very famous and ancient city, capital of Judea or Palestine, now a province of Turkey in Asia. According to Manetho, an Egyptian historian, it was founded by the shepherds who invaded Egypt in an unknown period of antiquity*. According to Josephus, it was the capital of Melchisedek's kingdom, called Salem in the book of Genesis: and the Arabians assert, that it was built in honour of Melchisedek by 12 neighbouring kings; which, when they had done, he called it Jerusalem. We know nothing of it with certainty, however, till the time of King David, who took it from the Jebuites, and made it the capital of his kingdom, which it ever after continued to be. It was first taken in the days of Jehoshua, by Hazael the king of Syria, who slew all the nobility, but did not destroy their city. It was afterwards taken by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who destroyed it, and carried away the inhabitants. Seventy years after, permission was granted by Cyrus king of Persia to the Jews to rebuild their city, which was done; and it continued the capital of Judea (though frequently suffering much from the Grecian monarchs of Syria and Egypt), till the time of Vespasian emperor of Rome, by whom it Titus was totally destroyed†. It was, however, rebuilt by Adrian; and seemed likely to have recovered its former grandeur, being surrounded with walls, and adorned with several noble buildings; the Christians also being permitted to settle in it. But this was a short-lived change; so that when the empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, came to visit this city, she found it in the most forlorn and ruinous situation. Having formed a design of restoring it to its ancient lustre, she caused, with a great deal deal of cost and labour, all the rubbish that had been thrown upon those places where our Saviour had suffered, been buried, &c. to be removed. In doing this, they found the cros of which he died, as well as those of the two malefactors who suffered with him; and, as the writers of those times relate, discovered by a miracle that which had borne the Saviour of mankind. She then caused a magnificent church to be built, which included as many of the scenes of our Saviour's sufferings as could conveniently be done, and adorned the city with several other buildings. The emperor Julian is said to have formed a design of rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem, and of restoring the Jewish worship. This scheme was contrived on purpose to give the lie to our Saviour's prophecy concerning the temple and city of Jerusalem; namely, that the first should be totally destroyed, without one stone being left upon another; and that Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles till the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled. In this attempt, however, according to the accounts of the Christian writers of that age, the emperor was frustrated by an earthquake and fiery eruption from the earth, which totally destroyed the work, consumed the materials which had been collected, and killed a great number of the workmen.

This event hath been the subject of much dispute. Mr Warburton, who hath published a treatise expressly on the truth of this fact, hath collected the following testimonies in favour of it. The first is that of Ammianus Marcellinus, who tells us, "Julian (having been already thrice consul), taking Sallust, prefect of the several Gauls, for his colleague, entered a fourth time on this high magistracy; and although his sensibility of the many and great events which this year was likely to produce made him very anxious for the future, yet he both pushed on the various and complicated preparations for this expedition with the utmost application, and, having an eye in every quarter, and being desirous to eternalize his reign by the greatness of his achievements, he projected to rebuild at an immense expense the proud and magnificent temple of Jerusalem; which (after many combats, attended with much bloodshed on both sides, during the siege by Vespasian) was with great difficulty taken and destroyed by Titus. He committed the conduct of this affair to Alypius of Antioch, who had formerly been lieutenant in Britain. When therefore this Alypius had set himself to the vigorous execution of his charge, in which he had all the assistance that the governor of the province could afford him, horrible balls of fire breaking out near the foundations, with frequent and reiterated attacks, rendered the place from time to time inaccessible to the scorched and blasted workmen; and the victorious element continuing, in this manner, obstinately and resolutely bent, as it were, to drive them to a distance, Alypius thought best to give over the enterprise."

The next testimony is that of Gregory Nazianzen. Speaking of the emperor Julian, he says, "After having run through a course of every other tyrannical experiment against the faith, and upon trial despising all of them as trifling and contemptible, he at last brought down the whole body of the Jews upon us; whom, for their ancient turn to seditious novelties, and an inveterate hatred of the Christian name, he chose as the fittest instrument for his machinations. Jerusalem. There, under a show of great good-will, which hid his secret purpose, he endeavoured to convince from their sacred books and traditions, which he took upon him to interpret, that now was come the time foretold when they should return to their own land, rebuild their temple, and restore the law to its ancient force and splendour. When these things had been thoroughly infatuated, and heartily entertained (for deceit finds easy admittance when it flatters our passions), the Jews set upon the work of rebuilding with great attention, and pushed on the project with the utmost labour and application. But when, now driven from their work by a violent whirlwind and a sudden earthquake, they fled together for refuge to a certain neighbouring church (some to depreciate the impending mischief; others, as is natural in such cases, to catch at any help that presents itself; and others again, enveloped in the crowd, were carried along with the body of those who fled); there are who say, the church refused them entrance; and that when they came to the doors which were wide open but a moment before, they found them on a sudden cloed by a secret and invisible hand; a hand accustomed to work these wonders by the terror and confusion of the impious, and for the security and comfort of godly men. This, however, is now invariably affirmed and believed by all, that as they strove to force their way in by violence, the fire which burst from the foundations of the temple, met and stopped them. One part it burnt and destroyed, and another it desperately maimed, leaving them a living monument of God's commination and wrath against sinners. Thus the affair passed; and let no man continue incredulous concerning this or the other miraculous works of God. But still the thing most wonderful and illustrious was, a light which appeared in the heavens, of a cross within a circle. That name and figure which impious men before esteemed so dishonourable upon earth, was now raised on high, and equally objected to the common view of all men; advanced by God himself as the trophy of his victory over unbelievers; of all trophies the most exalted and sublime. Nay further, they who were present, and partakers of the miracle we are now about to speak of, knew to this very day the sign or figure of the cross which was then marked or impressed upon their garments. For at that time, as these men (whether such as were of us or strangers) were showing these marks, or attending to others who showed them, each presently observed the wonder, either on himself or his neighbour; having a radiant mark on his body or on his garment, in which there is something that, in art and elegance, exceeded all painting or embroidery."

Notwithstanding these testimonies, however, this fact hath been frequently contested by others; and indeed it must be owned that the testimonies above mentioned are by no means unexceptionable. In the last, particularly, the propensity to the marvellous is so exceedingly great, that every one must at first sight be struck with it. It is true indeed, the most miraculous part of it, as it seemed to be to Gregory, namely, the appearance of crosses upon the garments and bodies of some of the people who were struck, may be explained upon a natural principle; since we Jerusalem, are assured that lightning will sometimes produce effects of this kind*: but even this is no decisive proof of the authenticity of the relation; though it cannot by any means discredit it, as some think. On the whole, however, it is not a matter of any consequence whether this event happened with the circumstances above mentioned or not. If Julian did make any attempt to rebuild the temple, it is certain that something obstructed the attempt, because the temple was never actually rebuilt. If he made no such attempt, the prophecy of our Saviour still holds good; and it surely cannot be thought to detract from the merit of a prophecy, that no body ever attempted to elude it, or prove it to be a falsehood.

Jerusalem continued in the hands of the eastern emperors till the reign of the caliph Omar, who reduced it under his subjection. The Saracens continued in possession of it till the year 1099, when it was taken by the Crusaders. They founded a new kingdom, of which Jerusalem was the capital, which lasted 83 years under nine kings. At last this kingdom was utterly ruined by Saladin; and though the Christians once more got possession of the city, they were again obliged to relinquish it. In 1217, the Saracens were expelled by the Turks, who have ever since continued in possession of it.

The city of Jerusalem, in its most flourishing state, was divided into four parts, each inclosed with its own walls; viz. 1. The old city of Jebus, which stood on Mount Zion, where the prophets dwelt, and where David built a magnificent castle and palace, which became the residence both of himself and successors; on which account it was emphatically called the City of David. 2. The lower city, called also the Daughter of Zion, being built after it; on which stood the two magnificent palaces which Solomon built for himself and his queen; that of the Maccabean princes; and the stately amphitheatre built by Herod, capable of containing 80,000 spectators; the strong citadel, built by Antiochus, to command and overtop the temple, but afterwards razed by Simon the Maccabee, who recovered the city from the Syrians; and lastly, a second citadel, built by Herod, upon a high and craggy rock, and called by him Antonia. 3. The new city, mostly inhabited by tradesmen, artificers, and merchants; and, 4. Mount Moriah, on which was built the famous temple of Solomon, described in the sixth and seventh chapters of the second book of Kings; and, since then, that rebuilt by the Jews on their return from Babylon, and afterwards built almost anew and greatly adorned and enriched by Herod.

