

Millet

Church, regarded as Rum Empire, became

the Orthodox

;

Ermeni

made

was

of the Roman

name

the Roman

"

Church

the Armenian

rite

Lebanon,

in the vast

Churches

it

so

minions do-

Sultan.^*

tians Christhat among Eastern it is not their particular church that counts much so the

foregoingit is

as

their millet.

as

dear to them all matters

For

this

from

to

as

our

of

turn

fatherland

dogma

is to us, while in

son compari-

and

theology are quite secondary. it is that there are rarely any conversions

Eastern

too,it is that"

artificial nation,is

This, although quitean

reason

one

seen

Church

to another.

has well been

as

Orthodox

would

be

And

observed like

a

for this reason, **for a Jacobite

"

Frenchman

turning

German.*' This

Of

A

the schismatic

hierarchy,the ip*^*"?,* The Porte

u]n

Millet.

under

loyaltyof

Christians in the East

Protestants

in

Turkey

has

"mall

the

number

Minister

of

do

not

constitute

to a

consequently organized them, consisting chiefly converted into a special arroup Armenians, and Syrians, ^ r o r "

of

Police.

THE

CHURCHES

the traditions and national

OF

spiritof

THE

EAST

their forebears

319

explains

the

of the divers Churches to exceptional conservatism which they belong the tenacity with which through the they have clung to their particularrites and customs ages and retained unchanged their specialliturgies since schism first separated them from their mother Church. it is And this intense conservatism, this undying loyalty to their millet that constitutes the greatest barrier to the reunion of the Eastern Churches with the primatial Church of "

\

Rome.

Then, too, there is ever before them the terror-inspiring specter of Fragistan Europe which portends disasters It is the horrid old phantom of the land of innumerable. mists and shadows which has been haunting the East since the Trojan War which reappeared with all its horrid accompaniments of rapine and death during the invasion of Alexander the Great and still again during the repeated and long-continuedcampaigns of the Crusaders. These seared the hearts and have so days of unalterable woe Asia memories of the peoples of Western that, like the when Trojans who feared the Greeks even bearing gifts, they have an inborn distrust of the Feringees," of their Churches, their schools,their laws, their governments. It is because the Holy See is so thoroughly cognizant of of the divers all the fears and jealousies and animosities Eastern Churches and because she fullyrealizes the importance which they severally attach to their millet that she has always been so prudent and considerate in her dealings and remove with them and so disposed to conciliate them everything that might excite suspicionor distrust. Always yearning for a return of the misguided children who so long "

"

"

fold,she is ever ready to make any reasonable concession,so long as it does not affect the deposit of faith Hence of which she is the divinely appointed custodian. of the reunion it is that,in her eagerness to further the cause left her

ago

15

Among

of the

Orientals

Crusades, has

a

designationof Franks, which, since applied to all the inhabitants of Western

common

been

the

time

Europe.

320

FROM

for

which

BERLIN she

in her

supreme

Church

and

always so wisdom, ever

each millet to retain its

schismatics

of Eastern

of

customs,

And

it is

recent

years

thousands many dioceses at a time to

whole

so

"

from

Church

and

policythat

to Rome

often

"

laws

own

hierarchy.

and

and benevolent

the return

witnessed

have

ardently longed, she has, been ready to allow each

has

of this wise

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

liturgy, language

rites and because

TO

which

they had been So far,then, lured by heresy and schism in the long ago. mentioned the Eastern Churches are as concerned, it would that the day is not very from the foregoing pages appear distant when, in great measure, heresy shall be adjured and the venerable

Mother

healed.

schism

Just

as

it is not true to speak of

is still less true whereas

speak of

to

the Eastern

in

seven

Chueches

Orthodox

The

number,

sixteen.

But

be noted

between

have

we

the Orthodox

in their

Orthodox

an

Churches

Eastern

an

are

marked

very

the Orthodox

Church.

considered

Churches

origina

and

Church, so

For, only

are

fewer

no

than

difference

Churches

other

it

is to

of the

East. The

Nestorian

and

Monophysite Churches,

as

have

we

noted, originated in certain specificheresies of Nestorius and Eutyches. But the false doctrines of these heresiarchs, has been observed, contributed less towards as the separation of the

Copts, Syrians,and

nationalism

of

these

peoples

nnder

the guise of

to the

Byzantine Empire.

anything about

the

doctrines of their almost when

as

heresy

ignorant of their

decrees

exceptions not Churches

as

even

are

now

who

for

than

wanted

did

Ephesus

they the

are

of the rank

file knew

and

in the false them

were

bearingon Catholic dogma and

Chalcedon

to-day. With

clergy or

aware

pretext

a

concealingtheir disloyalty

Few

real

the intense

only

issues involved theological leaders. The majority of

the Councils of

famous

others

the

of what

issued

possibly a few

bishops of

was

their

the Eastern

the cardinal

issue

CHURCHES

THE

of their schism

vaguest and from

or

the Church

who

use

the

Catholic

which

able to

are

shadowy

most

The Orthodox the

OF

give anythingmore

than the

for their continued

reason

"

Byzantine rite "

321

EAST

ration sepa-

of Rome.

Churches Church

THE

^which embrace but

unlike

are

the

those Christians

not in communion

Eastern

Churches

with

of

have

spoken,had their originnot in heresy but in schism,pure and simple. Many and various were the of this schism but the chief of them were the jealouscauses ies and ambitions of the Emperors and Patriarchs of Constantinople And and ambitions these jealousies began at an earlydate and graduallydevelopeduntil they eventually culminated in the fatal schism precipitated by Photius and we

Cerularius.

For

After that Constantine the Eagle turned Against the course of heaven which it had followed^^ friction between the East and ever-increasing the West. Constantine,fullyoccupiedwith the affairs of his vast empire,had wisely allowed the Church to govern not the policyof his herself but such, unfortunately, was in ecclesiastical affairs successors. Continuallyinterfering of doctrine by imperialdecrees, and determiningquestions the worst enemies of the they soon proved themselves true This was of action. Church's freedom particularly sion during the Byzantineperiodwhich extended from the accesof Justinian to the throne to the fall of Constantinople under Mohammed II. During all this time the Emperors ject were unremittingin their efforts to make the Church a subof the State. In this they had the ever-readycooperation subservience is easilyexplained. of the court bishops,whose Their ambitions were great and they counted on to help them to realize their unholy their imperialmasters ^ ^ they disappointed. aspirations.Nor were there

was

^^

16

Paradiso, VI, I, 2.

declared: "You of bishops Constantine a Addressing once company a bishop jurisdictionis within the Church; I also am bishops whose is external to the Church." Eusebius, ordained by God to overlook whatever Wi^ 24. The ^^ Life of Constantine, IV, 17

are

I

of the

banks

he

but

simple bishop

a

clea in Thrace. the

But

of

vaulting ambition

it with

from

remove

of

all the

the old capital

Constantinople

the metropolitan of Hera-

under

this

capitalon

new

beautified

and

able to

was

BABYLON

his

the Tiber, the ecclesiastical head

on was

established

Bosphorus

artistic treasures

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Constantine

in 330

When the

BERLIN

FROM

322

far from

positionwas

satisfying

who

suddenly found himself the honored chaplain of the Emperor and his court, the thenceforth bishop of the magnificent metropolisthat was to be

the center

of the

prevent his becoming Fisherman

who

in the old

What a

Roman a

greatest of Patriarchs

"

Patriarch of the

capitalof the Caesars

indeed

to

was

his ambitious

What

world. "

was

the rival of

successor

ruled the Universal

Church

of

even

the

from

to

now

Galilean

his palace

making

his dream

Emperor,

schemes.

the

f

prevent him from

glorious reality? The

thwart

one

he felt sure, would Nor did he. For it was

not in

harmony with his policyof centralization to have his court bishop raised to the highesthierarchical position possible. It would add to his own stimulate the prestige,it would

loyaltyof

his

influence in For

and would and subjects, augment his power his dealingswith the Church. taken. Nor was he mishistorydoes not furnish more ples glaring exam-

of the more

tyranny of Caesar in the things of God nor of ignoble subjectionof bishops to civil power than were

exhibited treatment in return

in

the

of for

Emperor's arbitrary and

those the

ecclesiastics

become

of the See

years were required and Emperor. For as

for

the

even

encouragement

unholy ambitions,had imperialgovernment. In the evolution

"

the

he

had

contemptuous

highest ^who, "

given

to

willingvassals

their of

the

of

Constantinople, barely fifty achievingthe joint plan of Bishop

decreed early as the year 381 it was by a council summoned by the Emperor Theodosius I, which was of composed only a comparatively small number of Eastern

and bishops,

that

at which

thenceforth

the

the

Holy

Bishop

See had

of

no

sentative, repre-

Constantinople

combined

**the divergence of tongues, aspirations,

Hellenic contempt of the Latin

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

324

have

might

race

with

contributed

grouping of the Eastern Churches around the and thus have brought about, more of Constantinople, of a Greek autonomy. less rapidly,the formation

to

a

...

nations

such

"

the

as

Etruscan, anything

or

The

overpowering and even tongues of all the other conquered nician, Syriac, Coptic,Celtic,Iberian, Phoe-

suppressing the

in

See

in

succeeded

had

Empire

Roman

the

and

others

many

of the Greek

direction

in the

it had

but

"

tempted at-

never

language.

by side with Latin official tongue and this cause brought about the a second as it merely a question of Nor division of the Empire. was and recognized tongues. Latins as well as Greeks knew had its origin in that all intellectual culture in the West Greek antiquity; hence arose a superiority that,when once the Empire was divided,promptly gave to the Greek portion the Latin. a preponderance over Nothing, however, was so calculated to stir up the rancor of the Greeks against the Latins as the Pope's coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of territorythat was regarded For the an as integral part of the Byzantine Empire. then held the theory, which Greeks was subsequently so in his De MonarcJiia, that the cause elaborated by Dante of Caesar was the cause of Christ and that the perfectionof the Church presupposed the integrityof the Empire and The

result

that

was

side

ranked

Greek

' ' ^"

i"

The

Churches

Separated from Rome,

p. 151

(by

L.

Duchesne,

New

York,

1907). "For

three

"Latin to

the

last

lingeredon. and UM

as

tongue

centuries

remained

the of

days

But .

.

Greek

foundation

alternative

Latin displaced

even

for

survivals from

under

language all

of New law

government,

was

.

religion; and, an

the

after

tongue of the Empire

of

the

its

the

law

.

.

but .

in

use

beginning

Justinian

purposes,

infusion of Latin technical terms. the tongue of Constantinoplewas

of

Rome," writes warfare;

and

himself, of Rome. not

Save

thoroughly

"

that the

it

down still

character of

tongue

began to Gradually

till it had

Freeman, and

ture litera-

into creep Greek the

received

a

large

infusion this technical Latin Greek. The strange spectacle of New Romans, a Patriarch

there to be seen of an Emperor of the Rome, a Roman and ing derivSenate and People glorying in the Roman name, tlieir whole political existence Roman from whose but in a source, eyes the ipi^ch of Ennius and Tacitira and Claudian of idiom the was despised simply heretic* and barbarians." wettern Historical Essays, Third Series, pp. 248, 240 (London, 1879). wat

THE harmonious

CHURCHES

OF

relations between

therefore,the

Roman

THE

Pope

Patriarch

EAST

and

set up

325

Emperor. When, rival Augustus in

a

the person of Charlemagne and divided the Roman Empire, from which, under Justinian, extended the Euphrates to the Pillars of Hercules, he was in the estimation of the

Byzantines guilty alone had

of

high

treason.

Claiming

that

they

the direct line of imperial continuitythey would

recognize Charlemagne as anything more than **a barbarian King of a barbarian people.'' To what extent the establishment of the Empire in the West contributed to existing friction and to the fatal rupture between New and Old Rome, which Rome occurred seventy years later,is of speculation,but it can a matter scarcelybe doubted that its effect on the exacerbated far temper of the Greeks was greater than is usually imagined. Although, during the first ^ve centuries of its existence, never

^"

the

Constantinoplehad

of

See

with Rome, the

communion

* *

several

Great

times

Schism,

"

been

out

it is

as

called,

inaugurated until Photius,with the connivance the Byzantine Emperor, iniquitouslyusurped the not

was

Rome.

of New 891

again

was

peace

Churches.

Western

After

the death

restored

schism

the

But

and For

but

after * *

the mortal

the Luther an

in

1050, thrown

unknown

20

great language they 968, he went declare, "the the and

that

of the

the

at

^who

"

' ' "

has

^had been

an

and he

Emperor laws

sacred

most

exasperation

dered engen-

been

called

moldering was again,

Constantine of the

of

IX

Church,

left

at

to

imperial scepter, Rome

been

is evinced by the the Pope's action of Archbishop Cremona, when, in Luitprand, embassy to Constantinople. "But," they indignantly St. Constantine that ferred transsillyPope does not know

their

addressed on

had

and

the Byzantine Church grave when into schism by the overweening ambition

was

mad

Eastern

in

and

Church

Cerularius,whom

How

the

that

of Photius

remains

in violation

had,

a

of the Orthodox

in

Michael

than

littlemore

archate Patri-

animosities,jealousies healed only temporarily. century and a half had elapsed

by the misunderstandings ambitions, of centuries was a

of

of this intruder

between

of

all the

only

vile

senate

and

creatures

bird-catchers,bastards, plebeiansand

slaves."

the such

whole

Roman

army

hither,

fishermen, pastrycooks, Cf. Fortescue, op. cit.,p. 94. as

BERLIN

FROM

326

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

Constantinople as. its Patriarch. Cerularius,it must here be observed, Neither Photius nor of controverted questions of instigatedschism because dogma. Photius caused it by his shameless usurpation of

he

But

was

satisfiedto be Primate ambition

led him

was

nothing

less than

he

to be

was

the

at

in which

and

head

supreme

be subservient

actuated

was

something far higher. This founding of a theocracyof which

to aim

and

larius, Constantinople.Ceru-

by similar not, like his schismatic predecessor, of the Byzantine Church. His pride

oppositionto Rome,

in his

motives.

of

Patriarch

of the lawful

See

the

of

See

the

into

foisted

to the Church.

This

the

State

theocracy was

to

was

to be the

Caesaropapism which had flourished almost At one uninterruptedly since the death of Constantine. time, indeed, Cerularius thought seriouslyof uniting the imperial and the patriarchal functions and proclaiming himself the Emperor-Patriarch of the Roman .^^ Empire. He began to wear purple shoes, one of the Emperor's prerogatives the priesthood in his and to join royalty and Michael Prellos,who knew him well and who own person. wrote a valuable history of this period,informs us in referring antithesis of the

.

to Cerularius:

from But

his mouth

'*In his hands

issued

Cerularius'

he

held the

cross

.

while

imperiallaws."

ambition

the

of his

undoing. Like Photius he was made Patriarch by the Emperor. Like Photius he was deposed from his exalted positionby imperial authority and sent into exile on the charge of high treason. But, although he failed in his stupendous scheme to make himself the Emperor-Patriarch of the East, he successful where Photius fell short was in definitively arating septhe Greek from the Latin Church and by perpetuating was

cause

"

the most the Church

disastrous

of Christ.

It

schism was

which

for this

*'

has

ever

unheard

befallen of offence

and

injurydone to the Holy Apostolic and First See'' that the Papal Legates in Constantinople, who tried to the last to prevent schism,pronounced Cerularius and his adherents "

Of. U

Bchi9me

Oriental

du

JI

BiMe,

p. 276

(by

L.

Brehier, Paris, 1899).

THE Anathema

CHURCHES

OF

Maran-atha."

Their

bull of excommunication Videat

Deus

These and

words

July 16,

last words

327

after

layingthe Sophia were

the altar of Santa

on

in which

they called

uttered

were

1054.

brief interval

EAST

judicet.

et

judge

THE

The ^has

"

nine

at

Great

Schism

to witness

in the

which"

since continued

ever

God

upon o'clock

morning,

aside

unbroken

from

a

then

was

faitaccompli.

a

No

had

sooner

the schism

fact,than the Western of

God-fearingmen

Church

closing

of Cerularius

become

of both

set to work

an

plished accom-

the Eastern

to devise

and

ways

and

means

the

The deplorable breach. Popes especially lost sight of their erring .children to the east of the never From Adriatic. the fateful sixteenth of July, 1054, until the present, they have made efforts innumerable to bring about a reunion the tragicallyseparated churches. between With this object in view, two General Councils were vened, conthe Second Council of Lyons in 1274 and the Council of Florence

But

in 1439.

since the erected

been

This

outrage made

history of

Now

could showed

of art which

the

done. he

that

crash

had

wanted

schism,

it

is the

Communion.

patriarchs. Cerularius' 28

She

If

they example,

lost

has her

struck

never

destruction

able unpardonin the

shocking events

ment establish-

oneself

the

else

what if

the

ever

a

man

erec-

Legates clearly

had He municated already excomdiptychs. We should note that Church pronounced against the

off the Roman

it

excommunicated it

communion

the

sade. Cru-

Cerularius.

was

Pope by taking his name the that only sentence

seemed

Fourth

this

long enough, and,

waited

the Eastern

of the

attended

asks

"one

come

had

They

had

of the horrible

wholesale

of the most

it one

which

capital." Then, too, there was the Latin Empire in Constantinople and

that

have

and

barrier

the

of the

op.

soldiers

of

of the choicest works

the result

was

Constantinople by the The cruelties, massacres,

sack

this

schism, a new and the West,

the East

between

insurmountable.

almost

22

of the

outbreak

Pope's

was

from

name

because their

as

such

nor

the

other

they too, following diptychs." Fortescue,

cit.,p. 185.

Although the

persisted

Innocent

Crusaders in

for

declaring

III, preacher of the their that

perfidy His

and

Holiness

Crusade,

treachery, was

the

the

real

cated excommuni-

promptly

Greeks, nevertheless, cause

of

their

fortunes. mis-

States in

tion of Frankish

Christian it

they convened

when

to all the

Byzantines,made

existed,a reunion

and

successful

a

all the

Notwithstanding, however,

less ruth-

almost

this,added in the

issue

of the

hopeless. of

causes

a

delegates

long rankled

so

fathers

of the assembled

deliberations

Greek

Florence

Lyons and

at

of friction that had

causes

of the

hearts

of the

stillfresh in the minds

was

This

sovereign rights of cruelty that accompanied

of the

all the wanton

and

power

Palestine.

Syria and

the Latins

ignoring by

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

328

that

rancor

effected by each of the Councils but

was

only a very short time. For no sooner did the people of Constantinople hear of the action of the be called Council of Lyons than,exercisingwhat should now in insurrection the right of referendum, they rose against it. As a result,however, of the reunion brought about by the Council of Florence, the Byzantine Church remained, at least nominally, in communion with the Holy See for a from 1439 to 1472. It was period of thirty-threeyears taken by during this fateful time that Constantinoplewas in each

it lasted

case

"

under

the Turks The

Conquest

turning point the Great

was

Sultan Bent

Mohammed

had

for

of

in

almost Constantinoplewas the history of the Byzantine

Schism

of Photius

the

the schismatic

leader

to have

view

a

Byzantines

although at sooner

great

Church

Cerularius.

For

a

as

the

possession of the city when he the anti-Papal party, one George

of

of the Catholic Powers

No

and

as

scarcely taken

Scholarios, and, with

seems

II.

had

over

a

winning

him

to his rule

of the West, he had

the time

been

of

of his

togetherwith as

him

against that made

arch, Patri-

appointment Scholarios

layman.

the Sultan

Greeks

against Rome

around

their Patriarch

than

championed they

at

and, in words

once

of

the

cause

of the

exultingly rallied

deepesthatred

and

wildest than with

shouted: ^^Rather the Siiltan's turban fanaticism, the Pope's tiara.'' They have had their choice but what long centuries of degradation and ignominy I

Neither the Patriarch

nor

his followers had

to wait

long

THE before

CHURCHES

to the

for him

and

EAST

329

See of

handed

Moslem

their eyes. For no sooner direction of the Sultan, been

the

the her at -diiploma'*"

and

pointed ap-

sent

which

defined

prerogatives as Patriarch

Government.

scarcelyhad

had

Constantinoplethan Mohammed

him

his duties

were

the

THE

the scales fell from

Scholarios,under

what

OF

But

he been invested

this

with

all.

not

was

under

For

the

signs of his spiritual than the unfortunate Patriarch jurisdiction was given to that he was understand than nothing more a puppet in the hands of his Moslem who master could depose him at will.

Each

of his

Constantinople has

been

humiliating ceremony their

To

since

successors

that

obliged

to

time

in the

submit

to

See

the

of

same

of investiture.

J^

intense

chagrin the Patriarchs learned soon that their appointment had to be followed by furthermore Sultan of a large sum of money; that their a gift to the of office would tenure rarely exceed two years ; that they for others who could be deposed to make room forced were ^^

similar

to pay

exorbitant

for their

sums

appointment

; that

they might be deposed and reappointed no fewer than five times and at each appointment to the office from which they be obliged to renew had been deposed, they would the enormous bribe to their arbitrary and rapacious overlord. The result was simony of the worst kind,for,in order to obtain the money tyrant for their required by the Moslem

appointment, the subservient Patriarchs resorted to the tans. sellingof benefices to priests and bishops and metropoliTo

such

things of God the Orthodox

24

According

to

simony has long made reproach and a scoff,an example

been

carried

Church

'*a

the

Vizier who, in the Sultan's name, Patriarch. As to bishops-electit was herat 25 no a

that

gave

the

herat

to

the

the

was

Grand

appointed

newly

obligatory that they should receive government before their consecration. and 1625 1700, there Thus, during the seventy-fiveyears between

half.

XVI,

than

50

Compare

Pius "

their

the

from

fewer

years

on

subsequentlyprevailed it

that

custom

this sacrilegioustraffic in the

had

extent

an

IX, and

patriarchs whose this

Leo

with XIII

just thirty-sixtimes

question.

the

long reign

whose as

tenure

average

long

"

average that as

of

office

seventy-two tenure of the

of

was

years office was

unfortunate

a "

year

were

and

of

Gregory twenty-four

Patriarchs

in

and

astonishment

an

round

are

her.*'

about

Sultan,

or,

based

racial

on

augmented by

an

jealousiesand

the

enormous

and

"

with

untold

antagonisms.

subserviency of

Church

of the Orthodox

of

confronted

himself

found

soon

the

bribe for his pointmen apto his subjugationto the Sublime Porte,

Vizier and by the payment

Owing

of

Primate

the

as

did

"

(Ecumenical

is Byzantine Church not end with his degrading investiture by the more was frequentlythe case, by his Grand as

Patriarch" called

of the

humiliations

and

troubles

the

But

he

that

nations

the

among

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

330

the Phanar

the readiness

"

difficulties These

were

the Vatican

which

Phanar-

ish always exhibited to become the agents of Turkespeciallythose oppression of their fellow Christians the policy of the Phanar because It was in the Balkans.

iot^ Greeks

"

identical with

was

the Sultan

evinced

the

in the

of Greek

war

any

This

kind

of

of dependenc

strikingly

was

Independence, as

Parliament

enemies

one

of the

to declare the Church

was

to be

different states

in the Balkans.

themselves

their

that the

autocephalous. example of Greece was subsequently followed

The

freed

Porte

Byzantine Patriarch.

first acts of the Greek in Greece

of the

unwillingto acknowledge

were on

that

from

independence of

Turkish the

For rule

no

than

(Ecumenical

by the had they sooner they proclaimed

Patriarch.

cal, things ecclesiastiwhich the various nations of southeastern Europe so a great conspicuouslyexhibited during the last century was blow to the Phanar, but it was this same kind of nationalism This Philetism

that

"

the chief

was

Roumania,

Serbia

^love of

cause

one

's

race

"

of the Greal

in

Schism.

Greece

and

and

Bulgaria, and Russia, long before than had the Orthodox any of them, had done nothing more Church when it separated itself from with communion Rome. as

a

was

heresy.

which the

It

had

Pope

"

in vain that the Phanar It

was

but the reassertion

led the (Ecumenical

the construingof

announced

Philetism

of the national

Patriarch

to rebel

idea

against it into the principlecujus regio

332

FROM

there

were

BERLIN

Slavs

majority were

being

All this

ambitious has

nearly one-half were case, the Russians, who

Russians.

the

for

arrived

not

ask

that

It has read

the

the

assume

Church.

Nor

wall

is

of the

purposes

shall find

Church

the Russian

as

soon

as

to

aspirationsand the writingon the

and

whether

Holy Synod

entire Orthodox

Holy Synod.

fully as

are

themselves

headship of the supreme the Phanar ignorant of the

the

of Photius

in the time

the Greeks

beginning to

Cerularius,are time

monks,

and

the

were

as

five hundred

and

thousand

seven

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

and

knows

leader with

a

intense national and spirit of towering ambition projectof the Holy Synod Photius, the fondly-entertained will be quickly realized,that the primacy of the Orthodox the

transferred

will be

Church

will then

be

prestigeof

the

and

that the power

to Moscow

little

than

more

Petrograd, and

or

the CEcumenical

of his first

those

were

arch Patri-

the humble he was suffragan of the predecessor when The Great Church the official Metropolitan of Heraclea. of Constantinople ^will designation of the Patriarchate "

"

then

have

shared

Alexandria of the

which, in

Mother

will the

the

Church

of their

Hellas

reconstructed

its

as

There

are

the lover than

**

Imperial Rome. be

Great that

Idea"

"

the rivals

And

the idea of

shall embrace

then, too,

from

rudely wakened

and

a

the

tastic fan-

great and

the Balkans

and

capitalthe Queen City of the Bosphorus. few things in the historyof the Church, which

of Christian the

Unity

and

peace

finds

more

clandestine

that led to the Great than and

of Antioch

days of their glory,were

of

aspiringGreeks

dream

have

the fate of the Churches

intriguesand open Schism ; few thingsthat

the incessant

machinations

ecclesiastics who

fatal dissensions which

were

were so

the

cause

ing sadden-

antagonism are

more

of those of

creditabl dis-

ticians poli-

all those

dox characteristic of the Ortho-

Church

during the nineteenth century and have led to that widespread disintegration to which, there is reason fear,is just beginning. While one can have no sympathy with the authors of these disastrous

schisms

in the

just ret-

THE

CHURCHES

ribution which

has been meted

pitying the countless who,

in

and

further

the

State

EAST

them,

one

are,

among

and

her

help

to reflect in their lives the In

"

hold

cannot

the

teaching of the gospel of their Eedeemer. wherever the Orthodox Greece, in Asia Minor retains

333

clergy and laity caused unpardonable scandals by nevertheless,earnestly strivingto

of Christ

cause

THE

out to

thousands

spite of the

Church

OF

children

Eussia, Church

in

still

fied help being edimerable by the piety,the zeal,the deep religiousspiritof innuwho thousands not only ignorant of the cause are a

of the schism

on

that

cannot

one

"

separates them

from

the Church

of Rome

also

been in schism. ignorant that they have even Of those,however, who are acquainted with the origin of the Great there are Schism who ardently hope and many that it may be healed. For they have learned by soon pray long and sad experience the truth of the words of St. John ^with the possibleexception of St. GregChrysostom who ory the most Nazienzen illustrious prelate who ever was ruled the See of Constantinople: Nothing can hurt the but

are

"

"

'*

Church

much

so

Reunion

of

During

wanderings in Greece

travels

interest to

me

attempted reunion of Rome.

When

Moscow

was

in the Near

and Russia, a that

of the

of the Eastern

^"

with

the

Holy

See

East, as during previous ing question of ever-absorblong-desiredand often-

Churches

with

the Church

I contemplated the majestic temples of

of pious worshipers surging multitudes and monasteries of examined the statelyconvents mates; of devoted.God-fearing inwith their vast number I marveled when at the shiploads of Russian grims pil-

Petrograd and

Churches

Eastern

the

my

love of power."

as

with

their

at

great

who

expense

and

with

great discomfort

annually visited the Holy Land and noted the sumptuous hospices and shrines that their government has there I beheld the desecrated erected for them ; when temples of the Greeks, during and recalled how Hellas and Anatolia 26

Horn.

II

in

Ephesioa.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

334

long centuries of oppression and degradation ^when they had everythingto gain by apostasy preserved intact the Church and augmented that vast army faith of the Orthodox "

"

I

when

jjlood "

years ever have we

all

with

this,there

the fateful schism

question,*^Will

ever-recurrent

As

recollected

and

saw

Christ

their belief in

sealed

who

of martyrs

their the

was

of

a

sand thou-

be healed T'

already

seen,

last reconciliation

the

of the

cil Holy See took place at the CounOn this occasion,also,the Coptic, in 1439. of Florence Churches Abyssinian, Jacobite, Maronite, and Armenian wholly or partiallyunited with the great Mother were Church, from which they had so long been separated. It

their

origin. But based

been

had

the

that the Uniate

then

was

with

Church

Orthodox

Churches

already referred

the reunion

as

of the Orthodox

politicalrather

on

to had

Church

ecclesiastical

than

of short duration, for it was pudiated formally regrounds it was by the Byzantines in 1472, nineteen years after the occupation of Constantinople by the Ottoman army Mohammed

under

the

Conqueror.

But, although the reunions so Lyons and Florence were

effected

at

the

Councils

of

short-lived,the hope of an eventual and enduring reunion has always been cherished not only by the Latins but by an influential body of the Orthodox

Church

efforts to

recent

as

secure

the (Ecumenical two years

In

decades

well.

ago,

It will sufficehere to refer to two

reunion

one

"

of which

made

was

by

Patriarch, Joachim III, a little less than made and one by Pope Leo XIII a few

earlier. a

noted

addressed encyclical

Churches,the the and

Church

(Ecumenical

Patriarch

question of reunion charitable

and

his

of

references

again be reunited evince a whose sole object was spirit, the it,would

Orthodox

requested them

Christendom.

His

to

sider con-

teous cour-

in this letter to the Latin

expressed hope that it

may

he conceived

to the divers

of

and

the

Orthodox

deeply religious of Christ,which, as cause be immensely advanced by the restoman

a

THE ration

CHURCHES

of Church

from

the

unity. Church

sister

Patriarch

of

OF But

the

those

"

Constantinople

EAST

335

replieswhich

he received

in

communion

with

convinced

soon

"

efforts in the direction of the

THE

proposed reunion

the

him

that

were

doomed

his

to failure.

In his famous of '*

1894, to

Leo

tenderness word

a

the **

XII**

Princes and

wayward

encyclicalP rcBclara" "

and

addressed

was

error-bound

children

in words

salvation

He

spread

lovingly to the the whole world";

over

he declares: few

*'No

sees

; to the

and

had

In

20,

surpassing

refers

resplendent historyof their venerable who had occupied the Chair of Peter Church by their learning and virtue. for

of

solicitude.

sensitive.^^

tament Tes-

speaks to his

There deepest paternal reproach, not a singleexpression to wound

most

**

June

on

Peoples,*'His Holiness

and

of

whence

^which

a^tly called the

his

even

East, to the

Greeks

edified the

plea

great gulf separates

is not

us;

for

union re-

except

smaller

points we agree so entirelywith you that it is from your and rites that we teaching, your customs often take proofs for Catholic dogma.** And referring to certain unfounded charges that had often been made against the Holy See, he declares in the most positiveterms that no Pope has the slightest desire to diminish the dignity and rights of any of the great Patriarchates of the East. And as for their venerable *^we shall,** he assures customs them, provide in a broad and generous spirit.'* a

^"

**

Had

the occupant been imbued

of the

Patriarchal

See

spiritof his illustrious countryman, Bessarion, who labored so strenuously for

Cardinal

with

the

Church

reunion

actuated

by a tithe of the zeal and charity and distinguishedthe great St. Athanasius

that 27

his

so

"The heart

28

"Eo

ex

Mgr. almost

of

Duchesne say,

he

Florence, and had he been love of peace of Alexan-

beautifully declares, "has had put only his heart

put all into

it."

41.

vel

excipias, sic raro

at the Council

Holy Father/' as into it; I might

Op. oit.,p.

of Constantinople

non seiunguntur: imo, si pauca ingenti discrimine vindiciis non consentimus, ut in ipsiscatholici nominis ritibus, quibus orientales utuntur, testimonia ex more,

magis quod cetera

doctrina,

atque argumenta

ex

promanus."

gentle and noble receptionand that to terminate

at

so

an

met

during

which

of

and

ardent

love

reply to

he

as

the gracious of

successor

zeal for

and

of Christ

well

then CEcumenical

renowned

the

of the Church

long centuries has

was

abusive

that in character

shows

Fisherman

of

this

ere

Churches, as

VII

Rome, Anthimos

appeal

generous

taken

millions of souls redeemed

to untold

offensive and

His

Patriarch.

different

very

been

ten

But, unfortunately for the Eastern for the Church

a

have

would

measures

of evil prolific infinite price.

been

have

would

letter

schism

a

Sovereign Pontiff's

to believe that the

dria,there is reason

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FKOM

336

souls and

the very

was

the

site oppo-

great Pontiff whose overtures he so disdainfully and so ignominiouslyrejected. made Although the efforts to restore union which were III and Leo XIII were, apparently, completely by Joachim be no doubt that they set people ^both there can ineffectual, clergy and laity to thinking,and that Church unity is now of the

"

"

it has

realization than

nearer

been

for centuries.

Thanks

between the East and the frequent communication of the press, West, as well as to the all-powerful agency the people of the Eastern Churches are beginning to realize before the extent and magnitude of the frightful as never evils that have been engendered by the Erastianism and the

to

more

Philetism the

which

Balkans.

They have

and dissensions, and

dominate

so

learned

may

be traced

ecclesiastical authority and have been forced to become

Comparing what

their condition

it is now,

from

they find

to

which

of the have

the

fact that

tools of the

before

the Great

sorrow

that

Schism

they

euphemism for f ossilization ; be a living,active force,and

long ceased to only hope of regainingtheir

is to become

reunited with the

erstwhile

with

ing suffer-

are

is but

an

clergy

government.

development;

have

central

a

their

arrested

that

their boasted

power

ApostolicSee.

and

hatred, grieved

so

to their lack of

mere

to their

of Russia

that most

antagonisms

race

afflictedthem

the Churches

and

that

servatism con-

they

that their

prestige

THE Those

CHURCHES

who

OF

THE

familiar with the

were

recall the days when

the eminent

the Church

in

Egypt

; when

St.

luminaries

of Asia

entire Church

Minor

that had

of scandal

and

schism

Seminator

but among

the

of the

and

St.

great intellectual doctors

pondering these been

honor

Mesopotamia ; when Gregory of Nyssa,

the

be numbered

now

less

of the

facts it may

ambitious

not among

and

sowers

"

di scandalo

who

great Fathers

good

St.

Damascene

the revered

Photius

religioushe might

more

and

were

And

reflected such

St. John

and

of Christ.

to them

occur

Nazianzen

Gregory

the past will

saints and scholars Athana-

the glory of Syria Ephrem were St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom,

and

337

historyof

sius,Clement, and Cyril of Alexandria on

EAST

e

di scisma

were

and the sacred

name

^"

ever-zealous

union

moters pro-

of the Church

Universal.

They will

also recall the

and disconcerting disillusioning fact that since the very beginning of schism, the Eastern Church, to quote the words of Dean Stanley,**has produced lence. Christian benevohardly any permanent works of practical With few exceptions,its celebrated names are very invested to open It seems with no stirringassociations. field of interest to travelers and antiquarians, not to a As a rule there has arisen philosophers or historians. in the East no societylike the Benedictines,held in honor table chariwherever literature or civilization has spread; no orders like the Sisters of Mercy, which light carry and peace into the darkest haunts of sufferinghumanity. ...

' ' ^^

29

Inferno

^0

Lectures

The

XXVIII, on

testimony

the

35.

History of

of Professor

Eastern Church, pp. 2, 30 (London, 1861). the Gelzer, likewise a Protestant, is almost

the

H.

of establishments Stanley. Writing of the monastic Orders the Catholic pertinently inquires: "While in the an as important element teaching and nursing bodies have become have civilization nineteenth of the or Athos, Sinai, Patmos century, what often bitterly complain of the mighty Megaspilion been doing? The Greeks of Catholic propaganda, but they must themselves admit that the best progress schools Von and Eeiligen hospitals in Turkey belong to the Catholic Orders." Makendonien, Berge und aus p. 2 (Leipsig,1904).

same

the

as

that

Orthodox

of

Dean

Church

he

So far

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

338

intellectuallife is concerned

as

BABYLON

they

will find that

to the great apply with equal truth even monastic republicof Mount Athos, which, during the Middle noted a center of Greek learning. For, sad so Ages, was

words

the above

finds

relate,one

to

and

decay

there

even

its

elsewhere, and

as

the

intellectual apathy

same

and

seven

thousand

more

against scholarship as when they indignantlyrazed the school which Eugenius Bulgaris, the greatest Greek scholar of the eighteenthcentury, had

monks

to-day

are

as

established in their

there

set

dead

behoof.

own

It is the recollection of all these in

misery the happy

time''

^*the remembering

things "

with

combined

"

to the Church

invitation of Leo XIII to return generous of their fathers,that has swelled the ranks

and

Church party in the Orthodox ^who have Latin-favorers AaT":iv6"t)opovT"c it to

who

would

use

of the Czar

the Erastianism

groaned under

as

the

always deplored all their influence to bring This party, which has long

early termination.

an

long-

"

"

and

of that known

existent

schism

the kind

of the Sublime

tism the absolu-

and

Porte, is only biding its time

to

seize

opportunity to return to its allegianceto the Pope. Professor an Harnack, whose competency to express opinion in this matter no one will question, declared in a notable of Leo the encyclicalPraecala on pronouncement an

XIII

that:

People

who

patrioticRussian of the

Russia

understand

party

country, in Moscow

people,that hopes

for

a

rather

or

"

and

know

tendency

among

movement

there

that the

of their

"

is

a

in the heart

most

educated in the

Church

direction of the Western that is of the Roman, not Church the EvangelicalCommunion ^who work for this and who "

"

in it the only hope of Russia. This party manifests its ideas in writing,so far as circumstances in Russia allow, and has already shown that it possesses of unusual men see

talent,warm to the Greek

love of their country and undoubted Church. They have also considered

shall reconcile

Russia's

traditions

and

devotion how

they

world-power with

a

FROM

340

is

It

of

words

''stood with

with

Ilavoov

frequently

more

be

may

also

they

""P8alm8,

xliv:

Sovereign singulare

quod

ad

ei

adorare

the

in

nascenti,

fortaase

quum

dispares et

lectissimi

Magi

quod ex

eum."

.

St.

""8t.

Paul John's

to

the

Ephesians,

Gospel,

xvii:

iv

20,

in

notam

Apostolorum

obsequii

:

21.

in

repeated

St.

Basil's

"Grant

that

"

did

never

touching

I

in

.

fancy of

words

that .

Our all

they

.

I

and

Me,

I

unity

in

that

Thee;

^'^

aliud

obsequium

"

God,"

pray

in

Us."

"Neque

ipsa

ex

"I

Father,

one

prsebent

linguae,

est

reechoed

catholicitatis

imitationem

exhibitum

hear

the and

"the

to

eKKXyjoiojv

tuv

passion:

East, caused,

supplication

the

And

10, "ad

Pontiff,

vestuBtatis fere

be

may

Near

return

of

Son

the

cease."

Thou,

as

one,

to

may

his

before

Saviour

.

surrounded

everywhere

many

axia\iaTa

ra

schisms

Church

of

fervor

renewed

liturgy:

of

knowledge

the

ever

has

schism

tendency

growing and

faith

"*

Church"

"

the

in

travels

my

that

ravages

the

noted

during

observed,

I

frightful

.

Christ

of

clothing;

gilded

XIII

Ecclesiarum

the

queen"

the

variety.""

As

of

in

hand

right

Thy

on

''The

Psalmist:

the

Leo

bride

the

to

of

Pope

Dignitas

applies

and

highly

liturgies,

some

that

Orientalium

encyclical so

represent

Church

the

and

rituals

eastern

of

BABYLON

AND

languages,

traditions

them

praises the

ancient

noted

his

in

venerable

several

sacred

most

the

because

their

in

TO

BAGDAD

BERLIN

13.

varii

mirabiliua Ecelesia

est," Dei

caeremoniarum Patrum Christi

Orientis

declares

illustrandam, formse

consuetudine divino

plagis

the quam

nobilesque nobiliares;

Ecclesise

devecti

auctori, venerunt

CHAPTER NINEVEH

XIV

AND

ITS

WONDERS

Here

Assyria, and Araxes As

far

And

her

and

the

Caspian Lake; to south

the inaccessible,

hounds,

thence

east, Euphrates

oft beyond;

And,

hehoWst

empire's ancient

Indus

as

thou

on

west,

the Persian

Arabian

hay

drouth;

her wall Here, Nineveh, of length Several days* journey, built by Ninus old, Of that firstgolden monarchy the seat, within

And

of Salmanassar,

seat

Israel

in

long captivity Milton

in the

Wrapt found

ourselves

that

Mosul

connects

Horses Turks

and

in imminent The

Tigris. the

How we

and

the And

of

garb

vociferous

how to

But

we

explore in

were

the

Mosul.

We

sons

our

of St.

first-hand

information

condition

of the

to be

into

the

bridge

Nineveh.

shouting,

unwashed

constantly

swift-flowing

multiplicity of tongues on

the

the

swaying

and

clamorous the

crams

of

ing creak-

and outer

mounds

the

on

colored vari-

bridge

to

respond

us

persistent temptation there, with a

rare

regarding

people

of

this 341

of

the

part

the

to

interrupt

assistance

opportunity social of

and

Asia

!

invitation

proud capital of Assyria

once

Dominic,

bank

to visit them

silent

to the

had

Mosul,

eastern

insistentlybeckoning

had

in

delightful sojourn

site of the

the

of

we

Stamboul.

we

resisted

scholarly

and

always

mysterious were

morning,

pontoon

seemed

shoved

throng

that

and

eager

crowded

who

recalled

strikingly

the

Regained/'

long-buried city

Arabs,

variety

Tigris which

and

work

on

and

the

being

often, during

gazed

shaky

of

Galata

mourns.

jostled heaving,

multitude between

success

bright October

a

danger

motley and bridge

of

with

camels

Kurds

and

the

on

still

''Paradise

air

crispy

whose

of

of

our

the

getting

economical and

!

of

com-

BERLIN

FROM

342

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

investigations,begun almost at the inception journey, respecting the various schismatic churches vations East. Not, then, until we had completed our obserin Mosul and coordinated our impressions, could

pletingour of

our

of the

be induced

we

self-imposedtask.

suspend our

to

We

wished

on completely off our hands in order that, once historic soil of Nineveh, we might indulge in reverie

it

to have the

let

without

or

hindrance.

we were ready to visit the ruins of Nineveh, When, finally, can the good fortune to have with us a learned Dominiwas ours familiar with the early history of Mosul, who was as of the famous with the old Assyrian metropolis as he was which excavations during the last two generations have that have been the revealed artistic and literarytreasures marvel and the delight of the world. We could not have had a more enthusiastic guide among or a more intelligent the devious which led to the sites of ancient temples ways and palaces,whose existence until was absolutelyunknown uncovered by the pick and spade of the archaeologistbut a

few

decades

How

ago.

strange

through

the

it seemed

of passages

maze

as

threaded

we

that

our

way

led to the locations

of

famous

once

a

"

also a Dominican palaces and temples, that it was brother in religionof our guide ^who first awakened "

interest in Nineveh

my

years on

to me,

And

ago.

my

and It

yet, so vivid

youthful mind

I first came

That

!

under

that

was

the

was

it

than

more

three

score

impression then but

seems

the spell of the famed

made

yesterday when lands of Assyria

Babylonia. came

about

question"a

in

dear,

a

simple

very

venerable

man

The

way. "

had

visited

the

Holy great pleasure in

Land

shortlybefore I met him, and took his experiences in the East. me telling Seeing greatly interested in his narrative of the Bible.

It

not such

was

thought,as the average the good priestcould

boy not

would

have

he gave a

in

Dominican

me

that

a

I

was

tory large his-

book, I have often since

have

selected

cared a

work

to read.

But

that would

NINEVEH have

given me

AND

ITS

WONDERS

343

pleasure" certainly not one that would benefited me more deeply or influenced more foundly proall my subsequent reading and study. It was, too, add, the first book I ever had in my hands outside

have

I must of my book !

more

elementary And

how

school

I read

it

ever-increasinginterest I read

often

readers.

