Chapter IV: Part 4

Thence it takes twenty days by sea to Messina, which is the commencement of Sicily and is situated on the arm of the sea that is called Lipar[205], which divides it from Calabria. Here about 200 Jews dwell. It is a land full of everything good, with gardens and plantations. Here most of the pilgrims assemble to cross over to Jerusalem, as this is the best crossing. Thence it is about two days' journey to Palermo, which is a large city. Here is the palace of King William. Palermo contains about 1,500 Jews and a large number of Christians and Mohammedans[206]. It is in a district abounding in springs and brooks of water, a land of wheat and barley, likewise of gardens and plantations, and there is not the like thereof in the whole island of Sicily. Here is the domain and garden of the king, which is called Al Harbina (Al Hacina)[207], containing all sorts of fruit-trees. And in it is a large fountain. The garden is encompassed by a wall. And a reservoir has been made there which is called Al Buheira[208], and in it are many sorts of fish. Ships overlaid with silver and gold are there, belonging to the king, who takes pleasure-trips in them with his women[209].

[p.109]

In the park there is also a great palace, the walls of which are painted, and overlaid with gold and silver; the paving of the floors is of marble, picked out in gold and silver in all manner of designs. There is no building like this anywhere. And this island, the commencement of which is Messina, contains all the pleasant things of this world. It embraces Syracuse, Marsala, Catania, Petralia, and Trapani, the circumference of the island being six days' journey. In Trapani coral is found, which is called Al Murgan[210].

Thence people pass to the city of Rome in ten days. And from Rome they proceed by land to Lucca, which is a five days' journey. Thence they cross the mountain of Jean de Maurienne, and the passes of Italy. It is twenty days' journey to Verdun, which is the commencement of Alamannia, a land of mountains and hills. All the congregations of Alamannia are situated on the great river Rhine, from the city of Cologne, which is the principal town of the Empire, to the city of Regensburg, a distance of fifteen days' journey at the other extremity of Alamannia, otherwise called Ashkenaz.

[p.110]

And the following are the cities in the land of Alamannia, which have Hebrew congregations: Metz, Treves on the river Moselle, Coblenz, Andernach, Bonn, Cologne, Bingen, Muenster, Worms,[211] [All Israel is dispersed in every land, and he who does not further the gathering of Israel will not meet with happiness nor live with Israel. When the Lord will remember us in our exile, and raise the horn of his anointed, then every one will say, "I will lead the Jews and I will gather them." As for the towns which have been mentioned, they contain scholars and communities that love their brethren, and speak peace to those that are near and afar, and when a wayfarer comes they rejoice, and make a feast for him, and say, "Rejoice, brethren, for the help of the Lord comes in the twinkling of an eye." If we were not afraid that the appointed time has not yet arrived nor been reached, we would have gathered together, but we dare not do so until the time for song has arrived, and the voice of the turtle-dove (is heard in the land), when the messengers will come and say continually, "The Lord be exalted."

[p.111]

Meanwhile they send missives one to the other, saying, "Be ye strong in the law of Moses, and do ye mourners for Zion and ye mourners for Jerusalem entreat the Lord, and may the supplication of those that wear the garments of mourning be received through their merits." In addition to the several cities which we have mentioned there are besides] Strassburg, Wuerzburg, Mantern, Bamberg, Freising, and Regensburg at the extremity of the Empire[212]. In these cities there are many Israelites, wise men and rich.

Thence extends the land of Bohemia, called Prague[213]. This is the commencement of the land of Slavonia, and the Jews who dwell there call it Canaan, because the men of that land (the Slavs) sell their sons and their daughters to the other nations. These are the men of Russia, which is a great empire stretching from the gate of Prague to the gates of Kieff, the large city which is at the extremity of that empire[214]. It is a land of mountains and forests, where there are to be found the animals called vair[215], ermine, and sable.

[p.112]

No one issues forth from his house in winter-time on account of the cold. People are to be found there who have lost the tips of their noses by reason of the frost. Thus far reaches the empire of Russia.

The kingdom of France, which is Zarfath, extends from the town of Auxerre[216] unto Paris, the great city--a journey of six days. The city belongs to King Louis. It is situated on the river Seine. Scholars are there, unequalled in the whole world, who study the Law day and night. They are charitable and hospitable to all travellers, and are as brothers and friends unto all their brethren the Jews. May God, the Blessed One, have mercy upon us and upon them!

Finished and completed.

INDEX

The references in this Index are made to the pages of _Asher's Edition_, which are marked in the margin of the foregoing English translation.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Tudela was called in Benjamin's time _Tuteila_.
Sepharad is Spain.]

[Footnote 2: There is a considerable difference of opinion
as to the exact dates at which Benjamin began and completed
his journey. In my opinion, the period can be placed within
a very narrow compass. Early in his journey he visited Rome,
where he found R. Jechiel to be the steward of the household
of Pope Alexander. This can be no other than Pope Alexander
III, who played so important a part in the struggle between
King Henry II and Thomas a Becket. The German Emperor,
Frederick Barbarossa, supported the anti-Pope Victor IV, and
in consequence Alexander had to leave Rome soon after his
election in 1159 and before his consecration. He did not
return to settle down permanently in Rome until November 23,
1165, but was forced to leave again in 1167. Consequently
Benjamin must have been in Rome between the end of 1165 and
1167. Benjamin terminated his travels by passing from Egypt
to Sicily and Italy, then crossing the Alps and visiting
Germany. In Cairo he found that the Fatimite Caliph was the
acknowledged ruler. The Caliph here referred to must have
been El-'Adid, who died on Monday, September 13, 1171--being
the last of the Fatimite line. A short time before his
death, Saladin had become the virtual ruler of Egypt, and
had ordered the Khotba to be read in the name of the
Abbaside Caliph el-Mostadi of Bagdad. (See the _Life of
Saladin_, by Bohadin: Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society, p.
61.) It is clear, therefore, that Benjamin's absence from
Europe must be placed between the years 1166 and 1171.
Benjamin on his return journey passed through Sicily when
the island was no longer governed by a viceroy. King William
II (the Good) attained his majority in 1169, and Benjamin's
visit took place subsequently. It will be found in the
course of the narrative that not a single statement by
Benjamin is inconsistent with this determination of date;
see p. 3, n. 4; p. 9, n. 2; p. 15, n. 4; p. 61, n. 1; and p.
79, n. 2.]

[Footnote 3: Saragossa was called in Benjamin's time
_Sarakosta_ (= Caesar-Augusta). Charisi, in _Tachkemoni_,
46, refers to some of the Rabbis.]

