'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎16] (27/905)

XVI
PREFACE.
every available source of information, as well as from personal
observations.
Besides objects of natural history, the Appendix contains a
list of the ancient and modern Arab tribes, as far as they could
be ascertained; and a copious Index will enable the reader to
find the various subjects contained in the first volume.
The Author cannot but feel some anxiety about the second
volume of the work, the subjects of which deserve to have been
placed in more able hands. His first journeys during upwards
of three years in the East, opened to him a wide field of inquiry;
and, on his return, he availed himself of the vast stores of
information contained in the British Museum. The extracts
there made were found highly useful to the Expedition, when
navigating the rivers which flow through lands memorable as
the theatre of the great events recorded in sacred and profane
history, and traversed by Cyrus, Alexander, Trajan, and Julian,
as well as by the most renowned of the Muslim leaders.
The stirring events, which, in ancient and modern times, are
more frequently connected with the Euphrates than perhaps
with any other part of the world, seem to be the first which
require attention. In attempting this task, the Author had
the assistance of Mr. Eassam, the principal Interpreter of the
Expedition, for Arabic researches; and afterwards that of the
very learned and industrious Aloys Sprenger, M.D., who,
being both an Oriental and a classical scholar, was of the
greatest service. During these researches, the resources of
the British Museum, of the Bodleian at Oxford, and of the
vast library at Paris, were turned to account; and the fifteen
chapters, beginning with the dispersion of mankind, and ending
with the establishment of the Turkish power in Europe, have
been the result.
In Chapters XVI. and XVII. the Author has endeavoured