old as Solomon, and profaned by Josiah. (2 Kings xxiii. 13.) The number of crypts about Jerusalem is well deserving attention. If Solomon built this crypt, he might, as the Jews say he did, construct one of the same kind, for the reception of the ark, &c. in case of danger: but this must continue undecided till the "times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." "So commanding is the view of Jerusalem afforded in this situation," says Dr. Clarke, “that the eye roams over all the streets, and around the walls, as if in the survey of a plan or model of the city. The most conspicuous object is the mosque, erected upon the site and foundations of the temple of Solomon." Hence the observation of the evangelist, (Luke xix. 37,) that Jesus beheld the city, and wept over it, acquires additional force. "Towards the south appears the Lake Asphaltites, a noble expanse of water, seeming to be within a short ride from the city; but the real distance is much greater. Lofty mountains inclose it with prodigious grandeur. To the north are seen the verdant and fertile pastures of the plain of Jericho, watered by the Jordan, whose course may be distinctly discerned."— Travels, vol. ii. p. 572. P. PALESTINE, (lat. 32°.-long. 35°. 20',) the land of Israel, the kingdom of David and Solomon, the most favoured and the most guilty country under heaven; during between two and three thousand years the only section of the earth where the worship of the true God was perpetuated, Over whose acres walked those blessed feet SHAKSPEARE. This most interesting of countries is a small canton of Syria, included within the limits of the Turkish empire, and governed by the pashas of Acre and Damascus. In the map, it presents the appearance of a narrow slip of country extending along the eastern course of the Mediterranean; from which, to the river Jordan, the utmost width does not exceed fifty miles. This river was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan, or Palestine, properly so called, which derived its name from the Phi listines, or Palestines, originally inhabiting the coast. To three of the twelve tribes, however,-Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh,portions of territory were assigned on the eastern side of the river, which were afterwards extended by the subjugation of the neighbouring nations. The territory of Tyre and Sidon was its ancient border on the north-west; the range of the Libanus and Anti-libanus forms a natural boundary on the north and northeast; while in the south it is pressed upon by the Syrian and Arabian deserts. Within this circumscribed district, such were the physical advantages of the soil and climate, there existed, in the happiest periods of the Jewish nation, an immense population. The men able to bear arms in the time of Moses somewhat exceeded 600,000; which computation, when the Levites, (20,000,) and women and children are added, will give nearly two millions and a half as the amount of the population; as large as that of Sweden. The kingdom of David and Solomon, however, extended far beyond these narrow limits. In a northeastern direction, it was bounded only by the river Euphrates, and included a considerable part of Syria. It is stated that Solomon had dominion over all the region on the western side of the Euphrates, from Thiphsah (or Thapsacus) on that river, in lat. 35°. 20, to Assah or Gaza. "Tadmor in the wilderness," (Palmyra,) which the Jewish monarch is stated to have built, (that is, either founded or fortified,) is considerably to the northeast of Damascus, being only a day's journey from the Euphrates; and Haniath, the Epiphania of the Greeks, (still called Hamah,) in the territory belonging to which city Solomon had several "store cities," is seated on the Orontes, in lat. 34°. 45'. north. On the east and south-east, the kingdom of Solomon was extended by the conquest of the country of Moab, that of the Ammonites, and Edom; and tracts which were either inhabited or pastured by the Israelites, lay still further eastward. Maon, which belonged to the tribe of Judah, and was situated in or near the desert of Paran, is described by Abulfeda as the furthest city of Syria towards Arabia, being two days' journey beyond Zoar. In the time of David, the people of Israel, women and children included, amounted, on the lowest computation, to five millions, besides the tributary Canaanites and other conquered nations. The vast resources of the country, and the power of the Jewish monarch, may be estimated, not only by the consideration in which he was held by the contemporary sovereigns of Egypt, Tyre, and Assyria, but by the strength of the several kingdoms into which the dominions of David were subsequently divided. Damascus revolted during the reign of Solomon, and shook off the Jewish yoke. At his death ten of the tribes revolted under Jeroboam, and the country became divided into the two rival kingdoms of Judah and Israel, having for their capitals Jerusalem and Samaria. The kingdom of Israel fell before the Assyrian conqueror, in the year B. c. 721, after it had subsisted about two hundred and fifty years. That of Judah survived about one hundred and thirty years, Judea being finally subdued and laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, and the temple burned, B. c. 588. Idumea was conquered a few years after. From this period till the era of Alexander the Great, Palestine remained subject to the Chaldean, Median, and Persian dynasties. At his death, Judea fell under the dominion of the kings of Syria, and, with some short and troubled intervals, remained subject either to the kings of Syria or Egypt, till John Hyrcanus shook off the Syrian yoke, and assumed the diadem, B. c. 130. The Asmonean dynasty, which united in the person of the monarch the functions of king and pontiff, though