But

again

again, and

and

and

delight!

how

I do

I

not

prized that always with know

how

it

to cover, but I do know carefullyfrom cover that there is only one other volume that I have read more frequently,and that, after the Bible, is my favorite of all books

How

"

The

such wise

he

Commedia.

often I have

Domlliican

old

a

Divina

as

grateful to

the

good

unconsciously directed my studies in afford me life-long pleasure and profit! As of the repeated reading of the book which

to

in my

of the cradle

to be

reason

who

consequence

placed

had

hands

of

I became

familiar

with

the

history

long before I had entered my teens, and I felt quite well acquainted with Nineveh and Babylon when Athens and Rome were yet to me but little than mere without more names significance.And, although interested in many other subjects, as I grew older,I became I never lost my early love of sacred history or of the history and geography of the Near For East. matter how no tinue occupied I might be, I always contrived to find time to conthe my

studies

our

race

which

had

such

a

fascination

for

me

in

early boyhood. To

the student

ing Assyrian or Babylonian history,nothis more impressive than the first view of one of those which are so frequent along the valleys stupendous mounds of the Tigris and the Euphrates and in the vast plain between But the impression is Sharein. Bagdad and Abu

greatly intensified the happiest days

of

when

the

place visited is youth and when

associated

with

again afforded such exquisitepleasdream the dreams that once ure and such delightfulvisions of long-departed glory and experience when I first set foot magnificence. This was my the superb structures the soil that covers which, in my on of

one

*s

one

may

BERLIN

FROM

344

early boyhood, I had

BABYLON

frequentlypicturedin fancy that had reallywandered through their

so

that I

seemed

it almost

AND

BAGDAD

TO

sculpture-adornedhalls and had been an actual spectator of the gorgeous processionswhich they had so frequently and

Nineveh

when

witnessed

zenith of her

at the

was

power

greatness.

deeply impressed when I first ascended the hill on which stood Homer's Troy, but my emotion was not I found myself on the crumbling ruins of when so great as than more Nineveh, that great city in which there were I had

been

**

a

to

I

twenty thousand

and

hundred

persons

that knew

how

not

distinguishbetween their right hand and their left.'' much But this is easilyexplained. I was when younger became acquainted with the enchanting story of Nineveh ^

I first conned

when

than

the

spell-weavingpages

Iliad,

My earlier impressionswere

of the

intimate

exhibited

relation of

in the Sacred

vivid

more

Assyria

the

and, because

to the

interest

Text, my

of

Holy Land, as was ingly correspond-

greater. I

As had

contemplated the remains

in tender

dreams

and in mature

study

and

for

had

age

so

the dawn

to

great city which

frequentlythe subjectof

so

I found reflection,

themselves which

been

years

of the

been

the

subject of

thousand

a

so

my

much

thoughts presenting

mind

regarding the great capital long a period played so important a role during my

of civilization. The

Of

days of old return; world; I "

the young

I breathe the air her

giant sons a gorgeous pageant in the sky Of summer's evening,cloud on fierycloud Thronging upheaved, before me rise the walls Of the Titanic city brazen gates, "

see

Like

"

"

"

Imperial Nineveh,the earthly queen! In all her

"

No

golden pomp

region in the world has

I

see

a

more

^ ^""^ ""*^ HahJ^'hi^nH^rj^Vi: w!"./'.*^'^^ Hght band and their .

left,"is supposed

to

her

now.

venerable

historic

^'**w to distinguishbetween refer to young children.

past their

NINEVEH that vast

than

Tigris,and of

no

for

was

influence than

of Genesis,^it was How

Sennaar.

ITS

centuries

this

ago

who

ruled our

centuries

before

a

doubtless

was

the time

of this

foundation, it gradually increased

"

an

the celebrated

empire which

the civilized world.

the Persian

But

it

greatness, when Gulf

was

and

to the Hittite lands

at

when

it

feared

and

the

to the north

in 707 B. C, collapsed under and

Medes

the

the

jecture. con-

code

of

twenty-third in existence

importance the whole

at the

hated

of its

pire Assyrian Em-

embraced was

mere

the time

in size and

time

the book

great Babylonian

from

capitalof

one

from

in the

greater

the land of

of

in

occurs

lawgiver. It is,however, certain that until it became

matter

Babylonia

but it

era,

is

was

from

came

mention

over

of

Accordingto

built by Asur, who

long

century before many

345

the center

Nineveh.

Its first certain

Hammurabi,

WONDEES

territoryenclosed by the Euphrates and the city in this region, with the possible exception

Babylon, and

power

AND

zenith

from

the

of

of its

Nile to

scorching deserts of Arabia of the Taurus, it suddenly,

the

combined

attacks

of the

the Babylonians led by Cyaxares and

Nabopolassar,who left it a smoking ruin,where, according to the victors,**the words of men, the tread of cattle and sheep heard no more. and the sound of happy music were the name of Assyria throughout the execrated was How length and the breadth of western Asia, and how the peoples she had whom rejoiced so long plundered and enslaved when they heard of the downfall of her capitalis made clear ' '

when

by the prophet Nahum All who

have

have

clapped their

thy wickedness But

heard

of the fame

hands

Genesis

x:

11.

;

of thee :

[thy destruction]

for upon

whom

hath not

passed continually.^

the Prophet

8iii: 19.

thee

over

Zephaniah,who

the stupendous event, gives 2

he declares

an

even

was more

a

contemporary graphic

of

account

BERLIN

FROM

346

the overthrow

of the

will stretch out

His hands

destroy Assyria and He [Nineveh] a wilderness and

will make

of hosts

the Lord

the north and upon the beautiful city not passableand

as

.

.

.

will

a

as

a

place

desert.

flocks shall lie down

And

BABYLON

metropolis:

far-famed And

followed

which

of the utter desolation

AND

BAGDAD

TO

in the midst

thereof,all

the

of the nations ; and the bittern and the urchin shall in the threshold thereof;the voice of the singing bird

beasts

lodge

post, for I will window, the rave^i on the upper her strength. is the gloriouscitythat dwelt in security ; that said

in the consume

This

in her heart

I am,

:

there is

and

none

beside

me

;

how

is she

one desert,a place for beasts to lie down in? Everyhand.* that passethby her shall hiss and wag his

become

How were

a

prophet completely these dire words of the Hebrew verified is evidenced by the fact that when Xenophon

his Ten

and

the

by

Greeks

two

centuries

covered

the

remains

Thousand which

mounds

later

passed

of Nineveh's

of being quite unaware magnificence,they were in the immediate vicinityof the sumptuous palaces and temples of the erstwhile Queen City of the Tigris.*^ born at Samosata Lucian, the Greek Voltaire,who was the Euphrates in the second on century after Christ,tells in one of his satirical dialoguesthat all trace of Nineveh us had disappeared. Eepresenting Charon leave of on a as

one-time

absence

from

the infernal

regions, where he officiated as ferryman of the dead, and as starting with Hermes, the Bwift-footed messenger of the gods, who acts as his guide, on

a

short tour

of this upper

world, he gives us these

two

characteristic paragraphs :

Charon. much

so

"!l: "

"

Show

down

the famous

me

below;

The

Nineveh

cities of which of

we

hear

Sardanapalus and

13-15.

Anahania, Bk. Thoutand, p. 139

Ill, Chap. et aeq.

(by

4.

W.

in the Traok Of. also Tnwela F. Ainsworth, London, 1844).

of the

Ten

BERLIN

FROM

348

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Father of History," but only,as Cicero calls him, the Not only also the greatest traveler of his time. he was did he traverse a great part of Asia Minor, Syria, and *'

not

his

there

but

Egypt,

proceeded for

allowance

its

on

numerous

picturesquework

and

for

the history of the brilliant Greek tales,'' will always possess value not only for its matchless

travelers

few

writer

exist in his

which

inaccuracies

and

the Euphrates

Babylon. Making all due

to

a

strong probabilitythat he extended

a

peregrinationsto

waters

not

is

'

also for the facts which

stylebut

and its

it contains

tions, descrip-

evidentlyfrom the pen of an eye witness. which to that part of his charming work I refer especially treats of Babylon and the culture of its inhabitants. the great history of Babylonia Of more importance was the written by Berosus, a contemporary of Alexander Great and a priestof Bel in Babylon. Unfortunately we have only the fragments of this work which have been preserved by Eusebius, Josephus, and other ancient writers. But the works mentioned, as well as those of Ctesias, Dinon of Colophon, and others,threw but littlelighton the of Assyria and civilization and achievements Babylonia tion during their long and eventful history. Detailed informarespecting the development and decline of these two to come mighty empires was only from native annals of which not even the existence was suspected until the latter which

are

half of the nineteenth Nor

century.

there before

was

the

the last century

beginning of

certitude regarding the sites of the great Assyrian and Babylonian cities which had made such a profound impresany

Bion upon and

temples of

the

peoples of

the ancient world.

tory Although histradition still spoke of the grandiose palaces and of Nineveh

Babylon,

and

of the towers

and

hanging gardens

the

almost general ignorance which from the time of the Arab conquest had prevailed regarding the actual sites of TEven

Babylon

Cicero deolarei: fabuUe," De

innumerabilcs

"Et

and

Nineveh

apud

not

was

Herodotum,

Legishua Lib. I, Cap.

patrem I.

until

removed historiae

.

.

.

sunt

NINEVEH

AND

ITS

WONDEES

349

illustrious Danish

the

scholar,Carsten Niebuhr, proved that the site of Babylon was in the vicinity of the modern village of Hillah, and the noted English investigator, Claudius

James

in 1821 that the mounds Rich, demonstrated the left bank of the Tigris,justopposite Mosul, covered on all that remained of the famed cityof Nineveh.^ But even after the sites of Nineveh and Babylon had been it was identified, yet to be proved that amid the ruins of these

famous

which

would

shed

such

once

were

cities there

of

of

Babylon

that

discoveries

This

conclusion

of

The

centers.

cylinderswhich

the mounds

the civilization

light on

noted

travelers

Nineveh

and

confirmed

monuments

of which

potsherds

had

found

and

in and

led scholars

greater value

was

and

records

were

awaited the

by

the

they ments fragabout

to believe

explorer.

finding in

various

covered with places of bricks, tablets,and monuments written in characters which which were strange inscriptions are now designated as cuneiform. It was ment Governnot, however, until 1842 when the French to which the world of science has long been indebted in assistance for intelligent encouragement and generous "

of research

branch

every

"

sent Paul

Emil

Botta

to Mosul

ostensibly appointed to fillthere the newly-createdposition of vicedid not require the service consul,but, as French commerce of such an officialat that point,he was reallydesignated to that

act

its

8

decisive

as

results

the head

of

environs.

an

His

were

He

was

and mission to Nineveh archaeological appointment, as subsequent events

writers, it is true, had

Arabian

obtained.

agreed "during

nine

hundred

in years, Mosul with

Tigris opposite from meeting with general vinced conBotta, was French explorer, acceptance that so late as 1843 the great of Assyria, of II, King wonderful Sargon the he uncovered palace when of Khorsabad. occupiedby the rums was B. C. 721-705, that the site of Nineveh the teachings of Layard, "contrary to But the noted English investigator,

identifying the the

ruins

mounds

of Nineveh"

on

but

the

their

east

views

bank

were

of the so

far

local tradition," was equally pofitive that which is of the mound Nimroud, under "the ruins famous the of site Assyrian capital of the actual miles to the south twenty of Babylon. Of .By which long the rival and eventually the conqueror so was London, E. A. Wallis 16 Budge, (by Nile and Tigris,Vol. II, p. 8 et seq., 15,

Arabian

1920).

and

and Syrian historians buried were of Nineveh

BERLIN

FROM

350

proved,was

BABYLON of

day in the annals

red-letter

a

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Assyrian

search. re-

For, not long after his arrival in Mosul, the world discoveries in the of his marvelous thrilled by the news was and the report that he was long-buriedcity of Nineveh edifices to the spoils of superb ancient sending home *'

cityburied

...

for

for comparison twenty centuries offered its remains London and Paris ; and with the aspects of modern of a bygone race rose sculpturedmonuments up to offer than

more

the a

A

of the Louvre.

the treasures

increase

Three

of modern

the works

with

contrast

art.'*

^

after Botta 's arrival in

years

Mosul, Austen Henry at Nimroud, a excavations

Layard began his memorable to the

short distance

of Nineveh.

south

So

successful

was

Citadel subsequently at Kuyunjik ^that he was able to send a larger and a of Nineveh soon collection of antiquities to the British valuable more and

here

he in his work

"

"

that

which

with

Museum

than

Louvre.

Great, indeed, was

England

when

Nineveh

were

capitalwhich other trace

had

excitement

enriched

the

in France

and

of the

long-buried palaces of placed on exhibition and when people had of that famed Assyrian eyes tangible evidence

their

before

the

Botta

the treasures

for

than

more

of its existence

of fabulous

wealth

twenty centuries

than

a

name

which

had was

left a

no

nym syno-

and

magnificence. In a work published shortly after Botta and Layard had electrified the world by their startlingdiscoveries,a wellknown English scholar,speaking of the unearthing of Nineveh, wrote : More

than

unknown

two

grave,

thousand when

had it thus years French and savant a

a

English scholar,urged by of the

seat

found

a

noble

lain in its

wandering sought the inspiration,

powerful empire, and, searching till they the dead city,threw off its shroud of sand and ruin once

and

revealed

the

temples, the palaces,the idols;the representationsof

"The

Buried

once

more

to

City of the East:

an

astonished

Nineveh, Preface

and

curious

(London, 1851).

world

NINEVEH and

war

the The

AND

triumphs Nineveh

of

of

ITS

WONDERS

peaceful art

of the ancient

Scripture,the

historians ; the Nineveh in a civilization of pomp

351

Nineveh

of the oldest

twin-sister of Babylon

"

and

all traces

power,

rians. Assy-

^glorying

"

of which

believed to be gone ; the Nineveh, in which the captive tribes of Israel had labored and wept, was, after a sleep

were

of

twenty centuries,again brought to light. The proofs of ancient splendor were again beheld by living eyes, and, and the pen of antiquarian by the skill of the draftsman travelers,made known to the world/" Notices

like this which

periodicalliterature

frequentlyappeared

had

the

in books

and

effect of

excitingwidespread for the advancement enthusiasm of Assyrian research. Societies were organized for promoting excavations on a feasible for the first explorers,who larger scale than was were greatly hampered by the lack of adequate funds, and of the archaeologists for giving due publicityto the work most in the field. The results were gratifying,for it was the mounds of not long before explorers were investigating Babylonia as well as those of Assyria. the direction of George Smith and Meantime, under Ormuzd

Rassam,

Nineveh

were

mounds

the

made

to

which

covered

yield further

the

site of

which

treasures

were

extraordinary as any which had been brought to let lightby Botta and Layard. A discovery by Smith of a tabdeluge, supposed, to the Noachian relating, it was destined to that Assyrian archaeologywas convinced many incalculable aid in the study of Sacred render Scripture. Although its apologeticvalue subsequently proved to be

quite as

of by some greatly overestimated it of Assyrian antiquities, students the

that

only

not

new on

science the

Old

destined

was

Testament

the

became

soon

to throw

but

also

enthusiastic

more

flood of light

a

the

on

manifest

history of

greatest nations of the ancient world. We experiencedspecialpleasure in exploringthe mounds

the

^0

to

yineveh

the

and

Elucidation

Its Palaces.

The

of Holy Writ,

Discoveries

p. i et seq.

of Botta

(by

and

J. Bonomi,

Layard Applied London, 1862).

the remains

covered

which

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

352

BABYLON

imperialNineveh.

of

There

was

either of interest to see which was much not, truth to tell, ported, value, for everythingof importance, that could be transor

Yunus

of Nebi

the mound

On

of

museums

Europe

as

they had been disinterred.

as

soon

to the

forwarded

been

had

Prophet

"

Jonas

ited vis-

^we

"

the Moslems declare contains the which the mosque of the prophet who remains preached repentance to the sinful Ninevites. This

[said

mosque

Dominican

our

Christian

companion]

that

inally orig-

was

built in the fourth

monastery it century by a discipleof St. Anthony of Egypt. He named of the Prophet Jonas, but when in honor the building, long into the possession of the Mussulmans, it afterwards,came converted into a mosque. its was It, however, retained ^which it bears to this day. Prophet Jonas originalname a

"

"

inhabitants

The

guard

as

here

stone,'' they

it returned

stone

is

reputed

him

highly

do

to have

nothing could them

the

the

of the curative

they

**It

firma/' Since that time of curing rheumatism power

into contact

natives

induce

which

to terra

simply being brought So

flat stone

a

this price. was upon the great fish deposited Jonas

*^that

aver,

when

exhibit

beyond

treasure

a

was

the

by the afflicted part.

with

prize this remedial agent that to part with it. When told we

them

attributed

powers

to the Hittite stone

Aleppo they gravely assured us that the stone of Neby Yunus possessed incomparably greater efficacy and that it at

afforded

certain

relief to all

of rheumatism

cases

however

malignant.

Although

we

always interested

were

folklore of the Mussulmans on

this occasion

were

to stroll

buried the remains cities and

Layard which

and

of the Near

to

Ormuzd

contributed

so

one

inspectthe Rassam

listeningto the East, we preferred

the mounds

over

of

in

had

greatly to

of

beneath

antiquity'smost

localities where made our

which

Botta

those famous

brated celeand finds

knowledge of Assyria

NINEVEH

AND

and

Babylonia. Most of such pricelesstreasures We

valuable

that

therefore,freer

WONDERS

the excavations

this did not matter. monuments

ITS

had

been

had

in various

had

353

whence

refilled with

been

they drew earth, but

museums

taken

the

seen

from

them

and

indulge in day-dreams than we had been when visited Homer's we Troy. Aided by the drawings of Place and Fergusson we found it easy to reconstruct in fancy the superb palaces of Sargon and Eserhaddon and and Tiglath-pileser,whose names achievements had so impressed us in our youth. In imagination we contemplated the colossal statues of winged lions with human heads, which stood at the portals of the palace

were,

of

to

fixed

Sennacherib, and

relief and

monarch We

"

adorned

exploitsin

's

could

vast

the chase

of his

marvelous

frieze

halls and in

and

bas-

of the

thenon Par-

exhibited

the

innumerable."

wars

himself

palace and

of Assur

of the hosts

forth

of the

Sennacherib

observe

outlook

elevated

the

the

on

gaze

reminders

sculptures which

"

our

and

standing on an watching *Hhe marching

the

of their

smoke

causts holo-

all the lands,*'or pensively pacing spreading over overlooked the swift-flowing a lofty tiled terrace which of the western of the Tigris and the broad waters expanse desert illumined by the crimson glow of the settingsun. attention. It But our a more fascinatingscene engages recalls one described in the book of Esther,^^in which King is represented as having his annalists and wise Assuerus for him

read

men

times.*' of

Before

Assyria

surrounded

"

histories and

chronicles

is Asurbanipal" the

us

the examination

on

*Hhe

of

by a

Monarch

Grand

his scribes and

recent

of former

sages

and

intent

addition to the royal library.

spent in militarycampaigns in Syria, Palestine,Egypt, Susiana, and elsewhere, he resolved to For,

11

after many

"At

Nineveh

hardly p. 636 12 vi:

the were

end

years

of the

seventeenth

representing

horses

at century, B.C., Asurbanipal's sculptors

which

the

frieze

of

the

Parthenon

surpassed in no sculptor has ever equal, and lions which Ancient of the The truthful History delineation." and (by 1.

H.

R.

Hall, London,

1913).

can

careful Near

servation ob-

East,

the remainder

devote

to his

But

and

own

to the

glory

of his life to the arts and

to the end

and

magnificenceof

avocations

that

his life "

of time.

This

the

Nineveh

palace at

which

was

erected

was

his

that he had

perpetuate his name library the largest and to

"

that the world

collection of documents

valuable

structures

of his gods.

to that

in his gorgeous

it was

joy of

most

BABYLON

temples and palaces in many parts of Babylonia bear witness to his activityas a

and

Assyria builder

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Numerous

of peace.

the

BERLIN

FROM

354

had

Composed of myriads of inscribed tablets,they and unbaked of a material baked were fortunately made than two millennia,successfullywithstood clay which, for more and the elements. of war all the ravages They treated of mathematics, astronomy, history^, poetry, grammar, in of the entire a word, lexicography,law, religion yet

seen.

"

"

"

circle of the sciences

of the ancient world.

only the he encouraged to produce new patron of scholars, whom but was of science and literature, branch books on every and rival of the the worthy forerunner also, as a collector, He had and Alexandria. bibliophilousrulers of Pergamum the earliest his scribes visit all the libraries of Babylonia make and had them of science and letters home copies of of value which did not exist in his own all works library. the King as a collector that So indefatigable, indeed, was it is probably true has been stated that he had in his as of all the books that existed in extensive library a copy the numerous libraries of Assyria and Babylonia. The discovery of AsurbanipaPs library surpassed in importance any that had ever been made in either the valley of the Tigris or of the Euphrates. But every tablet in this immense collection was absolutely a sealed book, for there not anyone was able to decipher a single livingthen who was sentence of those mysterious documents which had thus so unexpectedly been brought to day. When Layard, in the of his explorationof the vast palace of Asurbanipal, coarse first beheld the priceless contents of the royal halls of

Asurbanipal "

Assyrian

an

Maecenas

"

not

^was

"

"

"

"

BERLIN

FROM

356

of

work

the

That

had

achieved, scholars the

which

TO

would

decipherment no

doubt.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

the

That

eventually be

languages

written

were mysterious inscriptions

would

in

one

certainty,all investigatorswere in decipherof ChampoUion The achievements ing convinced. of Egypt and of De Sacy in reading the hieroglyphics that eventually the mysterious Pehlevi gave an assurance day

with

be read

ease

and

Assyro-Babylonian inscriptionswould and that the long-forgottendocuments then

librarywould of the western

most

become

ancient

the chief and

most

also of

sources

elucidated

be

Asurbanipal's of

our

edge knowl-

powerful empires

of

Asia.

Nothing in the entire history of intellectual advancement than the story of the is more interestingand romantic tions gradual decipherment of those strange cuneiform inscripof the whose long baffled the powers interpretation

geniuses of Europe. greatest linguistic The discovery of the key to the Egyptian hieroglyphic the immortal of one the work man inscriptionswas practically The Jean Frangois ChampoUion. decipherment of ment the joint achievethe Assyro-Babylonian inscriptionswas of many laboring during many generations,in men, It and widely separated parts of Asia and Europe. many effected by daring travelers and explorers,by philolowas gists, philosophers,and historians,most of them laboring independentlyof one another, but all working, although nearly always unconsciously,toward the same goal. And that the first clue more even an singular fact was towards the unraveling of the great enigma was found far from both Assyria and Babylonia and in a placewhere away an explorer bent on searching for it would certainlynot look for it. This place was mains Persepolis,where are the reof the splendid edifices constructed by Darius I, Xerxes I, and Artaxerxes I, the celebrated Persian Kings of the AchsBmenian dynasty. "

So far

as

ruins

known was

the first European to visit these remarkable

the noted

Franciscan

friar,Fra

Oderico,

NINEVEH on

his way

AND

Cathy

to

ITS

in the first

WONDERS

357

quarter of the fourteenth

century. In the latter half of the sixteenth

century Persepolis was visited by an Augustinian monk, Antonio de Gouvea, whom Philip III, King of Spain and Portugal, had sent as an ambassador the Great, King of Persia. Abbas to Shah Among the many things which attracted his attention in the old Persian the inscriptionswhich he saw the citywere on monuments, which, although they are in many parts very distinct,there is nevertheless no one who can read them, for they are not written in Persian, or Arabic or Armenian or Hebrew, which are the languages spoken in this land. sador Some thirtyyears later Gouvea was followed,as ambasAbbas from Philip III, by Don to Shah Garcia de of Sylva y Figueroa, who wrote a letter on the monuments attracted Persepolis which published deep interest when In this communication in Europe in 1620. he speaks of notable inscriptioncut in a Jasper-table,with characters one * *

' ' ^*

* *

still could

fresh

so

so

escape

The

and

many

Letters

faire ages

that

neither

are

how

wonder

it

ish. of the least blem-

touch

without

themselves

would

one

Chaldaean

nor

Arabike, nor of any other Nation which was found of old, or at this day, to be extant. ever all three-cornered,but somewhat long, of the They are set forms of a pyramide, or such a little Obliske as I have in the margine: ( A )so that in nothing do they differ one from one another, but in their placing and situation,yet Hebrew,

Greeke, nor

nor

conformed

so

that

they

plaine,distinct

wondrous

are

and

' ' "^^

perspicuous. But to the

scholars

of

della

Valle, of whom

thus

that

Europe

this eminent

being the first of

that

we

inPurchaa

His

was

have Eoman

peculiarcharacters

the learned

traveler, Pietro

already spoken.

patricianhad

And

the

gueras

as

do

grao Gouvea

Pilgrimes,Part H,

e

grandes

Turco

victorias

Mahometto

que and

(Lisboa, 1611).

pp. 1533, 1534

it

honor

long line of investigatorswhose

em Relagam am que se tratam Persia Xa Abbas da grade rey de F. Antonio Amethe, pello Padre 14

o

these

known

to make

the first one

(London, 1626).

was

of

labors alcancou seu

Filho

BERLIN

FROM

have

resulted in buildingup

science

known

now

the time

From

comprehensive branch Assyriology.^"

as

that

della Valle the number

of Pietro

Persepolisand

visited the ruins of

who

which they saw inscriptions capitalrapidly increased. failed to

observations

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

358

of travelers of the

wrote

the ruins of this old Persian

on

arouse

of

But, although their published special interest at the any at least a passing notice for

of them deserve time, some the quaint language in which the views of the authors found Herbert, referringto the inscripexpression. Thus Thomas tions of

Wee

writes Persepolis,

:

lynes of strange characters, so oddly very f aire and apparent to the eye, but so mysticall, other deep conceit can be no framed, as no Hierogliphick, adverse to the intellect. more difficulty fancied,more with the Hebrew, And, though it have small concordance Greek, of Latine letter, yet questionlesseto the Inventer it well knowne; and conceale was some peradventure may excellent matter, though to this day wrapt up in the dim noted

above

dozen

a

.

leafes of envious

.

.

obscuritie.^'^

The were

de and

Italian,Spanish, and English writers on Persepolis followed by travelers and writers of other nationalities. Jean Chardin of France, Cornelis Among these were Bruin of Holland, Engelrecht Kaempfer of Germany, Carsten Niebuhr, a German, long in the service of Denmark. Each

though

it

of

was

"

these towards

men

the

made

a

contribution

decipherment

of

small

"

Perse-

the

politan inscriptions. Chardin

was "

work

'"

As

to the

the first to reproduce in his superbly illustrated entire inscription of the monufrom one an

of signification

the

In que lingua e lettera siano non si sa perchfe fe caratere " Home Yearea Travels into Divers Parts of Asia and

(London, 1638).

he knows "E

oggi ignoto." 145 Afnque, / ^ "r p.

Chardin became an English citizen and achieved such tablet was a dedicated to his memory in Westminster l"S"id-Sir John Chardin" women sibi feciteundo." ""

that

described

by nothing. In queste iscritzioni

strange, wedge-shaped character

the noted Italian traveler, Pietro della Valle admits that the fifteenth chapter of his Vta^^t he frankly declares:

fame

as

a

et seq.

traveler

Abbey bearing the

NINEVEH ments more come

and

AND

ITS

WONDERS

of

Persepolis. This, to scholars,was incomparably valuable than any of the fragments that had hitherto to Europe. De Bruin, who visited Persepolisin 1704, subsequentlypublished a book with magnificent views

of the

ruins

of the

old

in the hands

material

published in of

1712

the

a

four

the most

capital,together

its

of scholars

Kaempfer But

Achsemenia

inscriptionsfrom

numerous

monuments,

than

advanced

of in many

which

had the

put

more

of his

any

further

with

cessors. prede-

when

he

long inscriptionin Assyro-Babylonian. travelers

mentioned

important

the

had

step

a

work

was

traveler,an accurate observer scholarship. Besides making careful

East

359

monuments

respects

the

who

one

Niebuhr, and

a

an

formed per-

enced experiof broad

man

urements drawings and measof Persepolis monuments the most important in the "

were

^he made

cuneiform texts which copies of numerous not appeared in any His studies of preceding work. that there were inscriptionsalso led him to conclude "

three

classes

of them

and

that

they

were,

as

some

of his

predecessors had

surmised, to be read from left to right. He had thus not only supplied scholars with new and valuable material but,by his comparative study, blazed the way which led to their final decipherment. Among the first to attempt decipherment of these inscriptions such were distinguished philologistsas Professor ter, Tychsen, of the University of Rostock, and Friedrich HunOrientalists of Copenhagen, eminent and such as Silvestre de Eugene Burnouf, Anquetil-Duperron, and of his age. the most eminent Arabist They Sacy, who was did not succeed in solving the problem w^hich had so long minds of Europe, but they had accumubaffled the keenest lated the material

Several stores and

from

years

of tablets

that before from

was

necessary

for its solution.

Botta

and

Layard

Nineveh

and

Nimroud

sent

their

vast

to the Louvre

mens Museum, it was evident from the few speciof cuneiform inscriptionswhich had reached Europe Mesopotamia that the script on the Babylonian tab-

the British

BERLIN

FROM

360 lets

the

was

same

of the varieties

one

as

AND

BAGDAD

TO

of Persepolis. It inscriptions trilingual

BABYLON in oceiirring

then

was

the

only

a

identical scriptswere Thanks to the reand representedidentical languages. searches of De Sacy, Burnouf, Anquetil-Duperron, and possibleto make the old Persian script others,it was now

step to the conclusion

these two

that

"

the first class

"

of Persepolis inscriptions trilingual third class,or what is now designated

of the

key to the the Assyro-Babylonian script. The

serve as

as

a

similar to that which the Rosetta

on

stone

was

process

exactly

Champollion to use the Greek key to the mysterious hieroglyphics

enabled as

a

Egypt of the Pharaohs. But, although the method to be adopted of the

enough,

the labor involved

that

which

For

the Greek

was

on

simple

incomparably greater than

was

required of

seemed

the illustrious French

the Rosetta

stone

was

savant.

well-known

a

guage, lan-

the key as Persian, which was to serve for deciphering the Babylonian script,was itself quite as unknown as the writing to be deciphered. It was only after had been acquired by comparing a knowledge of Old Persian it with Avestan, Pahlavi,and Sanscrit,that it could serve whereas

as

the

Old

long-soughtkey

The

first

Friederich

one

to

to read

Grotefend.

Assyro-Babylonian. Old

an

This

was

Persian

word

Georg in 1802, when he was only without any knowledge of was

twenty-seven years of age and oriental languages. Nevertheless, he was, wonderful to relate,able *Ho solve the riddle practicallyin a few days, that had puzzled much older men and scholars apparently much better qualifiedthan himself. Under the magical touch of his hand the mystic and complicated characters of ancient Persia was

far

suddenly gained new

enough advanced

to

announce

life. But to the

when

he

Academy

of

Sciences in Gottingen the epoch-making discovery which established his reputation for ever, that learned body,

though comprising men

intelligence, strange to memoirs

of say,

of this little-known

eminent

mental

declined

to

training and

publish the Latin

collegeteacher,who

did not

NINEVEH

belong

to the

Orientalist

lat^r

ITS

that

"

his

published by Prof. Academy's transactions examination

It

others

were

not

was

"

a

was

even

until

ninety

were

rediscovered

Gottingen Sacy, Heeren, and

The

number

of Grote-

of

of Niebuhr

followed

were

gators investi-

in the ruin-dotted

Mesopotamia gradually increased.

researches

years

attitude of the

the

Sciences,scholars like De not slow to recognize the importance

and

an

in science.''^*

in the studies of Europe and of Persia

nor

Meyer, of Gottingen,in the truly unique case of post mortem

far-reachingdiscoveries.

f end's

361

Wilhelm

Notwithstanding,however, of

proper

originalpapers

and

Academy

WONDEES

University circle

by profession.

1893

"

AND

plains

The

ful care-

in the first half of

century by the painstaking observations of Rich, Ker Porter, and Colonel Chesney. But while those noted winning laurels in the valleys of the explorers were ''forced Tigris and the Euphrates, Sir Henry Rawlinson the

nineteenth

the inaccessible

rock

of

to surrender

Behistun

the

great

of Darius, which, in the quietude of trilingualinscription Stone' of the 'Rosetta the Tigris, became his study on standing Assyriology and in his master hand the key to the underof the Assyrian documents. ' ' ^"

How

achieved

Grotefend

competent

more

than

early displayed a talent

which

he

such

he, had

remarkable

shared

in

the 19th

during

Explorations in Bible Lands Hilprecht,Philadelphia, 1903). 19

marvelous

failed

has

aptitude common

success

been

for

with

Century,

Dr.

of

solution

Hincks.

who

V.

others, apparently

when

explained by

the

H.

(by

23, 24

pp.

the

fact

riddles: also

that

"he

peculiar acquired great a

Decipherment of the as a A. J. London, 169 1902). Booth, (by Inscriptions, Cuneiform p. Trilingual Dr. R. W. Rogers, in his instructive work, A History of Babylonia a/nd subjects, Assyria, Vol. I, p. 61 (New York, 1915), referring to the same

distinction

"It must

were

inhere

scholar."

cuneiform

Discovery

and

to define the qualitiesof not impossible, deciphererof a forgotten language. He is not

if difficult, in the

The

mind

which

necessarily decipherers. He

great scholar, though great scholars have been successful whose are little of the languages that cognate with the one but know may of know as them, indeed, nothing He unravel. to he is secrets may, trying the patience,the persistence,the power But been the case. times has several the divine of combination, gift of insight,the historical sense, the feeling for all of these were be present,and present these must achaeologicalindications, that the attacked who now problem Grotefend, in the extraordinary man,

a

had

so many." Hilprecht, op. cit.,

baffled

General Sir Henry of Major 71; cf. A Memoir his Canon 153-157 brother, George (by 143-148, Cresmicke Rawlinson, pp. Rawlinson, London, 1898); Booth, op. cit.,pp. 106-114. 20

p.

BERLIN

FROM

362

Rawlinson

While

was

the

relating to and

Rassam

and

Layard

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

gations conducting his celebrated investiinscriptionof Behistun, trilingual were unearthing the priceless

Hincks in library, Edward and England, Eugene Burnouf

of AsurbanipaPs

documents

Norris in Ireland, Edwin M. de Saulcy in France, "Westergaard,a Dane, and Lassen, were astonishingthe a Norwegian, both livingin Germany, contributions towards learned world by their wonderful the decipherment of the inscriptionsof Persepolis and and of tablets and seals and cylinderstaken from Behistun the temples and palaces of Assyria and Babylonia. Thanks to the investigatorsnamed and to a rapidly of others,the decipherment of Assyrian increasingnumber was gradually assuming the dignityof an exact inscription science.

But

there

eminence

who

questioned the validityof the system openly expressed grave doubts about

and

who

translations

still scholars

were

of the cuneiform

published by divers

acknowledged

of

which inscriptions

scholars

of

Great

had

Britain

ployed em-

the been

and

the

Continent.

Finally,in 1857, it should

silence

method

of the

all

was

suggested

objectors and

decipherers reposed

to make

a

demonstrate on

a

test which

that

scientific basis.

the

An

translated Assyrian text was independently by Hincks, Talbot,Oppert, and Rawlinson, and sent sealed to the Royal Asiatic a

these versions were Society. When committee of distinguishedscholars they

show

such

a

remarkable

longer be any reasonable decipherment or the substantial had

been

were

found

to

correspondence that there could

no

which

compared by

doubt

as

accuracy offered to the

to

the

of

system

of the four

lations trans-

mittee distinguishedcom-

of the

Royal Asiatic Society. But, notwithstandingthis remarkable confirmation of the correctness of the method of decipherment employed by there Assyriologists,

skepticseven men

among

like Gutschmid

still remained the most in

noted

Germany

and

a

certain

scholars Renan

number

of

of the ageand Gobineau

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

864

city of Telloh, in the alluvial plain of Babylonia, while a few years later Haynes fullythirtythousand tablets, and Hilprechtto the north of Telloh, in the ruins of Nippur, than forty thousand discovered more tablets,which ruined

proved to be of inestimable value to the student of the history,religion,and social conditions of the inhabitants have

of ancient

by

unearthed

were

Banks

the

code of Hammurabi the world

the code

"

thousand

"

There

have

governed at a by fully two

era

also

been

numberless

alabaster

as

bear

cuneiform

historical slabs which

in

Nineveh.

of

domestic

of masters

the

uninscribed

man

Such

adorned

These

of

sources

bas-reliefs

inscriptionsof of science. which

monuments

importance. once

baked un-

by the pick and spade Assyria and Babylonia.

seals,statues, cylinders, and

which

of immense

of value

uncovered

value to the historian and

even

baked, others

some

"

in the tells of

excavator are

utmost

scenes

Christian

the

clay tablets the only monuments

not

are

innumerable

are

Babylonia was

inscribed

history which the

by which

in

years.

the

But

the oldest compilation of laws

"

antedated

which

period

De

Morgan at brought to lightby Susa was the important

the

Among

of tablets

stores

and

Bismya

at

preciousmonuments distinguishedFrench explorer of

Susa.

of

Still other

Akkad.

and

Sumer

the

marvelous

the

There

are

also

the sculptured

are

cherib palace of Sennabas-reliefs

life,the peculiar garbs

of

men

exhibit and

and

slaves,of natives and foreigners with almost photographic exactness. They likewise show spiritedrepresentations of battles and sieges,which portray

women,

in the most

lifelike

the types of the combatants,

manner

their divers instruments

inflictedby the victor of the

monarch

Without

on

of

warfare, the punishments helpless captives,and long processions

vanquished bringingtribute

of

to the

ant triumph-

Assyria,

the knowledge of

a

singlecuneiform

[declares Professor Hilprechtl we

learned

the

character

principal

NINEVEH of

events

study

Western

first clear

foregoing pages made

in

their famous

the middle

of the

much, has

been

For mounds the

365

glance

mere toms cus-

Assyrians,at the same time of the whole civilization of

Asia."

that has been

began

WONDERS

government, and, from a sculptured walls,we got familiar with

habits of the ancient

obtaining a

The

ITS

Sennacherib's

of those

and

AND

in the ruins

of Nineveh

in

last

century. But, although much, very achieved, far more remains to be accomplished. are,

the

we

are

assured, hundreds

cities in Western

pick of the excavator

that will equal, if not rewarded

extraordinaryprogress Assyriology since Botta and Layard

earth-covered

and

the

excavations

there

and

spade

show

the labors

surpass

Asia

of ruin-

awaiting

to disclose treasures

in value

any

that

have

yet

of the

explorer. Even such important ruins as those of Babylon and Nineveh, where such splendid results have been obtained, have so far yielded,there is to believe,but a part,possibly but a small part, of reason their precious stores. For it has been computed that to the two excavate Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus principal mounds of Nineveh would require the labor of a thousand and seventy-four men working continuallyfor a hundred '*The recent excavations and tunnelings at Kuyunjik'' years. **fruitful as they have been the Citadel of Nineveh" of little impression on the vast mass in results,have made ruin,and only prove how much might be gained by complete "

"

"

clearance. But

as

' ' "

is also that

so

of excavation

the work

is stillalmost in its infancy,

of decipherment and

coordination

of

the

of the world. in the museums myriads of inscriptionsnow of AssyFor, notwithstandingthe wonderful achievements during the last three-quartersof a century,many riologists of generations must yet elapse before the vast amount which has been material already collected and to which 22 28

New

Op. cit.,pp. tJew Light York).

118, 119. on

the

Bible

and

the

Holy

land,

p. 10

(by

B.

T.

Evetts,

additions

being constantlymade,

are

and

Orientalists. As a

complete grammar of

account

the

signs

in

the

a

there

not

are

Assyrian

is in

fessional pro-

neither

complete dictionary,and, of

number

immense

who

ideograms

yet

on un-

of polyphonous astonishing number Assyrian language" signs which have each

and

deciphered

nor

yet

preted properly inter-

be

can

students

for

available

made

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

366

the

it is certain

syllabicvalues"

several

distinct

decades

will elapse before

that

many

difficulties can

the countless

be

overcome.

complexity of the problem Orientalists at the beginnings of their

Considering, however, which

confronted

the

that

researches, it is,indeed, a wonder

their

achievements

during the last two generationshave been so fruitful and in a few decades of so far-reachingimportance. For they have conception of the ancient changed completely our that their peoples of Assyria and Babylonia and shown civilization

* *

stands

before

of the

great forces in

direct

or

the

us

in all its ramifications

ancient

history

indirect influence of which

of

is to be

as

mankind, seen

one

the

in many

^*

culture." phase of our modern They have proved that the Assyrian language was tants not only the speech of the inhabiof Mesopotamia but that it was also long used as the language of diplomacy by the Hittites and the Egyptians and by the peoples of Syria and Palestine. More than this, it was the Euxine to the valley a kind of lingua franca from of the Nile and from Cyprus to the plateau of Susiana. This fact is most strikinglyproved by the pricelesscollections of cuneiform inscriptionswhich, only a few years ago, were found in Tel-el-Armana,Egypt, and in Boghaz-Keui, Asia Minor. These finds are indications that there are other, the probably many other, similar discoveries to reward patient and well-directed excavations of the explorer in a

the

ruin-spreadlands of the Near East. How often,while wandering among the

ruins

of Kuyun-

9

.

**TK"

Oivilitation

dtlphui,10^6).

of Babylonia and

Aasyna, p. 110

{hy

M.

Jastrow, Phila-

NINEVEH

jik,Nebi home

to

Yunus, the

me

the Near

AND

and

that

WONDERS

Khorsabad, have have made

were

been

367

I not

far-reachingchanges in

East, which

discoveries

ITS

our

brought knowledge of

effected by the startling

of three-quarters

in the palaces of Sargon and

had

Sennacherib

and

a

century

ago

AsurbanipalI

But

than the first question nothing impressed me more which Scriptural students always make regarding these discoveries,**How do they bear on the Bible '^? It is the same question which has so often been asked about the revelations of geology in their bearings on the Sacred Text. Something is discovered which at the first blush is regarded of the Sacred Scriptures. as militatingagainstthe accuracy After further investigation, this same discovery is viewed as being strongly confirmatory of the Bible,while still more careful examination shows that the teachings of the new science not only do not but, by their very nature, cannot less impeach the veracity of the Book of question, much

Books. It is true

that

view

one's

of the Bible

be

enlarged with one's advancing years; that one's understanding of be improved by more it may profound study, and by the of research; but science,whether it appear in the progress guise of geology, or Assyriology, or of what has falsely been called the science of evolution,can invalidate never of the fundamental a singleone teachings either of Scripture or

of the Church

may

of Christ.

This

with unwonted force borne in upon me thought was I stood one as day above the ruins of Asurbanipal 's library. Gazing at a cluster of !keleks4-skin rafts bearing their the historic Tigris, as they did when light trajfic down Assyria ruled the East, and recallingthe pictures I had Nineveh of the great city" when formed as a boy I read "

**

my

first

history of

paramount after

life

"

an

the

influence

I asked

Bible on

a

"

that

studies and

the

myself, ^*In

to-day differ from that which I had then, as Pasteur once

book

what

was

to exert

thoughts

respect does

I held three

score

said of himself

my

so

of my faith ' '

?

years

ago

when

at the

BERLIN

FROM

368

zenith of his fame

mental

and

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Nineveh

gloriesof campaigns

famous

I

Sennacherib

Babylon and

of my

delightedto picture and

dwell

Assuerus

striven to keep abreast

I have movement

and

Breton

a

the

on

victories,the superb palaces and

and

of

entertainments

faith of

vigor,the

peasant." Since that far-off time when the

BABYLON

time

and, in

and

with the intellectual

doing, I

so

chadnezzar, Nebu-

have

never

sciences that could by any be construed as being at variance legitimateinterpretation

anything

found

of the

in any

with the teachings of the

new

religionof

We

boyhood.

my

now

history,the social and condition of the ancient Assyrians and Babyeconomic lonians than we did before the explorer brought to light of Nippur, Telloh, Abu-Habba, and the literarytreasures petent Nineveh; but we have discovered nothing which is com-

know

about

incomparably more

the

of the eternal verities

to discredit any

on

which

our

higher criticism may, indeed, cause views regarding literaryor texof our to modify some tual us problems, but as to the basal truths of Scripture,they stand absolutelyin all their divine immutabilityuntouched and absolutelyunassailable. It was, indeed, with a feeling of joy and gratitude that I could,sixtyyears after my first acquaintance with Nineveh, feel,while contemplating the faith is founded.

The

of the famous

ruins

city,that there

was

still in my

soul

nothing changed of that faith of a Breton peasant a faith most which, as it was precious inheritance in early my continued to be my youth, has ever greatest consolation "

from and

then to

beyond

the

Scripturalage

of three

score

years

ten.

That

the discoveries

at Nineveh

or

elsewhere

should

ever

never prove to be in conflict with revealed truth,has to me seemed possible. How could they be ? Science and religion

"" A few years before his death, when exerpresidingat the commencement cises of the College of Dole, in the Department of the Jura he was in which born and told his youthful audience : brought up, Pasteur has "When one studied much, one back to the faith of a Breton comes peasant; as to myself, had I ntudied I should have more the faith of a Breton The

peasant-woman."

4V0 Maria, February 14, 1920.

NINEVEH

belong

of

species,

of

creation,

this

of

the

and

of

I of

I

that

of

be

can

science of

this

also

unequivocally

tells

Delitzsch,

that

general and

of

the

' '

in

all

be

of

Bossuet

2eBi6Zg. and 2r

Babel

of

Dogma, und

Testament

of

the

ing speak-

testimony,

and

but

true

and

Faith,

and

with

VIII

Chap. p.

4

of

(by

314, J.

(Leipzig,

Zahm,

1903).

will

Hippo

may

them

will

mental funda-

the and

religion the

to

be

days

those

Westminster.

(Baltimore,

315 A.

of

from

other of

must

we

with

science

as

each

Augustine

Wiseman

p.

all

and

must

we

whatever

that,

Bible

just

which

lonia Babyrate inaugu-

to

viewpoint

our

more

in

estimate

Assyriologists,

Church

becoming

in

the

and

the

Friedrich

destined

way

that

matters

and

is

are

the

tell him

reconciled

Nyssa

Bibel,

a

science,

two,

excavations

and

with

Meaux

Science

both

harmonized

of

of

the

did

convinced

Lord

same

the

that

particular,

essential

been

Gregory

I

as

Assyriologist,

of

of

doctrines

always

the

conviction

discoveries

future

the

For

only unequivocally

results

must

we

in

**the

regards

as

^^

it,

eventually

have

the

Old

the

not

doctrines

firmly

as

religion, that

eminent

that

us

epoch

unchanged be

the

it is

understand

the

origin,

one.''^"

Assyria

new

be

the

of

sanctification.

is

voice

must

of

from

am

God

of

must

therefore,

When,

**I

that

handmaid

testimony

matter,

are

theories

unreservedly

as

that

ago

Author,

that

form

repeat

They

the

are

gravitation.

anything,

same

as

of

369

thought.

Providence,

now

is the

the

a

universal

century

of

other

constitution

can

a

WONDEES

spheres

each

redemption.

reason

quarter as

from

separated

electricity,

ITS

different

entirely

to

far

as

AND

Chicago,

1895). 1896).

