The two names the Babylonians gave these walls were suggested by their gratitude to and confidence in Marduk, the city-god, who for them was the "Bêl," or Lord, par excellence. To the greater of the two, the dûru or inner wall, they gave the name Imgur-Bêl, meaning "Bêl has been gracious"; while the shaikhu, or outer one, they called Nimitti-Bêl, that is, probably, "The foundation of Bêl," or "My foundation is Bêl."[40] The identification of at least one of the crude-brick walls near Homera with Nimitti-Bêl, has been definitely proved by several foundation-cylinders of Ashur-bani-pal, the famous Assyrian king who deposed his brother Shamash-shum-ukîn from the throne of Babylon and annexed the country as a province of Assyria.[41] On the cylinders he states that the walls Imgur-Bêl and Nimitti-Bêl had fallen into ruins, and he records his restoration of the latter, within the foundation or structure of which the cylinders were originally immured. Unfortunately they were not found in place, but among the débris in the space between the walls, so that it is not now certain from which wall they came. If they had been deposited in the thicker or inner wall, then Nimitti-Bêl must have been a double line of fortification, and both walls together must have borne the name; and in that case we must seek elsewhere for Imgur-Bêl. But it is equally possible that they came from the narrow or outer wall; and on this alternative Nimitti-Bêl may be the outer one and Imgur-Bêl the broader inner-wall with the widely projecting towers. It is true that only further excavation can settle the point; but meanwhile the fortifications on the Ḳaṣr have supplied further evidence which seems to support the latter view.
FIG. 7.
GROUND-PLAN OF QUAY-WALLS AND FORTIFICATION-WALLS IN THE N.W. CORNER OF THE S. CITADEL.
A: Sargon's quay-wall. B: Older moat-wall. C: Later moat-wall of Nebuchadnezzar. D: Intermediate wall. E: South fortification-wall of crude brick, probably Imgur-Bêl. F: North fortification-wall of crude brick, probably Nimitti-Bêl. G: North wall of the Southern Citadel. I: Ruins of building, possibly the quarters of the Captain of the Wall. J: Palace of Nabopolassar. K: West Extension of the Southern Citadel. L: Connecting wall. M: Later wall across channel with grid for water. N: Water, originally the left side of the Euphrates. P: Later fortification of Nebuchadnezzar in former bed of the Euphrates. 1-3: Nabopolassar's quay-walls. N.B. The quays and moat-walls are distinguished by dotting.
(After Koldewey.)
The extensive alterations which took place in the old citadel's fortifications, especially during Nebuchadnezzar's long reign of forty-three years, led to the continual dismantling of earlier structures and the enlargement of the area enclosed upon the north and west. This is particularly apparent in its north-west corner. Here, at a considerable depth below the later fortification-walls, were found the remains of four earlier walls,[42] the discovery of which has thrown considerable light on the topography of this portion of Babylon. All four are ancient quay-walls, their northern and western faces sloping sharply inwards as they rise. Each represents a fresh rebuilding of the quay, as it was gradually extended to the north and west. Fortunately, stamped and inscribed bricks were employed in considerable quantities in their construction, so that it is possible to date the periods of rebuilding accurately.
The earliest of the quay-walls, which is also the earliest building yet recovered on the Ḳaṣr, is the most massive of the four,[43] and is strengthened at the angle with a projecting circular bastion. It is the work of Sargon of Assyria,[44] who states the object of the structure in a text inscribed upon several of its bricks. After reciting his own name and titles, he declares that it was his desire to rebuild Imgur-Bêl; that with this object he caused burnt-bricks to be fashioned, and built a quay-wall with pitch and bitumen in the depth of the water from beside the Ishtar Gate to the bank of the Euphrates; and he adds that he "founded Imgur-Bêl and Nimitti-Bêl mountain-high upon it."[45] The two walls of Sargon, which he here definitely names as Imgur-Bêl and Nimitti-Bêl, were probably of crude brick, and were, no doubt, demolished and replaced by the later structures of Nabopolassar's and Nebuchadnezzar's reigns. But they must have occupied approximately the same position as the two crude brick walls above the quay of Sargon,[46] which run from the old bank of the Euphrates to the Ishtar Gate, precisely the two points mentioned in Sargon's text. His evidence is therefore strongly in favour of identifying these later crude-brick walls, which we have already connected with the inner city-wall, as the direct successors of his Imgur-Bêl and his Nimitti-Bêl, and therefore as inheritors of the ancient names.