Palestine. The land of God's chosen people, and the scene of the earthly labours and sufferings of our Lord, has commanded, and ever must command, a greater share of attention than any other. No ancient country has been so much visited by travellers in all ages and from all parts of Christendom, and of none have so many books been written. Greece, Rome, and the other seats of early civilization, each present to us features of interest; but those of Palestine are greater, and of a kind peculiarly its own. Its physical features and productions, the history and manners of its people, their language with its idioms and proverbs, are all more or less interwoven with the expressions of our religion, and have been familiar to us from our earliest years.

The Holy Scriptures were primarily committed to a people living at a particular time, surrounded by certain scenes, and familiar with certain objects, to which frequent allusions are made which are apt to be unintelligible or misunderstood by those who are ignorant of the time and circumstances. A knowledge of the country and people of Palestine farther gives a peculiar beauty and force to numerous passages in the sacred writings, and will hence ever commend itself to the careful study of the intelligent Christian. Changes may no doubt have taken place in the climate, productions, and general aspect of the country since the times of the Old and New Testaments, but still the great characteristics remain. These are witnesses to the events that have occurred in their presence. "They can be cross-examined with the great facts and narratives. If they cannot tell the whole truth, at any rate, so far as they have any voice at all, they tell nothing but the truth." (Stanley's Sinai and Palestine.)

From another point of view, it is important to notice how admirably adapted, above every other, was this country for the abode of that people to whose keeping were committed the principles of a religion destined to be universal. It was more varied in its characteristics than probably any other district on the face of the earth, containing within its range more or less of the natural features of almost every other. Had it been less varied or more eastern in its character, it is not unreasonable to suppose that the sacred writings would have contained less with which the European mind could sympathize. It was farther eminently fitted for preserving that religion in its purity. It presented no grand natural features which in other countries elicited from the human heart divine honours; its coasts were singularly deficient in harbours to tempt to commerce and commercial alliances; huge natural barriers were interposed between it and the two great centres of civilization in the eastern world, Egypt and Babylon, the corrupters of all the nations of the earth; the wild grandeur of Sinai was, like the body of Moses, hid from the people lest they might worship it; and the lofty Lebanon, though visible in the distance, formed no part of their allotted territory. The inhabitants, too, partook of the exclusive nature of their country, and kept aloof from every other nation or people whom they looked upon as barbarians. They were not suffered to remain in Egypt nor in Babylon; and, to our mind, there is no stronger evidence that their mission is not yet fulfilled than is to be found in the fact that, though 1800 years have elapsed since they were driven out of their own country, and ceased to have any fixed abiding-place, they Palestine, are yet as a people as distinct as when dwelling in their own land. They, too, were as varied in their character and circumstances as was the country in its physical aspects. They belonged to every rank and condition of life; and hence the Scriptures, though coming to men in a particular time and in particular circumstances, are yet pre-eminently adapted for men in all time and in all circumstances.

Notwithstanding the great number of travellers that have visited Palestine, to no one more than to Dr Robinson are we indebted for what is now known of the geography of that country. With the publication of his Biblical Researches in 1841 a new era may be said to have commenced in biblical geography. Up to his time travellers in Palestine were guided almost entirely by the traditions of the monasteries—traditions originally established, for the most part, by persons ignorant of the topography of the country and of the language of the people, long after the events for which they were celebrated took place. All these Dr Robinson, in the outset, resolved to set at defiance; and accordingly he proceeded on the principle that "all ecclesiastical tradition respecting ancient places in and around Jerusalem, and throughout Palestine, is of no value except so far as it is supported by circumstances known to us from the Scriptures, or from other contemporary testimony." The traditions and the evidence from names and associations surviving among the native Arabs he held to be much more reliable; and unquestionably the common Arabic population, aside from the ordinary routes of travel, untainted with ecclesiastical traditions and superstitions, unbiased by any motive to err or to deceive, are a better authority for the names of places in Palestine than are the monks of Nazareth or Bethlehem. His companion, Dr Eli Smith, was admirably qualified for carrying out this branch of investigation, having by long residence acquired a thorough knowledge of the Arabic people and a complete mastery of their language. Dr Robinson, too, had prepared himself for his researches by a course of study extending over a period of nearly twenty years. The two great principles by which they were guided in their investigations were, first, "to avoid, as far as possible, all contact with the convents and the authority of the monks; to examine everywhere for ourselves, with the Scriptures in our hands, and to apply for information solely to the Arab population;" and secondly, "to leave as much as possible the beaten track, and direct our journeys and researches to those portions of the country which had been least visited." After an interval of fourteen years, Dr Robinson again visited Palestine, and again his companion during the more important part of his journey was Dr Smith. The results of this second visit were published in his Later Researches, which appeared in 1856. In his two journeys, Dr Robinson has identified, or been the first Frank traveller to visit, about 150 ancient places; and though in some cases his positions have been contested, his works are universally acknowledged to be the most valuable and reliable that have yet appeared. We trust that he may still be spared to complete the work for which his long course of study and laborious investigations have so

1 Whilst the great seats of Greek and Roman religions at Delphi and Lebadea, by the lakes of Alba and of Aricis, strike even the indifferent traveller as deeply impressive, Shiloh and Bethel, on the other hand, so long the sanctuaries and oracles of God, almost escape the notice even of the zealous antiquarian, in the maze of undistinguished hills which encompass them. The first view of Olivet impresses us chiefly by its bare matter-of-fact appearance; the first approach to the hills of Judea reminds the English traveller not of the most but of the least striking portions of the mountains of his own country." (Stanley.) Palestine, eminently qualified him. To quote his own words in the preface to his later work, "The great object of all these travels and labours has been, as formerly announced, to collect materials for the preparation of a systematic work on the physical and historical geography of the Holy Land."

Of a different and more popular character is Mr Stanley's Sinai and Palestine, 1856,—a work which will perhaps be more appreciated by the general public. Mr Stanley visited Palestine, not so much with a view to discovery, or for minute investigation, as to connect and illustrate the historical events of the Old and New Testaments with the existing topography of the country. It is in thus grouping together the physical features and the historical incidents of the region, that the main feature of Mr Stanley's work consists. He clothes with the reality of place the events of sacred history, and gives to the records of the past the actual life of the present. His descriptions of physical scenery are graphic and impressive, and his collocation of historical events is frequently striking—always apt and beautiful. Professor Carl Ritter has, with his usual ability, systematized and digested the voluminous records of centuries in his volumes on Palestine in his Erdkunde. Our limits prohibit us from noticing more of the numerous writers on Palestine; and this is the less necessary, as ample lists of them are to be found in the works of Robinson, Kitto, Ritter, and others.

The name Palestine, by which this country is now commonly known, occurs nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. The word from which it is derived, and which is sometimes translated Palestina in our English version, is Philistia (Heb. פְּלִשְׁתִי; Gr. παλαιστία), the name proper of the country of the Philistines, which comprised the southern portion of the coast plain of Canaan. This being the part of the country with which the Greeks were first and chiefly acquainted, they came to apply the name generally to the whole country; and Herodotus, who travelled there, terms the Hebrews, Syrians of Palestine. We find Josephus, too, occasionally using the word Palestine (παλαιστία) for the whole country, though he more frequently uses it in its more restricted sense, as applied to that part which was inhabited by the Philistines. The name by which this country is first designated in Scripture is the Land of Canaan, from its earliest inhabitants being descendants of Canaan, the fourth son of Ham. This, however, only comprised the territory lying between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, the region to the east of that river being called the Land of Gilead. Referring to the period before it actually came into the possession of the children of Israel, it is called the Land of Promise—i.e., the land which God had promised to Abraham to bestow upon his seed. The Land of Jehovah and the Holy Land are terms used as indicating God to be the sovereign proprietor of the soil, though in the present day the latter term is probably used more in regard to its having been the scene of the life and sufferings of Christ. The Land of Israel frequently occurs, first in reference to the whole country, but afterwards only to the territory of the ten tribes, which formed the separate kingdom of Israel as distinct from that of Judah. Judea and the Land of Judah, though originally applied to the territory of the tribe of Judah alone, and afterwards to the kingdom of Judah, came, after the captivity, to be sometimes applied in a loose way to the whole country.

One is at first naturally struck with the small extent of territory occupied by the children of Israel. The limits varied much at different times; but even in its more extended acception Palestine was not more than one-half the extent of Scotland, or one-fourth that of England and Wales. Its length from north to south was only about 180 miles, and its average breadth 65; its extreme breadth being only about 100 miles. This includes a considerable portion of territory beyond the Jordan, not comprised in Palestine proper or the Land of Canaan. The land beyond Jordan was not, it would seem, originally designed to form part of the land of Israel, which was to have been bounded by the River Jordan and its inland lakes. This is the land which, at their request, was given to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh; and it is somewhat remarkable that these never emerged from their original nomadic state of life.

Palestine is situated about midway between the equator and the polar circle, between 30° 40' and 33° 32' N. Lat., and between 33° 45' and 35° 48' E. Long. It is bounded on the west by the Mediterranean, E. by the Great Desert (now called the Hauran), S. by the desert which separates it from Egypt, and N. by the Lebanon Mountains. The boundaries are minutely laid down by Moses, in Numbers xxxiv. 3–12; but our present knowledge of the country is not sufficient to enable us to identify with certainty the limits there specified. The line of coast from north to south trends westwards, which causes the country between the coast and the valley of the Jordan to be much wider in the south than in the north. But where the country was narrowest there were possessions on the east of the river, and where widest there were none; and hence the actual breadth of territory was in some measure equalized throughout.

Palestine is extremely varied in its physical characteristics,—"a land of hills and valleys." It is described in character. Deuteronomy (viii. 7–9) as "a land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths, that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil-olive and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness; thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." The surface is generally mountainous, or, more properly, it is one mountain mass rising from a level sea-coast on the W. and from a level desert on the E. In the N. the roots of Lebanon form the high lands of Galilee, and are succeeded southward by the great plain of Esdracon, stretching from the shores of the Mediterranean to the valley of the Jordan. Farther S. are the hills of Central Palestine, rising gradually into the mountains of Judah and Benjamin. The valley of the Jordan extends from N. to S. through the entire territory, and separates Palestine proper from the mountainous districts of Bashan, Gilcald, and Moab.

The level country of the coast, lying between the sea and the high land of the interior, varies very considerably in plains, breadth, in some parts expanding into wide plains, in others contracted into narrow passes; while occasionally the mountain offshoots stretch out into the sea, and form promontories along the coast. The most southern portion of this coast-country was the great plain occupied by the ancient Philistines, and termed in the Old Testament the Plain or Low Country. It extended from Joppa to Gaza, having on the W. the sea, and on the E. the hill country of Ephraim and Judah. The Philistines were not an indigenous race, though settled in Palestine as early as the time of the patriarchs, but were, as the name implies, "strangers," the general opinion being, that they were immigrants from the island of Crete. They became a great commercial people, and were a frequent source of annoyance to the children of Israel long after they had established themselves in Canaan. The fertility of their land must have contributed greatly to their power—rich corn-fields stretching without interruption from the low sandy tract on the shore to the base of the hills of Judah. "Two parallel tracts," says Stanley, "divide the flat plain; the sandy tract (Ramlch), on which stand the maritime cities, and the cultivated tract, which presents for the most part an unbroken mass of corn, out of which rise here and there slight..." Palestine, eminences in the midst of gardens and orchards, the seats of the more inland cities. Gath has entirely disappeared; but Ekron, Ashdod, Gaza, and Ascalon retain their names, and the three last have sites sufficiently commanding to justify their ancient fame." "The most striking and characteristic feature of Philistia is its immense plain of corn-fields, stretching from the edge of the sandy tract right up to the very wall of the hills of Judah, which look down its whole length from N. to S. These rich fields must have been the great source at once of the power and the value of Philistia, the cause of its frequent aggressions on Israel, and of the increasing efforts of Israel to master the territory." The towns here are remarkable for the beauty of their situations and the profusion of gardens that surround them. They rise above the plain on their respective hills,—Ascalon and Jaffa on the sea-coast, and Gaza, Ashdod, and Ekron, at some distance from it.

"The corn-fields of Philistia, as we advance farther N., melt into a plain less level and less fertile, though still strongly marked off from the mountain wall of Ephraim as that of Philistia was from that of Judah and Dan." (Stanley.) This is "Sharon;" and, like Philistia, it is divided into the ramleh or sandy tract along the sea-shore, and the cultivated tract farther inland, here called khassab ("the reedy"), apparently from the high reeds which grow along the banks of some of the streams. It is interspersed with corn-fields, and thinly studded with trees, the remnants apparently of a great forest which existed here down to the second century. Sharon, however, is chiefly noted for its rich pasture lands, and is, says Mr. Monro, "clothed with fresh verdure as far as the eye can reach." The "rose of Sharon" he thinks to be the Cistus rosmarinus of Linnaeus, which is very abundant here. No historical name or event is attached to this district in the Old Testament; but then, as now, it was noted for the richness of its pastures. Under the Roman empire, however, it became of great note, and contained Caesarea the Roman capital of Palestine. No human being now lives within many miles of this once rich and busy city, and the waves of the Mediterranean dash over its prostrate columns and huge masses of masonry. Beyond Caesarea the plain becomes more contracted and irregular in its character, until the long ridge of Mount Carmel closes up its northern frontier. Immediately N. of Mount Carmel, and between it and the ridge which forms the promontory of Ras Nakhora, is the plain of Acre, about 15 miles in length from N. to S., and about 5 in general breadth from the sea-shore to the hills which bound it on the E. It forms, so to speak, the embouchure of the great plain of Esdrælon, and, like the other plains, presents a sandy tract along the coast and a fertile tract inland. The soil of this last, though naturally rich, is now almost entirely uncultivated, but in the season presents a most exuberant natural vegetation. The town of Acre, or Acco, though of great antiquity, being one of the places from which the Israelites were unable to expel the ancient Canaanites, only became of importance in modern times. It is noted for the number of sieges it has sustained, and was called by Napoleon the "key of Palestine."

The plain of Phoenicia lay N. of that of Acre, or more properly included it, extending S. to Mount Carmel. It is separated both geographically and historically from Palestine, though forming a natural continuation of the coast plain. Here were the great towns of Tyre and Sidon, at one time the great centres of commerce in the ancient world.

Carmel is a mountain ridge 6 or 8 miles long, stretching N. by W. from the plain of Esdrælon into the sea, where it forms a high promontory, which incloses on the S. the Bay of Acre. It is about 1500 feet in height, and consists rather of several connected hills than of one ridge. No mountain in or around Palestine is said to retain its ancient beauty so much as Carmel;—its "excellency" is still to be seen. It is covered with rich verdure, and plentifully watered by numerous crystal streams. On its summits are pines and oaks, and farther down olives and laurel trees; while everywhere are to be seen fruits and flowers growing wild in great profusion. During the middle ages, the grottos of Carmel were the abodes of numerous monks, who thence took the name of Carmelites.

The Lebanon Mountains consist of two ranges, which come down parallel to each other from the N., and extend their southern branches into Palestine. The outer or western ridge, fronting the sea, into which it projects several promontories, was called Libanus by ancient writers; while to the inner or eastern range, fronting the plains of Damascus, they gave the name of Anti-Lebanus. In the Bible the name Lebanon is applied to both ridges. On the loftiest summits, rising to the height of about 9300 feet, and in the fissures facing the north, snow may be seen all the year round. Inclosed between the two ridges of Lebanon is an extensive valley, called in Scripture "the valley of Lebanon," and by the ancients Cadeszyria ("the inclosed or hollow Syria"). Though it can scarcely be said to form any part of Palestine proper, yet its geographical and historical connection with that country renders some notice of it necessary. It is about 90 miles in length from N. to S., and about 11 in breadth throughout, except at the two ends, being somewhat wider at the northern, and narrower at the southern extremity. This plain is one of the most beautiful and fertile districts of Syria. It is abundantly watered by numerous mountain springs; but owing to the concentration of the sun's rays, the heat in summer is excessive. Only a small portion of it is cultivated, being chiefly used for pasture.

Immediately S. of Lebanon is the high table-land of Galilee, extending to the plain of Esdrælon on the S., and sloping on the E. to the Jordan and its upper lakes, and on the W. to the plain of Acre. This table-land, which is estimated to have a general elevation above the level of the sea of from 900 to 1000 feet, is not without its eminences. The chief of these is Jebel Safer, 2770 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. The summit of this steep and lofty mountain is crowned by a castle; and a little below the summit is a city supposed by some to be that which our Saviour had in view in his Sermon on the Mount, as "a city set on a hill." The mountains of Galilee are as distinct in form as they are separate in fact from those of Samaria and Judea. "Those hills are the western roots which Hermon thrusts out towards the sea, as it thrusts out the mountains of Bashan towards the desert;" and as such they partake of the jagged outline of the varied vegetation, and of the high upland hollows which characterize in a greater or less degree the whole mass of the Lebanon range, in contrast to the monotonous aspect of the more southern scenery." "It is one peculiarity of the Galilean hills, as distinct from those of Ephraim and Judah, that they contain or sustain green basins of table-land just below their topmost ridges." (Stanley.) In such a position stands Nazareth, inclosed by an amphitheatre of rounded hills.

The high lands of Galilee are separated from the rest of Esdrælon-Palestine on the S. by the plain of Esdrælon, extending from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea on the W., to the valley of the Jordan on the E. Its central and widest portion reaches straight across, without interruption, from the hills of Samaria to those of Galilee, and may be said to be in the form of a triangle, measuring about 14 miles on the N. side, 18 on the E., and 20 on the S.W. On the W. it is narrowed into a pass, through which flows its only stream, the Kishon; and beyond this the plain opens out again round the Bay of Acre. In the E. the surface is somewhat undulated by offshoots from the mountains; and here three great valleys go off to the Palestine, valley of the Jordan. These valleys are separated from each other by the ridges of Gilboa and Little Hermon, the central one being that which is properly known as the Valley of Jezreel; a name, however, which is sometimes given to the whole plain. It is a deep plain, about three miles across, and has a rapid descent to the Jordan. The northernmost branch, between Little Hermon and Tabor, in its descent to the Jordan, opens to the N.E. into a side plain, as it were, distinguished by the mountain called the "Horns of Hattin," inclosed between the hills of Galilee, and those which immediately skirt the sea of Tiberias. The Khurun Hattin, or "Horns of Hattin," is a ridge about a quarter of a mile in length, and 30 or 40 feet high, terminated at each end by an elevated peak 20 or 30 feet higher. It is known to pilgrims as the Mount of the Beatitudes, the supposed scene of the Sermon on the Mount, though this is at least doubtful. The plain of Esdraelon is often mentioned in sacred history as the great battlefield of Jewish and other nations, under its various names of Megiddo, Jezreel, &c. Its adaptation for military contests has caused its surface to be frequently moistened with blood from the earliest periods of history down to our own time. It is noted for its great fertility, and is covered with the richest pasture, having here and there patches of cultivated land. It is sparsely inhabited, being almost without villages, which, however, occur on the slopes of the surrounding hills.

Mount Tabor, in many respects the most remarkable mountain in Palestine, stands apart and alone on the N.E. border of the plain of Esdraelon. It is only about 1800 feet in height, but it commands an extensive and beautiful view of the surrounding country. As seen from the N.W., it towers like a dome; while from the E. it has the appearance of a long arched mound. The sides are mostly covered with bushes and oak and other trees; but the latter stand too far apart from each other for it to be what could properly be called a wooded hill. The top is an oval plain about a quarter of a mile in extent, containing ruins of ancient buildings. From the names of Tabor and Hermon occurring together, it was taken for granted that they must lie near each other; and hence the latter name was identified with the hilly ridge about six miles south of Mount Tabor. There is no reason to suppose, however, that this mountain is ever referred to in Scripture as Hermon; and all the passages where that name occurs are applicable with greater strength and beauty to Hermon, the loftiest peak of the Lebanon Mountains. This one is therefore now commonly called the Little Hermon (Dabir by the Arabs), and is a desert shapeless mass, with neither beauty nor fertility to excite the attention of the traveller. It is about 1860 feet in height; and sinks gradually down on the E. to a low ridge of table-land along the eastern part of the valley of Jezreel. Further S. are the mountains of Gilboa, constituting an elevated tract, with several ridges; in all about a league in breadth, and rising to the height of about 1300 feet. "The mountains of Gilboa seem yet to lie under the curse uttered by David in his lamentations, for the north side, the side on which 'the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away,' and where 'the beauty of Israel was slain,' presents a more barren appearance than is almost to be found in the land." (Van de Velde.)

South of the plain of Esdraelon, throughout to the borders of the southern desert, is an almost unbroken ridge of mountains or mountain tract, stretching from north to south, and nowhere less than from 25 to 30 miles in breadth. Towards the east it forms the precipitous western wall of the great valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea; while towards the west it sinks down by an offset into a ridge of lower hills, which lie between it and the great plain along the coast of the Mediterranean. This mountainous country rises gradually from the plain of Esdraelon towards the south, until, in the vicinity of Hebron, it attains an elevation of nearly 3000 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. It comprises the districts of Judah and Samaria, between which, however, there is no distinct natural boundary, although they differ considerably in their general characteristics.

The hills of Samaria are often beautifully wooded, and Samaria, this region is more populous and better cultivated than any other part of Palestine. Towns and villages are scattered here and there in every direction among olive woods and vineyards. The principal mountains are those of Ebal and Gerizim, from which the solemn blessings and curses of the law were declared to the assembled hosts of Israel. They are separated from each other by a narrow valley, on each side of which they rise in rocky precipices to the height of about 800 feet, but from the general elevation of the country, they are 2500 feet above the level of the Mediterranean. In this narrow valley, in some parts only a few hundred feet in width, stood Shechem, whose site is now occupied by the modern Nablous—"a valley green with grass; gray with olives, gardens sloping down in all directions; at the end a white town embosomed in all this verdure, lodged between the two mountains which extend on either side of the valley—that on the south Gerizim, that on the north Ebal;—this is the aspect of Nablous, the most beautiful, perhaps it might be said the only very beautiful, spot in Central Palestine." (Stanley.) Shechem was the capital of the northern kingdom of Palestine after the separation, and Gerizim is the mountain to which the woman of Samaria referred when she said—"Our fathers worshipped in this mountain." The well here is almost the only special spot absolutely undisputed of all the localities associated with our Lord's life in Palestine. It is remarkable, that in the evangelic narratives we find so very little that serves to indicate the precise spots hallowed by the life of our Saviour. It seems as if an angelic tongue were still saying, "He is not here, but is risen"—"Why seek ye the living among the dead?"

The mountains of Judea, although of greater historical celebrity, are less attractive in appearance than those of Samaria. They are rugged and generally uninteresting in their character, but eminently fitted for the abode of that tribe which was aptly described as a lion couching, and not to be roused up. "The tribes of the east and of the north were swept away by the Assyrian kings; Galilee and Samaria fell before the Roman conquerors; whilst Judah still remained erect, the last because the most impregnable of the tribes of Israel." (Stanley.) The hills of Judea are generally separated from one another by valleys and torrents, and are for the most part of moderate height, uneven, and seldom of any regular figure. The rock of which they are composed is easily converted into mould, which, being arrested by terraces, when washed down by the rains, renders the hills cultivable in a series of long narrow gardens formed by these terraces from the base upwards. Thus the hills were in former times clad most luxuriantly; but when the inhabitants were dispersed, and cultivation was abandoned, the terraces fell to decay, and the soil which had been collected on them was washed down into the valleys, leaving only the arid rock bare and desolate. This is the general character of the hills of Judea; but in some parts they are still wooded, and in others the ancient mode of culture is still retained, by which the traveller may now judge how productive the country must have once been. The features of desolation which have just been noticed are especially true of the northern part of Judea, forming the ancient territory of Benjamin. Its most favourably situated mountains are wholly uncultivated, and perhaps in no other country is such a mass of rock exhibited without an atom of soil. In the east, towards the plain of Jericho, it takes a naturally stern and grand character, such as Palestine, no other part of Palestine offers. It is through this wild and melancholy region that the roads from Jerusalem to Jericho, and (by way of Wady Saba) to the Dead Sea, lie. It has hence by the former route often been traversed by travellers in their pilgrimages to the Jordan; and they unite in depicting it in the most gloomy hues. "The road," says Dr. Olin, "runs along the edge of steep precipices and yawning gulfs, and in a few places is overhung with the crags of the mountain. The aspect of the whole region is peculiarly savage and dreary, vying in these respects, though not in overpowering grandeur, with the wilds of Sinai. The mountains seem to have been loosened from their foundations, and rent in pieces by some terrible convulsion, and there left to be scathed by the burning rays of the sun, which scorches the land with consuming heat." These characteristics become more manifest on approaching the Jordan; and the wild region extending north of the road is believed, with sufficient probability, to form the "wilderness" where, after his baptism, Jesus "was led up of the Spirit to be tempted of the devil, and where 'he fasted forty days and forty nights.'" The lofty ridge which extends north of the road, and fronts the plain of Jericho, is called Quarantana, with reference to this event; and the particular summit from which Satan is supposed to have displayed to the Saviour "the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them," is crowned by a chapel still occasionally resorted to by the devotee pilgrims; while the eastern face which overhangs the plain is much occupied with cells and grottos, once the favourite abodes of pious anchorites. The Quarantana forms apparently the highest summit of the whole immense pile, and is distinguished for its serene and desolate aspect even in this gloomy region of savage and dreary sights. It is estimated to have an almost perpendicular height of 1200 or 1500 feet.

In the southern region, usually called in Scripture "the hill country of Judah," there are few mountains of a marked character, the peaks of the general ridge being of little apparent elevation, although actually much elevated above the sea-level. The most desolate part of the whole of this wild region seems to have been distinguished as "the wilderness of Judah," while "the mountains of Judah," or "the hill country of Judah," applies to the mountainous region south of Jerusalem, towards Hebron. To this district belongs the wilderness of Tekoa, and beyond it, eastward, "the wilderness of Engedi," Maon, and Ziph,—names made familiar to us by the history of David. To obtain a clear notion of this tract, we should view it from the great Arabah, beyond the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, whence it was surveyed by the Israelites when they contemplated entering the Promised Land from the south-east. The two terraces which, towards the south end of the Dead Sea on the east side, form the descent to its deep basin from the high lands of Judea, stretch off to the southwest; and the ascents from the plain to the first, and from the plateau of the first to the top of the second, which forms the general level of Judaea, present to him who approaches from the lower region of the Arabah high mountain barriers, which he has to ascend by gorges or passes of more or less difficult ascent. After ascending from the great valley, the traveller passes over a wild district covered with rocky hills, till he comes to the frontier-wall of the first terrace or step, which was probably pre-eminently "the mountain of the Amorites." There are in this three principal passes, the southernmost being that of Nubeh-es-Sufah, the Zephath of Scripture, called also Hormah, which we know to have been the pass by which the Israelites attempted to enter Palestine from Kadesh when they were driven back. The top of this pass is said to be 1434 feet above the level of the sea. On reaching the top, a journey of three hours among hills of chalky limestone brings the traveller to the second great ascent to the general level of the hill country of Eastern Judea. This second ascent Palestine is similar to the first, but not more than half as high. This statement will convey some idea of that difficulty of military access to the country in this direction which eventually induced the invading Hebrews to take another and more circuitous route. In the direct south of Judah the approach is marked by an ascent more gradual, over a succession of less elevated plateaus, from the desert regions of sand and rock to the hills of Judah. Recent discoveries in that quarter have shown that much of the south border country, which was formerly regarded as desert, is in fact a variegated region, affording good pastures, into which the sheep-masters of Judah doubtless sent their flocks of old.

To the east of this mountain tract lies the valley of the Jordan. Jordan, the most remarkable of all the known depressions of the earth, as well on account of its great length as of its almost incredible depth. It is around and along this deep fissure that the hills of Western and Eastern Palestine spring up, presenting on the one side a mass of green pastures and forests melting away on the east into the red plains of Hauran, and on the other a mass of gray rock rising above the yellow desert on the south, and bounded on the west by the long green strip of the maritime plain.

The source of the Jordan has given rise to so much uncertainty and doubt that we consider it necessary to go into the subject at some length. It is usual to refer the origin of a river to the remotest of its sources; but we occasionally find, particularly with respect to ancient rivers, that this is not the case—various accidental circumstances operating to give this distinction to some one of the less remote springs. This was doubtless the case here, for we can easily suppose that the Jews would be unwilling to seek for or to acknowledge that the sources of the Jordan lay beyond their own territory. Accordingly we find that Josephus and others place the source of this river at or in the vicinity of Banias (the ancient Paneas). It there issues from a spacious cavern under a wall of rock at the base of the Heish Mountain. Directly over the cavern, and in other parts in the face of the perpendicular rock, niches have been cut, apparently to receive statues. Here Herod built a temple in honour of Augustus; and somewhat below there was a town, traces of which still remain. In one place Josephus carries its source still higher, stating that the waters which came out at the Panecas cavern issued from Lake Phiala, which lay 15 miles eastward, and which was the true source of the river. He relates that the tetrarch Philip cast some chaff into this lake, and that it came out at the Panecas cavern. Irby and Mangles, in travelling by a direct route from Damascus to Banias in February 1818, came upon "a very picturesque lake, apparently perfectly circular, of little more than a mile in circumference." According to Dr Robinson's account, which differs in several respects from that of Irby and Mangles, it lies at the bottom of a deep bowl, apparently an ancient crater, about 150 or 200 feet below the level of the surrounding country. The water is stagnant and impure, with a slimy look. The singularity of this lake is, that it has no apparent supply or discharge, and its waters appeared perfectly still. The locality and appearance of this lake leave little doubt that it is the Phiala of Josephus—a deep round lake, like a bowl or cup, whence its name; but it is impossible to suppose that it can have any subterranean communication with the stream at Panias, for in order to that it must pass under a rivulet which lies apparently lower than the lake itself. The bright, limpid, sparkling waters of the former can have no connection with the dark, stagnant, slimy matter of the latter; and, indeed, to supply such a fountain would exhaust the lake in one day.

A second source of the Jordan, also described by ancient writers, is at a place called Tell el-Kady, about 2½ miles W. by N. from Banias. The Tell, or hill, is a small oblong Palestine, eminence on the plain, extending from E. to W. The western end appears as if built up with large trap boulders, and through these the water gushes out several feet above the base. It forms a little lake at the bottom, and then rushes down a steep channel to the next lower plateau. In the surface of the hill directly above is a cavity of some extent, into which the water also rises, and runs off as a considerable stream through a break in the edge of the Tell, tumbling down its south-western side, and afterwards joining the other stream. These streams form together the middle and largest arm of the Jordan, called Leddân; equal, indeed, in the volume of its water to both the other branches. The fountain at Tell el-Kâdy exactly corresponds to the source which Josephus speaks of as "the other source" of the Jordan, called also Dan, where stood the city of Dan, anciently Laisîh, belonging originally to the territory of Sidon, but captured by the Danites, and named after the founder of their tribe. The same city Dan is placed by Eusebius and Jerome at four Roman miles from Paneas, towards Tyre, corresponding well with the present distance of the sources. The river issuing from this source, Josephus says, was called "the Lesser Jordan," obviously in distinction to the somewhat longer stream from Paneas, into which it flows.

We find, however, that there is a source more remote than either of these, and one of which the ancients make no mention whatever. This is the stream coming from Wady et-Teim, called Nahr Hasbâny, which flows about a mile to the W. of Tell el-Kâdy. It rises 6 or 8 miles farther N., near the large village of Rasbeïya, and is afterwards joined in its course by a stream from Mount Hermon. The first who minutely described this source of the Jordan was Mr Thomson the missionary, whose account is to be found in the second volume of his "Bibliothea Sacra" for February 1846. He says—"Sept. 20th, 1843.—We left the palace of the emirs of Rasbeïya about sunrise, and in half an hour reached the fountain of Hasbâny. Our path led us across the bed of a winter torrent, which comes down from the mountains on the E. of Rasbeïya, and over a rocky hill covered with lava boulders. The fountain lies nearly N.W. from the town, and boils up from the bottom of a shallow pool some eight or ten rods in circumference. The water is immediately turned by a strong stone dam into a wide mill-race. This is undoubtedly the most distant fountain, and therefore the true source of the Jordan. . . . It meanders for the first 3 miles through a narrow but very lovely and highly-cultivated valley. Its margin is protected and adorned with the green fringe and dense shade of the sycamore, button, and willow trees; while innumerable fish sport in its cool and crystal bosom. It then sinks rapidly down a constantly deepening gorge of black basalt for about 6 miles, when it reaches the level of the great volcanic plain, extending to the marsh above the Lake Hûleh. Thus far the direction is nearly S., but it now bears a little westward, and in 8 or 10 miles it enters the Hûleh not far from its N.W. corner, having been immensely enlarged by the waters from the great fountains of Bânias, Tell el-Kâdy, el-Mellâhah, Derakit or Belât, and innumerable other springs. The distance from the fountain of Hasbâny to the lake cannot be less than 25 miles, and nearly in a straight direction. . . . Although the channel immediately above the fountain of the Hasbâny is during most of the year dry and dusty, yet during the rainy season a great volume of water rushes down from the heights of Jebel esh-Sheikh, above Rasbeïya, a distance of 20 miles, and unites with the water of this fountain. The stream is so formidable as to require a good stone bridge, which is thrown across it a few rods below the fountain." A similar account of this source is given by Van de Velde and others who have since visited it. The former, who was there in 1852, says—"A little higher up the water is turned off by a large stone dam, and part of it is carried away in a small stream, which works a mill lower down. A few yards above is the basin or source where the water comes bubbling up from under steep projecting rocks. It is of a transparent dark colour, and appears to be of immense depth. But there was still something I did not understand: it appeared to me that the main stream of water came down from a point farther up; this made me doubt whether I really had before me the right source, until it was explained to me that this stream which I saw coming down from the N.E., above the source, was only a winter torrent, which, rising at Rasbeïya, swells into a brook of no inconsiderable appearance, containing even more water than the Hasbâny source itself, but which, nevertheless, dries up entirely in summer, and then leaves the true source visible." The question as to the source of the Jordan is, whether we are to adopt that which has now been found to have the most remote origin, or to keep to that which the usage of all antiquity has sanctioned? Dr Robinson seems to be almost the only supporter of the latter view. "The attempt," he says, "to introduce a change at this late hour would be alike presumptuous and futile. As well might we require the majestic floods of the Mississippi and Missouri to exchange these names above their junction, inasmuch as the latter is, of the two, by far the longer and the mightier stream." It seems to us, however, that the sanction of ancient usage is not in this case so strong, nor has it been in modern times in so general use, as to lead us to depart from what is an all but universal rule. It was the general opinion till very recently, that the different sources did not commingle their waters until they met in the small lake now called Bahr el-Hûleh, the Merom of Scripture; but it has been found that they unite at some distance from the lake, and enter it in one stream.

The first of the three great lakes of the Jordan is the Merom Bahr el-Hûleh, the Waters of Merom of the Old Testament, and the Lake Samochonitis of Josephus. Its dimensions are very variously stated, and they doubtless vary much at different times of the year. Dr Robinson estimates it to be about 4 or 5 miles in length, and not less than 4 in breadth at the northern end. Besides this, however, the lake was skirted on the N. by a marshy tract of equal or greater extent, covered with tall reeds and flags, but which in the rainy season is doubtless covered with water, and may therefore be properly regarded as forming part of the area of the lake. The basin of the lake is bounded on the W. by a high ridge of hills, and on the E. by a much lower ridge. The lake does not occupy the centre of the valley, but is much nearer to the eastern than to the western side. There is a space of about 5 miles between its shore and the western hills, but on the opposite side its border extends almost to the hills. The length of the basin is about 15 miles. The lake abounds in fish, and is the resort of numerous wild fowl. On quitting this lake the Jordan passes rapidly along the narrow valley, and between well-shaded banks, to the Lake of Gennesareth, called also the Lake of Tiberias or the Sea of Galilee, a distance of about 10 miles. In this part of its course it has a fall of nearly 400 feet, and is described as a continuous torrent rushing down in a narrow rocky channel between almost precipitous mountains. About 2 miles below Lake Hûleh is a bridge called Jacob's Bridge, and here the river is about 80 feet wide and 4 feet deep.

The Sea of Galilee, called in the Old Testament the Sea of Chinnereth, is the second of the three great lakes of the Galilee. Jordan. It is situated in a deep basin, more than 1000 feet below the level of the surrounding country, and 328 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. It is about 13 miles in length by 6 in breadth, and is surrounded by lofty and precipitous hills. Though thus sheltered, it is yet liable to sudden and dangerous storms; the wind, when violent, coming down almost perpendicularly upon its sur- face, and ploughing it up into huge waves. It was in one of these storms that the disciples were overtaken, and in danger of perishing, when Jesus came to them walking on the sea. The barrenness of the surrounding mountains, and the total absence of wood, give an aspect of dulness to the scenery; and this impression is heightened by the dead calm and the silence which reigns over the wide expanse of its surface. Its waters are very clear and sweet, and contain various species of excellent fish in great abundance.

The borders of the lake were in the time of Christ well peopled, being covered with numerous towns and villages, but now they are almost desolate, and the fish and water-fowl are but little disturbed. When visited by the American expedition in 1848, there was only one small frame-boat on the lake, used merely to bring wood across from the opposite side. On the shore of this lake stood Capernaum, where Jesus dwelt; Bethsaida and Chorazin, where many of his mighty works were done; Magdala, the residence of Mary Magdalene; and Tiberias, which had only just then been built by Herod Antipas, and was beginning to rise into importance. Along its banks the depth of its situation produces a tropical vegetation unknown in the hills above.

Fertility is everywhere more or less apparent in the thin strip of land which intervenes between the mountains and the lake. On its western side the mountains recede suddenly inland, leaving an open level plain, now called el-Ghuweir, and anciently "the land of Gennesareth." Josephus speaks of this plain as a place of wonderful fertility, abounding with fig-trees, walnuts, olives, and palms, and producing the principal fruits all the year round, and grapes and figs during ten months of the year. Though this description is evidently exaggerated, Dr Wilson says that "the valley has every appearance of the greatest fertility; and when kept in order and properly laid out, would be truly beautiful and delightful. At present it has some rich pasturage and cultivated fields, bearing luxuriant crops of corn, rice, and vegetables. Wild figs and quantities of the nakh tree are still found growing in it in several places. Various lines of oleanders, particularly along the streams which run through it, add to its beauty. The soil is of a dark alluvial loam, and contains the debris of the basaltic rock in the neighbourhood." This tract is definitely bounded by the hills which run down to the lake on the S. and N. of it, at Mejdel and at Khan Minyeh. It is about 3 English geographical miles in length, by 2 in breadth. "No less than four springs pour forth their almost full-grown rivers through the plain." (Stanley.)

From the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea the direct distance is only about 60 miles, but by reason of its many windings the Jordan has here a length of more than 200 miles. In this distance it has a fall of nearly 1000 feet. This portion of the river was explored by Lieut. Molyneux, of H.M.S. Spartan, in 1847, and an account of the expedition is given in the Royal Geographical Society's Journal for 1848. On leaving the Sea of Tiberias they found the river to be upwards of 100 feet in breadth, and 4 or 5 feet deep. In many parts it was split up into a number of small streams, with little water in any of them, and occasionally the boat had to be carried upwards of 100 yards over rocks and through thorny bushes. In other places it had to be carried on the backs of the camels for some distance, the stream being quite impracticable. At its upper end the ghor, or great valley of the Jordan, is about 8 or 9 miles broad, and this space is anything but flat—nothing but a continuation of bare hills, with yellow dried-up weeds, which look at a distance like corn-stubbles. These hills, however, sink into insignificance when compared to the ranges of mountains which inclose the ghor, and it is therefore only by comparison that this part of it is entitled to be called a valley. Within this broader valley is a smaller one on a lower level, through which the river flows. After passing el-Buk'ah, the Jordan forms two branches, which inclose an oval-shaped island about 5 or 6 miles in circumference. Here its winding course is marked by luxuriant vegetation, and the ghor or valley now begins to assume a much better and more fertile aspect. It appears to be composed of two different platforms; the upper one on either side projects from the foot of the hills which form the great valley, and is tolerably level, but barren and uncultivated. It then falls away in the form of rounded sand-hills or whitish perpendicular cliffs, varying from 150 to 200 feet in height, to the lower plain, which is properly the valley of the Jordan. The river here and there washes the foot of the cliffs which inclose this smaller valley, but generally it winds in the most tortuous manner between them. In many places these cliffs are like walls. About this part the lower plain is about a mile and a half or two miles broad, and full of the most rank and luxuriant vegetation, like a jungle. At Attah the lower valley breaks out into a magnificent plain, extending from the foot of the hills on either side across the ghor, but with a steep western side, where the large Arab village of Beisan stands. On reaching the top of this high western ridge, the country southward, as far as the eye could see, was fertile, well watered, and thickly inhabited. Hundreds of small sheds might be seen studded on the plains, with men watching the crops (chiefly Indian corn), and slinging stones to keep off the birds. "I think," says Lieutenant Molyneux, "the view from this point over the valley of the Jordan was one of the finest things I had seen; an abundant vegetation extending up the slopes of the eastern hills, which are crowned with trees up to the summit, and everything growing in the wildest luxuriance; while on the western side the higher steppe breaks down into steep sand-hills or whitish perpendicular cliffs, with only here and there the means of ascent. The river as usual winds very much, with banks about 20 feet in height, of brown clayey soil, somewhat resembling those of the Thames, and for some distance on either side a thick and almost impenetrable jungle." Such is the general character of the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea,—sometimes lofty perpendicular cliffs or sand-hills inclose the river on each side, at other times they recede to a considerable distance, and leave an extent of jungle or fertile plain. The valley seemed to contain a considerable population. Next year (1848) an American expedition, under the command of Lieutenant Lynch, U.S.N., likewise explored this portion of the valley of the Jordan. The account given by this expedition does not differ materially from that furnished by Lieutenant Molyneux, except that the river in the former case was greater, being in April, whereas in the latter case it was in August. "The great secret," says Lieutenant Lynch, "of the depression between Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea is solved by the tortuous course of the Jordan. In a space of 60 miles of latitude, and 4 or 5 miles of longitude, the Jordan traverses at least 200 miles. The river is in the latter stage of a freshet; a few weeks earlier or later, and the passage would have been impracticable. As it is, we have plunged down twenty-seven threatening rapids, besides a great many of lesser magnitude."

The valley of the Jordan is generally not more than about 8 miles in width, but immediately above the Dead Sea the Jericho hills on either side recede, leaving a plain about 12 miles in breadth. This is the plain of Jericho, now partly desert, but, from the abundance of water and the heat of the climate, susceptible for the most part of being rendered in the highest degree productive. Indeed, its fertility has been celebrated in every age. Josephus, whenever he has occasion to mention Jericho, rarely fails to break forth into praises of the richness and productivity of its environs. He calls it the most fertile tract of Judea; pronounces it a divine region; and, in speaking of the fountain, says it watered a tract 70 stadia long by 20 broad, covered with Palestine, beautiful gardens and groves of palms of various species. The Scriptures call Jericho the "city of palm trees;" and Josephus describes these graceful trees as here abundant and very large, and growing even along the banks of the Jordan. This region also produced honey, opoposacum, the cypress tree (or el-henna), the sycamore, and myrobalanum, as well as the common fruits of the earth, in great abundance. Of all these productions few are now to be seen. The groves of palm trees have disappeared; even the one solitary remnant noticed by recent travellers has, within the last few years, taken its departure. The sycamore, too, has retired from the plain, and the opoposacum is no longer known in the country. Honey, if found at all, is now comparatively rare, and the cypress tree has entirely disappeared. The myrobalanum alone appears to thrive, being probably the thorny shrub growing wild in the plain to which the name of zōkhkōm is given by the Arabs. It produces a green nut, from the kernel of which is extracted the oil known in the present day as the "halsan of Jericho."

The Dead Sea (called in Scripture the Salt Sea, the Sea of the Plain or the Arabah, and the Eastern Sea; by Josephus, the Asphalt Lake, Ἀσφαλτόνης; and by the Arabs, Birket Lut, "Sea of Lot"), is the largest as well as the most remarkable of the lakes of Palestine. It is about 39 or 40 geographical miles in length from north to south, and 9 or 10 wide from east to west. It lies deeply embedded between, on the western side, lofty cliffs rising to the height of about 1500 feet, and on the eastern, high mountains, the loftiest ridges of which are estimated to be from 2000 to 2500 feet above the sea. The northern shore of the lake, as described by Lynch, is an extensive mud flat, with a sandy plain beyond; and the north-western an unmixed bed of gravel coming in a gradual slope from the mountains to the sea. The eastern coast is a rugged line of mountains, bare of all vegetation,—a continuation of the Haurán range coming from the north, and extending south beyond the scope of vision, throwing out three marked and seemingly equidistant promontories from its south-eastern extremity. At the south-western extremity of the lake is the isolated ridge called the Mountain of Usdom, containing fossil salt. The bottom consists of two submerged plains, an elevated and a depressed one,—the southern averaging about thirteen, and the northern about thirteen hundred feet below the surface. The well-defined promontory on its eastern side marks the extent of each of these plains. The old stories about the pestiferous qualities of the Dead Sea are mere fables. Birds are observed flying over the sea, and even resting upon its waters, without being injured; and Dr Robinson was five days in the vicinity without perceiving any noisome smell or noxious vapour arising from the lake. The uncommon saltness of the water, however, renders it speedily destructive to any fish that may be brought down by the streams; but it is asserted that there is one small species of fish peculiar to it. The quantity of salt, too, that is constantly given off in small particles is equally destructive to vegetation on its shores. Everything along the shore is covered with a white incrustation of salt. "Strewn along its desolate margin lie the most striking memorials of this last conflict of life and death; trunks and branches of trees, torn down from the thickets of the river-jungle by the violence of the Jordan, thrust out into the sea, and thrown up again by its waves, dead and barren as itself." (Stanley.) (See ASPHALTITES.)

The deep depression of the Dead Sea below the level of the Mediterranean appears never to have been suspected till the time of its actual discovery in 1837, when Messrs Moore and Beek, then engaged in surveying it, were led to examine the question of its comparative elevation. Since that time various barometrical observations have been made, but they differ considerably from each other. The trigonometrical observations of Lieutenant Symonds of the British Royal Engineers are the most reliable that we yet possess, and they give its depression at 1312-2 feet below the level of the Mediterranean, which corresponds very closely with that obtained by Mr Henry Poole in 1855 with the aneroid métallique,—namely, 1313-5 feet.

It was long believed that this lake did not exist before the destruction of Sodom and the other "cities of the plain," and that before that time the Jordan continued its course through the great valley of Arabah, which extends from the Dead to the Red Sea. The fact, however, of the former being above 1300 feet lower than the latter, and the discovery of a ridge of high land, about 400 feet above the level of the sea, stretching directly across this valley, render this hypothesis extremely improbable. Even supposing that this ridge may be of recent formation, and that the depression of the Jordan valley has taken place since that time, we have yet, from Lake Huléh where the depression commences, to the Red Sea, a direct distance of nearly 300 miles, with a fall of only about 50 feet. It seems more likely that the fertile and well-watered district in which stood the "cities of the plain," was that southern portion of the lake which is at present submerged under some 13 feet of water. It seems, too, to be the salt rocks around this portion that give to the waters their present deadly qualities.

Though there is every reason to believe that the Dead Sea has existed here from the earliest times that we have any account of the country, it is impossible to suppose that it was in its present depressed state at the time when "Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord." The appearance of the district itself, with its numerous evidences of active volcanic agency,—its bitumen, sulphur, nitre, lava, &c.,—render this view extremely likely. "The bituminous and sulphureous sources of the Dead Sea," says Volney, "the lava, the pumice-stones thrown upon its banks, . . . . . demonstrate that the seat of a subterraneous fire is not yet extinguished. Clouds of smoke are often discovered to rise from the lake, and new crevices to be formed on its shore." Lieutenant Lynch unexpectedly found between the Jablok and the Dead Sea a sudden break-down in the bed of the Jordan. He says, that "if there be a similar break in the water-courses to the south of the sea, accompanied with like volcanic characters, there can scarce be a doubt that the whole ghor has sunk from some extraordinary convulsion, preceded most probably by an eruption of fire and a general conflagration of the bitumen which abounded in the plain. Whether this great depression took place at once on the destruction of the cities of the plain, or has been going on gradually since that time, is very doubtful. The latter hypothesis, however, seems the more probable. The accounts given by modern travellers of the River Jordan differ in many respects from the character that we form of it from the notices that occur in Scripture. In the latter case, we figure to ourselves a considerable river moving majestically along its course, having few fords, and periodically overflowing its banks. On the other hand, we have an impetuous torrent, with no proof of its overflowing its banks, and in many places without sufficient water to float a boat of light draught. Molyneux, in speaking of the upper part of its course, says,—"I am within the mark when I say that there are many hundreds of places where we might have walked across without wetting our feet, on the large rocks and stones." These accounts can easily be reconciled if we suppose that formerly the depression of the Dead Sea and the lower course of the Jordan was much less than at present, and that consequently it had a slower course, and a considerably larger volume of water.

It is now generally believed to be most probable that, Palestine.

anterior to the historical period, the whole valley, from the base of Hermon to the Red Sea, was once an arm of the Indian Ocean, which has gradually subsided, leaving the three lakes in its bed, with their connecting river. According to Captain Newbold, in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xvi., "The valley of the ghor, which is a vast longitudinal crevasse in calcareous and volcanic rocks, extending from the southern roots of Libanus and Anti-Libanus, to the Gulf of Akaba, from 1000 to 2000 feet deep, and from 1 to 8 miles broad (this is understated), appears to have been caused by the forcible rending and falling in of the aqueous strata resulting from the eruption of the basalt, which bases it almost from its commencement to the Dead Sea... Watery corrosion or abrasion can have had little influence in its formation. The great alterations in its surface commenced prior to the historic period, and terminated probably in the catastrophe of Sodom." See also an article on this subject in the Royal Geographical Society's Journal, vol. xxiii. (1853), by Captain W. Allen, R.M., who, from indications of alluvial deposit on the sides of the mountains around the Dead Sea and lower portion of the Jordan, apparently marking the gradual subsidence of the waters in this district, came to the same conclusion. As, however, these indications seem to be entirely confined, as regards the Dead Sea, to its northern portion, and as their appearance would seem to indicate a time more recent than that claimed for that state of the country, we are inclined to consider it rather as an indication of the gradual sinking of the basin of the Dead Sea subsequently to the destruction of the cities of the plain.

Besides the Jordan, Palestine possesses scarcely another river of any size. Most of those that are laid down in the maps, or whose names figure in history, are merely torrents or water-courses, which carry off the waters in the rainy season, or, if they have their origin in springs, are spent in the season of drought soon after they quit their sources. There are, however, numerous springs, which in a country like this are of the greatest importance to cultivation. The Kishon, the river on whose banks the army of Sisera was overthrown, is in winter and spring a large and rapid river, flowing from Mount Tabor, and collecting the waters of a large part of the plains of Esdraelon and its bordering hills; but in summer all the part which passes over the plain is quite dried up, and only water from perennial springs in Carmel is then found in the last seven miles of its bed. It enters the Bay of Acre near the foot of Mount Carmel. The Kishon, says Van de Velde, "is considered, on account of its quicksands, the most dangerous river in the land;" and hence Deborah and Barak, in their song of victory, sang—"The River Kishon swept them away; that ancient river, the River Kishon." They that fled had to cross the bed of the torrent; but the Lord sent a heavy rain; the waters rose; the warriors stumbled, and fell into the quicksands, and the waves which came rushing on washed them away into the sea. The Belas, now called Nahr Kardanu, falls into the Bay of Acre higher up than the Kishon. It is a small stream, fordable even at its mouth in summer. It is not mentioned in the Bible, and is chiefly celebrated for the tradition, that the accidental vitrefaction of its sands taught men the art of making glass. The chief of the other streams that fall into the Mediterranean are—the Zerka, about 3 miles N. of the ruins of Cesarea, and supposed to be identical with the Crocodile River of Pliny; the Nahr el-Kasab, about 12 miles S. of Cesarea, supposed to be the River Kanah of Scripture; the Nahr el-Arsouf, about 10 miles S. of this last, and about the same distance N. of Joppa, chiefly noted for a celebrated castle of the same name which stood near its mouth in the time of the Crusades; the Nahr-Abi-Petros, a little to the N. of Joppa, and the Nahr el-Rubin, 12 miles S. of that town; a brook about a mile and a half S. of Ashdod, which appears to be the Sorek of Scripture, and between Askalon Palestine, and Gaza, two small streams, whose names are unknown; the Wady Gaza, 2 or 3 miles S. of the town of that name, which seems to be the Bezor of Scripture; and the brook el-Arish, which is supposed to be the river of Egypt which formed the southern boundary of the coast of Palestine. The most important tributaries of the Jordan and the Dead Sea are the Jarmuk, the Jabbock, and the Arnon. The first of these, called also Mandhur (the Hieromax of ancient geography), joins the Jordan about 5 miles below the Lake of Gennesareth. Its source is ascribed to a small lake, about a mile in circumference, lying 30 miles E. of the Jordan. It is a beautiful stream, and brings down a considerable body of water. The Jabbock, now called the Zerka, is a narrow, but deep and rapid stream, which joins the Jordan about half-way between Gennesareth and the Dead Sea. The Arnon, now the Wady Modjeb, is an affluent of the Dead Sea, and often mentioned in Scripture. The brook Kedron flows through the valley of Jehoshaphat, on the E. side of Jerusalem, to the Dead Sea. It is at present nothing more than the dry bed of a winter torrent, and even in that season there is no constant flow of water. The resident missionaries assured Dr Robinson that they had not during several years seen a stream running through the valley. It, however, bears marks of being occasionally swept over by a considerable volume of water.

Of the region beyond the Jordan we know very little, as Eastern it has been seldom visited by travellers, partly on account of the insecure nature of the country, and partly also from the slight historical interest that attaches to it in comparison with Western Palestine. "The mountains rise from the valley of the Jordan to the height, it is believed, of 2000 or 3000 feet, and this gives them, when seen from the western side, the appearance of a much greater actual elevation than they really possess, as though they rose high above the mountains of Judea on which the spectator stands. As they are approached from the ghor, the horizontal outline which they always wear when seen from a distance is broken; and it is described, that when their summits are attained, a wholly new scene bursts upon the view, unlike anything which could be expected from below—unlike anything in Western Palestine. A wide table-land appears, tossed about in wild confusion of undulating downs, clothed with rich grass throughout, and in the northern parts with magnificent forests of sycamore, beech, terebinth, ilex, and enormous fig trees.... The vast herds of wild cattle, now seemingly extinct, but which then wandered through those woods,—as those of Scotland through its ancient forests,—were in like manner at once the terror and pride of the Israelite—the fat bulls of Bashan.' Flocks, too, there were of every kind—rams, and lambs, and goats, and bullocks, all of them fattings of Bashan.'" (Stanley.) Mr Buckingham describes with equal delight and admiration the varied beauties of this romantic region, the Decapolis of the Romans, the seat of ten renowned cities, famed for wealth and refinement, but now a scene of desolation, over which the wild Arab ranges with his flocks in quest of pasture or of prey. The country, according to the account of this traveller, is of extraordinary richness, abounding in the most beautiful prospects of thick forests, verdant slopes, and extensive plains. The landscape alone varied at every turn, and gave new beauties from every different point of view. "The general face of this region," he adds, "improved as we advanced farther into it; and every new direction of our path opened upon us views which surprised and charmed us by their grandeur and their beauty. Lofty mountains gave an outline of the most magnificent character; flowing beds of secondary hills softened the romantic wildness of the picture; gentle slopes, clothed with wood, gave a rich variety of tints hardly to be imitated by the pencil; deep valleys, filled with murmuring streams and verdant meadows, offered all the luxuriance of cultivation; and herds and flocks gave life and animation to scenes as grand, as beautiful, and as highly picturesque, as the genius or taste of a Claude could either invent or desire." To the south, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, is found the bleak, barren, and mountainous district of Carac, where are the ruins of Rabbeth-Moab, the ancient capital, and formerly a populous and an important place. Farther to the north is a vast plain of table-land, stretching southward from Damascus, not watered by any great river, yet rendered fertile by the industry of the inhabitants, who collect the rain-water into ponds for the purpose of irrigation, and thus contrive to raise large crops of grain. Of these countries, Hauran is the most celebrated for its luxuriant harvests of wheat; and the undulations of the ripened grain on its extensive fields have been compared to the rolling waves of the ocean. Many hummocks are seen scattered over the plain, the sites generally of deserted villages. All these hummocks, and every stone found in the field,—all the building stones, and the whole mountains of Hauran,—consist of basalt; and the houses being entirely built of this stone, even to the door-posts, present rather a sombre appearance. The beauty and fertility of this region is said to far exceed that of Western Palestine. It was pre-eminently "a place for cattle;" and on this account it was coveted by Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh.

The high terms of admiration in which most travellers speak of the scenery of Palestine are evidently beyond the truth. "As a general rule," says Mr Stanley, "not only is it without the two main elements of beauty—variety of outline, and variety of colour—but the features rarely so group together as to form any distinct or impressive combination." The tangled and featureless hills of the lowlands of Scotland and North Wales, are perhaps the nearest likeness accessible to Englishmen of the general landscape of Palestine south of the plain of Esdraelon. Rounded hills, chiefly of a gray colour,—gray partly from the limestone of which they are all formed, partly from the tufts of gray shrub with which their sides are thinly clothed, and from the prevalence of the olive,—their sides formed into concentric rings of rock, which must have served in ancient times as supports to the terraces, of which there are still traces, to their very summits; valleys, or rather the meetings of these gray slopes, with the beds of dry water-courses at their feet,—long sheets of bare rock laid, like flagstones, side by side along the soil; these are the chief features of the greater part of the scenery of the historical parts of Palestine. In such a landscape the contrast of every exception is doubly felt. . . . The eye rests with peculiar eagerness on the few instances in which the gentle depressions become deep ravines, as in those about Jerusalem, or those leading down to the valley of the Jordan; or in which the mountains assume a bold and peculiar form, as Lebanon and Hermon, at the head of the whole country, or Tabor, 'Nebi-Samuel,' and the 'Frank Mountain,' in the centre of the hills themselves." On entering Palestine, he was struck with "the western, almost the English, character of the scenery. Those wild uplands of Carmel and Ziph are hardly distinguishable (except by their ruined cities and red anemones) from the lowlands of Scotland or of Wales; the cultivated valleys of Hebron (except by their olives) from the general features of a rich valley in Yorkshire or Derbyshire."

"Above all other countries in the world, it is a land of ruins. It is not that the particular ruins are on a scale equal to those of Greece or Italy, still less to those of Egypt. But there is no country in which they are so numerous, none in which they bear so large a proportion to the villages and towns still in existence. In Judea it is hardly an exaggeration to say that, whilst for miles and miles there is no appearance of present life or habitation, except the occasional goat-herd on the hill-side, or gathering of women at the wells, there is hardly a hill-top of the many within sight which is not covered by the vestiges of some fortress or city of former ages." "The ruins we now see are of the most diverse ages; Saracenic, crusading Roman, Grecian, Jewish, extending perhaps even to the old Canaanitish remains before the arrival of Joshua."

"In the rich local vocabulary of the Hebrew language, the words for sites of ruined cities occupy a remarkable place. Four separate designations are used for the several stages of decay or of destruction which were to be seen even during the first vigour of the Israelite conquest and monarchy." (Stanley.) On this subject we cannot refrain from adducing the testimony of the Rev. J. L. Porter regarding the existing ruins in Eastern Palestine. "I had often read," he says, "how God had delivered into the hands of the children of Manasseh, Og, King of Bashan, and all his people; and I had observed the statement, that a portion of his territory, even the region of Argob, contained three score cities fenced with high walls, gates, and bars, besides unvalled towns a great many. I had sometimes turned to my atlas, where I found the whole of Bashan delineated, and not larger than an ordinary English county. . . . That sixty walled cities, besides unvalled towns a great many, should be found at such a remote age, far from the sea, with no rivers and little commerce, appeared quite inexplicable. Inexplicable and mysterious though it appeared, it was strictly true. On the spot, with my own eyes, I had now verified it. Lists of more than a hundred ruined cities and villages in these mountains alone I had tested and found correct, though not complete. More than thirty of these I had myself either visited or observed so as to fix their positions on the map." (Five Years in Damascus, 1855.)

The mountains of Palestine are chiefly composed of an oolitic limestone, of a whitish or light gray colour, and abounding in caverns, to which frequent allusion is made in Scripture. In many places the limestone is covered with chalk rocks, containing layers and detached masses of flint, as well as corals, shells, &c. Masses of black basalt occasionally occur in the N. of Galilee, but are more common on the eastern side of the Jordan, and about the Dead Sea. In the valley of the Jordan, and especially about the Dead Sea, we have unmistakeable indications of volcanic action; and even in the northern portion of the valley, and about the sources of the river, these are much more numerous than was formerly supposed. Such indications, however, do not seem to have been discovered in other parts of the country, but earthquakes are not unfrequent. At Tiberias, the Dead Sea, and other parts of the valley, hot springs occur, many of which have a sulphurous taste or odour. Lava is found about the Dead Sea, the Sea of Tiberias, and other parts of the Jordan valley. At Béisan, Dr Robertson writes, "the whole region here is volcanic, like that around and above the Lake of Tiberias;" and Mr Buckingham, while crossing the River Hieromax, in his journey to Nazareth, observed that the dark masses of rock over which it took its course resembled a stream of cooled lava.

Of the mineral resources of the country little is known. Iron is abundant in several parts, but it is almost the only metal that is known to exist. Some traces of silver have been found. Near the sources of the Jordan there are rich mines of asphaltum, and large portions of this mineral are occasionally washed up by the Dead Sea. Salt is very abundant in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea; and sulphur, nitre, and pumice are found there.

The climate of Palestine is temperate, and much less changeable than ours. The variations of sunshine and rain, which with us extend throughout the year, are there unknown, the year being divided into a rainy season, com- prising the latter part of autumn and the winter, and a dry season, comprising the rest of the year, when the sky is almost uninterruptedly cloudless, and rain very rarely falls. The rainy season usually commences about the end of October or beginning of November, not suddenly, but by degrees, and with occasional intervals of two or three days of fine weather. During the months of November and December the rains continue to fall heavily, and afterwards less so, and at longer intervals, till the end of March or beginning of April, when they entirely cease. The early and the latter rains mentioned in Scripture seem to have been the first showers of autumn and the later showers of spring. In summer the absence of rain soon destroys the verdure of the fields, and gives to the general landscape the aspect of drought and barrenness. In autumn the whole land becomes dry and parched, the cisterns are nearly empty, and all nature, animate and inanimate, looks forward with longing for the return of the rainy season. Snow falls more or less in winter, but the cold is not severe, and the ground is never frozen. In the higher parts, as at Jerusalem, it often falls to the depth of a foot or more, but it never lies long upon the ground. Thunder and lightning are frequent in winter. In the plains and valleys the heat of summer is very oppressive, but not in the more elevated tracts, as at Jerusalem, except when the south wind (sirocco) blows.

The question as to the fertility of Palestine, so long agitated, has been satisfactorily set at rest by the investigations of recent travellers. In the scarped rocks and ruined terrace-walls that are everywhere seen in the hilly parts of the country, and in the remains of aqueducts and other means of artificial irrigation, we have ample evidence that the country was formerly in the highest state of cultivation; and we find that even now, with the present rude appliances of husbandry, the land, where cultivated, produces abundant crops. All travellers testify to the magnificence of the crops that are raised in the country. In Dr Robinson's works frequent notice is taken of this subject. In one place he speaks of the heavy crops of wheat and barley reminding him of the rich harvest he had seen a year before in Lincolnshire; and in another place he says that he passed through, in the north of Galilee, "fields of wheat of the most luxuriant growth, finer than which I had not before seen in this or any other country." (Later Researches.) "No soil," says Schubert, "could be naturally more fruitful and fit for cultivation than that of Palestine, if man had not destroyed the source of fertility by annihilating the former green covering of the hills and slopes, and thereby destroying the regular circulation of sweet water, which ascends as vapour from the sea to be cooled in the higher regions, and then descends to form the springs and rivers; for it is well known that the vegetable kingdom performs in this circulation the function of capillary tubes. But although the natives, from exasperation against their foreign conquerors and rulers (Pliny, Hist. Nat. xii. 54), and the invaders who have so often over-ruled this scene of ancient blessings, have greatly reduced its prosperity, still I cannot comprehend how, not only scoffers like Voltaire, but early travellers, who doubtless intended to declare the truth, represent Palestine as a natural desert, whose soil never could have been fit for profitable cultivation. Whoever has seen the exhaustless abundance of plants on Carmel and the border of the desert, the grassy carpet of Esdraelon, the lawns adjoining the Jordan, and the rich foliage of the forests of Mount Tabor—whoever has seen the borders of the lakes of Merom and Gennesareth, wanting only the cultivator to entrust to the soil his seed and plants,—may state what other country on earth, devastated by two thousand years of warfare and spoliation, could be more fit for being again taken into cultivation."