Cf.

also

tion Evolu-

of

tide

The

for ward-

And

**

it not

would

have

Rashid

of

type

would

for

both

taken

aviators

we

not

century

comforts

western

world

at

express-train

Tigris and

even

if

we

conveniences

if

and

speed of

there

car

of

in

an an

been

ourselves

We the

at

of

had

pilots. of we

twentieth-

by

historic

this

believe

disposal

these

no

aviator

rapidity

or

our

devices

these

in

and

luxury

and

aeroplane,

flying machines for

in the

or

numerous

was

from

journey

to

they had

through

Harun-al-

of

reason

either

store.

had a

were

time-saving

such

had

Eailway

found

destination

both

availed

sets

Bagdad

absence

have

one,

our

and

war

looking

have

Bagdad.

well-supplied

the

In

for

a

to

^was

"

to

the

by

before

city

city

made

aeroplanes

Even

transportation. should

famed

have

to

us

and

not

were

the

the

Nights.''

even

"

luxuriously upholstered

still here

were

in

War,

the

to

sought

we

have

there

But

World

late

then

a

vicinity during the that

at Mosul

transportation

our

wagon-restaurant.

might, had

who

the

Arabian

of the

wagon-lit accompanied

well-manned

old.

and

green

arriving

on

for

in

me,

places of interest

could

we

free

of fretted gold,

completed

Bagdad

to

latest

for

been

and

Mosul

we

did

we

of the

been

blew

home.

was

Recollections

"

arrangements

Had

I

gardens

Tennyson.

make

KELEK

summer-morn,

shines

High-walled

any

with

hack

flowed

Tigris

the

thing

A

of infancy,

sheeny

Bagdad's

By

dawn

joyful

a

ON

flowing tide of time;

a

many

Adown

of

of time

The

visited

TIGRIS

sail

the silken

In

we

THE

hreeze

the

When

first

XV

DOWN

FLOATING

The

CHAPTER

which

desire

valley

our

to of

fly the

disposition all the luxuries We railway president's private car. at

our

370

to

Thanks

kelek

our

And

to

our

to start

prepared

our

on

journey

us

as

desired.

we

soon

as

counted

and

were

we

the river.

down

by twenty feet in dimensions

fifteen

of craft

exactly the size and kind great joy it was ready for

knew

structing con-

men the work-

expeditedafter specially

was

of

hosts, the work

Dominican

good

our

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FKOM

372

It

was

hundred

a

inflated skins. In the middle of the kelek seventy-five had two lightcots, had a good-sizedtent in which we we ets, three lightfolding chairs,a foldingwriting table,ten pockand

other

and

land

was

of

Most

water.

or

luggage,

our

immensely

of the traveler

comfort

and

to the convenience

left outside of the tent in

well

as

of

care

which

but

little space

occupy

by previous experience contributed

found

we

things which

whether our

as our

on

visions, pro-

good and

who had been Simoun, a middle-aged Chaldean friends and Dominican to us by our speciallyrecommended service. who was guaranteed to give us devoted and intelligent He took charge of everythingon the kelek and looked after the kelekgis rowers cook, and the commissary department as well as our comfort and pleasure. Certain Greeks and Armenians had applied for the position which we men experiencewith their countrygave to Simoun, but our faithful

"

"

had

been

such

thenceforth Chaldean.

For

When

we

a

rest

since

left

we

It meant

felt

were

on

happy

as

as

strenuous

a

of

the interior

kelek,ready to schoolboys starting our

week

of absolute

lives

we

most

welcome.

was Constantinople,

of St.

sojourn in Mosul we of the people of the city whom at the point of embarkation our

from

ourselves

at least

Besides the good fathers

during

selves our-

passed. fiduciarycapacity,absolutely unsur-

any

which, after the we

entrust

little-understood

and

Turk

Osmanli

an

actuallyfound

vacation.

a

abused

to

tian devotedness, a Chrishonesty, reliability,

depart for Bagdad, on

resolved

had

we

to the much

Chaldean, like Anatolia, is, in

that

bad been

rest

"

leading

Dominic, whose kindness ber can never forget,a numwe

had

to bid

us

learned

to know

Godspeed.

We

FLOATING

DOWN

THE

TIGRIS

speciallytouched by the presence of some school children with whom, from having frequentlymet them, we were

were

the

on

friendliest terms. **are the

**

Children,

* '

the world

same

they will do anything for you." thinking of the little Indian children met

in the wilds

of South

had

never

into contact

come

after wished

be

to

always

Anatolia,the as

The

way.

of

voice bade

us

Usted

Bios!

friends and

Turkish

I heard

when

from

children

^may

"

finallygot

we

friends

my

on

the shore ^

clarion youth^who,rJ7a

whose with

go

you

through the

or

under

to

you

adios of the good children of

long journeys

during our and

of

the touching Turkish good-bye^^

hinterland

of the Andes Amazon

o'clock

like the fond

American

souls

devoted

of

sSn. affectionate

the South

our

who, although they white man came, before,be-

a

charming Osmanli

a

Again how

con

often

and

The

me.

I had

have commended Allaha-ismarladiq^we

words God.

whom

Peru.

last words

those

were

and

nearly eleven

was

with

kindly specially

then

was

panion, com-

Syria, and the Chaldeans of kindly treated,just as loving and are, when the youthful redskins of the broad nesses wilder-

of Brazil

It

near

I to my Treat them

I

kindness,my

little Arabs

Mesopotamia lovable

America,

little act of

a

said

over.

and

as

373

parting words

God

so

"

often

Vaya cheered

the snow-clad

over

trackless

forests

mits sum-

of the

the Orinoco.

less journey down the Tigrisunder a cloudsky. During the early morning it had been quitechilly, but, as the sun rose in the heavens, the atmosphere became

We

as

started

balmy

our

that of

as

; and

voyage

Nebi

on

Yunus

a

no

sooner

vanished

give the interior

of

would

circumstances

of the tent with

On

brought

us.

favorite

books.

our

in

morning from our

tent

May.

the minarets

our

sight^than we

as

homelike

an

had

these

was

we

a

ant pleasand

proceeded

placed

the opening

friends some

copy

to as

appearance

decked

small

a

of Mosul

kind our flowers^that

writing table

Among

augured

had

permit. Simoun some

All

of

had our

in India

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

374

BABYLON

AND

in constant use was during our paper, of the Bible^whieh journey in the Orient. Another was a small pocket edition

which, for years, had been my There companion to the most distant parts of the world. also small editions of the Soliloquia of St. Augustine were of the Divina

and

of the select works with

books had

Commedia

been

me

because

old and

they seemed the

as

one

we

I took these last two

of St. Teresa.

they, like

Dante's

friends

cherished

immortal

in other

poem,

cause belands^and

ney peculiarlyappropriate for such a jourthen undertaking. To these were were

copies of Xenophon's Anabasis, Arrian's Anabasis of Alexander, and The Oxford Booh of English Verse, The

added

other books

I had

brought with

me^Ileft in

trunk, as I

my

expected to spend most of my time on our way down the riveraincontemplationof the many objectsof interest with which both banks were everywhere studded. A great part of the land in the vicinityof Mosul is under in abundance. and barley are Wheat cultivation. grown attention is given to cotton, more cultivatedjbut especiallyalong the banks and on the islands which to be as popular along diversifythe river. Melons seem of the Tigrisas they are among our dusky population^south is also

Hemp

Mason

and

Much

Dixon's

line.

of the land in this region is very it

as

was

three thousand

fertile and, if irrigated

ago, would

years

vests yieldhar-

less extraordinaryas ever in the past. But the countinnumerable and on vicissitudes, consequent on wars inefficient government, through which this ill-fated region as

has

passed since the fall of Nineveh, have to the

growth

development

of what

was

once

of

to agriculture,nor

the wealthiest

been

not

cive condu-

the economic

country of Western

Asia. I have

much the

been

on

many

rivers

but

I have

genuine intellectual pleasure on

Tigris. It has not, indeed,the

Hudson

or

the

Columbia,of

any

natural

the Rhine

or

never

found

of them, beauties the Danube

as

so on

of the ;

but

FLOATING It has

somothing

attractions

DOWN

that

THE

appealed

for which

to

these famous

TIGRIS me

far

876 than

more

tho

waterways of America

and

Europe are so justlycelebrated. Charged with tho myths and the legends,the traditions and the historical associations of six millennia,it offers to the thoughtful student subjectsfor consideration that cannot bo found olsewhore.

contemplating the old classic streams of Greece and the Penons, the Tibur, the Po I always Ttaly,(tho^JUifilifl) bordering on resjject. I experiencea kind of admiration am impressed not by the volume of water which they carry to the sea^but by tho atmosphere by their picturesqueness, In

"

by tho venerablo history in which they all rejoice.But when I gazed on tho Tigris and its ruin-fringedbanks, a surge of emoticm pervaded entire being,and T was thrilled as by few other my of

that

hangs

earth.

Under

romance

objectson of

one

the

rivers

it in his

(troHHcd

fleet

on

built

ever

by

Iliddikel it appears

name

as

the'prophet Daniel, who **The and from Susa, it was he

its banks

It carried

an

and

To

journeys to

visions.

remarkable

the

of Eden.

River,'**and

Great

them

over

on

had

of his most

some

its waters

Assyrian potentate.

tho

This

greatest when

was

inaugurated his campaign of ing devastation in Babylonia and when, with the aid of seafarfrom men Cyprus and Phoenicia,he floated his boats to B.

in 694

the

lower

C, Sennacherib

Tigris and

transportedthem

thence

to tho

phrates. Eu-

that he applied during this ruthless war the; torch to tho great city of Babylon and left it with its magnificent temples and palacesand its splendidworks of ing a vast,smolderart" the result of long centuries of labor" ruin. It was along the Tigris that Xenophon and his

It

heroic

Ten

was

returned

Thousand

battle of Cunaxa.

Greeks

This

famous

of the vast

the weakness

ful after the event-

homewards retreat

Empire

Persian

to tho

revealed

and

led

plishment the Great and to *'the accomby Alexander in the propheof the promises of God, as made

to its overthrow

1

A

iuiin"

which,

a"

we

have

leen,

if alio

appliedto

th"

Euphrates

BERLIN

FEOM

376

great empires which

evening sun

the

As

a

Zikr

Aawaze,

MosuLand

that

of the

As

of

of

those

as

the west,

here tied up

morning

the annals

of

the

below

the celebrated

are

now

about

two

miles

desired to visit the great tell of Nimroud

we

day, we next

miles

twenty near

were

we

roaring

formerly stood on the left Tigris,but, owing to a shifting of the river's

towards

channel

about

the

clouds, we

ruins

ruins of Js[imrjaud-These bank

of us,

cataract

noted

a

then knew

we

of the

gorgeous

a

of cumulous

range

ahead

distance

short

heard, ul

disappearing behind

was

mountain

crimson

and

gold

coming

of the

^

of mankind/'

Savior

the

precede

to

were

for the third

the way

prepared

ciee of Daniel, and

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

we

on

were

our

and

of the most

the following

night. Early

to the

way

ruins

almost

Assyrian archaeology,are

Kuyunjik

some

kelek for the

our

Here

Khorsabad.

inland.

prized treasures

in

the

which, in famous

as

earthed Layard unthe Assyrian

and here, there are department of the British Museum to believe,are stillburied countless other treasures reasons

equallyvaluable. The

ruins of Nimroud

occupy

the site of Calah

mentioned

having been built by Assur, the founder Nineveh. But the people livingnear by,are convinced it was before built by Nimrod, **the mighty hunter

in Genesis

Lord," and

of

as

that

it

was

his

favorite

that the

place of residence.

nazar however, declare that it was built by SalmaAssvriologists, it the capital of Assyria, a dignity I.^who made which it retained until the time of Sargon who removed his residence to the north of Nineveh ^where lie the ruins of Khorsabad. The

general aspect of the ruins

that of Nineveh. of

The

of Nimroud

ruins constitute

parallelogramabout five hundred thousand in length. At the northwest a

"C/. R. I. Wilberforce

in The

Five

a

is not unlike

platform in

the form

feet in width corner

Empires, Chaps. XV,

and

a

of this eleva-

XVIII

(London,

FLOATING tion is

DOWN

conical tower

a

is

measurements,

THE

whose

377

height,according

hundred

one

TIGRIS

and

feet above

ten

plain. This is all that now zikurat,or stage tower, that once

to recent

remains

the

of the

dominated

rounding sur-

ing impos-

the

great

capitalof Salmanassar. In order

to

get

a

surrounding country,

we

From

of the tower.

of the

good view lost

no

its crest

ruins,as well as of the time in reaching the summit we

had

a

view

as

ing interest-

repletewith historic reminiscences. Our vision enacted of the a region in which were ranged over some memorable most events of Mesopotamia and Persia. Down the Tigris passed the famous fleets of Trajan and nacherib, Senand the vast armies of along its bank marched Esarhaddon, Cyaxares, and Nabopolassar. Within gunshot as

it was

the emerald

were

waters

of the

Great

Zab

rushing to join

the

tawny current of the Tigris. On its banks the Persian compact, satrap, Tissaphernes, in violation of a solemn treacherously seized Clearchus and several of his generals and ordered them sent them to Artaxerxes, who to be It was command beheaded. here that Xenophon assumed of the memorable an expedition of the Ten Thousand expedition that the distinguishedEnglish geographer, Rentary **the most splendid of all the milinell,has declared was in ancient history." been recorded that have events "

Eastward

the famous

was

battlefield of Arbela, where

greatest battle in the record of the ancient world

fought; where in years

a

had

day

the

issue

; where

of centuries

the channel

opened with

been

the Great

had

a

had

struck

of history for

flyingwedge";

completed the

work

had

^

which

**the been

their balance a

thousand

where

ander Alex-

was

begun

by his countrymen under Xenophon ",when they made the of the Persian colossus, discovery of the innate weakness for the and thus prepared the public opinion of Greece great campaign againstthe ancient Persian Empire which all the nations of the earth with subjection menaced once 3

Alexander

the

Great, p. 368

(by

B.

I.

Wheeler, New

York, 1900).

BERLIN

FROM

378

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

irrevocably crushed when Alexander had his crowning victory of Arbela. won After exploring the ruins of Nimroud, we returned to our soon kelek which, with much creaking and quivering, was which

but

**was

' ' *

is

This

dam

a

rises

water

dyke built

or a

foot

more

or

Zikr

of the

the boiling waters

wrestling with

the

across

ul Aawaze.

during river^^and

the surface.

above

low

It produces

frail craft our kelekgi conducted Like other without any difficulty. its seething waters over in this neighborhood "this dam works remarkable some a bridge is attributed by the inhabitants to say it was noted The French Nimrod. traveler,Tavernier, tells us but

cataract

quite a

our

"

"

he

when

that

formed

a

Tigris,the twenty-six feet high.

passed

waterfall

down

the

Zikr

ul Aawaze

He

assures

us,

this waterfall without however, that his kelek went over be permitted to suspect that in this mishap.'' One may he was statement striving,in recounting travelers' tales, to emulate his mythical predecessor. Sir John Mandeville.

fiftymiles to the south the Tigris,is the great

About of

bank over as

which, until

mound

the

right Sherghat

on

of Kalah

hung as deep a mystery that which so long enveloped the imposing tells of Nimroud and Khorsabad. To the Turks, in their ignorance,it but

was

1900

as

few

of Nimroud,

a a

a

fort made

years

ago,

of clay "

distinguishedGerman

the wonderful his

tell of Kalah

admiration,covered noted cities of Assyria.*

Toprak Kale. traveler

was

Even

of

one

excited

so

of

late that

unaware

Sherghat, which

the remains

so

the

most

"Creasy's Decisive

Battles of the World, p. 79 (New York, 1899). to be settled once for all the question of world was Arbela, where that Alexander, when counseled Bupremaey, by his generals to make a night attack on Darius, gave the famous answer I steal KXevTot ou no pUtjv r-qv his motto victory words that were and brilliant during his eventful career. ^Voyages en Turquie, en Perse et aux Indes, Vol I, p. 185 (Paris, 1677). It

at

was

"

"

"Die

Beudentung des heutigen Namen's

Kal

'at

Schergat

ist bis

jetztun-

aufgeklttrt geblieben und durfte vielleicht eine Altassyrische Reminiscenz bergen. Vom Mittelmer Persischen Golf. Vol. II, p. 210 zum (by M. von Oppenheim, Berlin, 1900). His countryman, Baron Thielmann, writing of the **i"lf /^*"'* quarter of a century earlier, declares: "This great field of ruin with its pyramid looks distruly venerable, but science has as yet made no

than

a

thousand

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

380

BABYLON

AND

old ,when Salmanassar

years

placed in

the

great temple enclosure^a record of his work on it and an B. C, account of its completion. For fullytwenty centuries, Assyria,from Assur as a center,had begun to extend her of that northwards and to lay the foundations dominions for so many generations the mighty empire which was the dread

and

admiration

of the ancient world.

uncovering the temples and and his colleaguesunearthed Dr. AndrsB made quarter. In so doingi",they

palaces of Assur, dential a part of its resi-

Besides

discoveries

of the

itants, greatest interest regarding the domestic life of its inhabfor the sanitary condition and their care of their homes. small, had suitable sewer Every house, however had for rooms connections, while all the larger homes and dependents. domestics But

students

to many

of

Assyriology the

most

notable

discovery made here by the German expedition*took place not in the temples and palaces of the venerable city:but in the space

between

its interior and

exterior

consisted in a

hundred

unearthinga large number and fifty of which stelae,some

and

limestone, while

basalt'^and alabaster. it

was

evident

that

From

no

others the

fewer

erected to the memory

walls.

of tombs.and

nearly

made

were

of sandstone

fashioned

were

on inscriptions

out

of them thirty-five of rulers of Assyria. ^

royal tombs were umasirpal III,and Shamsi-Adad of the first-named

those V.

king

of Th6

were

Ashbelkala,Ashmassive

found

was

of

these stelae

than

Av^ongthe

This

to

agus sarcoph-

be in almost

perfectcondition. this Confmenting on

remarkable

find Dr.

This discoveryof these royal tombs to the

Rogers

appeals most

writes

:

strongly

imagination. Before

this,Assyriology had seemed 80 in comparison with Egyptology which poor has from the beginningbeen able to point to its long series of royal tombs, nay,

even

to the mummied

Egyptian Kings. discoveries will

ever

There

is

remains

greatest of

probabilitythat Assyrian match these,but the reproach

no

be able to

of the

FLOATING that

neither

tomb

DOWN

Assyria

has been taken

More

monument

in the

event

legend which The

uncovered

were

inscriptionon in really startling

notable

most

in the

woman

referred

place.

same

discoveryof this its import and marked a of archeology. The

this stone pillarbears tells us

of the

royal

one

it .the

romance

stela of Sammuramat

The

even

any of the royal tombs

the

was

381

away,^^

the stelae that to

TIGRIS

Babylonia had

nor

far .than interesting

of one to^is According

THE

that it is :

*

palace (thatis,the

of Shamsi-

consort

Adad,) The

King

The

mother

of the

world,^Kingof Assyria,

of Adadnirari

The

King of the world, King of Assyria, The daughter-in-law of Salmanassar

The

king of

But

who

the four quarters of the earth.^'^ Sammuramat?

was

Surprisingas

it may

seem,

she was, as scholars now other than Semiconcede, none ramis, the famous legendary queen of Assyria. What marvelous a vindication of discovery! What a

long suppressed truth! of realityfor fiction, of for myth and legend! To

has and and

other

no so

many

any

one

What fact for

of

woman

fancy,of

antiquityhave

brilliant achievements of her

sex

authentic

history

there been

uted attrib-

to Semiramis.

Nor

thousand

years

last two

conspicuous position in

occupied a more legend,song and story. the time

as

during the

more,

From

unexpected substitution

an

of Ctesias,the

physician of

myth

Artaxerxes

until the latter part of the last century,there was career. question about the main facts of her marvelous

Mnemon, no

During

all this time

notable

rulers

10

Op. cit, Vol.

11

See

Die

of

she

regarded

was

antiquity "

as

a

as

queen

one

of

of the most consummate

I, p. 328.

Steilenreien

in

Asaur, p. ii (by Walter

Andr", Leipsic,1913).

and

of vaulting ambition

tells

Strabo

was

said,found

an

which

then

was

In this

world.

has

Nature

her

to

along the Tigris and

dominions

all the

most

the

the boundary

considered

inscriptionthe famous the body of

given me

made

have

ruler

a

Euphrates and Alexander the Great, it is distant Iran." of hers on the frontier of Scythia, inscription

in

those

whose

conqueror

a

attributed

tradition

us

stupendous works even

as

as

flourishingregions of Asia and Africa. her reputed activityand genius,that

the most

great indeed

So

BABYLON

exceptionalstatesmanship;

military abilityand embraced

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

382

the

me

equal

of the inhabited declares

queen

but my achievements valiant of men.

woman

a

of the most

ruled the empire of Ninus which the south to the river Hinainanes, on

I have

on

:

the east extends

to

the

country

of

the land of

myrrh, and on the north as far as the SacsB and Sogdiana. Before me no Assyrian had seen any

of the

;I

incense

that

and

seas

no

had

one

flow where flow

have

four of them

seen

reached

ever

I wished

which

them.

them

were

I have

forced

I have

to, and

they would be useful. I have sterile earth fecund by irrigatingthem with

made for

erected

With

them

to

rendered these

the

rivers.

iron I have

roads

through impassable rocks. I have constructed chariots highways through places which the wild

my

beasts themselves of these and

fortresses.

impregnable

distant

rivers to

wished

only where

I have

so

my

had

traversed.

never

occupations I have found pleasures.^*

Zenobia

Cleopatra

and

And

time for my

in the midst amusements

distinguished for their beauty, their genius, and the brilliancyof their achievements, but,according to the testimony of Ctesias,Diodorus Siculus,and other ancient historians, they were completely eclipsedby the wonder-working queen of Assyria. So great, "

"Many Babylon, are J2

^"

^^"

^"

other extant

^^"

"

works in

"

i^"

"

of almost

"

^^"

"

were

"

"

"

Semiramis," part every

earth-works

"

.^"

^"

writes of

this

.^^_____

"

"

"

Strabo, "besides

those

continent,

example,

as,

for

of

which of Semiramis, are called mounds walls and fortresses, aqueducts and cisterns for water, stair-like roads over mountains, canals communicating with rivers and lakes; roads and bridges." Geography, Bk. XVI,

"Polyanui

Btrategemeta,VIII,

26.

FLOATING tradition had thousand

after

years

woman

^who had as

Russia, known

as

the

named

were

age,

impressed

so

her

most

of

eminent

personalityon

it is that

of the

two

female

the West

Catherine the

II

of

Great,

is

North, while the sovereign,Queen

to that remarkable

de Valdemar

sovereignthat

a

the rival of Peter

Semiramis

epithetis given

383

after this extraordinary

Thus

almost

was

the

as

time

the East.

on

who

her

TIGEIS

^

of their

well

THE

her abilities

it,were

rulers

as

DOWN

Norway, Sweden,

same

garet Mar-

Denmark.

and

But

when, in the second half of the last century, Orientalists began to decipher the cuneiform inscriptionsof Western showed Asia, the majority of them soon a marked ticism skep-

regarding the Assyrian

of her

period in

It

queen.

historical character contended

was

in the

name

which

she

of the renowned

that there

Babylonian

was

no

tion men-

records, during the

supposed to have lived^andthat the silence of these records respecting a ruler who, according to ancient writers, played so important a role in conclusive proof that she never existed. It was antiquity, of Ctesias, that the work furthermore asseverated was was

^

which

for

so

history,was

no

of

progress

had

centuries

many

than

more

Assyrian

a

been

had

sober

as

.which

narrative

romantic

research

accepted

the

completely discredited.

further

not a woman averred, was of flesh and blood at all.but an entirelymythical character, merely a creation of Ctesias and having no existence

And

Semiramis, it was

"

of his elaborate

outside thousand But human

years

passed

scholars, while personage

she that

to concede

of

arbitrary creation romancer was

posing as

nothing

of her

more

a

than

which

romance as

for

that

Semiramis

long believed she was nothing more so

the fertile

creature

conspicuous positionin

diflScult of acceptance than

the

to

of

than

assumption

willing unmere

a

Greek

a

that

would, fancy^

the ancient

the

was

be, were

imagination of The

historian. a

two

serious history.

denying was

than

more

in view

world, be

age-oldbelief

that

she

she

more was

really,as

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

384

long considered, the great

so

queror con-

Asia.

of Western

If,then, she

and

queen

neither

was

a

being,nor

human

a

ment fig-

mere

Scholars, and felt the necessityof findinga plausible, Orientalists, especially to this question which if not a satisfactory,answer of the

imagination,what

she?

was

insistent. To obtain such an and more daily more before, oriental history, answer they ransacked, as never at least mythology, and archaeologyand with results ^which, to themselves, seemed beyond question. became

[declares

Semiramis

eminent

an

Orientalist] is not

a

but a divinitywhom legend, as so often personage, of happens in similar cases, transports into the domain human human

affairs.

Diodorus

says

formally that she

adored

was

goddess and declares that her cult had two principal in Philistia. seats, Assyria and the city of Ascalon That she was, of a truth,a goddess is evinced by her being the daughter of Derceto as well as by the traditions respecting her birth and by her final metamorphosis, which have all a distinctly mythologicalcolor.^* as

a

.

Another was

Orientalist distinguished the

not

name

Istar whose historians

and

their Greek

when

Semiramis, who history in great those of Firdusi the most

a

legend was

Semiramis," he will history but to Greek statement

of

he is

part, of

human

nationalized

it, belongs He

*'

ramis Semi-

of the

dess god-

**The not

to

of

name

Babylonian this

accentuates

Ctesias,the creator Greek Aphrodite, based

that

the on

Persian

of later Arabian

legendary

.

by the Persian

followers.""

asserts

mere

but

queen

Romance."^"

only

positivethat

**

have

measure or

is

.

annals

which

his

*'like

writers. consisted tales and

of

for

rationalized

i*C/. LaLSgende de Semiramis, pp. 22, 23 (by Francois Lenormant), in de VAcademie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux Arts de Belgique, Tom. XL (1873). in Herodotoa, loith Notes, Introductions and \*"4' ,?*^J^yce Appendices, p. 106 (London, 1883).

Memoxrea

i"

Ibid.,p.

303.

FLOATING

myths,'' in which the mythology of Another

the

noted

enriched

have

we

is not

which

writes

endeavored

history but to prove

whose

legend

elements borrowed

is

these and for

account

that would

way

of conceding.that she of Ctesias

or,

from

a

primarilya goddess, and only by virtues

so

much

of that

older than Euh'e-

as

historians

unmistakably that of the for

accounted but

an

her

maintained

either

so

that she

from

long taught,an

Semitic

Ishtar

translated

exploitsof the

sity neces-

arbitrarycreation

an

the character

myth

would

scholars distinguished

the origin and

historical character

eastern

historythat

other

relieve them

was

Insistingthat

queen.

a

historical queen

an

in the East

to

Semiramis,ina

of

*'not the

learned paper

a

that **she is

several decades

was

385

"

merus."

she

TIGRIS

seek

quasi-historical queen

a

euhemerism

For

to

in later times. with

religiousmyth,'' but becomes

THE

Babylonians.""

scholar

that **Semiramis was

DOWN

actual

of

ian Assyr-

Semiramis

is

Astarte, some by assuming that or

into **the semblance

be creditable to the Greeks."

ers Oth-

the

daughter of the fish-goddess Derceto, while still others quite as vigorously contended that **the legend of Semiramis originated in Lydia," it found its way to Persia .where Persian imaginawhence tion transformed

Babylonian

the

legend

daughter

Then

queen.

Semiramis

was

of

again it from

fish-goddessinto

a was

asserted

that

a

the

the

commingling of exaggerated of a royal Assyrian lady,named Samaccounts miirat and certain myths regarding the Assyro-Babylonian Astoreth. this Semiramis, To Ishtar and the Canaanite to the

as

time

that

exhaustive

an *'

Ibid., p. 362.

18

Mr.

Robertson 1887.

Smith

in

comes investigation,

The

course

in Asia

a

name

and

form

English Historical

of

Minor

Assyrian origin. Smith,

or

is

Semiramis

17

stupendous works

of the

of Hittite

were

result of

in

great Sesostris of Egypt, the Greeks

assignedmost

which

April,

arose

as

the

to the conclusion

of Astarte

Review,

Vol.

and

II, p. 305,

BEELIN

FEOM

386

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

AND

conquests in Upper Asia is a translation history of the diffusion and into the language of political ^" victories of her worship in that region.'' the story of her

while Orientalists

But

wasted

so

cudgelingtheir brains in the problem on which they had

midnight oil,Dr.

much

AndrsB

and

his associates

Orient-Gesellschaftunexpectedly

Deutsche

the

of

the

solve

to

endeavor

vain

were

made

the ruins of Assur. By astounding discovery among structed single stroke of the pick they nullified the carefullyconyond theories of nearly a half century and proved beperadventurethat the romantic and mysterious Semi-

their a

ramis

neither

was

of

creation

but

romancer,

to

a

Persian an

actual

of the best

some

sovereigns of Assyria. As the

known V

of Shamsi-Adad

wife

goddess,nor the arbitrary the figment of a Greek poet, nor personalitywho was closelyrelated

Aramaean

an

and

the mother

of Adadinari

IV

III, who reigned daughter-in-law of Salmanassar over Assyria from B. C. 860 to 826, the place of Semicertain and as fixed as is ramis in history is henceforth as that of Sargon II or Tiglath-pileser IV, two of the most the destinies of brilliant monarchs who ever presided over of her power the vast empire of Assyria when in the apogee and splendor. of That romance has so long been busy with the name for history; that the Semiramis to leave small as space in were myths about Derceto and Astarte and Ashtaroth the course of ages attached to the Assyrian palace lady who made so great an impression on her contemporaries is not Similar myths and romances an exceptional occurrence. have clustered about the names of Alexander the Great, about Charlemagne, about Harun-al-Bashid, about Frederick bilities Barbarossa,about Dietrich von Bern, and other notaand

the

of ancient

and

mediaeval

times.^"

i"Op. oit.,p. 317. "o

As

fantastic stories are Theodoric Bern related about Dietrich von of the East about As Goths there are the Semiramis. as Aaiyrian queen was said to have been nursed by doves in her infancy and to have been transformed into a dove after her death so, the German legendshave th"

many

Great, King

"

"

BERLIN

FROM

388

days after leavingAssur

first two

The

along the

river

reaches

to

attract

encountered,

We

kelek.

AND

BAGDAD

TO

it is

from

current

usual, or where small islands were but somewhat intricate, navigation was it roused

as

our

from

crew

but little

smoothly-gliding

our

than

this

found

we

true, occasional

the

where

river

in the

us

BABYLON

was so

eddies, or more

rapid that

numerous

rather

we

their habitual

enjoyed

lethargy and

dispositionto spend all their time in of breakers which also met with quite a number We kaif of them were the river,but none extended across so violent that that of the Zikr ul Aawaze. Many have maintained as the largest of these rapids are due to the ruins of bridges that spanned the Tigrisin ancient times, but it seems more caused by the ruins of dams which probable that they were constructed were by the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia merable **to insure a constant supply of water to the innucanals which the surrounding spread like a network over clear from what Strabo country." This seems to think that they says of them, although he himself seems their chronic

from

.

built to

were

prevent hostile fleets from

rivers of Mesopotamia and The from

Persians without

ascending

the

Susiana.

[he writes],through fear of incursions

for the purpose of preventing vessels from ascending these rivers,constructed artificialcataracts. Alexander of them on as arriving there destroyed as many he could,those particularlyon the Tigris from the sea to

Opis."

and

[He declared

that] such devices

unbecoming to men who victorious in battle and, therefore,he conare sidered this means of safety unsuitable for him and, by easilydemolishingthe laborious work of the Persians, he proved in fact that what

unworthy A

a

short distance below

Assur

clear

passed the embouchure mountain in strong waters were we

Oeoaraphy, Bk. XVI, Chap. I, IX.

MArrUn'i

protectionwaja

of the name."

pf the littleZab whose M

they thought

were

Anahaaii

Bk. of Alewander, 1

VII, Chap. VII.

FLOATING

DOWN

TIGRIS

with the flood of the turbid

contrast

of these two of

THE

rivers

Parysatis, the wife

Younger.

389

Tigris. Near

the

located the Median

were

of Darius

and

mother

of

fluence con-

villages Cyrus

the

These

villageshad, accordingto a Persian custom, been bestowed the queen by the king for her upon girdle that is for the purchase of personal apparel and "

How

ornaments.

supplying The

below

scenery

about

that round low

of

range

mountains

the Persian

generous their wives with

"

yellow hills Hamrin such

scarcely deserve

plain on right. The

the

on

differed but littlefrom

arid

an

"

and

in

were

!

the Little Zab

Assur

Jebel

pin money

monarchs

Jebel

the left and Arabs

Makhul

a

call them "

^but

they

exalted

appellation. In a recess the remains of a stronghold that of Jebel Makhul are of similar ruins along the Danube. reminds It is called one Makhul

Kalat

"

an

the Castle

legend, this was of a giant, who was Near the river. by was

of the Maiden.

Arabian

her

giant father.

of the warlike

the citadel the

According to

of all who

terror

the citadel

"

Kalat

an

ter daugh-

sailed el Gebbar

down "

of

The

legend apparently recalls the time these strongholds were when occupied by bandits who, like of the Rhine and the Danube, formerly the old robber barons all the passing keleks or who levied tribute on of all they possessed. These brigands despoiledtheir owners said to have infested certain reaches of the Tigris as are late as a third of a century ago, but, although the traveler is still warned to have changed against them, they seem their scene of operations to fields where they would not be much harassed 80 by government soldiery. A few miles below the Giant's Castle,the river becomes and much swifter, for it here cuts through the narrower which, on the chain of hills called Jebel Hamrin sandstone tion left bank of the Tigris,continues in a southeasterlydirecof the rugged spurs which until it unites with the one

juts out

from

the mountains

of the river is

locallyknown

through as

El

of Luristan.

narrow

tion sec-

Hamrin, which -the aperture" is interesting

the range

Fatha"

This

of Jebel

BERLIN

FEOM

390

it is

because

Bagdad,

and

the

on

Outside

first half of the

except the

journey to Kurd

numerous

and

houses

mud

and

vilayetsof Mosul marked a point on the

Babylonia. Assur, there is little during the Bagdad to claim one's attention villages,composed of squalid

and

of Nimroud

once

Assyria

frontier between

natural

stone

it

BABYLON

the

boundary between because

and

AND

BAGDAD

TO

and

frequent

groups

of black

tents

Around the Arabian occupied by various tribes of Arabs. occasionallyquite large flocks of sees encampments one sheep and, in the vicinityof the stone and mud villagesof itants the Kurds, one will note the feeble attempts which its inhabto cultivate the land.

make

of

methods

irrigationthat

to find that

is not

here, one

prised sur-

return for his poor husbandman's In marked contrast, however, to the

unpromising grain fields fields of Indian the

exist

the

small.

is very

labor

Considering the primitive

corn

on

the arid

the luxurious

plains were

in the small islands which

dotted

Tigris.

During

the entire

is never

journey between of sightof ruins

Mosul

and

Bagdad

of some kind or other long out ruins of old strongholds,ruins of monuments to Moslem and minarets, ruins of towns and saints,ruins of mosques cities long since deserted or destroyed by the ruthless invader. They certainlygive the country a most desolate but they, at the same time, tell in the most appearance, eloquent fashion how great must have been the wealth and prosperityof this ill-fated country in the palmiest days of one

"

the great Caliphs and during the reigns of the wise and beneficent monarchs of the Sassanidae and the Achaemenidae. However

rich the flora and

fauna

may

formerly have

been

along the Tigris,there is now visible but little of either. Older travelers speak of the long stretches of woodland along the river. Now one sees littlemore than small clumps of Acacia Beem

to

Wild half of

and

Glycyrrhiza here and there and be rapidly disappearing.

fowl our

are

said to be

journey on

the

these

even

abundant, but during Tigris we saw only a

the

first

few

shy

FLOATING

DOWN

francolins,pelicans,and river,however, the number them

Among^ duck

with

were

THE

cormorants. of fowl

snipe

some

TIGRIS Farther

down

the

appreciably augmented.

and

snowy-white plumage.

391

beautiful

a

species of

Singing birds

were

ceedingly ex-

rare.

According abounded Jean

to

early travelers, large

the whole Thevenot

de

assures

sheep

as

from

Nineveh

to

Bagdad.

Thus

in his

that in the

us

numerous

way

formerly

game

entertainingwork on the Levant vicinityof El Fatha, lions were as

elsewhere

des lions

"

Von

que

"

volt

y

aussi

en

grande quantite que des moutons ailleurs.^^ He of an extraordinarilylarge and powerparticularly ful

tells us

lion which own

a

that ventured

"

his

took

caravan

escaped

the ferocious

brute

from

man

to pass by the payment

from

all

every caravan that terrible

except his

"

place.

That

of the tribute exacted

others,was,

by

he

thing opined, somebien glorieux pour

la glorious ce qui devoit etre notre qui ne lui paia point ce trihut. Judging by the precautionswhich, he informs us, he was continuallyobliged to take against these feral terrors of the desert,Thevenot much obsessed as was by them as he was by the hot and poisonous wind which, he avers, was such a deadly menace in the valley of the Tigris. This consuming the ventus wind is,he declares,the same as urens ^mentioned in the twenty-seventh chapter oi burning wind all the way the book of Job and prevailsduring the summer "

"

"

from

Mosul inhales

one

to Surat it

one

immediately becomes it,the flesh falls But been

these current since

from

in distant

India

and

is

so

instantly drops dead, and black as ink, and, if as

fatal that if his one

corpse

touches

the bones."

only samples of travelers' tales that have phere regarding the East and its scorching atmosIt is, therefore, quite the days of Strabo.''

are

au Levant, Tom. Ill, p. 200 (Amsterdam, 1727). Ibid., III. p. 183. 26 So hot is it in Susa, the Greek geographer writes, that "lizards and the streets quick enough cannot cross serpents at midday in the summer to death midway by the heat." to prevent their being burnt Op. cit.,Bk. XV, 2*

Voyage

26

.

Chap.

III.

.

.

Thevenot

that

evident

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

392

did not

BABYLON

to allow

purpose

his

cessors, prede-

includinghis countryman Tavernier, not to mention others, to enjoy a complete monopoly in the recounting of adventures.

and

wonders

of the Arabs

travelers

most

"

poison wind

the

to stories about

In addition

in the desert

"

have

the Samum

something

times huge, yellow sand pillarsthat are somethe wings of the the plain on seen scudding over to travelers whirlwind. They are at times a positivemenace and to the natives are objects of terror. According to which canJinnis of the Waste Arab not superstitionthey are be caught, a notion arising, Burton tells,**from the

to

the

about

say

*'

'^

of the

fitful movements

electrical

wind-eddy

raises

that

'2^

them.'

stopped after entering the the northern vilayet of Bagdad, which embraces part of Tekrit is old Babylonia, was Tekrit. Although modern first

The

little more

place

than

a

at which

we

wretched

the village,

Tekrit

of mediaeval

times,as is evinced by the vast area covered by rubbish and a ruins, was large and flourishingcity. Writing of the modern able to be favortown. Rich says its atmosphere seems to prosers, as the saying,*To talk like Tekreetli, which is common in these parts, apparently indicates." To this statement he adds, *^If the women in this exceed the men gift,in the due proportion of the sex, he is to be pitiedwho ^*

'

marries The

27

^^

German of

the

Tekreetli wife.''

a

"There

count traveler,Baron von Thielmann, in the achis journey down the Tigris,gives his impression few

are

'Zauba'ah,'as measuring

the

sights more Arabs

appalling than

call it.

Devils

a

sandstorm

in

the

desert,

clined, pillars of sand, vertical and infeet high, rush thousand a the plain lashing the sand over at their base like a sea surging under a furious whirlwind; shearing the grass clean away from the roots, tearing up trees which whirled like leaves and are sticks in the air, and tents and houses as if they were bits of sweeping away At last the columns paper. sand join at the top and form, perhaps three thoufeet above the earth, a gigantic cloud of yellow sand which obliterates not only the horizon but even the mid-day sun. These sand-spouts are the terror of travelers." Thoumnd and One F. Nights, Vol. I, p. 114 (by Richard Burton, Benares, 1885). 2" Narrative Nineveh unth

148

or

of a

a Residence in Koordistan and the Site on Journal the Tigris to Baadad, of a Voyage down ^

(London, 1836).

of Ancient "

Vol.

II."

p. f

FLOATING of the town

in

DOWN

THE

TIGEIS

893

singlesentence: *'As for ourselves we saw nothing worth noticingin this miserable abode save two solitary palm-trees,the first which we had met with.''^^ he quotes as a statement of Karl Ritter,the Incidentally, a

celebrated

geographer, ''the strikingremark palm-tree in the East always denotes

Arab

and

sway

Arab

that the

the

thest fur-

limit of

life.*'

But, if modern Tekrit possesses littleof interest for the the ancient city, traveler, long in ruins,still breathes proud memories

of the distant

Blest,*'it and

the seat

was

center

a

church

past. Once

whence

radiated

of the

as

''Tekrit

the

Monophysite metropolitan of the Monophysite

missionaries

in all directions.

of Saladin,

known

of

one

the

It

also

was

celebrated

most

the of

place birth-

oriental

sovereigns, the famous Coeur de adversary of Richard warrior whose Lion, the Moslem chivalry and generosity the admiration

were

has

of the Crusaders

and

whose

memory

lived in

from the appearance of historyand romance the Itinerarium Regis Ricardi and the masterly Historia Hierosolymitana of William of Tyre to the days when Lesand der Weise Scott in his Talisman sing in his Nathan

gave which

those

matchless

made

the

point

to

achievements

of Saladin

of Christendom.

the whole can

name

portraits of

many were

a

the

chivalrous

household The

word

sultan,

throughout Tigris

valley of the

whose illustrious sons, but to none immorbrilliant than those of the tal more

of his gentleness,courtesy, and who, by reason truthfulness,and genernobilityof character,his justice, osity has been signalizedin The Tales of a Minstrel of in pagandom, **the best prince that ever Rheims was as is given a place of his kingly liberality, and who, on account ander Alexin company with such illustrious men as by Dante the Great, the good King of Castile,the good Marchese of Monferrato, the good Count of Toulouse, Bertran Kurd

'^

^"

I

Journey in (London, 1875).

the

Convito, IV.

2.

^9

80

Caucasus,

Persia

and

Turkey

in

Asia,

Vol.

II, p.

138

BERLIN

FEOM

394

out

honors

Saladin

martiri

Caesar

with

in the noble

by placinghim

senza

"

^without

"

illustrious heroes

^he associates

"

Cornelia

and

of

heroines

and

castle of Limbo

torments

Brutus, Lucretia

and

BABYLON

And, although the to the frightful punishment the ninth bolgia of hell,he

in

schismatics

to

meted

AND

eltro. ' '

Montef

Born, and Galasso of Mohammed poet condemns of

where

BAGDAD

TO

and

other

antiquity.^^

Although Tekrit is in ruins and has been since it was visited by the fell destroyer Timur, it will stillcontinue to of our race because it was here a place in the annals occupy that the baby eyes of Saladin first opened on the bright, blue sky which canopied the broad lands of which he was in manhood the humane 's prime to become and the conqueror wise and beloved sovereign. Tekrit Below the Tigris gradually widens and deepens, while the velocityof the river's current becomes markedly less.

Obstructions

and this of Our

we a

to

navigationrapidly diminish

able to sail

are

at

down

the

Mosul, was

three miles

hour

an

three hundred

while it was

and

feet,there is The

of

The

means

^ifone

"

foresaw

we

Mosul

average

and

can

say

less than

been

its current, from

the

of the

name

named

before

"

As

one. a

seven

two on

Persian

river

barking em-

rarely exceeded

Bagdad,

fall of less than

said to have

Hebrew

It

often less than

sixtymiles,is

Tigris is

swiftness

arrow.

an

Tigris,as

exceedingly slow.

fall of the river between

the

keel

even

an

ber num-

craft that is keelless.

progress

mile.

on

in

the

distance

of

hundred feet to the of

account

for

word

Hiddekel

"

also

Judging, however, from the actual velocity if not originally of river,this name, given because arrow.

of the

of its northern

rapids, is a very apparent misnomer. Although we had four kelekgis two for the day and two for the night their chief occupation was not to propel our kelek,but rather,by means of their long wooden to sweeps, some

"

"

keep ""

it away

Divina

from

rocks and

Comtnedia, IV,

v.

