The Chaldean Account of Genesis/Chapter 9
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Chapter IX.
BABYLONIAN FABLES.
Fables.—Common in the East.—Description.—Power of speech in animals.—Story of the eagle.—Serpent.—Shamas.—The eagle caught.—Eats the serpent.—Anger of birds.—Etana.—Seven gods.—Third tablet.—Speech of eagle.—Story of the fox.—His cunning.—Judgment of Shamas.—His show of sorrow.—His punishment.—Speech of fox.—Fable of the horse and ox.—They consort together.—Speech of the ox.—His good fortune.—Contrast with the horse.—Hunting the ox.—Speech of the horse.—Offers to recount story.—Story of Ishtar.—Further tablets.
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OMBINED with these stories of the gods, traditions of the early history of man, and accounts of the Creation, are fragments of a series in which the various animals speak and act. I call these tablets "Fables" to distinguish them from the others, but, as many of the others are equally fabulous and very similar in style, the name must not be taken to imply any distinctive character in this direction. It is probable that all these stories even in Babylonia were equally believed in by the devout and the ignorant, treated as allegories by the poets, and repudiated as fabulous by the learned. In the "Fables" or stories in which animals play prominent parts, each creature is endowed with the power of speech, and this idea was common even in that day in the whole of Western Asia and Egypt, it is found in various Egyptian stories, it occurs in Genesis, where we have a speaking serpent, in Numbers where Balaam's ass reproves his master, and in the stories of Jotham and Joash, where the trees are made to speak; again in the Izdubar legends, where the trees answer Heabani.
These legends so far as I have discovered are four in number.
The first contained at least four tablets each having four columns of writing. Two of the acting animals in it are the eagle and the serpent.
The second is similar in character, the leading animal being the fox or jackal, there are only four fragments, and I have no evidence as to the number of tablets; this may belong to the same series as the fable of the eagle.
The third is a single tablet with two columns of writing, it is a discussion between the horse and ox.
The fourth is a single fragment in which a calf speaks, but there is nothing to show the nature of the story.
I. The Story of the Eagle.
This story appears to be the longest and most curious of these legends, but the very mutilated condition of the various fragments gives as usual considerable difficulty in attempting an explanation. One of the actors in the story is an ancient monarch named Etana who is mentioned as already dead, and as being an inhabitant of the infernal regions in the time of Izdubar.
I am unable to ascertain the order of the fragments of these legends and must translate them as they come.
K 2527.
Many lines lost at commencement.
1. The serpent in . . .
2. I give command? . . . . .
3. to the eagle . . . . .
4. Again the nest . . . . .
5. my nest I leave . . . . .
6. the assembly? of my people . . . . .
7. I go down and enter?
8. the sentence which Shamas has pronounced on me . . . . .
9. I feel? Shamas thy sight? in the earth . . . .
10. thy stroke? this . . . .
11. in thy sight? let me not . . . .
12. doing evil the goddess Bau (Gula) was . . . .
13. The sorrow of the serpent [shamas saw and]
14. Shamas opened his mouth and word he spoke to . . . .
15. Go the way pass . . . .
16. I cut thee off? . . . .
17. open also his heart . . . .
18. . . . . he placed . . . .
19. . . . . birds of heaven . . .
Reverse.
1. The eagle with them . . . .
2. the god? knew . . . .
3. to enter to the food he sought . . . .
4. to cover the . . . .
5. to the midst at his entering . . . .
6. enclosed the feathers of his wings . . . .
7. his claws? and his pinions to . . . .
8. dying of hunger and thirst . . . .
9. at the work of Shamas the warrior, the serpent . . . .
10. he took also the serpent to . . .
11. he opened also his heart . . . .
12. seat he placed . . .
13. the anger of the birds of heaven . . . .
14. May the eagle . . . .
15. with the young of the birds . . . .
16. The eagle opened his mouth . . . .
Five other mutilated lines.