[Footnote 4: The imposing ruins at Tarragona comprise
prehistoric walls of enormous unhewn blocks of stone, as
well as the remains of Roman aqueducts, tombs,
amphitheatres, &c. Here and generally in this narrative the
letter R is used as an abbreviation for Rabbi.]

[Footnote 5: See Graetz, _Geschichte der Juden_, vol. VI,
pp. 230 et seq.; also notes 1 and 10 at the end of vol. VI.]

[Footnote 6: The ancient name of Gerona was Gerunda.]

[Footnote 7: See Geiger's _Juedische Zeitschrift fuer
Wissenschaft und Leben_, p. 281. The Records of Narbonne
bear evidence of sales of lands standing in the name of R.
Kalonymos (_Archives Israelites_, 1861, p. 449). His
ancestor, R. Machir, came to Europe in the time of
Charlemagne.]

[Footnote 8: R. Abraham ben Isaac (Rabad II) was author of
the Rabbinic code; Ha-Eshkol, and was one of the
intermediaries between the Talmudists of France and the
Scholars of Spain. He died 1178.]

[Footnote 9: A parasang is about 3-2/5 English miles, and
the distance from Narbonne to Beziers is correctly given. 10
parasangs make a day's journey.]

[Footnote 10: The King of Portugal is even now styled King
of the Algarves.]

[Footnote 11: Cf. Graetz, VI, p. 240, also Joseph Jacob's
_Angevin Jews_, p. 111. R. Asher was one of a group of pious
Rabbis known as Perushim--who might be styled Jewish monks.
His father, Rabbenu Meshullam, died 1170.]

[Footnote 12: He is referred to in _Tosafoth Temurah_, fol.
12a and b.]

[Footnote 13: This eminent Talmudist, known as the Rabad,
was son-in-law of the R. Abraham of Narbonne before referred
to. See Graetz, VI, 243.]

[Footnote 14: The Abbey of St. Aegidius was much resorted to
in the Middle Ages. The Jews of Beaucaire, and the
neighbourhood, enjoyed the patronage of Raymond V, Count of
Toulouse, called by the Troubadour poets "the good Duke."
See Graetz, VI, note I, p. 401. It is impossible to enlarge
in these notes upon the several Jewish scholars referred to
by Benjamin. An interesting article by Professor Israel Levi
on the "Jews in Mediaeval France," and other articles, in
the _Jewish Encyclopaedia_, also Gross, _Gallia Judaica_,
might be consulted with advantage.]

[Footnote 15: The BM. MS. calls R. Abba Mari dead, which
statement, unless qualified, as in a few other instances, by
the insertion of the word "since," would be unintelligible.]

[Footnote 16: Asher's Text and Epstein's MS. give the
distance between Arles and Marseilles as three days'
journey. The actual distance is about fifty-three English
miles. Probably the Roman roads were still in use.]

[Footnote 17: R. Isaac, son of Abba Mari, is the celebrated
author of "Baal Haittur"; he wrote this work at Marseilles,
1179. It is doubtful whether he was the son of Count
Raymond's bailiff.]

[Footnote 18: His full name is R. Jacob Perpignano. See
Graetz, VI, note 1, p. 399.]

[Footnote 19: The meaning of course is that the Genoese
pillage Christian and Mohammedan places alike.]

[Footnote 20: See Dr. H. Berliner's work _Die Geschichte der
Juden in Rom._ His derivation of the Hebrew word used for
Pope, [Hebrew:] from Peter, is questionable. It is the Greek
[Greek: hepiphoros]. See Talmud, _Aboda Zarah_, 11 a.]

[Footnote 21: The great work alluded to is the _Talmudical
Dictionary_, completed in 1101. See Graetz, VI, p. 281.]

[Footnote 22: The palace of the Caesars on the Palatine Hill
is no doubt here referred to.]

[Footnote 23: [Hebrew:], quoted by E and Asher, is a corrupt
reading for [Hebrew:].]

[Footnote 24: This is Josippon's story. Benjamin
occasionally embodies in his work fantastic legends told
him, or recorded by his predecessors. His authorities lived
in the darkest period of the Middle Ages. Josippon, Book I,
Chap, iv, speaks of 320 senators. I have followed
Breithaupt, and rendered [Hebrew:] "consul."]

[Footnote 25: Having regard to the various readings, it is
possible that the Thermae of Diocletian or more probably the
Flavian amphitheatre, which early in the Middle Ages began
to be called the Colosseum, is here referred to. It had four
stories, each floor composed of arcades containing eighty
separate compartments, making 320 in all. Our author in the
course of his narrative speaks more than once of buildings
erected on a uniform plan corresponding with the days of the
year.]

[Footnote 26: I. Heilprin, the author of _Seder Hadoroth_
(Warsaw, 1897 edition, p. 157) as well as Zunz, appear to
have here fallen into error, assuming as they do that
Benjamin refers to the ten teachers of the Mishna, R.
Gamaliel, R. Akiba and the other sages who suffered
martyrdom in Palestine at the hands of the Roman Emperors.
The ten martyrs here alluded to are those referred to in the
Preface to Hakemoni, published by Geiger in [Hebrew:],
Berlin, 1840, and [Hebrew:], Berlin edition, fols. 151-2
[Hebrew:] Rome, as so many other cities, had its own
martyrs.]

[Footnote 27: This is the statue of Marcus Aurelius now
before the Capitol.]

[Footnote 28: Even in Benjamin's time the Campagna was noted
for malaria.]

[Footnote 29: Professor Ray Lankester, in a lecture given on
Dec. 29, 1903, at the Royal Institution, illustrated changes
in the disposition of land and water by pointing to the
identical ruined Temple referred to by Benjamin. It now
stands high above the sea, and did so in the second and
third centuries of the present era, but in the eighth and
ninth centuries was so low, owing to the sinking of the
land, that the lower parts of its marble pillars stood in
the sea, and sea-shells grew in the crevices.]

[Footnote 30: Josippon gives these legends in Book I, chaps.
iii and iv, when speaking of Zur, whom he associates with
Sorrento. Benjamin had few other sources of information. In
the immediate neighbourhood of Pozzuoli is Solfatara, where
sulphur is found. A destructive eruption from the crater
took place in 1198. Hot springs abound, and the baths at
Bagnoli are much frequented to the present day. The
underground road is the Piedi grotta of Posilipo,
constructed by Augustus.]

[Footnote 31: R. Isaac, the father of R. Judah, must be the
"Greek Locust" against whom Ibn Ezra directed his satire
when visiting Salerno some twenty years before R. Benjamin.
See Graetz, VI, p. 441.]

[Footnote 32: Cf. Isaiah lxvi. 19.]