121,

et

sand acq.

bars and

steer it clear

of

BERLIN

396

FROM

down

the

waste

floats the

Changeless to With

through

majesticTigris which

interest

renewed

ever

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

the broad

desert

changeless sea.

gazed

we

the

on

silent ruins

Rome before that of Ancient ended history was began. The Forum, the Palatine,the Colosseum, the Mole of Hadrian belong in their splendor to an age when the hoary with the more imposing ruins along the Tigriswere dust of centuries or long buried under the shifting sands

whose

of the desert.

spell of

the

falls under

exhibit

of the East

As

the

dust

the historic

and

of the desert

probably owing an

land lands in

our

to the haze

dry exceptionally

the horizon,the western

nears

sun

in

completely

of color unknown

a

fogs and produced by impalpable

most

one

the sunsets

gorgecusness mists. This is

of

land

Tigris

the For

it flows.

through which

that

of sunset

it is at the hour

But

phere. atmos-

sky glows

of ruby and

and topaz, emerald amethyst and, after it has set, the zodiacal light,rising from where the sun disappeared, ascends to the zenith with and gold and lilac a display of all the delicate tints of rose all the

with

of the The

delicate hues

borealis.

aurora

glories of

a

sunset

but it is when

in

Mesopotamia

night

with

comes

are

indeed

her dewy

trancing, en-

ness fresh-

and Her

starry shade

Of dim when

the

and

solitaryloveliness;

silvers the river's wavelets

moon

and

its ruin-

banks, that one loves to lingerin this land of historic past and contemplate at leisure crested

Those

ruined

The

relics of

Amid

whose

Naught MMoort'i

LaXla

shrines

and

towers

thai

splendid dream; fairy loneliness a

hut the

lapwing'scry

Rookh, p. 181

(New

is heard}^

York, 1890).

seem

a

great

FLOATING How

reveled

DOWN

THE

TIGEIS

397

in those

glorious moonlit nights spent on our tranquillyfloatingkelek on the enchanting Tigris! **They say that Carl Niebuhr, the traveler,when old and blind,used to lie and dream over the old Eastern landscapes and night-skiesin his darkened life, a perpetual world we

"

of enchantment

otherwise? where

to console

For

how

^^

him."

since

often

How

could

from

return

our

it have

been

the East

like

of the most delight^ Niebuhr, have spent some ful days of our life, ing have we not also found ourselves dreamof the eventful days and the fascinatingnights which it was skies of our privilegeto spend under the pale azure the inspiringand enthrallinghome of our race? we,

But

while,in

silent

rapture,

we

magnificent displays of the setting sun in the beauties

of the

stars, *Hhe "

thus

were

and

enjoying the were

flowers of the

poetry of heaven," **the forget-me-nots of the

reveling sky," **the angels," "

festations totallyindifferent to all these sublime maniof nature and completely buried in their kaif. Louis indeed living pictures of what Eobert They were most Stevenson somewhere aptly calls **the apotheosis of turous stupidity." As we noted in their placid features their rapand happiness we realized expression of contentment before the full force of the poet's words, never as

our

crew

was

The

Never we

were

historic

between

heaven

of each is hut what

each

desires.

to Tekrit during our journey from Mosul of place or monument out of sight of some ever of these reminders legendary lore. But the number or in our sail of the hoary past rapidly increased five miles below SalaAbout Tekrit and Bagdad. once,

Dura. of Iman to the little town birthplace we came zar According to tradition,it was here that King Nebuchadnezthe Hebrews, set up his colossal golden statue which Sidrach, Misach, and Ab^dnago,in defiance of the King's din's

orders, refused 83 84

Life and Letters Daniel, iii.

to of E.

adore.'* B.

Cowelh

It V- 318

was

(by

near

Dura

that

G. Cowell, London,

the

1904).

BERLIN

FROM

398 Roman

pitched their

Jovian

under

army

death of Julian the Apostate and it was

Emperor

necessariam the Persian is

Dura

forced

was

a

to

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

conclude

an

tents

after

the

that the Roman

here

ignominious peace-"

quidem sed ignohilem,writes Eutropius with King, Sapor the Great. A short distance below "

small

the natives

which

stream

say

was

a

canal

it,on the left bank of the Old Bagdad **a Tigris,begins the ruins of Eski Bagdad mighty field of ruins, writes Thielmann, extending some Situated in this long twenty-fivemiles along the Tigris. for of Samara, as celebrated field of ruins is the little town monuments its romantic historyas for its remarkable which, however, have only in the last decade or two received the the part of scholars which attention on they so richly dug by King

Near

Solomon.

"

"

* *

' '

' ' ^^

deserve.

The

ruins

of which

I have

here

given

a

brief account

after a visit to Samara] archaeologist, importance for the elucidation of the early

[writes a well-known of the first

are

history of the arts of Islam. They can all be dated within a period of forty years fallingin the ninth century, and the earliest existing examples of are, therefore, among Mohammedan architecture. They bear witness to the MesoThe spiraltowers potamian influences under which it arose. of Samara Dulaf and Abu an are adaptation of the temple pyramids and Assyria and Babylonia, which had a spiral path leading to the summit ; the technique of arch and vault invented by the ancient East and transmitted was through Sassannian builders to the Arab invaders; the decoration is Persian or Mesopotamian and almost untouched by the of In the palaces and the mosques genius of the West. Samara the conquerors themselves we can see conquered by a culture which had been developing during thousands of years on Mesopotamian soil, which had received a culture indeed new elements into its composition, which had learnt from the Greek and from the Persian, but had maintained in spite of all modifications its distinctive character.*" ""

Op. oit, II, 139. L. Bell,in

""Gertrude

Amurath

to

Amurath,

p. 246

(London, 1911).

FLOATING The

DOWN

D.

836

Abbassid the

was

TIGRIS

399

complex of ruined

excites the admiration A.

THE

to

892

and palaces which here mosques of the student dates from the time"

when

"

Samara

Caliphate. Mutasim, first caliph who

the

was a

made

of

son

his

capital of

the

Harun-al-Rashid,

residence

here.

So

and

the edifices which he called magnificent were into existence, as by an enchanter's wand, that the glories of Samara rivaled those of Bagdad in the days of her soon and prosperity. The greatest power magnificence of the enlarged and embellished city was expressed in the official which then given it,for, in lieu of Samara, it name was called Surra-man-raa ^Who sees it,rejoices. Judging was from the ground plan of the palaces of Samara as given H. M. the French by Violet, Academician distinguished who, during a visit to Samara, made a careful study of its imposing this of not inferior to the ruins, buildings was group royal edifices of Versailles." According to local tradition Samara, like Sestos and As they lived in Abydos, had also its Hero and Leander. Leander palaces on opposite sides of the river,the Samara could see his immorata, who the daughter of a sultan, was only by breasting the swift-flowingwaters of the romantic fortunate than Tigris. The lovers were, however, more their Greek were prototypes,for their lives did not end in the Romeo the tragedy which overtook and Juliet of the Dardanelles in a happy but, so the story runs, terminated And the and Lalla Rookh. marriage like that of Feramoz of the devoted pair is still kept green by the names memory which have the Arabs given to the ruins of their former numerous

"

homes

El

"

Aschik

"

the

lover

Maschuka

El

and

"

the

"

beloved.^" 37

"Le

Khalife, alors

tous

les

XIV

k Versailles.

embellir du

grands Samara

scheiks

tout-puissant,vivait Ik au milieu de de son plus entoure royaume,

II reservait en

coustruisant

d'ailleurs

toutes

quelques

Palais^ de Al-Moutasim Arabs connus Monuments

du

k

fa.veurs

ses

belles

de

residences

palais." Description Samara et de Quelques a and plate XIV (par M. H. Violet, Paris, 1909). illuminating monograph on Samara. 38(7/.Von Oppenheim, pp. cit.,II, p. 221.

la

Cf.

ceux

et

de

que Louis qui venaient

dans

le

voisinage

d'Haroun-al-Raschid

Fils de

milices

ses

courtisans

Mesopotamia,

Sarre

und

Herzf

p. 23

eld's

and

of ruins

the number

Samara

Below

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

400

BABYLON of historic

places

legendary interest seemed to increase in proportion sailed southwards. were Particularlyinteresting as we the ruins of Opis which was once, next to Babylon, the most important cityin Babylonia. It was to this point that were floated from the upper Tigris the boats that Sennacherib, in his celebrated for use centuries B. C, had constructed seven and

against

campaign

Chaldeans

the

and

Elamites.

transportedby camels overland Opis the boats were which to the Euphrates, down they sailed to the Persian of the great Assyrian Gulf. How forciblythis achievement of a similar exploitnearly twentyreminds monarch one Mohammed the Conqueror had a two centuries later,when the elevated section of land part of his fleet conveyed over Horn between the Bosphorus and the Golden preparatory 1453 ! to his capture of Constantinople,May 29, ander Opis is also celebrated as having been visited by Alexthe Tigris the Great in his memorable up voyage From

his voyage up," as Arrian existed in the informs us, **he destroyed the weirs which river and thus made the stream quite level. ' ' ^^ More than Persian

the

from

**In

Gulf.

twenty-one centuries afterwards, in 1839, the English in this steamer ever seen Euphrates'^ the first steamer region ascended the Tigris on its voyage of reconnaissance **

"

"

it went

when near

the

the river to the tomb

up

of the Greater

the mouth

navigationof has

"

the

the

boats

"

terminated

is

at

under

Tigriswere

there

Tigris

reason

no

should

not

Abdullah

since that

at least for commercial

date poses pur-

If the country bordering

Bagdad.

stable and

enterprisinggovernment, why light-draughtand light-tonnage dad ply regularlynot only between Baga

Opis but between Bagdad explosives properly applied under

Op. cit.,p. 381. and Cf. TraveU Armenia, Vol. II, p.

But

Zab.***

and

engineers, and

of Sultan

possibly

a

and

dam

Mosul

the or

as

well.

direction two

High

of competent

with

suitable

99

*o

Researches 162

(by W.

in F.

Asia Minor, Mesopotamiat Aineworth, London, 1842).

Ohaldea

and

FLOATING locks would

solve

the

towards a

than

DOWN

THE

problem

TIGEIS

and

would

its former

restoringto

401

contribute

dition flourishingcon-

country which, as we have seen, is now desert overspread with ruins where

little more

'*

a

paced*' and

kings have

where The

the

fox litters safe

gray

Under

When

mensely im-

the broken

Tigris shall

have

thrones.

for steam

cleared

been

gation navi-

from

Bagdad to Mosul and the Bagdad Railway shall be completed and in successful operation through its entire length,we may hope to see the fertile .lands,through which river flows

the famous as

the home

more

of

teeming

lions mil-

they constituted the richest and Asia. region of Western flourishing change in the aspect of Opis we noted a marked

they

the most Below the

once

when

were

We

country.

were

passing through

now

a

rich alluvial

to be seen. There on were pebble was with fields enameled both sides of the river broad, verdant doofs wild flowers and carefullyirrigatedby the primitive shahere as they are still in use and norias which are

plain where

not

along

the Nile

land

is under

evinced

by

a

and

in all

parts of the Levant.

cultivation flocks and

the

utilized for

or

with

herds

Much

of this

grazing,

which

the

is

as

country is

the river everywhere dotted. As we slowly glided down of villages surrounded observed ever-increasingnumber an we by gardens and fruit trees and clumps of date cially palms. All these gratefulchanges in the landscape, espemore which hourly became the beautiful palm groves and the little fleets of gufand more attractive, numerous

we

near

were

mislead; Bagdad kelek

was

for

hove at

destination.

our

few

a

in an

and

commodities

filled with

fahs

hours

sight and end.

the world-renowned

We

passengers, These

indications

later the domes our were

told

and

metropolis of

did

that not

minarets

happy floatingon last within the gates

week's at

us

the Abbasside

of a

of

Caliphs.

XVI

CHAPTER BAGDAD

Romantic

Bagdad! terror's

Awaking For

there

the

And

Love

and

Prince

of

thrill

Worth Thousand

nohle

Whose

knelt;

glorious reign

domain!

fancy's fair

minstrels

Gallia's

all hut

Bashid

whose

still Arah

deeds

rivaled

Who

Tales!

in

brightly shines

So

genii dwelt,

the Al

good

to

dear,

pity's tear;

and

gloomed,

sorcerer

the

childhood

to

name

sing, King,

Knightly

Michel.

Nicolas

We

Her

sunset.

noble

The shade

and

Turks

and struck

a

of

We

the

picturesque

spell which us,

to

advised

at

the

of

home

and

only by the of

felt that

the

Orient.

we

were

a

402

bay

darkening of

the lost

us

gave

and under of

the

Caliphs no

Fathers,

generous

member

of

the

fretted

of

this,we

Once

a

of

feverishly the

and

of

thrall

the

home

who

under

Throngs

men

drab

of

mystically

notes

the

the

Carmelite

the

arrival

our

is accorded

of

masses

gold.

red

women

walls

and

windows

fares thorough-

Harun-al-Rashid.

in

but, notwithstanding the

the

of

famed

cast

almost

color

gradually

once

and

pressed

of

of

city

rose

sunlight.

robes

with

the

light primrose;

and, trembling

The

green

over

felt ourselves

subtle

we

white

olive

projected

trees

Persians

streets.

and

delicate

departing and

Mesopotamian

a

and

Sea, played

Kurds

and

of

amber

fountains

pleasant harmony

maroon

which

over

blue

with

stately palm

and

narrow

glory

most

Oman's

Arabs,

green,

the

from

the

through

full

the

and

quivering

the

in

of

gardens

breeze

gentle

with

crowns

over

the

glowed

mosques

minarets

her

in

Bagdad

entered

a

their

and

had

cast

time

in

who

had

welcome

warm-hearted their

quiet

ing repairbeen

such

as

sionaries mis-

hospitable roof religious family.

part

TO

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

titleof Bishop of Babylonia,which

created a

BERLIN

FEOM

404

of the Persian

meantime,

In the Ricouard

at the

put

"

a

at that time

Empire. pious lady of Meaux, France of the Holy See disposition

was

Marie

"

six thousand

of Spanish doubloons for the creation and endowment the double condition on bishopricin partibusinfidelihus,

a

the

be reserved

should

that to the donor

presentation of the

following bishops should always be of French nationality. Pope Urban VIII by his bull,Super Universas,decreed named should be appropriated in June 1838, that the sum to the See of Babylon or Bagdad,'' with the formal stipulation that the

first titular and

**

all future

that

of this

incumbents

bishopricshould

ing obliged to reside there personallyunder pain of forfeitall right to the fruits of the Ricouard foundation. At named the first the same time the Sovereign Pontiff as be

bishop of

the

new

Bernard

Father

see

de

Sainte-Therese,

of

Paris, who had been proposed by the donor of the fund mentioned, and ordained that thenceforth no one should be promoted to this see unless he had been born in France. This wish of the Pope and of the pious donor has thus far been

never

transgressed,and

that it will continue of her

one

sons

At

of

immense

of Louis

of

seeing

Bagdad.^

XIV,

consul

to doubt

reason

the honor

specialact, signed

a

in Basra

of

at

named

Constantinople the

superior

of

France, in perpetuum.

consul

help to

King gave the title and prerogatives to the Bishop of Bagdad. This was an the bishop in his ministry for it gave him

increased power

with

the civil government

immensely his prestigeamong the time

of Francis

commerce

the Sublime 1

no

later date the French

a

and

is

to France

assure

the See of

occupy

In the year 1677 by the Ambassador the Carmelites

to

there

LeB

Missions

(Parin,1900).

I, when

the

and

enhanced

Mohammedans.

From

a

treaty of

signed by Porte, the French

the French

was

CatholiqueaFrangaiaea au

peace

and

amnity

Government

had

enjoyed

XIXe

8ibcle"Tom.

full

and

religious

I, p. 223.

et

aea.

BAGDAD

libertythroughoutthe for centuries

of

Ottoman

to be with

Europe.^ But, although

the

405

Empire and France

the Moslem

consular

ued contin-

the favored

positions which

nation

held

were

by the Carmelite superior of Basra and the bishop of Bagdad still the treaty of amnity which had been and, more, established

between

after "-especially

Mesopotamia

in

the French the Ottoman

A. D.

in the Near

they stillhad that

East

Ottoman

governments

Turks

1534"

to confront

gained possession of given the French missionaries

had

increased

and

power

difficultiesinnumerable

calculated

were

and

to

appall

all but

prestige, and

the

fices sacri-

noblest

heroes. Their

however, difficulties, of Mohammed

followers

and

resources

expanding

from

work

not

much

so

the

did

paucity

of the mission.

from

as

of

proceed from lack

of material

subjects for

So many

calls

their charityby the poor that they were to live on only a singlepiece of dry bread

the

ever-

made

were

at times

on

the

forced

ing day, with nothto flavor it but a small clove of garlic. Then both priests decimated by the plague while ministering bishops were

and

at the

occasion

one

without taken

of the

bedside

of their

flock. On

superior of Bagdad saw himself whatever. Age and disease had

the Carmelite assistants

any

him

all from

them

stricken members

a

after another.

one

In this extremity

letter after letter to his superior general in

he wrote

Eome, conjuring him the generaPs answer;

to send if you

him

**I have

men.

want

them,

none,

and

come

was

seek

them.'' The

superior.Father Poor

his word. camel

a

and

as

Job, he

alone, with

took

Marie-Joseph, a

borrowed

singleArab

the

general at enough to hire

money

and

a

sack

of dates

leather bottle of water, he started for Aleppo on the miles" through the long journey" nearly eight hundred inhospitableArabian and Syrian deserts. Twice his alertand

3

De

a

Ottoman, Paris, 1914), Jpnquifere,

Cf. Hisioire la

de

V Empire

Tom.

I, p. 172

et. aeq,

(by

the Vicomte

TO

BERLIN

FEOM

406

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

eloquence saved him from bands of marauding after untold difficultiesand sufferings Bedouins. But, finally, His superior general he reached Aleppo and Rome. in the Eternal so impressed by the magnificent City was audacity of the zealous missionary that he found a means and

ness

sent

who

back

was

Father

Bagdad,

to be

he

whom

Bagdad

work

by

and

needed

any

a

godsend

and

of Edessa

nobly assisted

are

devoted

to the

sufferingpoor of cine supplied with medi-

gladly treated and compensation whatever.^

As in the missions of

much

ants rejoicing.Among these assistDamien, formerly a practicingphysician,

proved

without

so

to his flock

him

soon

he

the assistants

him

procuring for

of

from

nuns

Mosul, the

in their

and

moral

But

France.

missionaries

civilizing

the life of these

greatest self-sacrifice. They not, as did the Carmelite priests,have attempted to may took but one of Alcantara, who imitate St. Peter repast and that of the most three frugal kind, only once every days ; but the privationswhich they for years had to endure sisters is

devoted

would

daunt

they they had

of the

one

all but

the most

the

reached

scene

souls.

courageous

Even

fore be-

of their

missionary activities experience that,for delicately was truly dishearteningfor

through an reared women as they were, but those engaged in the service of the Master. This any their long journey on horseback in great part was through a wild and forbidding desert from Beirut to Bagdad. The They were twenty-four days in the saddle. nights they had to spend in the filthy, noisy, dilapidated caravansaries which were scarcelyfit shelter for the beasts that carried them. And yet these heroic religieusesalways maintained the same cheerfulness during this long and trying journey as ever characterizes them in the performance to pass

"

of their arduous

bedside "

Du

of the sick and

Caucaaua

Meaopotamie,

an

p. 458

labors

in the

"

schoolroom

and

at the

suffering.*

Golfe Peraigue h travera VArmSnie, and aeq. (by P. MUller-Simonis

et

le Kurdistan H.

Hyvernat,

et

la

ington, Wash-

1802). *

8m

the

Busiane,p.

work Intcrcflting 676

et teq.

of Mme.

(Pari*,1887).

Dieulafoy on

La

Perse, la Chald6e

et la

BAGDAD But

the labors

of these ardent in

even

drawbacks

that

of their

confront

augmenting, them

house

and

the

Jews,

The well

as

teachers

enough

secure

of

number

tians Chris-

as

Mesopotamia, is

it is difficult for the

that

the

comfort

in vain.

not

are

rites in

For, in addition

them.

they have and

numerous

pensation, com-

Notwithstanding all

them

pupils,Mohammedans

of all the

souls is not without

this world.

that their sacrifices

knowing

407

good

to take

so

idly rap-

to

nuns

of

care

the

to

ordinary branches of an ous elementary education,they teach their young charges variof needlework kinds the simpler principles of and

domestic

economy. children of

*'The

learn,'' said

to

question I who

are

is that have

said,in

very

eager to

answer

a

not

the in

Our

great grief

larger and that we constantly increasing But,'*

class-rooms.

our

Dieu

Bon

will

provide

time.''

did I

I did when

laborious

us

on

me

minds.

resignation,*^the

sweet

before as

and

made

are

good

own

Never

more

sisters to meet

more

in

will you find pupils gratefulfor the opportunities

of

that

in His

or

to

nowhere

improving their school-buildingsare

our

demands she

studious

bright and

very

sisters

asked, **and

have

not

are

of the

one

had

more

they

Bagdad

regret that

much

so

I visited the schools

religieusesand

I

a

lionaire mil-

perfervid splendid results

of these

what

saw

not

was

at their achieving with the very limited resources they were they could accomplish disposaland learned how much more If the good and generous if they had the necessary means. could only realize the noble work which people of America the good Sisters of the Presentation are achievingin Bagdad that sure and how very worthy they are of assistance,I am

would

many

pupils.

teachers

and

could

be

spent

that

these

by and

ardent

the atrocious that

to

for the benefit of both

their purses

wide

open

I know

better souls

purpose. are

Association

places where

of few

When

condemned Laws

one

to

money

remembers

perpetual exile

of their mother

country

they frequently lack the ordinary necessities of

BERLIN

FROM

408

life because

they

gladlysuccor

them

work,

cooperate with them

help sympathizingwith duty to help them in every

cannot

one

feel that it is one's

and

would

publicthat

a

and

in their needs

BABYLON

AND

to reach

unable

are

in their admirable them

BAGDAD

TO

possible.

way

is recognized

Fathers church

and

position in the foreignersto be is

of

reader

the

language with

the

commencement

to

know

the lowest

of the desert.

that

to the

the

study

"

of

highestclasses

of the pupils speak result is that many wonderful At facilityand correctness.

The

the

the

oasis in the midst

**a French

obligatory from

of the school.

Bagdad. It,with the Fathers, occupies a capital city and is pronounced by

of the

center

It will interest French

the best in

as

monastery

of the Carmelite

the direction

school for boys under

The

exercises

at the

of the year they made a large audience up of It is in play from Racine.

exhibit their

end

before proficiency the elite of the cityby giving a of their thorough knowledge of the language of consequence Moliere and Bossuet that after leaving school they are and given high positionsin the leadinghouses of commerce in all the

traveler

administrative

is often

offices of the

surprised

at the

the schools

under

and

East ; but when collegesin the Ottoman

the direction

to which

extent

is spoken in the Near

The

government.

French

remembers

one

that

Empire, which are and laymen priests,sisters,

of French

numbered

It is by the thousand, the wonder ceases. for this reason that the empire is,in the words of Pierre Loti un try presque pays de langue frangaise almost a counof the French language.'' are

"

"

The

missionaries

to the humblest

which

Divine

suffer.

Not

in

nun

Bagdad"

Providence the

least

glorious position which

historyof knew

the world.

little about

it

has

Archbishop

reason

called them for

Bagdad

to labor

and

(Paris, 1913).

"

war was

the average in

some

way

to

is the

long occupied in

so

except that it

down

city in

to the

this attachment

Until the late

^Turquie Agoniaante, p. 137

the

greatly attached

are

"

from

the

reader asso-

BAGDAD dated was

with the ''Arabian so

Nights."

in his mind

vague

Bagdad

ever

famous

characters

had

that

he

in Thousand

And

this association not

was

existence

actual

an

409

or

and

whether

sure

whether

One

it,like

the

Nights,belonged

to fable land.

only For

this

it

this

chapter would be incomplete without some of the famous account citywhich,during "ve hundred the capital of the Abbasside was years, Caliphs; to believe,was for a considerable which, there is reason period the largest city in the world; which, during many centuries

reason

bore rule from

Caucasus

to the

his

Gulf

of

founded

Oman; what

made

all the available

that was

all the

among

celebrated

which, during

in

nights,even

along

half

a

the second a

site for

the

lands

this

from

the

who

who

and

that the

us

spot

of those

summer

carefully Tigris from

inform

select the

advice

Tigris

the

journeys and

historians to

from

is to Christendom.

locations

for its freedom

that the

and

and

in winter

**

Rome

many

Moslem Jarjaraya to Mosul. Caliph was finallyinduced stands Bagdad now by the both

and

and

A. D.

capital Al-Mansur

there

to the Nile

762,by Al-Mansur, Caliphs. Before deciding on

Abbasside

examined

the Oxus

to Islam

millennium,was Bagdad was of the

seems

which

on

had

lived him

assured

district

plague

especially of

toes mosqui-

were height of summer, furthermore, of the opinion,

in the

' '

We are, pleasant. they continued, ''that thou shouldst found the city here because thou shalt thereby live amongst palms and near

water,

* '

"

cool and

that if

so

late in its

district fail thee in its crops,

one

harvest,in

another

thy citybeing on the Sarat brought thither by the boats of

through

Hither, up from down

the

the

all these

plains,even

sea

Tigris from

Byzantine lands. between

the

will

remedy be found. Canal, provisions will be

Euphrates and by the from Egypt and Syria. of China, while the wares

the

brought goods from the shall thy city be safe standing

Mosul

Thus

come

be

will the

Also

caravans

or

will be

streams, and thine

enemy

shall not reach

BERLIN

FEOM

410

thee,except it be by

Tigrisor '*The

BAGDAD

TO a

boat

by

or

AND

BABYLON

bridge, and

a

the

across

the

Euphrates." practicalforesightshown

by

the

Caliph," in

the

firmed capital,**has been amply conThe city by the subsequent history of Bagdad. called into existence as by an enchanter 's wand was, during and the Middle Ages, second in size only to Constantinople, Asia was long unrivalled for splendor. throughout Western for all subsequent centuries and remained became It at once for the capitalof Mesopotamia. "Wars, sieges,the removal a time by the Caliphs of the seat of government to Samara, the almost entire destruction of higher up the Tigris,even of these have the cityby the Mongols in A. D. 1258, none of Bagdad as the permanently affected the supremacy capitalof the Tigris and the Euphrates country, and now, after the lapse of over Arabic twelve centuries,the new King of Mesopotamia stillresides in the cityfounded by the

selection of the site of his

Caliph Al-Mansur."' of them etymologies, most fanciful,have been Bagdad. It is said that when Al-Mansur given of the name finallyselected the site for his capitalhe found it occupied by several monasteries, most of them Nestorian, and that word the capital derived its appellation from the Arabic who of a certain monk name hagh garden, and Dad"ihe had a garden there. that the name is derived Others aver from two Persian words, Bagh founded God, and Dadh The oflficialname, signifyinga city founded by God. self, himhowever, given, we are told by the Caliph Al-Mansur was Medina-as-Salam, which signifiesthe *'City of Peace." it was the Saracens But among more generally known as Dar-as-Salam,which also signifiesCity or Home of Peace. The Greeks gave it a name Eirenopolis ^which

Many

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

is

it is is "

literal translation

a

by the older and

variouslyspelt "

Baghdad during Sources, pp.

Persian

the 12-14

of the Arabic common

more

that Ahbasaid

(by G.

the

name

"

Dar-as-Salam. "

Bagdad

city of Al-Mansur

has

Caliphate from Contemporary Strange,Oxford, 1900).

Le

But "

which gener-

Arabic

and

BERLIN

FROM

412

BAGDAD

TO

greatlycontributed towards making it Bagdad and towards

the rapid

What of

the East,

the rich alluvial

enabled

the inhabitants

waters

of the

the

development

great emporium

system of canals which

the admirable

was

BABYLON

AND

of

sected inter-

plainsof lower Babylonia and which of this region to utilize the surplus irrigating the fertile lands

for

Euphrates

lay between this river and the Tigris. Contrary to what is so often thought, the Arabs, under the Caliphs,gave attention to the canalization of Mesopotamia much as as which

their

had

But

predecessors,the

these

canals, besides

irrigation,likewise served from

of their

distant

Persians

and

the

being

used

for

for

purposes

of

the

chandise transportation of merstance regions. Thus, to give a single in-

for this purpose,

use

Babylonians.

we

are

informed

that

loaded at Rakkah, Hhe port,' great boats and barges were it was called,of the Syrian desert on the Upper Euphraas tes, from the land-caravans the corn of there taking over from and these Damascus; Egypt and the merchandise the great river,and then along the Isa boats, coming down Canal, discharged their cargoes at the wharves on the Tigris **

at the lower

banks

harbor

in Karkh.

' ' "

of the irrigatedregion idea of the fertility give some of Mesopotamia during the reign of the Caliphs it suffices of an Arabic writer regarding certain to quote the words in the vicinity of Bagdad, where, we cornlands are told, the crops never failed,neither in winter nor in summer, and of the report given of a certain mill in which there were To

* *

' *

fewer

no

than

a

hundred

millstones

which

produced the

million dirhams, extraordinary annual rental of a hundred that was a sum equivalent to several million dollars of our money.

Marco vast man

Polo, that king of mediaeval travelers,who, by the of his journeys, was better qualifiedthan any compass of his time to express an portance opinion on the relative imof the cities of Asia, declares that Bagdad ^which "

"

Le

strange,op. oit.,p.

71.

BAGDAD he calls Baudas"

regions''and

is ''the noblest and

that it ''used

all the Saracens

in the

greatest cityof these

to be the seat of the

world, just as Rome

of all the Christians.''

Pope

413

"

But

is the seat of the

the illustriousVenetian

did not visit Bagdad until voyager the destruction of the city by the

Hulagu

Caliph of

several

Mongol

decades

after

hordes

under

Khan.

The

question now arises, if Bagdad was so great a metropolis only a half century after it was ravaged by the what it have been when must Mongols, at the zenith of its and magnificence? Some authors estimate that the power city counted no fewer than two million souls. D'Herbelot, the celebrated Orientalist, can says that one conjecturethe of the inhabitants number of Bagdad from statement a made by Arab historians,who declare that the funeral of Moslem doctor Eben who died with a Hanbal, a famous attended dred great reputation for sanctity,was by eight hunand thousand women.^^ Then men sixty thousand Polo tells us that the number of Christians again, Marco it was sacked in Bagdad, shortly before by Hulagu, was than

more

hundred

a

thousand.^^

This

would

indicate

that

city,of which a very great population of this Saracen must then, in the days of its Mohammedan, majority was This seems clear from decline,have exceeded a million. the "horrible about what historians tell us butchery of and children," which lasted forty days, when women men, sacked by the Mongols under Hulagu. the citywas the

Nearly all the inhabitants,to ud Din, of eight hundred Rashid million

two

cities that

noblest of the

Mohammedan

The

Yule,

Booh

of

London,

Ser

Marco

Makrizi

says

of the

concentrated." I, p. 63

Polo, Vol.

(translated and

edited

by

H.

1903).

10

Bihliothbque Orientale,

12

History

III, p. 127

thousand"

to

one passed away the had ever graced the East" cynosure world, where the luxury, wealth and

culture of five centuries had 9

according

number,

thus

perished,and

"

the

of the Mongols

(by

H.

H.

Tom.

from

I, p.

326

the

Ninth

Howorth, London,

^

_

,^^^^

(The Hague, 1777). to

1888).

the

Nineteenth

Century, Part

laid in ashes

was

question. The

by

it

before

splendor of Bagdad

the greatness and

About

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

414

Mongol invader, there can be no torians testimony of contemporary his-

the

concurrent

puts this beyond doubt. The walls which surrounded such as to rival those of ancient the cityin its infancy were and DioBabylon and Nineveh, as described by Herodotus dorus Siculus. According to the noted Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Bagdad in the second half of the twelfth century, *Hhe palace of the Caliph of Bagdad idea

An

in extent."

miles

is three

of the

be gained from

magnificence of the Caliph's palaces may

reception

brilliant

that has

account

an

Constantine

Bagdad, A. D. 917, by genitus.^^ Before being introduced sent

were

to

to

of the

us

ambassador^ who

Greek

the

accorded

down

come

Porphyro-

Commander

to the

of

conducted in state through the Faithful,the envoys were of various buildings within the palace precincts. Each these buildings,of which there were ber, twenty-three in numwas a separate palace. the riding academy, adorned One of these was with porticoes the

of marble

On

the right side of this house each

caparisoned the left stood and

by

columns.

with

five hundred

long head-covers; a

groom

After

all

saddle

a

of

gold

with

mares

also

five hundred

stood

every

silver,while

or

brocade

mare

mares

was

saddle-cloths held

in hand

magnificentlydressed.^* this,and

Caliph,came

of the to the very presence the ofiicers of state and the pages of the privy

leading

council,all in gorgeous raiment, with their swords with gold and gems. Near them were girdlesglittering eunuchs The four !"

"*

and

the chamberlains

number

of the

thousand

See Journal

9/7, A. D

of

them

and

eunuchs white

of the Royal Asiatic Decline

and

Fall

of

**the

was

seven

thousand

in all,

and

three

thousand

black;

Society, on the

and

the black pages/'

a

Oreek

Embassy

(January, 1897).

Of. Qibbon'g

on

Roman

Empire, Chap.

LII.

to

Bagdad

BAGDAD the number

of the chamberlains

415 was

the number

four

of the black pages, thousand. On the

also

other

thousand

seven

than

the

and

eunuchs,

was

Tigris there were skiffs and wherries, barques and barges and other boats,all cently magnifiornamented, duly arranged and disposed. The ...

.

number

of the

hangings

thousand. thirty-eight brocade with

embroidered

in the

These with

.

.

palaces of the Caliph was were curtains of gold" of

gold"

all

magnificentlyfigured

representations of drinkingvessels and with elephants

horses,camels, lions and birds. The number of the carpets and the mats was twenty-two thousand pieces; these were laid in the corridors and courts. /" and

.

.

.

.

A

hundred

lions

.

brought out, every lion being held in by the hand of its keeper. Among other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury was a tree of gold and silver. The

tree had

eighteen branches, every

twigs, on which large and small. silver,but some carrying leaves moved

were

sat

all kinds

Most

gold

and

of the branches of

were

of

branch

having numerous silver birds,both

of this tree

gold, and they spread into

of divers

colors.

The

leaves

were

of

the air-

of the

tree

the wind

blew, while the birds,under the action of mechanical appliances,piped and sang. Through this of magnificence the Greek ambassadors scene led to were as

the foot of the

Caliph's

throne.

The

the ambassador and his suite on impression made at the sight of such a display of wealth and luxury was, we well believe,not unlike that produced on the Spanish may Conquistadores at the sight of the vast treasures of Cuzco and Cajamarca, or on the astonished ambassadors of foreign when admitted of to the presence they were powers

Abd-al-Eahman famed

palace of Medina-al-Zahra."

audience

chamber

in the

/

tells U8, London and Paris in Burton were period, Sir Richard spread with rushes." quasi-savagery and "their palatial halls were ifi Bagdad, the of its grandeur under Harun-al-Rashid, at the zenith was outrivalled Nineveh. It "had of Babylon and Damascus, worthy successor *the Smile "was of the Prophet,' and essentiallya city of pleasure, a Paris world all parts of the oriental of the ninth flocked from "Thither century." noted and the most capable poets, musicians and artificers of the time; and 15

a

^

III in his gorgeous

At

state

this

of

"

has

Bagdad

But

compellingclaims to undying fame palaces,superb mosques, gorgeous

more

based

those

than

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

416

on

displays of fabulous This splendidcapitalof the Caliphs will always wealth. and splendid live in history's page as the seat of numerous ostentatious

luxury, and

boundless

education

institutions of charity and

Caliphs who

letters of the Middle

and

the

Among with many

munificent

the most

were

the home

as

of.

patrons of science'

Ages.

hospitalsof Bagdad

was

and wards, which

rooms

and

a

palatialstructure furnished

were

in elaborate

gratuitously provided with food and medicine and regularly visited by the physicians here that Rhazes, the most brated celeof the city. It was Mussulman physicianof his time, gave his lectures the great medical school which drew students and founded Asia. Rhazes is famous not only from all parts of Western the

style. Here

for his eminence writer

a

as

medicine

on

nearly nine hundred

patientswere

physicianbut also as a voluminous for having described and smallpox before

years

this dread

on investigations

began his noted

Jenner

disease.

more however, the colleges,of which there were each more than thirty that magnificentthan a palace One gave Bagdad its greatest fame in the mediaeval world. of these,called the Nizamiyah, founded by an eminent vizier

It was,

' *

' '

"

"

the

first

thought

epeciallycurious of

the

whom

Muslim he

of the or

Arabian

attractive

world, to

rarely failed

or

Persian

specimen

submit

to receive

it to

craftsman

of his the

art

who was

Commander

rich reward

for

to

had completed some repair to the capital of

his

the

Faithful

from

labors.

Surrounded myrtle, refreshed by

by pleasure-gardensand groves of orange, tamarisk, and an of running streams, supplied either by art or nature, the unfailingluxuriance the is the theme of many on an Tigris great city admiring ode or laudatory ghazel; and the poets of the time all agree in describingit as being, under the rule of the great Caliph, a^ort of terrestrial paradise of idlesse and luxury, where, to use their own expressions,the ground was irrigated with rose-water

and

the

dust

of

and

the

a

the

roads flowers and was musk, where verdure air was ways perpetuallysweet with the many-voiced where the chirp of lutes, the dulcet warble iong of birds, and of flutes and the silver sound of ringing houris rose and fell in harmonious cadence from of the streets of palaces that stood in vast every corner succession in the

overhung

the

midst

of their gardens and orchards, gifted with perpetual verdure by the silver abundance of the Tigris, as it sped its flightthrough the thricearrowy blest town." Thousand and One Nightt, Vol. IX, pp. 333, 334 (translated by "^

John

Payne, London, 1884).

BAGDAD who

the friend of the

was

poet Omar

of its architectural

account

417

KJiayyam,

splendor, and

its

the

was,

on

celebrityof the colleges

the known Mother professionalstaff, of as of Bagdad.'' Among its most illustrious lecturers were Ghazzali,celebrated as a philosopher and a theologian,and Bohadin, who achieved eminence as a historian,as a statesman, *'

and

of the

endowment

only

not

the

as

to pay

biographer of Nizamiyah was

the

Sultan

Saladin.

princelythat

so

The

it sufficed

the salaries of the

professors but also to for the board and tuition of indigent students. pay tectural Completely eclipsingthe Nizamiyah College in its archiof grandeur, sumptuous equipment, and wealth the College of the Mustansiriyah the ruins endowment was ^which was founded of which still exist by the Caliph put to death Mustansir, the father of Mustasim, who was by Hulago after the destruction of Bagdad. So great was the splendor of this collegethat it is said to have surpassed not only the most It was similar institution in Islam. any also its most notable seat of learning in Bagdad, but was recalls the many beautiful and imposing edifice. When one lous of them costing fabupalaces of the city many gorgeous "

"

"

sums

"

one

can

munificent

realize what

patrons

were

of wealth and how well this fairy Bagdad's Caliph and men capitaldeserved its reputationas the Orient's most famous rival and It had only one of science and letters. center Ommaied the famous metropolis in Spain, so that was

attractions,its schools and libraries and scholars" a city which Hroswitha, the gifted of Gandersheim, has so beautifullydescribed in a single nun celebrated

distich

for

its riches

and

:

famosa, locuplesde nomine dicta, splendidacunctis. rebus quoque Inclyta deliciis, Corduba

But

no

account

descriptionof Bagdad is complete without eminent Caliphs,especiallyof of its more

Harun-Al-Eashid, who with

the most

is

some

its immortal

"inseparably associated

charming collectionof stories

ever

invented

BEELIN

FEOM

418

BAGDAD

delight of

than

life of

romantic

gathered

His

and the

Aaron

fascination

achievements

Jusf

Whenever

Caliphs.

name

the

were

to make

Anglicize his abidinginterest. "

and

followed

successors

short period the sciences which spread themselves to the very the

his

of

those

to

indebted

are

which they made the rapid progress built a mosque for Harun never school.

around

King Arthur, or Barbarossa, authentic history-

about

[Sismondi writes]

Arabians

The

*'

of supreme

one

"

a

brilliant

legends have

Charlemagne, or Frederick tells us enough of his character

it

This

immemorial

in greater number

name

mankind/'

of all time.

time

the

BABYLON

AND

the illustrious long been ranked among For, notwithstandingthe fact that from

ruler has

Saracen men

and

solace

the

for

TO

to him

in science without

and

for

ture, litera-

attachingto

his example, and in a cultivated in the capital of the empire of assembled to adore

extremities faithful

Divinity,they found in this temple an opportunity of rendering Him the noblest homage which His creatures can by the cultivation of those faculties with which their pay Creator .has endowed them. Harun- Al-Eashid, besides,was superior to the fanaticism which had previously sufficiently animated his sect not to despise the knowledge which the head of his faith possessed. The professors of another schools and the first director of studies in his empire was a Nestorian Christian of John of Damascus, of the name the

"

Ebn

Mesua."

Christians

were

the

translators

of the works

of Plato

Aristotle ; of Galen, Hippocrates, and Dioscorides Ptolemy, Euclid,and Apollonius Pergaeus. and

No

Caliph ever

learned

men:

"

gathered round him so great a poets, jurists,grammarians,

number cadis

;

of

of and

who nothing of the wits and musicians enjoyed his patronage. Personally, too, he had every of him quality that could recommend to the literarymen his time. Harun himself was an accomplished scholar and

scribes, "

17

(New

to

Hiatorioal

say

View

York, 1827).

of the Literature

of the

South

of Europe,

Vol.

I, p. 30

FROM

420

BERLIN

loyal vizier,the

and

owed

so

So

Barmecides.

of the

atrocious

great

friends

'*the

it became

that

It is because

and

a

a

thousand

make

on

Harun's his

temporaries con-

and

in

the mutability

of this barbarous

cruelty

revoltingtreachery that the Harun of history is so of legend,in which he is always painted the Harun monarch

merry

"

the

patron of scholars and the boon

companion of congenial friends. that

refuse

must

we

Just'' and as

of

did

his

unlike as

family and

proverbial example

oriental history of the change of fortune of royal favor.*'

he

impression did

an

of his best

treatment

to whom

than

more

Not

prison.

men

their

on

slain

until he had

not abate his anger

of

treatment

his fury

much, he vented

BABYLON

of Jaafer, into

father

this barbarous

with

content

AND

BAGDAD

TO

men

him

his

And

it is because

long-accordedtitle

of this of **The

ments Good," although, in view of his achievehis unfailing and generous a ruler and patronage of science and letters,we cannot deny him the ''The

it not for the stain on his Were epithet of **The Great." of the Barmetreatment cides, escutcheon, due to his infamous of truth, say of this semblance we could, with some

illustrious

Caliph of Bagdad,

in the words

of

Tennyson:

Sole star of all that place and I

saw

The

One cannot

him Good

speak

in his

time, golden prime,

Harun-al-Bashid,

of the services rendered

to science and

without referring to his by Harun-al-Rashid the Caliph Al-Mamun. and distinguished son successor, and the greatness of the empire had Although the power after the death of Al-Rashid, suffered a notable diminution the glory of Bagdad as a center of learning still retained all its former luster. Some, indeed, will have it that its and that Al-Mamun and not Harun enhanced prestige was the father of letters and the Augustus of the Abbasside was Caliphate. For the first thing he did on ascending the

literature

as

nence

details and

One

one

make

of the most write

terrible

tragediesrecorded

in

historyand its horrible our day." Thousand

passionately on the subjectto this Nights, Vol. X, p. 142 (Benares, 1886). men

BAGDAD

421

,

throne the

to invite the Muses

was

Byzantine Empire

to the

from

their favorite seats in

capitalof the Caliphs on

the

Tigris.

Study, books

and

men

The

learned

of letters almost

entirely engrossed

^

his attention.

occupied alone in forwarding the It might be said that the throne of

were

literature. seemed

to have

his court whose

his favorites and

were

been

from

all

existence

raised

for the

Muses.

parts of the world

he

acquainted, and

was

of progress the Caliphs

He

all the he

his ministers

invited to

learned retained

with

them

by rewards, honors and distinctions of every kind. He collected from the subjectprovinces of Syria, Armenia and the most Egypt important books which could be discovered, in and which, his eyes, were the most precious tribute he could demand. The governors of provinces and the officers of administration in preference to directed to amass were everythingelse the literaryrelics of the conquered countries and

them

to carry

to the foot of the

camels but

might be seen manuscripts and

to be

throne.

entering Bagdad and

papers

those

Hundreds

loaded

which

with were

of

nothing thought

public instruction were ligible. that they might be universallyinteltranslated into Arabic and commentators Masters, instructors,translators, which of Al-Mamun, formed the court appeared to be rather a learned academy than the centre of government in of the Caliph dictated the terms warlike a empire. When to the Greek Emperor, Michael the Stammerer, the peace tribute which Greek

he

of

the purpose

demanded

him

from

was

a

collection

ancient

Rome,

also

so

in the

in

most

Orcecia capta ferum victorem Latio.^^ Iniulit agresti 21

Sismondi,

22

Tamed

op. Greece

tcith her

cepitet

cit.,I, 30. to

arts

tame

her

victress

fair Latium Horace,

now

began,

over-ran.

Epistles,Book

the

days brilliant period of

repeating itself,for,

but

was

as

Bagdad

And

of

authors."

History of

for

adapted

II, 1.

artes

BERLIN

FROM

422

learningthat great

there

How

booksellers. so

BABYLON

great during this brilliant literaryperiod was

So of

AND

BAGDAD

TO

of

many

libraries that

the invitation of the Sultan would

carriage of his books

were

count

private

even

of

Bagdad who fused reof Bokhara, because the required four hundred

doctor

a

hundred

a

cities could

large

so

told of

are

we

than

more

modern

our

And

number?

a

Bagdad

in

were

the love

have

*'

camels."" Nor

it in

was

for

Mamun

enthusiasm

alone

Bagdad

of

the

progress for science and of

patrons

that the zeal of Harun

knowledge

letters.

Under

had

established equaledthat of Bagdad were Caliphate in Cufa and Basra; in Fez

stimulated

these

of science

learning,homes

and

trious illus-

two

that

almost

in all

parts of the and Morocco; in and Damascus Cairo and Alexandria spahan^ and ; in Balk,(f Samarcand ings ^many of which, in the splendor of their buildand in the equipment of their libraries, rivaled the famous Arabian schools of Granada, Seville, and Cordoba, in their heyday *'wha^ all that was which were polite or "

"

elegant in hum,"

and

fostered

reached

of western

classed

was

it is to be

And

created

had

literature

the

acme

by

the Studia

among that

observed

these

the

institutions, the Caliphs,

benign influence of their glory when the greater part

of

and northern

Arch

Europe

was

in

condition

a

of

parative com-

darkness. But

in

paying this tribute to the Caliphs of Bagdad and his son I do Al-Mamun especiallyHarun-Al-Rashid not wish to appear in as overrating their achievements "

"

science

and

letters.