On another fragment are the following few words:—
Obverse.
1. . . . . issu to him also . . . .
2. . . . . god my father . . . .
3. like Etana kill thee . . . .
4. like me . . . .
5. Etana the king . . . .
6. took him . . . .
Reverse.
1. Within the gate of Anu, Elu . . . .
2. we will fix . . . .
3. within the gate of sin, Shamas, Yul and . . . .
4. . . . . I opened . . . .
5. . . . . I sweep . . . .
6. . . . . in the midst . . . .
7. the king . . . .
8. turned? and . . . .
9. I cover the throne . . . .
10. I take also . . . .
11. and greatly I break . . . .
12. The eagle to him also to Etana . . . .
13. I fear the serpent? . . . .
14. the course do thou fix for me . . . .
15. . . . . make me great . . . .
The next fragment, K 2606, is curious, as containing an account of some early legendary story in Babylonian history. This tablet formed the third in the series, and from it we gain part of the title of the tablets.
K 2606.
1. . . . . placed . . . .
2. . . . . back bone . . . .
3. this . . . . placed . . . .
4. . . . . fixed its brickwork . . . .
5. . . . . to the government of them . . . .
6. Etana he gave them . . . .
7. . . . . sword . . . .
8. the seven spirits . . . .
9. . . . . they took their counsel . . . .
10. . . . . placed in the country . . . .
11. . . . . all of them the angels . . . .
12. . . . . they . . . .
13. In those days also . . . .
14. and a sceptre of ukni stone . . . .
15. to rule the country . . . .
16. the seven gods over the people they raised . . . .
17. over the cities they raised . . . .
18. the city of the angels Surippak?
19. Ishtar to the neighbourhood to . . . .
20. and the king flew . . . .
21. Inninna to the neighbourhood . . . .
22. and the king flew . . . .
23. Elu encircled the sanctuary of . . . .
24. he sought also . . . .
25. in the wide country . . . .
26. the kingdom . . . .
27. he took and
28. the gods of the country
Reverse.
Many lines lost.
1. from of old he caused to wait . . . .
2. Third tablet of "The city they . . . .
3. The eagle his mouth opened and to Shamas his lord he spake
The next fragment is a small portion probably of the fourth tablet.
1. The eagle his mouth opened . . . .
2. . . . . . . . . . .
3. the people of the birds . . . .
4. . . . . . . . . . .
5. angrily he spake . . . .
6. angrily I speak . . . .
7. in the mouth of Shamas the warrior . . . .
8. the people of the birds . . . .
9. The eagle his mouth opened and . . . .
10. Why comest thou . . . .
11. Etana his mouth opened and . . . .
12. speech? . . . . he . . . .
Such are the principal fragments of this curious legend. According to the fragment K 2527, the serpent had committed some sin for which it was condemned by the god Shamas to be eaten by the eagle; bat the eagle declined the repast.
After this, some one, whose name is lost, baits a trap for the eagle, and the bird going to get the meat, falls into the trap and is caught. Now the eagle is left, until dying for want of food it is glad to eat the serpent, which it takes and tares open. The other birds then take offence, and desire that the eagle should be excluded from their ranks.
The other fragments concern the building of some city, Etana being king, and in these relations the eagle again appears, there are seven spirits or angels principal actors in the matter, but the whole story is obscure at present, and a connected plot cannot be made out.
This fable has evidently some direct connection with the mythical history of Babylonia, for Etana is mentioned as an ancient Babylonian monarch in the Izdubar legends. His memory was cherished as belonging to one of the terrible monarchs who were inhabiting Hades, probably on account of their deeds.
II. Story of the Fox.
The next fable, that of the fox, is perhaps part of the same story, the fragments are so disconnected that they must be given without any attempt at arrangement.
K 3641.
Column I.
1. To . . .
2. the people . . . .
3. father . . . .
4. mother called . . . .
5. he had asked and . . . .
6. he had raised life . . . .
7. thou in that day also . . .
8. thou knowest enticing? and cunning, thou . . . .
9. of . . . . chains, his will he . . . .
10. about the rising of the jackal also he sent me let not . . . .
11. in a firm command he set my feet,
12. again by his will is the destruction of life.
13. Shamas in thy sentence, the answer? let him not escape,
14. by wisdom and cunning let them put to death the fox.
15. The fox on hearing this, bowed his head in the presence of Shamas and wept.
16. To the powerful presence of Shamas he went in his tears:
17. With this sentence O Shamas do not destroy me,
(Columns II. and III. lost.)
Column IV.
1. Go to my forest, do not turn back afterwards
2. . . . . shall not come out, and the sun shall not be seen,
3. thou, any one shall not cut thee off . . . .
4. by the anger of my heart and fierceness of my face thou shalt fear before me,
5. may they keep thee and I will not . . . .
6. may they take hold of thee and not . . . .
7. may they bind thee and not . . . .
8. may they fell thy limbs . . . .
9. Then wept the jackal . . . .
10. he bowed his head . . . .
11. thou hast fixed . . . .
12. taking the . . . .
Four other mutilated lines.
The next fragment has lost the commencements and ends of all the lines.
1. . . . . carried in his mouth . . . .
2. . . . . before his . . . .
3. . . . . thou knowest wisdom and all . . . .
4. . . . . in . . . . of the jackal it was . . . .
5. . . . . in the field the fox . . . .
6. . . . . was decided under the ruler the . . . .
7. . . . . all laying down under him and of . . . .
8. . . . . he . . . . also . . . . he fled . . . .
9. . . . . angry command, and not any one . . . .
10. . . . . mayest thou become old . . . . and take . . . .
11. . . . . in those days also the fox carried . . . .
12. . . . . the people he spoke. Why . . . .
13. . . . . the dog is removed and . . . .
The following fragment is in similar condition.
1. . . . . The limbs not . . . .
2. . . . . I did not weave and unclothed I am not . . . .
3. . . . . stranger I know . . . .
4. . . . . I caught and I surrounded . . . .
5. . . . . from of old also the dog was my brother . . . .
6. . . . . he begot me, a good place . . . .
7. . . . . of the city of Nisin I of Bel . . . .
8. . . . . limbs and the bodies did not stand . . .
9. . . . . life I did not end . . . .
10. . . . . brought up . . . . me . . . .
The fourth fragment contains only five legible lines.
1. . . . . was placed also right and left . . . .
2. . . . . their ruler sought . . . . .
3. . . . . let it not be . . . .
4. . . . . he feared and did not throw down his spoil . . .
5. . . . . . . fox in the forest . . . .
The last fragment is a small scrap, at the end of which the fox petitions Shamas to spare him.
The incidental allusions in these fragments show that the fox or jackal was even then considered cunning, and the animal in the story was evidently a watery specimen, as he brings tears to his assistance whenever anything is to be gained by it. He had offended Shamas by some means and the god sentenced him to death, a sentence which he escaped through powerful pleading on his own behalf.
III. Fable of the Horse and Ox.
The next fable, that of the horse and the ox, is a single tablet with only two columns of text. The date of the tablet is in the reign of Assurbanipal, and there is no statement that it is copied from an earlier text. There are altogether four portions of the text, but only one is perfect enough to be worth translating. This largest fragment, K 3456, contains about one third of the story.
K 3456.
(Several lines lost at commencement.)
1. . . . . . the river . . . .
2. of food . . . . rest . . . .
3. height . . . . the Tigris situated
4. they ended . . . . was . . . .
5. in the flowers . . . . they disported in the floods?
6. the high places . . . . appearance
7. the vallies . . . . the country
8. at the appearance . . . . made the timid afraid
9. a boundless place . . . . he turned
10. in the side . . . .
11. of the waste . . . . earth were free within it
12. the tribes of beasts rejoiced in companionship and friendship,
13. between the ox and the horse friendship was made,
14. they rejoiced their . . . . over the friendship,
15. they consorted and pleased their hearts, and were prosperous.
16. The ox opened his mouth, and spake and said to the horse glorious in war:
17. I am pondering now upon the good fortune at my hand.
18. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year I ponder at my appearance.
19. He destroyed abundance of food, he dried up rivers of waters,
20. in the flowers he rolled, a carpet he made,
21. the vallies and springs he made for his country,
22. the high places he despised, he raged in the floods,
23. the sight of his horns make the timid afraid,
24. A boundless place is portioned for his . . . .
25. the man . . . . learned ceased . . . .
26. he broke the ropes and waited . . . .
27. and the horse will not approach a child, and he drives him . . . .
28. they catch thee thyself
29. he ascends also . . . .
Here the ox gives a good picture of his state and enjoyment, and looks with contempt on the horse because he is tamed.
After this comes a speech from the horse to the bull, the rest of the tablet being occupied by speeches and answers between the two animals. Most of these speeches are lost or only present in small fragments, and the story recommences on the reverse with the end of a speech from the horse.
1. fate . . . .
2. strong brass? . . . .
3. like with a cloak I am clothed and . . . .
4. over me any one not suited . . . .
5. king, high priest, lord and prince do not seek . . . .
6. The ox opened his mouth and spake and said to the horse glorious . . . .
7. I say I am noble and thou gatherest . . . .
8. in thy fighting why . . . .
9. the lord of the chariot destroys me and desolation . . . .
10. in my body I am firm . . . .
11. in my inside I am firm . . . .
12. the warrior draws out of his quiver . . . .
13. strength carries a curse . . . .
14. the weapon of my masters over . . . .
15. he causes to see servitude like . . . .
16. . . . . in thee is not . . . .
17. he causes to go on the path over . . . .
18. The horse opened his mouth and spake and said to the ox . . . .
19. In my hearing . . . .
20. the weapon . . . .
21. the swords . . . .
22. . . . . . .
23. strength? of the heart which does not . . . .
24. in crossing that river . . . .
25. in the paths of thy country . . . .
26. I reveal? ox the story . . . .
27. in thy appearance, it is not . . . .
28. thy splendour is subdued? . . . .
29. like . . . . the horse . . . .
30. The ox opened his mouth and spake and said to the horse . . . .
31. Of the stories which thou tellest . . . .
32. open first (that of) "When the noble Ishtar . . . .
(Colophon)
Palace of Assurbanipal, king of nations, king . . .
It appears from these fragments that the story described a time when the animals associated together, and the ox and horse fell into a friendly conversation. The ox, commencing the discussion, praised himself; the answer of the horse is lost, but where the story recommences it appears that the ox objects to the horse drawing the chariot from which he (the ox) is hunted, and the horse ultimately offers to tell the ox a story, the ox choosing the story called "When the noble Ishtar", probably some story of the same character as Ishtar's descent into Hades.
It is uncertain if any other tablet followed this; it is, however, probable that there was one containing the story told by the horse. Although there is no indication to show the date of this fable, I should think, by the style and matter, it belonged to about the same date as the other writings given in this volume. The loss of the tablet containing the story of Ishtar, told by the horse to the ox, is unfortunate. It is evident that Ishtar was a very celebrated goddess, and her adventures formed the subject of many narratives. Some of the words and forms in these fables are exactly the same as those used in the Izdubar and Creation legends, and in all these stories the
deity Shamas figures more prominently than is usual in the mythology. The last fable is a mere fragment similar to the others, containing a story in which the calf speaks. There is not enough of this to make it worth translation.
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Chapter X.
FRAGMENTS OF MISCELLANEOUS TEXTS.
