Biblical Geography and History Part 5

X

EARLY PALESTINE

=The Aim and Value of Historical Geography.= Historical geography deals primarily with the background of history rather than with the detailed historical facts themselves. It aims to go back of events and movements and to study underlying forces and causes. Primitive peoples are more subject to the influences of physical environment than the more civilized races. Modern peoples are able with the aid of art and science to rise superior in many ways to natural conditions and limitations. A knowledge, therefore, of the physical forces at work in early Palestinian history is of especial value in reconstructing this important but little known chapter in the life of the race.

=Sources of Information Regarding Early Palestine.= The discoveries of the past quarter century have revealed in a remarkable way the outlines, at least, of the early history of the states along the eastern Mediterranean. The meagre biblical references have been supplemented by the contemporary testimony of the Babylonian and Egyptian monuments. For this early period the Babylonian data are still incomplete, being limited to the statements of certain early conquerors, such as Lugalzaggisi and Sargon I, that they made expeditions to the West Country. Beginning, however, with about 1600 B.C., the Egyptian records furnish rich and in many cases detailed pictures of conditions in Syria and Palestine. Thotmose III, who reigned between 1479 and 1447 B.C., has given a vivid account of his many campaigns and conquests in the lands along the eastern Mediterranean. In his lists inscribed on the great temple at Karnak he gives the names of three hundred and eighty cities, of which one hundred and nineteen are in Palestine. From the reign of one of his successors, Amenhotep IV, the great reforming king of Egypt, comes the famous collection of the Tell el-Amarna letters. These were found in ruins which lie on the east side of the Nile about one hundred and seventy miles south of Cairo. Nearly three hundred of these tablets, written in the Babylonian language and script, have been recovered.

They represent the correspondence of Amenhotep IV and his predecessor with the kings of Babylonia, a.s.syria, and Mitanni, and especially with the Egyptian governors of Palestine.

=Evidence of the Excavations.= Recent excavations in Palestine at the ancient border town of Lachish and at Gezer on the coast plain, at Taanach and Megeddo on the southwestern side of the Plain of Esdraelon, and at Jericho in the Jordan valley, have greatly enriched our knowledge of early Palestine, for a large majority of the inscriptions and archaeological remains that have been discovered at these sites come from the pre-Hebrew period. Of these the ruins of Gezer have been most thoroughly excavated (under the direction of the Palestine Exploration Fund) and have yielded by far the most detailed and valuable results. The ancient town lay on the borders of Philistia, on the line between Judah and northern Israel. It was built on one of the foot-hills which extend out into the plain beyond the Valley of Ajalon.^{(61)} Thus, while it belonged to the hill country, it was almost entirely surrounded by the plain and open to all the influences which affected the Mediterranean coast cities. The original town rested on two hills, one on the east and the other on the west, and extended across the shallow intervening valley. Four or five distinct cities, built successively one upon another, have been unearthed.

=The Oldest Inhabitants of Palestine.= The remains found in the lowest stratum of the mound of Gezer introduce us to the earliest inhabitants of Palestine. They probably belonged to the Neolithic Age and to a non-Semitic race. From the skeletons thus far discovered it is clear that they were short in stature, averaging between five feet four inches and five feet seven inches in height. Already they had begun to cultivate the ground and to make rude flint implements. They kept cows, pigs, sheep, and goats. In certain caves, coming from this or an earlier age, rude attempts to picture these animals have also been discovered. Their pottery was shaped by hand and decorated with red or white lines. Their ancient town was surrounded by an earthen wall, ten feet thick, faced on the inside and out with stone. Gezer was evidently selected as the site of an ancient city because about it are many caves, the original dwelling-places of these primitive people.

They apparently wors.h.i.+pped underground deities, in connection with sacred caves. Outside the entrance to such a cave at Gezer are found eighty or more cuplike cavities sunk in the rock and probably used for purposes of sacrifice.

=The Semitic Invasions From the Desert.= Situated, as was Canaan, on the borders of the desert, it was practically inevitable that in time great waves of nomadic invaders would sweep in through the broad valleys and down the coast plains. In the light of the excavations at Gezer and the testimony of the Egyptian inscriptions, this was precisely what occurred somewhere between 2500 and 2000 B.C.

