fere with the account given of Zoroaster, who was the chief supporter, or instrument of Darius, in the reform of the Magian religion, the design of which evidently was to bring it nearer to the Jewish faith, and its patriarchal purity, especially by teaching a future judgment, when all matters in this life would be cleared up, and apparent difficulties explained and reconciled.

Some eastern writers attribute to Zoroaster a prophecy of a great prophet that should arise, the birth of a Divine child in Palestine. Such views might easily be adopted from the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. We may differ from Prideaux, and need not consider Zoroaster as a vile impostor, like Mohammed; he seems rather to have been one who sought to reform the false notions of his countrymen : but acting with human views and human powers, and seeking human ends, he fell into many inconsistencies, and taught many errors. The important fact, that he was highly esteemed and reverenced in his day by the Greeks, as well as by his own countrymen, clearly appears; also, that he derived all his knowledge of good from the source of true wisdom, the Holy Scriptures. From him Pythagoras derived much of the system he taught. The remains of the Magian sect exist at the present day in the East, though persecuted and almost destroyed by the Mohammedans.

Darius Hystaspes was succeeded by his son Xerxes, B.C. 485. Some writers consider that he was the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther; but this is not probable, though he also is called Ahasuerus in Ezra, ch. iv. 6, where is recorded an application made to him by the accusers of the Jews. The result is not mentioned there, but Josephus states it was unsuccessful. He confirmed the former privileges of the Jews, with the grant of the Samaritan tribute for the purposes of their temple worship.

Xerxes is the monarch who invaded Greece with an army of two millions of men, whose march over the bridge that for a short time united Europe and Asia at the Hellespont, continued for several days incessantly.

His signal defeat, and return to Asia in a fishing boat, is known to every reader of ancient history; but the particulars do not call for our notice, as they did not directly bear upon the history of the Jews at that period. This remarkable event, however, is recorded in holy writ. Xerxes is the fourth king of Persia, mentioned by Daniel, ch. xi. 2, as the one far richer than those who went before him, who should "by his strength through his riches stir up all against the realm of Grecia." Among the eastern forces in this expedition, a band is described by Herodotus, proceeding from the Solymean country, who appear to have been Jews. By the payment of a considerable sum, Xerxes induced the Carthagenians, a colony from Phenicia, settled in Africa, to invade the Grecian colonies settled in Sicily. Thus ALL were stirred up, but in vain. These attempts wholly failed, and Xerxes returned to Susa. It is related that, through the whole of this warfare, and in his return homewards, he everywhere destroyed the temples in which images were worshipped; thus, as a Magian, showing decided aversion to the Sabian idolatry. On this occasion the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah, against the idols of Babylon, came to pass, Isa. xxi. 9 ; xlvi. 1, 2 ; Jer. li. 44, 47, 52;

And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, With a couple of horsemen.

And he answered and said,

Babylon is fallen, is fallen';

And all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,

Their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle:

Your carriages were heavy loaden;

They are a burden to the weary beast.

They stoop, they bow down together;
They could not deliver the burden,
But themselves are gone into captivity.
And I will punish Bel in Babylon,

And I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he

hath swallowed up:

And the nations shall not flow together any more unto

him;

XERXES.

Yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
Therefore, behold, the days come,

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That I will do judgment upon the graven images of
Babylon:

And her whole land shall be confounded,

And all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.

Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will do judgment upon her graven images:
And through all her land the wounded shall groan.

