Note 119 — NO. XVII.—BABYLON.

"Babylon was designed by Alexander to be not only the capital of his empire, but also a great port and naval arsenal. To contain his fleet, he ordered a basin to be excavated, capable of admitting a thousand sail, to which were to be added docks and magazines for stores. The ships of Nearchus, as well as others from Phœnicia, were already arrived. They had been taken to pieces on the Mediterranean coast, and conveyed overland to Thapsacus, where they had been put together, and then navigated down the Euphrates." The object of all this was to enable him to invade Arabia.