Undoubtedly the Semites had begun to find their way to Palestine before this period, but it is clear in the light of recent discoveries that this great movement from the desert toward the eastern sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean antedated by several centuries another similar movement eastward, which carried from Syria or northern Arabia to Babylon the founders of its first dynasty. In the light of the latest discoveries, the rule of this dynasty must be dated between 2100 and 1700 B.C. The excavations at Gezer reveal the presence there at this period of a Semitic race from five feet seven inches to five feet eleven inches in height, st.u.r.dier than the preceding aborigines and possessed of relatively high civilization. The city was surrounded by a wall about ten feet thick, made of large hammer-trimmed stones, and guarded by towers at intervals of ninety feet. The approach on the south was through a huge gateway nine feet wide, forty-two feet long, and flanked by two towers, which were faced by sunburnt bricks. Bronze and copper implements are found and there are abundant evidences of an advanced culture.

=Influence of the Early Amorite Civilization Upon Babylon.= The recent work ent.i.tled _Amurru_, by Professor Clay of Yale, has raised anew the question of what was the centre of the oldest Semitic civilization.

The attempt made by certain scholars to prove the Babylonian origin of all that is distinctive in the civilization, traditions, and religion of the early Semitic nations including Israel is extreme. The evidence adduced by Professor Clay to prove that in the earliest period Syria influenced Babylonia more than the Tigris-Euphrates valley influenced the westland is c.u.mulative. Many of the familiar Babylonian traditions bear marks that suggest a western origin. Over one-tenth of the names in the large literature that comes from the reign of Hammurabi, the great king of the First Babylonian dynasty, are Amorite or western Semitic. The names and attributes of most of the Babylonian G.o.ds are best explained on the basis of a western origin. The Babylonian custom of rearing ziggurats or high places for their deities, even on the level plains of Babylonia, seems to reflect the western custom of wors.h.i.+pping the G.o.ds on the high places. Furthermore, Syria is pre-eminently the home of the sun wors.h.i.+p that was especially prominent in the Babylonian cults.

=The Probable Site of the Oldest Semitic Civilization.= The many references to the Amorites in early Egyptian and Hebrew history indicates that they developed an ancient and high civilization. The original centre of their power appears to have been central Syria, and especially the broad, fertile plains between the Lebanons and the Anti-Lebanons, through which flowed the upper waters of the River Orontes. It is certain that from a geographical point of view conditions were here supremely favorable for an early and powerful civilization. The climate was warm and yet stimulating, the soil rich and easily cultivated. The lofty mountains on either side afforded natural protection, and yet did not ward off frequent thrusts that came from the Arab invaders that pressed in, like the ancestors of the Amorites, from the adjoining desert. Communication was also easy in every direction. Through this great plain ran the main highways of trade from north to south and east and west. Ample opportunity was offered for expansion on every side. The later appearance of the Amorites in Palestine and at other places along the eastern Mediterranean coastland is also best explained if the earliest home of their civilization was central Syria.

=Remains of the Old Amorite Civilization.= Large mounds, evidently the remains of ancient Amorite cities, dot the broad plain between the Lebanons. These have as yet been untouched by the spade of the excavator. They alone can tell the age, character, and history of the old Amorite civilization. They furnish the most promising field for excavations in all the Semitic world. On the neighboring mountain heights exquisite sun temples still remain. Although they may have been reared by the later Phnicians they doubtless stand on the sites of older Amorite sanctuaries. As of old, the sun, as it rises and sends its first rays through a lofty mountain pa.s.s, s.h.i.+nes through the open door of the temple and lights up the altar within. The ruins of the great temple at Baalbek, which stand in the middle of the plain between the Lebanons, are still one of the wonders of the world.^{(62)} Although this vast temple was built late in the Roman period, it testifies to the rich productivity of the broad valley in which it lies and to the religious traditions that clung to this favored region.

=Babylonian Influence in Palestine.= Even though the origin of the earliest Semitic culture in the Tigris-Euphrates valley may, in the light of future excavations, be traced back to Syria, there is no doubt that from the days of Hammurabi, about 1900 B.C., Babylon exerted a powerful influence upon Syria and Palestine. The frequent references in the literature that comes from the reign of Hammurabi to the Amorite merchants and immigrants show how close were the relations between the westland and the Tigris-Euphrates valley.