The vegetable productions of Palestine, owing to the diversified nature of the surface and climate, are considerably varied in their character. The trees, however, are almost all of small size, and extensive forests are unknown. The stately cedars of Lebanon, so often mentioned in Scripture, were not, properly speaking, trees of Palestine. They were always confined to the Lebanon range, and at present they are only to be found in one small hollow on its north-western slope. They are from 60 to 80 feet in height, with wide-spreading branches, and a trunk sometimes nearly 40 feet in circumference. The olive, the fig, and the pomegranate are the common trees of the country; but they are all so small as scarcely to attract the eye of the spectator till he is in the midst of them. The olive, which was, and still continues to be, the principal tree of Palestine, rarely rises to the height of more than 20 or 30 feet, but its branches are numerous and widely extended. It was an object of special culture by the Jews, on account of the valuable oil obtained from it. The fig tree was also extensively cultivated, and plantations of it still sometimes cover large tracts of country. The pomegranate was largely cultivated in the gardens and orchards of Palestine, and is frequently referred to in Scripture. It is a thick bushy tree, with thorny twigs, and rises to the height of about 20 feet. The palm tree, which in Scripture times was so common in Palestine, is now rarely to be seen. "Two or three in the garden of Jerusalem, some few perhaps at Nablaos, one or two in the plain of Esdraelon, comprise nearly all the instances of the palm in Central Palestine." (Stanley.) It is still, however, not uncommon on the maritime plains. The terebinth, or turpentine tree, is one of the most common of the forest trees, though the name does not occur in our English Bibles. It is supposed to be that indicated by the Hebrew word יַעֲרָה, which is variously rendered in our version, oak, plain, tell tree, &c. The oak, indeed, is found in Palestine, but the name occurs more frequently in our version than in the original, and suggests the idea, that it was much more common and conspicuous in Palestine than it really was. There are several species of this tree to be found, but they are all of small size. It is still abundant in Bashan, remarkable for its size among the trees of Palestine. Among the other trees of Palestine may be mentioned the sycamore, mulberry, pine, pistachio, laurel, cypress, myrtle, almond, apricot, walnut, apple, pear, orange, lemon, &c.

The vine appears to have been cultivated in all parts of Palestine, probably with the exception of the low and hot valley of the Jordan. The hilly country of the north, and the elevated region of Judea, were, however, its chief seats. Hebron, according to the Jewish tradition, was the primeval seat of the vine; and at present the grapes of Hebron are the finest in Palestine. The region around this town abounds with vineyards, which frequently rise in successive terraces on the hill-sides. Each has still its round or square watch-tower of stone, from 10 to 15 or 20 feet high, in which keepers are stationed to protect the fruit from injury or pilage during the season of the vine. Grapes may always be had after June, but the regular vintage does not begin until the middle of September, and is not over everywhere until the middle of November.

Though deficient in trees, Palestine abounds with shrubs and wild flowers; indeed, the number of aromatic shrubs and fragrant flowers that are everywhere to be met with has been a subject of general remark among travellers. "My report," says Schubert, "would become a volume were I to enumerate the plants and flowers which the season exhibited to our view, for whoever follows the comparatively short course of the Jordan from the Dead Sea northward along the borders of Gennesareth and Merom, and onward to the utmost springs in Anti-Libanus, traverses in a few days climates, zones, and observes varieties of plants, Palestine, which are in other countries separated by hundreds of miles. Whoever desires views, really extensive and beautiful, of lilacs, tulips, hyacinths, and narcissuses, must, in the spring season, visit the districts through which we passed, where even the garlic assumes a size and beauty which might render it worthy of becoming an ornamental plant in our gardens." Among this profusion of wild flowers there is a peculiar blaze of scarlet imparted to the landscape by the prevalence of red flowers, chiefly anemones, wild tulips, and poppies. "Of all the ordinary aspects of the country, this blaze of scarlet colour is perhaps the most peculiar; and to those who first enter the Holy Land it is no wonder that it has suggested the touching and significant name of 'the Saviour's blood-drops.'" (Stanley.)

In the time of the patriarchs, and when first occupied by the children of Israel, Palestine was a pastoral country. As the people became settled and increased in numbers, agriculture came in for a share of attention, and the flocks and herds were sent to the wildernesses and other places not suited for cultivation; but throughout at least Old Testament times we have abundant evidence that pasturage continued to be a favourite and a principal pursuit with the Jewish people. Hence the frequent allusions that occur in Scripture to pastoral life. The plains and valleys everywhere abound with the most luxuriant pastures, and even the hilly portions, where vegetation is more scant, are well adapted for the numerous flocks of sheep and goats which still constitute the chief wealth of the people. Most of the present inhabitants, like the early settlers, are nomadic, wandering about from place to place with their flocks as the season or the state of the herbage demand. In summer, when the plains are parched with drought and every green herb is dried up, they proceed to the mountains or banks of the rivers; and in winter and spring, when the rains have re-clothed the plains with verdure and filled the water-courses, they return.

The chief of the agricultural productions are wheat and barley, of which the country, as already mentioned, yields most abundant crops. Maize and rye are also common, and rice is produced on the marshy borders of Lake Huleh and upper parts of the Jordan. Pease and beans of several species are grown, and in some parts the potato has been introduced. Hemp is more commonly grown than flax; and in favourable localities cotton is largely cultivated. Among the other productions are madder, indigo, and tobacco; and in some places the sugar-cane is cultivated to a small extent. In the hill country the season of harvest is later than in the plains of the Jordan and of the sea-coast. In the plain of the Jordan, the wheat harvest is early in May; in the plains of the coast and of Esdraelon, it is towards the latter end of that month; and in the hills, not until June. The barley harvest is about a fortnight earlier than that of wheat.

Palestine in ancient times was distinguished for the abundance of its cattle, including sheep, goats, camels, and asses; and these, though now much diminished in numbers, still constitute a principal part of the wealth of the inhabitants. Herds of black cattle are now rarely to be seen, though they would seem to have been common in ancient times. This no doubt arises from the heavy and unscrupulous exactions of the government, from whose notice wealth, in the shape of animals so large, could not easily be concealed or withdrawn. The ox in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem is small and unsightly, but on the Upper Jordan, especially to the east of that river, and in the vicinity of Tabor and Nazareth, it thrives better and is more common. The bulls of Bashan are frequently alluded to in Scripture as being particularly strong and ferocious. The buffalo is met with in various parts,—on the coast it is equal in size and strength to those of Egypt. Sheep and goats are still to be seen in great numbers in all parts of the country. Their flesh and milk serve for daily food, and their wool and hair for clothing. Mutton is, and always has been, the principal animal food used in the East; beef or veal is now but rarely eaten, though it seems to have been made use of by the ancient Israelites to a considerable extent. The sheep of Palestine are all of that species which is characterized by an enormously large tail, chiefly composed of fat. They are horned, and commonly white,—black ones are very rare. There are two species or varieties of the goat; one differing little from the common species, the other considerably larger in size, with long-hanging ears, and in the head and horns very much resembling a ram. The latter is furnished with hair of considerable fineness, but seemingly not so fine as that of the same species in Asia Minor. The "wild goats" mentioned in Scripture were probably the ibex and the kebesh, both of which are still found in the mountains of Palestine. The latter is also called the wild sheep, though it bears little resemblance to that animal, and is chiefly distinguished by a long pendant mane about its throat and the upper part of its fore-legs. The milk of goats was by the Jews more esteemed than that of any other animal, and the flesh was in high favour, especially that of kids. Camels are still, as they were in Scripture times, the principal beasts of burden in Palestine, the roads being few and not suited for carts or carriages. It is an animal that is invaluable to the wandering Arab tribes, and is used both for carrying burdens and for riding. The flesh was forbidden to the ancient Jews, but is eaten by the Arabs, and the milk is much used. The horse was not much made use of by the ancient Israelites, and the rearing of it was discouraged by law. It was chiefly employed in warlike enterprises and for state purposes. The horses of Egypt are the earliest mentioned, and that country was always famous for them. The horse at present is not a common animal in Palestine, although some fine animals of the high Arabian breed are not unfrequently seen. The ass was more commonly used by the Jews than the horse, and frequently persons of the first consequence rode on it. It was also employed to carry burdens and in labours of the field, but was prohibited from ploughing in the same field with the ox. The ass in the East, when properly trained and cared for, is an active and docile animal; and hence the term is used in Scripture in a laudatory sense. Wild asses are often named in Scripture, but they are not now to be found in Palestine, though they are still to be seen in Mesopotamia and farther east. They are of an elegant figure, and of great swiftness, roaming in herds in desert places far from the abodes of men. Mules are first mentioned in the time of David, but were probably known much earlier. They do not seem to have become very common. Asses and mules are at present much used for riding, as they afford a means of locomotion well suited to the difficult mountain paths of the country.

Among the wild animals, the lion, though not uncommon in ancient times, seems to be now extinct in the country. Bears, however, are still to be met with among the mountains. Boars are often observed upon Mount Tabor and the woody slopes of Mount Carmel, and from thence they

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1 "Roads for wheeled vehicles are now unknown in any part of Palestine; and in the earlier history they are very rarely mentioned. As a general means of communication, the 'chariots' of Jehu and of Ahab are only described as driven along the plain of Esdraelon. Under the Romans, indeed, the same astonishing genius for road-making which carried the Via Flaminia through the Apennines, and has left traces of itself in the narrow passes of the Scironian rocks, may have increased the facilities of communication in Palestine; and hence, perhaps, the mention of the chariot road through the pass from Jerusalem to Gaza, where the Ethiopian met Philip. But under ordinary circumstances, they must have always been more or less impracticable in the mountain ranges." (Stanley.) Palestine frequently descend into the plains of Acre and Esdraelon. Jackals are common, and are very destructive to the flocks. The hyena is found chiefly in the valley of the Jordan, and in the mountains around the Lake of Tiberias; but it is also occasionally seen in other districts of Palestine. The panther is found among the mountains of Central Palestine. Wolves and foxes are common. The gazelle or antelope is often seen in flocks bounding over the grassy plains, and is hunted by the Arabs. Among the rest may be mentioned porcupines, hedgehogs, hares, conies, jerboas, hares, rats, mice, and moles. The conies, "a feeble folk" who "make their houses in the rocks," have been identified with the jerboa, an animal characterized by the liveliness of its motions and the quickness of its retreat within the rocks when danger is apprehended. Except in the head, it very much resembles a rabbit, but is of a stronger build and of dusky colour, being of a dark brown. "It is entirely destitute of a tail, and has some bristles at its mouth, over its head, and down its back, along the course of which there are traces of light and dark shade. In its short ears, small, black, and naked feet, and pointed snout, it resembles the hedgehog." (Wilson.)

The birds of Palestine are not numerous. "In no region," says Dr Wilson, "in which we had before travelled had we seen so few of the feathered race as in the Holy Land." The number of distinct species, however, is considerable. Among the more important or better known may be noticed,—the vulture, eagle, osprey, roller, ostrich, kite, hawk, crow, owl, golden oriole, cuckoo, bee-eater, kingfisher, woodpecker, woodcock, partridge, sparrow, stork, heron, pelican, swan, goose, duck, and quail. The katta, a bird much more common than this last, and about the size of a partridge, is supposed to be the quail of Scripture. There are no serpents of large size, and it seems to be doubtful if there be any of a venomous nature found in Palestine. Scorpions hold a principal place among the noxious animals; and mosquitoes are common. Bees are extremely common in this "land of honey," and deposit their honey in trees and crevices of the rocks. Occasionally the country is visited by immense swarms of locusts, which consume grass, foliage, and every species of vegetation. Beetles are abundant, and of various species; and mosquitoes are rather common.

The principal towns of Palestine will be found noticed under their respective names in other parts of this work; and an account of the present inhabitants will be given under Syria, of which country Palestine is now only a division.

The earliest inhabitants of Palestine were known by the general name of Canaanites, being descended from Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. By them the country was thinly peopled in the time of Abraham; and they were divided into several distinct nations. These nations were,—the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, and the Gergashites, who dwelt to the E. of the Jordan and the Lake of Gennesareth; the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites, who occupied the hilly region in the S.; the Canaanites, properly so called, who dwelt in the middle of the country; and the Hivites, who inhabited the extreme N., among the southern branches of Lebanon; while the Phoenicians occupied the northern, and the Philistines the southern part of the coast. In the time of Moses the nations W. of the Jordan seem to have occupied the same positions as before; but the eastern region was divided into three large territories.—Bashan in the N., Gilead in the centre, and in the S. the land called the Plains of Moab, a part of the territory of the Moabites which had been conquered from them by the Amorites. After the conquest of Palestine by the Israelites under Joshua, the country was divided among the twelve tribes, by whose names the various portions were subsequently known.—Judah, Benjamin, Simeon, and Dan inhabiting the southern portion; Ephraim, the half tribe of Manasseh, and Issachar, the central; Zebulon, Naphtali, and Asher, the northern; and Reuben, Gad, and the remaining half of Manasseh, the country E. of the Jordan. Palestine was afterwards divided into the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah; the latter including the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the former the other ten. In the time of our Saviour, Palestine was divided into the following provinces:—Galilee, in the N., consisting of Upper or Northern, and Lower or Southern Galilee; Samaria in the centre; and Judea in the S. of Palestine proper; while, on the E. of the Jordan, Persea was subdivided into eight smaller districts.

