and asses, and brute beasts, this was the only punishment fit for them; but Jonas, having received some indignity from a young lad, who spit in his face and ran off faster than the other could pursue him, drew his yatagan, and chased those near him with this naked dagger in his hand, till they flew in every direction; and he, at last, in the rage of disappointment, threw it with all his force amidst a group of three or four who were near him, and shivered its ivory handle by the fall into twenty pieces. The only regret that he expressed was, that the blade had not buried itself in some of their hearts, instead of the weapon thus falling uselessly on the ground. After such conduct, none of the people could be prevailed on to approach us, though at least a hundred of the villagers stood aloof gazing at these two enraged Turks, and flying at the least symptom of pursuit. We were, therefore, obliged to finish the saddling of our own horses, and to mount, and leave the leaders of the baggagehorses to follow us when their fears had subsided.

It was not yet daylight when we left the village of Ain Koura, and going now in a direction of south-south-east, over a partially cultivated country for about four miles, we came, just as the sun was rising, to the town of Areveel, or Arbeel, for it is pronounced in both these ways by its own inhabitants.

This was the largest place that we had yet seen since leaving Mousul, and its population was reported to exceed ten thousand, half of which may be nearer the truth. The people are chiefly Mohammedans. We saw here two tolerable mosques with minarets, extensive, and, even at this early hour, well-filled bazārs, streets shaded by awnings of leaves and branches supported by poles, many good dwelling-houses of sun-dried bricks, and a number of welldressed people.*

* The following is the brief notice given of this place by Rauwolff: "The last day of December we travelled on, and came through well-tilled fields about night into the town Harpel, which is pretty large, but very pitifully built, and miserably surrounded with walls, so that it might easily be taken without any great strength or loss; there we rested again the next day, being the Sabbath, and on the same day fell NewYear's Day.-p. 164.

The principal feature of this town is a large castle, seated on an eminence in the centre, looking, from a distance, like the castles of Emessa and Aleppo in Syria, and equally as large as either of these. The mound on which it is elevated is of a square form, raised on an inclined slope; and though of great extent, is, no doubt, the work of human labour, as far at least as the shaping and casing of its exterior with stone, though the interior basis of the structure is perhaps a natural hill. Within the walls of the castle, which are constructed of brick, there are many inhabited dwelling-houses, though the most extensive part of the town is spread around the foot of the citadel.

The united testimonies of all modern geographers agree in admitting this to be the site of the ancient Arbela, whose name it still retains. It was to this place, that Darius retreated, after the battle of Gaugamela,* flying under the cover of the night, from the troops of Alexander. He made no stay here, but hastened into Media, to recruit his army, while the Macedonian conqueror, following up his advantages, arrived soon after him at Arbela. The city instantly surrendered to him, and put him in possession of considerable spoils, consisting of the royal furniture and equipage of Darius, four thousand talents in money, and all the riches of the army, which had been left there in his flight.

D'Anville observes, that though it is usual to apply the name of Arbela to the battle which lost the Persians the empire of Asia, and gave it to the Greeks, yet it is always spoken of as a very small place by Strabo, Arrian, and Plutarch. Strabo adds, indeed, says this writer, that Darius, the son of Hystaspes, had destined this place to

"This battle happened in the month of October, much about the same time of the year in which was fought the battle of Issus, two years before, and the place where it was fought was Gaugamela, in Assyria; but that being a small village, and of no note, they would not denominate so famous a battle from so contemptible a place, but called it the battle of Arbela, because that was the next town of any note, though it were at the distance of above twelve miles from the field where the blow was struck.”—Prideaux's Connection of the Old and New Testament, pp. 714, 715.

On going out of the town to the southward, we noticed a fine tall minaret, now isolated, and in ruins, though the green tile-facing of its original exterior was still visible in many places, and from its size and style of ornament, it must have been attached to some considerable mosque.

*

offer a few strictures on historians generally, has some pertinent remarks on this subject. He says, "in the same manner, the last battle with Darius (from whence he took his flight and continued it from place to place, till he was seized by Bassus and slain upon Alexander's approach) is as confidently reported to have been fought at Arbela, as the preceding one was at Issus, and the first equestrian battle at the river Granicus. The first equestrian battle really happened on the banks of the river Granicus, as did the other at Issus; but Arbela is distant from the field where this last battle was fought, six hundred, or at least five hundred stadia. For both Ptolemy and Aristobulus assure us, that the scene of this last action with Darius was at Gaugamela, upon the river Bumadus. And whereas Gaugamela was only an obscure village, and the sound of its name not grateful to the ear, the glory of that battle has been conferred on Arbela, as the chief city of these parts." But, he asks, “if this battle may be said to have been fought at Arbela, which was really fought at so great a distance from it, why may not the naval action at Salamis be ascribed to the Corinthian Isthmus, or that at Artemisium, in the island Euboea, to Egina, or Sunium?" (book vi. c. 11.) Curtius, indeed, who must be confessed to have been a most inaccurate geographer, in one place (book iv. chap. ix.) places Arbela on the west of the Tigris, and, consequently, far remote from either the Lycus or the Bumadus; though in the same chapter he places it on the east of it, (book iv. chap. ix.) He calls it also an inconsiderable village, and memorable for nothing but for this battle between Alexander and Darius; but, in addition to the opposing testimony of Arrian, Strabo says, expressly, that it was a large city, and the capital of a province, (book xvi.) Curtius states that Darius fled from the field of battle, which was at Gaugamela, according to Arrian, Strabo, and Plutarch, and reached Arbela at midnight, (book v. chap. i.) But, besides that this is making Arbela too near to the scene of action, Arrian says, that Darius, immediately after this battle, fled through the mountainous tract of Armenia into Media, (book iii. chap. 16.) and Diodorus Siculus (book xvii.) confirms this, by saying that he hastened away to Ecbatana, which was the capital of that country, without either of them mentioning his taking Arbela in the way. Curtius, indeed, goes so far as to say, that Alexander was driven from Arbela sooner than he intended, by the stench of the dead carcases left unburied on the field of battle; (book v. chap. i.) but as this is so expressly stated to have been six hundred stadia distance, such an extensive corruption of the air, from this cause, is hardly credible.

Pliny speaks of a singular stone called Belus, found at this place:-"The stone called Belus' eye is white, and has a peculiar property, which causes it to glitter like

Our course was still directed to the south-south-east, and the country over which we travelled was mostly waste and destitute of villages. The stage was long, the horses jaded, the sun scorching, the air on fire, the soil parched, not a breath of wind from the heavens, and no water on the road. When we had been six hours on the full gallop, having ridden nearly fifty miles, we arrived, exhausted with thirst and fatigue, on the banks of the Altoun Sou, or Golden Water, which, to us, at this moment, seemed richly to deserve its name.

We entered the town of Altoun Kupree, or the Golden Bridge, so called from its having a fine lofty arch over the Altoun Sou, and never did repose and shelter seem to me more welcome. We had met large troops of Arab horsemen on the way, who seemed bound on some predatory expedition, though they did not molest us; and we exchanged salutes and inquiries with two Tartars from Bagdad, who were themselves escorted by a troop of Arab horse, from the same tribe as those we had met before, to guard them from expected enemies in the way. We had additional reason, therefore, to congratulate ourselves on a safe arrival, and this consideration creased sweetness to our repose.

gave in

When we were refreshed by a sleep of three or four hours, I procured a guide, and took a ramble on foot through the greater part of the town, for which there was yet time, as the hour of our departure was fixed at sun-set.

Altoun Kupree, or the Golden Bridge, consists of two separate portions or quarters, each of them tolerably large, and each having their own separate bazārs and markets of supply. The Altoun Sou, or Golden Water, as the river is called, has two branches, one of which runs through each of the separate portions of this town; so

gold. This stone, for its singular beauty, is dedicated to Belus, the most sacred god of the Assyrians. There is another stone called Belus, found, according to Democritus, about Arbela, of the size of a walnut, and in the manner and form of glass.”—Plin. Nat. Hist. book xxxvii. chap. 10.

the maintenance of the camel which had carried his personal baggage in his expedition against the Scythians.*

By some of the ancient geographers, this town of Arbela is placed on the river Lycus ;† but, as we have seen, it is nearly thirty miles to the south-east of that stream, supposing this to be the same with the Zabatus, or Zarba, as before assumed. D'Anville seems to have had very imperfect materials to guide him through this part of Alexander's route, though, in his dissertation, he blames Ptolemy, and quotes Arrian, after which he fixes Arbela on the river Caprus, or the lesser Zab, which is equally far from the truth, as there is no stream sufficiently near to Arbeel, for this town to be considered as seated on any river at all.

With regard to the observation of this geographer, that Arbela is always spoken of as a small place: it may have been originally a very inconsiderable one; but Strabo says, that Arbela was adorned by Alexander, on account of his victory there, and that a mountain or hill in the neighbourhood of it (probably indeed the one on which the castle is now built) was called Nicatorius, to commemorate the same event.‡

* "Quoique il soit d'usage d'appliquer le nom d'Arbelles (Arbela, qui est au pluriel,) à une fameuse bataille qui fit perdre aux Perses l'empire d'Asie, pour le donner aux Grecs, c'est toutefois sous le nom d'un très petit lieu qu'il en est parlé dans Strabon, dans Arrien, et dans Plutarque. Strabon ajoute sur ce sujet, que Darius, fils d'Hystaspe, avoit destiné ce lieu à l'entretien d'un chameau qui avait porté le bagage propre à sa personne dans son expédition contre les Scythes."-D'Anville sur l'Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 88. 4to.

+ See the authorities for this position, quoted by Lempriere.

The conflicting testimonies, not only of different writers, but of the same historians, in various portions of their narratives, on the position and events of the battle of Arbela, require to be analyzed and compared.

Arrian, in his history of the Expedition of Alexander, says, that the whole army of Darius consisted of forty thousand horse, a million of foot, two hundred hooked chariots, and about fifteen elephants, which arrived from the parts beyond the river Indus. With these forces Darius encamped at Gaugamela, upon the banks of the river Bumadus, about six hundred stadia distant from Arbela, in a country every where open and champaign; for whatever inequality was in the surface of the earth thereabouts, and