3f?8 GEOGRAPHY. 
cator, and was the refidence ©f the kings of Syria". Near 
it was tlie delightful village and grove of Daphie. The 
fame Seleucus founded the cities of Seleuda and Apamea 
in this diftrift. Seleuda was alfo called Pieria, from a 
tieighbouring'mountain. Near it was Mount Caf,us, of 
a fabulous height. The ifland Melibtza, famous for its 
purple, Vt-as at tlie mouth of the Orontcs. Near the 
iource of this river was Enufa, the city of Heliogabalus. 
In Cirikejltca, a diftrifl of this country, lay Beraa, now 
Aleppo, almofl: midway betv/een tlie lea and the Eu¬ 
phrates ; Bambyce or Hkrapolis, the temple of the Syrian 
goddefs Aftargaiis or Mahog, who was feigned to have the 
face of a wonian and the tail of'a fifli ; flie was called 
by the Greeks Derceto, and W'as thought by fome to have 
been the fame wdth AJlarte. 
To the eaft and fouth-eaft of Syria Pgoper, between 
the mountains of Libanys and AntiUbamis, lay Calo-Syria., 
or Hollow Syria. The chief city of which, Damafcvs, 
now Damas, being delightfully fitviated, ftill retains 
much of its ancient importance. It was watered by the 
two ftreams cf Abana and Pharphar. Heliopolis, Balbec, 
was famous for a magnificent temple of the fun, the 
ruins of which ftill remain. 
This part of Syria was alfo named Laodicene, Between 
it and the Euphrates Itood Palmira, Thadmor, the city 
of Odenatus and iiis queen Zenobia, fubdued by Aure- 
liaii, A.D. 272.—Palmyra urbs nobilis fitu, divitiis 
loli et aquis amsnis ; vallo undique ambitu, arenis in- 
cludit agros, ac veluti terris exempta a rerum natura. 
Pliny. —It gave the name of Palmyrene to the neighbour, 
ing country and defert. Its intermediate fituation, be¬ 
tween two feas and two great empires, railed it to that 
importance which is ftill manifelted by its ruins. In 
tliis difiridt is fometimes reckoned Thapfaevs, where there 
was a bridge over the Euphrates. 
Phetnkia was a.narrow tradt of coall, bounded by tlie 
river Elcuthents, Calo-Syria, Palejline, and the Mediter¬ 
ranean : 
Phcienices primi, famx 11 creditor, aufi 
Manfuram rudibus vocem fignare figuris. Lucan. 
It contained the cities of Tyre and Siden, famous for 
their commerce. There were two cities of the former 
of thel'e names: the firft, or ancient Tyre, flood upon 
the continent; it was deltroyed by Nebuchadnezzar ; 
New Tyre, upon an ifland. Tlie ruins of Old Tyre fur- 
nilhed Alexander vvitli materials for building the mole 
by which he took the town. Tyi'e was alfo famous for 
its purple: its prefent name is Sur; that of Sidon is 
Seyde. Tri/ic/f, Tarabolous; Satepta, Sai fat ; Ptolcmais 
or Aeon, Acre ; Beritus, Berut; and Laodicea, Ladikieh 
{ ivhich v/as to the north of the Elmtherus) were conli- 
derable towtis. In the mountains of this country dwell 
fome Maronite tribes, and the Druzes, who pretend to 
be defeeaded from the crufaders. On one of thefe alfo 
is Mafiat, a fortrefs formerly the refidence of the prince 
cf the Ali'aflins. 
Between this coall and that of Cilicia, is the ifland 
Cyprus, luppofed to have originally taken its name 
from its copper mines. It was peopled by the Phoeni¬ 
cians.—The chief towns were : Salamis, founded by 
'leiicer, afterwards Conjlan'.ia, Collaiiza, not far from 
Famagoulla ; Paphos, facred to 'Venus; Idalium, alfo fa- 
cred to Venus, Dalin ; Citium, the birth place of Zeno, 
founder of the feet of the lloics ; Nicofia ; Ama- 
thus, where was the temple of Adonis. 
Pal^estine, ox Judica, called alfo the H01.Y Land, 
and in Scripture the Land of Canaan, the Land of Ifrael, 
and of Judah, e'xtended from Phoenicia to Arabia. The 
Jordan is the only river of note in it ; which rifes in 
Nermoii, a branch of Antilibanus. Having paffed through 
tlie Lake of Gemiefareth, or the Sea of Tiberias or Ga¬ 
lilee, after a courfe of one hundred and fifty miles, it 
ioles itfelf in the ,Ajpha,liUs^ or Dead Sea^ called alio 
the Sea of the Plain. This lake is fuppofed to occupy 
the place of the accurl'ed Sodom and Gomorrah. 
