which, are still called after Nimrud,1 represent the great city
of Resen.
These sites partly determine the limits of ancient Assyria,
which, when independent of Babylon, was bounded on the
north by Mount Niphates and part of Armenia; on the east
by that part of Media which lies towards Mounts Chaboras
and Zagros; on the south by Susiana, as well as part of
Babylonia; and, finally, on the west by the river Tigris.
| According to Ptolemy, Assyria Proper contained the provinces
of Calachene, Arapachites, Adiabene, Arbeletes, Apol-
loniatis, Sittacene, and Chalonitis; in which are the rivers
Tigris, Lycus, Caprius, and Gagus.2
The chief towns were Nineveh, Mespilla, or Meso-pulai
(Mosul), Larissa (Resen), Arbela (Gobil), Dara (Dura),
Curcha (Kerkúk), Sámmurra, Opis, Artemita, Halus, and Al-
batia.3 In some instances, the ancient sites may still be
recognized, but by far the greater number are unknown; and
the cities of this once splendid empire are feebly represented
by the modern towns of Mosul, Se’rt, Amádíyah, (the town
of the Medes,4) Bítlís, Yán, Arbíl, Suleimaniyah, Kerkúk,
Koi-Sanjak, Zakho, Rowanduz, and Júlámerik.
K u r d is t a n .
As it will be perceived, by a reference to the map, that the
limits thus given comprise the greatest part of the territory
of the Kard, or Carduchi,5 this seems to be an appropriate
place for noticing the present state of Kurdistán.
This extensive tract is divided into four districts, of which
the two first, Kirmán-sháh and Ardelan, will be elsewhere
noticed as a part of Persia. The third is composed of the
Turkish districts of Mush and Bítlís, west of lake Yán; and
the fourth is the independent territory of the Tyárí, Hakkárí,
and Berráwí tribes of Chaldeans, whose capital, Júlámerik^
1 Rich’s Kurdistán, Yol. I I ., p , 1 3 0 .
s Ptolemy, lib. VI., c. i. 3 ibid
4 Mr. Ainsworth’s Visit to the Chaldeans, Vol. XI. Part I„ p. 31, of the
Royal Geographical Journal. ’
5 Expedition of Cyrus, lib IV.
occupies nearly the centre of these mountain districts. The
Kaldani people, according to their own account,1 were converted
to Christianity by St. Thomas and two of the seventy
disciples. By means of a rigidly enforced system of exclusion,
they have preserved their freedom as a republic; their religious
tenets and simple liturgy have also remained nearly unchanged
since the moment that the blessings of the Gospel were
introduced into their secluded valleys.
Almost every village has its priest, and likewise a church
of peculiar simplicity, in which, a little before daylight, and
fasting, the Kaldani of each sex assemble, on Sunday, for
divine worship. This is a vaulted building, without steeple
or belfry, and sometimes in front of a cave. Its interior walls
are covered with printed calico, and it is without seats, images,
pictures, or ornaments of any kind : the whole complement
of the service consists of manuscript copies of the New Testament
and liturgy, a brass cross (different from ours), a small
bell, a copper chalice and paten, with an incense chafing-dish.
Having purified their hands in the smoke of frankincense
issuing from the last-mentioned vessel, the priest, clothed in
wide trowsers, a shirt, and a cotton surplice, administers to
each individual the sacred elements of bread and wine: he
then proceeds, in Chaldee, with the ritual which concludes
the service, and the people kiss the minister’s hand as they
retire to their dwellings: there is, besides, another sacrament,
that of baptism. Fasts are frequently kept, and all kinds of
meat are strictly prohibited to the clergy after ordination; but
celibacy is not enjoined on the priests, bishops, or patriarch.
The last dignity, with its temporal and spiritual power, is
hereditary.
A constant state of warfare, or of preparation to resist
attacks, has rendered the Chaldean ferocious towards enemies,
and even towards peaceable strangers ; but the knowledge of
Christianity, imperfect as it is in that country, has, notwithstanding
this and other faults, made him superior to the
Asiatics of the same class who follow the Muhammedan
1 Collected during Mr. Ainsworth’s recent visit.—Vol. XI. Part I., of
the Royal Geographical Journal.