The Tower of Babel, represented as being 54 stadia from the city, must have been distant 6.75 Italian, or 6.21 English miles, precisely the position of Birs Nimroud—Prison of Nimrod—called “Marburtirudt”, for Marbout Nimroud. It was to these ruins that Benjamin of Tudela (Ritter, _Die Erdkunde_ etc., x, 263) referred when describing the tower constructed before the dispersion of the people, situated on the right bank of the Euphrates, and one and a half hour’s journey from Hillah; it measured 240 yards in diameter, and was about 100 canna in height; a gallery conducted to the summit, whence the view around extended over the plain to a distance of eight leagues. Schiltberger expresses himself to the same effect when he says, “in several places it is x leagues in length and in breadth”. In adding that the tower stood on the Chaldæan side of the Arabian desert, he has no intention of directing us to Arabia proper, but to Irak Araby, the country of the ancient Chaldæans.—BRUUN. (2.) “And one inch is the first member of the thumb.”—Schiltberger fails to distinguish the Italian from the Lombard mile; we are therefore at liberty to conclude that he here alludes to the ancient Roman mile, .75 of a degree, which consists of 59,800 untz or zoll, the zoll being equal to the English inch. In saying that the Italian or Lombard mile consists of 45,000 inches only, Schiltberger gives us to understand that the “schuch” was one-fourth shorter than the foot; in other words, he refers to the palma, an Italian measure of his day. It follows, therefore, that the pace of five palmas must have measured 3 ft. 9 in.—BRUUN. (3.) “Schatt.”—The Tigris is still known as the Schat (Ritter, _Die Erdkunde_ etc., xi, 4), not only from its junction with the Euphrates, but also along the whole of its upper course (Rachid-Eddin by Quatremère, xxix), which justified Barbaro in having said that Hassanchiph was near the Set.—BRUUN. (3A.) This is confirmed by Colonel Chesney (_Exped. to the Euphr. and Tigris_, i, 60), who writes that Shatt, or more correctly Shatt-el-Arab, is the name given to the rivers Euphrates and Tigris after their junction at the walled town of Kournah; but that the designation belongs properly to the Tigris. This river is clearly called Schot by Olearius.—ED. (4.) “Kinna.”—This fruit, called “kurnia” in Penzel’s edition, is probably the khourmà, date-plum—Diospyros lotus—an ebanaceous tree growing plentifully in Persia and Transcaucasia, and perhaps the kheilan of Ibn Batouta. The berry is largely imported into Russia, and a favourite spirit distilled from it. It is totally distinct from the date-palm—Phœnix dactylifera—called in the East, taltal. Marco Polo (Yule, i, 110) speaks of a very good wine made from dates, mixed with spices.—ED.