Identifier: historyofbaby01roge (find matches)
Title: A history of Babylonia and Assyria
Year: 1915 (1910s)
Authors: Rogers, Robert William
Subjects:
Publisher: New York : Abingdon Press
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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done much tobring the hour nearer. In December, 1765, Carsten Niebuhr, whosename has already filled a large place in this storyin connection with the ruins of Persepolis, visitedHillah. He was absolutely certain in his ownmind that these ruins belonged to the city ofBabylon.1 He was deeply impressed by theirvast size, but still more by the evidences of ahigh state of civilization which they indicated.He found lying upon the ground and about thegreat mounds numerous bricks covered with in-scriptions. Niebuhr could not read a line uponthem, and no man living could have done so; butthat they existed, and that the writing was thewriting of the ancient Babylonians, was nowwell known in Europe. Europe had, however,entirely failed to grasp the meaning of these im- 1 Dass Babylon in der Gegend von Helle (Hillah) gelegen habe,daran ist gar kein Z we if el.—Reisebeschreibung nach Arabien und andernumliegenden Landern. Kopenhagen, 1778, ii, p. 287. The River Euphrates South of Babylon. .nob .
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Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N. Y 130 EXPLORATIONS, 1734-1820 131 portant facts. Europe believed that a peoplewho could only write upon clay must have beena people in a low state of civilization indeed,and must have possessed but a small literature.Niebuhr quotes from Bryant these words, andthey were fairly representative of the generalopinion entertained in Europe: I cannot helpforming a judgment of the learning of a peoplefrom the materials with which it is expeditedand carried on, and I should think that literaturemust have been very scanty, or none at all,where the means above mentioned were ap-plied. To Niebuhr such reasoning appeared tobe folly. To his mind the presence of these in-scribed bricks was evidence of a very high stateof civilization.1 He lamented that he could notremain longer at the site, the more thoroughly tostudy its ruins, and calls earnestly for others tocontinue the work which he had to leave un-finished. Niebuhr also visited the mounds near theTigr

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