Chapter XXXI: Appendix: Of Corrections (13)

[3554] Also called Aphrodite or Aphroditopolis. Of this name there were several towns or cities in ancient Egypt. In Lower Egypt there was Atarbechis, thus named, and a town mentioned by Strabo in the nome of Leontopolites. In the Heptanomis or Middle Egypt there was the place, the ruins of which are called Aftyeh, on the east side of the Nile, and the capital of the nome of Aphroditopolites. In Upper Egypt or the Thebais there was the present Tachta, on the west side of the Nile, between Ptolemais and Panopolis, capital of another nome of Aphroditopolites, and that one the ruins of which are now called Deir, on the west bank of the Nile, higher up than the former, and, like it, some distance from the river. It was situate in the nome Hermonthites.

[3555] Another Diospolis. Great Diospolis is mentioned in the preceding page.

[3556] Or Tentyra. The modern Dendera of the Arabs, called Dendôri or Hidendôri by the ancient Egyptians.

[3557] In ancient times called This, and in Coptic Ebôt, the ruins of which are now known as Arábat-el-Matfoon. It was the chief town of the Nomos Thinites, and was situate in lat. 26° 10′ north and long. 32° 3′ east. In the Thebaid it ranked next to Thebes itself. Here according to general belief was the burial-place of Osiris. In the time of Strabo it had sunk into a mere village. Its ruins, though nearly buried in the sand, are very extensive. There is, however, some uncertainty as to the exact identity of This with Abydus.

[3558] The ruins of these places are still to be seen at Abydus.

[3559] He calls the whole of the country on the western bank of the Nile by this name.

[3560] Called Absou or Absaï by the Arabs, and Psoë by the ancient Egyptians. It has been suggested that it was the same place as This, more generally identified with Abydus.

[3561] Its site is now called Ekhmin or Akhmin by the Arabs, Khmim being its ancient Egyptian name. It was the chief town of the nome of Panopolites, and the deity Phthah was worshipped there under the form of Priapus.

[3562] Another Aphroditopolis, the present Tachta, mentioned above, in Note[3554] in the last page. Pliny distinguishes it from that now called Deir, mentioned above.

[3563] Now known as Es-Siout.

[3564] Or Hermopolis—the modern Esh-moon or Ash-mounion, on the eastern bank of the Nile, in lat. 27° 54′ north. It was the capital of the Hermopolite nome in the Heptanomis. It was a place of great opulence and densely populated. The deities Typhon and Thoth were principally worshipped at this place. The latter, the inventor of the pen and letters, nearly corresponded with the Hermes of the Greeks (the Mercury of the Romans), from which the Hellenized name of the place. Its ruins are very extensive.

[3565] This town was no doubt connected with the alabaster quarries of Mount Alabasternus, now Mount St. Anthony, and the hill of Alabastrites, now the Côteau Hessan.

[3566] Or Cynopolis, the chief place of the Cynopolite nome. The Dog-headed deity Anubis was worshipped here. The modern Samallus occupies its site. This place was in the Heptanomis, but there were several other towns of the same name, one of which was situate in the Delta or Lower Egypt.

[3567] In C. 9, when speaking of the nome of Heracleopolites; of which nome, this place, called Heracleopolis, was the capital. It was situate at the entrance of the valley of the Fayoum, on an island formed by the Nile and a canal. After Memphis and Heliopolis it was probably the most important city north of the Thebaid. It furnished two dynasties of kings to Egypt. The ichneumon was worshipped here, from which it may be inferred that the people were hostile to the crocodile. Its ruins are inconsiderable; the village of Anasieh covers part of them.

[3568] The capital of the nome of Arsinoïtes, seated on the western bank of the Nile, between the river and Lake Mœris, south-west of Memphis, in lat. 29° north. It was called under the Pharaohs, “the City of Crocodiles,” from the reverence paid by the people to that animal. Its ruins are to be seen at Medinet-el-Fayoom or El-Fares.

[3569] Its magnificent ruins, known by the name of Menf and Metrabenny, are to be seen about ten miles above the pyramids of Gizeh.

[3570] This lay beyond Lake Mœris, or Birket-el-Keroun, at a short distance from the city of Arsinoë. It had 3000 apartments, 1500 of which were underground. The accounts given by modern travellers of its supposed ruins do not agree with what we have learned from the ancients respecting its architecture and site. The purposes for which it was built are unknown. Its supposed site is called Havara.

[3571] If this is not an abbreviation or corruption for Crocodilon, as Hardouin suggests, it may probably mean the “town of Rams,” from the worship perhaps of that animal there.

[3572] Heliopolis or Rameses. In Scripture it is called by the names of On and No—Gen. xli. 45 and Ezek. xxx. 15. It stood on the eastern side of the Pelusiac arm of the Nile, near the right bank of the Great Canal which connected the river with the Red Sea, and close adjoining to the present overland route for travellers to India. It was one of the most ancient of the Egyptian cities; here the father-in-law of Joseph exercised the office of high-priest, and here the prophet Jeremiah is supposed to have written his Book of Lamentations. Its priests were the great depositaries of the theological and historical learning of Egypt. Solon, Thales, and Plato were reputed each to have visited its schools. According to Macrobius, Baalbec, the Syrian City of the Sun, was a colony from this place. It was the capital of the nome Heliopolites, and paid worship to the sun and the bull Mnevis, the rival of Apis. From Josephus we learn that after the dispersion and fall of the tribes of Judah and Israel, great numbers of the Jews took refuge at this place, forming almost one-half of its population. The ruins, which were extremely magnificent, occupied in the twelfth century an area nearly three miles in extent. Pliny speaks of the great obelisk there, which is still standing. (See B. xxxvi. c. 9.) The village of Matarieh occupies a part of its site, and besides the obelisk of red granite, there are a few remains of the Temple of the Sun.

[3573] Now called Birk-el-Mariout.

[3574] Or Dinocrates. He was the architect of the new temple of Diana at Ephesus, which was built after the destruction of the former one by Herostratus. It was this architect who formed a design for cutting Mount Athos into a statue of Alexander, with a city in the right hand and a reservoir of the mountain streams in the left.