[Footnote 33: This city was destroyed by William the Bad in
1156. It was ordered to be restored by William the Good in
1169, so that Benjamin must have visited Bari before that
date. See p. 79, note 2. We have here another clue as to the
date of Benjamin's travels.]

[Footnote 34: See H.M. Adler's article on Jews in Southern
Italy, _J.Q.R._, XIV, p. 111. Gibbon, _Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire_, chap. lvi, describing the reconquest of
the southern provinces of Italy by the Byzantine Emperor
Manuel, 1155, says. "The natives of Calabria were still
attached to the Greek language and worship."]

[Footnote 35: The river Achelous falls into the Ionian Sea
opposite to Ithaca.]

[Footnote 36: Anatolica is now known as Aetolicum.]

[Footnote 37: Patras, the ancient Patrae, was founded long
before the time of Antipater. _Josippon_, II, chap. xxiii,
is again the questionable authority on which Benjamin
relied.]

[Footnote 38: Lepanto in the early Middle Ages was called
Naupactus or Epacto, and to reach it from Patras the Gulf of
Corinth had to be crossed.]

[Footnote 39: Chalcis, the capital of Euboea or Negroponte,
is even now called Egripo. It is situated on the Straits of
Euripus.]

[Footnote 40: Some twenty years later the Wallachians were
in open revolt and became independent of the Byzantine
Empire. Gibbon, chap. lx.]

[Footnote 41: See Gibbon, chap. liii. He often quotes
Benjamin.]

[Footnote 42: The Grand Duchy of Kieff was called Russia.
See page 81.]

[Footnote 43: The Petchinegs, as well as the Khazars,
Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Turks, are called by Josippon,
I, chap. i, descendants of Togarma. Patzinakia was the
country from the Danube to the Dnieper, and corresponds with
Dacia of classical times.]

[Footnote 44: The readings of E and A are corrupt. R has
[Hebrew:], and BM. has [Hebrew:], the southern provinces of
Russia were spoken of as the land of the Khazars, especially
by Jewish writers, long after the Russian conquest about the
year 1000, and the Crimea was known to European travellers
as Gazaria. It took Rabbi Pethachia eight days to pass
through the land of the Khazars. See Dr. A. Benisch,
_Translation of Petachia's Travels_. In note 3, p. 70, he
gives a short sketch of their history. The ruling dynasty
and most of the inhabitants embraced the Jewish religion.]

[Footnote 45: _Procopius_, vol. I (Palestine Pilgrims' Text
Society), gives a full description of Constantinople.]

[Footnote 46: The commentator, wrongly supposed to be Rashi,
gives an interesting note upon the passage in I Chron. xx.
2, where it is mentioned that David took the crown of the
king of the children of Ammon, and found it to weigh a
talent of gold, and it was set upon David's head. Rashi
states that the meaning of the passage must be that this
crown was hung above David's throne, and adds that he heard
in Narbonne that this practice was still kept up by the
kings in the East.]

[Footnote 47: See for a full account of these powerful
Seljuk Sultans F. Lebrecht's Essay on the Caliphate of
Bagdad during the latter half of the twelfth century. Vol.
II of A. Asher's _Itinerary of Rabbi Benjamin_.]

[Footnote 48: Ibn Verga, _Shevet Jehuda_, XXV, states that a
predecessor of the Emperor Manuel Comnenus issued an edict
prohibiting the Jews from residing elsewhere than in Pera,
and restricting their occupation to tanning and
shipbuilding.]

[Footnote 49: This place is mentioned by _Procopius_, p.
119, as having been fortified by Justinian. It is now known
as Rodosto.]

[Footnote 50: Ibn Ezra visited Cyprus before his arrival in
London in 1158, when he wrote the _Sabbath Epistle_. It is
not unlikely that the heterodox practices of the sect of
whom Benjamin here speaks had been put forward in certain
books to which Ibn Ezra alludes, and induced him to compose
the pamphlet in defence of the traditional mode of
observance of the Sabbath day. This supposition is not
inconsistent with Graetz's theory, vol. VI, p. 447. See also
Dr. Friedlander, _Ibn Ezra in England, J.Q.R._, VIII, p.
140, and Joseph Jacobs, _The Jews of Angevin England_, p.
35.]

[Footnote 51: See Gibbon, chaps, lviii and lix; Charles
Mills, _History of the Crusades_, I, p. 159; C.R. Conder,
_Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_, p. 39.]

[Footnote 52: The several MSS. give different readings. The
kingdom reached to the Taurus mountains and the Sultanate of
Rum or Iconium.]

[Footnote 53: Beazley remarks that Benjamin must have passed
along this coast before 1167, when Thoros died at peace and
on terms of vassalage to the Emperor Manuel Comnenus.
Malmistras is forty-five miles from Tarsus. Both had been
recaptured by Manuel in 1155. _Josippon_, I, chap. i,
identifies Tarshish with Tarsus.]

[Footnote 54: No doubt the river Fer, otherwise Orontes, is
here referred to. Ancient Antioch lies on the slope of Mount
Silpius, and the city-wall erected by Justinian extended
from the river up to the hill-plateau. Abulfeda says: "The
river of Hamah is also called Al Urunt or the Nahr al Maklub
(the Overturned) on account of its course from south to
north; or, again, it is called Al' Asi (the Rebel), for the
reason that though most rivers water the lands on their
borders without the aid of water-wheels, the river of Hamah
will not irrigate the lands except by the aid of machines
for raising its waters." (Guy le Strange, _Palestine under
the Moslems_, p. 59.) It is strange that R. Benjamin should
call the Orontes the river Jabbok, but he always takes care
to add that it rises in the Lebanon, to avoid any
misconception that the Jabbok which falls into the Jordan is
meant.]

[Footnote 55: Boemond III, surnamed le Baube (the
Stammerer), succeeded his mother in 1163. We owe the
doubtless correct rendering of this passage to the ingenuity
of the late Joseph Zedner. Benjamin visited Antioch before
1170, when a fearful earthquake destroyed a great part of
the city.]

[Footnote 56: It must be inferred from the context here, as
well as from other passages, that when Benjamin mentions the
number of Jews residing at a particular place he refers to
the heads of families.]

[Footnote 57: Gebal is the Gabala of ancient geographers.
See Schechter, _Saadyana_, p. 25. Many travellers, among
them Robinson, identify Baal-Gad with Banias, others suppose
it to be Hasbeya.]

