Babylon, the mightiest city of ancient times, celebrated in the Bible and in the earliest human records as the greatest centre of sensual splendor and sinful luxury the world has ever seen, is at last being explored in the most thorough manner by the German Oriental Society, of which the Kaiser is patron. Babylon rose to its greatest glory under Nebuchadnezzar, the most famous monarch of the Babylonian Empire. At that period it was the great centre of arts, learning and science, astronomy and astrology being patronized by the Babylonian kings. The city finally came to a terrible end under Belshazzar, as related in the Bible. The palace of the impious king has been uncovered and its great piles of masonry laid bare. The great hall, where the young prophet Daniel read the handwriting on the wall, can now be seen. The palace stood on elevated ground and was of majestic dimensions. A winding chariot road led up to it. The lower part was of stone and the upper of burned bricks. All around on the outside ran artistic sculptures of men hunting animals. The doors were massive and of bronze and swung inward, between colossal figures of winged bulls. From the hall a stairway led to the throne room of the King, which was decorated with gold and precious stones and finished in many colors. The hall in which the infamous banquet was held was 140 feet by 40 feet. For a ceiling it was spanned by the cedars of Lebanon which exhaled a sweet perfume. At night a myriad lights lent brilliancy to the scene. There were over 200 rooms all gorgeously furnished, most of them devoted to the inmates of the king's harem. The ruins as seen to-day impress the visitor and excite wonder and admiration. The Germans have also uncovered the great gate of Ishtar at Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar erected in honor of the goddess of love and war, the most renowned of all the mythical deities of the Babylonian Pantheon. It is a double gateway with interior chambers, flanked by massive towers and was erected at the end of the Sacred Road at the northeast corner of the palace. Its most unique feature consists in the scheme of decoration on its walls, which are covered with row upon row of bulls and dragons represented in the brilliant enamelled bricks. Some of these creatures are flat and others raised in relief. Those in relief are being taken apart to be sent to Berlin, where they will be again put together for exhibition. The friezes on this gate of Ishtar are among the finest examples of enamelled brickwork that have been uncovered and take their place beside "the Lion Frieze" from Sargon's palace at Khorsabad and the still more famous "Frieze of Arches of King Darius" in the Paris Louvre.