130 ANCIENT KINGS OF ARABIA. 



They were conqviered by David, who planted He- 

 brew garrisons at Elath and Ezion-gaber ; and prob- 

 ably commenced the trade of Ophir, which Avas 

 (afterward carried to its height by Solomon and 

 Hiram. For about a hundred years they continued 

 in submission to the Jewish sovereigns ; but in the 

 reign of Jehoram they shook off the yoke, and 

 maintained their independence until they were again 

 subdued by Uzziah, after an interval of eighty 

 years. More than two centuries later they were 

 subject to Nebuchadnezzar, and assisted that mon- 

 arch when he besieged Jerusalem. 



In the time of the Assyrian and Babylonian em^ 

 pires, Avhich put a period to the kingdoms of Israel 

 and Judah, these wild freebooters remained either 

 entirely their own masters, or acknowledged a tem- 

 porary alliance with their enemies. When the 

 great Eastern monarchy fell before the invasion of 

 the Medes and Persians, under Cyrus, Cambyses, 

 > and Darius, the conquerors found it necessary to 

 keep up a friendly understanding with the tribes of the 

 desert, in order to obtain a passage through their 

 territories into Egypt ; to the subjugation of which 

 their assistance materially contributed, by supply- 

 ing the invading armies with water and provisions 

 on their march. Herodotus observes, that on this 

 account the Arabs were exempted from paying trib- 

 ute ; while the neighbouring provinces, Syria, Pal- 

 estine, Phenicia, and Cyprus, forming the fifth 

 satrapy of the Persian empire, were taxed at 350 

 talents. 



Belesis and Sennacherib are called kings of Ara- 

 bia; but it is evident they had assumed the title 

 without possessing the country. Xenophon alleges 

 that Cyrus reduced it to subjection. It appears, 

 however, that his conquests were limited to the few 

 tribes seated on the borders of Phrygia and Cappa- 

 docia, which he encountered on his march from 



