Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IX.djvu/640

 620 JERUSALEM grims and travellers who visit the city. Beads, crosses, and ornaments are largely manufac- tured and sold to strangers. Quantities of olive and sesame oil and soap are also produced here, and much is exported to Egypt and to ports on the Mediterranean ; grain and other articles are also exported. Almost all manu- factured articles, as cloths, sugars, candles, &c., are imported from France, England, and Ger- many. Petroleum has for several years heen in great demand in the markets of Palestine, and has now almost superseded olive and sesame oil for lighting, these being used only for food and manufacturing soap. The primitive name of Jerusalem appears to have been Jebus, or poetically Salem, and its king in the time of Abraham was Melchizedek. When Abraham returned from the slaughter of the kings who had made his nephew Lot prisoner, the king of Sodom met him in the valley of Shaveh, or the king's dale, now probably the valley of Jehoshaphat; and there Melchizedek brought bread and wine. At the conquest of Canaan by the Hebrews, the tribe of Judah took the city and set it on fire ; but the fortress prob- ably still remained in the hands of the Jebusites for 400 years longer. Its situation among the mountains almost in the heart of his kingdom naturally excited in David a desire to possess it. In the ninth year of his reign (about 1046 B. C.) he stormed the fortress of the Jebusites, Zion, called it the city of David, and made the place the capital of his kingdom. From that time it has been called Jerusalem. Under Solomon the temple was built on Mt. Moriah, and several Ealaces were erected. David's many conquests, is vast accumulation of treasures for the tem- ple, the magnificent structure itself, and after- ward Solomon's reputed wisdom and immense wealth, all tended to spread the fame of the city, and during his reign it attained its high- est degree of power. At the accession of his son Kehoboam ten of the tribes seceded under Jeroboam and made Shechem, and subsequent- ly Samaria, the capital of their kingdom of Is- rael. Jerusalem then lost much of its impor- tance, remaining only the capital of the small- er, though more powerful, kingdom of Judah. About 971 B. 0. Shishak, king of Egypt, took the city and plundered the temple and palace of their treasures. It was again conquered and sacked by Joash, king of Israel, and was after- ward beautified by Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. In the time of Ahaz the king of Syria attacked Jerusalem, and carried many of the Jews captive to Damascus, though he could not take the city. Under Hezekiah it was besieged by Eabshakeh, the general of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, but it was saved by the sudden destruction which overtook the Assyrian army. Manasseh's being carried captive to Babylon seems to intimate that the city was taken by the Chaldeans about 050, although the fact is not expressly stated in the Bible. After the death of Josiah at the battle of Megiddo, Jerusalem was tributary to Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, for two or three years, when it passed into the hands of the Babylonians, who, after repeated revolts and sieges, finally reduced it in 586. (See HEBREWS.) On this occasion Nebuchadnezzar demolished the walls and all the principal houses in the city, plundered and destroyed the temple, and carried away to Babylon all except the poor- est citizens. For the next 50 years Jerusa- lem remained in ruins, till the return of the Jews during the reign of Cyrus, the conquer- or of Babylon (538). This monarch issued a proclamation allowing the return of the Jewish captives to Jerusalem and authorizing them to rebuild the temple, and enjoined every one to contribute to and assist in this work. A part of the captives returned under Zerubbabel, and rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the second temple. But they were interrupted by the intrigues of their enemies, who unceasingly wrote insinuating letters to the capital of the empire, and at last succeeded in stopping them. The work was renewed under Ezra, who ob- tained a commission from Artaxerxes (Longi- manus). In the 20th year of his reign (458), the king commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the city itself. This he effectually carried out in spite of the opposition of his enemies, being himself appointed civil governor of Judea, and having the direct patronage of the king, whose cup- bearer he was. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls on the ruins of the old city. From this period till the Macedonian invasion in 332 Jerusalem enjoyed comparative peace. Yielding to Alex- ander without resistance, it escaped the fate of Tyre and Gaza. After the death of that conqueror and the division of his empire among his generals, Judea and its capital, lying be- tween the rival kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, were alternately seized by the sovereigns of these two countries. Under the Ptolemies Je- rusalem flourished both as a commercial city and a shrine. It was well adapted for trade, and abounded in artificers of various crafts. Its markets were well supplied by the Arabs with spices, gold, and precious stones. Goods were also imported across the sea, for there were good harbors at Gaza, Joppa, and Ptolemais (Acre). It passed into the power of Syria, with the rest of Judea, in 198, and was mildly ruled by Antiochus the Great ; but the tyranny of his son, Antiochus Epiphanes, inflicted on it repeated massacres, and finally brought about the victorious revolt under the Asmoneans. Judas Maccabasus wrested Jerusalem from his enemies, and repaired the temple (165), though he was unable to expel the garrison that had been left in the fortress of AcraW. of Moriah, which commanded the temple, and from which the Syrians made annoying sallies. Against it he fortified Mt. Zion. This, however, shortly after surrendered to Antiochus V., who, break- ing the capitulation, demolished the fort. Jon- athan, the brother and successor of Judas, re- built it, but equally failed in an attack on Acra. His brother Simon reduced Acra, de-