Xerxes might be influenced by adherence to Magian principles; but he also, doubtless, was instigated by the desire to supply his exhausted treasury from the riches stored up in these temples, principally vested in the images of gold and silver, whose value brought on their destruction. Here it may be well to notice the vast abundance of the precious metals in those days. It is true, that the space upon the globe wherein these metals were deemed valuable, then was much smaller than in our days. Also, the broad line of distinction between the rulers and commonalty, then existing, confined the gold and silver to fewer hands; but the mines which indisputably were then worked, must have produced vast supplies, much of which has disappeared by the waste of years, and the violent convulsions of the Roman empire when invaded by the Northern Barbarians. These mines being exhausted, no further stores could be drawn from them. The scarcity of the precious metals, during the middle ages, is apparent from history. The produce of the American mines has, in part, supplied this deficiency; yet it may safely be assumed, that in proportion to the extent of the civilized world at the present day, there is a smaller mass of gold and silver among the nations, than at the period under our notice.

Here we may leave the history of Xerxes, only remarking, that it is connected with the wondrous course of events foretold in prophecy, and gradually unfolded

to us.

N

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DECLINE OF BABYLON-ITS RUINS,

CHAPTER XVII.

THE DECLINE OF BABYLON, AND THE PRESENT
STATE OF ITS RUINS.

(See the Plan, page 142.)

THE prominent position which Babylon occupies in the history of the Jews, with the remarkable fulfilment of prophecy, which its own history presents, requires that some notices should be given of the decline and fall of this splendid city, once the mistress of the known world, now a heap of rubbish, a den of wild beasts and noxious reptiles.

We have seen that Babylon suffered much when taken by Cyrus, and when plundered by Xerxes. It was no longer the metropolis of the East, the seat of government being transferred to Susa, Ecbatana, and Persepolis. Alexander, after his return from India, fixed his residence at Babylon, determined to restore its former greatness. He employed many thousand men in clearing the course of the river, and in removing away the rubbish that encumbered the temple of Belus. But the word of God had declared that such designs should not come to pass; these plans were stopped in a few months, by the death of Alexander, B.C. 323. The city was thus left to become more and more desolate, its palaces were crumbling to ruin, its temples demolished, its walls broken down, and the river, no longer confined by its banks, spread over a large extent of fertile country, rendering it a pestilential marsh, thus hastening the depopulation of the province.

Seleucus, the successor to Alexander in the eastern part of the empire, further hastened the decay of Babylon, by building the city of Seleucia, about forty miles distant, on the river Tigris. The next step to

AS DESCRIBED BY TRAVELLERS.

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ruin, was from the invasion of the Parthians, about B.C. 130, when many of the remaining buildings were demolished, and the inhabitants carried into slavery. Diodorus Siculus, about B.c. 45, stated that the public buildings were fallen into decay; only a small part within the walls was inhabited, large portions of the remaining ground being tilled. Strabo, about A.D. 25, relates that the city was nearly deserted. Pliny, about A.D. 80, writes that Babylon was then decayed, unpeopled, and lying waste.

Babylon now presents only ruins of ruins. Pausanias, about the second century, speaks of it as having nothing remaining but the walls. Lucian, about the same time, says it would soon so disappear, that, like Nineveh, it would be sought and not be found. Jerome, in the fourth century, stated, from a monk who had visited the site, that the walls served as an inclosure for wild beasts, within which the kings of Persia hunted. Benjamin of Tudela is the next writer who mentions Babylon. He was there in the twelfth century. He saw what he considered to be some ruins of the palace, but the people were afraid to enter them on account of the scorpions and wild beasts. Rauwolf, in 1574, described the country as dry and barren, and saw a pile of ruins, which he thought was the remains of the tower of Babel, full of venomous creatures lodged in holes among the rubbish. Petro della Valla, in 1616, saw a heap of ruined buildings like a large mountain, the materials of which were all confounded together.

The remains of these ruins have been visited and accurately described by several modern travellers. Rich considers that the Khan or Caravanserai of Mohawil, and the modern town of Hillah, mark the site of Babylon; between which places, for an extent of many miles, is a dreary waste, covered with vestiges of buildings. He says, "The ruins of Babylon may be said almost to commence from Mohawil, the whole country between it and Hillah, (a distance of nine miles,) exhibiting at intervals, traces of buildings, in which are discoverable