Some idea of the magnificence of this temple may be had from the following considerations. 1. That there were no less than 163,300 men employed in the work. 2. That notwithstanding that prodigious number of hands, it took up seven whole years in building. 3. That the height of this building was 120 cubits, or 82 yards, rather more than less; and the courts round it about half as high. 4. That the front on the east side, was sustained by ramparts of square stone, of vast bulk, and built up from the valley below, which last was 300 cubits high, and being added to that of the edifice amounted to 420 cubits; to which, if we add, 5. The height of the principal tower above all the rest, viz. 60, will bring it to 480 cubits, which reckoning at two feet to a Jerusalem cubit, will amount to 960 feet; but according to the length of that measure, as others reckon it, viz. at two feet and a half, it will amount to 1200 feet; a prodigious height from the ground, and such as might well make Josephus say, that the very design of it was sufficient to have turned the brain of any but Solomon. 6. These ramparts, which were raised in this manner, to fill up the prodigious chasm made by the deep valley below, and to make the area of a sufficient breadth and length for the edifice, were 1000 cubits in length at the bottom, and 800 at the top, and the breadth of them 100 more. 7. The huge buttresses which supported the ramparts were of the same height, square at the top, and 50 cubits broad, and jutted out 150 cubits at the bottom. 8. The stones, of which they were built, were, according to Josephus, 40 cubits long, 12 thick, and 8 high, all of marble, and so exquisitely joined, that they seemed one continued piece, or rather polished rock. 9. According to the same Jewish historian, there were 1453 columns of Parian marble, and twice that number of pilasters; and of such thickness, that three men could hardly embrace them, and their height and capitals proportionable, and of the Corinthian order. But it is likely Josephus hath given us these two last articles from the temple of Herod, there being nothing like them mentioned by the sacred historians, but a great deal about the prodigious cedars of Lebanon used in that noble edifice, the excellent workmanship of them adapted to their several ends and designs, together with their gildings and other curious ornaments. The only thing more we shall venture to add is, what is affirmed in Scripture, that all the materials of this stupendous fabric were finished and adapted to their several ends before they were brought to Jerusalem, that is, the stones in their quarries, and the cedars, in Lebanon; so that there was no noise of axe, hammer, or any tool, heard in the rearing of it.

At present Jerusalem is called by the Turks Cudsembaric, and Coudjberiff; and is reduced to a poor thinly inhabited town, about three miles in circumference, situated on a rocky mountain, surrounded on all sides, except the north, with steep ascents and deep valleys; and these again environed with other hills at some distance from them. In the neighbourhood of the city there grew some corn, vines, olives, &c. The stately church erected by the empress Helena, on Mount Calvary, is still standing. It is called the church of the sepulchre; and is kept in good repair by the generous offerings of a constant concourse of pilgrims, who annually resort to it, as well as by the contributions of several Christian princes. The walls of this church are of stone, and the roof of cedar; the east end incloses Mount Calvary, and the west the holy sepulchre: the former is covered with a noble cupola, open at top, and supported by 16 massive columns. Over the high altar, at the east end, is another stately dome. The nave of the church constitutes the choir; and in the inside aisle are shown the places where the most remarkable circumstances of our Saviour's passion were transacted, together with the tombs of Godfrey and Baldwin, the two first Christian kings of Jerusalem. In the chapel of the crucifixion is shown the very hole in the rock in which the cross is said to have... have been fixed. The altar in this chapel hath three crolles on it; and is richly adorned, particularly with four lamps of immense value that hang before it, and are kept constantly burning. At the west end is that of the sepulchre, which is hewn in that form out of the solid rock, and hath a small dome supported by pillars of porphyry. The cloister round the sepulchre is divided into sundry chapels, appropriated to the several sorts of Christians who reside there; as Greeks, Armenians, Maronites, Jacobites, Copts, Abyssinians, Georgians, &c., and on the north-west side of it are the apartments of the Latins, who have the care of the church, and are forced to reside constantly in it; the Turks keeping the keys of it, and not suffering any of them to go out, but obliging them to receive their provisions in at a wicket. At Easter there are some grand ceremonies performed in the church, representing our Lord's passion, crucifixion, death, and resurrection, at which a vast concourse of pilgrims commonly assist. For a particular account of them, we refer the reader to Doctors Shaw and Pococke.

