BABYLON AND PERSIA

392 MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA.tile part of Persia proper, and set his artists andcraftsmen-many of them, no doubt, Greeks fromIoniato work, building him a palace and- an audiencehall worthy of his greatness. A city naturallyrose around the pillared marble dwelling of royaltyspecially Persian capital which we know onlyunder the name given to it by the Greeks, Persepohs," the City of the Persians." What the name wasinPersian, has never been known, but it is mostprobable that the Greek was a translation of it.This is the city which, together with its incompara¬ble citadel of palaces, perished in the conflagrationlit by Alexander's own hand, in a fit of drunkenfurya deed the eternal shame of which is scarcelybalanced by the conqueror's many great qualities orexcused by his extreme youth. The city must havein part survived or been rebuilt, for on its site therestood a Sassanian city, of the name of Istakhr. Ofthis, as well as of its predecessor, nothing remainsbut the name, and some formless rubbishfrag¬ments of masonry, of earthed up walls, of loosebrick, stone, ironlike that which alone marks theplace of the once flourishing city of Bagistana at thefoot of the historical rock of the same name, whereGreek and Sassanian inscriptions and sculptures butpoorly contrast with those of the Persian hero.6. The Chaldeo-Assyrian architectural principle ofbuilding palaces on elevated platforms was adoptedby the Persian inheritors of that ancient art ; but,different therein from the Assyrians, they knew howto save labor and improve their work by making useof natural advantages and local materials. Such were