The earliest event in connection with Palestine recorded in sacred history is the arrival in the country of Abraham, who, along with Lot, his nephew, migrated hither at the Divine command from Mesopotamia in the year 2121 B.C. The following year a famine in Canaan compelled Abraham to remove into Egypt, but he soon after returned; and finding the pastures insufficient for the large flocks and herds of himself and Lot, he separated from his nephew, who settled in Sodom, while Abraham himself took up his abode in the valley of Mamre, near Hebron. Previous to the arrival of Abraham in Canaan, Chedorlaomer, who ruled over Elam, the King of Elam, and Bilaam, a chief of Persia, and who is said by Josephus to have been the cause of the Assyrian empire, extended his conquests beyond the Euphrates, and reduced into subjection five of the petty kings or chiefs who lived in the valley S. of the Dead Sea. After twelve years of submission, and about eight years after the coming of Abraham, these five chieftains rebelled against Chedorlaomer, who in the next year (1912 B.C.) invaded the country with three other monarchs, and after defeating the rebels in a pitched battle, retired, carrying with him from Sodom and Gomorrah large quantities of booty and many captives, among whom was Lot. Abraham, hearing of this disaster, armed all his followers, to the number of 318, and pursued the retreating army. He overtook them near the source of the Jordan, fell upon them by night, and totally defeated them, rescuing his nephew and the rest of the captives along with their goods.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah took place in the year 1897 B.C., when, on account of the wickedness of these cities, God rained brimstone and fire from heaven upon them, by which they were entirely destroyed. The only persons who escaped from this catastrophe were Lot and his two daughters. After Abraham's death, Isaac became the head of the patriarchal family, and he seems to have resided all his life in the Promised Land. The only event of historical importance that is recorded in his days is the covenant he made with Abimelech, King of the Philistines, a successor to the monarch of the same name with whom his father had entered into a similar agreement. In 1759 B.C., Joseph, a young man, was obliged to leave the country on account of the resentment of his brother Esau, took refuge in Mesopotamia with his uncle Laban. There he remained for twenty years in the capacity of servant, receiving in marriage Laban's two daughters, Leah and Rachel, as the price of the first fourteen years, and large flocks of sheep and goats, which constituted the principal riches of those days, for the remaining period of his service. At last, in the year 1739 B.C., Jacob returned to Canaan with his wives, the eleven sons that had been born to him in his exile, and his flocks. On his way to that country, Jacob was reconciled to his brother Esau, who had established himself as a powerful prince in the mountains of Seir, the country afterwards occupied by the Edomites, his descendants. In 1726 B.C., Joseph, the favourite son of Jacob, sent by his brothers, sold to a company of Ishmaelites and Midianites, and carried down to Egypt, where he was re-sold to Potiphar, one of the chief officers of the king. On account of a false accusation by his mistress, he was thrown into prison, where he remained for some time. Having, however, interpreted two dreams of the king, and thereby foretold seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, he was raised by the king to the highest authority. During the seven plentiful years he stored up the corn in granaries, so that when the famine came there was still corn in Egypt. Jacob sent down his sons to Egypt for corn, but they knew not their brother Joseph. On their second visit, by means of himself known to them, and invited by their father, and all his household, to come into Egypt. This invitation was complied with; and in 1706 B.C., the whole patriarchal family, to the number of 76, removed to Egypt, and settled in the land of Goshen. The people while in Egypt rapidly increased in numbers, and continued unmolested until the rise of a new dynasty in that country. The monarch, alarmed at the rapid growth of an alien people in his dominions, took measures to prevent, if possible, their increase, by

reducing them to the condition of slaves, and destroying all their male children. A deliverer was, however, at length raised up for the people in the person of Moses, who, when he could be no longer concealed by his mother, was committed to the river in a basket of bulrushes, and being discovered by the king's daughter, was adopted by her, and brought up at the Egyptian court. But in the year 1531 B.C., Moses, then forty years old, exposed the case of his oppressed countrymen, and was compelled to leave Egypt. He took refuge in Midian, near the wilderness on the east of the Red Sea, and remained there as a shepherd for forty years. At the end of that time, he, along with his brother Aaron, was divinely commissioned to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. This deliverance was effected in the year 1491 B.C. by means of the ten plagues with which the Egyptians were afflicted, and which compelled them at last to let the Israelites go.

When they took their departure from Egypt, Moses was their ruler and their guide. He led them through the wilderness, where they were fed by the miraculous interposition of heaven, and through the sea. The Divine Legislator gave them laws and statutes. But the burden of his office became too great for him; the judicial duties were divided; all lesser cases being tried by the advice of his father-in-law, referred to the rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, while those only of greater moment were submitted to the chief judge. Moses was succeeded in his office by Joshua, under whom the Israelites obtained possession of the land of Canaan, which was partitioned by lot among the different tribes, and again subdivided among the families of the same tribe. The land was declared inalienable, and the perpetual inheritance of the families to whom it was originally assigned; and accordingly, every fiftieth year, when the jubilee proclaimed to be a year of justice, all debts and mortgages on land were declared to be cancelled, and every man was to return into his own land. Other laws were passed for enforcing the purity of divine worship and of moral conduct; for equity in the transactions between man and man; and also for the punishment of idolatry and other iniquities; for it was the peculiar distinction of this community, that the law took cognisance not only of offences against society, but of every breach of the Divine commands.

The order of the priesthood was also instituted in the family of Levi, gifts and sacrifices were offered by them in expiation of sin, and various acts were enumerated by which the children of Israel became unclean, and which, though innocent in themselves, were nevertheless liable to put out the great delification of sin, and for which, therefore, special modes of purification were appointed. The distinction was also laid down between clean and unclean animals, from the latter of which the people were commanded to abstain. An enumeration was made in the plains of Moab of all the males of the children of Israel above twenty years of age, and the sum of them is given as 601,730; the Levites, who were not mentioned among the rest, amounted to 23,000; which makes the sum of 624,700 males above twenty years of age. The total population must therefore at that time have been about 2,500,000. The Israelites, after their settlement in the land of Canaan, were involved in wars with the Canaanite kings and states, and were often given into their hands on account of disobedience. The land was in this manner frequently wasted, and the happiness of the people interrupted, by the incursions of their neighbours. From these enemies they were saved by deliverers called judges, raised up to them, under whose peaceful sway the land enjoyed long intervals of rest. But during the old age of Samuel, the last of the judges, in consequence of the misconduct of his sons and the unsettled state of the country, the people were dissatisfied, and entreated, against the solemn protest of this aged prophet, that they might have a king, like the nations around them; and Samuel was desired to hear it to their request. Saul was accordingly (1065) chosen king; but, on account of his disobedience, the kingdom was rent from him, and given to David; and he took from the Philistines a disastrous defeat on the mountains of Gilboa, in which his son Jonathan were slain. David ascended the throne of Judah in 1055, but Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, reigned for seven years over the other tribes. The latter being murdered in 1048, David became king of the whole country without dispute, and commenced a prosperous reign, in the course of which he subdued all his enemies. Although the peace of the country was disturbed by the domestic treason of Absalom, yet David left a flourishing kingdom to his successor Solomon, under whose reign (1015-975) the kingdom was enlarged on every side, and became one of the most flourishing empires of Asia, extending its dominion as far as the Euphrates, and possessing ports both on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. David was a man of war, but Solomon was devoted to peace; and accordingly, during his reign was constructed that magnificent temple at Jerusalem which was the wonder of future ages.

After the death of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two sovereignties. The tyrannical conduct of Rehoboam, in which he persisted, against the advice of his aged councillors, gave rise to the revolt of the ten tribes, who chose Jeroboam for their king; Palestine, and thus began that division of the empire which paved the way for its downfall under the successive attacks of its enemies. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were hereafter ruled by different monarchs, who no longer joined against their common enemies, but waged war against each other; and, in place of the union that might have been expected had the descendants from a common stock, he regarded each other with all the aversion of aliens. In the meantime, the powerful empires of Assyria and Babylon in the north, and of Egypt in the south, were contending with each other for the dominion of the world; their vast armies frequently threatened the destruction of the comparatively petty states of Judea; and at length, in the reign of Hoshea, 721 years before the Christian era, Samaria, the capital of the kingdom of Israel, was taken by the King of Assyria, the land conquered, and the whole nation carried into captivity.

We subjoin a list of the kings who reigned in Samaria, with the length of their several reigns, and the period when they reigned:

| King | Reign | |-----------------------|-------| | Jeroboam I. | 21 yrs. 975 | | Nabah | 14 yrs. 954 | | Baasha | 23 yrs. 953 | | Elah | 1 yrs. 930 | | Zimri | 7 days 929 | | Omri | 11 yrs. 929 | | Ahab | 21 yrs. 918 | | Ahaziah | 1 yrs. 897 | | Jehoram | 12 yrs. 896 | | Jehu | 28 yrs. 884 | | Jehoahaz | 17 yrs. 856 | | Jehoash | 16 yrs. 839 |

The kingdom of Judah, weakened by the loss of the ten tribes, was afterwards assailed by the King of Babylon; and was at length brought to an end by Nebuchadnezzar in 588 B.C. Jerusalem was taken and destroyed along with the temple, and the king, the princes, and most of the people of Judah were carried away to Babylon.

The following is the line of kings who reigned in Jerusalem from the death of Solomon to the destruction of the first temple:

| King | Reign | |-----------------------|-------| | Rehoboam | 17 yrs. 975 | | Abijah | 3 yrs. 958 | | Asa | 41 yrs. 955 | | Jehoshaphat | 25 yrs. 914 | | Jehoram or Joram | 4 yrs. 889 | | Ahaziah | 1 yrs. 885 | | Queen Athaliah | 6 yrs. 884 | | Joash or Jehoahaz | 40 yrs. 878 | | Amaziah | 22 yrs. 838 | | Zachariah or Azariah | 52 yrs. 838 | | Jotham | 16 yrs. 757 | | Ahaz | 16 yrs. 741 |

Jerusalem taken 357 B.C.

Seventy years were appointed as the term of the Jewish captivity, in the course of which the empire of Babylon was overthrown by Cyrus the king of Persia; in consequence of the Jews were encouraged to rebuild their city, and to return to their own land. Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, were the successive leaders that presided over the restoration of the Jewish kingdom. After many interruptions from the jealousy of their powerful enemies, the second temple was at length reared. But it was so inferior in magnificence and splendour to that of Solomon, that the aged men wept when they contrasted this modern structure with the glory of the first house. The Jews were now ruled by the Persian king and his lieutenants in civil though not in sacred things, which were regulated by the law of Moses as administered by their own high priests; and they endured for a period of nearly two centuries the blessings of a truthful government. After the conquest of Persia by Alexander, and the division of his kingdom among his successors, Asia was distracted by new wars among those rivals for the supreme dominion, and the Jews often embarrassed by these contentions, owed their independence rather to the forbearance of their enemies than to their own strength. At length, however, Antiochus Epiphanes, who ascended the throne of Syria in 175 B.C., having heard of insurrections among them, invaded their territory with a powerful army, and besieged and took Jerusalem while it was yet unprepared for defense. He ravaged his enemies, and the unhappy Jews, 4000 of whom were put to death, and an equal number doomed to slavery. The temple was plundered of all its treasures and sacred utensils, and an unclean animal, a sow, was offered by his orders on the altar of burnt-offerings. The Jewish nation was at the same time cruelly persecuted; an edict was issued for the extermination of the whole race; and in furtherance of this barbarous policy, Apollonius, the commander of the troops, when the people had assembled in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, made a furious Palestine, attack with his troops on the peaceful multitude, whom he slaughtered without mercy, or carried into a hopeless captivity. The city was plundered, and set on fire in many places; the walls were broken down, and a strong fortress built on Mount Zion, which commanded the temple and the adjacent parts. Having made these preparations, he proceeded to farther persecutions against the religion of the Jews. They were watched in their visits to the holy sanctuary, and harassed by the troops; the rite of circumcision was prohibited; and a coexistence with the heathen idolaters was forbidden at the point of the sword. They were compelled to profane the Sabbath and to eat swine's flesh. The holy temple was violated by the worship of Jupiter, whose statue was erected on the altar of burnt-offerings, and the licentious revels of the Bacchanalia were substituted for the pure festivals of the Jewish church. The rage of persecution spared neither age nor sex; and all over the country torture and death were inflicted on the unhappy persons who, remaining steadfast in their faith, refused to participate in these heathenish rites.

Such unheard-of cruelties excited the deepest indignation, and at length roused the nation to resistance. The heroic family of the Maccabees, consisting of five brothers, the sons of Mattathias, a priest of the race of Levi, took up the cause of the patriotic cause. They were all of renowned valour; and Judas having headed the insurgents, a determined band only 6000 in number, defeated the oppressors of his country in many great battles, and restored its independence (165 B.C.). But he had to contend against domestic treason as well as foreign war. Alcimus, who was in the interest of the Syrians, assuming the title of high priest, claimed the allegiance of the Jews, and Judas was compelled in self-defence to seek the alliance of the Romans, who eagerly sought a pretence for interference in the affairs of their neighbours. In the meantime, the Maccabees were still slain in the field of battle (160 B.C.), and were succeeded by his brother Jonathan, who, enjoying supreme power, in aiding Alexander Balas to obtain the crown of Syria, was allowed by him to return to unite the spiritual authority of the high priest with the temporal sway (153 B.C.); and under this dynasty of the Asmonæan princes Palestine was governed for more than a hundred years. Jonathan was succeeded by his son Simon (143 B.C.), who secured the tranquillity of the country by cultivating the friendship of Rome. He was cut off, the victim of domestic treason; and John Hyrcanus, his younger son, ascended the throne (136 B.C.). His reign was prosperous and successful. He not only threw off the Syrian yoke, but extended his territories eastward and northward. He besieged and utterly destroyed Samaria and other granaries of the Roman army, and Jews, in the Samaritans, the short reign of Aristobulus, his son, followed in 109 B.C.; in the next year that of Alexander Janneus, whose oppressions excited a civil war in the country. The insurgents, calling in the aid of the Syrians, became unpopular; and Alexander, after many reverses, at last succeeded in collecting a powerful army, with which he completely re-established his power, and took vengeance on his enemies. He was succeeded in 78 B.C. by his son Hyrcanus the Second. His brother Aristobulus, after secretly opposing him for some time, at length threw off the mask, and openly aspired to the supreme power. The two competitors were preparing to appeal to arms, when the Romans under Pompey, having subdued the greater part of Syria, were moved into Palestine to put an end to this dispute. Aristobulus, however, being impatient, laid recourse to arms, and shut himself up in Jerusalem, which was invested in the year 63 B.C. by the Roman general Gabinius, the lieutenant of Pompey, and carried by assault with great slaughter. The authority of Hyrcanus was re-established, and Aristobulus was carried prisoner to Rome, whence afterwards making his escape, he raised the standard of revolt in Judea. But he had no force that could oppose the Roman armies under Mark Antony, who speedily re-established the authority of Rome in every part of the country. The rule of Judea was in 47 B.C. delegated to Antipater, the minister of Hyrcanus, who appointed his two sons, Phasaël and Herod, to be governors, the one of Jerusalem, and the other of Galilee. But a new competitor appeared for the supreme authority in Judea, in the person of Aristobulus, who having taken refuge among the Parthians, invaded the country with a powerful army, and succeeded in obtaining the kingdom. Phasaël committed suicide, and Hyrcanus was deprived of his ears and sent to Babylonia; but Herod, the younger son of Antipater, escaped to Rome, where, through the influence of Antony, he was made king of Judea (B.C. 40). Two years afterwards he established himself on the throne, and thus put an end to the Asmonæan dynasty. He employed himself in works of architecture, particularly in the repair of the temple, by which he hoped to obtain favour among the Jews. It was in his reign that the Messiah was born, and it was from his cruelty that he fled into Egypt. On his death, in the year 4 A.D., he bequeathed his dominions to his three sons: to Archelaus the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judea; to Antipas that of Peræa and Galilee; and to Philip Palestine, that of Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Batanaea, and Paneas, lying partly beyond the limits of Palestine. Archelaus was soon after deprived of his great office, on account of misadministration, and banished into Gaul. Judea was now reduced to the condition of a Roman province, under a governor who resided at Jerusalem, but who was subordinate to the prefect of Syria. One of these governors, Pontius Pilate, under whose authority the Saviour was crucified. The Jews were far from being a contented or happy people under the Roman yoke. They were exposed to the severe exactions of their delegated rulers, and to outrages and plunder by the Roman soldiers stationed in the province to overawe the people. Disturbances, provoked by these oppressions, and quelled by the legionary troops, became the pretext for fresh cruelties; and misery, disorder, and violence thus reigned throughout the once happy land. The only portion of the country that enjoyed comparative quiet was Galilee and the country beyond Jordan, which was ruled by Antipas and Philip. In 38 A.D., Herod Agrippa was appointed procurator, calling himself king, and the country beyond Jordan; and in 41 A.D. he obtained from Claudius the rest of the dominions of his grandfather. Herod the Great. His policy was conciliatory towards the Jews; he respected their worship, repaired and adorned the temple, and joined with them in their persecution of the new sect of Christians, having put to death the apostle James. His miserable end, being eaten of worms, is related in the Acts of the Apostles. His son Agrippa succeeded him, but after his death Judea was again governed by Roman procurators. The discontent of the Jews, their impatience of the Roman yoke, their propensity to insurrection under the vain predictions of their soothsayers, that a conquering Messiah was to arise, who should restore the independence and glory of their country, the world too fell a prey to the severest of their ravages. The country was desolated by bands of robbers and assassins; the national faith and the holiest rites were despised and trampled upon; and at length, under the administration of Florus, the people flew to arms, and entered on their last and desperate conflict with the Roman power. The insurrection broke out (in the year 66 A.D.) at Cesarea, the inhabitants of which, galled by cruel insults, declared their determination to resist to the last extremity. The Jews in Jerusalem shared in this heroic determination, and made preparations for defence. Cestus, the prefect of Syria, advanced to the gates and demanded an entrance for the Roman troops. The Romans were, however, on this occasion defeated with great slaughter, and lost all their artillery. The tidings of this disaster excited the indignation of Nero, who sent Vespasian, a man of tried valour and experience, to assume the government of Syria, and to calm the troubles of that distracted province. He entered Judea about the year 67, along with his son, the renowned Titus, to whom was committed the conduct of the war. Many sanguinary battles were now fought between the contending armies, in which the tumultuary levies of the Jews were broken and dispersed by the veteran legions of Rome; towns and fortresses were successively taken; and the Jews, no longer able to face the enemy in the field, were driven within the walls of their capital, to which Titus at length laid siege. The defence was obstinate, and the besiegers were brave and numerous, maintaining the resources of a military art in their attack on the defended city. In the course of this protracted siege partial successes were obtained by the Jews, who fought bravely, and harassed the besiegers by frequent and successful sallies. But the defences of the city, strong both by nature and art, gradually gave way before the perseverance and skill of the Roman troops; and as Titus proceeded partly by blockade, he shut in the whole city with a wall, and the horrors of famine were added to all the other miseries which the inhabitants suffered. It would be endless to detail all the horrors of this protracted siege; famine raged within the walls; every inch of ground was fiercely disputed; and prodigious numbers of victims fell on both sides. But the Romans made steady progress. The city was now completely in their hands till towards the latter part of the beginning of the siege; and notwithstanding the wishes of Titus to save it, the temple was consumed by fire. The inhabitants were everywhere put to the sword, or made captives and sold for slaves. The number of Jews who perished in the siege is estimated at 1,100,000, a far greater population than the city usually contained; but the annual feast of unleavened bread, which took place at this time, had crowded it with a vast concourse of strangers from all quarters, who, by the sudden approach of the hostile army, were shut up within the walls. The destruction of the city took place in the year 70 A.D. After the Roman victory, the survivors, excepting a few thousands, of the Jews returned to dwell in the ruined city, though the Roman emperor, indignant at the late rebellion, had placed a garrison of 8000 troops on Mount Zion, in order to prevent any attempt to rebuild the sacred capital. The Jews, however, were still discon- Palestine, tented and rebellious; they still fondly believed that an earthly Messiah was shortly to arise, to free them from bondage, and to give them the dominion of the whole earth. They accordingly listened to the tales of every impostor, and were easily seduced into rebellion by vain hopes of national glory that were never realized. In the course of these commotions great cruelties were committed; but in the end the Jews were everywhere borne down by the discipline of the Roman legions, and paid the penalty of their rebellions with their lives. By acts of mutual cruelty the animosity of both parties was inflamed; the sword of persecution was let loose against the Jewish religion by their conquerors; the rise of circumcision, the keeping of the law, and the observance of the Jewish Sabbath, and all the other memorials of the national faith, were forbidden. In the city of Jerusalem, which was to a certain extent repaired, a colony of Greeks and Latins was established, in order to preclude the return of the Jews, and all further hopes of the restoration of their kingdom. But the policy of the Romans was of no avail against the deep-rooted prejudices of this infatuated people; and no sooner had a new impostor arisen in 131, of the name of Barcochab, "the son of a star," than the deluded Israelites hailed him as the light that was to dawn in the latter days, and usher in the day of their long-expected rest. They accordingly crowded to his standard, and in a short time he had gathered a powerful army of 200,000 devoted followers. Owing to the absence of the Roman legions, engaged at that time in distant service, important advantages were gained, and Jerusalem was again occupied by the insurgent Jews, besides about fifty castles, and numbers of open towns. But this career of success was speedily terminated by the arrival of Severus, afterwards emperor, with a large and well-appointed body of legionary troops; the Jews were overwhelmed by numbers, discipline, and military skill; their cities were taken and destroyed; and Bithron, where the leader of the rebellion, Barcochab, had made his last stand, was stormed with great slaughter, and himself slain. Of the Jews it is estimated that 680,000 fell on the field; and the remains of the nation were obliged to be scattered abroad amid the flames of their ruined cities. Under these ruthless devastations the country was at last converted into a desert; the inhabitants were either slain or driven into exile; and the Divine denunciations were now literally fulfilled against this misguided people, that they should be scattered among all the nations of the earth.

