ABSTRACT
DHEfactsrelatingtoMediaha\"eaparticularimportanceforus.Averyfewofthemost distinguishedscholarshesitatetoadmitthefact, anunexpectedoneImustgrant,oftheexistencein Chaldeaofaprimitivepopulationfromthesamestock astheUgro-FinnishandTartariannations,whichhad alargeshareintheChaldaio-Babyloniancivilization. Ishallendeavourlater,forIthinkitverynecessary, toanswertheobjectionsoftheselearnedmen,whose judgmentisoftoogreatimportancenottobedisputedseriouslyandrespectfully,asIhavegreat confidencethatthenewfactsbroughtoutinthis bookmayperhapshelptooverruletheirscruples. Theyrequire,indeed,formalproofsofthefactwhich seemstothemaprioriveryunlikely,and,ifIam notmistaken,ourresearchesfurnishdatawhichare notwithoutvalue.However,oneofthemost
importantelementsofthequestionrestsinfacts showingthatiftheAccadiansbelonged,bytheir languageandreligion,totherealTuranianrace, theydidnotconstituteasporadicalphenomena difficultofexplanation,butbelongedtoachainof nationsofthesameracewhichspreadintheearliest agesfromtheplainofcentralAsiatothePersian Gulf.Ishallalsoneedtoreverttotheadmirable effortsbywhichMM.Westergaard,DeSaulcy, Norris,Oppert,andMordtmannhaveprovedthat Mediawasoriginallyinhabitedbyapeoplewhose languagewascloselyalliedtotheTurco-Tartaric andMongolianphilologicalbranchesontheone hand,andontheothertotheAccadianof Chaldea.