Atarpi.—Sin of the world.—Mother and daughter quarrel.—Zamu.—Punishment of world.—Hea.—Calls his sons.—Orders drought.—Famine.—Building.—Nusku.—Riddle of wise man.—Nature and universal presence of air.—Gods.—Sinuri.—Divining by fracture of reed.—Incantation.—Dream.—Tower of Babel.—Obscurity of legend.—Not noticed by Berosus.—Fragmentary tablet.—Destruction of Tower.—Dispersion.—Locality Babylon.—Birs Nimrud.—Babil.—Assyrian representations.
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HAVE included in this chapter a number of stories of a similar character to those of Genesis, but which are not directly connected, and a fragment relating to the tower of Babel. The first and principal text is the story of Atarpi, or Atarpi-nisi. This story is on a tablet in six columns, and there is only one copy. It is very mutilated, very little being preserved except Column III., and there are numerous repetitions throughout the text. The inscription has originally been a long one, probably extending to about 400 lines of writing, the text differs from the generality of these inscriptions, being very obscure and difficult. In consequence of this and other reasons, I only give an outline of most of the story.
We are first told of a quarrel between a mother and her daughter, and that the mother shuts the door of the house, and turns her daughter adrift. The doings of a man named Zamu have some connection with the affair; and at the close we are told of Atarpi, sometimes called Atarpi-nisi, or Atarpi the "man" who had his couch beside a river, and was pious to the gods, but took no notice of these things. Where the story next opens, the god Elu or Bel calls together an assembly of the gods his sons, and relates to them that he is angry at the sin of the world, stating also that he will bring down upon them disease, poison, and distress. This is followed by the statement that these things came to pass, and Atarpi then invoked the god Hea to remove these evils. Hea answers, and announces his resolve to destroy the people. After this the story reads:
1. Hea called his assembly he said to the gods his sons
2. . . . . . . I made them
3. . . . shall not stretch until before he turns.
4. Their wickedness I am angry at,
5. their punishment shall not be small,
6. I will look to judge the people,
7. in their stomach let food be exhausted,
8. above let Vul drink up his rain,
9. let the lower regions be shut up, and the floods not be carried in the streams,
10. let the ground be hardened which was overflown,
11. let the growth of corn cease, may blackness overspread the fields,
12. let the plowed fields bring forth thorns,
13. may the cultivation be broken up, food not arise and it not produce,
14. may distress be spread over the people,
15. may favour be broken off, and good not be given.
16. He looked also to judge the people,
17. in their stomach food he exhausted,
18. Above Vul drank up his rains,
19. the lower regions were shut up, and floods not carried in the streams,
20. The ground was hardened which had been overflown,
21. the growth of corn ceased, blackness spread over the fields,
22. the plowed fields brought forth thorns, the cultivation was broken up,
23. food did not rise, and it did not produce,
24. distress was spread over the people,
25. favour was broken off, good was not given.
This will serve to show the style of the tablet. The instrument of punishment was apparently a famine from want of rain, but there are some obscure words even in this passage.
Here the story is again lost, and where it recommences some one is making a speech, directing another person to cut something into portions, and place seven on each side, then to build brickwork round them. After this comes a single fragment, the connection of which with the former part is obscure.
1. I curse the goddess . . . .
2. to her face also . . . .
3. Anu opened his mouth and spake and said to Nusku
4. Nusku open thy gate thy weapons take
5. in the assembly of the great gods the will? . . . .
6. their speech? . . . .
7. Anu has sent me . . . .
8. your king has sent? . . .
At present no satisfactory story can be made out of the detached fragments of this tablet, but it evidently belongs to the mythical portion of Babylonian history.
The next text is a single fragment, K 2407, belonging to a curious story of a wise man who puts a riddle to the gods.
K 2407.
(Many lines lost.)
1. which in the house is . . . .
2. which in the secret place is . . . .
3. which is in the foundation of the house . . . .
