e temple
was dedicated. Outside these noble buildings were ranged obelisks, or
four-sided tapering-pillars of great height, covered with hieroglyphics
commemorating the triumphs of the kings, and colossal figures, few of
which remain _in situ_, which added greatly to the dignity of the
appearance of the whole.

To the same period as the temples of Thebes belong those of very similar
general design hewn out of the sides of the mountains of Nubia, of which
the best example is the larger of the two at Ipsambul, specially
noteworthy for the huge seated figure of the monarch for whom it was
built, the great Rameses II, guarding the entrance to it. The tombs of
the Theban rulers, like the Nubian temples, were hewn out of the living
rock, and are many of them, notably those known as the Tombs of the
Kings and the Tombs of the Queens in the plains watered by the Nile, of
vast extent, labyrinths of passages, alternating with large rooms,
leading to the actual sepulchral chamber.

[Illustration: Tomb at Beni Hassan]

Of considerably later date than any of the buildings referred to above
are the temples of Denderah, Edfou, and Philae, erected after the
conquest of Egypt by the Greeks, but they all resemble those of the
Theban dynasty in general style, whilst that at Esneh is a good example
of the results of Roman influence.

Very great is the contrast to Egyptian architecture presented by the
Asiatic buildings that have been preserved to the present day. In the
former stone was the usual material employed, and the mode of
construction was as a general rule that known as the post and lintel,
whilst in the latter brick was almost exclusively used, and the arch was
a distinctive feature. The so-called Babylonian or Chaldean, Assyrian,
and Persian styles resemble each other so greatly that they may justly
be said to belong to one type, evolved by the inhabitants of the
extensive region watered by the Euphrates and Tigris, who like the
Egyptians attained to a very advanced civilisation at a remote period.
Of the temples not a single one has been preserved, but the remains have
recently been excavated, in the mounds on the site of Babylon, of four
that consisted of numerous chambers enclosing a large court with towered
gateways, whilst at Assur another has been uncovered of a somewhat
similar design. To atone for the lack of temples many Asiatic palaces
have been to some extent reconstructed, the most remarkable being those
unearth