[3575] Holland seems to think that the word “laxitate” applies to chlamys.

[3576] The _chlamys_ was a scarf or cloak worn over the shoulders, and especially used by military persons of high rank. It did not reach lower than the knees, and was open in front, covering only the neck, back, and shoulders.

[3577] Its real dimensions were something less than 300 stadia, or thirty geographical miles long, and rather more than 150 stadia wide.

[3578] Or “Pseudostomata.” These were crossed in small boats, as they were not navigable for ships of burden.

[3579] In the Pharaonic times Canopus was the capital of the nome of Menelaïtes, and the principal harbour of the Delta. It probably owed its name to the god Canobus, a pitcher full of holes, with a human head, which was worshipped here with peculiar pomp. It was remarkable for the number of its festivals and the general dissoluteness of its morals. Traces of its ruins are to be seen about three miles from the modern Aboukir.

[3580] Corresponding to the modern Raschid or Rosetta. It is supposed that this place was noted for its manufactory of chariots.

[3581] The town of Sebennys or Sebennytum, now Samannoud, gave name to one of the nomes, and the Sebennytic Mouth of the Nile.

[3582] Or the Pathinetic or Bucolic Mouth, said to be the same as the modern Damietta Mouth.

[3583] The capital of the Mendesian nome, called by the Arabs Ochmoun. This mouth is now known as the Deibeh Mouth.

[3584] Now called Szan or Tzan. The Tanitic Mouth, which is sometimes called the Saitic, is at the present day called Omm-Faredjé.

[3585] Its ruins are to be seen at the modern Tineh. This city in early times had the name of Abaris. It was situate on the eastern side of the most easterly mouth of the Nile, which, after it, was called the Pelusiac Mouth, about two miles from the sea, in the midst of morasses. Being the frontier city towards Syria and Arabia it was strongly fortified. It was the birth-place of Ptolemy the geographer.

[3586] Butos or Buto stood on the Sebennytic arm of the Nile near its mouth, on the southern shores of the Butic Lake. It was the chief seat of the worship of the goddess Buto, whom the Greeks identified with Leto or Latona. The modern Kem Kasir occupies its site.

[3587] Called Harbait by the Arabs, and Farbait by the ancient Egyptians.

[3588] In the Delta. It was the capital of the nome of Leontopolites, and probably of late foundation, as no writer previous to Pliny mentions it. Its site is uncertain, but Thall-Essabouah, the “Hill of the Lion,” has been suggested.

[3589] The chief town of the Athribitic nome in Lower Egypt. It stood on the eastern bank of the Tanitic branch of the Nile. This nome and town derived their name from the goddess Thriphis, whom the inscriptions there and at Panopolis designate as the “most great goddess.” The ruins at Atrieb or Trieb, at the spot where the modern canal of Moueys turns off from the Nile, represent the ancient Athribis. They are very extensive, and among them are considerable remains of the Roman era.

[3590] This was situate near the city or town of Busiris in the Delta. The modern village of Bahbeyt is supposed to cover the ruins of the temple of Isis.

[3591] The modern Busyr or Abousir, where considerable ruins of the ancient city are still to be seen. It was the chief town of the nome of Busirites, and stood south of Sais, near the Phatnitic mouth, on the western bank of the Nile. This was also the name of a town in Middle Egypt, in the neighbourhood of Memphis, and represented by another village of the name of Abousir. Pliny, B. xxxvi. c. 16, speaks of the Catacombs in its vicinity.

[3592] The place of that name in the Delta is here meant.

[3593] Probably the town of that name, otherwise called Aphroditopolis, in the nome of Leontopolites.

[3594] The ruins of which are now called Sa-el-Hajjar. It was situate in the Delta, on the east side of the Canopic branch of the Nile. It was the ancient capital of Lower Egypt and contained the palace and burial-place of the Pharaohs. It was the chief seat of the worship of the Egyptian goddess Neith, also known as Sais. It gave its name to the nome of Saïtes.

[3595] It was situate in the Delta of Egypt and in the nome of Saïtes, on the eastern bank of the Canopic branch of the Nile. It was a colony of the Milesians, founded probably in the reign of Amasis, about B.C. 550, and remained a pure Greek city. It was the only place in Egypt in which, in the time of the later Pharaohs, foreigners were permitted to settle and trade. In later times it was famous for the worship of Aphrodite or Venus, and rivalled Canopus in the dissoluteness of its manners.

[3596] Ptolemy the geographer does this.

[3597] Arabia Petræa; that part of Arabia which immediately joins up to Egypt.

[3598] Called Arabia Felix to the present day.

[3599] The part of Arabia which joins up to Egypt, Arabia Petræa namely.

[3600] Strabo places this people as far south as the mouth of the Red Sea, _i. e._ on the east of the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb. Forster (in his ‘Arabia,’ vol. ii.) takes this name to be merely an inversion of Beni Kahtan, the great tribe which mainly peoples, at the present day, central and southern Arabia.

[3601] Probably the people of Esebon, the Heshbon of Scripture, spoken of by Jerome as being the city of Sihon, king of the Amorites.

[3602] The “tent-people,” from the Greek σκηνὴ, “a tent.” This seems to have been a name common to the nomadic tribes of Arabia. Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of them as being the same as the Saraceni or Saracens.

[3603] The modern El Katieh or El Kas; which is the summit of a lofty range of sandstone hills on the borders of Egypt and Arabia Petræa, immediately south of the Sirbonian Lake and the Mediterranean Sea. On its western side was the tomb of Pompey the Great.

[3604] The same as the Amalekites of Scripture, according to Hardouin. Bochart thinks that they are the same as the Chavilæi, who are mentioned as dwelling in the vicinity of Babylon.