Paltejline was at different times differently divided. 
The cliief towns of the Philifiines, its ancient inliabi- 
tants, were : Azotus or AJhdod, Gaza, Afcalcn, Gath, Ekron, 
Thefe lay in the country between Dan and Simeon and 
the Sea, and were the chief cities of the five lordlhips 
of the Philifiines. The other principal tribes were, the 
Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Amorites, Jebulites. 
On the driving out of the Canaanites, it was divided 
between the twelve tribes. After the revolt of the ten 
tribes under Rehoboam, it was divided into tlie king¬ 
doms of Judah and Ifrael. On the return from the Ba¬ 
bylonian captivity, and during the fecond temple, it 
was dillinguilhed into the countries of Judaea, Samaria, 
Galilee, on this fide the Jordan; and Peraea, the country 
beyond or to the eall of Jordan. Of tliel'e Galilee lay 
to the north, Judaea to the fouth, and Samaria occupied 
tlie intermediate country. Judma was fometimes a ge¬ 
neral name for the whole. 
JUD.EA Proper, extended from the Dead Sea and 
the Mediterranean to Egypt, and included, befide the 
•tribe of Judah, thofe of Benjamin, IDan, and Simeon. 
The chief city was Hierojhlyma, Jerufaleni, fometimes 
called Jchiis, from its having belonged to the Jebulites, 
and fuppofed to have been the Salem of Melchifedec. 
It was built on feveral hills, the highell of which was 
Sion, on which flood the Tower of David. Mount 
Moriah, whereon Ifaac was to have been I'acrificed, was 
the feat of the temple. The otlier places of note near 
Jerufalem were : to the north and call, Emaus, Hierichus, 
Jericlio ; Bethel, Gilgal, Ephraim: —to the fouth, Beth¬ 
lehem, the birth-place of our Saviour; Hebron, Mamre; 
— on the well, Rama, Gibea, Lydda, Joppa, now Jaffa, the 
moll convenient I'ea-port for Jerufalem. Near to Joppa 
Andromeda is fabled to have been expofed to the fea- 
monller, from which Ihe was delivered by Perfeus. 
Tlie city of Samaria having been rebuilt by Herod, 
was called by him Sebajee, in honour of Augullus. Si- 
chem had been the royal city before Samaria; it was af¬ 
terwards called Neapolis, Nabolus; it Hands at the foot 
of Gerizim, on whicli the Samaritans had their temple; 
Cafarea, previoufly called Turris Stratonis, for fome time 
the relidence of the Roman governors. 
The lower part of Galilee was dillinguiflied from the 
northern part of it, which bordering on Phcenicia, was 
called “Galilee of the Gentiles.” The towns of it 
are : jezred, Efdrelon ; Capernaum ; Bethlehem, the birth¬ 
place of our Saviour; Nazareth, his relidence till he en¬ 
tered on his minillry ; Cana, where he performed his firll 
miracle, by turning water into wine; Aca or Ptolemais, 
Acre, a fea-port famous in the time of the crulacles ; 
Seppkoris or Dio Cafarea, now Sefouri; Tiberias, upon a 
lake of the fame name, alfo called the lake of Genne- 
fareth ; Panium or Cafarea Philippi, more anciently Dan 
and Laifh. 
The mountains not already mentioned were : Ghilboa, 
famous for the defeat of Saul and Jonathan ; Thabor, on 
which our Saviour was transfigured ; Carmel, the retreat 
of the prophet Elifiia; Herman, called alfo Sihon, a- 
branch of Lebanon. 
Peraa, in general exprefies alf the country beyond, or 
to the call, of Jordan. It is, however, chiefly applied 
to the diftricl between the Arnon and the Lake of Gen- 
nefareth. The chief towns of it were : Macharus, Hejh- 
bon, Medaba, Gilead, Ephron, Ramoth. The plain.between 
the two lakes of Afphaltitcs and Gennefareth, was called 
Aulon. Here were the mountains of Gilead, Aharim, Nebo, 
and Pifgah, from which lall Moles enjoyed a view of the 
promiled land. Certain fubdivifions of this country 
were called Trackonites or Iturca, Ganlonitis, Batanea or 
Bafan, Auranitis. The refpedtive limits of thefe are not 
well afeertained. There was in this part of the couhtry 
a Hccapoiis, or confederacy of ten cities. To thei eall 
1 lay 
