the king's abode to his own house, seated in a royal state carriage, and accompanied with the sound of various musical instruments; he afterwards lays his hands on the gentlemen of the university, to reinstal them. Many of the Jews of Bagdad are good scholars and very rich. The city contains twenty-eight Jewish synagogues, situated partly in Bagdad and partly in Al-Khorkh, on the other side of the river Tigris, which runs through and divides the city. The metropolitan synagogue of the prince of the captivity is ornamented with pillars of richly coloured marble, plated with gold and silver; on the pillars are inscribed verses of the Psalms in letters of gold. The ascent to the holy ark[222] is composed of ten marble steps, on the uppermost of which are the stalls set apart for the prince of the captivity and the other princes of the house of David. The city of Bagdad is three miles in circumference; the country in which it is situated is rich in palm-trees, gardens, and orchards, so that nothing equals it in Mesopotamia. Merchants of all countries resort thither for purposes of trade, and it contains many wise philosophers, well skilled in sciences, and magicians proficient in all sorts of enchantment. Two days from hence stands Gihiagin, or Ras-al-Ain, which is Resen, "the great city;"[223] it contains about five thousand Jews and a large synagogue. In a house near the synagogue is the sepulchre of[224] ...; and, in a cave below it, that of his twelve disciples. From hence it is one day to Babylon. This is the ancient Babel, and now lies in ruins; but the streets still extend thirty miles. The ruins of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar are still to be seen; but people are afraid to venture among them on account of the serpents and scorpions with which they are infested. Twenty thousand Jews live within about twenty miles from this place, and perform their worship in the synagogue of Daniel, who rests in peace. This synagogue is of remote antiquity, having been built by Daniel himself; it is constructed of solid stones and bricks. Here the traveller may also behold the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, with the burning fiery furnace into which were thrown Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; it is a valley well known to every one[225]. Hillah, which is at a distance of five miles, contains about ten thousand Jews and four synagogues, one of which is that of R. Meier, whose sepulchre is in front of it; another is that of R. Seiri, son of Hama, and R. Miri[226]. Public worship is performed daily in these synagogues. Four miles from hence is the tower built by the dispersed generation[227]. It is constructed of bricks called al-ajurr; the base measures two miles, the breadth two hundred and forty yards, and the height about one hundred canna. A spiral passage, built into the tower (in stages of ten yards each), leads up to the summit, from which we have a prospect of twenty miles, the country being one wide plain and quite level. The heavenly fire, which struck