Page:A History of Art in Chaldæa & Assyria Vol 1.djvu/192

 i ;o A HISTORY OF ART r CIIALD.F.A AND ASSYRIA. palaces of Nineveh. 1 The exigencies of the climate remained the same, the habits and requirements of the various royal FIG. 52. The Palace at Firouz-Abad ; fmm Flnndiu and Coste. families that succeeded; each other in the country were not FIG. 53. The palace at Sarbistan ; from Flandin and Coste. sensibly modified, while the Sargonids, the Arsacids and the Sassanids all ruled over one and the same population. 1 Brick played, at least, by far the most important part in their construction. The domes and arcades were of well-burnt brick ; the straight walls were often built of broken stone, when it was to be had in the neighbourhood. At Ctesiphon, on the other hand, the great building known as the Takht-i-Khosro is entirely of brick.