Hammurabi, in a recently discovered inscription, also calls himself "the king of the Amurru." The Babylonian language and method of writing was used in Palestine as late as the fourteenth century B.C.

by the Egyptian governors of Syria and Palestine even in communicating with the kings of Egypt. Practically all of the pre-Hebrew literature thus far discovered in the mounds of Palestine was written in Babylonian characters. These facts are irrefutable evidence of the strength and duration of the influence that the highly developed civilization of Babylon in the five centuries after Hammurabi exerted upon the West Country.

=Egyptian Influence in the Cities of the Plain.= Thus far the results of the excavations in Palestine have revealed a preponderating Egyptian influence. At Gezer scarabs from the Twelfth Egyptian dynasty (between 2000 and 1788 B.C.) have been discovered. The method of burial here employed was identical with that of Egypt at the same period. The excavations at ancient Lachish and Taanach also indicate that along the coast plains and inland valleys which led from these plains, Egypt's influence was paramount. This condition is precisely what would be antic.i.p.ated from the relative position of Egypt and Palestine. Two or three great open highways led around the southeastern end of the Mediterranean, binding these two countries closely together. Egypt, by virtue of its fertility and favorable physical conditions, developed a much higher and earlier civilization than did Palestine. Hence it was inevitable that these western and central cities of Palestine would sooner or later take on the complexion of the earlier civilization.

=Different Types of Civilization in Palestine.= The excavations in the old Canaanite city of Jericho, in contrast to those on the borders of the Philistine Plain, have disclosed only a few indications of Egyptian influence there at this early period. Evidently the natural barriers which separated the different parts of Palestine from each other were a.s.serting themselves, with the result that the life and civilization of the various cities throughout the land already presented wide variations. Along the coast were strong Semitic cities, surrounded by thick walls and possessed of all that the mingled culture of ancient Amurru, Babylonia, and Egypt could give. Traces of the influence of Mycenaean and aegean civilization are also found in the strata which come from this early period. In the north the Phnician cities were approaching the zenith of their power. Up among the hills of the central plateau, however, the Shashu, or Bedouin, still pastured their flocks undisturbed, except near the large cities, where they were probably obliged to pay tribute.

=Conditions Leading to the Hyksos Invasion of Egypt.= About 1700 B.C.

there came a marked change in the political situation in southwestern Asia. In Babylon the Ka.s.sites came down from the mountains to the northeast and conquered the valleys of the lower Tigris and Euphrates.

About the same time a.s.syria a.s.serted its independence and began to lay the foundations for its future greatness. Somewhat later an Aryan race, known as the Mitanni, descended from the north, seized the plains of Mesopotamia, and established there a strong kingdom. This new kingdom, as well as the weakness of Babylon itself, delivered Palestine from eastern invasions. Egypt was also torn by civil wars and dissensions between the n.o.bles. Under these favoring conditions the Semitic peoples of Palestine, Syria, and probably also of Arabia, united for the invasion of Egypt.

=Fortunes of the Invaders.= The Egyptian records unfortunately give little information concerning this so-called Hyksos invasion. The fact, however, is established that northern Egypt, for about a century, until the earlier part of the sixteenth century B.C., was held by Asiatic conquerors bearing Semitic names. When finally expelled from Egypt by the Theban kings in the south, these foreign conquerors retired to Palestine and Syria. Thither they were pursued by the energetic warrior kings who arose at this critical period in Egypt's history. At first the Hyksos leaders made their stand at Sharuhen, a city probably situated somewhere in southern Judah. Later the Egyptian kings conquered the cities of Palestine, and finally, after a prolonged struggle, succeeded in capturing the powerful city of Kadesh on the Orontes, which was apparently the centre of the confederacy of Syrian states.

=The One Natural Site in Syria for a Great Empire.= The history of the Hyksos invaders by a.n.a.logy throws light upon the older Amorite kingdom, of which it was perhaps a later revival, and demonstrates that the broad valley between the Lebanons and the Anti-Lebanons, of which Kadesh was the centre, was practically the only region in Syria fitted to become the seat of a strong civilization and a large empire.

Entrenched among these northern plains and protecting mountain ranges, it was possible for an energetic people to extend their sway over practically all the coast lands of the eastern Mediterranean.

Naturally, when a favorable opportunity offered for the conquest of Egypt, it would be eagerly improved; for the rich valley of the Nile has always been a tempting prey to outside peoples. The history of the later Hitt.i.te kingdom, the southern capital of which was also at Kadesh, ill.u.s.trates the same principle. A still later and even more familiar a.n.a.logy is the career of the Seleucidean kingdom, whose capital was at Antioch, a little farther north. Thus the only four kingdoms in the history of the eastern Mediterranean that conquered this entire territory and aspired to wider conquest sprang up, not in Palestine, but amidst the more favorable conditions in central Syria.