One

may,

always held literaryexcellence may

admit

Lorenzo

that never,

the

not

did Magnificent,

encouragement

and

the Saracens

the

nations

western

of science and Gibbon,

of

of letters receive greater

men

rewards;

for centuries

2"

even

that they indeed, concede in the highest honor; one in the days of Maecenas and

were

acknowledge that may far in advance of many of

one

Christendom

in

philosophy,but, granting

op. cit.,Chap. LII.

branches many all this,the indis-

BAGDAD

putablefact stillremains originators.

that they

All their achievements and

mathematics

to Plato

and

Aristotle

parchus

and

Ptolemy;

their

owed it

they

unable

were

the Christian

Khalif

his

was

to so

Galen

of

pupils who

in

Honein, that

and

and

of the works

masters

Dioscorides

for them the

"

Hip-

; to

who

^ *

into Arabic

Almagest

the Arabic

of Galen

the works

which

original. Thus it was the physician to the was

translated

the

made

and not

thenes. Euclid,Archimedes, and Eratosbe forgotten that the Saracens science to Christians,for Greek

read

scholar

of Euclid

* '

of

the

Ptolemy of the

versions

**

ments Ele-

; and

it

greater

and

Hippocrates.^* And it to the celebrated Christian family, the Boktishos, and school of Gondisapor, from which issued the Nestorian that the Saracens scholars of distinction, were many

number was

; to

to their Greek

translated

to

Motowakkel, ' *

due

not

who

borrowers

were

omy, philosophy,medicine, astron-

were

knowledge

Christians

was

in

to

it must

And

423

the

many

learned

invited to his court

Mamun

of

works

Greek

philosophy.

science and

Among

other

of ^countless

versions

for

indebted

whom

men

contributed

**who

and

Caliph

the

far

Al-

more

subjectsto the reputationthat sovereign has Leo the deservedly gained in the history of science,''was the Archbishop Mathematician, who subsequently became an The of Thessalonica. Caliph desired to have made than

his

own

this

of the

measurement

accurate

distinguishedGreek

important work because be the superior to all the mechanical

and But writers almost

on

26

Arabs

ancient

he

called

to take

knowledge."^''

good

were

medicine, astronomy, of

orbit and

charge of this *'he was universallyrecognized to matical of Bagdad in mathescientificmen to his court

completely ignored

historians 24

the

while

earth's

the

Hejlas.

borrowers and

from

mathematics,

Greek

they

great poets, orators, and Never cultivatingany lan-

Orientale, s. v. "Honain." D'Herbelot's BiUiotUque Vol. II, p. 224 (by G. Finlay,Oirford,1871). Cf. A History of Greece,

See

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

424

their own, they literature of Greek

but

guage

there

was

these

works

into

Arabic, none

matchless

the

reason

of

closed

many

as

for

of

Lysias

translations made.

ever

Homer

of

books.

For the

and

this

Greek

Demosthenes;

and

the

for the Saracens

noted

The

the masterpieces

translation,but

Trucidides,were

and

histories of Herodotus so

a

were

poems

dramatists; the orations as

except in

by the Saracens

demand

no

to read

unable

were

BABYLON

AND

Syriac author,

Bar-Herbrseus, does, indeed, mention a version of the Iliad of Mount and Odyssey by a Christian Maronite Lebanon, into Syriac and not Arabic. but his translation was the great reputationof the These facts show how much for

Saracens

due

learning was

their

to

Greek

immortal

alid to the literaryactivityof their Christian

masters

jects, sub-

Empire. It is especiallythe Greeks of the Lower totle observes, that '*the Arabs studied Aristrue, as Freeman of western and taught him to the men Europe ; but it of eastern the men was surely from Europe that they in the first instance.

him

obtained

at Samarcand or

in

to be read

Thessalonica. The

gave

that

Harun-al-Rashid

to educational

others

of the great Greek

reigns

a

power

the

did not of the

splendor which

But

was

his

son

Al-

by encouraging the

progress

will always

masters

conspicuous place in the annals

civilization. monarchs

and

of Aristotle,Galen, Ptolemy, and

of the works

translation

at

' ' ^^

impulse

Mamun

in translations

read

was

Lisbon, when no one knew his tinued Edinburgh; but all the while he conhis own tongue at Constantinopleand and

at Oxford

name

He

successors

follow

in their

of

these

of

give their

science

two

illustrious

footsteps.Although still unimpaired and

Caliphate seemed apparently undimmed,

the

seeds

and

the its

of decay,

destruction,were already at work. The vices of sloth and luxury and cruelty which prevailed at the court and in many of the most important departments 2^

The

led to ultimate

History

and

Conquests of

the Saracens, p. 167

(London, 1877).

BAGDAD

425

of the government of the Caliphate, slowly but surely entailed their fatal consequences. Besides these,there were other causes of decay and extinction. Chief them among internecine strife and the separation of the remoter were^

I

provinces from

the

central

factors

Added

power.

to

these

integrat dis-

the

Caliphate had become top-heavy, and degenerate ruler like a Al-Mostassem, the last of the Abbassides,its downfall was inevitable. In contemplatingthe fall of the which was for five power centuries the glory of the Moslem world, one is led to compare the close of the reign of the last of the Caliphs with that of the last of the Byzantine Emperors : and

under

The

weak

last and

weakest

of the

Caliphs without an effort of arms or policyto stay his fall,sinks from senseless pride terror and expires amidst the tortures of a faithto craven less victor. The last and noblest of the Caesars, after doing all that mortal could do for the deliverance of his city, man himself dies in the breach,the foremost among its defenders. of the traitor,not Augustulus Not Darius in the hands resigning his useless purple, not the ^theling Edgar Conqueror ever spared by the contempt of the Norman and unpitied as did fallen greatness so dishonored showed of the Billah al Wahid, the last Commander Al-Mostassem of Thermopylae, not in the pass not Leonidas Faithful ; Harold Decius in the battle below Vesuvius, not our own "

27

the

Longfellow tragic death

the

chosen

has

of AI-Mostassem in which

well-known

poems

avaricious

Caliph

he

with been connected to have of his for one of Hulagu Khan at the hands address the executioner his victor and makes

grim episode said

following words: the Caliph, "Thou

in the

/ said

to

Thou

hast

Thou

shouldst

no

need

of

not

have

so

of battle

But

through

And

have

In

into

Nor

his

left him the honey

dungeon there cells

prayer, heard from a

again

was

nor

useless

clear" the

I locked

here.

swords,

and

and

it

near.

drone.

feed all alone. of his golden hive; to

a

those the

and these

land

shining spring keep thine honor sweet

Never Was

the

hidden

and

hot

was

blades

into

Then And

sown

gold;

heaped

Till the breath To

old,

art

much

groan, walls of stone, alive. seen

cry, nor massive

CaUph

a

hoards.

BERLIN

FROM

426

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

gloriousdeath than the hill of Senlac, died a more the last Emperor of the Romans.'^' Constantine PalsBologus,

upon

the

Among

given to Bagdad,

names

been

has

as

said in

precedingpage, was that of Dar-as-Salam, or Medina-astudes vicissiIn view of the numerous Salam" City of Peace. through which the erstwhile capitalof the Caliphshas passed,the protractedsieges it has sustained,the frightful destruction it has time and again undergone, the appalling of bloodthirsty at the hands of its inhabitants massacres a

be difficult to conceive

invaders, it would

a

more

terous prepos-

misnomer. have

We

what

citywhen

the fate of the

was

it

was

rapacious hordes of (Hulagu but a prelude to the But this reign of terror was that befell the ill-fated citywhen, less than a century half later,the brutal Mongols again captured and with the blood its streets streamed the city;when

given over Khan. horrors and

seen

a

sacked

to the

of its defenders

savage

and

and

with

reechoed

the frenzied

shrieks

of

utterable children,and when, as a climax of all this uncarnage,^"the Mongol leader, Timur, celebrated the ruins of Bagdad a his bloody victory by erecting on tered pyramid of ninety thousand heads of its slaughgruesome

and

women

inhabitants.^^ No

that

wonder

the

people

of the

East

wont

were

to

ing a blessconquest by Turks or Saracens was compared with fallinginto the jaws of the implacable the Court of Byzantium reached word Mongols.'^ When that the Mongols, under Timur, were approaching the city, the terror which they inspiredthat so popular great was

declare

that

'*

* *

28

Freeman,

29

"Tamerlan

age, ni

sexe,

op. cit.,p. 132. fit passer fil de au ni

condition

batimens." "o

D'Herbelot, op. cit.,s. Cf. Gibbon, op. cit.,Chap. LXV.

cities was often marked by flourishing or by columns pyramids of human of Ispahan supplied seventy thousand loftytowers." Ibid.,Chap. XXXIV. "

Vep^e

et fit raser v.

tous

rez

ses

pied, rez

Habitants, n* epargnant ni terre

tous

ses

principaux

"Timour." "The

by

his"

heads." human

had been occupied "abominable trophies "The people Ibid.,Chap. LXV. skulls for the structure of several

ground which "

Timour's

"

BERLIN

FEOM

428

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

Bagdad, the fairycityof boyhood's dreams, and pleasure,where home of pomp the fair the glittering dwelt in a palace with spangled floors and marble "-..^.Zoieide there was a riot of stairs with golden balustrades ; where broidered curtains, silk tapestry, purple sofas, damask of the East; where looms famous robes from the most a wont, to the joyous group of bejeweled dancing girlswere with sound of harp and lute and dulcimer, to carol away, the cares that of Israfel, voices as melodious as and'^asnui) mistress. of their pleasure-sated Willingly I yieldedmyself to the hypnotic influence of Aladdin with his wonthe spiritusloci. In fancy I saw derful Yes, I

in

was

"^

cinating lamp ; the one-eyed calenders as they told their fastales; the fishermen as they deluded the heavyJaifer as and witted jinn; Harun-al-Eashid dered they wantheir double-collared

under streets and

luxury, which

golden lamps

of

strains

of sweet

through

capital;the radiant homes gleamed with the subdued

of the

myriad

cloak

and

music

reechoed

and

the

with the

gladsome

the

ber som-

of wealth

light of a heart-easing

voices

of midnight

revelry. the illusion

But

mist

veil of tenuous

morning Zobeide

and

sun

vanished

the to

lifted under

mauve-shot

ardent

the

rays

of the

magic city of Harun and his favorite row, give place to the squalid houses,nar-

citywhich

war-battered

is

but

now

a

a

shadow

time-stricken, of what

it was

days of its pristineglory.

As

a

wish

to

until

we

compliment

to

our

hosts

explore the city,which

we

visited their schools

had

did not

we

Tours.

donkeys for

and

which

pupilswe Bagdad is

so

and

those

conducted

by

Visitation

of

sent for so

a express far to see,

come

coworkers, the Sisters After having spent several

teachers

even

had

their heroic

with

The

streets,and crumbling walls of

crooked

in the

of short duration.

was

of the most a

delightfulhours

trio of those white

celebrated.

Gentle

as

they

strong and hardy, they willinglykeep up an easy, ambling gait for hours at a time without exhibitingthe

are

BAGDAD

slightestevidence

of

fatigue. I learned to valne them a when travelingin Egypt and I was a century ago have an opportunity of again availingmyself of

third of to

glad

429

their service in the old capital on take the

place of

cabs which

the

would

Tigris. Here

not

be

they

at all available

in the majority of the very narrow streets of the city. As the Carmelite monastery is in the heart of the city, found ourselves in the midst of a colorful scene soon we that could Damascus such

be surpassed by anything similar either in Stamboul. Such a seethingcauldron of races,

not or

utter confusion

an

of tongues, such

a

motley carnival

from

plain white and black to the gay fabrics and the tawdry prints of Manchester! of Madras Here of countless types and creeds and nationalities meet men we peans; Turks, Afghans, Persians,Arabs, Indians,and EuroJews, Hindus, Christians,Parsees, Shiites,Sunof all the seventy-threesects into nites,and Mohammedans which the Prophet of Mecca tually predicted Islam would evenand dialects number The be divided. languages the traveler in Bagdad than a score, for which reason more different tongues would imagine that he hears fullyas many of costumes

"

spoken by

were

as

difficultieswhich

not the least of the many

Turkish

appearance of narrow,

from

of

on

when

the

sands thou-

many

it

ing.

Then

little was

we

we

through the ent quite differ-

wandered

streets,was first

saw

it from

palm-fringedTigris,or

enveloped in

upon

As

as

noisome filthy,

gazed

which

Bagdad,

it seemed

what

moving kelek

covered

so

fronted con-

ago.'*

of years

maze

which

same

for the old tower

the contractors

The

told, ''the

are

we

was,

army

the British

operationsagainst the

in their recent

encountered

forces

deed, In-

of Babel.

the builders of the Tower

the delicate mist

visible except domes

of

our

when

ily lazwe

early mora^^^.^

and

minarets

mosaics tiles and scintillating bright-colored appeared to float in the opalescentatmosphere.

with

in the

case

enchanting at

a

Bagdad is of all other eastern cities, distance than when viewed from her

more som-

BERLIN

FROM

430

TO

threaded

thoroughfares. And as we through these dingy streets and byways,

flanked

way

our

BABYLON

intricate

unsanitary and

ber

AND

BAGDAD

either side by low, dun-colored,windowless in found it difficult to see in them, even

on

houses, we the sumptuous

that

homes

mud

fancy,

the city in the time

adorned

difficult still to repeople them Caliphs and more and One Nights. glamouring figuresof Thousand these

with

of the

and

gloomy streets,that will scarcely admit a camel, into the spacious ings the most unpretentious dwellcourtyards with which even But

when

are

provided, one of the

transformation of beautiful

from

passes

one

and

trees

is often

surprised

Here

scene.

shrubs

and

narrow

finds

one

a

magic

profusion with

plants loaded

the most size and hue. of every Among the palm, the orange, and the pomegranate

are

the

at

ers flow-

conspicuous whose

bright

foliageis in strikingcontrast with the flaming blooms of the hibiscus in which the Bagdadi takes as much pleasure sisters in far-off Honolulu, do her dusky Hawaiian as

green

with A

whom

brilliant flowers

these

of peculiarity

the habitations

is the serdah, an

underground

eight or nine feet in height. hot lives during the terrifically

universal

are

favorites.

of the well-to-do which

chamber

It is here weather

that

that

of Bagdad

is

usually the family

ing prevailsdur-

But, part of the spring and autumn. although the temperature is here ten degrees lower than summer, in the upper part of the house, the intense heat of midin the shade, which often reaches 120'' Fahrenheit is almost unbearable. As so great a part of the people to be spend much of their time in the serdah, the city seems almost lifeless during a greater part of the day. Towards then reThe women pair sunset, however, it begins to revive. to the terraces of their dwellingswhere they pass the night in talking,smoking, drinking sherbets, and trying, when the mosquitoes permit, to get a little sleep. As to the men, especially the Moslem portion of the population, of misery in the to find some surcease they endeavor summer

Lethean

and

fumes

a

of

their

chibouks

and

hubble-bubbles.

BAGDAD of

Most

431

them

congregate in the countless coffeehouses which, during the everlastingdog days of Bagdad, are thronged day and night with all sorts and conditions of swelteringand par-baked humanity.

Passing so much time in a state of semi-torpor, it is not the strongest constitutions soon surprisingthat even cumb sucto the enervatingclimate. Because of the intolerable to find relief in heat, Europeans endeavor every few years a change of climate. But when this is not possible,the majority of the foreign sufferers are short-lived. Thus I

informed

that the average life of the Carmelite missionaries in southern Mesopotamia is only about nine years.

was

But

their

premature deaths do not deter them from continuing the work of charity to which they are so devoted. As soon ately one as drops out of the ranks his place is immeditaken by a zealous confrere who is only too willingto serve

in the

cause

and

where

severe

What

with

of the Master the

dangers

where are

the trials

most

are

greatest and

most

minent. im-

rance climate,defective drainage,ignogrilling

the

neglect of the first principlesof hygiene, one is not surprised to learn that the population of Bagdad is periodicallydecimated by the plague. Cholera is frequent. and

It

that

visitant

this dread

was

of the British forces

Commander-in-Chief

Maude,

off General

carried

during

the recent

campaign in Mesopotamia againstthe Turks. visited all the places of interest in the citybut We in which we

with

most

local color

hamals

Kurdish

were

of them

principalone

the

neared

crowded

found

we

the bazaars. found

we

the

those As street

bearing incredible burdens,

quick-steppingwhite donkeys disputingthe way with awkwardly racking camels which snappishly sputteredor fully while disdainnoses proudly held aloft their supercilious and

sniffingthe air And

round

about

us

roughly jostlingone themselves

into

the

the heads

above was

a

another

of

shouting drivers.

vociferatingthrong in their mad

alluring bazaars, which

rush were

that

were

to force

already

BERLIN

filled with

all kinds

and

of Damascus

those

account

on

BABYLON

AND

idlers

or

prospectivepurchasers.

Bagdad are much Constantinoplethey

of

smaller are

than

teresti in-

more

of the attractive wares, but And strange and motley crowd.

is not because

This rather

of curious

the bazaars

Although

BAGDAD

TO

FEOM

432

of the

variety of garbs and what a medley of colors ! There are type and shade of oriental face; every style of every conceive. one can variety of costume headdress; every Fezes, tarbooshes, keffiehs,turbans, the brimless hat of the Baktiari,the long felt hats of the Lurs and the Kurds ; what

a

the black astrakan As

and

the Persians.

costumes, there is everything imaginable from

to

of the

primitivedhotee apparel of

an

Indian

curios

or

the

graceful full-flowing

the

elaboratelyembroidered the closelyfitting frock coat Europe in quest of strange Khorassan tapestriesfrom

or

from

old rugs

rare

to the

and

rajah

prodigal nabob

some

Hindu

mollah

aba of the Arabian

of

of the Russians

caps

and

Candahar.

and

The

of the

vesture

is

women

even

variegated and

more

Some are costly and resplendent than that of the men. leaf. Some garbed in rich silks of all the tints of the autumn from are veiled,others unveiled, according as they come the Moslem, Jewish,' Christian quarter of the city ^but or all are gathered around all the booths in which there is a special display of feminine finery. There is no law in "

Islam

to

prevent

whenever

they much

they

they desire

start

out

on

delightas have

from

women

a

to escape

shopping

visitingthe the monotony tour

in which

do their sisters in the intention

bazaars

and

of the harem

they take

as

West./Frequently

of

making purchases than have the Jiahituees of the great department stores of Fifth Avenue or the splendidjewelryshops of La Rue de la PaiofJ My attention was directed to the large number of Jews no

more

.

who of

had them

cheap

shops in the city and stalls in the bazaars. were

speciallyconspicuous on

misfit garments

from

account

English and German

Many of their

manufac-

BAGDAD

tories,whicli robes

contrasted

of

most

of them

made

in Vienna. eyes,

the

flames, which

sharply with

of

some

their

black

wore

433

But

costlyand

customers.

skull caps

they

the

all had

For

gant ele-

headdress

flaming red

or

the

fezes

dark, prominent and same shining looks, like fanned characterize the people of their races so in same

hot

parts of Mesopotamia and the Near East. I expressed surprise at the number When of

other

of Abraham

that

the

scendant de-

only in the bazaars of my but in all parts of the city,one companions informed that they constituted fullyone-fourth of the population. me of the inhabitants of Bagdad is not defiThe exact number nitely known, but it is variously estimated to be from one and hundred thousand. There fiftyto two hundred are, indeed, few, if any, other large cities in the Near East in in

proportionto

not

saw

have

of Abraham

the children

which

we

so

great

that of the adherents

a

tion representa-

of other

religious

beliefs.

majority of

The those

who

deported

were

Nebuchadnezzai^

a

Bagdad before

century and

a

quarter

to

Babylonia (by Christian

the

era.

captivesthat carried to Assyria

earlier

III./Still others trace by Sargoix and Tiglath-pileser f rotn those who voluntarilysought refuge in descent and

of

Hebrew

from

descended

descendants

are

Judaea

from

six centuries

Others,doubtless,are were

in

the Jews

their potamia Meso-

by the Romans after the destruction of Jerusalem centuries later,fell under after the Holy City, many

of Islam. the sway conditions The favorable

under

which

the

reign

of the

Captivity lived during archs, and induced

even

many

during

the time

of their brethren

of the to

the

Jews

of the

Babylonian monAbbasside Caliphs,

join them

in the fertile

So satisfactory, plains of the Tigris and the Euphrates. with their Babylonian the relations of the Jews indeed, were

rulers,that when, after they had in

Cyrus captivity, to their native

the

Great

land, but

gave few

seventy

years

turn permissionto rethem, comparatively,

them of

been

BERLIN

FROM

434

of the

availed themselves

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

profferedopportunity.

of Palestine

conditions

AND

and

the sad

The

settled un-

experiences of

those of their fellow countrymen who had returned decided the majority of the Jews to remain

to Jerusalem

in

lonia Baby-

where, although nominally captives,they enjoyed

prosperity,and

peace,

more

even

freedom

more

find in the ravaged and

possibleto

desolate

than it was land

of their

fathers.

fairlysettled in Babylonia, where first to have enjoyed a great measure

Once the

of life and

mode

of the Jews

fortunes

In their fatherland

change.

from they seem of freedom, the

underwent

the

time

a

plete com-

their chief pursuits were

pastoraland agricultural.In Mesopotamia for

a

avocations

of

lowed also they fol-

their

forefathers.

Thanks, however, to the greater productivityof the soil in the fertile Babylonian plain,which far surpassed that of the richest fields of Judaea keen

industry and

chance

no

to business

eye

to their native

thrift and

opportunities,which

them, it was

to escape

children of the exiles

and

livingin

not

long before

mitted per-

the

and

comfort, while in a positionwhich, of them found themselves soon many as compared with that which they occupied in Palestine afforded them, in Johnsonese phrase, ^Hhe potentialityof growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.*' From that time most of the Jews of Mesopotamia began to devote themselves to commercial pursuits,which, more than anything else,influenced the subsequent fortunes of their countrymen throughout the world. But not only did the descendants of the Jews of the Captivity achieve distinction in the commercial world; they also became letters.

celebrated

Under

century of

our

^were

able

state.

Here

"

and

the

Caliph Ali,in

to

ease

for their attainments

the Jews

era

and

the Jews

in science and

the middle

of Irak

"

of the seventh

Southern

almost organize what was flourished the great Talmudic

Pumbeditha

Abraham,

were

an

Babylonia independent

schools

of Sara

here, in the country of their father loved to fancy the survival of a prince

BEELIN

FROM

436

and

wonderful

and

then

the

in

position

their

TO

shall

of

Land

the

the

in

was

the

The

84

Ottoman

clever

this

to

the

still

may

long

title.^*

desert

Then

potamia Meso-

of

once

that

in

more

shall

the the

recall

Seleucia

and

and

Medinah-al-Salam

it

as

"

"

)

Harun-^l-Rashid

and

Mamun

of

much

contaminated

with

literature

dealing

it

by

into

that

of

Muslim

a

and

the

"There

is the

studies

the

necessity

It at

people

Cross,

good

pp.

its

rule

of

either

and

signs

its

holding

the

the

own,

public

been

English

litical po-

the

by finds

cumbent in-

it

internal

affairs

freedom,

justice follow

gradually will

well-being

generate de-

to

intended

the

or

use

has

begun

also

aegis

immediately of

of

free

term

Christendom

of

Powers

incapable

the

notion

patronizing

'action

the

to

has

East The

mighty

will

which

184,

cite

here

doing

are

settlement

should the

to

Powers

political

are

the

of

charm

the

commonplace.

under is

of

owing

sense

reference

term

the

spring

up

everywhere.

no

himself.

take

which

civilizing

the

direction

its

and

of

one

to

the

in

French

but

dignified

affairs

a

civilization

of of

there

which

when

nation,

spread

introduction

here,

like

itself

upon

The

the

the

sound,

journalist,

vulgarity. with

something

this,

is

term

and

writes

pertinently

diplomacy

impressive

an

politician

every

Halid, of

language

have

made

the

Al

Halil

author,

"In

subject:

civilisatrice'

of

a

their

Great.

the

for

of

just

Babylon

too,

prime

golden

which

witness

and

of

Bagdad

to

broad

the

metropolis

a

splendor

of

so

see

old,

Rivers

and

Ctesiphon

of

as

Two and

greatness

again

we

blossoming

them

gives

BABYLON

AND

nations,

of

family

history

only

BAGDAD

of be

only

expense submit 185

of to

(London,

in

these

Eastern

the

sovereign

civilizing 1907).

that

rights

the

countries,

countries

remarked

the

of

examples

any

can

the

all and

tutelage."

astounding as

find

pains national The

any

ample

work who

one

instances

taken

in

this

independence Crescent

versus

CHAPTER MOTORING

IN

the Lord

And wherein And

God

XVII

"THE

GARDEN

planted

OF

EDEN

garden in Eden

a

eastward

;

he placed man whom he had formed. the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner

of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of : the tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And

a

river went

is divided

thence

from The

of the

name

And

the

name

that

Hevilath,where

of

is very

land

the onyx stone. of the second

bdellium, and And

is Phison:

of that

gold

the

paradise,which

to water

into four heads.

one

land

passeth all the

of Eden

out

is it which

com-

gold groweth. good: there is found

river is Gehon

:

the

is

same

of

Ethiopia. of the third river is Tigris: the same the name And passeth along by the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates. and put him into the garden the Lord God took man And to dress it and to keep it. of Eden Genesis,ii : 5-15.

it that

inform

that the automobile

me

at the door

to

Babylon was Rarely have pronounced by meant

so

would

seem

the final in

a

to

far

me"

objectiveof we

our

was

of the Carmelite

thrilled

so

imply. They

few hours,

which

bronze-visaged son

the

much to

words

few

a

did

terumhil is ready.'' Thus

**Eifendi,your Arab

all the land

compasseth

more

me

monastery.

as

did these then

of the desert. the

than

m.eant that

young take to us a

we

They

simple words

were

at last

near

long and eventful journey; that,

should be

contemplatingthe

world-famed

the from Babylon; that in the short journey historic city of romantic capitalof Harun-al-Rashid to the should traverse a land which has long Nebuchadnezzar) we

ruins

of

^

437

BEELIN

FROM

438

TO

BAGDAD

celebrated in story and

been

AND

legend

BABYLON

the

as

cradle

of

our

race.

When

attempted

we

to

separates Bagdad

which

the swaying pontoon

cross

proper

from

bridge

its old suburb

right bank of the Tigris,we found our passage of men while by the heterogeneous crowd a and the long train of burdened donkeys and

on

the

blocked

for

and

women

camels

that

shops and the bazaars of the old this delay as it capitalof the Caliphs. But we welcomed us an which, during our opportunityto study a scene gave wanderings along the river front of the city,had always possessed for us a specialfascination. headed

were

Here which

for

assembled

were

the

the

Tigrisis which

side-wheeler

so

the

strange and

noted.

varied

them

Among

brings freightand

people of

the West.

the

Scattered

were

steam

from

passengers

There port of Basra on the Shat-al-Arab. and barges and lightersof other varieties familiar to

was

craft for

also

of modern

among

the

tugs craft

these

were

mahailas, those primitive and picturesquehdhis used by the Arabs in the navigable parts of the much so Tigris and Euphrates. With their pointed prows, high masts, and lateen sails,they are not unlike the dahabiyehs numerous

of the Nile and- xebec

simplifiedforms

or once

so

Alongside of them canoe-shaped boat in the

much were

felucca fast-sailing used by the pirates of Barbary. countless specimens of that long,

called by the Arabs

canals in and

narrow

the

of the

around

the

Basra

gondola in Venice.

helium serves

"

the

^which same

The

helium, to judge from certain bas-reliefs found among the ruins of Nimroud, is but a slightmodification of the type of boat which Sennacherib employed in his fleet during his celebrated campaign But a far more against the Elamits. singularcraft than purpose

any

as

of those

of willows

mentioned

is the kufa.

Its frame

is

woven

the

splitbranches of the date palm and, like the Ark of Noah, is pitched within and without with pitch which is procured from the hot, bitumen springs of Hit, on the Euphrates. It is circular in form and looks like a large or

* *

' '

MOTORING cauldron

THE

with its brim

Bagdad

at

IN

turned

and

the way the other boats are

among

They

used

are

GARDEN

OF

inwards.

which

made

are

carrying freightand

to and

passengers

to

rotate

to attract attention.

sure

ferryboatsin crossingthe

as

439

Their great number

they

always

EDEN

river and

from

the

for

city and

the

adjoining country. Herodotus tells us that,after the these curious craft surprised him more city itself, than in Babylon. In form and size they anything that he saw similar

are

have

to the coracle

made

his famous

long centuries a

before

New

World."

But

few keleks

are

dot the Tigris at

they

as

arrive

in which

from

voyage

Columbus

seen

from

are

sold for

price,while

the

deflated skins

they

to be

came

is

reason

fuel,for which are

again used

America,

Leon

As

their

soon

wooden

fetch

they

gave

boats that

simple.

Diarbeker

and

frameworks whence

to

the numberless

The

Mosul

Ireland

is said to

**to Castile and

among

Bagdad.

St. Brendan

a

good places

returned

to the

in the

construction

of

other keleks. in the world

Nowhere

one

see

so

great

a

variety of

Bagdad, or stylesof vessels which have remained of years. thousands For unchanged for so many the raftlike slow-floating here one finds everything from kelek to the swift,surface-skimming glisseurwhich, with a than powerful engine,is capable of making a speed of more The kelek and the kufa represent the forty miles an hour. two of the shipwright's achievements high-water mark the glisseur is but thousand before our era, while years of the many engineers of the one triumphs of the marine river

crafts

can

twentieth

the

After

side

other

us

by the

side

creations

one

"

to Hillah

in West

which

in

era

and

we

live.

yet they

are

Forty both

typifying the changeless East

West. ever-progressive the

the congested traffic on

to sufficiently leads

the

of

separate the two

here

and

at

century

centuries seen

as

allow

and

Bagdad

us

to pass,

Babylon. for

of the

we

took the stage road

There old

bridge had diminished that

nothing to detain Round City of Mansur was

not to

BERLIN

FROM

440

vestigeis now

a

get

the fanatical

AND

BABYLON

Many travelers make the noted Kazimayn mosque

visible. of

view

near

a

BAGDAD

TO

Shiahs

allow

do not

Christian

a

detour

a

but, as this

to enter

satisfied with the view I had had of it shrine,I was of the lofty old through my field glass from the summit sacred

of

minaret

Souk-El-Ghazl,^^/ did

Neither

to

go "

occupies so conspicuous Arabian Nights and in many Arabian

Zenobia

queens

lauded

Thousand

chronicles.

and

the

the western

on

of Zobeide, who

tomb in

place

a

lion

other

that

see

the much

Tigris

of the

bank

we

With

Queen

of

One

and

the renowned

Sheba,

Zobeide

will always live in story and

of the most legend as one According to an Eastern prominent figures of the East. zade tradition,she shares with the mythical Sultana Scheheraof having composed those fascinating tales the honor Arabian known *'The as Nights.'' We did not visit the which is said to contain her tomb, for crumbling monument that it has been the simple reason proved beyond doubt that this was the last resting place of Harun-alnever

Rashid's

favorite

until nearly nine few

A we

in the heart

there

countless land and and

Mesopotamia. tent

the

"

few

human

years as

was

Once

we

far-distant their long

attract dotted

habitations

the

of

an

met

of

once a

a

desert

land

and

as

of

the

level

towns flourishing

few

palms here and this extensive region reed

Arabs

that

except

expanse

sections

Bedouin

thicklypopulated

or

broad

occasional

of

in

so

death.

attention

our

the

as

homes

her

to be

leaving the city of the Caliphs broad alluvial plain of Babylonia.

irrigatingcanal

Outside

humble

as

Holland

old

treeless

as

after

the exception of

some

almost

of the

considered

never

all that remained

covered

cities. With

was

after

that

mounds

was

years

little to

was

there along

and

hundred

short hours

were

But

wife

"

of northern hut

or

^we

saw

black but

during thousands of carefullycultivated

the valley of the Rhine. a

Mecca

small and

of

caravan

Medina.

journey through

the

pilgrims coming from Although travel worn by burning sands of Arabia

MOTORING

IN

THE

GARDEN

to be they seemed, nevertheless, They were happy in the thought

the precept of the Koran the Faithful least

shall,if

in his

once

at all

and

a

very

of

EDEN

joyous

441 company.

having complied

with

which

requires that every one of possible,make a pilgrimage,at

to life-time,

enclose the Kaaba

OF

the venerated

the tomb

of the

shrines which

Prophet. Even

The

camels, tufted o'er with Yemen's shells, Shaking in every breeze their light-tonedhells, seemed

into the spiritof their cheerful and

to enter

godly

riders. the green-turbaned hadjis I observed

Among

enabled

means

Arabian

with

steeds.

to

After

indulge in the luxury of genuine the delightfulexperience I had had

Arabian

pure-blooded

a

East

them

horse

years ago, I have these noble animals without

whether

"

seemed road

of

as

but the

a

the

been

never

Raphael

or

horses

two

travelingin

Murillo.

had

made

I do not the

know

long journey

of

nearly fifteen hundred if they did, they failed to show it,for they livelyand as vigorous as if they had been on the of the characteristics few days. But this is one

and but

these

not

or

to Mecca miles

of

masterpiece

a

when

able to pass one of scrutinizingit as closelyas I

many

would

whose

two

return

"

horse

Arabian

true

distance

a

"

its remarkable

powers

of

long distances without food or water.^ Judging from their delicate forms, their well-fashioned heads, their large beautiful eyes, their agile steeds in question must the two and supple movements, two of the five pure-blooded have been bred from or one

endurance,even

races

for

of horses

has been

so

forced

when

which,

to travel

from

time

immemorial,

Arabia

celebrated.^

of "Neejdee horses are especiallyesteemed for great speed and endurance them. To to come can pass none this latter indeed in up quality fatigue; without tainly and drink flagging is cerwithout road the on twenty-four hours and labor abstinence conjoined something; but to keep up the same at a stretch is, I believe, hours under the burning Arabian sky for forty-eight Narrative of a Journey Through Personal of the breed." peculiar to animals G. London, 1869). W. Palgrave, 310 Eastern Central (by and Arabia, p. 1

2

The

namely, descended

prized

most to

one

from

of

horses

the

in

Mohammed's

Arabia

belong, it is said, to

breeds, which, five favorite mares.

Kehilan

according

to

the

Khamsa,

tradition,

are

442

BERLIN

FROM

to

According

the horse

create

Arabian

He

called the South

thy bosom

from

Wind

will be for man, of happiness and riches and

born.

'You

' '

God

wished

to Him

and

to

said,

being. Condense thy fluidity/' The wind new

a

thyselfby depriving thyselfof obeyed. The Lord then took a handful it become malleable,breathed upon *

BABYLON

legend, when

an

to take

'*I wish

AND

BAGDAD

TO

of that element,now the

and

horse * '

the Lord

then said,

he will render

was

source

a

himself

trious illus-

by ridingyou." It is said that

*

the births of

are

And

happiestevents in she-camel,of a son,

'the a

the Arab

highly does

so

camels, that he

his young *'the nearer

as

Bedouin"

the

on

the

judge by prefers his

to

higher rises at

to his

horse

evening the

his

own

which and

In

for his guest."

is that

* '

Allah has

he

stands

would

times, one For

puts the

the

of the

care

there is

a

that he

camels

are

supply family. Not '*work

saying that

saying among great giftsfor man

the Bedouins

good horse, this is the adage a

"

Similar to good wife and a good blade. that **the greatestblessings are a wise wife ' '

and

a

fruitful

' '

mare.

How

well the Bedouin

of his horse is

care

Indeed,

of his horse before

Another

a

real

is for his horse, for his brother

man

three

the

to

think

when

the children

the desert

does not belittle a

she-foal."

a

colts receive their regular

the true Arab

ease.

of

Bedouin

his love for his horse.

son.

of the lacteal fluid before

only this,but

cares

and

a

his young colts,as well for them as children and

social ladder

his actions

in the

milked

value

the life of

of the desert.

a

For

common

is rewarded theme

for his affectionate

of the stories and

the prized animal

which

speak of the Arab's

horse

songs

occasionally exhibits almost human intelligence fully reciprocates his master's affection and serves him in danger and out of danger with a loyalty that is proverbial and with an falters as long as strength unswerving devotion that never and

life endure.

But

one

cannot

saying something of

his intimate

associate

"

without

the camel.

also So

BERLIN

FROM

444

"

all the

shows

his master

care

interest

no

vindictive to for

revenge

in him

real

some

that

have

sooner

the

ing and, notwithstandlavished upon him, Besides this,he is

whatever.

later he will seek

or

fancied

injury is so well known always on his guard against its

or

is

driver

the horse

may

degree, and

a

that the camel malice

of intelligence

the

docilitynor

BABYLON

general opinion,neither

^he has, contrary to

pensable

AND

BAGDAD

TO

and

fury. explorer of central and eastern Palgrave, the adventurous Arabia, who had a rare opportunity of studying **the ship

If docile

in his desert

' '

of the desert

camel

is the very model intended to designate in its rider

far

so

his

as

intentions

a

of

and

animal

an

beast

can,

that

takes

that in

some

them

shares

or

:

good ; in such a case the docility.But if the epithet is

stupid,well

means

writes

home,

in

interest

an

way

stands under-

subordinate

a

fashion,that obeys from a sort of submissive or half fellowfeeling with his master, like the horse and elephant, then I say that the camel is by no means docile,very much the contrary

; he

whether

he

takes

be

on

no

his back

agoing, merely and then, should aside; set

once

branch

this back

allure

direction

new

into the

last

to

him

out

he

because

right road.

stupid to thorn

path, continues he

because

simply

is too

tempting

some

of the

undomesticated

an

of his rider ; pays no attention not ; walks straighton when or

heed

and

to walk

green in on

dull to turn

word, he is from first animal, rendered savage

In ...

is too

or

turn

a

serviceable

skill

master's

except that

of

an

habit

by stupidityalone, without much part or any cooperationon his own

on

his

nor even passiveness. Neither attachment impresses him; never tame, though not wide-awake

extreme

enough

to be

exactlywild.*

and Mecca from Shortly after meeting the caravan one Medina, we overtook going in the opposite direction. This was composed of pilgrimson their way to the sacred the holy cities of the Shiites. shrines of Nejef and Kerbela "

"

Op. oit.,pp. 25,

26.

MOTORING A

sorrier

IN

and

THE

GARDEN

mournful

more

crowd

OF

EDEN

could

not

445

easily be

imagined. It was composed of Persian Shiites who were convoying their dead to Kerbela and Nejef for burial. Among the departed were but recentlydeceased, some while others

had

remains

been

had

for

and

years

their

moldering

been exhumed

in and

ground

dead

for final interment in the sacred Kerbela and Nejef. There were

around

no

funeral

sumptuous

for

cars

transportingthis

gruesome

freight. Only jades and donkeys and mules, all worn by their long journey through the sandy desert. Nor there any Far from

costlycaskets to enclose

the remains

it. Some

in reeds

others

packed slung from

they which

in

were

were

wrapped

were

bags

and

baskets.

the backs

of the

out were

of the dead.

and

while

rugs

In this condition

jaded pack animals

conducted

by friends or servants of the deceased. In Nejef are preserved the ashes of Ali, the husband of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet of Mecca, while in the were

of

mosque

Kerbela

is the

last

resting place

of

his

son,

Husein.

considered By his followers Ali was the first Hasan and Husein legitimate Caliph and his sons have since their tragic death been venerated ever as martyrs. It was the dispute about the first lawful Caliph that occasioned the great schism which divides the Moslem world into two sects: the Shiites,who reject the first three as Caliphs Abu-Bekr, Omar, and Othman usurpers ; and the Sunnites,who recognizeAli as well as the three Caliphs named, while they regard the Shiites as '^forsakers of the "

truth.''

"

The

they have

a

Shiites include

the

Persians, besides

whom

the Mohammedans

large representation among

of India. It is the ardent

desire of every

devout

Nejef or Kerbela, for places,so he firmlybelieves,assures either

is

a

in

cherished

tradition among

the first to rise that all who

are

on

the

day

interred

life of immortality and

the

sacred

him

of

soil of these

paradise. There

the Shiites that Ali will be

general resurrection Nejef will rise with him

of the in

Shiite to be buried

happiness.

and to

a

Nejef and Kerbela. these two places is said

permits at million

dollars

Persia

alone,who

Husein

is estimated

In

at

nearly all of whom and

less than

no

have

we

Sunnites

are

seen "

are

every

of

to

nearly

a

pilgrimsfrom of Ali

and

souls. sixty thousand that the pilgrims "

that

fullytwo hundred

number

Mecca

to amount

annually visit the shrines

preceding chapter

a

The

that

cost of the burial

the number

while

year,

a

BABYLON

thousands

in

interred

year

for the countless

accounts

This

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BERLIN

FROM

446

yearly visit Medina ing, Consider-

thousand.

however, the relative populationsof Shiite and Sunnite pilgrims are found at the shrines of Ali countries,more and

Husein

at those

than

the

But, although both

Prophet

and

great Moslem

the Kaaba.

recognize

sects

tion prophet and have the greatest venerafor him, the most profound hatred separates one from other. The Shiites regard the Sunnites as impure and

Mohammed

the

of the

detest

their

as

them

because

of their

Jews, something which

and

association

the followers

with

Christians

of Ali

consider

intolerable. Unlike

the

Sunnites, the Shiites,especiallythose

in the

valleys of the Tigrisand the Euphrates, lead a retired life and studiously avoid relations with all except their coreligionists. at home, Those of the well-to-do class are, when and ences. confercontinually engaged in religious ceremonies read of the tragic On these occasions accounts are deaths

of Ali and

his

So moved

sons.

are

all

present that

their grief by sobs and lamentations. These they express reunions, which usually last two hours, take place for the in apartments speciallyreserved for them and in the men

harem

for

the

demonstrative are

they by that

women.

But

the

women

are

much

more

the men, for so moved the recital of the cruel deaths of Ali and his in their

sorrow

than

piercingshrieks,strike their breasts, and, when carried away by their delirium,disfiguretheir faces with their fingernails. But what is passing strange is that these ceremonies of mourning take place on such occasions of rejoicingas a sons

they

utter

MOTORING

wedding

IN

the birth of

or

born, live,and

The

of the

a

GARDEN child.

In

in the midst

die

lamentations. the wall

THE

a

EDEN

447

word, the Shiites

of tears

wailing of the

temple

OF

Jews

and

are

and

moans

in Jerusalem

of their forefathers

but

occurs

at once

while

the dolorous reunions of the Shiites week, far are the first more frequent. During ten days of the month of Moharrem and every day during the pilgrimageto Nejef and Kerbela they are obligatory.' a

it is not my

But

in this

chapterto give more than a cursory glance at the present condition of Babylonia and its people. For, during my wanderings in this historic land, rather occupied with its myths and thoughts were my and persistent legends and, above all,with that interesting tradition which, from time immemorial, has here located the Garden of Eden ^what the dise Vulgate" calls the Paraof Pleasure and what is frequentlyknown the as purpose

**

"

Terrestrial

Paradise.

Of

the many subjectstreated of in the book interesting of Genesis, few have received more attention from scholars and

interpretersthan

Paradise.

Even

that which

in the

relates

earlydays

of

to the

Terrestrial

men Christianity

began

them dispute about it. Some, among Origen" and St. Ambrose, not to mention others, inclined to the opinion to

that

be

the Genesiac

account

of the cradle

of

our

race

interpreted allegorically.Others, however,

was

like

to St.

Augustine,^maintained that the Scriptural preted to be interof Eden narrative regarding the Garden was literally.Even at the present time Biblical students the words exhibit the same difference of opinion respecting Jerome

St.

and

of the Sacred as

displayed by

was

Church. the much "See "

La

"Who

life, visible

teeth '

De

obtained Oeneai

a

primitive interpretationof allegorical

narrative

and

Fathers

while others

Bagdad,

de

foolish

80

an

of Paradise of the

contend

that

we

(by Habib K. Chicha, Cairo, 1908). p. 108 man, of a husbandthat God, after the manner suppose it a tree in and placed paradise,in Eden towards the East, the fruit bodily the of by that one tasting and

Province is

relate to the Garden

the writers favor

Some

discussed

planted of

which

Text

as

to

palpable,so

life?" ad

De

PHncipiia, Bk. IV, Chap.

Litteram,

Lib. VIII,

Cap.

I.

I.

BEELIN

448

FEOM

must

adopt

a

St.

hold with

Paradise

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

interpretation.**So concrete," they trial Augustine, **is the descriptionof the Terresit without doing cannot that one allegorize literal

violence to the text." Frederick Delitzsch,in an Assyriologist, insists that **the study of this long vexed question,

eminent

The

elaborate

of being fabulous for lack of

For

the narrator

hesitate

one

Tigris and

reality. He of the

respectingthe meaning Not

the Gehon. "

of the

obscure

Phison

and

"

It is for this

reason

that he

his readers

can

But, notwithstanding

the

of Eden

is in nowise

a

he know

to instruct his readers

the second

the Euphrates, is

names

but he wishes

which

the lines.

exactly their signification that of the Tigris and the Euphrates

only does

exactly as

as

is

nor

of Eden, with its four rivers,

the Garden

well-known

and

to the sense,

as

clearness, obliged to read between

the Phison, the Gehon, the manifest

indication

no

enveloped in semi-

extravagant, or

or

obscurity. Neither need one,

contains

of Eden

of the Garden

Biblical record

concerningthe subject.

gives explanations and control."

of explicitness

the

chapter of Genesis,the localization of bristles with

many

and

dations eluci-

"

grave

author

of

the Garden

difficulties. Ever

since the days of Philo Judaeus,scholars have

been

seeking a

problem, and, although they have written trial countless books on the subject,the actual site of the Terresof uncertainty. still remains Paradise a matter How diverse have been the views of learned men ing respectis evinced by the fact that they the site of Paradise have located it almost everywhere on the earth, above the earth,and under the earth. Some, following the Ptolemaic solution

of the

of the system of astronomy, have contended that the home first parents was in the third heaven; others that it was in the fourth ; others still that it was in the middle region of the or moon,

in the heaven

air,or in

some

of the hidden

from the knowledge of mortals. Others place far removed again with a great display of erudition have attempted to "Wo

Lag

das

Paradiea, p.

