many may perhaps be led to suppose there was but one city of that name. . . .

There were, however, many cities of this name, but only two are mentioned in Scripture; Antioch which was the capital of Syria, and another Antioch called Antioch of Pisidia.

Antioch of Syria, was formerly called Riblath; and it was not known under the name of Antioch till after the reign of Seleucus Nicanor, who built it, and called it Antioch, from respect to his father Antiochus, 301 years before the Christian era.

The kings of Syria, successors to Alexander the Great, generally resided at Antioch. There the disciples of Jesus Christ were first called Christians.

This city, which was formerly so beautiful, so flourishing, and so illustrious, is scarcely any thing at present but a heap of ruins; the city walls are still standing, but within the city there is nothing but ruins, gardens, and some bad houses; the river Orontes runs near the city on the outside of it. The Bishop of Antioch has the title of Patriarch, and has a great share in the affairs of the Eastern Church.

Antioch was almost square, had many gates, and much of it on the north side stood on a high mountain. It was adorned with galleries and fine fountains. It was celebrated throughout the world, and no city exceeded it either in fertility of soil, or richness of commerce. The Emperors Vespasian and Titus, and others, granted very great privileges to it; but it has likewise been exposed to very great revolutions. It was almost

demolished by earthquakes in the years 340, 394, &c. The Emperor Justinian repaired it in A.D. 529, and called it Theopolis, or the City of God. It was twice afterwards taken by the Persians; subsequently it suffered a dreadful earthquake, in which above 60,000 persons perished; in A.D. 970, an army of 100,000 Saracens besieged it without success, but they afterwards subdued it, and made it almost impregnable by adding

new fortifications. Godfrey of Bouillon, when he attempted the conquest of the Holy Land, besieged it; the siege was long and bloody, but the Christians at length carried it, A.D. 1098. Since A.D. 1268 it has lost its reputation and magnificence, and has groaned under the dominion of the Turk.

Antioch abounded with great men, and the Church in the city was long governed by illustrious prelates; but it suffered much on several occasions from various schisms. In 1832 Antioch surrendered to the Egyptians. See ARUNDEL'S Asia Minor.

66

After descending the mountains, through wild and woody scenery, we reached the banks of the Orontes, at the place where commences the picturesque part of the river. The grand sources of water which compose the once celebrated fountain of Daphne, are still to be seen. In some instances, we were told, the water boils up as thick as a man's body, and may be thrown up for upwards of fifty feet.

"We now began to follow the banks of the river, and were astonished at the beauty of the scenery, far surpassing anything we expected to see in Syria, and indeed anything we had witnessed even in Switzerland, though we walked 900 miles in that country, and saw most of its beauty. The river, from the time we began to trace its banks, ran continually between two high hills, winding and turning incessantly; at times the road led along precipices in the rocks, looking down perpendicularly on the river. The luxuriant variety of foliage was prodigious, and the rich green myrtle, which was very plentiful, contrasted with the colour of the road, which was a dark-red gravel, made us imagine we were riding through pleasure-grounds. The laurel, laurustinus, bay-tree, fig-tree, wild vine, plane-tree, English sycamore, arbutus, dwarf oak, &c. were scattered in all directions. At times the road was overhung with rocks covered with ivy; the mouths of caverns also presented themselves, and gave a wildness to the scene;

and the perpendicular cliffs jutted into the river upwards of 300 feet high, forming corners round which the waters ran in a most romantic manner. We descended at times into plains cultivated with mulberry plantations and vines, and prettily studded with picturesque cottages. The occasional shallows of the river keeping up a perpetual roaring, completed the beauty of this delightful scene, which lasted about two hours, when we entered the plain of Suadeah, where the river becomes of a greater breadth, and runs in as straight a line as a canal. By the time we entered the plain it had become moonlight, and we had difficulty in finding Suadeah; a peasant at last showed us a place where the river is fordable, for there is no bridge. We found Suadeah to be a straggling village, consisting of unconnected cottages, situated in a plain chiefly enclosed with mulberry and lemon plantations. We put up at a house appropriated for the use of travellers in general, and which we found the best place we had yet met with h; the soubash of the place, a sort of petty governor, was in the house, and treated us with wonderful civility, ordering us a good supper, feeding our horses, and in the morning he refused to let us pay a para.

"In the morning we pursued our journey towards Antioch, being in a hurry, and understanding that the ruins of the ancient Seleucia, which are near the sea, (Suadeah being half an hour's distance from it,) possess no particular interest. The weather turned out very wet this day, and after we had been en route about three hours, being two hours' distance from Antioch, we perceived some cottages, and being thoroughly wet, we requested shelter; we were refused at three cottages, but received in a fourth. These cottages are long buildings of a single room; the cattle occupy one end, and human inhabitants the other. They have extensive plantations of young mulberries for the silkworms, and looms for manufacturing their produce. The occupants of the hut were uncommonly kind, placing us near

a large fire, giving us good beds and coverlids, and making us join them in a humble supper of doura and wheat boiled. It rained a great deal the whole night, and we were detained till noon on the following day, when we proceeded to Antioch."

"Antioch is beautifully situated on the left bank of the Orontes, at the foot of a hill; there is a goodlooking bridge over the river, and some of the heights are picturesque. The present town, which is a miserable one, does not occupy more than one eighth part of the space included by the old walls, which have a fine venerable appearance, having square towers every hundred yards, with occasional turrets for looking out; these are the works of the Roman and Greek Emperors. Antioch is said to have contained between eight and nine hundred thousand inhabitants. The plain of Antioch is considerably elevated above that of Suadeah. The houses of Antioch, Suadeah, Lourdee, and their neighbourhood, are roofed and tiled, without terraces, differing in that respect from most of the towns of Syria. There are many sepulchral-caves in the side of the hill at the back of Antioch. This town is celebrated in the Acts of the Apostles: Paul and Barnabas embarked at Seleucia, (the present Suadeah, and the port of Antioch) for Cyprus. At Antioch we were lodged in a khan."-IRBY and MANGLES.

CHAPTER II.

MESOPOTAMIA-ASSYRIA-BABYLONIA.

UR OF THE CHALDEES.-Haran-Serug.

THE TIGRIS.-Jungle-Wild Animals-Fine Scenery near the "Pass of the Tigris."

NINEVEH.-Utter ruin of Nineveh-Mounds of Koyunjuk and Nebbi Yunus-Fulfilment of Prophecy-Mounds of Yarumjah-Ruins of Nimrod.

KALAH SHERKAT.

AL-KOSH.-Wild Scenery-Chaldean Convent.

AL HADHR.-Remarkable Ruins-Inscriptions.

CALAH.-Jewish Traditions-Interesting Antiquities.

PLAINS OF SHINAR, OR BABYLONIA.-Marshes of Lemlun.

BABYLON.-Ancient City-Present appearance of Babylon-Ruins The Palace Mujelibe-Birs Nemroud-Tower of Babel, or Belus-Babylonian Antiquities-Hillah and the Euphrates-Ancient ruins at AlHheimar.

DURA.-Perhaps at Imam Dour.
ERECH.

ACCAD,

CALNEH.-Ctesiphon and Seleucia.
KUTH, or KUTHA.

BAGDAD.