Of the cities which rose to eminence in Persia and Syria under the Greek and Roman empires, the ruins of Palmyra and Balbec are best known to Europeans; but as their architecture is indisputably Roman, they will be noticed more properly when treating of the works of that great people.
Ispahan, the present capital of Persia, is situated in the province of Irac, or Persia Proper, in 25' N. Lat. and 86° 40' E. Long. Shah Abas, after the conquests of the kingdoms of Laz and Ormus, fixed his court there in 1620 and 1628. It is situated in an extensive plain, surrounded by mountains; the plain is watered by seve ral rivers; of these, Zenderoud, after being joined by the Mahmood, passes by Ispahan, where it is crossed by three fine bridges; it is there about the breadth of the river Seine at Paris ; some streets are broad and handsome, but many are narrow, crooked, and dirty ; the public build ings are rather neat than magnificent. The great mar ket-place and palace, which are 3-4ths of a league in circumference, and the buildings upon the bridges, make a good appearance : With regard to architectural con struction, their external aspect points out distinctly the use of slender upright props, with flat and very slight coverings extended upon them, and projecting so as to protect those walking in the galleries from the sun.
These three countries, viz. Egypt, India, and Persia, as far as we know, comprehend all that is great and inge nious in the most ancient state of architecture. The countries to the north and west were without specimens of ancient art, and China. possesses little which can es tablish a claim to architecture as a fine or ingenious art.
The palace of Pekin presents only a large caravansera, with numerous courts and extensive galleries, having their trifling wooden posts highly japanned and gilt. The pagodas, Plate CLV. have each the appearance of tents piled upon each other; but in none of these structures is there to be found one feature expressive of great design or scientific skill. Through the richest parts of this great empire, which have lately been visited by Euro peans, every private dwelling bespeaks poverty and aii overstock of population ; even their great wall, destitute of any claim to ingenuity, is only an instance of a nunic rous and timid people, terrified into the pitiful project of excluding, by means of a mass of earth, faced with ma sonry, their poorer and more warlike neighbours. If, therefore, this country, as has been asserted by an emi nent writer, (Sir W. Jones), was originally a colony from India, this colony had not risen to that powerful state to enable them to adopt the sacred architecture of their pa rent country, before they were overrun by a people whose notions of building originated from the use of the tent, and whose habits led them to perform an infinite number of little things by almost individual independent exer tions. Being situated at the eastern extremity of a conti nent, at a great distance, and, in many cases, separated by extensive deserts and vast ranges of mountains, from those western countries which afterwards became emi nent for arts, or formidable by arms, China has long re tained the same arts, nearly in the same degree of perfec tion.