[Footnote 58: Hashishim--hemp-smokers--hence is derived the
word "assassin." See Socin, _Palestine and Syria_, pp. 68
and 99. Ibn Batuta and other Arabic writers have much to say
about the Assassins or Mulahids, as they call them. They are
again referred to by Benjamin on p. 54, where he states that
in Persia they haunted the mountainous district of Mulahid,
under the sway of the Old Man of the Mountain. The manner in
which the Sheik acquired influence over his followers is
amusingly described by Marco Polo (_The Book of Ser Marco
Polo_: translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry Yule;
third edition, London, John Murray, 1903): "In a fertile and
sequestered valley he placed every conceivable thing
pleasant to man--luxurious palaces, delightful gardens, fair
damsels skilled in music, dancing, and song, in short, a
veritable paradise! When desirous of sending any of his band
on some hazardous enterprise the Old Man would drug them and
place them while unconscious in this glorious valley. But it
was not for many days that they were allowed to revel in the
joys of paradise. Another potion was given to them, and when
the young men awoke they found themselves in the presence of
the Old Man of the Mountain. In the hope of again possessing
the joys of paradise they were ready to embark upon any
desperate errand commanded by the Old Man." Marco Polo
mentions that the Old Man found crafty deputies, who with
their followers settled in parts of Syria and Kurdistan. He
adds that, in the year 1252, Alaue, lord of the Tartars of
the Levant, made war against the Old Man, and slaughtered
him with many of his followers. Yule gives a long list of
murders or attempts at murder ascribed to the Assassins.
Saladin's life was attempted in 1174-6. Prince Edward of
England was slain at Acre in 1172. The sect is not quite
extinct. They have spread to Bombay and Zanzibar, and number
in Western India over 50,000. The mention of the Old Man of
the Mountain will recall to the reader the story of Sinbad
the Sailor in _The Arabian Nights_.]

[Footnote 59: See Parchi, _Caphtor wa-pherach_, an
exhaustive work on Palestine written 1322, especially chap.
xi. The author spent over seven years in exploring the
country.]

[Footnote 60: Socin, the author of Baedeker's _Handbook to
Palestine and Syria_, p. 557, gives the year of the
earthquake 1157. It is referred to again p. 31. There was a
very severe earthquake in this district also in 1170, and
the fact that Benjamin does not refer to it furnishes us
with another _terminus ad quem_.]

[Footnote 61: See the narrative of William of Tyre.]

[Footnote 62: Gubail, the ancient Gebal, was noted for its
artificers and stonecutters. Cf. I Kings v. 32; Ezek. xxvii.
9. The Greeks named the place Byblos, the birthplace of
Philo. The coins of Byblos have a representation of the
Temple of Astarte. All along the coast we find remains of
the worship of Baal Kronos and Baaltis, of Osiris and Isis,
and it is probable that the worship of Adonis and
Jupiter-Ammon led Benjamin to associate therewith the
Ammonites. The reference to the children of Ammon is based
on a misunderstanding, arising perhaps out of Ps. lxxxiii.
8.]

[Footnote 63: _The Quarterly Statements of the Palestine
Exploration Fund_ for 1886 and 1889 give a good deal of
information concerning the religion of the Druses. Their
morality is there described as having been much maligned.]

[Footnote 64: Tyre was noted for its glass-ware and sugar
factories up to 1291, when it was abandoned by the
Crusaders, and destroyed by the Moslems.]

[Footnote 65: This name is applied to the Kishon, mentioned
further on, celebrated in Deborah's song (Judg. v. 21), but
it is about five miles south of Acre, the river nearest to
the town being the Belus, noted for its fine sand suitable
for glass-making. It is not unlikely that R. Benjamin
alludes to the celebrated ox-spring of which Arab writers
have much to say. Mukkadasi writes in 985: "Outside the
eastern city gate is a spring. This they call Ain al Bakar,
relating how it was Adam--peace be upon him!--who discovered
this spring, and gave his oxen water therefrom, whence its
name."]

[Footnote 66: Gath-Hepher, the birthplace of Jonah, near
Kefr Kenna, in the territory of Zebulon (Joshua xix. 13), is
not here referred to, but the land of Hepher, I Kings iv. 10
is probably meant.]

[Footnote 67: In Benjamin's time hermits, who eventually
founded the Carmelite order of monks, occupied grottoes on
Mount Carmel.]

[Footnote 68: Benjamin travelled along the coast to
Caesarea. Mr. Guy Le Strange (_Palestine under the Moslems_,
1890, p. 477) writes: "Tall Kanisah, or Al Kunaisah, the
Little Church, is the mound a few miles north of Athlith,
which the Crusaders took to be the site of Capernaum."
Benjamin must have known very well that Maon, which was
contiguous to another Carmel (referred to in Joshua xv. 55),
belonged to Judah, and was not in the north of Palestine.
Here, as in the case of Gath and elsewhere, he quotes what
was the hearsay identification current at the time he
visited these places. See an article by C.R. Conder on
"Early Christian Topography" in the _Quarterly Statements of
the Palestine Exploration Fund_ for 1876, p.16. Cf. _The
Ancient Hebrew Tradition_, by Prof. Fr. Hommel, p. 243.]

[Footnote 69: In the time of the Crusaders Gath was supposed
to be near Jamnia, but nothing definite is known as to its
site. (Baedeker, _Handbook to Palestine and Syria_, 1876, p.
317.)]

[Footnote 70: It lies between Caesarea and Lydda. See
Conder's _Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_. Munk's _Palestine_
might also be consulted with advantage.]

[Footnote 71: The tomb of St. George is still shown in the
Greek church at Lydda.]

[Footnote 72: Mr. A. Cowley in an article on the Samaritan
Liturgy in _J. Q.R._, VII, 125, states that the "House of
Aaron" died out in 1624. The office then went to another
branch, the priest being called [Hebrew:], the Levite Cohon.
Cf. Adler and Seligsohn's _Une nouvelle chronique
Samaritaine_. (Paris: Durlacher, 1903.)]

[Footnote 73: The small square building known as Joseph's
tomb lies a short distance north of Jacob's well, at the
eastern entrance to the vale of Nablous.]

[Footnote 74: Cf. Guy Le Strange, _Palestine_, 381, and
Rapoport's Note 166, Asher's _Benjamin_, vol. II, p. 87.]

[Footnote 75: The MSS. are defective here; starting from
Shechem, Mount Gilboa, which to this day presents a bare
appearance, is in a different direction to Ajalon. It is
doubtful whether Benjamin personally visited all the places
mentioned in his _Itinerary_. His visit took place not long
after the second great Crusade, when Palestine under the
kings of Jerusalem was disturbed by internal dissensions and
the onslaughts of the Saracens under Nur-ed-din of Damascus
and his generals. Benjamin could at best visit the places of
note only when the opportunity offered.]