The victors having thus satisfied their vengeance, began in due time to relax their stern and intolerant policy. Under the mild rule of Antoninus Pius, the Jews were restored to their ancient privileges, to the freedom of worship, and to all their other national rites. They were now armed with the weapons, and were found dwelling in all parts of the Roman empire in their general condition at this time, as described by Bishop Usher, was not unfavourable. "The numerous remains," says this eloquent historian, "of that people, though they were excluded from the precincts of Jerusalem, were permitted to form and to maintain considerable establishments both in Italy and in the provinces, to acquire the freedom of Rome, to enjoy municipal honours, and to obtain at the same time an exemption from the burdensome and expensive offices of society. The moderation or contempt of the Roman government sanctioned to the form of ecclesiastical police which was instituted by the venerated Rabbi, who had fixed his residence at Tiberias, was empowered to appoint his subordinate ministers and apostles to exercise a domestic jurisdiction, and to receive from his dispersed brethren an annual contribution. New synagogues were frequently erected in the principal cities of the empire; and the sabbaths, the fasts, and the festivals, which were either commanded by the Mosaic law, or enjoined by the traditions of the rabbis, were celebrated in the most solemn and public manner. Such gentle treatment insensibly assuaged the stern temper of the Jews. Awakened from their dream of prosperity and comfort, they resumed the behaviour of peaceable and industrious subjects. Their irreconciled hatred of mankind, instead of flowing out in acts of blood and violence, evaporated in less dangerous gratifications. They abandoned the appearance of overreaching the idolaters in trade; and they pronounced secret and ambiguous imprecations against the haughty kingdom of Edom." (Decline and Fall, vol. ii., chap. xvi.) This statement, though it has received a colouring from the deep-rooted prejudices of the author against the Jewish religion, is nevertheless substantially true, and contains a just view of the condition of the Jews throughout the Roman empire. No great change appears to have taken place in the condition of Palestine, until Constantine the Great issued his edict in the year 306, which was, as is well known, the first Christian emperor; and under his powerful patronage, and that of his mother the Empress Helena, splendid structures were everywhere erected in the Holy Land in honour of the Christian faith. The land was gradually overspread with memorials of Christianity; and chapels, altars, and houses of prayer marked every spot said to be memorable for any of the Palestine sayings or doings of the Saviour. The Jews beheld with indignation the rise of these Christian monuments within the precincts of the holy city, since they were as much opposed to the Christian worship as to the heathen idolatry. But their influence was now at an end. Scattered in distant parts, they could no longer act with consistency or vigour; yet so attached were they to their own ancient rites, that, however faint the chance of success, they were ready in crowds to rally round the standard of their ancient faith whenever it was displayed, and to follow any daring leader into the field. But the time was past. Jerusalem was now filled with the pilgrims of all faiths; the crowds of pilgrims were attracted from the most distant countries by the strong desire of contemplating the place of the Redeemer's passion, and of the previous incidents of his life. These visits were encouraged from various motives. They evinced, no doubt, the zeal of the new converts; and being at once a proof of piety and a source of profit, they were encouraged by the clergy of Jerusalem.

The reign of Julian (361-363) was a new era in the history of Palestine; and the Jews anticipated, from his declared enmity to Christianity, his favour for their own faith. The policy of this heathen emperor countenanced them in this belief, when he endeavoured, by means of the Jews of Jerusalem in its former splendour, to discredit the truth of those miracles which denounced perpetual desolation on the devoted city. He chose the commanding eminence of Mount Moriah for the site of a new structure, which was to eclipse the splendour of the Christian church on the adjacent hill of Calvary; and he resolved to establish a Jewish order of priests, who might revive the observance of the Mosaic rites, together with as numerous a colony of Jews as could be collected, in the holy city. Such was still the ardour of the national faith that the Jews crowded from all parts, and exasperated by their insolent triumph the hostility of the Christian inhabitants. All now joined with unwearied zeal in the sacred work of rebuilding the temple. Little by little the pouring forth from all quarters of men and women joined in the labour; and the authority of the monarch was seconded by the enthusiasm of the people. But this last effort of expiring zeal was unsuccessful; no temple ever arose on the ruins of the heathen edifices; and the progress of the work, according to a story generally believed at the time, was stopped by the interposition of heaven, by flames of fire bursting out from the foundations with loud explosions, by which the workmen were so terrified that they refused to continue their labour. The attempt, from whatever cause, was abandoned; and as it was only undertaken during the last six months of Julian's reign, the fact seems sufficiently explained, without the aid of a miracle, by the absence and death of the persecutor, and by the maxims that were adopted during the Christian reign that succeeded.

After the death of Julian it was the policy of the Christian emperors to depress the Jews in Palestine, though they were not ill treated throughout the provinces, and were even granted considerable privileges and immunities. But it is astonishing how carefully the fathers instilled into the minds of their children, along with their ancient faith, the fondly-cherished delusion, that some new and happier era of freedom and independence was yet to dawn on Judæa; and how eagerly the children, imbibing this idea, became the prey of every impostor, and, under the blind impulse of enthusiasm, rashly entered into new conflicts with their enemies in the field, which they rushed into the very victims of a hopeless cause. About the beginning of the seventh century the peace of Judea was seriously disturbed by the Persian invasion of Chosroes. The Greeks and the Persians were for a long period rivals for the dominion of the East; and Chosroes, the grandson of Nushirvan, now invading the Roman empire, successively stormed and sacked the cities of Antioch and Caesarea in Cappadocia. From Syria the flood of invasion rolled southward on Palestine, and the Persian army was joined by the Jews to the number of 20,000, still burning with the love of independence. Jerusalem was stormed by the combined armies in 614, the city was sacked, and the magnificent monuments of the Jewish faith were utterly consumed by fire. But this, like all the other triumphs of the Jews, was short-lived. Heraclius, roused from inglorious sloth by the triumphs of the Persian arms, and by the approach of the victorious force to the walls of his own capital, quickly assembled his veteran armies, by whose aid he defeated the troops of Chosroes in 622; and in the course of a few successful campaigns he recovered all the provinces that had been overrun. He visited Jerusalem after his victories, in the lowly guise of a pilgrim, and prepared new triumphs for the Christians in the destruction of the pagan churches which had been destroyed, in the persecution of the Jews, and in their banishment, as before, from the Holy City, which they were now forbidden to approach within a distance of 3 miles.

Palestine continued to own the sway of the Greek emperor till the rise of the Saracen power in the East. The followers of Mo- Palestine, hammered, extending their doctrines and their dominion by fire and sword, rapidly extended over Arabia, Syria, and Egypt; and in the year 637 turned their arms against Jerusalem. After a siege of four months, during which the Arabs suffered extremely from the inclemency of the winter, a capitulation was proposed and agreed to, when the Caliph Omar entered the city seated on a red camel, without guards, or any other precaution, and began to discourse in the most courteous manner with the patriarch on his religious antiquities. Omar was assassinated in Jerusalem in the year 643, after which the East was for 200 years distracted by the bloody wars that ensued among the Omiahide, the Abbaside, and the Fatimitie caliphs; and Palestine having become an object of contest between them, was for a like period a scene of devastation and trouble. After the division of the Saracen dominions among these three factions in the middle of the eighth century, Palestine remained under the power of the Abbaside caliphs of Baghdad until 969 A.D., when it was transferred to the Fatimitie line in Egypt. In 1076 Jerusalem was taken by the Turks, and held by them for twenty years; but in 1096 the Egyptian caliphs regained their power.

Jerusalem, though it was in the possession of infidel chiefs, was still revered as a holy city both by Christian and Jew, and was visited by pilgrims from every quarter; among others by Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens. The pathetic tale which he brought to Europe of the injuries and insults which the Christian pilgrims suffered from the infidels who possessed and profaned the Holy City, excited so deep a sympathy among the people and princes of Christendom. Councils were summoned, and were attended by ecclesiastics and laity. The mixed multitude were harangued by the zealous enthusiasts of this sacred cause; their pity and indignation were alternately roused by the sufferings of their brethren in the Holy Land; the flame of enthusiasm was propagated by sympathy and example; and the eager champions of the Cross, the flower of the European chivalry, assembled in martial array to march against the enemies of their common faith. To defray the necessary expenses of the expedition, princes alienated their provinces, the nobles their lands and castles, peasants their cattle, and the instruments of husbandry; and vast armies were transported to Palestine, in order to accomplish the deliverance of the Holy Sepulchre. These rude and undisciplined bands died in great numbers on reaching the shores of Asia, from disease, famine, and fatigue; and of the first Crusaders it is estimated that 300,000 had perished before a single city was rescued from the infidels. Of the leaders in the Christian host, the first rank is due to Godfrey, Duke of Brabant and Bouillon, who was accompanied by his two brothers, Eustace the elder, who had succeeded to the county of Boulogne, and Baldwin the younger. The other chiefs were Robert of France, the brother of King Philip, and Robert, Duke of Normandy, the son of William the Conqueror; and the son of Robert Guiscard, distinguished by his cool policy and prudence, with a small addition of real genius, was Tancred, his cousin, who had imbued the true spirit of chivalry, and all the virtues of a perfect knight; and Raymond of Toulouse, the Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence, a veteran warrior of mature age and experience. The vast armies that were collected under the guidance of these leaders arrived by various routes at Constantinople; and after some time spent in the capital of the East, they crossed to the opposite shore of Asia. Having taken the towns of Nice and Antioch in the year 1097, they laid siege to Jerusalem about two years after, and took it by assault, with a prodigious slaughter of the garrison and inhabitants, that was continued for three days, without respect to age or sex.

Eight days after the capture of Jerusalem, the Christian chiefs proceeded to the election of a king, who should preside over their conquests in Palestine, and Godfrey of Bouillon was unanimously raised to that high position. But if it was an honourable office, it was also one of danger; he was not chosen to sway a peaceful sceptre; and he was summoned to the field in the first fortnight of his reign to defend his capital against the Sultan of Egypt, who approached with a powerful army. His signal victory in the battle of Ascalon confirmed the stability of his throne, and enabled him to extend on every side his kingdom, which consisted then only of Jerusalem and Jaffa, with about twenty villages and towns of the adjacent districts. The fortified castles into which the Mohammedans had taken refuge, and from which they made incursions into the country, were reduced; the maritime cities of Lodocca, Tripoli, Tyre, and Ascalon, were besieged and taken, and the Christian kingdom thus included a range of territory from Damascus to the borders of Egypt. The feudal institutions of Europe were introduced into this kingdom in all their purity; and a code of laws, called the Assize of Jerusalem, was drawn up, which was attested by the seals of the king, the patriarch, and the viscount of Jerusalem, and deposited in the sepulchre of the Saviour, as an unerring guide in all doubtful questions that might be brought before the tribunals of Palestine.

Godfrey was succeeded in 1100 by his brother Baldwin, who Palestine, ruled with vigour and success. In 1118 his cousin, Baldwin II., ascended the throne, and still maintained the interests of the kingdom. Melisandra, his daughter, married Foulques of Anjou, who in right of his wife acquired the kingdom of Jerusalem. He lost his life by a fall from his horse, after having reigned ten or twelve years. His son, Baldwin III., ruled in Jerusalem twenty years; and his reign was remarkable as the era of the Second Crusade, and of the rise of the various orders of knighthood,—the Hospitallers, Templars, etc.

The military force of the first Crusaders, wasted by fatigue and losses in the field, was no longer able to oppose the hosts of Turks and Saracens by which it was surrounded. The first victories of the Europeans, and their rapid success, extended far and wide the terror of their arms. But this alarm having subsided, the Mosaicmedan chiefs collected their armies, and commenced a vigorous attack on the European posts scattered over a wide extent of country, and gained some important advantages. The accounts of these disasters that were circulated in Europe excited the liveliest sympathy of all Christians for their suffering brethren in the Holy Land, for the defence of which the Crusader princes now entered into a new coalition. A second expedition was the consequence. It was undertaken in the year 1147, by the Emperor of Germany, Conrad III., and Louis VII., King of France, and was even more unfortunate than the first expedition. In the course of a tedious march through an unhealthy and hostile country, more than half the army of Conrad was wasted by famine and the sword, and not above a tenth part ever reached the Syrian shore. The subsequent battles with the Saracens reduced them to a miserable remnant; and the emperor, on his return with his shattered forces from this unfortunate campaign, was met by Louis and the French troops, who arrived in better condition at the scene of action. The French army, rashly advancing into the heart of the country, was assaulted and overwhelmed by an enormous host of Turks; and the king, effecting his escape with great difficulty, finally took shippping with his knights and nobles, leaving his plebeian infantry to the sword of the victorious enemy. The two princes afterwards proceeded to Jerusalem, united the poor remains of their once mighty armies to the Latin troops in Syria, and laid a fruitless siege to Damascus, which was the termination of the Second Crusade.