44

1881). (Leipsic,

MOTORING

IN

that it was

prove

THE

GAEDEN

OF

EDEN

449

situated in Syria,or

or Palestine, Arabia, Persia,or Armenia, or Assyria,or India,or China, or Tartary. Still others,who were little more a specificin their speculations, placed the Garden of Eden on the banks of the Ganges, in the Canaries,or in Ceylon, or on the Mountains of the Moon, where the Nile was supposed to have its source. Hebron, Jerusalem,Damascus, and Babylon or

have

each

spot where fell from

considered

first parents

our

being

as

created

were

the

on

and

some

identical

where

they

their

high estate. Benedictine,Ralph Higden, who follows of the Fathers of the Church, tells us

The of

been

that the Terrestrial

chronicon

Paradise

region in Eastern Asia. Gautier Monde, is in essential agreement to

the

race

as

location

of the

de

is in

in

opinion his Poly-

inaccessible

an

Metz, in

with

the

his

the learned

Garden

du

Image

tine Benedic-

of Eden.

is,he surrounded to it through its by flames,and access avers, singlegate is precluded by an armed angel who is always on Floridus describes the primeval home guard. Lambertus as

of

our

insida in

in oriente.

oceano

But,

ocean

"

like Gautier

Paradisus de

Metz, he

it is surrounded

it to be inaccessible because

declares wall

island in the Eastern

an

It

by

a

of fire.

Lombard, the famous Master of the Sentences,who is followed by other mediaeval writers,teaches that Paradise Asia in Eastern is located on so high mountain a very high that the waters of the Deluge, which rose above the summit of Ararat, submerged only its base.'' Another Peter

"

author

informs

earth.

on

flood

was

nor

9

Lib

II

unde

as

hail dist.

neither or

nee

Paradise

17,

c.

hollow

rain, but 5, "Unde

interjacente spatio vel

longo homines

**

is neither

in heaven

higher forty fathoms heaven it hangeth between of all things made the Ruler

and

is there

snow,

that It is

...

wonderfully, There

us

nor

there

volunt

maris

vel

in

hill;nor is

Noah's earth

and it.

is there

.

.

.

frost

fons vita,that is,the paradisum, parte esse mcolant regionibus quas circulum pertmgentem,

orientali

terrse a ad lunarem

secretum, et in alto situm, usque diluvii illuc pervenerunt." aqu"

than

nor

BEELIN

FROM

450

.

shines dwell

doomsday.

' ' "

Anglo-Saxon

an

nice"

hunger,

nor

ever

descriptionof

Of similar import is the in

heat

.

night,but always day. The sun there Therein times brighter than on this earth. seven innumerable angels of God with the holy souls till

is there

nor

.

BABYLON

is there neither

There

well of life.

AND

BAGDAD

TO

poem

translation

a

"

of the Pseudo-Lactantius I have

In

eastern

A

land

far hence

Phce-

the poet declares

:

-

nohle renowned.

men

That

tract

Over

mid

Fellow

of the **De

parts

most

Amongst

in which

"

contained

tell

heard there is

That

Paradise

of earth is

not

earth

to many

Peopled lands; it is withdrawn

But

Through the Creator's wicked

From

is all the

With

plain, delight Messed,

With

the sweetest

Beauteous

Of the time

From

might

doers.

earth's

of

odors.

Indicopleustes,who

flourished

in the

explorers have cated of Eden, and geographers have indithe places they imagined it should their maps on satisfied with a conjecturallocation, Some were occupy. but others,basing their speculationson the data given in minded that the probthe second lem chapter of Genesis, were so was simple that it could be answered off-hand. They who were quite like Hudibras

sixth

century, to our sought for the Garden

the seat

Could

tell in what as

Above 10

Cf.

Gould,

CuriouM

London,

Myths 1892).

he

was

the

moon

of the

and

of Paradise^ degree it lies, disposed could prove

Knew

And

travelers

own,

or

Middle

below

it

it.

Age$, p.

266

et

acq.

(by

S.

Baring

FROM

452

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

hear noise,and so great a tempest, that no man may another in the ship,though he cried with all the might he could. Many great lords have essayed with great will many to pass times Paradise with full by those rivers towards great companies, but they might not speed on their voyage ; and many died for weariness of rowing against the strong

huge

a

and

of many the noise of the

waves;

from

lost in the waves,

so

that place without

the

Columbus,

that

America.

South

discovered that he

a

man

specialgrace

were

approach

may

to

of God."

of Eden he

in the northern

not

was

He

the east coast

deaf

his letters, thought he had

from

True,

and

many perished and

some

mortal

no

continent.

new

blind

water; and

learn

we

became

the site of the Garden

found of

as

them

that he

aware

under

was

part

the

had

impression

of

Asia, the ocean-laved shores of far-off Cathay. He accepted as true one of the traditional beliefs which located Paradise in farther India, or to the eastward and was yet more fully persuaded that he of the rivers that had, in the Orinoco, discovered one was

on

Eden.

watered

Writing of the

to his

and Royal patrons, Ferdinand Isabella, the headwaters of the Orinoco, he says :

region at

I have

that,if I could pass below the equinoctial line,after reachingthe highestpoint of which I have spoken, I should

doubt

no

find

the stars and

much

a

milder

in the water

; not

point to be navigable, nor there; indeed I believe because

T

Paradise

am

convinced

whither

no

it

a

I suppose that there

impossible

to

variation

in

that elevated

is any water ascend thither,

that it is the spot of the Earthly can permission. go but by God's

one

There

are

great indications

of

being the Terrestrial Paradise, for its site coincides the opinions of the holy and wise theologians whom I

with

have with

mentioned; and moreover the supposition, for I have

of fresh water n

that

indeed

[Continuing,he adds] this

temperature and

The

Voyage

coming and

Travaile

in

so

the never

large

of Sir John

a

other

evidences

either read

quantity in

Mandeville, Chap.

XXX.

or

agree

heard

close

con-

MOTORING

IN

junctionwith by

THE

the water

GARDEN

of the

the blandness

sea

;

OF

EDEN

453

the idea is also corroborated

of the

temperature ; and, if the water of which I speak does not proceed from the Earthly Paradise, it appears to be more marvelous, for I do not believe that there is any river in the world so large and so deep. The more I reason the subject [he concludes] the more on satisfied I become the

spot

that the Terrestrial

I have

described

; and

I

Paradise

ground

is situated

opinion upon the arguments and authorities already quoted. May it please the Lord to grant your Highnesses a long life and health and peace to follow out so noble an investigation in which I think our will receive great service,Spain Lord on

considerable

increase

much

consolation

and

name

of the Lord

will

But

Columbus of

home

of its

greatness and

all Christians

pleasure,because by be published abroad.^^ not the

was

my

in South

only

one

this

the

means

to locate the

original

America.

Only a few years ago Bolivian scholar,Emeterio a patriotic Villamil,maintained of Eden the eastern slope that the site of the Garden on was of the mighty Sorata, while the Argentine geologist,Dr. that the mother region of mankind Ameghino, contended of Monte within the shadow Hermoso, in southern was our

Argentina. not

here

race

could

There

discover

the

be

doubt

no

about

it.

For

of the first man?

skeleton

did he

And

did

testifyto the faith that was in him by giving to the of Tetraprothomo Arthe imposing name Argentine Adam gentinus? According to M. Mayo, however, all those who would in Asia, or in Europe, or place humanity's first hearthstone In an ingenious study in America entirelymistaken. were he argues *'Les Secrets de Pyramides de Memphis'' on he not

"

that the desert of Eden.

believes

he

it

of Sahara

embraces

True, it is

now

once

was

fertility.There

was

a

a

a

land

time, he

what

was

bleak and

arid

of marvelous avers,

when

den the Gar-

once

desert, but

beauty it

was

and

watered

(translated of Christopher Columbus, pp. 141-147 Select Letters R. H. Major and printed for the Hakluyt Society,London, 1870). 13 La Revue, April 15, 1893. Nouvelle 12

See

bj

FROM

454

BERLIN

by large rivers and meandering rich verdure

with

AND

BAGDAD

TO

streams

luxurious

and

;

BABYLON when

it

was

ered cov-

vegetation; when

it

densely populated and the happy home of a peaceful and prosperous reading of Genesis, in the people. A new

was

hieroglyphicalinscriptionsof the dynasty regarding the pyramid of Cheops will,he

light of

certain

long enshrouded Gizeh and repeal the reason why

mystery that has

us, solve the

monument

of

hitherto

made

Nile, he

The

proved futile.

will have

all

attempts

Scripture have

it,formerly flowed

it divided

where

Sahara

the

through

of

assures

the famed

so

to localize the Paradise

twelfth

into four

branches,

At this constitutingthe quadrifurcateriver of Genesis. then were time the people of Egypt, who even a powerful and highly civilized nation, suffered from lack of water and cast about to increase their supply of this all-important of the element. They obtained it by deflectingthe course ing Nile and directingit through their own country. By makelevation near Khartoum a large cut or ditch through an

they appropriated the

neighbors in this

to

and

the only

and

made

waters

shut

It

entrance

was

God

not

of the great off from their

of

source

depend.

quixotic Frenchman,

Paradise

closed

Sahara

country could

their

which

equatorialAfrica

of

reservoirs

the

to themselves

irrigationon thus, but

man

ing accord-

who

into it impossible

by

taking from it the water that gave it fecundity and life. Ignatius Donnelly. **Amen," Fudge,*' vociferates according to these worthies ejaculates linger. Paradise '*

was

not

situated

of the

in any

existingcontinents,for

its

in the lost Atlantis.

Accepting of the Atlantis,as given in the Timaeus, as Plato 's account veritable history, the paradoxical Donnelly attempts to of Eden not only the Garden but that Atlantis was show seat,as

can

be

proved, was

also the only

possiblecenter now people the

races

which

more

than this. home

have

Not

of mankind

eradiated

all

our

of distribution

Old

and

the New

for the various World.

only,he asseverates, **was but it was cereals

it the original

likewise the focus

and most

useful

And

whence

plants and

MOTORING fruits

and

IN

all

claims, many blessed

our

GARDEN

domestic

our

of the most

had

OF

science,and

valuable

In

the

455

Here,

too

inventions which

their

literature and

EDEN

animals/'^*

origin. plausibleauthor, Atlantis race

believe this

THE

a

word, if we

people who

ever

to

are

the home

was

he

of

art,

inhabited it not

only enjoyed all the peace and happiness of which the ancient poets speak as being the lot of the privileged mortals of the Golden Age but they were the prototypes of the gods, demi-gods,and heroes of a later and less fortunate period. **

Nonsense,"

the German

exclaim

astronomer, Herr

certain forced

on

and of

traditions the

reach race

was

Warren, Kohl,

and

the results

on

the

various

of

Arctic

Count

Saporta, and

Basing their opinions

of interpretations

regions within the

Dr.

ancient

legends scientific explorations

Circle,these gentlemen

startlingconclusion that in the circumpolarNorth.

the

first home

of

our

The

investigationsof botanists,they remind us, declare the singular, but as yet inexplicablefact, that **all the floral types and forms revealed in the oldest fossils in the earth,originatedin the region of the North Pole and thence spread first

the northern

over

hemisphere, proceeding also be said of

from

and north

then

over

the

to south.''

southern The

same

and

important representatives of the world 's fauna. Why then,they inquire,are we not justifiedin placing humanity's birthplacewhere the animals and plants which serve and on which he subsists man and which have accompanied him on his migrations the earth's surface known to have over are originated? ''Only from the circumpolar regions of the North," aflSrms Count Saporta, could primitive humanity have radiated as may

numerous

**

from

a

center

to

spread into

the several continents

at

give rise to successive emigrations toward the This theory best agrees with the presumed march

and

to

human

races.""

"i^* Atlantis, 16

The

World, p. 455 (New York, 1884). Monthly, p. 678, September, 1883.

Antediluvian

Popular Science

once

south. of the

quarter of the world,'' ^Hhe

mesomphalos,

of

navel

**the umbilicus

"

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

of the earth, therefore,**the sacred

Pole

the North

At

TO

BERLIN

FROM

456

the

earth/' **the

orhis terrarum,*'

are

to

we

the long lost Eden, for the cradle of mankind. in all its splendor, borealis is seen where the aurora

for

look There

by palpitatingand wafting draperies, of primatic quivering curtains and shining streamers first hues of varying intensityand matchless our brilliancy parents spent the first happy days of their existence and under

a

formed

canopy

there,amid a frozen desolation lie buried the of Humanity's earliest and loveliest home/'^" But

of those

the views

who

have

**

hearthstone

located Paradise

in **the

tentions satisfactorythan the conof those who have placed it on the elevated plateau mountain of the Andes, or on the top of a cloud-piercing of farther India or beneath the shiftingsands of the Sahara in the fabled Atlantis or in some mythical Hyperborean or

f airie North

' '

been

have

has

more

no

for

ice bound

been

million

land

which

Far

fascinating,however, is the subjectthat of science stillcontinue the quest of humanity's original dwelling place and still elaborate theories respecting

men

from

it.

a

years

or

more.

So

its location that

are

quiteas

fantastic

as

were

those of the

of the past. Thus, according speculators and paradox mongers in Prussia the shores of the to Hasse, it was on Baltic ; Herder ingstone imagined it to have been in Cashmere ; Livsought it in equatorialAfrica and hoped to find it of the Nile, if he could be fortunate at the headwaters Daumer maintained that it was enough to discover them. in Australia whence and thence, man emigrated to America by way of Behring's Straits,to Asia and Europe. eminent The anthropologist,Quaterfages de Breau, is disposed to consider the loftyplateauof Pamir as the original

hearthstone

This is also the view

of mankind."

of the

distinguishedOrientalist,Frangois Lenormant, whose have ^"Paradise

irThe

Human

Found, p.

led him 433

Speotea,p.

fby W. 176-177

to believe that the four P. Warren.

(New

Boston, 1885). York, 1890).

rivers

vestiga in"

MOTORING the

IN

THE

GARDEN

OF

Phison, the Gehon, the Tigris,and

which

watered

known

Gan-Eden,

the Indus, the

as

Here,

world";

this

the

Paradise,were Oxus, the Tarin,and or

too, curiously enough, **

EDEN

central

Boss

on

this

457

Euphrates" what

are

now

the Jaxartes." **Roof

of

the

of

Asia," is the spot where locate the holy Mount the puranas Meru, the primeval Aryan Paradise ; the center, according to the traditions of the Parsees, whence radiated the first Aryan migrations, of the regions of the earth which and one dan Mohammeeven teaching has assigned as the cradle-land of our species.^' on

the

From

foregoing opinionsentertained

the reader

times

in the

have

seat

a

which at various investigations with a view of determiningthe geographical

numerous

made

been

prominent

thors au-

part wild conjecture, fancy, and love of learned paradox have

can

unbridled

played

infer how

by divers

of Paradise.

And, be

it

sion remembered, alluhas been made to only a few of the opinions that have in times past been promulgated respecting humanity's Nearly a hundred different theories regarding pristinehome. at one have been advocated the birthplaceof our race discarded all of which are now time or another,practically as highly fanciful or supremely ridiculous. the Garden have done, look upon Must we, then as many of Eden as a religious myth? Has modern a philosophic or

research

"

research especially

in the domain

of the

new

ence sci-

nothing toward clearingup the mystery which has so long enveloped the site of the Biblical all hope of even Paradise, or are we forever to renounce an approximate solution of the great enigma? Not at all. of

We

Assyriology"

can

still say Asia

Sendo

done

with the Florentine la

e

prima parte

innocenie

stava

dove

Poet, Leonardo

Dati

Vunomo,

in Paradiso.

I, p. 96 et 8eq. (Pans, 1881). the Church and of Eden, in Science Garden Site The 18 See chapter on for the d rawn have I which extensively from (by J. A. Zahm, Chicago, 1896), presenttreatment of the subject, "^sHistoire

Ancienne

de

V

Orient, Tom.

of the

:

BERLIN

FROM

458

AND

BAGDAD

TO

leaving out of consideration

And

the

BABYLON

vagaries

of certain

polygenistsand the lucubrations of paradoxers like those just referred to, it and

transformists noted

of

asserted

a

truth

that

the

general

tain cer-

be may-

of the

consensus

ing trustworthy authorities is agreed in locatin that part of Asia the cradle of humanity somewhere which is embraced by the Tigrisand the Euphrates. have been There much doubt would, probably, never about this matter, at least on the part of Scripturalscholars, had it not been for the imperfect geographicalknowledge of early Christian writers and for the errors that had been given currency by The Seventy in their version of the from Old Testament Hebrew into Greek. They made no about the Tigris and the Euphrates, which mistake were it came to them, but when well known to the Phison and the Gehon they went completely astray and gave to these

highestand

most

rivers

two

an

question by than

more

the Phison

they

even

the

thousand

a

with

confused

so

of the

interpretationwhich

the

Ganges

Paradise

afterwards

that

of the it is stated from

that

it

in their identification of

with

Genesiac

long

Nile, turies cen-

narrative

serious

more

a

study of

Text.

that many

had

second been

misled

by

Genesis

of

chapter a

they

ing misunderstand-

eighth verse.

There, according to the Vulgate, that **the Lord God planted a paradise of pleasure

the

But

beginning/'

a

careful

examination

the Hebrew

word, mid-quedem, which is here the beginning,should,they found, indicate

than

the

until

not

was

of the

making

Reading carefullythe discovered

exegetes for

respecting the actual site

students of

Biblical

the Gehon

and

all researches

Terrestrial

Sacred

For,

years.

bethought themselves the

learned

most

accepted without

was

time.

The

real

sense

of

should, therefore,be:

'*The

Lord

eastward

And

in

that the word

Eden."

mid-quedem

the

words God

made

to

space

rather

above

planted

they furthermore meant

eastward

of

from

a

nify sig-

quoted garden

discovered Palestine

BERLIN

FROM

with

the words

of Genesis

out

of Paradise

went

which

which

declare

the

river

into four

heads,"

natural

meaning

of these

in the Edenic

is that the four rivers mentioned

words

that

*^is divided The

that is,into four branches.

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

460

But

rative nar-

each

river,as has The only answer distinct source. been said, has its own of the theory have been able to give is that the defenders fact that is warranted ^namely that past one by no known revolutions of the earth's surface have materiallychanged of Eden." the topography of the originalsite of the Garden There other objectionsto the theory which were many had

the

and

one

source.

same

"

Paradise

the

located

the

Tigris and

of

Not

Euphrates.

rigorous climate of

the headwaters

Delights at the

least

of the

of these

the

was

Armenian

the

son, uplands. For this reaand for others that need not here be specified, scholars favorably the hypothesis which began to consider more somewhere in southern placed the Garden of Eden lonia. Babythe first of these John Calvin. He was Among and identifies the Gehon with the Tigris and the Phison he gives the names the Euphrates, in as much Gehon as to the two lower reaches of these rivers,which and Phison

the Shat-el-Arab

connect 's

theory regarding the

with the words of the

with

the

location

of the Sacred

antiquityof

el-Arab the

with the Persian

the two

Persian

Gulf

of Paradise

Text

channels is

vin Cal-

ance is at vari-

while his assumption

which

the Shat-

connect

completelynegatived by

teachings of science respecting the

these

Gulf .^^ But

recent

formation

of

watercourses.

first

The

who

one

ventured

to

state

preciselyin

what

located was Pierre Daniel was part of Babylonia Eden This he did in his Huet, the learned bishop of Avranches. de Situ Paradisi,a book which had so celebrated Tractatus "

"

2"

Of.

23

Duo

Ita

Dom

flumen

et duo

the

the

Garden

in

unum

coeunt

est in confluente; duo mare

in

qui

amnea

unum

versus

mentariuB renders

Calmet,

Bunt

littSral

Commentaire

poatquam The

Oeneain.

author'a of Eden.

view

ruraus

map

of

""

-

"

""

"

"

"

"

la Qenbse, p. 61 (Paris, 1715). deinde abeunt in diversas partes.

sur

autein

inferioribus

alveis

quite clear, although

it doea

not

capita,

sunt

longiua dividi incipiunt. See Babylonia, which accompanies

his

Com-

the

specifythe

text

site of

MOTORING great

IN

THE

GARDEN

OF

EDEN

that it passed through many translated into several languages. So

was

a

vogue

the indications of the

were

461

editions and clear to him

Genesiac

narrative respecting that he declares /^I have often marveled that interpreters have shut their eyes to them and have worried with many and so various conjectures which were little in keeping with the so words the site of Paradise

plain

Text/' the

Garden

exact was,

As

for himself of Eden.

he

was

doubt

sure

he

about could

Sacred

the site of

indicate the

the first pair lived before the fall. It opined,in a bend of the river now known the as and

at

a

point which, accordingto Ptolemy's

is located in latitude 32" 39' and

This, as near

He

no

spot where

Shat-el-Arab map,

he had

of the

the

map

Aracca"

Huet's

drawn

the Erech

view

as

in

longitude80" 10'.' shows, was

to illustrate his view of

Scripture.

to the location of Paradise

essentially lowed theory was closelyfolnot only by the theologians of Louvain but also by Joseph Scaliger the father of modern chronology" and by other scholars innumerable. But, although the good bishop the exact thought he had determined spot where the first human the light of day and, although pair first saw very of his contemporaries seemed to share his views, it many not long until other hypotheses were was promulgated regarding the much disputed site of humanity's original home. Not counting,however, the fanciful and ingenious speculationsof certain authors already mentioned, the general of scholars,since the time of Dom consensus Calmet, southern favored to have seems Babylonia as the land in which *^the Lord God planted" the ever-mysterious, the the

same

as

that

of Calvin

was

whose

"

ever-elusive

Garden

of Eden.

This is particularlytrue since investigatorshave

had

the

and all-importantsciences of geology powerful aid of the new tic fantasand Assyriology. They have eliminated many serious the works of the most notions that so long marred that certain assumptions shown of science and have men be regarded as quite formerly made by exegetes must now

FROM

462

BERLIN the

impossible. And

the

corroborate

and

chapter of

of the second

statements

of these

general trend

illumine

to

been

has

BABYLON

AND

BAGDAD

TO

sciences

two

much

Genesis

debated

in the

most

unexpected manner. Thus, in

of the

one

Creation, as

given decades some ago by carries us directlyto

discovered inscription

cuneiform

a

of

accounts

oldest

**

T. F. Pinches, Orientalist, Babylonia. In this the creation of the earth is but

the noted

for

that

in the

Eden,

center, it would

watered

was

by

parted into

was

river which

a

two

and the

were

The

of the world.

after

den gar-

its fulfilling

flowed

great

preparation in

eastward

stood

which

seem

*four heads'

Of these

streams.

Garden

of the

a

in four

different

of the

rivers

work

lonian Baby-

plain,the Tigris and the Euphrates ; the others bear which have not yet been identified with certainty. names **The however, is entirelyBabylonian. The scenery, in which the garden was Eden planted,was the plain itself, of the from the evidence know of Babylonia. This we It was called by its inhabitants Edinu, a texts. cuneiform Sumerian word borrowed by the Semites from the Accado edin, *the (fertile)plain.' To the East of it lay the land in Genesis and Manda in the Nod of the nomads,' termed inscriptions. The river which watered the Garden was the Persian to the Babylonians as Hhe river,'or Gulf, known more regarded as fully *the bitter' or *salt river.' It was "

*

the the

of

source

spots where

received

no

See

**

Though

it is

into the

whose source

*

heads'

which

were

at

once

' ' ^*

which the

Chief

whose

rivers

other

flowed

Sayce,

doubt.

Euphrates

times.

they

the rivers

narrative,Mr. to have

four

fed them.

and

Regarding

the

the

are

mentioned

in the Edenic

distinguishedOrientalist,seems among

them

are

the

Tigris and

early Accadian questionable," he writes, whether

names

date

back

to

**

and the Verdict of the Monuments, Higher Criticism pp. 95, 9tt in the Light of the Sayce, London, 1894). Cf. The Old Testament Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia, Chaps. I, II (by T. G. Pinches, London, 1908); The Chaldean Account of Genesis, p, 305 (by Qeorge ISmitb, London, 1876). 2*

(by

A.

The

H.

MOTORING the

detected

Kerkhah,

the

which

endeavors

whole

land

the

rivers he

of Havilah.

six thousand

rubbish

heaps

years

ago,

of which

other

of Abu-Shahrein.

rivers also

great salt

*

river,'as

four in all at As

have

the Gehon

sees

been

the a

of Genesis

no

from

seen

Huet,

and

was

' '

great sea-port of remains

now

When

Sayce,

flowed it

' '

according to Accadocityof Eridu which,

**the

was

nothing

the sea-coast,''continues

but

be identified.""

classical writers, and

it was, the sacred

inscriptions, near

Babylonia,'* but on

difficultto

' '

to the location of Eden

Sumerian some

it is not

**compasseth the whole land of Gush," while in the he recognizes the Phison which *'compasseth the

second

As

of

463

have hitherto been

they must show, must

to

EDEN

represented by the PallakopasCanal.

now

In the first of these two which

the Gihon

which

Choaspes is

OF

monuments,

the rivers with

rivers,he

GARDEN

and

the cuneiform

on

determine

stream

THE

of the Pison

names

These

IN

**not

into the

Eridu

still stood the

Tigris

Gulf.

The

only

Persian

termed, received

great distance from

but **the

the waters

the walls

of

of Eridu."

^*

the foregoing paragraphs, Sayce like Calvin, other

scholars,also placesthe Garden of Eden in southern Babylonia and only about twenty miles from the spot so confidentlyindicated by the scholarly

bishop of No

many

Avranches

as

the site of the Terrestrial

Paradise.

Sayce 's view, which is based entirelyon the teachings of Assyriology,is the conclusion son, J. W. Dawarrived at by the noted Canadian investigator, from data supplied by the science of geology of which he was With a Sayce he agrees that recognized master. less

the Kerkhah

interestingthan

river Karun, instead confrere

We

[the author 25 2"

of the

maintains, is

thus

of Genesis

is the Gehon

find,that of the

Ibid., p. 97. Op. cit, pp. 97, 98.

but contends

Pallakopas Canal, as

his

that the

English

the Phison.

if

we

second

place our ancient geographer chapter of Genesis] where he

BERLIN

FROM

464

places himself,and and

three

the

TO

BAGDAD he

suppose

principalrivers

AND refers

BABYLON

to

confluent

the

with

Euphrates it

near

its

Gulf, we obtain a clear idea of of his the sources his meaning and find that, whatever information rect respectingthe antediluvian Eden, he had corinto the Persian

entrance

ideas of the Idinu

of his

own

time

and

of its surrounding

him, the primitive seat of in the south of the Babylonian plain,in an irrigated was man and having in its vicinity district of great fertility tracts abounding in such mineral mountain products as According

inhabitants.

of

were

use

to

to

primeval man.^^

the localitydesignated by Curiously enough, it is near the site of the Garden of and Sayce and Dawson Huet as that an Eden age-old tradition of the Babylonian Arabs has

located

present confluence

at the a

Terrestrial

the

characteristic

so

of the

for its beautiful

spot noted

Paradise.

of southern

For

Euphrates

it is at Kurna and

the

and

Tigris,

statelydate palms trees Babylonia where its fruit has "

that this staplefood of its inhabitants and Eve. tradition places the pristinehome of Adam Aside from any legends that might have been associated with it, have made its lovelypalm grove must so sion strong an impresthe swarthy sons of the desert that they naturally on concluded that it could have been naught else but a beautiful vestige of the originalGarden of Eden where the first human happiness during their short pair enjoyed supreme life of originalinnocence. in localizing The great difficulty the site of the Terrestrial formed

the

Paradise

has

always

"

hitherto

arisen

from

the

impossibility

of

with any degree of certainty the rivers Gehon identifying and Phison. Assyriologists,however, are optimistic

enough

to believe

discovered beneath

among

^T

Modern

the

some

document

cuneiform

the ruins of ancient

long controverted critical

that

will

eventually be

inscriptionsstill buried

Babylonia that shall

settle this

question to the satisfaction of the

investigator. Science

and

Bible

Lands, pp. 197, 198

(New

York, 1889).

most

MOTORING

But, in to

IN

the absence

THE

GARDEN

of the tablet

OF

EDEN

monument

or

m which

is

supply us with the eagerly sought information respecting

these

two

and

puzzlingrivers,exegetes

and

historians, gists geoloarchffiologists, Assyriologists and anthropologists

still continue

their quest of some clue that may to solve the riddle which has hitherto so

enable them

completelybaffled

attempt

every

Among have

the

essayed

at its solution. most to

distinguishedof

clear up

savants, E. Glaser

and

result of

study

a

careful

the

F.

recent

mystery

Hommel.

scholars the

are

The

who

German

former, as

the

of the

geographical indications given in the cuneiform inscriptions, arrives at a conclusion which, so far as it respects two of the rivers named in the Biblical account

of

Eden, is toto ccelo different from that of of his predecessors in this field of inquiry. fascinating he insists, surprisingas it may seem, that the Gehon

any

For

is the Wadi

al-Rummah

and

the Phison

which, in early post-glacialtimes were that, after flowing eastward through

the Wadi two

Dawasir

great rivers

central

came Arabia, beconfluent with the Tigrisand the Euphrates at a point the Persian Gulf. near This was, we are told,when Arabia, now a sun-parched desert, was a land of magnificentforests and luxuriant vegetation;of extensive and fertile prairies watered by frequent rains; of a temperate and equable climate ideal home for a people who were an yet ignorant of the arts of civilized life and whose only shelter was abodes of the most primitive type. Glaser,however, agrees with those of his predecessors who locate the Garden of Eden in southern Babylonia.^^ Professor Hommel, of Munich, goes stillfarther for,not "

identifyingthe Gehon and the Phison with the two wadis demanded by his learned compatriot's novel theory,he contends that the Hiddikel of Genesis" usually Sirhau other than the Wady called the Tigris ^was none which traverses northern Arabia and ancientlyemptied itfi| with

content

"

28

bi8

Skizze zum

der

Gesahichte

und

Propheien Muhammed,

GeograpMe Ardhiens Vol. II, p. 317, et aeq.

von

den

dltesten

(Berlin,1890).

Zeiten

FROM

466

BEELIN

into the

waters

Euphrates

three

theory, the

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Kuf ah.^"

near

Arabic

According to mentioned formerly

rivers

into

BABYLON this charged dis-

estuary at points not This estuary has long since another. far distant from one been replaced by the alluvial land of southern Babylonia their waters

and

through

to the Persian

its way

on

and must

it the lower

Glaser, Hommel be sought in

tioned All

of the

bed

Gulf.

Euphrates now passes Like Huet, Sayce,Dawson, that the Garden

also teaches the

Babylonian

of the three

the confluence

near

shallow

a

Arabian

with

the lower

Euphrates.

these

eminent

exegetes and

countless Caetani

"

named

might be ^justlyesteemed others

for

lowland

"

his

somewhere

rivers

of

men are

and

at

one

of Eden

just men^

science with

contributions

and

"

Prince to

our

^when he declares that the knowledge of the Near East description of the Terrestrial Paradise, as given in the alludes to an Sacred imaginary place, Text, in no wise but, on the contrary delineates with great precisiona real Asia. This it does and determinate localityin western not only by naming the four rivers which arise in it but also by specifying the countries watered by them and by giving "

**

a

list of their

principalproducts.

**It is clear that the author in view

a

place that

whatever

well known

and

minutely that there regarding the country which

describe

to

was

of the Genesiac

it

so

narrative

that he took could

be

he wished

no

had

pains doubt

cate. to indi-

''""

But

of all the recent

works

which

locate the site of Eden

attention or produced has attracted more Babylonia none Delitzsch's masterly a profounder impression than Professor The fact that its author is Wo Lag das Paradies. recognized as the most eminent of contemporary Assyriologistsand as one who has in lower Mesopotamia made a csLTe-

in

Alhandlungen, p. 273 et seq. (Munich, 1901). della Genesi ha ayuto,dinazi chiaro che il narratore nel detto brano agli occhi un luogo ben noto, e si e data la pena di discriverlo mimutamente, affinche non poteasero surgere dubbi sul paese che eglivoleva indicare." Studi di StoHa Orientale, Vol. I, p. 121 (Milan, 1911). ^^Aufaiitze und

80

"E

BEELIN

FEOM

468

the

through was

as

fragrant and

music

a

Symphony Wagner's

BAGDAD

TO

or

mystic

lover under

Parsifal.

BABYLON of Paradise.

groves

spellof Beethoven's

the

entranced

one

as

AND

the sublime

by

Oblivious

Ninth

harmonies

actual

of my

I

of

environment

indifferent,for the time

and

hypotheses of

of science

men

and my

home

first

our

of the Paradise

Beatrice, from

whom

he

wont

he had

where been

to

portray of the

Dante's

I recalled

parents.

of the beauties

where

description

he met

his beloved

long separated and

so

made

was

and

Pure

disposedto

mount

the stars,^^

unto

Yes, youthful impressions and poeticfancies in immortal

restrial Ter-

I

imagination was

early youth, of

and

thought only of the simple narrative the pictures,based it,which, in my upon

Paradise, of Genesis

being, to the theories respectingthe site of the

verse

meant

to

more

me

than

embalmed

did the

latest

teachings of geologistsand Assyriologistswith all their This was larly particudisplay of learning and cocksureness. first caught sight of the palm-fringed true when we ruins of Babylon. The Euphrates and the sand-mantled the river which great majority Euphrates is the one of serious students have always held was, without doubt, And of the four rivers of Eden. one Babylon, I hardly know why, I have always looked upon as being as intimately associated Both

with

of them

the cradle were

then

site of the Terrestrial das

Paradies

I could

of to

our

me

Paradise

race

as

is the

Euphrates.

tangible landmarks and

when

I read

the

on

Wo

Lag

hope that future researches would prove that the scholarlyBerlin Professor had at last succeeded in locatingthe site of humanity 's birthplaceand, in so doing,had definitively dles solved one of the greatest ridnot

but

of the ages.

And have ""

as

we

formed

came a

part

Purgatorio, XXXIII,

near

of 145.

to Hillah

Babylon

"

in the

^which

days

is

supposed

of its

to

greatness

MOTORING and

"

IN

caught

THE

GARDEN

first view

our

OF

magnificent groves of they were, as the Talmud

palms, I loved to fancy that teaches,the actual scions of those which of God**

the father

But

and

and

mother

469

of its

date

''Garden

EDEN

which

flourished in the

supplied food

and

shelter

to

of mankind.

It was charming sight was awaitingus. a beautiful garden adjoiningthe home where a kindly and well-to-do Arab while we visited Babylon gave us hospitality and its vicinity. In this garden were statelydate palms, waving lazilyin the soft and scented breeze,orange and other trees laden with golden fruits,and the plantain named most

a

more

the

Paradisaica^^

Musa

colors and

gorgeous

of planted,''

which

flowers

countless

of

gratefulfragrance. How one by God **in the East of sings:

most

vividlythis garden recalled Eden

and

the

Milton

pleasantsoil His far more pleasant Garden God ordain'd; Out of the fertile ground he caused to grow All trees of noblest kind for sight,smell,taste. this

In

And

how

caused of the

a

favored

this fair

blissful bower

happiest and

most

rill'*of the Edenic

by nook, distinguished

garden

to remind

us

ers, riot of flow-

a

vividly

stillmore

parents found their Watered blissful home! by **many a river which flowed gently by it, where

first

our

It

was

a

place

hy the sovereignplanter,when he framed use; the roof All things to man's delightful Of thickest covert was inwoven shade, and myrtle, and what higher grew Laurel Chosen

Of firm and fragrant leaf;on and

Acanthus

Fenced

up

Rear'd 33

not

So the

Adam's

each odorous, hushy shrub,

the verdant

Iris all hues,

either side

roses

high their

wall, each beauteous

jessamin heads flourished and

between

tradition that it Eastern of an called because forbidden fruit in Paradise. apple which was the

fig.

flower, and

was

wrought

the It is

Plantain and

alsoknown

as

BERLIN

FROM

470

^d

Older

Br

Yes,

spot

of

was

the

9*

Paradise

home

goodliest

fairest

to

believe

was

a

Elysian

the

perides, what

also

which

a

Lost,

or

Our

Bk.

that

we

of

prototype

Father

in

men

the

Heaven.

sweetly the

spot on

those

since

tion tradiwell

was

of

some

which

here

the tered shel-

horn Eve.

here

saw

the

Garden

Isles

the of

this

daughters

her

of

figure

IV.

of

the

that

gazing

man

ravishing

on

believe

near

of

Fields, and

type of

at

and

trees

to

actually

was

the

sons,

wished

stone

garden

wished

descendants

the

His

that

I

that

Adam,

I

I

arboreal

and

with

than

lovely

Paradise

located and

founded floral

this

Euphrates,

murmuring

"

stately

the

of

blooms

which

colored

more

contemplated

and

shrubs

inlay

rich

emblem.^*

I

as

ground,

the

costliest

Of

with

hyacinth

and

Crocus

BABYLON

violet.

the

foot

under

Mosaic;

AND

BAGDAD

TO

of

Celestial

a

the

of

remnant of

the

Blessed Paradise

Hesand and

CHAPTER

XVIII

BABYLON A

labyrinth of ruins, Babylon Spreads o'er the blasted plain;

The

wandering

Within Her

Arab

his tent

sets

never

her

walls; the shepherd eyes afar devious towers, and drives his

evil

Alone

unchanged,

flock. bridgeless tide, rolls along. free

a

Euphrates Eternal

and

nature's

work.

SOUTHEY.

Hillah of

era

and

site

of

our

of the

founded

was

and

legends

is said ancient

its

chief

of

its

date

of

the

and

those

orchards which

their

of

that

gardens

of Hillah

graceful

fronds

of the

in the

Arab, in sixty

the

to

beauty the

graced

meridian with

"

of her

dor splen-

important part

an

theory regarding that

stately palms of trees

scendants de-

dens gar-

be true, it is reasonable

Eden

scions

world, of

oases

that

the humbler

humid of

not

Algeria, will On

district date into

in the

even

palms

date

Euphrates.

run

the

adorn

now

raised

once

to the their

shrubs

plants

and

valley

of the

Paradise.

of

varieties

estimated

of

with

doubtless,

once

if Delitzsch^s

And,

part

interesting

and

were,

which

people

high above

fertile

of the

her

number

them

in the

Babylon

are

in the

groves course

trees

of the

some

Terrestrial

Nowhere or

of

Garden

suppose

of

noble

its

connected

the

was

Some

southern

from

them

century

capital of Nebuchadnezzar

us

supplied

the

of

eleventh the

occupy

Aside

famed

for

in the

to

many

the

nutriment.

site

some

"

palms. of

and

by

Arabs

Babylon.

attraction

and

the

traditions

of Babel

Tower

by

of

as

the

471

sees

one

west

bank

Pasra, there

palms while hundreds

one

the

find

such

along

the

of the are

of

number

of millions.

more

It

Nile nificent mag-

lower

Shat-elthan trees

is

is, indeed,

472

FROM

BERLIN

from

this

region that

TO

BAGDAD

AND

exported

are

BABYLON of the dates

most

of

commerce.

But

these

delicatelyflavored fruits are not a modern back in early staple of commerce. Way dates of Akkad,*' as they are called in Babylonian times cuneiform invoices of the period, were change exported in exfor gold, sheep, and oxen. With and flocks corn and herds they were the principalsources of the among The country's wealth. early Babylonian kings specially encouraged the development of date plantations and it is

nourishing and **

related of

a

of palms

as

certain governor that he considered the the most notable achievements among

planting of his

administration. And

there

for

reason

was

to the cultivation

attachingso

of the palm, because

useful

of all known

supplies the oriental with but also furnishes

him

with bread

and fuel,matting and

sugar

chairs,benches,beds,and and material he

lives.

So

of the

We

have

informs

than

articles of diet

wine, meal

cordage,cages

and

us

that

three hundred

of the house the

are a

uses

Persian

and

ture furni-

in which

of the poem

gar, vine-

baskets,

and

other articles of household

manifold, indeed,

fewer

no

and

for the construction

palm that Strabo

it is not

of his chief

one

importance

only *^the Humboldt declared,but For trees. it not only

prince of the vegetable world,''as also the most

much

date

ates enumer-

sixtyvaluable

erties prop-

palm. how

dependent the oriental is on the horse and the camel, especially the latter. But the date palm is less essential to his well-beingthan the camel. no What an incomparable blessingit is in his eyes is evinced by an eastern saying: '*The palm is the camel and the camel the And it as palm of the desert." so highly does he revere a giftof God that he would regard the wanton injury of the palm tree as nothing less than a mortal sin. "Honor the palm," enjoinsMohammed, **for it is your maternal

seen

aunt ;

on

the stony soil of the desert it offers you

BABYLON a

fruitful

this noble is

now

growth

of sustenance.

source

tree has

to be found

in which

their homes. tree is

' '

And

Islam

it is to be noted

in all its

the high estimation

universallyheld declares

in the East

that it

from

was

date

palm that God formed not, then, surprisingthat a tree a

in which

is shown

that

conquests and

in every clime which is favorable the followers of the Prophet have

But

legend which It is

followed

473

by

to its made

this useful Arabian

an

the slime that

rounded sur-

the first man. that

plays so tant imporbe long a role in the life of the oriental should never from his thoughts, especiallywhen absent from the away land of his fathers. For, as the Swiss when abroad longs for his native mountains, so does the Arab pine for the are statelypalms whose feathery and umbrageous crowns synonyms

of home

and

Abd-er-Rahman

I, the

founder

to him

sWeet

repose.

of the Ommiad

Caliphate

Spain the absence of the beautiful tree which had been the delightof his youth. palm brought from Syria He, accordingly, had a young It was and planted in the garden of his villa at Eusafah. of his native land, that to this tree, the lovely reminder : the homesick Caliph addressed these patheticverses of

Cordova,

was

Oh, Palm, like An

to endure

unable

me

stranger here.

a

exile in the alien west,

Driven

from home

dispossessed

and

"

But, ah! thou'rt mute, Happy

to have

Heart-ache CouWst In

in

no

hut

yearning love

thou shed

a

tear.

sentient soul!

like mine thou

canst

nor

thou

canst not

feel,thy and

know;

tears would

without grief,

flow

control.

tears for eastern groves Aye, homesick That shade Euphrates; hut the tree Forgets; and I, compelledto flee loves. By hate, almost forget my former

When

one

reads

these

impassionedverses,

one

recalls

BERLIN

FROM

474

touching lines Dyene, wrote: the

BAGDAD

TO

of the

poet Juvenal Mollissima

generidare

Humano

se

Natura

of the homesick

those

on

of the exiled Roman

words

BABYLON

who,

in his exile in

corda

fatetur

QucB lacrymas dedit; hoBC nosiri The

AND

optima

pars

almost

seem

a

$ensus"^

commentary

Arab.

leaving Hillah for the ruins of Babylon, our of happy, laughter-lovarrested by a group attention was ing children. Having always been speciallyinterested in in those of Anatolia the children of the Near East, particularly As

were

we

Mesopotamia,

and

We

their mirth. which

games

But

what

found

seemed our

was

of these sunburnt

them

to

the

of

cause

intentlyengaged in various

afford

them

surprise to find children

to learn

stopped

we

keenest

the

that

delight.

the favorite

in the immediate

games

vicinityof

the

the games that are as Babylon were justthe same the boys and girls of America. And so popular among I had of them were as quitethe same stranger still, many frequently seen played by Indian children on the plateau The boys played and in the wilds of Brazil. of the Andes ball and marbles and leap-frog,while the girlswere equally preoccupied with tag, cat's cradle,and hopscotch.

ruins of

It would

be

blood

in these

Hillah

know

if there

children

"

was

lonian Baby-

any

^theyseemed

to be

which if the games afforded them in vogue the young exquisitepleasure were among of Babylon in the days of Paltasar and Hammurabi.

pure

Arabs

interestingto

commend

and

"

these

subjects to

those

ardent

love to trace

tales which the nursery of to-day back to times primeval.^ 1

Nature

race, as she 131-133. vv. 2

back

origin: "Alles Melben

p. 324

folk I

folklorists

delightthe

who child

herself confesses to have given the tenderest hearts to the human tears; this is the best part of our faculties. Satire XV, gave them

According to

traceable

so

such

Dr.

German Fries, an eminent old light myth which Ballapiel,"he writes, ja his to

Oedanken-den

an

scholar, all games of ball was presumably Babylonian herah

Liohtkampf-zuruckgeht." (Leipsic,1910).

zum

Studien

Lawn-Tenia zur

are

in

auf deru-

Odyaaee, Vol. I,

BERLIN

FROM

476

that

answer

same

was

of fossils

occurrence

it is the

And

of the Alps.

the summit

one

the

for

account

to

generationsago

BABYLON

will say, but it is given by learned men only a few

''A foolish answer,"

the Deluge." the

AND

BAGDAD

TO

explanation that was given by the distinguishedgeologist,Buckland, which were found of early man, in many of the remains Diluviance of Europe. of the caverns They were reliquce on

same

Deluge and the majority of the of his day were scientific men clusion disposed to accept his conIt is,then, not so long ago that savants correct. as to questionsthat were quite as naive as that gave answers relics of the Noachian

"

Arab

of the untutored -^

the Arabs

But

who

"

of

to-day.

live in the

fantastic stories.

tell more

neighborhood

They

assure

of

Babylon

that the ruins

one

by evil spiritsand by malignant jinn and that the ruins after nightfall. it is dangerous to wander among They also declare that there is at the foot of one of the here a rocky pit,although quite invisible to mormounds tals, haunted

are

the wicked

in which condemned

by the Almighty sins,until the day

for their But

remarkable

more

of

"

lower

part

are

one

which

King

And

one

James

utter

*

96.

"But down

to

dogs

and

Rome.

and

to

eat

to

The their

partake of the upper to the human species.

ruin and

desolation

which

and

listens to the strange stories recalls the words of Isaiah ^Iquote from "

version:

Babylon,the glory oT

the

the Chaldees' excellency, shall be Sodom and Gomorrah.

sent

were

usually supposed

Greece

of its resemblance

overpowering

of the Arabs,

are

with

them

contemplates the so

Marut

judgment.*

mythologies of

said to hunt

account

on

here

the

of

and

suspended, in punishment

half, although they decline

As are

of the

to be

Harut

is their belief in the existence hereabouts

creatures

satyrs

be creations natives

angels

the beauty of God overthrew

kingdoms, as

when

the devils believed not, they taught men sorcery to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut.'*

and

that

The

Koran, Sura

which

was

II,

BABYLON It shall from

tent

shall it be dwelt in

there; neither

shall the

shepherds make

their

there.