=Influence of the Land Upon the Early Forms of Wors.h.i.+p.= The peculiar physical conditions of Palestine not only shaped to a great extent its early history, but also made a profound impression upon the religion of its inhabitants. The limestone rock of Palestine was especially favorable to the formation of caves. These caverns and pa.s.sages in the rocks were not only the homes of the earliest inhabitants, but were also closely identified with the oldest forms of religious wors.h.i.+p.

Beneath the earlier sanctuaries at Gezer and Taanach were caves, clearly connected with the primitive cult which once flourished there.

Probably the G.o.ds here wors.h.i.+pped were subterranean deities.

The prominence of the oracle in the early religions of Palestine may well be due to the ease with which a designing priesthood could deceive a credulous people by the skilful use of these subterranean chambers. The most striking features in the landscape of Palestine were the high peaks, the jagged rocks, the springs bursting from the hillside, and the green trees standing out in striking contrast to their gray, sombre background. Each of these occupied a prominent place in the early Canaanite religions. On the heights, commanding wide views over valley and plain, were reared the high places, or ancient rock-cut altars.^{(52, 53)} Scores of these are still to be found among the rocky hills of Palestine. Certain rocks were regarded as sacred because it was believed that in them the deity dwelt. These sacred rock-pillars, or macceboth, as they were called by the Hebrews, were found near every ancient Canaanite altar and even, as at Taanach, before the entrance to private houses. A row of nine such pillars has been discovered standing in the temple court at Gezer. At Taanach there was a double row. The most impressive examples are the two huge monoliths which guard the ascent to the famous high place at Petra.

Frequently these sacred stones or pillars are worn smooth by the lips of wors.h.i.+ppers or by the libations which have been poured upon them.

Often there are cuttings on the top or side, where sacrifices were probably offered to the numen or deity, who was supposed to reside within. Beside or beneath each ancient sanctuary, as at Gezer and Taanach, was a spring or well, which apparently figured in the wors.h.i.+p. Beside these ancient sanctuaries grew trees, symbols of life and the mystery of generation. Sometimes these trees were represented by the asherahs or sacred poles to which the Hebrew prophets often referred.

=Upon the Beliefs of Its Inhabitants.= More fundamental still was the impression which the diverse physical contour of Palestine made upon the beliefs of its ancient inhabitants. Where the contour of the land made political unity impossible there were necessarily many independent races and kingdoms, each wors.h.i.+pping their patron G.o.d or G.o.ddess. Hence the religions of Palestine were grossly polytheistic and the wors.h.i.+p of one common G.o.d was a goal which the people would never have attained except under a strong compelling influence from without. The different cults of Palestine were also deeply influenced by the character of the land amidst which they developed. The deities of the Canaanites living on the fertile plains were either G.o.ds of fertility or else represented the mysterious principle of generation.

Their wors.h.i.+p naturally became voluptuous and licentious. The grim hills of central Palestine and the dark volcanic gorge of the Jordan and Dead Sea engendered a cruel and relentless type of religion and wors.h.i.+p in which human sacrifice was an important feature. Thus, although the foundations of a n.o.bler type of culture were being laid, the political and religious history of Palestine during this earlier period gave little promise of the supremely important role that it was destined to play in the life of mankind.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PRE-HEBREW CANAAN IN THE LIGHT OF THE EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS (1600-1300 B.C.) AND THE AMARNA LETTERS (About 1400 B.C.)

BORWAY & CO., N.Y.

XI

PALESTINE UNDER THE RULE OF EGYPT

=Reasons Why Egypt Conquered Palestine.= The Egyptian rule in Palestine was established about 1580 B.C. and, with the exception of two long lapses, was maintained for nearly three centuries. Thotmose III, the greatest warrior and organizer in Egyptian history, after fifteen energetically fought campaigns, extended the border of Egypt to the Euphrates and brought all the petty little rival kingdoms in Palestine and Syria under his control. The reason for his intense activity was not merely the l.u.s.t for conquest and spoil, but the desire to deliver Egypt from the danger of another attack similar to that of the Hyksos. From a very early period the northeastern boundary of Egypt was guarded by fortresses, since there were no natural barriers between it and Palestine. The population of northern Arabia was too scattered to be a menace to the peace of Egypt; but Palestine and Syria, with their fertile fields and growing population, were a just cause of anxiety and fear to the peace-loving dwellers of the Nile valley. The powerful kingdoms on the Tigris and Euphrates were also from the earliest times ever eager for western conquest. Thus with the sixteenth century B.C. began the great struggle between the East and the West for the possession of Palestine.