[3605] The position which Pliny assigns to this nation would correspond with the northern part of the modern district of the Hedjaz. Forster identifies them with the Cauraitæ, or Cadraitæ of Arrian, and the Darræ of Ptolemy, tracing their origin to the Cedar or Kedar, the son of Ishmael, mentioned in Genesis xxv. 13, and represented by the modern Harb nation and the modern town of Kedeyre. See Psalm cxx. 5: “Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!”

[3606] An Arabian people, said to have descended from the eldest son of Ishmael, who had their original abodes in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, east and south-east of the Moabites and Edomites. Extending their territory, we find the Nabatæi of Greek and Roman history occupying nearly the whole of Arabia Petræa, along the north-east coast of the Red Sea, on both sides of the Ælanitic Gulf, and on the Idumæan mountains, where they had their capital, Petra, hewn out of the rock.

[3607] Now the Bahr-el-Soueys, or Gulf of Suez.

[3608] The Bahr-el-Akabah, or Gulf of Akabah.

[3609] Now Akabah, an Idumæan town of Arabia Petræa, situate at the head of the eastern gulf of the Red Sea, which was called after this town “Ælaniticus Sinus.” It was annexed to the kingdom of Judah, with the other cities of Idumæa, by David, 2 Sam. viii. 14, and was one of the harbours on the Red Sea from which the ships of Solomon sailed for Ophir. See 1 Kings ix. 26 and 2 Chron. viii. 17. It was a place of commercial importance under the Romans and the head-quarters of the Tenth Legion. A fortress now occupies its site.

[3610] Its site is now known as Guzzah. It was the last city on the south-west frontier of Palestine, and from the earliest times was a strongly fortified place. It was taken from the Philistines by the Jews more than once, but as often retaken. It was also taken by Cyrus the Great and Alexander, and afterwards by Ptolemy Lagus, who destroyed it. It afterwards recovered, and was again destroyed by Alexander Jannæus, B.C. 96, after which, it was rebuilt by Gabinius and ultimately united to the Roman province of Syria. In A.D. 65 it was again destroyed, but was rebuilt, and finally fell into the hands of the Arabs, in A.D. 634.

[3611] Meaning the Mediterranean.

[3612] The present Suez. See B. vi. c. 33.

[3613] Or the “Hollow” Syria. This was properly the name given, after the Macedonian conquest, to the great valley between the two great ranges of Mount Lebanon, in the south of Syria, bordering upon Phœnicia on the west, and Palestine on the south. In the wars between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ, the name was applied to the whole of the southern portion of Syria, which became subject for some time to the kings of Egypt; but under the Romans, it was confined to Cœlesyria proper with the district east of Anti-Libanus, about Damascus, and a portion of Palestine east of Jordan.

[3614] Or Ostracine, the northern point of Arabia.

[3615] This was a great fortress of Syria founded by Seleucus B.C. 300, at the foot of Mount Pieria and overhanging the Mediterranean, four miles north of the Orontes and twelve miles west of Antioch. It had fallen entirely to decay in the sixth century of our era. There are considerable ruins of its harbour and mole, its walls and necropolis. They bear the name of Seleukeh or Kepse.

[3616] From the Greek ζεῦγμα, “a junction;” built by Seleucus Nicator on the borders of Commagene and Cyrrhestice, on the west bank of the Euphrates, where the river had been crossed by a bridge of boats constructed by Alexander the Great. The modern Rumkaleh is supposed to occupy its site.

[3617] On this subject see B. vii. c. 57. The invention of letters and the first cultivation of the science of astronomy have been claimed for the Egyptians and other nations. The Tyrians were probably the first who applied the science of astronomy to the purposes of navigation. There is little doubt that warfare must have been studied as an art long before the existence of the Phœnician nation.

[3618] Strabo places this between Mount Casius and Pelusium.

[3619] See C. 12 of the present Book. Chabrias the Athenian aided Nectanebus II. against his revolted subjects.

[3620] Its ruins are to be seen on the present Ras Straki.

[3621] Now called the Sabakat Bardowal. It lay on the coast of Egypt, east of Mount Casius, and it is not improbable that the boundary-line between Egypt and Palæstina or Idumæa ran through the middle of its waters. It was strongly impregnated with asphaltus. A connection formerly existed between it and the Mediterranean, but this being stopped up, it gradually grew smaller by evaporation and is now nearly dry.

[3622] The present Kulat-el-Arich or El Arish, situate at the mouth of the brook El-Arish, called by the Scriptures the “river of Egypt.” Its name signifies in Greek, “cutting off of noses,” and is probably derived from the fact of its having been the place of exile for criminals who had been so mutilated, under the Æthiopian kings of Egypt. Poinsinet suggests however that the name means the “town of the circumcised.”

[3623] The place on its site is still called Refah, but it was really situate on the coast. Gaza has been already mentioned in a Note [3610] to C. 12, p. 423.

[3624] Anthedon was on the coast of Palestine, although Pliny says to the contrary. It was situate about three miles to the south-west of Gaza, and was destroyed by Alexander Jannæus. In the time of Julian it was addicted to the worship of Astarte, the Syrian Venus. According to Dupinet the present name of its site is Daron.

[3625] Brotier says that this is the same as the Mount Gerizim of Scripture, but that was situate in Samaria, a considerable distance from the southern coast of Palæstina. Pliny is the only author that mentions it.

[3626] The Ascalon of Scripture, one of the five cities of the Philistines, situate on the coast of the Mediterranean, between Gaza and Jamnia. In early times it was the seat of the worship of Derceto, a fish with a woman’s head. The ruins, which still bear the name of Askulân, are very extensive, and indicative of great strength. The shalot or scallion was originally a native of this place, and thence derived its name.

[3627] The Ashdod of Scripture. It was one of the five cities of the Philistines and the chief seat of the worship of Dagon. Herodotus states that it stood a siege of twenty-nine years from Psammetichus, king of Egypt. It was afterwards taken and retaken several times. It was situate between Ascalon and Jamnia, and its site is indicated by the modern village of Esdad, but no ruins of the ancient city are visible.