The defeat and dispersion of these armies tended greatly to weaken the Christian cause in the Holy Land, and shake the foundations of the Latin throne at Jerusalem. Disputes also arose about the succession to the throne, which exposed the kingdom still more to the assaults of its enemies with whom the Latin or disaffected barons entered into traitorous correspondence. In the midst of these internal dissensions, the kingdom of the Latins was assailed by a new foe, namely, the Sultan Saladin, who, to valour, policy, and military skill, joined all the refined humanity of a Christian knight. He had risen from a private station to the sovereignty of Egypt, and had been for years extending his influence and his dominions. Reginald of Chatillon, a soldier of fortune, had seized a fortress, from which he issued with his followers to pillage the caravans and to insult the Mohammedans, and he even threatened the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. Saladin complained of these injuries; and being refused any satisfaction, invaded the Holy Land in 1187 with an army of 80,000 horsemen and foot. He advanced towards Derbier, to which he laid siege, and a declaration of war was demanded of the King of Jerusalem in defence of this important place. In the contest which ensued the Christians were totally defeated, their king and many of the nobles taken prisoners, and 30,000 soldiers slain or captured. This great victory placed the whole country at the mercy of the conqueror. The fate of the kingdom had been set on a single cast, and its whole military force concentrated on this fatal field. The towns and castles, deprived of their governors, fell successively before Saladin's victorious force; and scarcely had three months elapsed when he appeared in arms before the gates of Jerusalem.

This city was in no condition to sustain a protracted siege, being crowded with fugitives from every quarter, who here sought an asylum from the destroyer. The garrison, nearly throng of 100,000 strong, were confined within the walls, with but few soldiers. A defence was, however, maintained for fourteen days, after which the capture of the city was averted by a capitulation, by which it was agreed that all the Franks and Latins should quit Jerusalem, receiving a safe conduct to the ports of Syria and Egypt; that the inhabitants should be ransomed for a sum of money; and that those who were unable to pay it should remain slaves. The whole country now submitted to the sultan, whose victorious progress was first arrested by the resistance of Tyre, which was gallantly defended by Conrad. The sultan, being foiled in all his attempts to take this place, was finally compelled to raise the siege, and to retreat to Damascus.

The capture of Jerusalem by the infidels, and the decline of the Palestine. Christian cause in Palestine, excited the deepest sorrow; the decaying zeal of the European powers was awakened, and new expeditions were fitted out for the recovery of the Holy City. In the year 1189, Philip, King of France, the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Richard I. of England, assembled a large force; and, with the aid of Flanders, Frise, and Denmark, filled about 200 vessels with their troops. The first armaments landed at Tyre, the only remaining inlet of the Christians into the Holy Land, and proceeded by land to Jerusalem, encompassing the celebrated siege of Acre, which was maintained with an enthusiasm that mocked at danger, and by feats of valour that were the theme of wonder, even in that romantic age. This memorable siege lasted for nearly two years, and was attended with a prodigious loss of men on both sides. At length, in the second year, the royal fleets of France and England cast anchor in the bay, with powerful reinforcements, and the brave defenders of Acre were forced to capitulate. The place was taken possession of by the Christians on the 12th of July, 1191.

The capture of Acre was the prelude to farther operations against the enemy. Richard determined to commence the siege of Ascalon, about 100 miles distant, and his march to this place was a continual battle of eleven days. He was opposed by Saladin with an army of 300,000 combatants; and on this occasion was fought one of the most memorable battles of this or any other age. Saladin was defeated with the loss of 40,000 men, and the victorious Richard obtained possession of Ascalon and the other towns of Judea. In the next year Richard made an unsuccessful attempt against Jerusalem; and a vigorous assault by Saladin on Jaffa was repulsed by Richard. A truce was at length concluded for three years, by which the Christians were permitted to visit the Holy City, and should have liberty to visit the Holy City without being liable to the tax, that the fort of Ascalon should be dismantled; and that Jaffa and Tyre, with the intervening territory, should be surrendered to the Europeans. Soon after the conclusion of this treaty Richard embarked for Europe; and Saladin, his great rival, did not survive many months the conclusion of peace. He died at Damascus in the year 1193.

In the meantime, in Palestine, though partial successes were gained by the armies of the Crusaders, their power was on the decline. The Latin kingdom, now reduced to two or three towns, was preserved only in a precarious existence by the divisions and civil wars prevalent among its enemies.

This intelligence restored the dying zeal of the Christian world. A new crusade was commenced; and in 1216 a large force, chiefly of Hungarians and Germans, landed at Acre. The sons of Saphadin, who now ruled in Syria, collected their armies to oppose this formidable attack. But the Crusaders, rashly conducted, and weakened by divisions, advanced into the country without concert or prudence; provisions failed them; they were wasted, as usual, by famine and disease; and at length their leader, the sovereign of Hungary, resolved to quit a country where he had been exposed to hardship and danger, without glory. The crusading armies, thus weakened and discouraged, had laid aside all further idea of offensive operations; when, in the beginning of following year, a fleet of 300 vessels that had sailed from the Rhine appeared on the coast, and brought to their aid powerful reinforcements that recruited their strength, and restored their ascendancy in the field. For reasons that do not clearly appear, they now retired from Palestine, and carried the war into Egypt, where they obtained important successes. They took Damietta by storm, and spread such consternation among the infidels that the most favourable terms of peace were offered, and rejected by them; but having at length wasted their strength on the banks of the Nile, they were reduced to the necessity of bargaining for permission to retire to Palestine, by the cessation of hostilities in conquests in Egypt.

The next crusade was undertaken by Frederick II., the grandson of Barbarossa, according to a vow which had been long made, and the performance of which had been so long delayed that he was excommunicated by Gregory IX. By his marriage with Violante, the daughter of John de Brienne, King of Jerusalem, he was the more especially bound to vindicate his right to the kingdom, which he had received as a dowry with his wife. After many delays, he set sail with a fleet of 200 sail and an army of 40,000 men, and in the year 1229 he arrived at Acre. This was the most successful and the most bloodless expedition that had yet been undertaken. Without the hamper of a battle he entered Jerusalem in triumph. The Saracen power was at this juncture attended by divisions; and owing to suspected treachery among his kings, the reigning sultan, held rather a precarious possession of the throne. It was his policy, therefore, rather to disarm the hostility of these powerful armies by treating with them, than to encounter them in the field; and accordingly a treaty was concluded, by which Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and their dependencies, were restored to the Christians; religious toleration was established, and the contending parties of Christians and Mohammedans were allowed each to offer up their devotions, the first at the Holy Sepulchre, and the last in the mosque of Omar. The stipulations of this treaty were not faithfully observed by the Saracens, and the Christians in Palestine still suffered under the oppression of the infidels. New levies were raised in Europe for the Holy War; and a large force of French and English, led by the chief nobility of both nations, landed in Syria in 1239. Numerous battles were fought, which terminated in favour of the Saracens; and the French Crusaders, accordingly, were obliged to yield Palestine by the cession of almost all their conquests in Palestine. Next year, when the English levy under the Earl of Cornwall arrived at the mouth of the Jordan, he found, to his surprise, that all the territories and privileges that had been ceded to the Emperor of Germany were lost, and that a few fortresses, and a small strip of territory on the coast, comprised all that the Latins possessed in Palestine. He immediately prepared for the vigorous prosecution of hostilities; but the sultan, being involved in war with his brother in Damascus, readily granted favourable terms as the price of peace—namely, the cession to the Christian armies of Jerusalem, Beritius, Nazareth, Bethlehem, Mount Tabor, and a large tract of the adjoining country. But the kingdom of Jerusalem, thus happily restored, was subverted by a calamity from a new and unexpected quarter. In the interval of Asia the conquests of Genghis Khan had brought about the most stupendous revolutions, and the barbarous hordes of the desert, flying before his conquering sword, rushed like a torrent on other nations. The Kharismians, unable to withstand this powerful invader, were driven upon Syria, and the coalesced powers of Saracen and Christian were unable to resist their powerful assault. The Christian host was overthrown in a great battle, which lasted two days, and in which the grand masters of two orders, and most of the knights, were slain. The Holy City was then taken and plundered by the invaders.

Each new disaster of the Christian arms served to rekindle the languishing zeal of the Europeans; and Louis IX. of France fitted out, in 1248, an immense armament for the Holy Land, consisting of 1800 sail of vessels, in which he embarked an army of 50,000 men. He landed in Egypt, and after storming the town of Damietta, he advanced along the sea-coast towards Cairo, when his troops were so wasted by sickness and famine, that they fell an easy prey to the enemy. The king, with most of his nobles and the remnant of his army, were made prisoners; and it was owing to the clemency of the sultan, who accepted a ransom for their lives, that Louis, with his few followers who remained alive, was permitted to embark for Europe.

The power of the Christians in Palestine, weakened, among other causes, by internal dissensions, was now vigorously assailed by Bonocordar or Bihars, the Mameluke sovereign of Egypt and Syria. He invaded Palestine with a formidable army, advanced to the gates of Acre, and reduced the important city of Antioch, when 17,000 of the inhabitants were put to the sword, and 100,000 carried into captivity. The report of these cruelties in Europe gave rise to the eighth and last Crusade against the infidels, which was undertaken by Louis, the French king, sixteen years after his return from captivity. But in place of directing his arms immediately against Palestine, he landed in Africa, and laid siege to Tunis, which he reduced. But he pursued his enterprise to the borders of Africa, of a pestilential disease, which proved fatal also to many of his troops; and thus ingloriously terminated this expedition, which was the last undertaken by the Europeans for the recovery of the Holy Land.

The Europeans in Palestine, a feeble remnant, were now confined within the walls of Acre, which was besieged by a Mameluke host of 200,000 troops that issued from Egypt, and encamped on the adjacent plain. In this, their last conflict with the infidels of the Holy Land, the Europeans, who maintained the glory of their high calling, displayed all the desolation of manhood in a holy cause, and performed prodigies of valour. But, equalled as they were in discipline, and fearfully overmatched in numbers, by their enemies, they were overborne by the weight and violence of their attacks, and in the storm and sack of the city all either perished or were carried into captivity. Thus terminated for ever, in 1291, all those visions of glory and conquest by which so many adventurers were seduced from Europe to the Holy Land, there to perish under the complicated perils of disease and the sword. The other smaller towns which still remained in possession of the Christians yielded, with a sigh, to the irresistible armament; and under the religious tyranny of the infidels which succeeded, the Christians in Palestine were everywhere reduced to the lowest degree of debasement. The pilgrims who still visited Jerusalem were exposed to insult and danger; and large contributions were extorted by their oppressors for a free passage through the Holy Land. The Mameluke sultans of Egypt continued to rule over Palestine until the country yielded to the formidable irruption of the great Tamerlane in 1400. At his death Jerusalem reverted to the kingdom of Egypt, and was Palestrina, finally subdued in 1517 by Selim I, the sultan of the Turks, under whom it has continued for more than 300 years.

In this condition Palestine remained without any remarkable event in its history except that for nearly three centuries it was the scene of domestic revolts, insurrections, and massacres, until the memorable invasion of Egypt by the French army in 1798. Bonaparte, being apprised that preparations were making in the pashalik of Acre for attacking him in Egypt, resolved, according to his usual tactics, to anticipate the movements of his enemies. He accordingly marched across the desert which divides Egypt from Palestine, and invaded the country at the head of 10,000 troops. After taking several towns, and among the rest Tyre, where he stained his character by the atrocious massacre of 4000 prisoners, Napoleon proceeded to form the siege of Acre; and this fortress, the last scene of conflict between the Christians and infidels of former days, became a modern field of battle, in which were exhibited privileges of valor that rivalled the most renowned deeds of those cavalier times. Notwithstanding the obstinate defense, Bonaparte persevered in a series of furious assaults against the fortress, which were all most gallantly repelled; and after a protracted siege of sixty days, a last assault was ordered, which was equally unsuccessful with all former attempts, and was attended with the loss of some of his bravest warriors. This last failure dictated the necessity of an immediate retreat, which was accomplished with difficulty, in a tedious march through the burning desert, where hardship and privation of every sort met the lot of the wayworn soldier, and the sick and wounded were left in most cases to inevitable death.

In the year 1811 a new power arose in the East,—namely, that of Mahomet Ali, the viceroy of Egypt, who, having collected large treasures and a well-disciplined army, openly renounced his allegiance to the grand signior. A war took place, in which the hasty levies of Turkey were broken and put to flight by the veteran troops of Egypt; and a series of brilliant successes added Syria to the viceroy's dominions. The people generally were disposed to hail the change of masters with pleasure, and by a well-advised and moderate system of government, Mahomet Ali might have bound them firmly to his person and his cause. But although he respects an enlightened man, the people of Palestine were oriental and despotic, and the spirit of European discipline and order which he had introduced into his civil and military service was chiefly valued by him as an instrument for giving more general and certain effect to his exhortations. The Syrians soon discovered that, instead of being relieved from the exactions of the Turkish government, much heavier burdens were laid upon them. The forcible impressment of men for the army, and the disarming of the population, were the measures that created the most discontent, and led to such disturbances and revolts as encouraged the Porte in the design that it had always entertained, of reducing the province to reduce his provinces. In 1839 a Turkish army appeared on the northern frontier of Syria, and soon came into collision with the Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mahomet Ali, by whom it was totally defeated, and the European powers then deemed it right to interfere to crush the ambitions designs of the Egyptian viceroy. This was Palestrina, accomplished in 1841, chiefly by means of a British fleet, by which Acre and other strongholds were taken for the sultan; and the pasha was at length compelled to evacuate Syria, and restore it to the dominions of the Porte. Scarcely had Syria been evacuated by the Egyptians, when the Christians, who had before supported Ibrahim Pasha, began hostilities against the Turks, while at the same time the Maronites and Druzes of Mount Lebanon were engaged in fierce and bloody contests with each other; so that the Porte was unable to reduce the country to order. The capture of Jerusalem by the Mohammedan population raised great obstacles to the establishment of a Protestant church, in opposition to the British, French, Russian, and Sardinian consulates that had been established there; and in 1843 they proceeded to violence against the French consulate. In 1845 the insurrectionary struggles of the Druzes and Maronites, who had united against the Turkish government, reached such a height that the Porte gave orders for the disarming of all the inhabitants of Lebanon; a measure which was carried out by the soldiery with much rigour and cruelty. The dispute about the possession of the holy places at Jerusalem, which began in 1850, though in itself insignificant, is of some importance, as having been one of the causes that led to the recent Russian persecution of the various sects of Christians. Formerly, generally, the Greek and Latin churches, have been at war with each other in quarrels regarding the possession of the real or supposed localities of the great events of the New Testament history, on which their various churches and sanctuaries have been erected; and the Turkish government has been appealed to as an arbiter on both sides. Recently, however, these quarrels assumed a political aspect, from the interference of Russia on behalf of the Greek, and of France on behalf of the Roman Church. Concessions were made in 1852 to the Romanists by the Porte, which would have satisfied the French government; but within a month afterwards, a circular was published in favour of the Greeks, allowing them several privileges which could not be reconciled with those promised to their rivals. Notwithstanding these complications, the present was on the point of being effected, when the Russian government interfered, and made this question one of its pretenses for a rupture with Turkey. Prince Menschikoff was sent to Constantinople nominally to affect a settlement of the question regarding the holy places, but his demands soon extended much further than this question, and affected the condition of all the Christian subjects of the sultan, so as to place them virtually under the Russian instead of the Turkish government. These demands were refused by the Porte; and the consequence was, the seizure of the Danubian Principalities by Russia. This step was followed by the declaration of war with Russia by England and France. After the conclusion of the war, the sultan established in 1863 a new constitution confirming the kadi-sherif of Gallipoli, published in 1839, and granting full liberty to all his subjects, of whatever persuasion, in the exercise of their religious rites. The political events which have recently taken place in Turkey have exercised a beneficial effect on the condition of Protestants in Syria and other parts of the empire.