Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 1.djvu/341

 Domestic Architecture. 311 "the chiefs of Judah ' went up' from the house of the king to the house of the Lord," and again, " those who ' went up ' from the palace to the temple," an appropriate expression, if we suppose the house to have been where we have put it. For it will be remembered that the plateau sinks precipitously to the southward, causing a difference of level of several feet within a few yards (Fig. 109). On the other hand, had the palace been to the north of the sacred area, it would have been on nearly the same line, and before the esplanade was made, even higher than the temple, hence people could in no sense have been said to " go up" to the sanctuary. That the house of David was nearer the terminal point of the hill than that of his successor and covered the old quarter of the Jebusites, is clearly inferred in such words as these : " Solomon had the ark of the covenant brought up from the city of David " (1 Kings viii. 1). "The daughter of Pharaoh 'went up' from the city of David, i.e. Zion, to the house which Solomon had built for her" (1 Kings ix. 24). The various sections of what would now be called the seraglio, were doubtless placed at slightly different levels, following the natural direction of the ground, so that every part of the massive pile stood revealed against the azure sky. Its time of prosperity was of short duration ; for it was plundered by the Egyptians in the reign of Rehoboam, and again in the reign of Amaziah by the King of Israel (1 Kings xiv. 25-29; xiv. 13, 14). Whether the damage done was repaired or not we have no means of ascertaining at this date. The presumption is that the palace was suffered to fall into decay, for in the East it has always been short-lived, each new sovereign, as soon as he ascends the throne, wishes to build himself a house and to date everything from his reign. Even had there been an inclination to keep it in good repair, the reduced circumstances of the suc- cessors of Solomon would have prevented their doing so. It is likely, therefore, that certain portions were preserved, but that the bulk was left to itself, and soon became a ruinous mass. The foundation walls were too solid and useful to be wantonly destroyed, so that princes in successive reigns may have used them to rear their new structures. These, though simpler in style and less spacious than the old, served their purpose better ; they had, moreover, the great merit of being their own creations, and as such more to their taste or fancy.