A history of Babylon from the foundation of the monarchy to the Persian conquest . the centre of govern-ment was removed to Seleucia in its own immediateneighbourhood. Then, at first possibly under compul-sion, and afterwards of their omu free w^ill, the commercialclasses followed their rulers to the west bank of theTigris ; and Babylon suffered in proportion. In theswift rise of Seleucia in response to official orders, w^emay see clear proof that the older citys influence hadbeen founded upon natural conditions, which wereshared in an equal, and now in even a greater degree, bythe site of the

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A history of Babylon from the foundation of the monarchy to the Persian conquest . the centre of govern-ment was removed to Seleucia in its own immediateneighbourhood. Then, at first possibly under compul-sion, and afterwards of their omu free w^ill, the commercialclasses followed their rulers to the west bank of theTigris ; and Babylon suffered in proportion. In theswift rise of Seleucia in response to official orders, w^emay see clear proof that the older citys influence hadbeen founded upon natural conditions, which wereshared in an equal, and now in even a greater degree, bythe site of the new capital. The secret of Babylons greatness is further INTRODUCTORY 9 illustrated by still later events in the valley of theEuphrates and the Tigris. The rise of Ctesiphon onthe left bank of the river was a further result of theeastward trend of commerce. But it lay immediatelyopposite Seleucia, and marked no fresh shifting ofthe centre of gravity. Of Httle importance underthe Seleucid rulers, it became the chief city of theArsacidse, and, after the Parthian Empire had been. •::mies Fig. 1. diagram to illustrate the political centre of gravity in babylonia. The circle marks the limits within which the capital shifted from the periodof the First Dynasty onwards. It was only under the abnormal conditions pro-duced by the Moslem conquest that Kiifa and Basra became for five generationsthe twin capitals of Irak ; this interval presents a parallel to the earlier periodbefore the rise of Babylon*. conquered by Ardashir I., it continued to be theprincipal city of the province and became the winterresidence of the Sassanian kings. When in 636 a.d.the Moslem invaders defeated the Persians near theruins of Babylon and in the following year capturedCtesiphon, they found that city and Seleucia, to whichthey gave the joint name of Al-JNIadain, or the cities, still retaining the importance their site had acquired in 10 HISTORY OF BABYLON the third century b.c. Then follows a period of al