Later still, Darius the Great is enthroned on Persian soil; haughtily he wears the imperial purple, and the crown of many kingdoms, while upon the face of Persia’s mountains, he writes himself “The king of kings.” But a reckless policy led the Persian host to a sure defeat upon the plains of Marathon, and prepared the way for the humiliation of Xerxes, and the later triumphs of Alexander. Then the sons of the desert poured like a mountain torrent over the plains of Īrān, and the star and crescent flashed everywhere from banners on Persian soil, while to-day the Arab pitches his tent amidst the ruins of ancient cities, and only the spade of the explorer reveals their buried treasures. ----- Footnote 26: Cuneiform means “having the form of a wedge,” and is especially applied to the wedge-shaped or arrow-headed characters of ancient inscriptions. Footnote 27: Collection de Clercq, Pl. 5. No. 46. Footnote 28: 4-34. Footnote 29: Deluge Tablets in British Museum, Records of the Past, 1-133. Footnote 30: Marked K 3657 in British Museum. Trans. by Geo. Smith. Footnote 31: Inscriptions of Western Asia, Vol. 19. Trans. by Prof. Sayce, Records of Past, 11-119. Footnote 32: Brit. Mus. Ins., Plates 37-42. Trans. by Rawlinson. Footnote 33: Annals, Col. 3, line 24. Also 2 Chron. xxxii, 5. Footnote 34: These deeds are attested by the seal impressions, or in lieu thereof by the nail marks of the parties to whom they belonged. Many of them have been translated.—_W. St. Chad Boscawen._ Footnote 35: Concerning the statue of Bel, see Daniel, chap. iii; Herodotus, bk. I; Strabo, XIV; Pliny, VI, chap. xxvi; Q. Curtius, lib. V; Arrianus, lib. VII. Footnote 36: The mythology of Nebuchadnezzar’s inscriptions will be briefly treated in the following chapter. Footnote 37: This devastation was accomplished during Sennacherib’s campaign of 694 to 692 B.C. Footnote 38: The city of Babylon was founded in very early times. It became the capital under Khammuragas (about 1700 B.C., who built a temple to Merodach there), and held this position for twelve hundred years. It was conquered by Tukulti-Ninip, 1271 B. C.; by Tiglath-Pileser II, 731 B.C.; by Merodach Baladan, 722 B.C.; by Sargon, 721 B.C. It was sacked and destroyed by Sennacherib, 692 B.C.: restored by Esarhaddon, 675 B.C.; captured by Assur-bani-pal, 648 B.C.; rebuilt in great splendor by Nebuchadnezzar during his long reign, and taken at last by the Medes and Persians about 539 B.C.—_Ernest A. Budge, Trans. Vic. Ins._, V. 18, p. 147. Footnote 39: Nebuchadnezzar reigned from about 605 to 562 B.C. Footnote 40: 2 Kings xxiv, 7. In the tablets the river Euphrates is called “the river of Sippara.” Footnote 41: Dan. iv, 30. Footnote 42: Translated by Fox Talbot, F.R. S., Records of the Past, I, 69-73. Footnote 43: Translated by Fox Talbot, F.R. S., Records of the Past, 1-133. Footnote 44: