The Bible tells us about Moses, who became a great leader among the Israelites. The Israelites were slaves to the kings of Egypt. Moses led them forth from Egypt to escape the hard tasks of one of their kings. =257. What the Egyptians Gave to Other Nations.= Among the Egyptians there were great students for that early time. A few men among them studied the stars and learned about the movements of the heavenly bodies. In arithmetic they could count up to millions. They could weave cloth, cut jewels, and make most beautiful objects out of glass. [Sidenote: =Egyptian hieroglyphics=] But above all the Egyptians could write. Not as we do, of course, but they used letters, not rude pictures as seen in most early writings. Scholars have named the characters used in writing by Egyptians and other ancient peoples "hieroglyphics." =258. Babylon and Nineveh.= Asia, too, had early peoples. Perhaps some of them were older than the Egyptians. There lived in southwestern Asia, in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, two mighty nations whose chief cities were Babylon and Nineveh. [Sidenote: =The hanging gardens of Babylon=] Babylon on the Euphrates was a splendid city. It had great walls to protect it against enemy nations. Its hanging gardens were the wonders of the ancient world. To the north, on the banks of the Tigris, lay the great city of Nineveh. The fierce kings of Nineveh conquered many nations and forced them to pay tribute. In this region, nature furnished the kings no building stone such as was found in Egypt. But they made their homes and their palaces out of sun-dried brick. This soft material, as the years rolled on, fell into decay, and now men can find the ruins of these wonderful cities only by digging where they lay. [Sidenote: =How the Babylonians wrote=] The Babylonians did their writing upon bricks or clay tablets before they dried them. They had their own way of writing, using a sharp piece of metal for making wedged-shaped lines instead of letters. They used a sort of picture-writing too, making rude cuts of birds, animals, and man. On these clay tablets, buried centuries ago, we may read the stories of what they did and how they lived. =259. How Jews and Phoenicians Helped Mankind.= Along the eastern end of the Mediterranean lies Palestine, which was conquered by the Jews early in their history, and became their home. The Jews as a people interest us because they have given us our religious ideas. They have never been a warlike nation, but at times they could fight. David was one of their great kings, and Solomon another. During long years this people has held faithful and true to the idea of one God. Although the Jews were driven from Palestine and scattered among the nations of the world they have never given up their religion. They have always looked forward to the time when they might return to Jerusalem and set up a Jewish nation once more. As a result of the World War that time seems to have come.