BAALBEK BABADAGH 179 Damascus, the principal inhabitants being put to the sword. During the crusades it changed hands repeatedly. It was sacked by Tamerlane in 1400, and subsequently taken by the Metaweli, a barbarous nomad tribe, who were nearly ex- terminated by the Turks. In 1759 an earthquake completed its devastation. The most pfemi- Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek. nent objects visible from the plain are a lofty portico of six columns and part of the walls of the great temple, and the walls and columns of a smaller temple a little below. The greater temple stood upon an artificial platform, be- tween 20 and 30 ft. in height, and extended Piece of Ceiling (fallen) in Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek. 1,000 ft. from east to west. It is probable that it was never completed. Approaching from the east, one entered a magnificent portico, 180 ft. in length and 37 in depth. Only the pedes- tals of the columns now remain ; the vast flight of steps which led up to it have also disappear- ed. The great portal, 17 ft. in width, leads into a hexagonal court about 200 ft. in diameter, in a ruinous condition; on its western side an- other portal, 50 ft. wide, brings one to a quad- rangular court, 440 ft. in length by 370 in breadth. Around the sides of this court are numerous exedra, with columns in front, 30 ft. deep, and elaborately ornamented with carv- ings. The peristyle, 290 ft. in length by 160 in breadth, fronts upon the quadrangle; its col- umns, originally 54 in number, are about 76 ft. in height and over 7 in diameter, usually consisting of three blocks only. This magnifi- cent edifice, of which only six columns now re- main standing, was elevated some 50 ft. above the surrounding country, upon a platform, the western side of which contains three immense stones, whose united length is 190 ft., the largest being 64 ft. long, their average height 13 ft., their thickness still greater. The lesser temple, which like the other is of Corinthian architec- ture, stands upon a lower platform, a little to the south of the peristyle of its greater neigh- bor ; its length, including the colonnades, was 225 ft., and its breadth 120. Its peristyle con- sisted of 44 columns, 45 ft. in height, of which only 19 remain standing. Some 30 rods dis- tant stands a small circular temple, elaborately ornamented. The material used in the con- struction of the temples is a compact limestone, quarried in the hills south of the town. The ruins of Baalbek are apparently of two or three distinct eras. The huge stones which form the platform are of Cyclopean architec- ture. The Roman temples, which appear to occupy the site of an older structure, present some of the finest models of the Corinthian ar- chitecture. The modern village of Baalbek is little more than a heap of rubbish, the houses being built of mud and sun-dried brick. The population is about 2,000. BAIN, Jan van, a Dutch painter, born in Haar- lem, Feb. 20, 1633, died at the Hague in 1702. He confined himself almost exclusively to por- traiture, and was an imitator of Vandyke, to whom he was little inferior in color and ex- pression. He painted portraits of the most eminent men of his own country, and of Charles II. of England and many of his court. He de- clined an invitation of Louis XIV. to visit Paris, on the ground that it would be unbecoming in him to trace the features of the despoiler and conqueror of his country. BABADAGH, a fortified town of European Turkey, capital of the Dobrudja, or N. E. Bul- garia, in the eyalet and 96 in. N. E. of the city of Silistria, near Lake Rassein, which is con- nected with the mouths of the Danube and the Black sea; pop. about 10,000. Near the en- trance of the lake is the seaport of Kara Ir- man, through which Babadagh carries on an extensive trade. The town lies in an unhealthy situation between mountains and swamps. It is called after Baba the saint, whose adjoining tomb attracts Moslem pilgrims. . It contains
