ity is of great historic interest. About thirteen
centuries ago Chosroes, the great Persian emperor, erected a vast and
splendid palace, said to be the greatest on earth in that period, and
of which the ruins are still standing near the marshy edge of the
river. Neither the ravages of time, nor the devastations of the
destructive Mongols who swept the country in ages past could
obliterate this palatial memorial to the genius of Persian architects.
The ruins of the palace at Ctesiphon contain the greatest vaulted room
in the world, and its battered walls, grand in decay, stand to-day an
enduring monument to the invincible power of Islam in the days of
Mohammed. For one of the first of the well-known achievements of the
army of the Arabian prophet was the capture of Ctesiphon and the
burning and despoiling of the palace of the Persian kings.

[Illustration: The Russian Advance through Persia.]

Nuredin Pasha was well aware when he selected his defensive position
near the ruins of this memorial to the valor of Islam in ancient days,
that every Turk, Arab, and tribesman of his troops was familiar with
the story, and he doubtless hoped that its memory might inspire the
descendants of the Prophet's army to fresh deeds of valor for the
honor of Islam.

Around this ruin the Turks had constructed their position, on the
right bank of the river and on the left. For miles around the country
was perfectly flat and devoid of cover of any description. A network
of deep and narrow trenches stretched back to within a short distance
of the River Dialah, six miles to the rear, which flows into the
Tigris at this point. The earth from the trenches had been carried to
the rear, and there were no embankments or parapets of any kind. Along
the entire front a thick barbed-wire fence had been set up.

The hard-fought action at Ctesiphon must rank as one of the greatest
battles in which the Indo-British army has ever been engaged. The
troops were in an emaciated condition through constant fighting, first
in excessively hot weather, and afterward suffering intensely from the
cold, which made the nights unendurable at this time of the year in
Mesopotamia. In such a physically weakened condition did the
Indo-British troops engage the vastly stronger forces of Nuredin
Pasha at Ctesiphon. An officer who participated in the battle
describes in a letter home some of the striking incidents of that
important action.

"Morning of the 22d of November