[3628] One of these was a city of the Philistines, assigned to the tribe of Judah in the fifteenth Chapter of Joshua, 45, according to the Septuagint version, but omitted in the Hebrew, which only mentions it in 2 Chron. xxvi. 6 (where it is called Jabneh in the English version), as one of the cities of the Philistines taken and destroyed by King Uzziah. The place of this name that lay in the interior, is probably the one spoken of by Josephus as in that part of the tribe of Judah occupied by the children of Dan, as also in the 1 Maccabees, x. 69-71. The one was probably the port of the other. The ruins of the port still retain the name of Yebora, and are situate on an eminence about an hour’s distance from the sea, on the banks of the river Rûbin.

[3629] Or Joppa of Scripture, now called Yâfa or Jaffa. The timber from Lebanon intended for both the first and second Temples was landed here. It was taken and retaken more than once during the wars of the Maccabees, and was finally annexed by Pompey to the Roman province of Syria. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament in connection with Saint Peter. In the Jewish war, having become a refuge for pirates, it was taken by Cestius and destroyed, and even the very ruins were demolished by Vespasian. It was afterwards rebuilt, and in the time of the Crusades was alternately in the hands of the Christians and the Moslems.

[3630] To be devoured by the sea monster, from which she was delivered by Perseus, who had borrowed for the occasion the _talaria_ or winged shoes of Mercury. In B. ix. c. 4, Pliny states that the skeleton of the monster was exhibited at Rome by M. Æmilius Scaurus, when he was Curule Ædile.

[3631] Probably the same as Derceto or Atargatis, the fish-goddess with a woman’s head, of the Syrians.

[3632] Situate between Cæsarea and Joppa. It is probable that it owed its name to the Macedonian kings of either Egypt or Syria. Arsûf, a deserted village, but which itself was of considerable importance in the time of the Crusades, represents the ancient Apollonia.

[3633] The site of the Turris Stratonis was afterwards occupied by Cæsarea, a city on the coast, founded by Herod the Great, and named Cæsarea in honour of Augustus Cæsar. It was renowned for the extent and magnificence of its harbour, which was secured by a breakwater of stupendous construction. For some time it was considered the principal city of Palestine and the chief seat of the Roman government. Although it again changed its name, as Pliny states, it still retained its name of Cæsarea as the Metropolitan See of the First Palestine. It was also of considerable importance during the occupation of the Holy Land by the Crusaders. Its ruins are still visible, but have served as a quarry for many generations, and Jaffa, Sidon, Acre and Beyrout have been supplied with stones from this site. Massive remains of its mole or breakwater and its towers still exist.

[3634] Or Phœnicia.

[3635] By some regarded as the Scriptural town of Sichem, but by others as a distinct place, though in its immediate vicinity. Its present name is Naplous or Nabolos, situate between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. Its proper name under the Romans was Flavia Neapolis. It was the birth-place of Justin Martyr.

[3636] The city of Samaria, so called from Shemer, the owner of the hill which Omri, King of Israel, purchased, about B.C. 922, for its site. Herod greatly renovated this city, which he called Sebaste, in honour of his patron Augustus, in Greek “Sebastos.” Its site is now occupied by a poor village, which bears the name of Sebustieh.

[3637] A town of Palæstina, frequently mentioned by Josephus as remarkable for the strength of its fortifications, and situate on the Lake Tiberias, opposite to Tarichæa. After a spirited defence, it was taken by Vespasian, who slaughtered 4000 of the survivors, upon which 5000 threw themselves from the walls, and were dashed to pieces below. The site had been forgotten for nearly eighteen centuries, when Lord Lindsay discovered it on a lofty hill on the east of Lake Tiberias, and nearly opposite the town of that name. It is now called El-Hossn, and the ruins of the fortifications are very extensive.

[3638] Antiochian Syria.

[3639] Peræa was the general name of that part of Palæstina which lay east of the river Jordan; but more usually, in a restricted sense, it signified a part only of that region, namely the district between the rivers Hieromax on the north, and Arnon on the south.

[3640] Jericho, so often mentioned in Scripture. It was celebrated for its palm-grove, which was presented by Antony to Cleopatra. A Bedouin encampment called Riha is all that now occupies its site.

[3641] A city eight or ten miles from the village Emmaüs of the New Testament. It was called Nicopolis, in commemoration, it has been suggested, of the destruction of Jerusalem. Its site is still marked by a village called Ammious, on the road from Jerusalem to Jaffa.

[3642] So often mentioned in the New Testament. This town lay to the S.E. of Joppa, and N.W. of Jerusalem, at the junction of several roads which lead from the sea-coast. It was destroyed by the Romans in the Jewish war, but was soon after rebuilt, and called Diospolis. A village called Lud occupies its site.

[3643] So called from Acrabbim, its chief town, situate nine miles from Nicopolis. The toparchy of Acrabbim, which formerly formed part of Samaria, was the most northerly of those of Judæa.

[3644] Situate in the country of Benjamin. Josephus reckons it second in importance only to Jerusalem, from which, according to Eusebius, it was distant fifteen miles, on the road to the modern Nablous. That author also identifies it with the Eshcol of Scripture. Its site is marked by a small Christian village, called by the natives Jufna.

[3645] Like the two preceding ones, this toparchy for a long time belonged to Samaria. Thamna, or Thamnis, was the Timnath-Serah in Mount Ephraim, mentioned in Joshua xix. 50, and xxiv. 30, as the place where Joshua was buried.

[3646] The toparchy of Bethleptepha of other authors. It appears to have been situate in the south of Judæa, and in that part which is by Josephus commonly called Idumæa. Reland has remarked, that the name resembles Beth-lebaoth, a city of the tribe of Simeon, mentioned in Joshua xix. 6.

[3647] From the Greek, meaning the “mountain district,” or the “hill country,” as mentioned in Luke i. 39.

[3648] Or “Sacred Solyma.”

[3649] A fortress of Palæstina, erected by Herod the Great, at a distance of about sixty stadia from Jerusalem, and not far from Tekoa. Its site has been identified by modern travellers with El-Furedis, or the Paradise; probably the same as the spot called the “Frank Mountain,” on the top of which the ruined walls of the fortress are still to be seen.

