And there was found in Ecbatana, which is a castle in the province of Media, a book in which this record was written.

at Achmetha.

750 miles from Seleucia the Great,

20 miles from the Caspian passes,

450 miles from Susa, and the same from Gazae Atropatene, and in lat.

37 deg.

45 min., long.

88 deg., according to Ptolemy. The building of the city is ascribed to Semiramis by Diodorus, but to Deioces by Eusebius, (in Chr.

Ezra 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of the Persians, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremias might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of the Persians: and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and in writing also, saying:

,) and Herodotus, who states that it was surrounded by seven walls, strong and ample, built in circles one within another, rising each above each by the height of their respective battlements; each being distinguished by a different colour, the first white, the second black, the third purple, the fourth blue, the fifth orange, the sixth plated with silver, and the seventh with gold. The largest of these was nearly the extent of Athens, i.e.

200 furlongs, according to Dion Chrysostom; but Diodorus Siculus states the circumference of Ecbatana to be

250 furlongs. Within the inner circle stood the king's palace and the royal treasury, so much celebrated for its splendour and riches by Polybius. It is highly probable, as D'Anville and Major Rennel suppose, that the present Hamadan, whose ruins attest its former splendour, occupies the site of Ecbatana. It is situated in Al Gebal, at the foot of the lofty mountain Alwend, about

80 leagues from Ispahan, and also from Bagdad.)