But

wild

houses

beasts

of the desert

shall be full of doleful

dwell

there,and

Babil

is

and of the its

neither inhabited,

generation to generation;neither shall the Arabian

pitch fold

be

never

477

satyrs * shall dance

it is for this

parts of the ruined

summit, which

towers

plain,one ruins

as

immediate

a

that

reason

has

there;and

creatures; and

in southern

shall

lonia Baby-

visited it before any Chaldean capital. From we

seventy-one feet above

magnificentview

a

their

owls

there.

of the loftiest eminences

one

other

shall lie

not

the

only

rounding sur-

of the

whole

but also of many notable features in their vicinity.To the west and southwest are the

of Arabian palm-fringedEuphrates and a number villages and gardens along its banks. Several miles southward is Hillah with its gleaming minaret, while six miles some towards

the

southwest

sippa,called by the by many European of Babel

The

of it is the

natives

famous

Birs Nimrud, and

travelers

**the top whereof

was

tower

long supposed

to be identical with to reach

of Bor-

the tower

to heaven."

^

prospect that greets the vision of the spectator from

but to the student Babil is always interesting,

profane history the

of sacred

and

word

interestingbut feebly expresses This one's emotions. is particularlytrue when, at the hour of sunset, the long amethystine shadows cast on the dun-colored plain,bring out into bold relief the rich golden lines of the spell-weaving ruins of that great city which, in her glory, ruled over the kings of the eastern world. loves the prospect is absolutelythrilling.Then Then one such a solitude as Babylon is to be in media solitudine a burnished-gold to-day to watch the magnificentsunset splendor shading up star ward into delicate rubies and emer"

"

"

6

Chap. XIII, w. ^the hairy ones

piloai "

text. 0

Genesis

zi: 4,

"satyrs" the Vulgate has In lieu of the word in keepingwith the originalHebrew ^which is more

19-21. "

FEOM

478 aids

BERLIN

to be alone

"

with

one's

gloriesof what was powerful capital,where The Show

Wed

but of which of

Greek

a

is

a

we

can

**The

proudest and

Kings harharic pearl and gold

"

now

is contained

say

in the words

**the

"

great city

^

the

Semitic

old

Bab-ili

name

^which

"

fies signi-

the ancient name of the Gods,'' was locallyused it now designates the most the great city. It is,doubtless,because

of the

Gate

cityof Babylon. northerly mound

of

of its

many

that

name

the

centuries

for

poet, quoted by Strabo,

deserf

from

"

her

comic

great

Babil

all

on

earth's

once

on

with richest hand

East

gorgeous

BABYLON

thoughts while musing

vanished most

AND

BAGDAD

TO

As

have

travelers

it for the

mistaken

spoken of in the eleventh chapter of Genesis. John Thus Eldred, an English merchant-traveler,who, three journeys from Aleppo in the sixteenth century, made ^which he calls New to Bagdad Babylon speaks of seeing olde mines of the not only **at his goode leisure many mightie citie of Babylon" but also of having sundry Tower

of Babel

"

"

**

times"

visited **the olde tower

however, took for the tower have

been

kuf which which The Babil

would

one

of

a

few

not

rather

miles

the

was

Pietro

to

give

of which ruin

imposing of

he we

of Aker-

Bagdad,

and

Tower." an

elaborate

descriptionof

della Valle.

Its situation and

form

[he writes] correspond with that

pyramid which Strabo calls the of ruins height of this mountain ^

his descripti

From

the Babil

to the northwest

is locallycalled Nimrod's first European

"

infer that the ruin which

Babel, was

speaking but is

of Babell."

Tower is not

of Belus. in every

The .

.

.

part equal,

EpijixlafieydXr}iartv ijfieyaXrfir6Xty,Bk. XVI, I, 5.

The Discoveries and of the Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traijiques burgh, English Nation, Vol. X, Part I, p. 63 (collected by Richard Hakluyt, Edin8

1889). "The

inhabitants of these parts are as fond of attributing every vestige those of Egypt are to Pharaoh." on antiquity to Nimrod as Rich, Memoir the Ruins of Babylon (London, 1818). 9

of

BABYLON but exceeds

479

the

highestpalace of Naples. It is a misshapen there is no appearance mass, of regularity.In some it places rises in sharp points,craggy and inaccessible; in others it is smoother and of easier ascent. There are also where

of

traces

caused torrents,

by violent rains,from the

summit

to the base."

The

pictureof

this mound, which

he had

made

by

an

artist

who

accompanied him, gives one a very good idea of what has been considered by many to be the Tower of Babel but which, after the noble Roman's visit to it,was long known Delia

as

But

Valle's

the

Ruin."

excavations

schaft^'under

of

the

the direction

**

Deutsche

of Dr.

Orient-Gesell-

Koldewey

have

pletely com-

exploded hitherto obtained of Babil. Far from being the Tower regarding the mound of Babel, or Nimroud has been asserted by many or Belus, as writers and travelers,it is now demonstrated to be the all the theories that have

Nebuchadnez^zar.

ruin

of

And

it is highly probable that it is the structure

of the

one

this monarch declares On

refers in

roof.

as

Double

That

of the to

oggidi

Babel. 12

h

as

et

the

me,

seq. doubt

no

is

"che

conisciuta

Op. cit.,p.

Koldewey,

had

effect: secondo

c'6 dubbio,

ancora

old

of Babel

Tower this

of cedar

and

cedar

Mighty

I, p. 382 Valle

Delia

bricks

with

.

he

trunks

of bronze

op. cit.,p. 11, et seq.

I made

I laid

on

with

it for

copper,

did I set up

in its

**May Nebuchadnezzar restorer of Esagila. ' ' "

that

the

that

mound

from

the

antica il sito

tale, ed in Arabic"

384.

I

...

named

quellaBabel perehe oltre che per

inspired

bitumen.

over-laid

wood

quite evident sia

heart

my

protectionof Babylon.

however, other ruins

Op. cit.yTom.

he makes

to which

in which inscriptions,

the north

the

hinges made building I

grow

were,

"That

.

doors

and

doorways. live,may he There

.

mountain.

a

threshholds

non

palace for

a

its summit

it high

ruin

of his

the brick wall towards

raised

10

one

of

:

to build

me

palaces

numerous

of

have

Babil

at various

was

really the

positivestatement

which

di Nembrotto, lo dimostra, da' paesani fe la torre

fe chiamata

volgarmente

FEOM

480

BERLIN

identified with

been

times

AND

BAGDAD

TO

Tower

the

BABYLON

of Babel.

Among

that of Borsippa, commonlythese,as has been stated,was lies some six miles southwest called Birs-Nimrud, which of Hillah. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited these parts in the twelfth

century,speaks of it as

**the tower

built

by

the

struck by dispersed generation'*and declares that it was a heavenly fire which splitit to the very foundation" *'

^^

"

distinguishedexplorers

The

Rich, and

Porter

Ker

Robert

its present appearance

quite applicableto

is

descriptionthat

a

Carsten

Niebuhr, Claudius

also of the

were

opinionthat

of Babel, the stuthe very tower pendous in the plain artificialmountain erected by Nimrod

in Birs-Nimrud

of Shinar the

and

**we

on

see

of Babel

the tower

that of Belus

and

just quoted from]

in the work

Nebuchadnezzar

were

there hardly exists a doubt. suddenly arrested stupendous work was we

not

only

other ancient every was

were

from

the

Holy

and

the same, that the first

And

before

completion

Scriptures but from

in direct terms

authors

ter, [writes Por-

one

I presume learn

raised

^*

temple of Belus."

That

in after ages

which

and .

.

eral sev-

almost

.

testimony agrees in statingthat the primeval tower but partiallyovernot only stopped in its progress turned ning by the Divine wrath, attended by thunder and lightthat and and a mighty wind, the rebellious men who and

its builders fled in horror

the preternaturalstorm. state most likelythe tower

confusion

In this ruined

...

remained

who, in

of face before and abandoned

till Babylon

was

re-

harmony by Semiramis; feel a proud triumph in repeopling the city would with a colony from the posterityof those who had fled from of the great it in dismay and, covering the shattered summit tory new erection,would there place her observapilewith some founded

and

(by !"

her

acter, char-

altar to Bel.^'

^"0p. cit.,p. 1*

with

Travels

in

Robert

Ker

Op. cit.,p.

"Nebuchadnezxar'B

101.

Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Porter, London, 317.

The

Jews

prieon,"for

Ancient

Babylonia^ Vol. II, p.

365

1822). of

what

Babylonia reason

call

is not

the tower clear.

of Birs-Nimrud

BABYLON But

the tradition which

with

rud

that of

481

identifies the tower

Babel, which

is often

oldest building in the world,''rests does

than

that which

would

arrested

' '

was

progress

of

researches

by

on

make

spoken

Babil

the confusion

of

''the

as

better foundation

no

which Assyriologists,

of Birs-Nim-

the of

tower

whose ' '

tongues.

have

thrown

The

such

a

flood of

lighton many Scripturalsubjects,have so far been of Babel, or to indicate where unable to identifythe Tower the famous

structure of Babil

the tower

of them

that

nor

the famous

was

in especially

of

Neither

Borsippa

the

begun by the plain of Shinar, for

the East, *'is fickle-minded

of

renown

that either

proves

tower

in the

of Noah

located.

was

ambitious the

in this

scendant de-

populace, in other

as

holy fanes have the periods when they are in the fashion,just like everything else. ^^ it may much Incredible as as ignorance long preseem, vailed of Europe respecting the site the learned among and

matters

' '

of the

city of Babylon

generally supposed in

or

last

century,

at the

indeed

departed when

amid

bewildered The

author

same

words

he

when

Arabs, that of time

"its

much

as

its site cannot

even

when

and

scholar

beginning

place be said to have with precisionbe ascertained

the the

antiquary and

the

perplexityof

traveler

their

y/,e

and 18

alike

are

researches.''"

opinion in different writes of Babylon, called Babel by the vast remains lay for ages in the depths expresses

forgotten by

the

same

the learned "

been

of the

declared, ''Well

of Europe Even

city of the antediluvians." in the dark geographer, Djihannuma, was so

had

the

about

glory of this renowned

the

may

English

was

its walls

within

neighborhood. Writing

learned

a

either

located

capital of Nebuchadnezzar

famed

which

that of the tower

about

to be

immediate

its

as

as

if it

the Turkish

a

Old

Profane,

in

Testament

on

the

Ruins

Ibid.,Vol. II, p. 336.

the

Light of Historical

of Bahylon, p. 2

(by

1.

about

le the loca-

Legends R^fordsand Maurice,

i^onao

,

of

BERLIN

FROM

482

tion of the ruins of

TO

BAGDAD

Babylon

AND

that he

BABYLON

placed them

at

Teluja,

nearly eighty miles northwest of their actual site. the ignorance of Europeans during the How great was Middle Ages regarding the capitalof the ancient world may of Sir John Mandeville, who be gathered from a statement tells his readers that **Babylone is in the grete desertes of the kyndome toward the waye men as Arabye, upon gon durste neyhe But it is fulle longe sithe ony man of Caldee. to the toure, for it is alle deserte and full of dragons and fulle deverse

grete serpentes and

veneymouse

bestes

alle

abouten.'' guished part of the last century the distinexpedition Oppert, head of the French Orientalist, to Mesopotamia in the years 1851 to 1854," was entirelyin Influenced,no doubt, by the error as to the site of Babylon. ical of Herodotus, Diodorus accounts Siculus,and other classwriters regarding the vast extent of Babylon, he made full it to embrace both Babil and Birs-Nimrud, which are fifteen miles apart from each other,and to include an area in the

Even

second

that the researches demonstrated

of the

**

Deutsche

Orient-Gesellschaft*'

to be

preposterously large.^^ lon But, in order fullyto realize how greatly the size of Babystand was exaggerated by the ancient writers and to underof years how this capital of thousands was able, the throughout the ages, to cast so great a spell upon of their peoples of the earth,one must brieflyconsider some statements respecting its vastness and magnificence. Only in this way is it possibleto appreciatethe glamour that has for the so long attached to it and to discover the reasons countless it has given rise to which legends and romances since the days of Nebuchadnezzar and Semiramis. Of the ancient writers who have given us the most minute Siculus and Diodorus descriptionsof Babylon, Herodotus have

19(7/.Expedition

Mesopotamie, Vol. I, Lib. I (Paris, 1863). von Babylon and Boraippa, p. 59 (by Dr. Koldewey, Leipsic, 1011), that speaks of Oppert 's verkehrter Babylon and Stadtplan von who declares to that Borsippa, as an relation bore the same independent city, 20

See

Babylon

also

as

Die

doea

de

Tempel

Charlottenburgto

Berlin.

BEELIN

FEOM

484

AND

BAGDAD

TO

BABYLON

he attributes this colossal Semiramis, to whom in building the wall of work, employed two million men Babylon and that she built it at the rate of a furlong a day and had it completed in the space of a singleyear. of the immense wall of Babylon, circumference The less than four hundred no according to Herodotus, measured somewhat than fifty-three and eighty statia more the circuit of the citybut a miles. Ctesias,however, makes that

declares

"

triflemore

than forty miles. In either

by the wall

was

within

which

The

walls of Paris

or

largestcity site in

is the

the

enclosed

area

and far greater than that included

enormous

the extended

case

within

king, those of Nan-

China.

city of Babylon [writes Herodotus]

is

an

exact

that it but certain recent investigatorsmaintain square, in the form of a rectangletwelve miles wide and fifteen was

miles

long. But whatever given of its area by

many

modern

scholars

that it was

city,the gate

the

across

land groups

and

which

whole

than

led

than roads

more

have

tended con-

regular from gate to tivated through cula

distributed

buildings were

in

patches.^^ asserts

positively**that

was

the

case

we

a

the

enclosure

arable land to support the

sufficient pasture and

populationduring

If such

said to have

are

which

over

staggering that they

being no

area

Quintus Curtius contained

so

inclosed district rather

an

streets

mates of the city,the estiancient authors have appeared to

the form

''^* long siege.

should

the population of the city was

be forced

out

of all

to conclude

that

proportion to

its

English geographer, Rennell," is disposed to allow to Babylon during its most flourishing period a population of a million and a quarter,but this is but a surmise, and all estimates of the number of inhabitants in the great city are, at best,the merest conjectures. size.

The

23

Rich, op. cit.,p. 43.

i*

De

26

The

Rehua

Qeatia

Alexandri

Oeographioal System

Magni, Lib. V, Cap. I. Examined and of Herodotus

Explained, p.

347.

BABYLON

485

For

nearly twenty-five centuries Strabo, Herodotus, and the writers the Great

to the East

the size and

the accounts

were

who

of

Ctesias,

ander accompanied Alexsole authorities

our

specting re-

the

magnificence of the great capital the Euphrates. Since,however, the on Deutsche OrientGesellschaft'' have begun to publish the results of their excavations carefully conducted find that we we must greatlymodify many of our views concerningthe cityabout '*

which

there

has

envisage it been

have

by

Dr.

been

in the

so

much

lightof

submitted

to us,

legend and romance, and the cold,scientificfacts which

as

the results of

long research,

Koldewey and his scholarlyassociates. While many and other early writers descriptionsof Herodotus

of the

found

to be

clear that many of their accurate,it is now measurements require very considerable revision. Thus, in lieu of the fifty-three miles which Herodotus has given as the circuit of the city and the fortymiles at which Ctesias has estimated it,Dr. Koldewey finds that these figuresmust eleven be reduced learned miles. to The investigator noting that the circumference given by Ctesias approximates is lead closelyto four times the correct measurement mistook the figuresrepreto suspect that the Greek writer senting are

**

the whole

for the

circumference

measure

of

one

side

' ' ^"

of the

square.

The

excavations

of the

'*

Deutsche

Orient-Gesellschaft*'

therefore,to prove conclusivelythat Babylon, far and London from covering an area so large that both Paris in reality, as could find place within it,side by side,was or Dresden." Delitzsch declares,no larger than Munich But in spite of the great reduction that Koldewey found of the himself compelled to make in the measurements in classical writers he does not hesitate to declared **that, the greatest in circumference, was any case, the city,even seem,

28

Op. cit.,p.

27

/m

to

Oppert

that the

Lande

of

the

Paris

Seine.

2. des

Einstigen Paradieaes, p. of Babylon embraces

great wall in

1859

and

Ibid.,Vol. I, p.

as

234.

extended

as

30 an

that

(Stuttgart, 1903). area

of

fifteen times

the

entire

According as

great

department

as

of

BERLIN

FROM

486

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

of any in the ancient East, Nineveh, which in other respects rivalled Babylon, not excepted/' He also pertinentlyobserves that **it must

city was the walls.

and

Our

that

ancient

an

of which

the inhabited part

protectedby

the

cities

of

encirclinggirdleof an entirelydifferent

fortress

primarily a

surrounded

was

always be remembered

modern

are

character;they are inhabited spaces open on all sides. A reasonable comparison can, therefore, only be made between Babylon and other walled cities and, when compared with them, Babylon takes the first place,as of its enclosed

and

time

spending some

area,

not

^"

times."

also for modern After

inhabited

regards the extent only for ancient but

on

and

round

about

the mound

proceeded to explore the ruins in the southern part of the city. On our way thither we strolled along the east bank of the Euphrates which, in places,is fringedwith are always a delightto statelypalms whose feathery crowns the eye. Indeed, the palm is so indispensablea feature of eastern an landscape that no pictureof a town or a river and clumps of this most seems complete without groves of Babil

we

picturesqueof of them

oriental trees.

I

was

glad

to find

so

many

Euphrates and the western ruins of Babylon, as I had always imagined that they must here, ronment. than anywhere else,be an essential part of the envimore of But, although I was delightedto find so many these

bordering

noble

the

trees, it

speciallylooking. I

was

not

for

them

that

I

was

then

seeking rather a specimen of the graceful Salix Bahylonica which, in

was

the weeping willow is the most ray mind, has always been associated with what written in any language. I refer pathetic threnody ever to the plaintiveelegy of the Children of Israel during their captivityin Babylon. Seating myself under an umbrageous cluster of delicate weeping willows, I said to a palm near myself: **This is the one place in the world where one can best appreciate the overmastering sadness sick of the homeexiles when their captors asked them to sing the songs "

2"

Op. oit,,p. 6.

"

BABYLON

487

^''^^"" r'lwV'^^r /^^^^^^^^

pocket I read again most

affectmghnes

gentle reader,on ruined

and ever

^^^^^^^yf^om

^^

again what

then seemed

composed.

Put

the bank

to

my

the

me

yourself,in fancy Euphrates in sight of the

of the

palace of Nebuchadnezzar and read aloud the lamentation of the disconsolate Hebrews, as given in Psalm

Upon

the rivers of

Babylon

there

sat and

we

remembered Sion : On the willows in the midst thereof instruments. For there they that led of required the words us of songs. And they that carried us said:

137:

wept: when

we

hung

we

^

away

hymn

of the songs

How

shall

our

us

Sing

ye

to

us

a

of Sion.

sing the

we

up

into captivity

of the

song

Lord

in

a

strange

land? If I

forget thee,0 Jerusalem,let

Let

my

tongue cleave

to my

jaws

right hand

my

if I do

not

be forgotten.

remember

thee: If I make

Is

it

'*Home

not

Jerusalem

possible Sweet

to

the

beginningof

put in words

Home''

than

a

more

my

joy.

soul-subduing

this

affectingSuper flumina Bahylonis of the heart-broken captives of Israel! But it is only when it is sung in its beautifullyrhythmic Hebrew that one can fully appreciate its depth of pathos and exceeding beauty of expression. of rare Our walk from Babil southward one was delight and interest. It was through gardens and cultivated fields and attractive palm groves which occupied the greater part of the narrow strip of fertile land which separates the ployed emEuphrates from the great city of ruins. The methods those used in the soil here are the same as in tilling the days of the Jewish Captivity. There is the same tive primiof treading out and winnowing plow, the same process of irrigatingthe land as obtained methods grain, the same when teachers

the

prophets Daniel

and

the consolers

and

Ezekiel

were

here

of their exiled countrymen.

the

FROM

488

BERLIN

three

than

the

Euphrates

inches

its bed

except when

a

year,

AND

BABYLON

varies

according to the subtropicalland is rarely

the river is

is filled by the annual

of Armenia.

mountains

BAGDAD

the rainfall in this

As

season. more

of

width

The

TO

At

Babylon

quite shallow, flood from

the

it is

than rarely more feet wide ; and during the dry season four hundred its surface is considerably below its banks. For this reason the inhabitants from the earliest times have, in order to irrigate their lands,had recourse ous not only to canals but also to varidevices for liftingwater from a lower to a higher level. the Among these contrivances are the dolah or chain pump, na'ura or water wheel, and the djird,a huge leather bag, of a simple which, when filled with water is, by means machine operated by an ox, lifted the desired height and automatically emptied into the channel by which the field or garden is irrigated.The strident notes of these various of the native elevators and the accompanying songs water attendants often the only sounds that penetrate the are solemn stillness which reigns amid the venerable ruins that the ground from the mound of Babil on the north to cover the villageof Djumdjuma in the southern part of Babylon. tells us that in his time the Euphrates divided Herodotus the cityinto ^*two distinct portions.''But the present bed of of the shifting river is considerablyto the westward that which existed in his day. As a result of this shifting, appeared the western part of the city has almost completely disremains the right side for nothing of it now on of the present channel except slightvestiges of its once massive halves

walls. of the

The

as

the

there is

the

near

this feat of no

record

writer

also tells

connected

city were

spanned the river attributes

same

center

by of

engineeringto

of this queen,

a

us

that the two

bridge which the metropolis. He Queen Nitocris,but, stone

either in Berosus

or

in

it is probable that Herodotus Babylonian inscriptions, misinformed about her existence,or that he had in was mind Queen Amuita, the Median wife of Nebuchadnezzar, who is said to have suggested to her royal consort the con-

BABYLON

489

struction of the famous

hanging gardens

ranked

wonders

the

among however, will have to whom notable

seven

it that the

antiquityascribes works.

But

which

long Diodorus,^" due to Semiramis, of Babylon's most were

of the world.

bridgewas other

many

in

spite of the determination of the ancient historian to give the credit of this remarkable achievement to a woman, and in spiteof the denials of many modern writers that such a bridge ever existed,or that its construction was even possiblein the age in which it is said been built,the to have Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft'* in 1910 actuallydiscovered incontestable remains of the much that its construction disputed bridge and demonstrated was due not to Nitocris,or Amuita, or Semiramis, but to the Nebuchadnezzar renowned to his father,Nabopolassar. or At the spot once occupied by the eastern bridgehead of **

this notable Procession

structure Street

features

which

found

we was

ourselves

long

one

on

the

of the most

famous able remark-

of

Babylon. This was the street along which the passed the great processions of Marduk-Merodach tutelar deity of the Chaldean capital,and of Nabu-Nebe "

"

his

In this

son.

respect it served

the

same

as purpose from Athens

the

to Sacra, which extended used by the solemn Panathnaic Eleusis and which was cession proi n which was annually held for the celebration, the great Elusinian temple, of the impressive mysteries of Demeter, lacchus, and Persephone. An inscribed brick had recently found informs us of the part Nebuchadnezzar in the construction of the Sacred Way of Babylon and gives to his gods, the characteristic prayer that he addressed us

magnificent Via

which

reads:

Nabu

joy,may

you traverse rest upon benefits for me your the for body. and well being

and

these

Marduc, when

days eternal age.^"

29 Op. cit.,II, 8. soKoldewey, op. cit.,p.

54.

.

streets

in

tant lips; life for disMay I attain .

.

BERLIN

FROM

490

TO

Passing eastwards

BAGDAD

along Procession two

ruins

of the famous

Tower

ourselves

between

Merodack

and

AND

the

BABYLON

Street

we

of the

of Zeus

all of and

gold.

the

"

Before

**

is

the

it sits and

whereon

the throne

throne

gives to figurestands he

name

placed

likewise

are

of

great temple of Babylon.

In the temple, according to Herodotus, there statue

find

soon

the a

was

sitting

a

Merodach

god

"

large golden table

the base

of

which

on

the

gold^' the weight of objectsaggregating eighthundred

the gold of these divers

"

talents.

this temple, of which he

**the fosterer,''says

calls himself of the

wealth

of

speaking

Nebuchadnezzar,

and

sea

adorned

mountains

the

and

it with

I

that

cedars

of my

brought from

shrine

The

"

best

the

all conceivable

valuables, gold and silver and precious stones. to gleam of Merodach, he declares, **I made The

he

the

as

sun.

Lebanon, the

for the

roofingof the chamber which cedars I covered with gleaming gold. of his lordship, of this temple I make the restoration For supplication every morning to Merodach, the king of the gods, the lord be his inscriptions, it would To judge from of lords." difficult to find a pagan more prayerful or king who was exhibited greater devotion to his gods than did this who proud ruler of old Babylonia. forest,I sought

noble

It

in

was

"

of the

of the sick

healer

pis

of the sanctuaries

one

in that

it would

who

bowshot

be

*Ho

away,

suppliant to be cured god saying that he was a

but that it would

This

answer

was

be

the Great

and

more

by not

better

into

him. to be form

A

his

**

desirable

ill in lying critically carried

life and

and

identified with

Alexander

be better

then

was

of wisdom

the Greeks

^whom

"

of this temple, apparently

lord

god Ea,

generals of

that the

god whether

out

Sera-

asked

the

for Alexander,*'

palace but a temple in order as

voice carried

to remain

a

issued into

the

where

reported by the Companions

from

the

temple he

and

was. soon

BERLIN

FROM

492

hundred

''in

feet

TO

length

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

and

which breadth, upon was raised a second tower and on that a third,and so on up to the eighth, above which there is a great temple. ing Accordthis quadrangular pyramid was to Strabo,^'' **iive hundred ' ' ^*

feet

of Gizeh. of

Babylon

^nineteen feet

higher than the great pyramid As, however, the existingruin of the tower not yet been excavated it is impossible, by

high" has

"

actual measurements, writers

to control

its

the statements

of ancient

scribed But, from an old intablet which has been translated by the noted G. Smith, and more Orientalist, recentlyby Father Scheil, the distinguishedFrench Dominican, we gather that the estimates of the Greek writers were probably excessive, of the for, accordingto the tablet in question,the summit tower feet above the surrounding was only three hundred

regarding

magnitude.

plain. Diodorus

^"

Chaldeans

as

dust-laden

informs an

for the of

was

astronomical

atmosphere

frequent,such

so

that this tower

us

of

successful

Babylonia.

by the the thick,

observatory. In Babylonia,where sand storms would

lofty structure

a

used

observations ''The

are

be

sity quite a necesof the priest astronomers

greatly renowned

clearness

of

the

Babylonian sky," as Koldewey truly observes, "is largely a fiction of European travelers who are rarely accustomed to observe the night sky of Europe without the intervention of citylights." Cicero,therefore, was quite ^^

mistaken

as

as

modern

travelers

when

he

thought that

the

visible on all plains of Chaldea, where the sky was sides,'''^ were speciallyfavorable to star-gazingand the the poet who cultivation of astronomy. Equally misled was broad

sang

34 88 8" 87

of Chaldean

shepherds who

Op. cit.,Bk. I, Chap. 181. Geography, Bk. XVI, Chap. I, Sec. 6. Op. cit.,p. 196. Ibid.,p. 196.

88"Principio Assyrii" "

the

Chaldeans

"propter planitiem magnitudi-

coelum omni ex regionum quos incolebant, cum nemque parte patens observaverunt." apertum intuerentur, trajectionesmotusque stellarum Dwinatione, Lib. I.

et De

BABYLON Watched Those

from the

radiant

centre

493

of their sleepingflocks

Mercuries that seemed

to move, '

Carrying through ether,in perpetual round,

Decrees

and

resolutions of the gods;

And, by their aspects,signifyingworks Of dim futurityto man revealed. it

No, who

not

was

*^made

who,

those of

report

from

the

shepherds

*4ii boundless

solitude''

'"

stars, but the Babylonian priests

summits

of

their

zikurrats,or

templetowers, laid the foundations, broad and deep, of the sublime science of astronomy centuries before Hipparchus and

Ptolemy began rendered

them

those

which investigations

Babylon

greatly impressed

which

us,

but

we

we

idea of the greatness and the

have

immortal.

All the ruins of had

admirable

Babylonian Kings

until

Arabs

stillcall the Kasr,

which

was

or

had hitherto inspected did not yet have a concrete

splendor

of the

capitalof

visited that part which

we

castle.

It

begun by Nabopolassar

the great palace

was

and

the

his

completed by

illustrious son, Nebuchadnezzar. historians By the Eoman it was called the Arx, by the Greeks the Acropolis. It served

not

of the

king

only as and

citadel but also

a

the

as

the favored

as

to the

approach

Merodach, already referred to, which

was

residence

great temple the most

of

famous

sanctuary in Babylonia. Not have

until

we

in great

appreciate the and

wey

saw

his

ruins of the Kasr, which

the wonderful been

measure

excavated, were of work

amount

enormous

associates

splendid contributions

have

which

here

we

which

made

to

Dr. Kolde-

accomplished

they have

able

and

the

to the science

the greatest Assyriologyand to our knowledge respecting capitalof the ancient world. of

"

The

were

of

the walls

of the citadel"some

of

fiftyfeet in thickness" and the vastness Nebuchadnezzar's palace with its countless chambers the remnoteworthy were more amazing. But even

them of

massiveness more

than

BERLIN

FEOM

494

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

adorned with once Way, which were of brilliantly of life-size figuresof lions made eled enambricks,and the great Ishtar Gate which spanned Babylon's Via Sacra, where it entered the older city. The of the Sacred

nants scores

TO

which cover dragons, in brick relief, the delicate modeling of the figuresprove

of bulls and

hundreds

the walls, and

conclusivelythat have

period must Before

the

glyptic art of the Neo-Babylonian attained a very high degree of perfection. the

of these

discovery

wonderful

works

of art,

be

quite skepticalabout the traditional splendor of Babylon, but, when he unearthed of the Sacred Way and the Ishtar Gate, which the marvels is **the largest and most strikingruin of Babylon," he was compelled to admit that the fabled splendor of the city Koldewey

disposed

was

foundation.

not without

was

Adjoining remains

Ishtar

Gate

among

the Seven

of the semicircular

view

what

are

Wonders arches

these gardens makes

they

called hanging

were

by Quintus Curtius

^^

and

which

which

are

it difficultto understand

pensiles hortus

"

other ancient writers.

court

historian

far

less of

calls it,than

is

a

miraculum,

a

ported sup-

why

described

as

"

garden

and

But

said to have

wonder

can

antiquity

of the World.

judge by an inspectionof the ruins now of antiquitywas than nothing more

one

to be the

supposed

are

Gardens

Hanging

of the famous

classed

to

So far

as

this visible, an

elevated

the Eoman

as

ordinary roof garden on one of our modern sky-scrapers.*' In the same palace,of which the Hanging Gardens formed an

**

so room

the large conspicuous an ornament, is shown of the Babylonian Kings. Speaking of this Dr.

does not hesitate to say out for this purpose that no as

to its

audience

having

been

chamber."

should

desire

"Op, oit.,Uh, V, Cap.

used And

to I.

that *4t is reasonable

doubt

can

Kings'

he furthermore

adds:

localize the

"

scene

wey Kolde-

clearlymarked

the

as

their

so

throne

"

of

be

felt

principal

'*If one anyBelshazzar's

BABYLON eventful

banquet, he

accuracy

in this immense

Among

495

surely place it with complete

can

' ' *"

room.

the other

objectsof interest among the marvelous complexus of ruins are a huge lion of basalt, the remains and of Persian Parthian buildingsand the debris of a Greek

theater

Great

the

this remote loath

to

may

believe, was

for the benefit of his

founded

ander by Alexcountrymen who, in

capital of the East, would

forego those

been

had

which, one

so

So much

devoted has

have

intellectual amusements

been

to which

quite

they

in the land of their birth.

knowledge

of

Babylon been increased by the excavation of one-half of the citythat we hope that Dr. Koldewey and his scholarlyassociates will be able to the other half. Should uncover anything interfere with their completion of the great undertaking in which they had already achieved such splendid results,both science and history would suffer a loss that cannot easilybe estimated. From examination of the ruins of Babylon, that which an size of the city,of its most impresses one is the immense of Belus walls and palaces and temples, and that tower of the Old Testament '*the Jews which regarded as the of human essence presumption." Compared with these colossal

ruins

Delphi and

our

the

Sparta

remains and

of

such

Olympia

celebrated

fade

almost

cities into

as

nificance insig-

descriptionsof the Babylonian capitalleft us impression made by the writers of antiquity,the dominant is that of the wealth and splendor and magnificence on us From

the

of this famous

metropolis. This impressionis emphasized

by the inscriptionsof its kings,who tell us how lavishly embellished by the rarest their palaces and temples were of ivory and silver of the East and by vast quantities woods **I filled and gold. Thus Asurbanipal proudly declares, and made Esagilla with silver and gold and preciousstones Ekua

to

shine

Nebuchadnezzar 40

Op. cit.fp. 103.

as

the

constellations in the

rejoicesin

the treasures

sky."

of art and

And learn-

FEOM

496

BERLIN

TO

ing which

he

amazement

of mankind.''

But

how

had

BAGDAD

AND

accumulated

in his

BABYLON

palace for

''the

these

grandiloquentstatements of monarchs and historians substantiated of the by the investigations Orient-Gessellschaf t 1 That Babylon Deutsche are

' '

' '

Far

Outshone

that,as

of Ormus

Indus

Or

Caspian wave

there is

or

of the Greek

and

"

of

structures

of

notions

our

from

the

glowing descriptions

writers, we

are

also led to

city especiallyits temples beauty and grandeur the imposing

under

of the German

from

to the Nile

the

under

Athens

edifices of Rome

many

But

Latin

and

rivaled in

palaces

of Ind;

rocky shore,

buildingsof

the

infer that

Oman's

for doubt.

room

no

and

center,its activities extended

trade

a

the wealth

"

Pericles

The

Augustus.

excavators

and

compel

regarding the

the

sumptuous

however, discoveries,

us

famed

greatly to revise palm-embosomed

the

Euphrates. One of their most startlingrevelations is that,so far as enable them to determine, hewn stone their investigations tion was employed '4n bulk for building,''only in the construcof the northern wall of the Kasr, the Sacred Way, the the Euphrates and in the arches that supported bridge over In this respect Babylon was Gardens. the Hanging far stone was behind Nineveh, its great Assyrian rival,where a common Nearly all of its buildings, buildingmaterial. its most lauded temples, were of suneven composed chiefly dried bricks. Only in certain parts of the larger temples

capitalon

were

kiln-dried bricks

employed.

such

mud

and

Baalbec of Thebes

structures

and

Palmyra, and Abydos

contrast, even,

between

or on

What

a

contrast

between

the

superb marble temples of the highly polished granite fanes the banks

the mud

of the Nile!

temple

What

of Marduk

"

a

^the

BABYLON

497

greatest in Babylonia~and the immense

The

dwellinghouses mostly three

were

the evidence houses

based

like most

of the

flat mud

roofs

heat

exactly like

of

Babylon,accordingto Herodotus four stories high. So far,however' that private

singlestory. They were probably, one-storyhouses in Babylonia to-day~with a

which

of

served

and

as

dormitories during the

Such

summer.

the modern

visible in New

Temple

of

excavations goes to prove

on

of but

were

intense

or

stone

dwellingswere

almost

one-storyadobe houses everywhere

Old Mexico.

The

Mexican

ever, houses,howwmdows, while those in Babylon had none-at the side facing the street. In on this respect, however, they were not unlike so many dwellinghouses seen in have

least

the Near As

I

East

to-day. contemplated the large mud

Babylon, Great Chimu,

I could

remains

but

not

whose

ruins

compare are

now

buildingsof

them

with

those of the

the most

among

ancient

able remark-

of

pre-Hispanic Peru. To look at them one would imagine that.some jinnee had picked up a section of "the Babylonian city and transported it to the far-distant shore

of the South

With

Pacific,*^

the

exception of the Sacred Way and a few other streets,the thoroughfares of Babylon were unpaved. But of none the great Via Sacra,although polthem, not even ished and continuous use, exhibits any trace,as do by long the pavements wheeled

of

traffic.

traffic, even Still

in the

Pompeii, of having This

would

seem

to

ever

been

indicate

Neo-Babylonian period,was

used that

rare

or

for such existent. non-

surprising is the fact that the excavations, show but few traces of the larger buildings, outside of some of a drainage system. How flourishinga city so large and more

pared description of the ruins of Cuzco and the Great Chimu, as comDown the and Andes Amazon, the of with those Babylon, see Along York, 1911). (by J. A. Zahm, New Chaps. XIII, XV 41

For

a

BERLIN

FEOM

498

TO

endured

could have

BAGDAD

long without

so

BABYLON

AND is

one

mystery that

a

to be solved.

remains

light,then, of the German excavations,it is apparent that Babylon, on whose splendor and magnificence the and concerning whose old classical writers so loved to dilate, beauty and grandeur legend and tradition have long spun such wonderful fairytales,was a citythat was remarkable In the

of its publicbuildingsthan

rather for the vastness

eleganceof design and roofs

or

palaces were

and

from

were,

Even ples the tembeauty of execution. low, squat structures with flat mud architectural point of view, quite an

to many

various

parts of the East.

and showed

of the

none

creations

Such

purityof

one

richness taste that

of Phidias

and

they

as

and so

find in

now

may

ornaments

of barbaric

evidences

the matchless

that

caravanseries

inferior

were

for their

sessed pos-

prodigality

characterized

Ictinus.

But, although Babylon was, in its architectural features, well much overrated city,it has, nevertheless,deserved

a

of the world as

has contributed

and

did few

other

of civilization

to the advance the

cities before

rise of Athens

and

For, as has been observed, Babylon is ^*the oldest the And ^*when West of earthly empire." seat was tradition that neither history nor in a darkness shrouded Eome.

penetrate,

can

roamed

over

.

.

.

while

the future

wild

beasts

sites of Athens

or

and

naked Rome

savages and

ence Flor-

laying the foundations London,"*^ Babylon was tion of art and science,of law and literature and of that civilizawhich was subsequently developed and elaborated by and

the great nations

Trade

and

of the West.

commerce

and

agriculture[assertsDelitzsch]

ics, geometry, mathematprime and th^ sciences and, above all,astronomy, had reached a degree of the astronomers even development which again and again moves Not Paris, and astonishment. of to-day to admiration at their

were

*2

The

History and Oonqueata of London, 1877).

"

the

Saracens, p.

2

et

aeq.

(by

E. A.

man, Free-

BERLIN

FROM

500

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

by early Assyrian bas-reliefs and by stillearlier Sumerian

inscriptions. Yet

exhaustive

more

in the two

scriptused of

language that of

researches countries

Babylonia, which

Egypt

lead to the

regarding

and

was

the relations a

Semetic

conclusion

same

the

as

early of the

tongue, do

to

tions investiga-

of wheat* from

the land of respecting the introduction it still grows the Euphrates, where wild, into that of the machines which have Nile,and the identityof the irrigation been in continuous

in both lands

use

for thousands

of years.

indeed, be admitted that no one of these facts is, that the culture and the of itself, sufficient to demonstrate Babylonian in origin; engineeringscience of Egypt werB but,when they are all found to point in the same direction, the argument based them has a cumulative force that is on Dr. Sayce gives judgment in a single quite unassailable. It may,

when

sentence

he

declares

*'it is difficult to avoid

the

clusion con-

that the

Semitic-speaking people who brought the science of irrigation and the art of writing to the banks of the Nile came, from like the wheat the they cultivated, Babylonian plain. Those, however, who are interested in this fascinating theory, which ascribes to Babylonia not only Egyptian of the historical Egypcivilization but also the ancestors tians, work the subject by should read the remarkable on of profound scholarshipand Hommel Professor a work ' ' ^*

*^

"

which

one

has convinced

that there and

But

can

culture of

as interesting

relations notice of

longer be

Egypt are

between

contributions

any

doubt

eminent

alists Orient-

that the civilization

from originally Babylonia. discoveries respectingthe cultural two countries in question,no

came

the

the

Babylonia would

to her

have

no

of the most

many

ence refercomplete without some the science of astronomy. Here

be to

than has hitherto been positiveinformation available regarding the primeval intercourse the between

we

**The "5

more

ArchcBology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions,p. Ill Der hahylonische Uraprung der agyptisohen

Entitled

(London, Kultur

1908).

(1892).

BABYLON

501

peoples of the Euphrates and the Nile. As one might expect,however, in dealingwith subjectscarrying us back into the mists of antiquity, find that the question of we Babylonian astronomy is myth and legend, but such the

corroborate

concerning

and

historians

and

of the astronomers

in to

archaeologists

of old Chaldea.

question regarding the originof astronomy, concerning the beginnings of civil engineeringin

in that

Egypt,

that

boasted

old debate

same

the

were

the

or

the

note

we

to who

as

deeply involved legends as help

in the

Even as

myths

findingsof

the labors

that is

one

ancient

more

Babylonians. Hermes

or

learned

astronomers, the Egyptians people of the Nileland

The

Osiris

the

among

the

was

founder

of their

system, while the Chaldeans, that is the Babylonians, claimed that the first astronomer was Belus,*^the

astronomical

of

son

reputed

builder

confused

with

the

according observatory.

Chaldean

a

of Babel.

of Bel

tower

to Chaldean

as

certain

strict

for

chronology did not

heavens

is known

as

a

very

to which

an

the

era

first astronomical

of years have

before us

the Chaldean B.

C,

the Christian

believe, that

science.

exact

This

observers

be

of

of the

they adopted Previously there

when

of Nabonnassar.

certainty regarding the calculation of March Not, indeed, until the first recorded eclipse, raised to the dignity of an astronomy 721 B. C, was could

was

the absence

simple reason"

attain until 747

the

and

tower, often by Herodotus,

described

would

became

of Noah This

legend, the

writers

astronomy

possibleand

what

grandson

not, however, thousands

was

era,

not

the

was

of the Tower

was,

It

who

Nimrod,

time.

no

21, exact

science. centuries of fact, during the first twenty or thirty Belgian Mesopotamian history [writes the distinguished obCumont] nothing is found but empirical savant, Franz In

Pliny, speaking of BeluB, says: Historiae,"Lib. VI. Cap. 30. Naturalis 46

"Inventor

hie

fuit sideralie

scienti*,

BERLIN

FROM

502

BAGDAD

TO

AND

BABYLON

to indicate omens, and the rudimentary servations,intended chiefly knowledge which these observations display is hardly in advance of that of the Egyptians, the Chinese or

the Aztecs/'' It is only

the

during

last quarter of

century that the advances been able to determine made have we by astronomy at different periods of Babylonian history and this knowledge almost entirely to the persistentwe owe labors of three Jesuits, Fathers Epping, Kugler, and Straszmaier/^ form By a long and careful study of the cuneiof which inscriptionsbearing on astronomy, many they have deciphered,interpreted,and published,they have, for the first time,put the history of Babylonian astronomy And time a firm, scientic basis. on they have at the same Chaldean completely dissipated the poetical fancy of of eclipseswhile watching shepherds discoveringthe causes their flocks'' and the oft repeated fable that it was lonian Babythe precession of the who discovered astronomers that was due to the genius of equinoxes an achievement a

**

"

Hipparchus

of Nicaea.

Thanks, however, named, it must now have

which

be credited

discoveries

were

be

of the seasons,

conceded

that

been

attributed

certain

savants

discoveries

Hipparchus should these of Babylonia. Among astronomers regarding the inequalitiesof the lengths

hitherto to the

of the three

to the researches

of

the methods

to

determining in

advance

the

phenomena of the ^ve known synodic revolutions,and the

planets,the duration of their dates of the phases and eclipses of the moon. In a remarkable cuneiform dated inscription, as early as 523 B. C, is given what is practicallya monthly and eclipsesbut ephemeris not only of the sun and moon also the more notable phenomena of the planets. With *7 Astrology 1912). 48

See

and

Religion

among

the

Greeks

and

Romans,

p. 8

(New

York,

Chalder Babylon, oder das Wissen J. Epping, in collaboration with J. Straszmaier, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1889); Die Bahylonische Mondrechnung (by F. Kugler, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1900).

dder

uber

especiallyAstronomisches den

gestirnten

Himmel

aus

(by

BABYLON does Father

reason

document And

of the

does

oldest known

astronomy of the Chaldeans " impressed by the marvelous astronomical constructed

were

Babylonia that One

consider this ^Hhe

scientific

greatlyis he

so

tables which of

Kngler

503

he declares

know

not

by the priestastronomers

:

which

to

admire

the

the

more,

extraordinaryaccuracy of the periods which is imphed by the drawing up of each of the columns of figuresor the with which these old masters ingenuity contrived to combine all the factors to be considered/^

Recent

has

calculations

accurate of

research

Ptolemy, have

of

have

of the very periods which, from the time

attributed

observers,who are

been

that

to

had

some

Hipparchus, should

to the astronomers

precision which

should

shown

of lunar

been

realitybe ascribed these ancient

also

of

That Babylonia.',^ of the instruments

none

available in

now

able to make

so

in

exact

observatories,

our

calculations is

velous mar-

in the extreme. the discoveries of the Equally noteworthy were Chaldean, Seleucus,who proved that the movement

tides is due the view

to the action

which

48

Cf. Dumont A

of

ancient

will

as

Periods

periodsas given by Babylonian

exact

calculations

the

were

as

thousand

of

by

and

the

modern

observers

of

draconitic

Mean

anomalistic

calculated

given by

by

29

month

synodic

...

month.

27

month..

