to Palestine. Half the trilje were bent on a less distant jour- ney; and with them the question must have been, where could they, on or near the line of route, obtain an un- occupied territory. They could not di- rectly cross the open desert between Bab- ylonia and Palestine. EA'en caravans trav- elling from Bagdad to DaiTiascus are obliged to take the route by Harran.
W. Description of the Modern Lncniil;/. — 'Ur or Hur, now Miir/heir, or Um- Mu- gheir, " the bitumen- ed," or " the moth- er of bitumen," is one of the most ancient, if not the most an- cient, of the Chaldffi- an sites hitherto dis- covered. It lies on the right bank of the Euphrates, at the distance of about si.x miles from the pres- ent course of the stream, nearly oppo-
Sccle of l/erdi.
H H H H owe yards rcmnd. a a a. Platform on which the house o is built, a. House rlear.-d. h. Pavfment nt edge (,ite the point where of platform a, twelve feet below surface, c. Tomb mound, d, f, g, >i,k,l, in. Points at which excavations were made hy Mr. LoftuB. ////. Comparatively open space of very low mounde.
the Euphrates
ITR
671
UR
ceives the Shat el - Hie from the Tis^ris. It is now not less than VIb miles from the sea; but there are j^rounds for believing that it was anciently a mari- time town, and that its present inland position has been caused by the rapid growth of the alluvium. The re- mains of the buildings are generally of the most archaic character. They cover an oval space 1000 yards long by 800 broad, and consist principally of a number of low mounds enclosed within an eiiceinfe, which on most sides is nearly perfect. The most remarkable building is near the northern end of the ruins. It is a temple of the true Chald;ean type, built in stages, of which two remain, and composed of brick, partly sun-burned and partly baked, laid chiefly in a cement of bitumen. It is in the form of a right-angled parallelogram, the long- est sides of which are the north-east and south-west. One angle points due north. The lower story is sup- ported by buttresses thirteen inches deep, and, with the exception of those at the angles, eiglit feet wide. The biiilditig measures 198 feet in length and 133 in breadth. The lower story is twenty-seven feet high, and has but one entrance, which is eight feet wide. The outer sur- face is faced with "red kilu-baked bricks" to a thick- ness of ten feet; but
the whole interior is ^-a^^^S
of sun - dried bricks, _. -^JSMSggBtW
In each of the angles rLi — ~jzM^^S^^^!=&S^^i
of this building, six ^g_--^^^^~ SjEJSlS - feet inward, near the yF= — = - -'^nf^^- =— - foundation, an in- ^y, scribed cylinder was discovered, which ap- pears to have served the same purpose as the documents at present deposited be- neatli the foinidation- stones of our great buildings. These cylinders are now in the Britisli Museum. The bricks of this building bear the name of a certain Urukh, who is re- garded as the earli- est of the Chaldaean monumental kings, and the name may possibl}' be the same as that of Orcbamus of Ovid {Metam. iv, ■212), His supposed
<late is B.C. "2000, or a little earlier. 'Ur was the capi- tal of this monarch, who had a dominion extending at least as far north as Niffer, and who, by the grandeur of his constructions, is jiroved to have been a wealthy and powerful prince. The great temple appears to have been founded by this king, who dedicated it to the moon-god. If arid, from wliom the town itself seems to have derived its name. Ilgi, son of Urukh, com- l)leteil the temple, as well as certain other of his father's buildhigs, and the kings who followed upon these con- tinued for several generations to adorn and beautify the city. The tablets of the Chaldaeans discovered at Mu- gheir are among the most interesting ever brought to light. Tliese records bear the names of a series of kings from Urukh (B.C. 2-230) to Nabouidus (B.C. 540), the last of the series. Among others is that of Kudur- mapula, or Chedorlaomer (Gen. xiv, 1). The temple was dedicated to Sin, or "the moon," which element was preserved by the Greeks in the name Mesene, ap- plied bj' them to the surrounding region. "The cylin- der inscriptions of Mugheir are invaluable documents in confirming the authenticity and truth of Scripture. They not only inform us that Nabonidus, last king of Babylon, repaired the great temple of the moon at Hur,
but they also explain who Belshazzar was, concerning whom the early Bible critics have in vain endeavored to reconcile conflicting statements. lu the book of Daniel (v, 30) he is alluded to as the king of the Chal- dees when Bab'ylou was taken by the united armies of the Jledes and Persians. The account of Berosus does not, however, agree with that of Scrijiture. It states that Nabonidus, after being utterly routed in the open plain by Cyrus, shut himself up in the city of Borsippa, but was soon obliged to surrender his person to the con- queror. From Daniel, therefore, we are led to conclude that Belshazzar was the last ChaUtean monarch ; while Nabonidus is represented in the same capacity by Bero- sus. . . . Sir Henry Rawlinson's reading of the Mugheir cylinders entirely reconciles these discrepancies. Tlie records distinctly state that Bdshazzar was the eldest son of Nabonidus, and that he was admitted to a share of the government" (Loftus, Chakkea and Susiana, p. 13; comp. Journal of Asiatic Society, xv, 260 sq. ). See Belsfiazzar.