[Footnote 76: This and most of the other places mentioned by
Benjamin are more or less identified in the very important
work published by the Palestine Exploration Fund, _The
Survey of Western Palestine_. Our author's statements are
carefully examined, and Colonel Conder, after expatiating
upon the extraordinary mistakes made by writers in the time
of the Crusaders, some of whom actually confounded the sea
of Galilee with the Mediterranean, says: "The mediaeval
Jewish pilgrims appear as a rule to have had a much more
accurate knowledge both of the country and of the Bible.
Their assertions are borne out by existing remains, and are
of the greatest value."]

[Footnote 77: King Baldwin III died in 1162, and was
succeeded by his brother Almaric.]

[Footnote 78: The reading of the Roman MS. that there were
but four Jewish inhabitants at Jerusalem is in conformity
with R. Pethachia, who passed through Palestine some ten or
twenty years after R. Benjamin, and found but one Jew there.
The [Hebrew: daleth] meaning four would easily be misread
for [Hebrew: resh] meaning 200.]

[Footnote 79: The Knights of the Hospital of St. John and
the Templars are here referred to. See Gibbon, _Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire_; Charles Mills, _History of the
Crusades_, 4th edition, vol. I, p. 342, and Besant and
Palmer's _Jerusalem_, chap. ix.]

[Footnote 80: Cf. the writings of Mukaddasi the
Hierosolomite, one of the publications of the Palestine
Pilgrims' Text Society. See also Edrisi's and Ali of Herat's
works. Chap. iii of Guy Le Strange's _Palestine_ gives full
extracts of Edrisi's account written in 1154 and Ali's in
1173. See also five plans of Jerusalem designed between 1160
and 1180, vol. XV, _Zeitschrift des Deutschen
Palaestina-Vereins._]

[Footnote 81: Ezek. xx. 35. The idea that the Gorge of
Jehoshaphat will be the scene of the last judgment is based
upon Joel iv. 2. Cf. M.N. Adler, _Temple at Jerusalem_ and
Sir Charles Warren's Comments.]

[Footnote 82: In memory of Absalom's disobedience to his
father, it is customary with the Jews to pelt this monument
with stones to the present day. The adjoining tomb is
traditionally known as that of Zechariah, 2 Chron. xxiv. 20,
King Uzziah, otherwise Azariah, was buried on Mount Zion,
close to the other kings of Judah, 2 Kings xv. 7. Cf. P.E.
F., _Jerusalem_, as to identification of sites. Sir Charles
Wilson, _Picturesque Palestine_, gives excellent
illustrations of the holy places, and his work might be
consulted with advantage.]

[Footnote 83: Pillars of salt are to be met with elsewhere,
for instance at Hammam Meskutim in Algeria. They are caused
by spouts of water, in which so great a quantity of salt is
contained as at times to stop up the aperture of the spring.
The latter, however, is again unsealed through cattle
licking off the salt near the aperture, and the same process
of filling up and unstopping goes on continually. Cf. Talmud
Berachot, 54 a.]

[Footnote 84: See Baedeker's _Palestine and Syria_, pp. 233,
236; also Schwartz, _Palestine_, 1852, p. 230 and Dr.
Robinson's _Palestine_, I, p. 516.]

[Footnote 85: Edrisi in 1154 writes: "The tomb is covered by
twelve stones, and above it is a dome vaulted over with
stones."]

[Footnote 86: Compare R. Pethachia's account of his visit
(_Travels of Rabbi Petachia_: translated by Dr. A. Benisch;
London, Truebner & Co., 1856, p. 63). See papers by
Professors Goldziher and Guthe (_Zeitschrift des Deutschen
Palaestina-Vereins_, XVII, pp. 115 and 238) for an account of
the opening of the tombs at Hebron in 1119, as given in a
presumably contemporaneous MS. found by Count Riant. Fifteen
earthenware vessels filled with bones, perhaps those
referred to by Benjamin, were found. It is doubtful whether
the actual tombs of the Patriarchs were disturbed, but it is
stated that the Abbot of St. Gallen paid in 1180 ten marks
of gold (equal to about L5,240 sterling) for relics taken
from the altar of the church at Hebron. The MS. of Count
Riant further mentions that before the occupation of Hebron
by the Arabs, the Greeks had blocked up and concealed the
entrance to the caves. The Jews subsequently disclosed the
place of the entrance to the Moslems, receiving as
recompense permission to build a synagogue close by. This
was no doubt the Jewish place of worship referred to by
Benjamin. Shortly after Benjamin's visit in 1167 the
Crusaders established a bishopric and erected a church in
the southern part of the Haram. See also Conder's account of
the visit of His Majesty the King, when Prince of Wales, to
the Haram at Hebron. (_Palestine Exploration Fund's
Quarterly Statement_, 1882.)]

[Footnote 87: Beit Jibrin was fortified by King Fulk in
1134. See Baedeker's _Palestine and Syria_, p. 309;
Rapoport's _Erech Milin_, p. 54; also a preliminary notice
on the Necropolis of Maresha in _P.E.F.Q.S._, Oct., 1902, p.
393. The text has [Hebrew:], but it should be [Hebrew:].
Inscriptions on tombs near Beit Jibrin show that the town,
to which those buried belonged, was called Mariseh. The
passage in A and all printed editions as to Shunem and Toron
de Los Caballeros is corrupt. Shunem was a small place in
Galilee, and is not likely to have had 300 Jews at the time
of the Crusaders, still less so Toron the present Latrun.]

[Footnote 88: Shiloh, at the time of the Crusaders, was
considered to occupy the site of Mizpeh, the highest
mountain near Jerusalem, where the national assemblies were
held at the time of the Judges. The present mosque is
dilapidated, but the substructure, which dates from the
Frank period, is beautifully jointed. The apse is raised.
The reputed tomb of Samuel is on the western side of the
church. It is still called Nebi Samwil, venerated alike by
Jew and Moslem.]

[Footnote 89: This and Mahomerie-le-grand, already
mentioned, are Crusaders' churches. See Rey, _Les Colonies
franques de Syrie aux XII'e et XIII'e siecles_, p. 387; also
Conder, _The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem_.]

[Footnote 90: Beit-Nuba near Ramleh has been identified
without proof with Nob. Richard Coeur-de-Lion encamped here
some twenty-five years after Benjamin's visit. He with the
army of the Crusaders passed through Ibelin on his way to
Askelon. Cf. Vinsauf's _Itinerarium Regis Ricardi_.]

[Footnote 91: See an interesting Paper, "Der Pass von
Michmas," by Prof. D.G. Dalman, _Z.D.P.V._, 1904, vol.
XXVII, p. 161.]