=Commanding Position of Megiddo.= Throughout the Egyptian period the city of Megiddo, on the southwestern side of the Plain of Esdraelon, overshadowed all others in importance. Here the united kings of Syria and Palestine made their stand against Thotmose III, and after capturing this mighty fortress, the Egyptian ruler was left master of Palestine. The reason why Megiddo had attained this prestige was partially because of its strategic importance and partially because of its military strength. Recent excavations leave little doubt that this famous Canaanite city is to be identified with the present Tell el-Mutesellim^{(63)}. It is one of the three or four most imposing mounds in all Palestine. It lies close to the Samaritan hills and yet stands out in the plain, a huge, round plateau between fifty and seventy-five feet in height. It commands a view of practically every part of the Plain of Esdraelon and far along the Plain of Jezreel toward the Jordan until the view is cut off by Mount Gilboa. It looks straight across the Plain of Esdraelon at its broadest point, through the valleys which lead past Mount Tabor to the Sea of Galilee. A little to the left rise the hills of Lower Galilee, while to the northwest it commands the view through the narrow pa.s.s to the Plain of Acre and the Mediterranean. Under its northeastern front ran the important road leading northwest from the Jordan and central Palestine and connecting with the main highway along the northern coast. On its southeastern side, through a broad, fertile valley, came the main highway from the southern coast plains and Egypt, which ran northeastward to Damascus. A northern branch pa.s.sed through the wide plain between the Lebanons and the Anti-Lebanons.

=Its Military Strength.= The city is to-day a stately, deserted ruin, but its sides are so steep on the east and west that it is still impossible for even the hardy Arabian horses to mount to the top from these directions. For one on foot, accustomed to climbing, it is an exceedingly difficult scramble. A low saddle of land connects the mound with the Samaritan hills to the west, making the approach from this point somewhat easier. Recent excavations have further revealed the great strength of this fortress city. It was surrounded by a wall twenty-eight feet thick and guarded by towers of corresponding strength. On its level top was an area of several acres, ample room for a large Canaanite population, for the houses were little more than cubicles, and the streets narrow, intricate lanes, at many points scarcely wide enough for two people to pa.s.s comfortably. The public buildings, however, which included a palace and temple, were of a much stronger and more ma.s.sive construction.^{(64)}

=Thotmose III's Advance Against Megiddo.= Standing upon the mound of Megiddo it is not difficult to picture the great decisive battle, which the scribes of Thotmose III have recorded vividly and with great detail. His courage in rejecting the counsels of his generals to advance from the Plain of Sharon by a detour and his resolve to approach the city directly through the valley from the southwest command our admiration, for five miles to the south the valley narrows, affording a splendid opportunity for a determined enemy to attack an invading army with great advantage. Without opposition, however, the Egyptian army, with its gay oriental trappings, came up the valley. Its energetic king was in front, "showing the way by his own footsteps." Having reached the Plain of Esdraelon at the south of Megiddo, the king, late the same afternoon or in the night, threw out his left wing on the hills to the northwest of the city that he might command the roads leading along the western side of the Plain of Esdraelon. He thus both secured his line of retreat and was in a position to cut off fugitives in case he won the decisive battle. This position also gave him the easiest line of approach to Megiddo itself.

=The Decisive Battle.= The following morning the king rallied his forces for battle. While his left wing retained its strategic position his right wing was drawn up on a hill to the southwest of the city. He was thus able to descend upon the forces of the allied Canaanite kings, who were drawn up in a north and south line before the city.

Riding in a glittering chariot of elektrum, the indomitable warrior led the onset. Before this army, already a victor on many hard-fought battle-fields, the Canaanites at the first attack fled headlong to Megiddo. Finding the gates closed against them, many of the fugitives were drawn up the wall by their friends within. Elated by their easily won victory and attracted by the rich spoils in the camp of the vanquished king of Kadesh, the victors fell to plundering and thereby lost a precious opportunity to capture the city at once.

