THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM AT VARIOUS PERIODS. 127 



The curved eastern hill is divided into three parts. The 

 southernmost part, which is divided of! from the temple hill by 

 a shallow valley — rather inferred than actually demonstrated — 

 is historically the most important spot in all Jerusalem, though 

 to-day it has hardly any buildings upon it. It was called the 

 Ophel Hill (which was the ancient name of part of it) by some 

 of the earlier explorers, and I shall refer to it again under that 

 name Almost all modern Biblical scholars have come to 

 recognize this as the site of the earliest Zion, the fortress- city of 

 the Jebusites, which Ejng David captured and called the City 

 of David. At this time the whole city, which occupied the 

 summit of this hill, was enclosed in one wall — with probably a 

 single gate to the north. This may seem strange and inexplicable 

 to those whose ideas of " cities " is confined to modern or even 

 mediaeval times, but the proofs, which are too elaborate to go 

 into now, are, to my mind, quite convincing. The names 

 Ophel, Akra and (in Josephus) " the lower city," are all associated 

 with parts of this hill. North of this, forming the centre of 

 the half-moon shaped hill, lay the famous summit on which was 

 built the temple, while north of the St. Anne's Valley was the 

 suburb called by Josephus, Bezetha. 



Before tracing out the course of the walls in ancient times 

 it will be well to briefly describe the existing walls, which were 

 built by the greatest of the Turkish Sultans, Suleiman the 

 Magnificent. These walls are some 35 feet high with thirty-five 

 towers and eight gates and a circuit of 2 J miles. On the west is 

 but one gate, but this, which has existed for many centuries, 

 has always been very important. To-day it is known to 

 travellers as the Jaffa Gate, but to the natives as Bab el Khalil, 

 the "Hebron Gate" (Khalil meaning "friend, "being the name of 

 Abraham, the "friend of God," who is buried at Hebron, which 

 city is consequently named after him). Near this gate are 

 situated some of the most striking remains of mediaeval and 

 even Roman Jerusalem, and its position is an important point 

 in historical topography, because Josephus describes the ancient 

 walls from this point. The so-called Tower of David includes 

 in its foundations parts of the substructures of Herod's famous 

 towers, Hippicus and Pharsael, and possibly also Mariamne. 

 Passing north from here we find near the north-west angle of the 

 city, just inside the north-west corner, some rough ruins known as 

 Goliath's Castle, which is considered to be part of the foundations 

 of another famous building of King Herod — the tower Psephinus. 



K 