[Footnote 92: Asher renders [Hebrew:] Ramleh, for which
there is some justification. Ramleh did not exist in Bible
times--it was founded in 716. It prospered to such an extent
that it became as large as Jerusalem. It was a good deal
damaged by an earthquake in 1033. Ramleh had a large Moslem
population, and the Jews there remained comparatively
unmolested by the Crusaders. This latter fact accounts for
the somewhat large number of Jews residing there. Asher's
reading, and that of all the printed editions, is "about
three Jews dwell there." This is obviously wrong. Probably
the copyist is to blame in taking [Hebrew:] to be an
abbreviation for [Hebrew:] The reports of contemporary
Arabic authors will be found in Guy Le Strange's
_Palestine_, pp. 303-8.]

[Footnote 93: Ali of Herat, Benjamin's contemporary, writes:
"Askelon is a fine and beautiful city. There is near here
the well of Abraham, which they say he dug with his own
hand." Bohadin, in his _Life of Saladin_, gives a detailed
account of the demolition of the city in 1192, after the
conclusion of peace between King Richard I and Saladin. Ibn
Batutah in 1355 found the town in ruins, but gives a
detailed account of the well. (Guy Le Strange, pp. 402-3;
cf. Dr. H. Hildesheimer, _Beitraege zur Geographie
Palaestinas_.)]

[Footnote 94: The cathedral at Lydda with the tomb of St.
George was destroyed when Saladin captured the place in
1191. It was rebuilt by a King of England in the seventeenth
century.]

[Footnote 95: A.M. Lunez in his Year-book for 1881, pp.
71-165, gives a complete list of the reputed Jewish tombs in
Palestine. There are many records of the graves of Jewish
worthies in our literature, but it is not easy to reconcile
the different versions. See Jacob ben Nethanel's Itinerary
given in Lunez's _Jerusalem_, 1906, VII, p. 87.]

[Footnote 96: Both BM. and R have [Hebrew:], whilst E and A
have the faulty reading [Hebrew:]. The Seder Hadoroth has
the same reading as E and A. Jehuda Halevi died about thirty
years before Benjamin's visit, and the question of the
burial-place of our great national poet is thus finally
settled.]

[Footnote 97: The common belief is that Simon the Just was
buried near Jerusalem, on the road to Nablous, about a mile
from the Damascus Gate.]

[Footnote 98: Cf. Schechter's _Saadyana_, p. 89.]

[Footnote 99: The passage referring to the Arnon is
evidently out of place.]

[Footnote 100: See Deut. xi. 24.]

[Footnote 101: For a description of the city and its great
mosque, see Baedeker, also Guy Le Strange, _Palestine under
the Moslems_, chap. vi. The most eastern dome of the mosque
is to this day called Kubbet-es-Saa, the Dome of Hours.
Mukaddasi gives an elaborate description of the mosaics and
other features of this mosque.]

[Footnote 102: Cf. _Midrash Raba_, chap, xiv: [Hebrew:];
also Josephus, _Ant_. I, vii, 2 who quotes Nicolaus of
Damascus in the words "_In Damasco regnarit Abramus._"]

[Footnote 103: Pethachia estimates the Jewish population at
19,000. This confirms the opinion already given (p. 26) that
Benjamin refers to heads of families.]

[Footnote 104: Dr. W. Bacher with justice observes that, at
the time of the Crusades, the traditions of the Palestinian
Gaonate seem to have survived at Damascus. See _J. Q.R._,
XV, pp. 79-96.]

[Footnote 105: Galid as a city cannot be identified. Salchah
is in the Eastern Hauran, half a day's journey from Bosra,
and is spoken of in Scripture as a frontier city of Bashan.
(Deut. iii. 10; Joshua xii. 5.) It lies a long way to the
south of Damascus, whilst Baalbec lies to the north.]

[Footnote 106: Tarmod is Tadmor or Palmyra.]

[Footnote 107: The important city Emesa, now called Homs, is
here probably indicated. In scripture, Gen. x. 18, the
Zemarite and the Hamathite are grouped together among the
Canaanite families. In this district is the intermittent
spring of Fuwar ed-Der, the Sabbatio River of antiquity,
which Titus visited after the destruction of Jerusalem.
Josephus (_Wars of the Jews_, Book VII, sec. 5) describes it
as follows: "Its current is strong and has plenty of water;
after which its springs fail for six days together and leave
its channels dry, as any one may see; after which days it
runs on the seventh day as it did before, and as though it
had undergone no change at all: it has also been observed to
keep this order perpetually and exactly." The intermittent
action is readily accounted for by the stream having
hollowed out an underground duct, which acts as a syphon.]

[Footnote 108: Hamath is often mentioned in Scripture,
situated at no great distance from the Orontes. In the
troublous time after the first crusade it was taken by the
Ismailians or Assassins. The earthquake of 1157 caused great
damage. Twenty years later the place was captured by
Saladin.]

[Footnote 109: Robinson and Conder identify Hazor with a
site near Kedesh Naftali, but Sheiza is doubtless Sheizar,
the ancient Larissa. Having regard to the readings of the
other MSS., there is no doubt that Latmin, the next stage on
the way to Aleppo, is the correct name of the place. See M.
Hartmann's articles, "Beitraege zur Kenntuis der Syrischen
Steppe," _Z.D.P.V._, vols. XXII and XXIII, 1900 I. Cf. the
article on the Boundaries of Palestine and Syria by M.
Friedmann, Luncz's _Jerusalem_, vol. II.]

[Footnote 110: Edrisi writes that there was abundance of
water at Aleppo, but there is no discrepancy between
Benjamin's and Edrisi's statements, as Asher supposes. The
old waterworks were restored by Malek about the year 1200,
some thirty years after Benjamin's visit.]

[Footnote 111: Edrisi and Abulfeda speak of Balis and Kalat
Jabar. See Guy Le Strange, p. 417. Zengy the Atabeg was
slain at Kalat Jabar.]

[Footnote 112: Rakka is on the left bank of the Euphrates.
It was an important city of Upper Mesopotamia, commanding
the Syrian frontier. Salchah is in the Hauran. See p. 30,
note 5. On the right bank of the Euphrates, nearly opposite
to Rakka, was Thapsacus. Here Cyrus forded the river, and
here Alexander crossed in pursuit of Darius.]

[Footnote 113: Harr[=a]n, the city of Nahor, is twenty-four
miles SSE. of Edessa on the Balikh. Mustawfi tells us of
Abraham's Shrine.]

[Footnote 114: Ras-el-Ain, probably Rhesaina. The river
Khabur--the Araxes of Xenophon--flows from the Kurdistan
mountains southwards, and runs into the Euphrates.]

