zar II on the mound of the Kasr,
of the small but complete temple E-makh, of the temple of the goddess
Nin-makh to the northeast of the palaces, and of the sacred road
dividing them and passing through the Great Gate of Ishtar (adorned with
representations of lions, bulls, and dragons in raised brick upon its
walls) has enabled us to form some conception of the splendour and
magnificence of the city as it appeared when rebuilt by its last native
rulers. Moreover, the great temple E-sagila, the famous shrine of the
god Marduk, has been identified and partly excavated beneath the huge
mound of Tell Amran ibn-Ali, while a smaller and less famous temple of
Ninib has been discovered in the lower mounds which lie to the eastward.
Finally, the sacred way from E-sagila to the palace mound has been
traced and uncovered. We are thus enabled to reconstitute the scene of
the most solemn rite of the Babylonian festival of the New Year, when
the statue of the god Marduk was carried in solemn procession along this
road from the temple to the palace, and the Babylonian king made his
yearly obeisance to the national god, placing his own hands within those
of Marduk, in token of his submission to and dependence on the divine
will.

[Illustration: 425.jpg WITHIN THE SHRINE OP E-MAKH, THE TEMPLE OP THE
GODDESS NIN-MAKH.]

Though recent excavations have not led to any startling discoveries
with regard to the history of Western Asia during the last years of
the Babylonian empire, research among the tablets dating from the
Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods has lately added considerably to our
knowledge of Babylonian literature. These periods were marked by great
literary activity on the part of the priests at Babylon, Sippar, and
elsewhere, who, under the royal orders, scoured the country for all
remains of the early literature which was preserved in the ancient
temples and archives of the country, and made careful copies and
collections of all they found. Many of these tablets containing
Neo-Babylonian copies of earlier literary texts are preserved in the
British Museum, and have been recently published, and we have thus
recovered some of the principal grammatical, religious, and magical
compositions of the earlier Babylonian period.

[Illustration: 426.jpg TRENCH IN THE BABYLONIAN PLAIN]

Between The Mound Of The Kasr And Tell Amran Ibn-Ali,
Showing A Section Of The Paved Sacred Way.

Among the most interesting of such rece