hemselves, rich plains and fertile valleys. Behind
them tower the massive ridges of the Niphates and Zagros ranges, where the
Tigris and Euphrates take their rise, and which cut off Assyria from
Armenia and Kurdistan.

The name Assyria itself was derived from that of the city of Assur (_q.v._)
or Asur, now Qal`at Sherqat (Kaleh Shergat), which stood on the right bank
of the Tigris, midway between the Greater and the Lesser Zab. It remained
the capital long after the Assyrians had become the dominant power in
western Asia, but was finally supplanted by Calah (_Nimr[=u]d_), Nineveh
(_Nebi Yunus_ and _Kuyunjik_), and Dur-Sargina (_Khorsabad_), some 60 m.
farther north (see NINEVEH).

In contrast with the arid plateau of Mesopotamia, stretched the [v.03
p.0100] rich alluvial plain of Chaldaea, formed by the deposits of the two
great rivers by which it was enclosed. The soil was extremely fertile, and
teemed with an industrious population. Eastward rose the mountains of Elam,
southward were the sea-marshes and the Kald[=a] or Chaldaeans and other
Aramaic tribes, while on the west the civilization of Babylonia encroached
beyond the banks of the Euphrates, upon the territory of the Semitic nomads
(or Suti). Here stood Ur (_Mugheir_, more correctly _Muqayyar_) the
earliest capital of the country; and Babylon, with its suburb, Borsippa
(_Birs Nimr[=u]d_), as well as the two Sipparas (the Sepharvaim of
Scripture, now _Abu Habba_), occupied both the Arabian and Chaldaean sides
of the river (see BABYLON). The Arakhtu, or "river of Babylon," flowed past
the southern side of the city, and to the south-west of it on the Arabian
bank lay the great inland freshwater sea of _Nejef_, surrounded by red
sandstone cliffs of considerable height, 40 m. in length and 35 in breadth
in the widest part. Above and below this sea, from Borsippa to Kufa, extend
the famous Chaldaean marshes, where Alexander was nearly lost (Arrian,
_Exp. Al._ vii. 22; Strab. xvi. 1, s. 12); but these depend upon the state
of the Hindiya canal, disappearing altogether when it is closed.

Eastward of the Euphrates and southward of Sippara, Kutha and Babylon were
Kis (_Uhaimir_, 9 m. E. of _Hillah_), Nippur (_Niffer_)--where stood the
great sanctuary of El-lil, the older Bel--Uruk or Erech (_Warka_) and Larsa
(_Senkera_) with its temple of the sun-god, while eastward of the Shatt
el-Hai, probably the ancient channel of the Tigris, was Lagash (_Tello_),
which played an i