Thus it will be seen that recent excavation and research have not
yet supplied the data for filling in such gaps as still remain in our
knowledge of the later history of Assyria and Babylon. The closing
years of the Assyrian empire and the military achievements of the great
Neo-Babylonian rulers, Nabopolassar, Nerig-lissar, and Nebuchadnezzar
II, have not yet been found recorded in any published Assyrian or
Babylonian inscription, but it may be expected that at any moment
some text will be discovered that will throw light upon the problems
connected with the history of those periods which still await solution.
Meanwhile, the excavations at Babylon, although they have not added
much to our knowledge of the later history of the country, have been
of immense service in revealing the topography of the city during the
Neo-Babylonian period, as well as the positions, plans, and characters
of the principal buildings erected by the later Babylonian kings. The
discovery of the palaces of Nebuchadnezzar II on the mound of the Kasr,
of the small but complete temple E-makh, of the temple of the goddess
Nin-makh to the northeast of the palaces, and of the sacred road
dividing them and passing through the Great Gate of Ishtar (adorned with
representations of lions, bulls, and dragons in raised brick upon its
walls) has enabled us to form some conception of the splendour and
magnificence of the city as it appeared when rebuilt by its last native
rulers.
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