[Footnote 115: The Gozan river cannot be, as tacitly assumed
by Asher, the Kizil Uzun (also known as the Araxes). The
Kizil Uzun is on the right of the watershed of the mountains
of Kurdistan, and falls into the Caspian Sea. The Khabur
above referred to flows through Mesopotamia, not through
Media. The misconception arises probably from the author
being too mindful of the passage occurring repeatedly in
Scripture, e. g. 2 Kings xvii. 6: "... and placed them in
Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities
of the Medes."]

[Footnote 116: All the MSS. except BM. have here: "Thence it
is two days to the city of Nisibis (Nasibin). This is a
great city with rivulets of water, and contains about 1,000
Jews."]

[Footnote 117: Josephus (_Antiquities_, I, 3) mentions that
Noah's Ark still existed in his day. Rabbi Pethachia, who
travelled through Armenia within twenty years after
Benjamin, speaks of four mountain peaks, between which the
Ark became fixed and from which it could not get free. Arab
writers tell us that Jabal Judi (Koran, ch. xi, ver. 46)
with the Mosque of Noah on the summit, could be seen from
Geziret. See also _Marco Polo_, Bk. I. ch. 3.]

[Footnote 118: See Lebrecht's Essay "On the State of the
Caliphate at Bagdad." Sin-ed-din, otherwise known as
Seif-ed-din, died 1149, some twenty years before Benjamin's
visit, and Graetz (vol. VI, note 10) suggests that the
appointment of Astronomer Royal must have been made by
Nur-ed-din's nephew. None of the MSS. have this reading, nor
is such a correction needed. R. Joseph may have been
appointed by Nur-ed-din's brother, and would naturally
retain the office during the reign of his successor.]

[Footnote 119: Irbil, or Arbela, is two days' journey from
Mosul. See Saadyana, _J. Q.R._, vol. XIV, p. 503, and W.
Bacher's note, p. 741.]

[Footnote 120: For a full account of Mosul and other places
here referred to, see Mr. Guy Le Strange's _The Lands of the
Eastern Caliphate_, 1905, also Layard's _Nineveh and its
Remains_ and _Nineveh and Babylon_. Layard carefully
examined Nebbi Junus, which is held in great veneration by
the Mussulmans, and came to the conclusion that the
tradition which places Jonah's tomb on this spot is a mere
fable (p. 596). It will be seen that Benjamin speaks of the
Shrine as a _Synagogue_. At Alkush near Mosul the tomb of
Nahum is pointed out, and the Arabs say that after Jonah had
fulfilled his mission to the people of Nineveh they relapsed
into idolatry. Then Nahum denounced the city and was slain
by the populace, who proclaimed him and Jonah to be false
prophets, since the doom the latter foretold does not come
to pass, See Schwarz, _Das Heilige Land_, 1852, p. 259,
identifying Kefar Tanchum near Tiberias with Nahum's
burialplace]

[Footnote 121: As to Jewish seats of learning in Babylon
refer to Dr. Krauss's Article "Babylonia" in the _Jewish
Encyclopaedia_; see also Guy Le Strange, p. 74, who suggests
that Pumbedita means "mouth of the Badat canal." Cf. _J. Q.
R._, XVII, p. 756.]

[Footnote 122: Hadara goes under the name Alhathr or Hatra.
There must exist great doubt as to whether Benjamin had
personally satisfied himself as to the Jewish population he
gives for this and the other places he tells of, till he
comes to Egypt. Up to this point the Traveller has always
appeared to under-estimate the Jewish population. Henceforth
it will be found that he gives apparently exaggerated
figures,--and this lends colour to the view that Benjamin
did not proceed beyond Ispahan, but found his way thence
direct to Egypt. The statements concerning the intervening
places must therefore be taken to have been based upon
hearsay information. Pethachia's remarks are significant:
"In the land of Cush and Babel are more than sixty myriads
of Jews; as many are in the land of Persia. But in Persia
the Jews are subject to hard bondage and suffering.
Therefore Rabbi Pethachia visited only one city in Persia."
(Dr. Benisch's edition, p. 19.)]

[Footnote 123: The Caliphs of the Abbaside Dynasty traced
their descent from Mohammed. Benjamin here refers to the
Caliph El Mostanshed. The Caliph is aptly compared to the
Pope. In addition to his temporal authority at Bagdad, he
exercised as Leader of the Faithful--Emir
al-Muminin--religious authority over all Mohammedans from
Spain to India. At a later time the vizier arrogated all
authority to himself, and the Caliph spent his time either
in the mosque or in the seraglio.]

[Footnote 124: _Lebrecht_, p. 391, states that this was a
scarf of black velvet, generally a portion of the hangings
of the mosque of Mecca, which was suspended from a balcony
of the Palace and was called the Sleeve of the Caliph.]

[Footnote 125: The statements here made are strangely
contradictory; see a suggestive article by Dr. Goldziher in
_Z.D.P.G._, 1905, p. 151.]

[Footnote 126: A valuable work, _Bagdad during the Abbaside
Caliphate, from Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources_,
appeared in 1900, written by Mr. Guy Le Strange, which helps
to explain Benjamin's account of the Moslem metropolis. The
Caliph Mansur in 762 selected it as the Capital of the
Empire. Numerous references in the Talmud prove that a
Jewish settlement was there long before. Mansur built a
double-walled Round City two miles in diameter on the
western side of the Tigris. It formed the nucleus of
suburbs, which spread over both banks of the Tigris. A very
fair idea of the metropolis may be obtained if we imagine
the Round City as situated on the Surrey side of the Thames,
having the "Elephant and Castle" for its centre. At this
spot stood the great Mosque of Mansur, where the Friday
services were held, and where the Caliph took a prominent
part in the service on the Bairam, at the close of the
Ramazan fast. The Round City being subject to periodical
inundations, the government buildings were gradually
transferred to the eastern side of the river. The Royal
Palaces, in the grounds called the Harim, which were fully
three miles in extent, occupied the site similar to that
from Westminster to the City. At one time there were as many
as twenty-three palaces within the royal precincts. The
Caliph, when visiting the Mosque in state, left the palace
grounds, and proceeded over the main bridge, corresponding
to Westminster Bridge, along a road which in Benjamin's time
led to the Basrah Gate quarter. At the close of the ceremony
in the Mosque, the Caliph returned, crossing the bridge of
boats, and proceeded to his palace by a road corresponding
to the Thames Embankment. The members of his court and the
nobles entered barges and escorted him alongside the river.