On Mount Moriah, on the south-east part of the city, is an edifice called Solomon's Temple, standing on or near the same spot, as the ancient; but when or by whom erected is uncertain. In the midst of it is a Turkish mosque, where the Jewish sanctum sanctorum is supposed to have stood. The building, which Dr. Pococke thinks must have been formerly a Christian church, is held in the utmost veneration by the Turks.

The city is now under the government of a sangiac, who resides in a house said to have been that of Pontius Pilate, over-against the castle of Antonia built by Herod the Great. Many of the churches erected in memory of some remarkable gospel transaction, have been since converted into mosques; into some of which money will procure admittance, but not into others. Both the friars and other Christians are kept so poor by the tyranny of the government, that the chief support and trade of the place consists in providing strangers with food and other accommodations, and selling them beads, relics, and other trinkets, for which they are obliged to pay considerable sums to the sangiac, as well as to his officers; and those are seldom so well contented with their usual duties, but they frequently extort some freer ones, especially from the Franciscans, whose convent is the common receptacle for all pilgrims, and for which they have considerable allowances from the pope, and other crowned heads, besides the presents which strangers generally make them at their departure. The most remarkable antiquities in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem are, 1. The pools of Bethesda and Gihon; the former 120 paces long, 40 broad, and at least eight deep, but now without water; and the old arches, which it still discovers at the west end, are quite damned up: the other, which is about a quarter of a mile without Bethlehem gate, is a very lately relick, 106 paces long, and 60 broad, lined with a wall and plaster, and still well stored with water. 2. The tomb of the Virgin Mary, in the valley of Jehoshaphat, into which one descends by a magnificent flight of 47 steps. On the right hand, as one goes down is also the sepulchre of St. Ann, the mother, and on the left that of Joseph the husband, of the virgin-mother: some add likewise that of Jehoia- kim her father. In all these are erected altars for priests of all sorts to say mass, and the whole is cut into the solid rock. 3. The tomb of King Jehoshaphat, cut likewise into the rock, and divided into several apartments; in one of which is his tomb, which is adorned with a lately portico and entablature over it. 4. That commonly called Absalom's pillar or place, as being generally supposed to be that which he is said to have erected in his lifetime to perpetuate his memory, as he had no male issue. The place, however, both within and without, hath more the resemblance of a sepulchre than any thing else: though we do not read that he was buried there, neither do the people here affirm that he was. There is a great heap of stones about it, which is continually increasing; the superstitious Jews and Turks always throwing some as they pass, in token of their abhorrence of Absalom's unnatural rebellion against so good and holy a parent. The structure itself is about 20 cubits square, and 60 high, rising in a lofty square, adorned below with four columns of the Ionic order, with their capitals, entablatures, &c., to each front. From the height of 20 to 40 cubits, it is somewhat less, and quite plain, excepting a small fillet at the upper end; and from 40 to the top it changes into a round, which grows gradually into a point, the whole cut out of the solid rock. There is a room within, considerably higher than the level of the ground without, on the sides of which are niches, probably to receive coffins. 5. A little eastward of this is that called the tomb of Zacharias, the son of Barachiah, whom the Jews slew between the temple and the altar, as is commonly supposed. This fabric is all cut out of the natural rock, 18 feet high, and as many square; and adorned with Ionic columns on each front, cut likewise out of the same rock, and supporting a cornice. The whole ends in a pointed top, like a diamond. But the most curious, grand, and elaborate pieces, in this kind, are the grottoes without the walls of Jerusalem, styled the royal sepulchres; but of what kings is not agreed on. They consist of a great number of apartments, some of them spacious, all cut out of the solid marble rock; and may justly be pronounced a royal work, and one of the most noble, surprising, and magnificent. For a particular account of them we must refer the reader, for want of room, to Pococke's Travels. In the neighbourhood of Jerusalem is a spot of ground, about 30 yards long, and 15 broad, now the burying place of the Armenians, which is shown as the Aceldama, or Field of Blood, formerly the Potter's Field, and hence styled Campo Santo, or the Holy Field, purchased with the price of Judas's treason, for the burial of strangers. It is walled round, to prevent the Turks abusing the bones of Christians; and one half of it is taken up by a building in the nature of a charnel house. Besides the above, a great many other antiquities in the city and its environs are shown to strangers; there being scarce any place or transaction mentioned either in the Old or New Testament, but they show the very spot of ground where the one stood, and the other was done; not only here, but all over Judea.