tributary to Roman conquerors, lasted one hundred and twenty-six years, till the kingdom was given by Anthony to Herod the Great, of an Idumean family, B. C. 39. At the time of the Christian era, Palestine was divided into five provinces; Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Idumea. On the death of Herod, Archelaus, his eldest son, succeeded to the government of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, with the title of tetrarch: Galilee being assigned to Herod Antipas; and Perea, or the country beyond Jordan, to the third brother, Philip. But in less than ten years, the dominions of Archelaus became annexed, on his disgrace, to the Roman province of Syria, and Judea was thenceforth governed by Roman procurators. Jerusalem, after its final destruction by Titus, A. D. 71, remained desolate, and almost uninhabited, till the emperor Hadrian colonized it, and erected temples to Jupiter and Venus on its site. The empress Helena, in the fourth century, set the example of repairing in pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to visit the scenes consecrated by the gospel narrative, and the country became enriched by the crowds of devotees who flocked there. In the beginning of the seventh century, it was overrun by the Saracens, who held it till Jerusalem was taken by the Crusaders in the twelfth. The Latin kingdom of Jerusalem continued for about eighty years, during which the Holy Land streamed continually with Christian and Saracen blood. In 1187, Judea was conquered by the illustrious Saladin, on the decline of whose kingdom, it passed through various revolutions, and at length, in 1317, was finally swallowed up in the Turkish empire. "Trodden down By all in turn, Pagan, and Frank, and Tartar,- Thus hast thou lain for ages, iron-bound As with a curse. Thus art thou doomed to lie, Palestine is now distributed into pashaliks. That of Acre, or Akka, extends from Djebail nearly to Jaffa; that of Gaza comprehends Jaffa and the adjacent plains; and these two being now united, all the coast is under the jurisdiction of the pasha of Acre. Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablous, Tiberias, and, in fact, the greater part of Palestine, are included in the pashalic of Damascus, now held in conjunction with that of Aleppo, which renders the present pasha, in effect, the viceroy of Syria. Though both pashas continue to be dutiful subjects of the Grand Seignor in appearance, and annually transmit considerable sums to Constantinople, to insure the yearly renewal of their office, they are to be considered as tributaries, rather than subjects of the Porte; and it is supposed to be the religious supremacy of the sultan, as caliph and vicar of Mahommed, more than any apprehension of his power, which prevents them from declaring themselves independent. The reverence shown for the firmans of the Porte throughout Syria, attests the strong hold which the sultan maintains, in this character, on the Turkish population. The pashas of Egypt and Bagdad are attached to the Turkish sovereign by the same ecclesiastical tie, which alone has kept the ill-compacted and feeble empire from crumbling to ruin. The present mixed population of Palestine consists of Turks, Syrians, Bedouin Arabs, Jews, Latin, Greek, and Armenian Christians, Copts, and Druses. In western Palestine, especially on the coast, the inhabitants are stated, by Burckhardt, to bear generally more resemblance to the natives of Egypt than to those of northern Syria; while, towards the east of Palestine, especially in the villages about Nablous, Jerusalem, and Hebron, they are evidently of the true Syrian stock in features, though not in language. The Syrian physiognomy assumes, however, a cast of features characteristically different in the Aleppine, the Turkman, the native of Mount Libanus, the Damascene, the inhabitant of the sea-coast from Beirout to Acre, and the Bedouin. Dr. Richardson, on entering the country from Egypt, was struck at the change of physiognomy, as well as of costume, observable even at El Arish, which is in the pashalic of Egypt: the people are much fairer, as well as cleaner and better dressed. The Turks, in Palestine, or elsewhere throughout the empire, occupy all the civil and military posts. Greeks form a very numerous part of the population. A considerable number of monks, of different churches and orders, still reside in the Holy Land: there is, indeed, scarcely a town of any conThe sequence which does not contain at least one convent. country districts are, to a great extent, filled with nomadic Arabs. The true Arab is always an inhabitant of the desert; a name given to any solitude, whether barren or fertile, and sometimes applied to extensive pasture lands. of a whole family seldom exceed a camel's load. be simpler in construction than their tents. sticks, driven into the ground, with one laid across the top, form the frame work; and a large brown cloth, made of goat's or camel's hair, woven by their women, the covering. The manner in which they secure their animals is equally simple. Two sticks are driven into the ground, between which a rope is stretched and fastened at each end; to this rope the asses and mules are all attached by the feet; the horses also, but apart from the asses; the camels are seldom secured at all. The dress of this people in the Holy Land consists of a blue shirt or tunic, descending below the knees, the legs and feet being exposed; or the latter are sometimes covered with the ancient Over this is worn a cloak of very coarse cothurnus, or buskin. and heavy camel's hair cloth, (the sackcloth of the Scriptures,) consisting of one square piece, with holes for the arms, but leaving a seam down the back. This appears to have been the dress of John the Baptist, as well as of the ancient prophets. The movables |