=Capture of Megiddo.= Not daunted by its seemingly impregnable walls, Thotmose III at once gave orders to surround it. His servants he sent out to gather the ripening grain on the fields which stretched across the Plain of Esdraelon and to collect the great herds that were pasturing over the gra.s.s-covered hills and valleys on its border.

Within the city no provision had been made for a siege, and the thousands shut up within its walls were soon reduced to starvation.

After several weeks, the city was, therefore, compelled to surrender.

The king of Kadesh had fled, but his family and the families of his n.o.bles fell into the hands of the conqueror. The spoils found in the captured city reveals the almost incredible opulence of this early Canaanite civilization. Nine hundred and twenty-four chariots, two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight horses, two hundred suits of armor, the royal tent, with the sceptre of the king of Kadesh, an ebony statue of himself, inlaid with lapis-lazuli and gold, a silver statue, probably of some G.o.d, and vast quant.i.ties of gold and silver were among the spoils which the conqueror claims to have found in the captured city.

=The Cities of Palestine.= The contemporary literature already discovered indicates that by 1400 B.C. most of the cities that figured in Hebrew history were already established and that Palestine was almost, if not fully, as densely populated as in the days of the Hebrews. Among the chief Phnician cities on the coast were Arvad in the north, Byblos and Beirut in central Syria, and Sidon, Tyre, and Accho in the south. The coast plains to the south of Mount Carmel, including the cities of Dor, Gezer, Ashdod, Altaku, Askalon, Gath, and Gaza, were at this period held by the Phnicians or their kinsmen the Canaanites. Among the cities later captured by the Hebrews were Kadesh and Hanathon in Galilee, and Shechem, Bethel, Beth-horon, Ajalon, Jerusalem, and Beth-anoth in southern Palestine. As in the days of the Hebrew occupation, the Plain of Esdraelon was the centre of a strong Canaanite confederacy, which included Megiddo, Taanach, Shunem, Bethshean, and certain other cities whose sites have not yet been identified.

=Disastrous Effects of Egyptian Rule.= The Egyptian rule of Palestine put a stop for a time to the wars between the petty city states and brought them all into close contact with the life and culture of Egypt. But the fertile Nile valley, with its warm climate and luxurious atmosphere, was not a land to produce a great colonizing or organizing power. Egypt, because of its shut in position, was always selfish and provincial. None of the Egyptian rulers of Palestine sought to develop the interests and resources of the native peoples or to unite them under a common government. Their sole interest in Palestine was to protect themselves from the danger of invasion from that quarter and to extract the largest possible tribute from its inhabitants. Egypt willingly left the native chiefs of Palestine in control as long as they paid tribute and did not rebel, for the sharp contrast between the soft, equable climate of the Nile valley and the winter cold of the eastern Mediterranean coast lands made residence there exceedingly distasteful to the Egyptians. The few resident Egyptians were officials, whose chief duties were to collect the tribute and to report conditions to their king. Apparently the Pharaohs never attempted to establish a standing army in Palestine or Syria; but to maintain their rule they depended upon the rivalry of the local princes and upon intimidating the natives by campaigns characterized by the greatest severity and cruelty in the treatment of rebels. Thus Egypt took the wealth and life blood of Palestine and gave almost nothing in return.

=Lack of Union in Palestine.= On the other hand, the topography of Palestine was such that it furnished no basis for a broad patriotism that would unite all the petty kingdoms and races in its narrow bounds. This inability successfully to combine against the common foe, and the broad valleys that opened into central and northern Palestine from the south and west, made its conquest by an Egyptian army very easy.

=Exposure to Invasions From the Desert.= Another marked characteristic of Palestine is the key to the understanding of the next stage in its history. As has been noted before, "it lay broadside on to the desert." As surely as air rushes into a vacuum, so the tribes from the desert steppes irresistibly surged into Palestine through its eastern gateways the moment its internal strength was relaxed. The selfish, intermittent, destructive rule of Egypt not only repeatedly decimated the population of Palestine but weakened its outposts. In time they even goaded on the native princes to call in the Bedouin tribes to aid them in throwing off the conqueror's heavy yoke.

