that the Egyptians were idolaters, we may suppose, not unreasonably, that they were worshippers of the host of heaven, or Zabians. The kingdom of Nineveh will be the second head, and the kingdom of Babylon the third; and both these are so connected with the Chaldeans, that even if Zabianism were not the earliest and most common idolatry, we might rank the Assyrians, whether of Nineveh or of Babylon, among the Zabians.

The fourth head will be the Persian monarchy.

The names of Mithra and Zoroaster will remind the reader that the Persians were worshippers of light.

The fifth head will be the Macedonian monarchy. Alexander called himself the son of Jupiter Ammon. Eumenes was a Cardian, and Seleucus was said to be the son of Apollo; so that here also we may trace the Zabian idolatry. The sixth head, the one which is described as the head that is, must be the Roman empire, and we are told that Vesta and the eternal fire were highly honoured by the Romans. The

seventh head may represent the Ottoman empire, and may also be the head wounded to death by the sword. The beast is the eighth, and is of the seven. It is the beast, that was, and is not, and yet is.

If I can shew a connexion between Islamism and Zabianism, between the Turks and the Assyrians, I shall likewise shew that when the Turks made Constantinople the seat of the Mahometan empire, they fulfilled the prophecy, and returned into their own land. “A Persian author insists, that the true name of Meccah is Mahcadah, or the temple of the moon." Sir William Jones, whose words I quote, seems to smile at

a

Estambol, Istambol, Stambol, are said to be the Turkish corruptions of is Thy Tóλ. It would be difficult to persuade us that any foreigners called London "to town," or "into the city;" yet we believe that the Turks have no better name for a city, to the conquest of which the Mahometans were incited by the Koran, and which they besieged several times. We find Eski Stambol, and Costambol, in Asia Minor. Are these also corruptions of εἰς τὴν πόλιν

b See his fourth Discourse. "The luminous page of Gibbon" does not afford a very steady light, in his account of the Arabian idolatries; but whether the Koreish were Zabians or not, we have Gibbon's authority for asserting that the Zabians

the etymology, but the great idol of Mecca is a black stone, and Cybele and Apollo, and probably Diana', were thus represented. That Zabianism was one of the three religions which Mahomet acknowledged, and that the veneration for Haran of Chaldea, was

of Arabia ended their pilgrimage in the temple of the moon at Haran. See Vol. ix. chap. 50.

"The sun was worshipped at Emesa under the name of Elagabalus, and under the form of a black conical stone; which, as it was universally believed, had fallen from heaven on that sacred place." Gibbon, Vol. i. chap. 6.

Pergamum ad regem venerunt. Is legatos comiter acceptos Pessinuntem in Phrygiam deduxit: sacrumque iis lapidem, quam matrem Deûm esse incolæ dicebant, tradidit, ac deportare Romam jussit." Livy, Lib. xxix. cap. 11. Pessinus is said to have been so called from TσTV, because this stone fell there. The image of the Tauric Diana is said to have fallen from heaven (See Euripides, Iphig. in Tauris, v. 86, &c.) and so is the image of the Ephesian Diana. (TOD A10TεTOÇ, see Acts of the Apostles, chap. xix. verse 35.) The elder Pliny says, "De ipso simulacro Deæ ambigitur: ceteri ex ebeno esse tradunt." Mucianus, whom Pliny quotes and disbelieves, said it was made out of the wood of a vine. Vitruvius says it was made of cedar. (Plin. Hist. Nat. Lib. xvi. cap. 79. Ed. Harduin. Vitruvius, Lib. ii. cap. 9.) But if this image was supposed to have fallen from heaven, may we not conclude that it was a black stone or an aërolite?

the reason why the Zabians were called Harranni, may be learned from D'Herbelot". The Curds are generally allowed to be the same as the Chaldeans, and the oriental legend, that makes the Curds descended from the Devil, connects them with Lucifer and Hecate. We learn from Herodotus, that the Ionian dress was properly a Carian dress; and we may learn from D'Herbelot that the cassock is a Curdish dress".

a

Bibliothêque Orientale, Harran. Laban, the first idolater on record, dwelt at Haran; and in the time of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, Haran seems to have been a place of some note. (See 2 Kings, chap. xix. verse 12.) It was notorious afterwards from the defeat of Crassus; and two Roman emperors, Caracalla and Julian, worshipped there. In the time of Mahomet it was highly honoured by the Zabians, and the dungeons of Haran, and the palace of Haran, are mentioned by Gibbon, in his account of the civil war between the Ommiades and Abbassides. (See Vol. x. chap. 52.) What is known of Haran at present? Have the pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina made its name and place forgotten, or in the word "Haram," as applied to Mecca and to Medina, ought we to recognize the name and sanctity of the ancient Haran? I should mention, however, that Haram, or Harem, is said to be derived from a Hebrew word of similar sound and meaning. See Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon.

b “CURDIAH, et Curtekiah, qui signifie en Turc une Ca

a

The Turks represented a wolf as the founder of their race; the Seljukian Turks bore a crescent as their ensign; and a crescent is still the ensign of the Ottoman empire". Should these slight and imperfect

saque, a pris son origine d' un habillement des Curdes," &c. Bibl. Ori. Curd.

a See Gibbon, Vol. vii. Chap. 42. p. 284, octavo edition of 1797. In page 286 he mentions a golden wolf, but in his first volume he mentions the golden eagle which glittered in the front of the Roman legion; and we know that, in this instance, all that glittered was not gold, for the eagle was made of silver. There is a curious connexion between the stories of lycanthropy, and the punishment of Nebuchadnezzar; and in other stories also the mention of a wolf enables us sometimes to discover the origin of the fiction. Take, for example, the story of Milo. Milo, the strongest of all men, is Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of conquerors. The tree which Milo attempted to rend, is Nebuchadnezzar's second dream. Milo's attempt to rend the tree, ended in his destruction; and at the end of twelve months, Nebuchadnezzar's fall verified the explanation of his dream. The wolves that devoured Milo, allude to Nebuchadnezzar's punishment; the bull, which Milo carried, and afterwards devoured, alludes to Apis, or the conquest and desolation of Egypt. They who laugh at this explanation, may try to carry a bull, and to eat it up after

wards.

b The Ottoman Turks are said to have adopted the crescent from the Seljukian Turks; but why did the Seljukian Turks wear it, and why did the Ottoman Turks adopt it? Appian