'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from September 1850 to June 1852. Edited by the Secretary. Volume X.' [‎113] (246/458)

MEMOIRS ON THE “ TIGRIS.”
nd %
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16 speech of
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jllr istiaa en
■my owades
’ al ly a desert
^iskus to th
ll so bear witi
^°yal Ditch’
re treat area
the Duras,
s them whei
h and
Persiat
ave declmed in agn<
ter, the son ofSebJ
presence of the m
n the Tigris and sit
; 6th Book, Chap, l|
perhaps, coincide ii
own contiguous to I
e mentioned in dese®
similar to that at 1 ;
ifter describing Sikh
.oei) inter duo flail
stween the Tigiisn!
t 0 f Apamia, a cole*
magine, by the mofc
Antioclius matrix
1 X 3
the emporiums of the surrounding country, the Tigris is
represented as navigable only, which, on a little consideration,
is strictly true, though the causes for the stoppage of a further upward
progress of vessels from the sea has been misrepresented either wilfully
or through ignorance. This is self-evident, for the Tigris at the present
day, though the artificial impediments no longer exist, is still as un
favorable to navigation beyond the site assigned to Opis from natural
causes alone; for between Manjur and Qadesiyeh the geological
features of the country change from a hard sandstone region of some
elevation, at once into depressed alluvial plains; the descent from one
to the other being so steep, as to occasion a leader like succession of
rapids, down which the current pours at such an accelerated pace, as
nearly to stop a steam vessel’s progress; while in the vicinity of
Manjur the same vessel’s rate against the stream would be three to four
miles per hour.*—During eight months of the year the rocky ridge
(vol. XI part 2d page 128, in the pnges of the Roy : Geo : Soc : Journ :) which though
minute, sufficiently well represents the features around. Since I became better acquainted
with the vestiges in this country, I am enabled to pronounce Qadesiyeh, from the construc
tion and materials of its walls, as a post Babylonian city, and by this expression I mean the
period succeeding the Babylonian decline, the Macedonian conquest, and the rise of the
Parthian power- I have before described the difference between the structures of this time
and those of a Babylonian era (Narrative of Journey on Survey of the Katul and Nahrwan-arfc
Mismai). In the former the absence of reeds between the layers of brick is the only peculiarity
and Qadesiyeh is wanting in this respect also. The Arabs ascribe its erection to
Dokianus (Deciamis), according to my late friend Dr Ross._ The statue found there mentioned
by him and now in the possession of General Taylor, is also corroborative of its era and
pagan origin. Mahomedan writers (Abulfeda partie) describe it as famous for the manu
facture of various kinds of glass. Great quantities are certainly found there. Its present name
Abulfeda says was accorded to it because its inhabitants were deemed peculiarly sanctified
in a Mahomedan age. The termU^ ^ from whence it [s derived, certainly means “ pure”
and “holy,” but Qadesiyeh in reference to places also implies <s a paradise” or “ pleasant spot.’ 5
Cadiz in Spain is an example from the same root, a name given to the spot by the Arab con
querors of the west. With some confidence, I shall now restore its name of Apamia on the
map.
In Rich’s time, it appears from his description of a visit to Qadesiyeh (Kurdistan and
Nineveh) that the spot where the image was found had the name of Nebga and the Katul
bore also the name of Ersas. The former may perhaps be referable to Nebo the special
divinity of Babylonia so often mentioned in scripture, and in the latter we may probably trace
the Archous of Pliny.
* My journey upwards in April, 1846, proved this. The following are extracted from the
Bengal: Asiatic Societ > # 3 Journal, April, 1.847, relative to the subject. “The stream is now
becoming more rapid from the increased declivity of its shingly bed as we approach the neigh
bourhood of Khan Dholdiyeh ; our progress, therefore, is proportionally slow ” (page 306)—<• At
5h. 45m. came to for the night, in exactly the same spot we spent the night on three years ago.
Qadesiyeh then bore W. N. W. to N. N. W. Again I was not sorry when the declining
rays of the sun obliged us to stop, for I felt much fatigued having been on my legs the whole
day: indeed nothing but the greatest perseverance and attention to the steerage of a steam
vessel through such intricate navigation as we have had to day could insure her making any
progress. The bed of the river is full of islands and shingle flats, and as there is in this
season of the year, but one channel of sufficient depth which receives the whole stream, ifc
occasions,where it is thus confined, a considerable fall or rapid; some of which, notwith-