THE history of the Bible is so interwoven with that of the East, that a view of its great empires is necessary. All the lands between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean were united at different periods under one government, and formed an empire which was constantly changing according to the power or weakness of its dominant state; for in the Oriental world there never has existed anything like a confederation of states on an equality. At different periods Ur, Babylon or Nineveh conquered all the surrounding lands; or at other periods a single race, as the Medes and Persians, obtained supremacy. The empire thus arose and fell, to be succeeded by a similar empire with another centre. During the Old Testament history, between the days of Abraham and of Ezra, more than 1,500 years, four successive empires appeared in the East. These were: I. The Early Babylonian Empire. B.C. 2280-1120. II. The Assyrian Empire. B.C. 1120-626. III. The Babylonian Empire. B.C. 606-538. IV. The Persian Empire. B.C. 538-330. I. =The Early Babylonian Empire= began about 3000 B.C., with several states, each having a city as its capital. Among these were Ur (_Mugheir_), Lagesh (Shirpurta), and Isin. These separate kingdoms were united in an empire, of which Babylon was the capital, in the reign of Hammurabi (the Amraphel of Gen. 14:1), about 2280 B.C. It lasted, with varying fortunes, for 1,000 years. A map of this empire, in the time of Abraham, is given on page 34. [Illustration: AN ASSYRIAN PALACE.]