G P PUTNAM & Co NEW YORK.
NORTH-EASTERN FACADE AND GRAND ENTRANCE OF SENNACHERIBS PALACE KOUYUNJIK
Restored from a Sketch by J Fergusson, Esqre
DISCOVERIES
AMONG THE RUINS OF
NINEVEH AND BABYLON;
WITH
TRAVELS IN ARMENIA, KURDISTAN, AND THE DESERT:
BEING THE RESULT OF A SECOND EXPEDITION
UNDERTAKEN FOR
THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
BY
AUSTEN H. LAYARD, M. P.
AUTHOR OF “NINEVEH AND ITS REMAINS.”
| “For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin; a palace of strangersto be no city; it shall never be built.”—Isaiah xxv. 2. |
ABRIDGED FROM THE LARGER WORK.
NEW-YORK:
G. P. PUTNAM & CO., 10 PARK PLACE.
1853.
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1853, by
GEORGE P. PUTNAM & CO.,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of
New-York.
PREFATORY NOTE.
The present Abridgment of Mr. Layard’s Discoveries among the ruins ofNineveh and Babylon has been prepared with much care and attention; and astudious effort has been made to retain, in the Author’s own language, themore interesting and important portions of the larger work. This has beendone by omitting the greater part of the minute details of thedescriptions of sculpture and monumental remains, by dispensing withseveral tables of cuneiform characters, elaborate examinations of variousmatters by scientific men, &c. At the same time there has been retainedevery thing relating to the Bible, and illustrating and enforcing itstruth and the fulfilment of prophecy; as well as the genial and life-likeportraitures of Arab habits and customs, and the pleasant adventures ofthe Author in regions that to most men seem like fairy land.
[Pg 4]For general use it is confidently hoped and believed that the presentvolume will be more widely serviceable than the larger work, from itsexpensiveness and size, could possibly be.
S.
New-York, May 2d, 1853.
PREFACE.
Since the publication of my first work on the discoveries at Nineveh muchprogress has been made in deciphering the cuneiform character, and thecontents of many highly interesting and important inscriptions have beengiven to the public. For these additions to our knowledge we are mainlyindebted to the sagacity and learning of two English scholars, Col.Rawlinson and the Rev. Dr. Hincks. In making use of the results of their