Bagdad

Bagdad, or Baghdad, a pashalic of Asiatic Turkey, with a capital of the same name. The district lies between the river Euphrates, Persia, and Arabia, comprising the ancient Assyria and Babylonia. The parts enclosed between the Euphrates and Tigris are very fertile, but the rest of the country is a sandy waste. Cereals and fruits of every description are produced in the less sterile regions. The city of Bagdad is on the Tigris about 200 miles above its junction with the Euphrates in the midst of a barren plain. The ancient quarter, once the capital of the Caliphs, is on the W. bank of the river, and contains some remains of former splendour in the form of mosques and palaces, with a venerable burial place where the tomb of Zobeide, Haroun Alraschid's wife, is shown, and tradition asserts that Ezekiel is interred there. The markets are still busy and prosperous, and there is a considerable trade with Aleppo, Damascus, and Basra. The East India Company had a resident here, whose place is now filled by a consul-general. The streets are dirty and narrow, and their sanitary condition renders the town liable to epidemics.