4. which on the floor? of the house stands, which . . . .
5. which in the vicinity . . . .
6. which by the sides of the house goes down . . . .
7. which in the ditch of the house open, lays down . . . .
8. which roars like a bull, which brays like an ass,
9. which flutters like a sail, which bleats like a sheep,
10. which barks like a dog,
11. which growls like a bear,
12. which into the breast of a man enters, which into the breast of a woman enters.
13. Sar-nerra heard the word which the wise son of man
14. asked, and all the gods he sent to:
15. Friends are ye I am unable? . . . . to you
After this there is a mutilated passage containing the names, titles, and actions of the gods who consider the riddle. It is evident that it is air or wind which the wise man means in his riddle, for this is everywhere, and in its sounds imitates the cries of animals.
Next we have another single fragment about a person named Sinuri, who uses a divining rod to ascertain the meaning of a dream.
1. Sinuri with the cut reed pondered . . . .
2. with his right hand he broke it, and Sinuri spake and thus said:
3. Now the plant of Nusku, shrub? of Shamas at thou,
4. Judge, thou judgest (or divinest), divine concerning this dream,
5. which in the evening, at midnight, or in the morning,
6. has come, which thou knowest, but I do not know.
7. If it be good may its good not be lost to me,
8. if it be evil may its evil not happen to me.
There are some more obscure and broken lines, but no indication as to the story to which it belongs.
One of the most obscure incidents in the Book of Genesis is undoubtedly the building of the Tower of
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Men engaged in Building; from Babylonian Cylinder.
Babel. So far as we can judge from the fragments of his copyists, there was no reference to it in the work of Berosus, and early writers had to quote from writers of more than doubtful authority in order to confirm it.
There is also no representation on any of the Babylonian gems which can with any certainty be described as belonging to this story. I have, however, picked out three from a series of these carvings which I think may be distorted representations of the event. In these and some others of the same sort, figures have their hands on tall piles, as if erecting them; and there is a god always represented
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Men engaged in Building; from Babylonian Cylinder.
near, in much the same attitude. There is no proper proportion between the supposed structure and the men, and I would not urge more than a possible connection with the myth. The utter absence of any allusion to the tower, either in Berosus or the inscriptions, led me to doubt at one time if the story ever formed part of the Babylonian history.
Early this year I was astonished to find, on having one of the Assyrian fragments cleaned, that it contained a mutilated account of part of the story of the tower. I have since searched through the whole collection, but have been unable to find any more of this tablet, except two minute fragments which add nothing to the text.
It is evident from the wording of the fragment that it was preceded by at least one tablet, describing the sin of the people in building the tower. The fragment preserved belongs to a tablet containing from four to six columns of writing, of which fragments of four remain. The principal part is the beginning of Column I.
Column I.
1. . . . . them? the father . . . .
2. . . . . of him, his heart was evil,
3. . . . . against the father of all the gods was wicked,
4. . . . . of him, his heart was evil,
5. . . . . Babylon brought to subjection,
6. [small] and great he confounded their speech.
7. . . . . Babylon brought to subjection,
8. [small] and great he confounded their speech.
9. their strong place (tower) all the day they founded;
10. to their strong place in the night
11. entirely he made an end.
12. In his anger also word thus he poured out:
13. [to] scatter abroad he set his face
14. he gave this? command, their counsel was confused
15. . . . . the course he broke
16. . . . . fixed the sanctuary
There is a small fragment of Column II., but the connection with Column I. is not apparent.
Column II.
1. Sar-tul-elli . . . .
2. in front carried Anu . . . .
3. to Bel-sara his father . . . .
4. like his heart also . . . .
5. which carried wisdom . . . .
6. In those days also . . . .
7. he carried him . . . .
8. Nin-kina . . . .
9. My son I rise and . . . .
10. his number(?) . . . .
11. entirely . . . .
