70 feet. [PLATE XXVII., Fig. 1.] The ornamentation of these chambers was
by their doorways, and by false windows, on the Persepolitan model. The
domed chambers opened into some small apartments, beyond which was
a large court, about 90 feet square, surrounded by vaulted rooms of
various sizes, which for the most part communicated directly with it.
False windows, or recesses, relieved the interior of these apartments,
but were of a less elaborate character than those of the domed chambers.
Externally the whole building was chastely and tastefully ornamented by
the tall narrow arches and reed-like pilasters already mentioned. [PLATE
XXVII., Fig. 2.] Its character, however, was upon the whole "simple and
severe;" nor can we quarrel with the judgment which pronounces it "more
like a gigantic bastile than the palace of a gay, pavilion-loving people
like the Persians."

[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.]

It is difficult to form any very decided opinion upon the architectural
merits of the third and grandest of the Sassanian palaces, the well
known "Takht-i-Ehosru," or palace of Chosroe's Anushirwan, at Ctesiphon.
What remains of this massive erection is a mere fragment, which, to
judge from the other extant Sassanian ruins, cannot have formed so much
as one fourth part of the original edifice. [PLATE XXVIII., Fig. 1.]
Nothing has come down to our day but a single vaulted hall on the
grandest scale, 72 feet wide, 85 high, and 115 deep, together with the
mere outer wall of what no doubt constituted the main facade of the
building. The apartments, which, according to all analogy, must have
existed at the two sides, and in the rear, of the great hall, some of
which should have been vaulted, have wholly perished. Imagination may
supply them from the Firuzabad, or the Mashita palace; but not a trace,
even of their foundations, is extant; and the details, consequently, are
uncertain, though the general plan can scarcely be doubted. At each side
of the great hall were probably two lateral ones, communicating with
each other, and capable of being entered either from the hall or from
the outer air. Beyond the great hall was probably a domed chamber,
equalling it in width, and opening upon a court, round which were a
number of moderate-sized apartments. The entire building was no doubt
an oblong square, of which the shorter sides seem to have measured 370
feet. It had at least three, and may not improba