The Arab writers mention that certain palaces were used as
state prisons, in which the Caliphs kept their nearer
relations in honourable confinement. They were duly attended
by numerous servants, and amply supplied with every luxury,
but forbidden under pain of death to go beyond the walls.
Lebrecht, p. 381, explains the circumstances under which the
Caliph Moktafi imprisoned his brother and several of his
kinsmen. There were large hospitals in Bagdad: the one to
which Benjamin alludes is the Birmaristan of the
Mustansiriyah, in Western Bagdad, which for three centuries
was a great school of medical science. Its ruins, close to
the present bridge of boats, are still to be seen. The
reader must bear in mind that at the time when Benjamin
visited Bagdad, the Seljuk Sultans had been defeated, and
the Caliphs stood higher than ever in power. They, however,
took little interest in political affairs, which were left
entirely in the hands of their viziers.]

[Footnote 127: Asher and the other printed editions give the
Jewish population at 1,000. Pethachia makes the same
estimate, which, however, is inconsistent with his
statement, that the Head of the Academy had 2,000 disciples
at one time, and that more than 500 surrounded him. The
British Museum and Casanatense MSS. solve the difficulty;
they have the reading _forty thousand_. It would be
wearisome to specify in these notes all the places where a
superior reading is presented by these MSS.; the student
will, however, find that not a few anomalies which
confronted Asher are now removed.]

[Footnote 128: The last or tenth Academy.]

[Footnote 129: This appellation is applied in the Talmud to
scholars who uninterruptedly apply themselves to communal
work.]

[Footnote 130: The first line of Exilarchs, which ended with
Hezekiah in the year 1040, traced their descent from David
through Zerubbabel. Hisdai's pedigree was through Hillel,
who sprang from a female branch of the Royal line (see
Graetz, vol. VI, note 10). Pethachia writes (p. 17) that a
year before his arrival at Bagdad Daniel died. A nephew,
David, became Exilarch jointly with R. Samuel, the Head of
the great Academy, whose authority over all the communities
in Asia became paramount. Samuel had an only daughter, who
was learned in the Scriptures and the Talmud. She gave
instruction through a window, remaining in the house, whilst
the disciples were below, unable to see her.]

[Footnote 131: The office of Exilarch had but recently been
revived, and the Mohammed here referred to may have been
Mohammed El Moktafi, the Caliph Mostanshed's predecessor.]

[Footnote 132: The Alans throughout the Middle Ages occupied
Georgia and the regions of the Caucasus. As to the Iron
Gates which Alexander made, Yule in commenting on Marco
Polo's text (_Travels of Ser Marco Polo:_ edited by Sir
Henry Yule, 3rd edition, London, John Murray, chap, iii)
says that Benjamin was the first European traveller to
mention this pass. Benjamin and Marco Polo both record the
general belief currrent at the time that the Pass of Derbend
was traversed by Alexander. It is still called in Turkish
"Demis-Kapi" or the Iron Gate, and the Persians designate it
"Sadd-i-Iskandar"--the Rampart of Alexander. Lord Curzon,
however, in his valuable work _Persia and the Persians_,
vol. 1, p. 293, proves conclusively that the pass through
which Alexander's army marched when pursuing Darius after
the battle of Arbela could not have been at Derbend. Arrian,
the historian of Alexander's expeditions, writes that the
pass was one day's journey from Rages (the noted city
mentioned in the Book of Tobit) for a man marching at the
pace of Alexander's army. But Derbend is fully 500 miles
from Rages. In Lord Curzon's opinion, confirmed by Spiegel,
Droysen and Schindler, the Sirdara Pass, some forty miles
from Teheran on the way to Meshed, must have been the defile
which Alexander's army forced. I think it will be found that
Marco Polo's geography is less reliable than that of
Benjamin. In the third chapter referred to above, Marco Polo
speaks of the Euphrates falling into the Caspian Sea.]

[Footnote 133: Probably the Oxus, called by the Arabs
"Gaihun." Rabad I, a contemporary of Benjamin, speaks of the
land of Gurgan in his Sefer Hakabalah. The Nestorian
Christians are probably here referred to.]

[Footnote 134: It is interesting to compare this account
with that of the Installation of the Egyptian Nagid
(_J.Q.R._, IX, p. 717).]

[Footnote 135: This is a well-known sage, whose name often
occurs in the Talmud.]

[Footnote 136: The Babel of Bible times was captured by
Sennacherib; after stopping up a dam of the Euphrates, the
country was placed under water and the city destroyed.
Nebuchadnezzar restored the city; he also erected a
magnificent palace for himself--the Kasr--also the Temple of
Bel. Herodotus, Book I, chaps. 178-89, fully describes these
edifices, and dwells upon the huge extent of the metropolis,
which was estimated to have a circuit of fifty miles. Xerxes
destroyed the city. Alexander the Great contemplated the
restoration of Bel's Temple, but as it would have taken two
months for 10,000 men merely to remove the rubbish, he
abandoned the attempt. The ruins have been recently explored
by Germans. The embankments which regulated the flow of the
Euphrates and Tigris have given way, and at the present time
the whole region round Babylon is marshy and malarious. In
the words of Jeremiah, li. 43, "Her cities are a desolation,
a sterile land, and a wilderness, a place wherein no man
dwelleth."]

[Footnote 137: The Valley of Dura mentioned in Daniel iii.
is here referred to. See Dr. Berliner's _Beitraege zur
Geographie und Ethnographie Babyloniens_; also Layard's
_Nineveh and Babylon_, p. 469. Cf. Berachot, 57 b.]

[Footnote 138: Bereshith Rabba, chap, xxxviii, says the
tower was at Borsippa, and the ruins here spoken of are
probably those of the Birs Nimroud, fully described by
Layard, _Nineveh and Babylon_, chap, xxii, p. 496. He says:
"The mound rises abruptly to the height of 198 feet, and has
on its summit a compact mass of brickwork 37 feet high by 28
broad.... On one side of it, beneath the crowning masonry,
lie huge fragments torn from the pile itself. The calcined
and vitreous surface of the bricks, fused into rock-like
masses, show that their fall may have been caused by
lightning. The ruin is rent almost from top to bottom. No
traces whatever now remain of the spiral passage spoken of
by the Jewish traveller." Cf. Professor T.K. Cheyne's
article, "The Tower of Babel," in the new _Biblical
Cyclopaedia_. Nebuchadnezzar, in his Borsippa inscription,
records that the tower, which had never originally been
completed, had fallen into decay, and that the kiln-bricks
had split. These are the Agur bricks mentioned by Benjamin;
cf. Isaiah xxvii. 9. Al-ajur is the word still used by the
Arabs for kiln-burnt bricks.]