[3650] Called by the Arabs Bahr-el-Arden.

[3651] Situate on Mount Panias, or Paneas, on the range of Anti-Libanus.

[3652] In C. 16 of the present Book.

[3653] On the contrary, as Parisot observes, the Jordan runs in a straight line almost into the Dead Sea.

[3654] The Lake of Sodom, or the Dead Sea, in which the Cities of the Plain were swallowed up.

[3655] In Scripture also called the Lake Tiberias, and the Sea of Gennesareth, or Chinnereth. It is now called the Sea of Tabariah, or Tabarieh.

[3656] The one of the two Bethsaidas, which was situate on the north of the Sea of Tiberias. It was enlarged by Philip the Tetrarch, who greatly beautified it, and changed its name to Julias, in honour of the daughter of Augustus, the wife of Tiberius. It is generally supposed by the learned world, that this was not the Bethsaida mentioned so often in the New Testament. Its ruins are probably those now seen on a hill called Et-Tell, on the north-western extremity of the lake.

[3657] On the east of the lake. From it the district of Hippene took its name.

[3658] Its ruins are to be seen at El-Kereh, on the south side of the lake. It was strongly fortified, and made a vigorous resistance against the Romans in the Jewish War. It received its name from the great quantities of fish which were salted there, τάριχοι.

[3659] Now Tabariah, or Tabarieh, a miserable village. It was built by Herod Antipas, in honour of the Emperor Tiberius. After the destruction of Jerusalem, it became the seat of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

[3660] These hot springs are by Josephus called Emmaüs, probably a form of the Hebrew name Hammath. Dr. Robinson, in his Biblical Researches, identifies this with the town of Hammath, of the tribe of Naphthali, mentioned in Joshua xix. 35.

[3661] From the Greek ἄσφαλτος.

[3662] This is an exaggeration, though it is the fact that many heavy substances, which in ordinary water would sink immediately, will float on the surface of this lake. It has been suggested, that the story here mentioned arose from the circumstance of the name of ‘bulls,’ or ‘cows,’ having been applied by the ancient Nabatæi to the large masses of asphaltum which floated on its surface.

[3663] The country of the Arabian Scenitæ, or “tent people.”

[3664] It lay on the east of the Dead Sea, and not the south, as here mentioned by Pliny, being a border fortress in the south of Peræa, and on the confines of the Nabatæi. There was a tradition that it was at this place that John the Baptist was beheaded. The city now bears the name of Mascra.

[3665] A Greek name, signifying the “Fine Stream.” These were warm springs, situate on the eastern side of Jordan, to which Herod the Great resorted during his last illness, by the advice of his physicians. The valley of Callirhoë was visited by Captains Irby and Mangles in 1818, and an interesting account of it is to be found in their ‘Travels,’ pp. 467-469. The waters are sulphureous to the taste.

[3666] The Essenes, or Hessenes. These properly formed one of the great sects into which the Jews were divided in the time of Christ. They are not mentioned by name in the New Testament, but it has been conjectured that they are alluded to in Matt. xix. 12, and Col. ii. 18, 23. As stated here by Pliny, they generally lived at a distance from large towns, in communities which bore a great resemblance to the monkish societies of later times. They sent gifts to the Temple at Jerusalem, but never offered sacrifices there. They were divided into four classes, according to the time of their initiation. Their origin is uncertain. Some writers look upon them as the same as the Assidians, or Chasidim, mentioned in 1 Maccabees, ii. 42, vii. 13. Their principal society was probably the one mentioned by Pliny, and from this other smaller ones proceeded, and spread over Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. The Essenes of Egypt were divided into two sects; the _practical_ Essenes, whose mode of life was the same as those of Palestine; and the _contemplative_ Essenes, who were called _Therapeutæ_. Both sects maintained the same doctrines; but the latter were distinguished by a more rigid mode of life. It has been suggested by Taylor, the editor of ‘Calmet’s Dictionary of the Bible,’ that John the Baptist belonged to this sect.

[3667] Or Engedi. Its ancient name was Hazezon-Tamar, when it was inhabited by the Amorites. See Gen. xiv. 7; 2 Chron. xx. 2. According to Josephus, it gave name to one of the fifteen toparchies of Judæa. It still retains its name, Ain-Jedey, or “Fountain of the Goats,” and was so called from a spring which issued out of the limestone rock at the base of a lofty cliff.

[3668] Its site is now known as Sebbeh, on the south-west of the Dead Sea.

[3669] Δεκὰ πολεῖς, the “Ten Cities.” He alludes to the circumstance, that the number of cities varied from time to time in this district; one being destroyed in warfare, and others suddenly rising from its foundation.

[3670] The capital city of Syria, both in ancient and modern times. It is now called Es-Sham. The only epithet given to it by the ancient poets is that of “ventosa,” or “windy,” found in the Pharsalia of Lucan, B. iii. l. 215, which, it has been remarked, is anything but appropriately chosen.

[3671] Or the “Golden River.” It is uncertain whether this was the Abana or Pharpar, mentioned in 2 Kings v. 12. Strabo remarks, that the waters of the Chrysorroös “are almost entirely consumed in irrigation, as it waters a large extent of deep soil.”

[3672] The ancient Rabbath Ammon, a city of the Ammonites. It was afterwards called Astarte, and then Philadelphia, in honour of Ptolemy Philadelphus. According to D’Anville, the present name of its site is Amman.

[3673] Thirty-three miles from Apamea. Its ruins are probably those mentioned by Abulfeda under the name of Rafaniat. William of Tyre says, that it was taken in the year 1125 by the Count of Tripoli.

[3674] Previously called Beth-shan. It was the next city of the Decapolis in magnitude after Damascus. It was situate in the land of the tribe of Issachar, though it belonged to the Manasites. At this place the bodies of Saul and his sons were hung up by the Philistines; see 1 Sam. xxxi. 10-12. Reland suggests that it received the name of Scythopolis, not from a Scythian colony, but from the Succoth of Gen. xxxiii. 17, which appears to have been in its vicinity. Its ruins, which still bear the name of Baisan, are very extensive.

