LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC


DEPARTMENT.

CITIES,

View of the most Important Cities of the


ancient world.
{"character_count": 1451, "word_count": 258, "ccnet_language_score": [0.9864000082015991], "ccnet_perplexity": [1048.9000244140625], "fasttext_language": ["en"]}
ancient world.


Babylon was long the most celebrated
city of the world. The walls built of large
5ri ks, cemented by bitumen, were $50
feet high, 81 feet thick, and 60 miles in
circumfcrence. The form OF the city was
a square, its sides subtending for four car
dinal points. The towers on the walls
were only 250 in number, several places
being surrounded by marshes, and there
fore sufficiently secure without towers
There were 100 gates-25 on each side,
all of solid brass. From these ran straight
streets intersecting one another, and di-
viding the city into squares. Around these
squares stood the houses, separated by cer-
tain intervals. and three or four stories
high. The space in the middle Of each
square was generally laid out in gardens,
but pasture grounds for cattle were re-
served.


In the centre of the city stood the Tenn.
pie of Belus, massy square edifce, half
mile in extent every way. The river
Euphratcs flowed throug II, and over this
river was bridge more than half mile
in length. At the end of the bridge were
two palaces that communicated with each
other, by vault built under the channel
of the river. Before the bridge and vault
could be built, lake 81 miles square and
35 feet deep, was dug to receive its waters.
After this was completed, he river was a
gain permitted TO flow in its ancient chan
ucl.


The hanging gardens were works scar
ceiy less stupendous. They are said to
have contaiucd a square extending AGO