There is a third portion on the same tablet belonging to a column on the other side, either the third or the fifth.
Reverse Column III. or V.
1. In . . . .
2. he blew and . . . .
3. for a long time in the cities . . . .
4. Nunanner went . . . .
5. He said, like heaven and earth . . .
6. that path they went . . . .
7. fiercely they approached to the presence . . . .
8. he saw them and the earth . . . .
9. of stopping not . . . .
10. of the gods . . . .
11. the gods looked . . . .
12. violence(?) . . . .
13. Bitterly they wept at Babi . . . .
14. very much they grieved . . . .
15. at their misfortune and . . . .
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View of the Birs Nimrud, the supposed site of the Tower of Babel.
These fragments are so remarkable that it is most unfortunate we have not the remainder of the tablet.
In the first part we have the anger of the gods at the sin of the world, the place mentioned being Babylon. The building or work is called tazimat or tazimtu, a word meaning strong, and there is a curious relation, lines 9 to 11, that what they built in the day the god destroyed in the night.
The remainder of the fragment and the two fragments of the other columns agree with the story as far as their mutilated condition allows. The fractured end of the 13th line of the third fragment has the beginning of a name Babi, which may be completed Babil or Babel, but I have not ventured on the restoration. In the case of the 6th and 8th lines of the first fragment I have translated the word "speech" with a prejudice; I have never seen the ssyrian word with this meaning.
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View of the Babil Mound at Babylon, the site of the Temple of Bel.
The whole account is at present so fragmentary that I think it better to make no detailed comparisons until more of the text is obtained. The various notices which have come down to us seem to me to point to the great pile of Birs Nimrud, near Babylon, as the site of the tower, this opinion is held by Sir Henry Rawlinson and most other authorities of weight. This ruin has been examined by Sir Henry Rawlinson; details of his operations here are given in "Jour. Asiatic Soc.," vol. xviii., and Rawlinson's "Ancient Monarchies," p. 544. Sir Henry discovered by excavation that the tower consisted of seven stages of brickwork on an earthen
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Tower in Stages, from an Assyrian Bas-relief.
platform, each stage being of a different colour. The temple was devoted to the seven planets; the height of the earthen platform was not ascertained, the first stage, which was an exact square, was 272 feet each way, and 26 feet high, the bricks blackened with bitumen; this stage is supposed to have been devoted to the planet Saturn. The second stage was a square of 230 feet, 26 feet high, faced with orange-coloured bricks; supposed to be devoted to Jupiter. The third stage, 188 feet square, and 26 feet high, faced with red bricks, was probably dedicated to Mars. The fourth stage, 146 feet square, and 15 feet high, was probably devoted to the Sun, and is supposed by Sir H. Rawlinson to have been originally plated with gold. The fifth stage is supposed to have been 104, the sixth 62, and the seventh 20 feet square, but the top was too ruinous to decide these measurements. These stages were probably devoted to Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. Each stage of the building was not set in the centre of the stage on which it rested, but was placed 30 feet from the front, and 12 feet from the back. The ruin at present rises 154 feet above the level of the plain, and is the most imposing pile in the whole country. The only other ruin which has any claim to represent the tower is the Babil mound within the enclosure of Babylon, which is the site of the Temple of Bel. I have given views of both ruins as the possible alternative sites.
In the Babylonian and Assyrian sculptures there are occasionally representations of towers similar in style to the supposed Tower of Babel; one of these is given on the stone of Merodach Baladan I., opposite p. 236 of "Assyrian Discoveries;" another occurs on the sculptures at Nineveh, representing the city of Babylon; this tower is probably the Borsippa pile, which is supposed to represent the Tower of Babel. Birs Nimrud now consists of seven stages, but the top stages were only built by Nebuchadnezzar; before his time it probably presented the appearance shown in the Assyrian sculpture, and in the similar Babylonian representation figured opposite page 236 of "Assyrian Discoveries."
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