ian Gulf to Egypt, and across
thence to the shores of the Mediterranean, and the Phoenicians of
Sidon who brought overland their bales of raw material and
manufactured Oriental fabrics, knew well where to find the best goods
for their customers; and we hear frequently whence came this or that
coloured wool. Chemmis, the city of Pan, retained its celebrity in the
woollen trade down to the conquest of Egypt by the Romans. Nineveh and
Babylon encouraged the manufactures and commerce in woollen tents,
wall-hangings, and carpets. Nowhere were they so richly
embroidered.[154]

Solomon purchased woollens from Egypt. Damascus supplied the Tyrians
with wool for their rugs. The stuffs and textile fabrics of wool, of
the Chinese, Assyrians, and Chaldeans, are recorded in the earliest
writings of the human race. How much their decoration depended on
weaving, and how much on embroidery, we cannot tell. The products of
the Babylonian looms are alluded to in the Book of Joshua,[155] and
also by Ezekiel.[156]

Assyrian stuffs were always celebrated for their splendid colours and
various designs; among which were hunting scenes, battles, and special
emblematic adornments.[157]

From Miletus came the wool valued most highly by the Greeks. Spain
produced the best black, and the north of Italy the best white wool.
The Narbonensian and Egyptian wools were supposed to be the most
durable, and when they became shabby, were dipped again and served
another generation.

From Yates' account of the great variety of wools, remarkable for
their fine texture, their whiteness,[158] their blackness,[159] or
their redness, their cool or their warm tints, it is evident that the
ancients valued highly these different qualities.[160] The cloths that
were of greatest account were of the finest or the warmest kinds. The
sheep of Miletus, Attica, Megaris, and Tarentum were clothed in
jackets, in order to preserve the fineness and whiteness of their own
coats, and to protect them from being torn by the thorny bushes in
their pastures. Columella calls them the "covered" and the "soft," and
says they were often kept in the house.

We find notices of the peculiarities of the various national breeds,
caused by the soil on which their pasture grew, and the rivers and
streams at which they drank, and these peculiarities were, if
possible, encouraged. There is evidence also that some improvement of
the breeds by crossing was practised in early times.

As in