Page:Herodotus and the Empires of the East.djvu/37

Rh ruins which to-day bears the name "Kasr" (fortress) are found limestone tablets with the inscription: " Great palace of Nebuchadrezar, king of Babylon, the son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, who increased the honor of the gods Nabû and Marduk, his lords." Therefore we can at least decide which of the ruins existing to-day go back to the times of Nebuchadrezar. There is, however, no inscription extant from which we can directly decide the length of Imgur-Bêl and Nimitti-Bêl.

If we wish, then, to verify the correctness of Herodotus' figures, we must measure the extreme distances of the remaining ruins from one another. The ruins of Babylon begin fourteen kilometers north of the present town of Hillah, and extend ten kilometers south of the town. Their breadth—that is, their extension from east to west—amounts to nineteen or twenty kilometers. The area covered by these ruins is divided into two unequal parts by the Euphrates. The greater part lies on the east side; the most northerly heap of ruins, called by the inhabitants Babil, lies on the east bank of the Euphrates, some ten kilometers distant from Hillah. These ruins, which form an extended hill, probably contain the remains of the "hanging gardens," and once lay within the wall of Babylon; the stones bear the name of Nebuchadrezar. The most southern ruin, called Birs Nimroud, situated about ten kilometers southwest of Hillah, marks the remains of the Nebo temple of Borsippa, especially the terraced tower, or ziggurat. Borsippa did not lie within the walls of Babylon, but had its own walls, which are mentioned by Nebuchadrezar. This town was situated southwest of Babylon, on the west bank