27 29

Mean

draconitic

month

27

Mean

anomalistic

month

27

foregoing figures it and

ancient

one-fifth

pp. 24, 40, 46.

of

a

modern

second!

days, days, days, days,

7 hours, 43' 14" hours, 44' 31.3" 5' 35.8" 6 hours,

12 13

hours, 18' 34.9"

astronomers:

month...

synodic

27

month

modern

sidereal

astronomers:

27

month...

Mean

Mean

the

by Babylonian

sidereal

Mean

Mean

minimum

how

calculated Mean

as

the heliocentric

"

show

to

Chaldea.

Periods

From

of the

who, contrary

generally prevailed,taught the solar system ^nearlytwo

op. cit.,p. 60. comparison of the lunar

astronomers

and

moon

then

theory

50

of the

hellenized

days, days, days, days,

7 hours, 43'

11.5"

hours, 44'

2.9"

12

5 hours,

13 hours, the maximum

5'

36"^^

18.39.3"

difference of time, that seen the half minute; a observers, is less than See Kugler'eDie BabyloniacheMondrechnung, is

504

FROM

BERLIN

years

before

the

BAGDAD

TO

AND

BABYLON

of

epochal achievements

Copernicus and

Galileo.

foregoingparagraphs clearlyevince

The

that it

the

was

of astronomy, and Babylonians who laid the foundations not, as Buckle, Draper, and others would have us believe,

Caliphate. ''The place of science,therefore," a place which for ages was

the Arabians in

under

honor

the

ceded con-

"

Epping's

Babylonians and studies, has been won

henceforth

remain

which, through

the

to

for

uncontested

to them

them

Father

anew

"will

"

and incontestable.

' "^

order, however, to have a correct idea of the farmust know one reaching influence of Babylonian civilization, to science,art, and its contribution about it than more literature. One must know dition something about the social conand customs of the people and of their manners as For described in their history and reflected in their laws. In

this

a

few

wonderful

code

Babylonia

more

and

who

will suffice and

words

two

king

thousand

the real founder

was

the

of Hammurabi, than

will be based

these

of her

years

who

on

ruled

before

the over

our

era

greatness."

great legalcode which bears his name was, like all other ancient codes, based to a great extent on of which, precedent and on earlier collections of laws, some Hammurabi's there is reason to believe,antedated great But it is than a thousand compilation by more years. because it is chieflya codification of preexistinglaws that the great code of the Babylonian King is so valuable and instructive. find that, unlike the warlike Assyrians, We the Babylonians were not only a peaceable and intelligent It is true

81 82

Kugler

op. Hammurabi's

diorite

was

cit, p. 206. code

which

is

found

it had

been

carried

found

from

on a large stele distinguished Dominican

carefullyengraved

by M. de Morgan the Scheil, among

log^st,Father whither

that the

and

the

ruins

of

Babylon

Susa as

"

loot

the

by

Susan the

of

the

Elamites.

of

black

archseoBible

"

When

in December, 1901, and January, 1902, it was in fragments but the parts tion translaeasily rejoined. In October, 1902, there appeared an admirable of it by Father Scheil which everywhere excited the greatest interest among scholars both of the Old and the New World. In many respects,it is the most of old Babylonia which has yet interestingand valuable inscribed monument

were

been

brought

to

light.

BABYLON but also words and

a

of

for

who

one

laws

humane

very

of the

deeplyreligious people.

has made

people

forty-threeyears

It is

and

startlingto

505

a

over

special study of the history whom Hammurabi bore rule

:

find how much has really come

distinctlyour own great people who ruled the Land need

be ashamed

not

It is from bears of

the

no

A

the

laws

of the

thousand

been

to

that

only

can

thought

from

us

Streams.

trace back

it descends

of extreme

at home

that

We far.

so

to

It

us.

antiquitybut of

a

in ancient

em mod-

lon Baby-

Europe.''^

especiallyremarkable rights and privilegesof have

down

citizen right-thinking

great Babylonian legislator that

are

should

have

we

of the Two

probably feel more

in mediaeval

Among

not

...

that

anything we

ancestors

savage

citywould than

of

**hall mark*'

sterlingworth.

In the

those

are

married

enacted shows

and

which

That

women.

enforced

better

safeguard more

the

such

laws

than

four

than

anything else the to which the Babylonians had high plane of social progress thus To the distinguished early attained. quote from L. W. King, they ^Hhrow an Orientalist, interestinglight in the Babylonian the position of the married on woman not only unexampled in antiquity community, which was and pendence indebut compares favorably in point of freedom years

ago

her

with

status

in

many

countries

in

modem

Europe.''" One

of the many

results of the

discovery of Hammurabi's

ite curiouslyenough, completelyto demolish a favorargument of certain Biblical critics respectingthe laws

Code

was,

of Moses.

So

elaborate

a

code legislative

as

that attributed

able lawgiver was, they contended, quiteimprobat the early date assignedto it,and it must, therefore, have had its originat a subsequent periodwhen societywas to the Jewish

53

H.

Babylonian

Assyrian Laws,

York, 1904). Johns, New 186. cit., Op. p.

W. 6"

and

Contraots

and Letters, pp. vii,

viu

(by C.

506

FROM

more

highly organized.

BERLIN

been

have

TO

AND

BAGDAD

BABYLON

It must, then, the

the work

critics maintained,

of the Jewish

later days of Israel,who, in order

to

priesthood in the give it the necessary

What sanction,falselyattributed it to Moses. have been their surprise and confusion, on the of Father

that it was

Moses, and

Scheil 's translation

that with

it revealed

that described

Higher Critics And to

a

its two

more

years

hundred

and

's older

must

appearance

Code, to than

find

that of

ments eighty-twoenact-

social organization than

elaborate

in the

this is only

But

five hundred

than

more

of Hammurabi

then

one

have

violentlyattacked Book of Exodus? of many similar surprises which the found in the monuments of Babylonia.

continue proportion as the cuneiform inscriptions disclose their long-withheldsecrets,so also,we feel may in

will they, in all essential

sure,

corroborate

and

last bird

Our

matters, be found

the declarations

of the Sacred

's-eyeview of the abomination

to

verify

Text. of desolation

from the highestaccessible point of Babylon was the great royal palace on the Kasr. It was at the hour the noonday sun when was pouring his irradiatingbeams the scattered and crumbling ruins of temples and palaces on seemed been to have and citadels,which blasted by the and to be lying under a lightningsof a wrathful heaven maranatha of an offended Deity. In this major anathema accursed haunt of serpents and scorpions, and the Arabs add dragons and satyrs the earth was absolutely verNo four-footed dureless. thing trod the earth; no winged creature circled through the air ; not a tree or a shrub mound. the brown, sun-baked adorned stood Where once the Hanging Gardens the glory of an that were arrogant of a marveling world; where potentate and the wonder once were halls,with throne of ivory and gold; gorgeous where kings and nobles feasted in bejeweled robes ; where loud choruses swelled to the joyous notes of harp and cymbal and brazen drank bacchanals to Bel psaltery; where from golden gobletslooted from Salem's desecrated temple, that

was

"

"

there

"

now

was

the silence and

the

vacuityand

the oblivion

FEOM

508

BERLIN

these

Eeading the

can

one

*^

60

but

Forever,

Psalm

graphic the

of

presence

cxviii

exclaim

Lord,

0

:

89.

BAGDAD

TO

ruins with

thy

AND

of

words of

Babylon

the

Royal

word

the

as

inspired they

Psalmist

standeth

BABYLON

prophet

appear

in

to-day,

:

firm

in

heaven.''

^^

BIBLIOGRAPHY PARTIAL

LIST

OF

THE

CITED

MORE

IN

Abd-el-Kader, Rappel

IMPORTANT

THIS

VOLUME

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a

WORKS

VIndifferent (Paris,

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1858).

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W.

F., Travels

iamia, Chaldea Track

and

and

Armenia

of W., Die Festungswerke Arnold, T. W., The Preaching the Ten

AssEMANi,

the Muslim J.

Faith

S., Biblotheca

in Asia

(London, 1842) (London, 1844).

Thousand

Andr^,

of

Researches

Assur

von

of Islam,

Minor, Mesopo;

Travels

in the

(Leipsic,1913).

History of the Propagation (London, 1913).

Orientalis

a

Clementino-Vaticana

(Rome,

1719-1725).

:6mile, Bagdad,

AuBL^,

Avenir

Son

Chemin

de

Apergu

j^conomique historique,

Fer, Son

Importance, Son

(Paris, 1917).

Baicoianu,

C.

L, Le Danube,

litique et Po-

(Paris, 1917). W.

Barker,

B., Lares

et

Penates,

Cilicia and

or

its Governors

don, (Lon-

1853). Ibn, The

Batuta,

Beattie, W.,

The

L., From

R., The

E.

Applied

Layard

to Amurath

Amurath

of

House

J., Nineveh

BoNOMi,

by S. Lee

(London, 1829).

(London, 1843).

Danube

Bell, Gertrude, Bevan,

of, translated

Travels

Seleucus

(London, 1911).

(London, 1902).

and

Its

Palaces, The

Discoveries

to

the

Elucidation

of Holy

of Botta Writ

and

(London,

1852). J., The Discovery and Decipherment Cuneiform Inscriptions (London, 1902). A.

Booth,

Br^hier,

L.,

Le

Schisme

Oriental

du

XI

Siecle

of the Trilingual (Paris, 1899).

Wallis, By Nile and Tigris (London, 1920). the Greeks Geography among E. H., A History of Ancient BuNBURY, Em^ Roman Romans and from Earliest Ages to the Fall of the Budge,

A.

E.

pire (London, 1883). J. L., Travels Burckhardt,

in

Syria

Holy Land

the

and

(London,

1822).

Burton, Burton,

Isabel, Inner Richard,

Medinah

and

Life of Syria (London,

Personal Meccah

Narrative

of

(Boston, 1858). 509

a

1884).^ Pilgrimage

to

El-

510

FROM

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TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

Caetani, Leone, Annali dell' Islam (Milan,1905-1912). Canale, M. G., Nuova Istoria delta Repuhhlica di Genova, del Suo Commercio delta Sua dalle Origins alV Anno Letteratura e 1797 (Florence,1858). Candolle, Alphonse (Paris, de, Geographie Botanique Raisonee 1885). Castries, Heney de, L'Islam, Impressionset Etudes (Paris,1912). Chapot, v.. La Frontier e de VEupTiraie de Pompee a la Conquete Arahe (Paris,1907). Chateaubriand, F. de, Voyage en Orient (Brussels,1835). de Fer de Bagdad (Paris,1915). Cheradame, Andr6, Le Chemin Clemente da Ferzorio, p., Le Missioni dei Minori Cappuccini,Vol. VI (Rome, 1920). Chesney, F. R., Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition carried on during the Years 1835, hy Order of the British Government 1836 and 1837 (London, 1868). Cox, W., History of the House of Austria from the Foundation of the Monarchy hy Bhodolph of Hapshurg to the Death pold Leoof the Second (London, 1820). mans CuMONT, F., Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Ro(New York, 1912).

Science and Bible Lands Dawson, J. W., Modern (New York, 1889). des Delitzsch, F., Babel and Bibel (London, 1903) ; Im Lande EinstigenParadieses (Stuttgart,1903) ; Wo Lag das Paradies? 1881). (Leipsie, Demorgny, G., La Question du Danube, Histoire, Politique du Bassin du Danube (Paris,1911). Symbolorum, Definitionum et DeclaraDenzinger, H., Enchiridion Fidei et Morum tionum de Rebus (Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1911). DiEULAFOY, Jane Paule, La Perse,La Chaldee et la Susiane (Paris, 1887). Djuvara, T. J., Cent Projets de Partage de la Turquie, 1281-1913 (Paris,1913). DoDD, Anna B., In the Palaces of the Sultan (New York, 1903). Doughty, C, Travels in Arabia Deserts (Cambridge, 1888). (New York, DuscHENSNE, L., The Churches Separated from Rome 1907). Duval, R., Histoire Politique,Religieuse et Litteraire d*Edesse Croisade jusque d la Premiere (Paris,1892). D WIGHT, H. G., Constantinople Old and New (New York, 1915).

BIBLIOaRAPHY Eliot, C, Turkey

in

511

Europe (London, 1908). aus Babylon,oder das

Epping, J.,Astronomisches daer

iiher

den

gestirnten Himmel

Wissen

der

ChaU

(Freiburg-im-Breisga

1"89), EusEBius

OF

C^SABEA,

EvETTS, B. T., New York).

E cclesiasUcal

Light

on

History,

the Bible

and

the

Holy Land

(New

Fergusson, J.,History of Architecture (London, 1867). Ferriman, Z. D., Turkey and the Turks (New York, 1911). FiNLAY, G.,History of Greece from its Conquest by the Romans the Present Time (Oxford, 1877).

Fortescue, a..

The

Orthodox

Eastern

Church

to

(London, 1908)

;

(London, 1913). A., Historical Essays, Third Series (London, 1879) The History and Conquests of the Saracens (London, 1877).

;

The

Lesser

Eastern

Churches

E.

Freeman,

Garnett, Lucy, Turkey and the Ottomans (New York, 1911). Gelzer, H., Vom Heiligen Berge und aus Makedonien (Leipsic, 1904). pire. EmGibbon, E., The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (New Gibbons, H. A., The Foundation of the Ottoman York, 1916). Glaser, E., Skizze der Geschichte und Geographic Arabiens von den dltesten Zeiten bis zum (Berlin,1890). Propheten Muhammed les Philosophiesdans VAsie Gobineau, M. a. de, Les Religionset Centrale (Paris,1865). and Islam (New Haven, 1917). GoLDZiHER, I.,Mohammed Halid, Halil, Diary of a Turk (London, 1903). Hall, H. R., The Ancient History of the Near East from the. Earliest Times to the Battle of Salamis (London, 1916). J. DE, Histoire de V Empire Ottoman, depuis Hammer-Purgstall Origine jusque Herbelot, Barthelemy 1777). son

a

nos

Jours

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d', Bibliotheque Orientale

(The Hague,

Allgememen 1884). geschichte (Freiburg-im-Breisgau, J. Cardinal, Handbuch

Hergenrother,

Heussi,

K.

and

Mulert,

H., Atlas

zur

der

Ktrchen-

gen, Kirchengeschichte(Tubin-

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1879).

gart, (Stutt-

512

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HiLPRECHT,

BERLIN

TO

BAGDAD

AND

BABYLON

H.

teenth Y., Explorations in Bible Lands During the NineCentury (Philadelphia,1903). Hogarth, D. G., Carchemish (London, 1915) ; The Nearer East (New York, 1902). HoMMEL, F., Aufsdtze und Ahhandlungen (Munich, 1901) ; Der Ur der dgyptischen Kultur Bahylonische (1892). sprung J. Historia Orientalis HoTTiNGER, H., (Zurich,1660). the HowoRTH, H., History of Mongols (London, 1888). C. Mohammedanism HuRGRONjE, (New York, 1916). Snouck,

James, G., A History of the Life of Richard Cceur-de-Lion,King of England (London, 1854). mains, Jastrow, M., The Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, Its ReLanguage, History, Religion,Commerce, Law, Art, and Literature (Philadelphia,1915). ters Johns, C. H., Babylonian and Assyrian Laws, Contracts and Let(New York, 1904). DE JoNQui^RE, VicoMTE (Paris, LA, Histoire de VEmpire Ottoman 1914). KiNNs, S.,Graven in the Rock (London, 1891). at Babylon (London, 1914) ; Die KoLDEWEY, R., The Excavations Tempel von Babylon und Borsippa (Lepsic,1911). (Freiburg-im-BreisKuQLER, F., Die Babylonische Mondrechnung gau, 1900).

Labourt, J.,Le Christianisme dans VEmpire Perse sous la Dynastie Sassanide (224-632) (Paris,1904). Lane-Poole, Stanley, Studies in a Mosque (London, 1893). Laurent, J. C, PerigrinatoresMedii ^vi Quatuor (Leipsic,1864). lon, Layard, a. H., Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babyand the Desert with Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan (New York, 1856). Semiramis und ihre Zeit C. F., Die Historische Lehmann-Haupt, (Tiibingen,1910). de VOrient (Paris,1881). Lenormant, F., Histoire Ancienne Abbassid the Le Strange, G., Baghdad Caliphate from During Persian Sources Arabic and (Oxford, 1900) ; Contemporary Palestine Under the Moslems (London, 1890). nople Lethaby Church The and of Sancta Sophia ConstantiSwainson, (London, 1894). Loti, Pierre, Turquie Agonisante (Paris,1913).

BIBLIOGEAPHY

513

Macdonald, D. B.,Aspects of Islam (New York, 1911) Marracci, Lodovico,Alcorani Textus Vniversus (Padua 1698) Marriott, J. A., The Eastern Question (Oxford, 1917) MiCHAUD, J. F., The History of the Crusades (New York). MiCH^Lis, A., A Century of Archceological Discoveries (New York, '

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MuLLER-SiMONis, P., Persique

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514

FROM

BERLIN

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BAGDAD

BABYLON

AND

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Walpole, F., The Ansayrii and the Assassins (London, 1851). (London, 1914). Whitman, Sidney, Turkish Memories (Chicago, 1896) ; Bible Science Zahm, J. A., Evolution and Dogma and Faith (Baltimore,1895) ; (H. J. Mozans) Along the Andes the Amazon and Down (New York, 1911). Sidcle,publics sous la Catholique Frangaises au XIX I (Paris). Direction du J. B. Piolet,Tom. tions TradiMishcat-ul-Masabih,or a Collection of the Most Authentic lated transRegarding the Actions and Sayings of Mohammed, from the Original Arabic (Calcutta, by A. N. Mathews 1809).

Les

Missions

INDEX "Aaron

the

Abbasside

Just," 418 Caliphate, the, 172

Abd-el-Kader,

Abdul

life of

Algerian ruler, 249

Abd-er-Rahman Abdul

Anatolia,

I,

Hamid

473

Andrae, Dr. Walter, 379 Angel de Villarubbia,Fra,

King, 285, Patriarch, 253, 275, 294 Abydas, Strait of, 77 Abyssinia, 312 Achilles, Ashes of, 36 296

Abraham,

Adadinari

Anglo-French

Anthimos

"Apostle

I,

Alexander

the

110

horses, 441 Arabians, life of the, 442 Arab robbers, protection against,

78

Aracca,

400

plain

of

Aratus,

gary, Hun-

Ali, first legitimate Caliph,

Argos,

260

Caliph, founder

does

America,

about

of

Aristotle,83 Armenian

know

truth

the

or

about

care

Armenians,

key, Tur-

massacre

Anathema

question, 208 business

ability of, 271

of 1909, 205

responsible in great part for

211

207

Marcellinus, 297

Ammianus

Samothrace, 106

of

Aristarchus

453 not

232

420

Bagdad, 409

201 42

44

Arianism,

237

Scripture, 461

language, 272

Argonauts,

445

of

201

Archimedes,

19

Dr.,

Erech

the

Aramaic

Alfold, great central

Anadoli

266

Great, 27, 46, 78, 83,

289

Ameghino,

201

and

202

6

Russia,

of

194, 217,

Al-Mansur,

Beautiful," 218, 255,

Arabian

255,

Al-Mamun,

arch, Patri-

Proto-Martyr among 172 Women," of the "Apostle GentUes," St. Paul,

263

Alexander

Amuita,

the

Antipater, Men,*' 87

105

Aleppo,

Amru,

VII, (Ecumenical

"Antioch

122

Magnus,

Al-Khader,

dad Bag-

289

Agamemnon, "King Agostino, Padre, 263 Aim6e Dubuc de Rivery,

Alexandria,

hostile to

336

of

Alca3us,

292

Antakia, 255

center, 197

Aegean Sea, 90 Afium-Kara-Hissar,

Albertus

press,

157

railway, 166

IV, 386 commercial

Adana,

Allah,

of,

Osmanlis, 121

106

Railway, 99, 121, Anazarbas, 199

159

II, Sultan, 50, 110, 268

Abgar,

the

Anatolian

I, Sultan, 110,

Hamid

ruins

183

Arrians, 101, 305

316

Queen, Kavak,

488

Artemidorus,

45

Ashbelkala,

Maran-atha,

201 380

Ashurnasirpal III, 380

327

617

sacres, mas-

518 Asia

INDEX Minor, 183

great trouble rich in natural

Aspasia, wife

of, 149

of

resources,

184

104 Pericles,

Bagdad railway (Continued) Germany gets concession for,158 in meeting of Czar and Kaiser 1910 in regard to, 164 of far-reaching political source cataclysm,169 splendidlybuilt,167

Asshur, cityof, 294 "Association Laws," 292 Assuerus, King, 353 tunnels of the, 255 Asur, builder of Nineveh, 345, 379 Balkan Assyrian Empire, 347 peninsula,22 and peoples of, hated one Astronomy, foundations another, tice practhe than 501 more Turks, 22 of, by Babylonians, of Barbarossa, Frederick,78, 121 Asurbanipal, the Grand Monarch 353 Barmecides, Slaughter of the, 419 Assyria, "A Thousand Nights and a Night," Barnabas, 171 261 Basra, 264 Bayazid I, Sultan,46 Attica,104 Bazaars of Bagdad, 432 Attila,23 Earl of, 63 of 369 Beaconsfield, Augustine Hippo, Beames, William, 265 Augustus, Emperor, 11 Bedouins, 268 Aurelian,Emperor, 217 life of,442 477 mound Beirut,310 of, 475, Babil, Beith Allah, house of God, 235 Babylon, 471-508 view desolation of of, Belgrade,19 bird's-eye 506 Belus,first astronomer, 501 ers, writBenjamin of Tudela, 414, 480 descriptionsof, by ancient 483 Berosus,priestof Bel, 348 Berlin,1 great wall of,483 Bessarion,Cardinal,335 hanging gardens of, 282, 494 Bethsabee,275 present day, 486 Bianca 491 tower Capello,110 of, 122 Bilejik, Bagdad, 41, 260, 402-436 ancient gloriesof, 412 Bir,281 bazaars Birs-Nimrud, 477 of, 432 Black Forest,5 Carmelite priestsof, 403 Black Obelisk of Salmanasar II, etymologicalnames of, 410 200 fall of, 425 Black Sea, 30 founding of,409 Black medans, 427 Stone,worshiped by Mohammodern, 235 visited by the plague, periodically 431 "Blue Mosque," 175 populationone-fourth Jewish,432 Bohadin, 417 the future of,435 Borsippa, 480 the women of,432 Bosphorus, 161 Bagdad railway,151 plan for tunnel under, 166 aim and purpose 168 of, proposed bridge over, 166 Bossuet of Meaux, 369 completion of, held up by World 370 War, Botta, Paul Emil, 349

INDEX Bourse, the,163 Bozanti

Khan,

Catherine de 188

Catherine

Bralia,31 Bronze

519

of

Lysippus,58 Br6au, Quaterfages de, 456 Bruin, Cornelius de, 358 Brusa, 94 Budapest, 18 Bukcovitz,Stephen, 114 Bukharest,cityof, 29 Bulgar Dagh, the, 189 Burckhardt, discovers black basaltic block,275 Burnouf, Eugene, 362 Byron, Lord, 43 313 Byzantine liturgy, 305 Byzantines, Byzas, son of Neptune, 67

Cerularius, Michael,325 97 Chalcedon, Chaldean church,307 Champollion,Jean Francois,356 Chansans de Geste, untruths in, concerningMohammedanism, 222

Chardin, Jean, 358 Charlemagne, 10, 324

Chateaubriand,52 Chesney, Colonel,152 Chilat,298 Chosroes I, 194, 281, 287

Christianity, in

relation to

the

need

Benedictine,459

Camels, trains of, 185 Canals, 34

Cantacuzenos, manlis

Caravans,

the

Os-

into Europe, 113 20

186

in

communication

friends

by homing

kept

East, 251 the golden city,96 Chrysopolis, Chrysostom, St. John, 71 Churches of the East, 303-340 Church of Holy Wisdom, 56 Cicero,171 Cilician Plain, or Cilieea Campes-

with

fought on, 194 Citadel,at Aleppo, 273 the,29 "City of Delight," "City of the Blind,"the,97 "City of the Saints,"Bagdad, 260 Cleopatra, 204 345, 364, 504 Code of Hammurabi,

pigeons, Coffee,great beverage

lems, of the Mos-

179

267

protectionagainst Arab

robbers,

266

trade,264 of Bagdad, priests,

Cassandra, 91 Castle of Simeon,

256

181 Coffeehouse, Oriental,

Columbus,

452

Comnena,

Princess

Anna,

72

328 Conquest of Constantinople,

Carchemish, the, 276, 282 Carmelite

of the

of Eden, 214 three decisive battles of the world

244

Capistrau,St. John, Capuchins, the, 291

attitude the

the Garden

Mohammedanism, introduces

toward

populationof,198

153

of

change of

tris,189

Danube-Oder, 34 Danube-Salonica,34 Ludwig, 33 law

of West

Calycadnus,the,191

Danube-Elbe,

Mohammedanism,

247

Caetani,Prince,466 Caliphs,triumphs of the,281 Callicolone,87 Calmet, Dam,

Ambassador,

79

C8Bsaropapism,326

Canon

II, of Russia, 61, 383

French Caulaincourt,

Horses

Suez,

Medici,110

403

Constantine IX, Emperor, 325 Constantine Paleologus, 68 414 1 Constantine Porphyrogenitus,

INDEX

520 Constantine

Great, 68, 321

the

Constantinople,51 people of, 65 Constanza, 37 Consul Lirius,84 Coptic church, 312 Copts, of Egypt, 312 Corinth,217 Cos, 105 Council of Florence,327 Crassus,297 Creation,one of the oldest of, discovered,462 Crescent and the Cross,27 Crimean

Deutsche

accounts

Wall, 9 Diana, Temple of, 217 Diering,Professor,on

315

Phrygia and Lycaonia, 187 in the footstepsof the, 171

of a

new

but different, Dominicans

252

Dacia, 26 Dacians,the, 30 Damascus, 289, 313

sword, 331

Dandolo, Henricus, 68 Dante 247, 295 Alighieri, 31 Danube, 4, Darius, 194, 281

Hystaspes, 31 of Akkad," 472

Dati, Leonardo, 457 David, King, 275 Dawson, J. W., 463

Debora,

nurse

of

Tours, 308

osten, Trend

East,

toward

the

155

Leopold, of Austria,10 Dunkelboden, 7 Duke

Earthquakes,218 Churches, 303-340

Eastern

reunion

with

the Mother

Church,

334

Edessa, 284 legend connected with, 284 school of, 297 Egyptian monophysites,312 Eldred, John, 265, 478 El Farruch, Earth-Divider,74 Elgin,Lord, 57 Endocia, Empress, 257 Trismegistesof Enoch, the Hermes Orientals,284 Cordiale, 165

the Entente

Ephesus, 103 Epicureans,201 Ermeni

Rebecca, 298

tion Presenta-

of Mosul, 307

nach

Drang

of, 375

Cunaxa, Cyaxares, 345 Cydnus, 203 Cydnus, the, 190 Cyrus, Bishop, 297 Cyrus the Great, 433 of,171 army Cyrus the Younger, 281 battle

Sisters of the

327

for

come

and the Suez Canal, 153 Disraeli, Djerabis,282 "Doctrine of Addai," 286 Dominican

of the, 257

Crusade, Fourth,

"Dates

Germans,

100 Diocletian, Diodorus Siculus,201, 483 Dionysides,201 Dioscur, Patriarch of Alexandria,

in

Darius

the

168

castles built by, 257

Damoclean

387 Orient-Gesellschaft,

Devil's

Crusaders,

time has

Canal,

Delitzsch,Friedrich,363, 369, 448 Delta of the Nile,317 Dervishes, dancing or whirling,173 howling, 96

CroBsus,King of Lydia, 184 Cross and the Crescent,27

route

Suez

the

165

99

War,

Deggendorf, 8 De Lesseps, and

Eski

Millet,318

Bagdad,

old

Bagdad,

398

INDEX 122 Eski-Shehr, Etchimiadzin, monastery of, 311

Germany,dream the

Eudocea,Empress, 71 Euphrates,the,278, 488 Eusebius of Caesarea, 285 Eutyches,309 Sea, 6, 35

Father

Damien, 247

"Father

of

the Koran,

Garcia

de

Sylva

y,

Crusade,327

Diavolo, 195, 196

319 Fragistan-Europe, a

as

121 Bouillon, Golden Fleece, 44

protector of Turkey,

Horn, 47 Gordianus III,297 Goths,the,217 Gourea,Antonio de, 357 "Granary of Northern Syria,"278 Grand Opera House,of Paris,55 "Great

of

railway in

French

the

East, 160 always encouraged scientific

research, 349 not

tions willing to give recommendato railway Bagdad

project, on

Assassin,"Abdul

Great

Britain

with

Ottoman

Government, 155

160

Turks, 159

attitude toward wish

does not

to know

fear of protectorateover by Teutonic powers,

163

Cemetery, 96 Great Chimu, 497

Galambocz,24

"Great

Schism," 325

Galata, 65 Galatz, 31

Great

214

one

Wall

Greeks,business

the, 437

of the oldest accounts

48

of

274

location of, 447 in

Water,

Sweet

China,483 Greece,people of, in ancient days,

Great

motoring

Turkey 162

Great

Idea," 332

Eden,

truth

tion willingto give recommendato Bagdad railwayproject,

"Great

of

the

Turkey, 211

about

not

friars,262 Francis I, of France, 155 Frankish States,328 Fra Oderic of Pordenone, 39

Coast,

Bagdad railway,

attitude toward

163

friendly terms

the Gold

and

250

Franciscan

Garden

Hamid,

159

Near has

12 Schonbrunn,

Godefroy de

160 fate

way, rail-

Golden

357

France,

Bagdad

465

Glorietta of

Medicine,"105

Feringees,319 Figueroa,Don

Fra

for

417 Ghazzali, ruins Girgenti, of,475 281 Gisdhubar, 29 Giurgero, Gladstone, William,64

96

Fourth

in

power

East,155 158

Glaser, E,

Fatihah,first chapter of

of world

gets concession

309 Eutychianism,

Euxine

521

of

tion crea-

462 discovered, 298 Gargar, valleyof, Genghis Kahn, 113 to build Bagdad Germans, determined 166 railway unaided,

abilityof, 271

Gregorians, 310 Gregory

of

Nyssa,

369

360 Grotefend,Georg Friederich,

Hadj,

annual 244

pilgrimageto Mecca,

INDEX

522

98

Ibrahim, 117

Hainburg, 14 Halicarnasus, Halil

Janos, 20

Pasha, military hospital, Hunyady

Haidar

Konia, 122, 151 Iconium, now Iconoclasts,doctrine of, 102 Ida, 87 Iliad and Odyssey, 81.

217

Halid, the Anatolian,210 Frere

Hamme,

Lieven

de, 263

Hammurabi, Code of, 345 Hanging gardens of Babylon, 282,

Illock,20 .

494

Imam, Iman

Hannibal, 94 Haran, cityof, 293 Harem, explanation of,

Imperial and

ing, mean-

of

the

astery Mon-

Sinai,331

Commission, for regulation 33 of traffic, lo,priestessof Hera at Argos, 45 Ionia,104

International

Hazret, Mevlana, 175 Hebron, 275 Hedja railroad,267 Hellespont, the Thacian, 77

Irene, Empress, Iron gate, 26

Heraelius,194, 281 Herbert, Thomas, 358 Hergenroether,Cardinal,229 Herodotus, 281, 347, 488 Hieron, cityof,46 Higden, Ralph, the Benedictine,449 Hillah,villageof,349, 471 Hincks, Edward, 362 Hipparchus of Nicaea,105, 502 Hippocrates, 105 Hippodrome, in Constantinople,58 Hissarlik,hill of, 86 able Hittites,language of undecipher-

102

of Babylon, 499 Irrigation,

Isaac, 295 Ishtar gate, 494 Islam, creed of, 227

policyof,116 eign opposed to influence of forlaw or theology, science,

liberal not

243

past and present, 220 "the lay religionpar excellence Island

of

Achilles,36

Ismid, 100 Italy, recent

campaigns in Tripoli,

250

Egj^t Jacobites,309

Babylonia,275

nian ArmeHogarth, David G., on question,208 Holy City of Jerusalem, 187 Holy DirectingSynod, 331 Homer, 36, 81 Hommel, F., 465 Howling Dervishes,96 Hudibras, 450 Huet, Pierre Daniel,460 Hugo, Victor,on the Danube, 5 Hulagu Khan, 426 the

"

233

yet, 276

great empire with and

Independent Church Indicopleustes,450

Harnack, Professor, 338 Harpies, 44 Harum-al-Rashid, 46, 417

third

nople, Constanti-

of

Museum

of Mount

126

as

of, 397

273

126-129

Haremlik,

the, 236 Dura, town

Jacob, Patriarch, 284 Janissaries,corps of,114

Jappa,

Gate

Jason, 44 Jebel Hamrin, Jebel Jebel

of

Jerusalem,262

389

Makhul, 389 Sinjar,300

Jelal-ed-din-Rumi, tomb Jenghiz Khan, 216 Jerablus, 278 Jerusalem, 263

of, 172

524

INDEX

Marmora, Sea of, 77 Maronites,313 Marquise de Pompadour, 110 Marracci, Padre Lodovico,221, 226 Mar Shimum, Lord Simon, 306 Mar Yohannan, 308 Mausolus, King of Caria, tomb of, 184

Monogamy, 125 Monophysitism, 309 Monotheism, preached by

med, Moham-

230

Montague, Lady Mary Turkish

the

Wortley,

women,

Mopsuestia,cityof, 197, law

Moslems,

on

181 199

allowed

177 story-teller, Medes, the,345

to by erect tombstones, 259 characteristics of, 134 creed of the, 227 forbidden tobacco, 178 great use of coffee,179 of a deeply religiousnature, 221

Mehemet

orthodox,

Mayo, M., 453 McGahan, Januarius A, 27, 28 Mecca, hadj, or annual pilgrimage to, 224 Medak,

or

Ali, 189

Melchites,310 Merodach, temple of, 490 Mesopotamia, 283 Metz, Gautier de, 449 Mevlana, tomb of, 172 Meyer, Professor Wilhelm, Michael

not

like

the

vishes, der-

173

piety and

devotion

of,124

237

prayers,

regard paintings and impious, 175 361

Cerularius,325

Prellos,326 Midas, King of Phrygia, 184 Moawiah, Saracen, 61 accomplishments of, Mohammed, Michael

230

his followers, 224

and

do

not

women,

their

statues

as

place in things,129

Mosques, the, 234 Mosul, 298, 299, 303 Mount Athas, community of, 331 Mummius, 217 Murad^ II, Sultan, 108 Muslin, derivation of the word, 298 Mustansiriyah College,417

of, 227

creed

notions

erroneous

concerning,224

preaches monotheism, of

reformation

by,

his

230

countrymen

229

Nabonnassar, era of, 501 Nabopolassar, 345 Nahr Belikh, 293

Napoleon,

78

ficationNazienzus, St. Gregory, 71 Mohammedanism, campaign of viliEast Near question, modified by against,225 the Bagdad railway, 151 changelessin doctrine,242 Nebuchadnezzar in relation to, 247 II, 281, 397, 490 Christianity 365 has a reverence for our Saviour, Nehi Yunus, 249 Nejef, sacred shrine of,444 much admire to respect and in, Nestor, 201 270 Nestorianism,297, 305 nople, not on the wane, 240 Nestorius,Patriarch of Constanti305 "the lay religionpar excellence," 233 Nibelungenlied,11 238 Nicaea,101 theologianscomment on, Mohammed II, Sultan,57, 68, 108, Nicene Creed, 102

311, Mohammed

321

V, Sultan,125

Nicomedia,

101

Niebuhr, Carsten,349, 358, 480

INDEX 98 Nightingale, Florence,

Palmyra,217

Nimrod, 284 Nimrod's

a force Pan-Islamism,

tower, 478

must

Nimroud, general aspect of,376 ruins

625

greater

of, 376

strengthening of,268 57 Parthenon,

by Asur, 345 early historyof, 345 "Niobe of nations,"310 Nippur, ruins of, 364 Nisibis, 289, 296 Nitocris, Queen, 488

Parthian

Passau,7 Patriarch the

417 Nizamiyah College, 351 deluge,

head Alexandria,

Antiochenus

362

Perez,Father,403

Pergamus,kingdom of, 185 201 Peripatetics,

Weeping," 298 Obbanes,281

356 Persepolis,

CEcumenical

councils,102

CEcumenical

330 Patriarchs,

Persian Gulf,466 Persian Kings of the Achsmeuian

dynasty,356 417

Opis,400

Persian

satraps, 310

Persian

445 shiites,

school of the,290 Persians, Oppert, head of French expedition Pescennius Niger, 194 to Mesopotamia,482 the of

Peter

Dignitas Ecclesiarum

Pope

Orkhan, second

Leo

XIII,

ruler

340

of the Osman-

95 lis, of Osman, 107 son Orthodox churches,320

Osman,

of

founder

the

Osmanli

dynasty, 107

Osmanlis,characteristics of, 133 great sin, one than

of omission

rather

women,

49

PsBstum, ruins of, 475 Pagans, 304 Palace

of the Star, 49

Paleologus,Theodore, 114 Palgrave,on Mohammedanism,

Great,331 Table,"298 "Peuteringian Peter the Venerable,Abbot of 252 Cluny, 232, Petervarad,20 Phanar, the Vatican of the Ortho. dox church,330 love of one's race, 330 Philetism, Photius,71, 323 Phrygian language,171 Pietro della Valle,263

commission, 219

tolerance to, 150 plea for more Oshoene, kingdom of, 284 Ottoman

Maroni-

305 Paulinists, Paul-Simon, Father,403

of

Orientalium

of

Copts,312

tarum, 314

of, 462

Olympus, 90 Omar Khayyam,

of

Patriarchus

305 Novatians,

"Oak

Kings,491

297 Parthians,

Noachian

Norris,Edwin,

than

the

built

land

with,243

missionary force

ever, 244

Nineveh,341-369

Nod,

which Christianity

reckon

241

Pillars of Hercules, 325

Pinches,T. F., 462 Plague, in Bagdad, 431 201 Platonists, the Divine," 172 "Plato Pliny the Younger, 94 Polygamy, 125 Pontus Axenus, 39 of Pool Abraham, 291 Porter, Robert Ker, 480

526

INDEX

Potsdam, meeting at, in 1910 Czar and Kaiser, 164 Poverello of Assisi,142 Pozsony, 18

of

Prceclara,335

Prayer, of the Moslems, 237 Priam, cityof, 88 of the Melchites, Primate 313 Princes Islands,99 Prophet Daniel, 375 Prophet Jonas, mound of, 352 Prophet Zephaniah, 345 Psametik, King of Egypt, 171 Cilician Gates, 188 or Pylce Cilicice, Fylce-Tauri, gate of Taurus, 189

"Queen of the East," 194

Royal Art Gallery of Dresden, 3 "Royal Road," 121, 253 Rum

Russia, attitude toward the Bagdad railway,160 campaigns in the Transcaucasia, 250

waives

of, across Mesopotamia, 152 Rameses II, the greatest of the Pharaohs, 274 Ramsay, Lady, 129 Sir W.

M.,

129

of San Sisto,3 Raphael's Madonna ud Din, 413 Rashid Rassam, Ormuzd, 351 Ratisbon, city of, 3 Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 361, 411 Rebecca,294

Reign of

in France, 212

Terror

Rhazes,

Mussulman

Bhenus

Superbus,

Rhine,

river,11

Richard

CoBur

physician,416

Armenian Nihilist, inspiredby, Russians, 28

tionists revolu206

Safia,the Venetian, 110 of Alexandria,335 St. Athanasius St. Augustine,228 340 St. Basil's liturgy, St. Bernard, 299 St. Cyril,Patriarch of Alexandria,

James, 349, 480

St. Jerome, 232, 299 St. John

of

St. John

of Damascus,

St. John

of

333

231

Jerusalem, Knights of,

217

St.

Mary of Kanobin, 314 St. Paul,171,189 life and career of, 202-205 of Alcantara, 406

Prosper

St.

of

Aquitaine,216

Stylites,257

Stephen, cathedral

of, 12

St. Theodore

of Studium, 339 Theresa,247 St. Thomas, church of, in Malabar, St.

314

St. Vincent

60

builders of

Chrysostom,

St. Thecla, 172

Malabar," 314 Robinson, Reverend Paschal,141 Roman Empire, 324 road

Dominic, Sons of,341 Ephrem, 290 St. Francis,Sons of, 142 St. George and the dragon, 24 St. Gregory Mazienzen, 333 St. Gregory the Illuminator, 310 St.

St. Simeon

Lion, 10

of

RoBwf^ova,

St.

St. Peter

8

Ricouard, Marie, 404 Rio de Janiero, 66

Romans,

way, Bagdad rail-

Russian

St.

de

Rich, Claudius

"Rite

in

315

construction

Ramsay,

all share 164

Rachel,294 Railway,

Millet, 318

de Paul, 247

antiquity, Sainte-Th6r^se,Father

254

Roumania, 26 Roxalana, the Muscovite,109

404

Saladin,Sultan, 223 of, 393 birthplace

Bernard

de,

INDEX Salmanassar

I, 376 II, black

Salmanassar

Sisters of St. Francis from obelisk of '

200

Salmanassar

527

III, 386

381 Sammuramat, or Semiramis, 87 Samothraee, San

Marco, Cathedral of,58 San Stephano,treaty of, 63 Santa Sophia,church of,53 Sapor I, 297

"

Skobeleff, General,28 Smith,George,351 Sobieski, John, 13 Solyman the Magnificent, 108 Solyman Pasha,78 Sons of St. Sons of St.

Dominic,303 142 Francis,

Sanusiyahs, the,246

Sappho, 105

Stamboul,48 Stanley,Dean, 201 Stoics,

Saracens,317 203 Sardanapalus,

Sargan II, 386 Sarzec, M. Ernest de, 363 Satyrs,476 Saulcy,M. de, 362

Schneider,Siegmund, German

Lens

292

Stone

of Nebi

337

Yunus, 352

Strabo,201 Suez Canal,153 neer, engi-

166

the,445 Sunnites, Syrians, the,272

Syrian Uniates,310

George, 328 Scholarios, School

of

Edessa, 297 Persians,"290 Schrader,Eberhard, 363 Second Council of Lyons in 1274, of the

"School

Tabriz,cityof,41 Tallyrand,34 Tarsus,190, 202 once

the center and

327

of Greek

Selamlik,127 Seleucia,cityof,491

Tartars,306 Taurus Mountains, 183 Tekrit,392

305 Seleucia-Ctesiphon,

Telloh,city of, 364

See

325 Constantinople,

of

the, 316 Seleucids, Nicator,491 Seleucus,the Chaldean Seleucus

503

thought

knowledge,201

Temple of Fame, 6 Tenedos, 87 Ten Thousand Greeks,the,171 astronomer, Terrestrial Paradise,dispute as to,

447 I, Sultan,108, 117 of Leo XII," 335 "Testament Seljuk Sultans of Rum, 172 Teufelsmauer,Devil's Wall, 9 Semiramis, 381 Teutonic Powers, 162 family and connections of,386 the of "Semiramis North," the, Thadd^e, Father, 403

Selim

61

Sennacherib,375 Septimus Severus,14, 194, 297 Serbians,against the Turks, 148 Serpent Column from Delphi,59 Seven Sleepers,legend of the,197 Shamsi-Adad

Simeon, "Siren

380

of, 256 the Nile,"205 Charity,247

castle

of

Sister of

V,

Thapsacus, 281 Thare, 294 "The

Great

River"

of the Jews, 282

Theodora, daughter of Cautacuzenos, 114

Theodora, Empress, 102 Theodosius II, Emperor, Round City," 411 "The Terrible Turk," 148 "The Th^venot, Jean de, 391

257

INDEX

528 "Thirty pieces

of

silver,"295

Via

Thracian

Hellespont, 77 Tiglath-Pileser I, King

of

Assyria,

386

293,

Tigris,the,278 Timok River, 27 Timur, 113, 216 Tobacco, use of,

not

Trade

forbidden

lems, Mos-

by

the,

32

von

154

von

Babil

of

mound

the

Koran, 225 Bieberstein,Baron Marschall, 158 on

von

Babel,

von

Hammer-Purgstall, Moltke, 156 Pressel, Wilhelm,

479

304

German

neer, engi-

166

of the Near

routes

River,

339

Voltaire,269

Tomi, 37 Tonietti, Sig. A., of

Vienna, 13 Villamil, Emeterio, 453 Violet, M. H., 399 Vladimir, King of Russia, Volga

178

Tower

Sacra, of Babylon, 497

East,

253

von

Siemens,

Dr.

George,

156

298

Trajan, Emperor, Trampe, Herr, 168 Treaty of San Stephano,

Wahabis, 63

War, Troubadours, the, 222 Troy, glory of, immortal, 93 plain of, 88 "Turk," applied by Osmanlis referring to a brutal man, Turks, propaganda of the

treatment

Turkey,

Great

against,

Wiseman when 112

123

131

women,

out cannot, with-

Powers

trouble, treat, nation, 213 Tyre, city of, 217

as

179

Wallaehians, 114 Whirling dervishes,173 "White City" of Serbia, 21 Whitman, Sidney, on the Turks,

319

Trojan

the,

Wo

Wolf

of

Lag of

Paradies,

466

Capitol

the

in

Rome,

59

bronze, Worship, freedom the

of,

allowed

by

145

Turks,

pariah Xenocrates, Xenophon,

97

46, 189, 281

Xerxes, 59, 77, Copts, 313 Uniates, 308 Urban VIII, Pope,

369

Westminster,

das

147

83

Uniate

Urf a, 284 the "Uriah Ur

of the

Yashmak, 404

Hittite,"275 Chaldees,

294

Bozanti, 188 della,357, Valle, da Gama, Vasco 73, 264 58 Venice,

Vale

women,

of

Pietro

478

veil

worn

by

Moslem

128

Zab, the,388 Zenobia, "Queen of the East," Zeno, Emperor, 201, 297 Zeus, 45, 91 Zikr ul Aawaze, 376 Zobeide, tomb of, 440 Zoroaster, religionof, 256 (1)

194