[3675] Called by Josephus the capital of Peræa, and the chief place of the district of the Gadarenes of the Evangelists. Its ruins, about six miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee, are very extensive.

[3676] Still called the Yarmak, evidently from its ancient name. Hippo has been mentioned in the last Chapter.

[3677] Or Dium, between Pella and Gadara. In later times, this place was included in Roman Arabia.

[3678] Also called Butis. It was the most southerly of the ten cities which comprised the Decapolis, standing about five miles south of Scythopolis, or Beth-shan. Its exact site seems not to have been ascertained; but it has been suggested that it is the modern El-Bujeh. From the expression used by Pliny, it would appear to have had mineral waters in its vicinity.

[3679] Of this place nothing is known; but it is most probable that the _Gerasa_ of Ptolemy and Josephus is meant. According to the former writer, it was thirty-five miles from Pella. Its site is marked by extensive ruins, thirty-five miles east of the Jordan, known by the name of Gerash, and on the borders of the Great Desert of the Hauvan. According to Dr. Keith, the ruins bear extensive marks of splendour.

[3680] Ptolemy mentions a city of this name in Cœlesyria.

[3681] So called from having been originally groups of four principalities, held by princes who were vassals to the Roman emperors, or the kings of Syria.

[3682] Containing the northern district of Palestine, beyond the Jordan, between Antilibanus and the mountains of Arabia. It was bounded on the north by the territory of Damascus, on the east by Auranitis, on the south by Ituræa, and on the west by Gaulanitis. It was so called from its ranges of rocky mountains, or τραχῶνες, the caves in which gave refuge to numerous bands of robbers.

[3683] So called from the mountain of that name. Cæsarea Philippi also bore the name of Panias. It was situate at the south of Mount Hermon, on the Jordan, just below its source. It was built by Philip the Tetrarch, B.C. 3. King Agrippa called it Neronias; but it soon lost that name.

[3684] In C. xiv. of the present Book, as that in which the Jordan takes its rise.

[3685] A place of great strength in Cœle-Syria, now known as Nebi Abel, situate between Heliopolis and Damascus.

[3686] Situate between Tripolis and Antaradus, at the north-west foot of Mount Libanus. It lay within a short distance of the sea, and was famous for the worship paid by its inhabitants to Astarte, the Syrian Aphrodite. A temple was erected here to Alexander the Great, in which Alexander Severus, the Roman Emperor, was born, his parents having resorted thither to celebrate a festival, A.D. 205. From this circumstance, its name was changed to Cæsarea. Burckhardt fixes its site at a hill called Tel-Arka.

[3687] Of this place, which probably took its name from its numerous vines, nothing whatever is known.

[3688] Called by Pliny, in B. xii. c. 41, Gabba. It was situate at the foot of Mount Carmel between Cæsarea and Ptolemais, sixteen miles from the former. No remains of it are to be seen. It must not be confounded with Gabala, in Galilee, fortified by Herod the Great.

[3689] The town was situate between Cæsarea and Ptolemais. The river has been identified with the modern Nahi-el-Zerka, in which, according to Pococke, crocodiles have been found.

[3690] Called Dor, before the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. See Joshua xvii. 11, and Judges i. 27. It afterwards belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh. Its site is now called Tortura.

[3691] Its site is now called Atlik, according to D’Anville. Parisot suggests that it is the modern Keufah; others that it is Hepha, near Mount Carmel.

[3692] Insignificant in height and extent, but celebrated in Scripture history. It still bears the name of Cape Carmel.

[3693] It is not improbable that he means the town of Porphyrium, now Khaifa, at the foot of the mountain.

[3694] Probably the Gitta of Polybius. Of it and Jeba, nothing is known.

[3695] The Nahr-Naman, or Abou, on which Ptolemais was situate.

[3696] Employed in the extensive manufacture of that article at Tyre and Sidon, to the north of this district.

[3697] A corruption of Acco, the native name; from which the English name Acre, and the French St. Jean d’Acre. The earliest mention of it is in the Book of Judges, i. 31. It is supposed that it was Ptolemy I., the son of Lagus, who enlarged it and gave it the name of Ptolemais. Its citadel, however, still retained the name of Ace. Under the Romans, Ptolemais, as mentioned by Pliny, was a colony, and belonged to Galilee. The modern city of Acre occupies its site.

[3698] The Ach-Zib of Scripture, mentioned in Joshua xix. 29, and Judges i. 31. Its ruins are to be seen near the sea-shore, about three hours’ journey north of Acre. The spot is still called Es-Zib.

[3699] Still called the Ras-el-Abiad, or White Promontory.

[3700] A colony of the Sidonians: its scanty ruins are still to be seen at the poor village of Sur. The wars of the Crusades completed its downfall. The island is still joined to the mainland by the mole which was erected by Alexander the Great during the siege of the place; or, according to some, by the Syrians themselves.

[3701] Carthage is supposed to have been colonized _immediately_ by the people of Utica.

[3702] From which was made the famous Tyrian purple.

[3703] Or “ancient Tyre,” which was built on the mainland.

[3704] The Zarephath of 1 Kings xvii. 9, 10, whither Elijah was sent to the widow, whose son he afterwards raised from the dead. Its site is now known as Sarfand.

[3705] Probably meaning “City of the Birds,” perhaps from the quantities of game in its vicinity. Its site now bears the name of Adlan.

[3706] Its site is now called Saïda. In the time of David and Solomon, it was probably subject to the kings of Tyre.

[3707] Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, was said to have been the son of its king Agenor.

[3708] The Lebanon of Scripture. This intervening space, the ancient Cœle-Syria, is now inhabited by the Druses.

[3709] Perhaps the modern Nahr-el-Damur.