=Advance of the Habiri.= The Tell el Amarna letters and those discovered in Palestine reveal precisely this state of affairs. It was under the rule of Amenhotep IV, who was more intent upon religious reforms than on the ruling of his distant provinces, that Egyptian control of Palestine was first relaxed. A stream of letters poured in upon the king from the governors of the cities of Palestine, telling of each other's treachery and of the advance of bands of the Habiri, who at this time, about 1360 B.C., poured into Palestine from the desert. These new invaders possess a unique interest for the student of biblical history, for among them in all probability were Aramean as well as Arabian tribes, the ancestors of the later Hebrews. They seem to have been independent tribes under the leaders.h.i.+p of their chiefs.

They succeeded in capturing many of the weaker outlying cities. Often they were employed as mercenaries by the rival princes of Canaan, and they readily allied themselves with the native peoples in an endeavor to throw off the yoke of Egypt. The governors of such important cities as Megiddo, Askalon, and Gezer wrote beseeching the Pharaoh to send troops to aid them against these strong invaders. In the ruins of Taanach is found an interesting letter, sent to the governor of the town by an officer at Megiddo. It reads: "To Istar-washur from Aman-has.h.i.+r. May Adad preserve thy life! Send thy brothers with their chariots, and send a horse, thy tribute, and presents, and all prisoners who are with thee; send them to Megiddo by to-morrow." In the ruins of Lachish was found a similar letter, written in Babylonian by its governor Zimrida, and stating that unless an Egyptian army was sent quickly the city must submit to the invaders. Jerusalem, under its governor, Abdhiba, was one of the last cities to resist the advance of the Habiri. At last, however, these people from the desert prevailed. An Egyptian officer, writing of the native peoples, states: "They have been destroyed, their towns laid waste.... Their countries are starving, they live like goats of the mountain."

=Rise of the Hitt.i.te Power.= This chapter in the history of early Palestine throws much light upon later Hebrew history. The invaders evidently soon coalesced with the older Canaanite inhabitants, infusing new blood and energy into the people; but they quickly adopted the older civilization. The conditions of Palestine remained practically the same as in the days before the Egyptian invasions. The geographical characteristics of the land rea.s.serted themselves. The old rivalries and wars between the little states of Palestine quickly sprang up again, so that, when the energetic kings of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty appeared, the land was once more ripe for conquest.

Meantime, however, the Hitt.i.tes, profiting by the more favorable physical conditions in northern Syria, had come down from Cappadocia and the mountains of eastern Asia Minor and had built up a strong kingdom, having for its southern capital Kadesh on the Orontes. From this centre they had extended their influence not only over Syria, but also over Palestine. When Ramses II, the great ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty, set out in 1288 B.C. to conquer the eastern Mediterranean coast lands, he found himself, like Thotmose III, two hundred years before, confronted by a powerful foe, strongly intrenched in the broad valleys between the Lebanons. After an undecisive battle and many campaigns Ramses was glad to establish with this rival power a treaty which left the Hitt.i.tes in possession of northern Syria and the Egyptians masters of Palestine.

=Palestine Between 1270 and 1170 B.C.= The period of half a century which immediately followed was one of peace and prosperity for Palestine. Ramses II and his son, Merneptah, kept the great empire intact by their indomitable energy and efficient organization. With the pa.s.sing of the Nineteenth Dynasty there came a period of anarchy in which the Egyptian rule of Palestine was for a time relaxed. Ramses III, the great ruler of the Twentieth Dynasty, set about restoring the former bounds of the empire. For over a quarter of a century (1198-1167 B.C.) he succeeded in holding Palestine and in inflicting severe blows upon the Hitt.i.te power in the north; but his reign marked the end of Egypt's greatness. The Valley of the Nile was never fitted by nature to be the centre of a great world power. Its foreign conquests had been largely the result of the energy and personal ability of four or five great Pharaohs. Syria and Palestine, because of their central position, felt the effect of all the great world movements, not only in the south and east, but also in the west.

During the beginning of the twelfth century B.C. there was a great upheaval among the Aryan peoples living along the northern coast lands of the Mediterranean. As a result, they were obliged to seek homes elsewhere and so came streaming down the coast of Syria in thousands both by land and by sea. They overran Syria and broke forever the power of the Hitt.i.tes along the eastern Mediterranean. Hordes of them pressed into the Nile Delta, and were turned back only by the strong armies and activity of Ramses III. One branch, the Peleset, of the Egyptian inscriptions, overthrew the old Canaanite population and settled at this time on the coast plains south of Joppa. They were known in Hebrew history as the Philistines.