[14] The Louvre Museum in Paris has an excellent collection of Egyptian
subjects.




CHAPTER IV

ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS

CHALDEA


=The Land.=--From the high and snowy mountains of Armenia flow two
deep and rapid rivers, the Tigris to the east, the Euphrates to the
west. At first in close proximity, they separate as they reach the
plain. The Tigris makes a straight course, the Euphrates a great
détour towards the sandy deserts; then they unite before emptying into
the sea. The country which they embrace is Chaldea. It is an immense
plain of extraordinarily fertile soil; rain is rare and the heat is
overwhelming. But the streams furnish water and this clayey soil when
irrigated by canals becomes the most fertile in the world. Wheat and
barley produce 200-fold; in good years the returns are 300-fold. Palms
constitute the forests and from these the people make their wine, meal
and flour.[15]

=The People.=--For many centuries, perhaps as long as Egypt, Chaldea
has been the abode of civilized peoples. Many races from various lands
have met and mingled in these great plains. There were Turanians of