[3710] Now Beyrout. By some it has been identified with the Berotha, or Berothai, of the Hebrew Scriptures. Its full name as a Roman colony was, “Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus.” It was colonized by the veterans of the Fifth, or Macedonian, and the Eighth, or Augustan, Legions. Beyrout, or Berut, is now, in a commercial point of view, the most important place in Syria.

[3711] Nothing is known of this place. The name seems to mean, the “Town of the Lion.”

[3712] Now the Nahr-el-Kelb, or “Dog’s River.”

[3713] The site of this place seems not to be known.

[3714] Now the Nahr-el-Ibrahim.

[3715] The modern town which stands on its site is called Jebeil. It is situate at the foot of Lebanon. The ancient name seems to have been Gebal, and the Geblites are mentioned in Joshua, xiii. 5; 1 Kings, v. 18; and Ezek. xxvii. 9. The ruins of the ancient city are very extensive. Astarte and Isis seem to have been worshipped here.

[3716] Now Batrun, a small town about twelve miles north of Byblus, said to have been founded by Ithobal, king of Tyre.

[3717] Now Gazir, according to D’Anville.

[3718] Twelve miles from Tripolis. Its name would seem to bear reference to a trireme, or galley. It has been said that this is the place referred to in the Book of Daniel, xi. 30.

[3719] Polybius speaks of this place as being burnt by Antiochus. Its site still bears the name of Calamon, according to D’Anville.

[3720] This properly consisted of three distinct cities, 600 feet apart, each with its own walls, but all connected in a common constitution; having one place of assembly, and forming in reality one city only. They were colonies, as here suggested by Pliny, of Tyre, Sidon, and Arados respectively. It is still a considerable place, called Tarabolos, or Tarablis, by the Turks.

[3721] Its site is still known as Ortosa, or Tortosa.

[3722] Probably the same as the Nahr-el-Kebir, or “Great River,” to the north of Tripolis. It may have derived its Greek name, which signifies “free,” from its similarity to that given to it by the people of the country.

[3723] This was an important city, near Antarados. Its ruins are spoken of as very extensive. Simyra is still called Sumira.

[3724] Now called Ruad; an island off the northern coast of Phœnicia, at a distance of twenty stadia from the mainland, Pliny falling short here in his measurement. The city of Arados was very populous, though built on a mere rock; and, contrary to Eastern custom, the houses contained many stories. It is spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel under the name of Arvad: see c. xxvii. 8, 11. In importance, it ranked next to the cities of Tyre and Sidon.

[3725] Its modern name does not appear to be known.

[3726] Also called Antarados, as lying nearly opposite to the city of Arados. According to Strabo, the port of Antarados was called Carne, or Carnos. In the time of the Crusades, it was known under the name of Tortosa. Its present name is Tartus.

[3727] Now Banias. It was situate twenty-four miles north of Antarados. Its name is supposed to have originated in the baths in its vicinity. The site is deserted; but a few ruins of the ancient town are still to be seen.

[3728] Eight miles from Balanea. Its ruins are known by the name of Boldo.

[3729] Its site is now known as Djebeleh, a small village in the vicinity of Laodicea, or Latakia. The sun was probably worshipped here, and hence the Emperor Heliogabalus derived his name.

[3730] About fifty miles south of Antioch, now called Ladikiyeh, or Latakia, noted for the excellence of its tobacco, which has an European reputation. It was built by Seleucus I., on the site of an earlier city, called Ramitha. It was afterwards greatly favoured by Julius Cæsar. Herod the Great built an aqueduct here, the ruins of which are still in existence. It is now a poor Turkish village; but there are considerable remains of the ancient city to be seen in its vicinity.

[3731] It has been suggested, that Pliny means the city of Lydda, in the tribe of Benjamin, which of course would be very much to the south, and quite out of the order in which he is proceeding. If that is not the place meant, this Diospolis is utterly unknown.

[3732] At some miles’ distance to the north of Laodicea. Pococke found some traces of its site at a spot called Minta Baurdeleh, or the Bay of the Tower.

[3733] Pliny is in error here most probably, and is speaking of a place as being in Syria which in reality was in Cilicia, between Platanus and Cragus. The name implies its situation near a mountain torrent.

[3734] On a small bay, some miles north of Heraclea.

[3735] Or Antioch, the capital of the Greek kings of Syria, and the most famous of the sixteen cities built by Seleucus Nicator, and called after the name of his father, (or son, as some say,) Antiochus. It was built on the Orontes, and formed one of the most beautiful and pleasant cities of the ancient world. The modern Antakieh is a poor town, built on the north-western part of the site of the ancient city, by the river. The walls, built by Justinian, may still be traced for a circuit of four miles. Here the followers of our Saviour first obtained the name of “Christians.”

[3736] That is, “Near Daphne,” there being a celebrated grove of that name, consecrated to Apollo, in its immediate vicinity.

[3737] Now called the Nahr-el-Asy.

[3738] Now Seleuca, or Kepse, at the foot of Mount Pieria. It has been referred to in a previous note.

[3739] Now known as Djebel-el-Akra.

[3740] In the extreme north-east of Egypt. See pp. 422 and 424.

[3741] The beginning of the fourth watch was three o’clock in the morning. The height of this mountain does not in reality appear to be anything remarkable, and has been ascertained to be but 5318 feet. There is probably no foundation for the marvellous story here told by Pliny; nevertheless, we are told by Spartianus, that the Emperor Adrian passed a night upon the mountain, for the purpose of seeing this extraordinary sight; but a storm arising, it prevented the gratification of his curiosity. It lay near Nymphæum and Seleucia, and its base was washed by the waters of the Orontes.

[3742] Or Baalbec, in the interior of Syria.

[3743] According to Ansart, it still retains that name.

[3744] Now called Bylan. This was the name of the narrow pass between a portion of Mount Taurus and the Rock of Rossicum. According to Ansart, the spot is called at the present day Saggal Doutan.

[3745] This was a Phœnician colony, on the eastern side of the Gulf of Issus; it is said by Ansart still to retain its ancient name.

