Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/548

 532 PALAESTIXA. who are least given to the pursuit of agriculture. Every part of it, therefore, has been put under cultivation liy the inhabitants, and none of it lies idle ; but it possesses numerous cities and multi- tudes of villages, all densely populated on account of its fertility, so that the smallest of them has more than 15,00 J inhabitants. Peraea. — " On the whole, then, although Galilee is inferior to Peraea in extent, yet it is superior to it in strength. For the former is all under cultivation, and productive in every part; but Peraea, although much more extensive, is for the most part rugged and barren, and too wild for the culture of tender produce. Nevertheless, wherever the .soil is soft it is very productive; and the plains are covered with various trees (the greater part is planted with olives, vines, and palms), and watered by mountain tor- rents, and perennial wells sufficient to supply water whenever the mountain streams are dried up by the lieat. Its greatest length is from Machaerfts to Pella, and its breadth from Philadelphia to the Jordan. It is bounded on the north by Pella, which we have mentioned ; on the west by the Jordan. Its southern boundary is Moabitis, and its eastern is Arabia and Silbonitis, and also Philadelphene and Gerasa. Samaria. — " The country of Samaria lies between Judaea and Galilee ; for beginning at the village called Ginaea, situated in the great plain, it ends at the toparchy of Acrabatta: its character is in no respect ditferent from that of Judaea, for both abound in moun- tains and plains, and are suited for agriculture, and productive, wooded, and full of fruits both wild and cultivated. They are not abundantly watered; but much rain falls there. The springs are of an exceedingly sweet taste ; and, on account of the quantity of good grass, the cattle there produce more milk than elsewhere. But the best proof of their richness and fertility is that both are thickly populated. Judaea. — " On the confines of the two countries stands the village Annath, otherwise called Borceos, the boundary of Judaea on the north. The south of it, when measured by length, is bounded by a village, which stands on the confines of ArabLa, called by the neighbouring Jews Jardan. In breadth it extends from the Jordan to Joppa, and in the centre of it lies the city Jerusalem; for which cause the city is called by some, not without reason, the navel of the earth. Judaea is not deprived uf the ad%'an- tages of the sea, as it extends along the sea-coast to Ptolemais. It is divided into eleven districts, of which Jerusalem, as the seat of government, rules, taking precedence over the surrounding country as the head over the body. The other districts, after it, are distributed by toparchies. Gophna is second ; after that, Acrabatta, then Thamna, Lydda, Am- maus, Pella, Idumaea, Engaddae, Herodeum, Jeri- chus; then Jamnia and Joppa, which take precedence of the neighbouring country. " Besides these districts, there are Gamalitica and Gaulanitis, Batanaea, and Trachonitis, parts of the kingdom of Agrippa. Beginning from Mount Li- banus and the source of the Jordan, this country reaches in breadth to the lake of Tiberias: its length is, from a village called Arpha to Julias. It is in- habited by Jews and Syrians mixed. " Thus we have given an account, as short as was possible, of Judaea and the neighbouring regions." Besides this general description of the country according to its divisions in the first century of the PALAESTIXA. Christian era, Josephus has inserted in his history special descriptions of several towns and districts, with details of great geographical interest and im- portance. These, however, will be found, for the most part, under their several names, in these volumes. [AuLON; Bashan; Esdraelon Vallis; Belus; Jericho; Jerusalem; Tiberias Mare, &c.] As the division of Gabinius does not appear to have had a permanent influence, it may be sufficient to notice it, before dismissing Josephus, who is our sole authority for it. He informs us that the Koman general having defeated Alexander the son of Ari- stobulus, and pacified the country, constituted five councils (^(TvveSpid) in various parts of the country, which he distributed into so many equal divisions (noipas'). These seats of judicature were Jerusalem, Gadara, Amathus, Jericho, and Sepphoris in Galilee. {Ant. xiv. 5. § 4.) In the division of the country among the sons of Herod the Great, Judaea, Idumaea (i. e., in the language of Josephus, the southern part of Judaea), with Samaria, were assigned to Arclielaus, with the title of ethnarch. Antipas had Galilee and Peraea, with the title of tetrarch, and Pliilip, with the same title, Trachonitis, Auranitis, Batanaea, and Paneas, mostly without the limits of Palestine [vid. s. vv.'. (^Ant. xvii. 13. § 4.) On the disgrace and banishment of Archelaus, in the 10th year of his reig:n, his government w.as added to the province of Syria, and administered by a procurator subordinate to the prefect of Syria; the same fate attended the tetrarchy of Philip on his death in the twentieth year of Tiberius, until it was conuriitted to Herod Agrippa by Caius Caligula, with the title of king, to which was added the tetrarchy of Lysanias, and subsequently, on the banishment of Antipas, his tetrarchy also; to which Claudius added besides Judaea and Samaria, so that his kingdom equalled in extent that of his grandfather Herod the Great. On his death, his son, who wiis but seventeen years old, was thought too young to succeed him, and his dominions reverted to the province of Syria. But on the death of Herod king otChalcis, that country was committed to the younger Agrippa, which was after- wards exchanged for the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias, to which Nero added the part of Galilee about the sea of Tiberias, and Julias in the Decapolis. After his death, in the third year of Trajan, there is no further mention of the tetrarchies (Ueland, Pa- laesiina, lib. i. cap. 30, pp. 174, 175.) The division into toparchies, mentioned by Josephus, is recognised also by Pliny, though their lists do not exactly coincide. Pliny reckons them as follows: — 1. Jericho. 7. Thamna. 2. Emmaus. 8. Bethleptaphene. 3. Lydda. 9. Oreine (in which was 4. Joppa. Jerusalem.) 5. Acrabata. 10. Herodium. 6. Gophna. Of these 8 and 9 are not reckoned by Josephus ; but Poland is probably correct in his conjecture that 8 is identical with his Pella, and 9 with his Idumaea, as this district may well be described as optivi], mountainous. (Plin. Hist. Nat. v. 1 4.) The other notices of Pliny are few and fragmentary, but agree in all essential particulars with the syn- chronous but independent account of Josephus above cited. Its geography bad undergone little variation when Ptolemy wrote in the following century, and the brief notices of that geographer are as accurate as