[3746] Now called Alma-Dagh, a branch of Mount Taurus, running from the head of the Gulf of Issus, north-east, to the principal chain, and dividing Syria from Cilicia and Cappadocia. There were two passes in it, the Syrian Gates and the Amanian Gates. It is often spoken of by Cicero, who was the Roman governor of Cilicia.

[3747] The locality of this place is unknown, as Pliny is the only author who mentions it.

[3748] Now Kulat-el-Mudik, situate in the valley of the Orontes, and capital of the province of Apamene. It was fortified and enlarged by Seleucus Nicator, who gave it its name, after his wife Apama. It also bore the Macedonian name of Pella. It was situate on a hill, and was so far surrounded by the windings of the Orontes, as to become a peninsula, whence its name of Chersonesus. Very extensive ruins of this place still exist.

[3749] It is suggested, that these are the Phylarchi Arabes of Strabo, now called the Nosairis, who were situate to the east of Apamea. The river Marsyas here mentioned was a small tributary of the Orontes, into which it falls on the east side, near Apamea.

[3750] This was situate in Cyrrhestica, in Syria, on the high road from Antioch to Mesopotamia, twenty-four miles to the west of the Euphrates, and thirty-six to the south-west of Zeugma; two and a half days’ journey from Berœa, and five from Antioch. It obtained its Greek name of the “Sacred City” from Seleucus Nicator, owing to its being the chief seat of the worship of the Syrian goddess Astarte. Its ruins were first discovered by Maundrell.

[3751] In the former editions it is “Magog;” but Sillig’s reading of “Mabog” is correct, and corresponds with the Oriental forms of Munbedj, Manbesja, Manbesjun, Menba, Manba, Manbegj, and the modern name, Kara Bambuche, or Buguk Munbedj.

[3752] Astarte, the semi-fish goddess.

[3753] This Chalcis is supposed to have been situate somewhere in the district of the Buckaa, probably south of Heliopolis, or Baalbec. It has been suggested, that its site may have been at, or near Zahle; in the vicinity of which, at the village of Heusn Nieba, are to be seen some remarkable remains. Or else, possibly, at Majdel Anjar, where Abulfeda speaks of great ruins of hewn stone.

[3754] Ansart suggests, that Belus is here the name of a mountain, and that it may be the same that is now called Djebel-il-Semmaq.

[3755] To the north of Chalcidene, a town of Syria, on the slopes of the Taurus, eighty miles to the north-cast of Antioch. In the Roman times, it was the head-quarters of the Tenth Legion. The ruins near the modern village of Corus represent the ancient Cyrrhus. Of the Gazatæ and Gindareni, nothing is known.

[3756] Possibly meaning the “Burghers of Granum.” Nothing is known of these people.

[3757] The people of Emesa, a city in the district of Apamene, on the right, or eastern bank of the Orontes, to which, in C. 26 of the present Book, Pliny assigns a desert district beyond Palmyra. It was celebrated in ancient times for its magnificent temple of the sun, and the appointment of its priest, Bassianus, or Heliogabalus, to the imperial dignity, in his fourteenth year. It was made a colony, with the _jus Italicum_, by Caracalla, and afterwards became the capital of Phœnicia Libanesia. The present name of its site is Hems.

[3758] The Hylatæ are totally unknown. Ituræa was situate in the north-east of Palestine, and, with Trachonitis, belonged to the tetrarchy of Philip. Its boundaries cannot be precisely determined; but it may probably be traversed by a line drawn from the Lake of Tiberias to Damascus.

[3759] According to Ptolemy, the people of Mariama, some miles to the west of Emesa.

[3760] In the district of Laodicea, according to Ptolemy.

[3761] Near the Portæ Amani, or “Passes of Amanus.”

[3762] Pinara was near Pagræ, in Pieria, last mentioned.

[3763] Probably Seleucia, in Mesopotamia, now called Bir, on the left bank of the Euphrates, opposite to the ford of Zeugma, a fortress of considerable importance.

[3764] Its site is doubtful. Sebj d’Aboulgazi has been suggested.

[3765] The people of Arethusa, a city of Syria, not far from Apamea, situate between Epiphania and Emesa. In later times, it took the name of Restan.

[3766] The people of Berœa, a town of Syria, midway between Antioch and Hierapolis. Seleucus Nicator gave to it the Macedonian name of Berœa; but, in A.D. 638, it resumed its ancient name of Chaleb, or Chalybon. The modern Haleb, or Aleppo, occupies its site. Some excavations, on the eastern side of it, are the only vestiges of ancient remains in the neighbourhood.

[3767] The people of Epiphanæa, placed by Ptolemy in the district of Cassiotis, in which also Antioch and Larissa were situate. The Itinerary of Antoninus places it sixteen miles from Larissa, thirty-two from Emesa, and 101 from Antioch of Syria. It is supposed to have been identical with the ancient Hamath, mentioned in 2 Sam. viii. 9; 1 Kings viii. 65; Isaiah x. 9, and called “Hamath the great” in Amos vi. 2, which name it also retained in the time of St. Jerome.

[3768] The people of Laodicea ad Libanum, a city of Cœle-Syria, at the northern entrance to the narrow valley, between Libanus and Anti-Libanus. During the possession of Cœle-Syria by the Greek kings of Egypt, it was the south-west border fortress of Syria. It was the chief city of a district called Laodicene.

[3769] Of Leucas, or Leucadia, nothing is known. Larissa, in Syria, was a city in the district of Apamene, on the western bank of the Orontes, about half-way between Apamea and Epiphania. The site is now called Kulat-Seijar.

[3770] In the western branch of the plateau of Iran, a portion of the Taurus chain. Considerable changes in the course of the lower portion of the river have taken place since the time when Pliny wrote. Caranitis is the modern Arzrum, or Erzrúm, of the Turks.

[3771] Now called Dujik Tagh, a mountain of Armenia.

[3772] It has been suggested, that the proper reading here would be _Xerxene_.

[3773] Probably the district where the goddess Anais was worshipped, who is mentioned by Pliny in B. xxxiii. c. 24.