year 1291, it was, by the fury of the Saracens, besieged with an army of 150,000, entered, sacked, and utterly demolished, though in some sort afterward reedified, and it is now Turkish.

S

§. 5.

Of the castle of St. George.

FIVE miles from Ptolomais, towards the east, is the castle of s St. George seated, in which he was born, the valley adjoining bearing the same name. And though for the credit of t St. George's killing the dragon, I leave every man to his own belief; yet I cannot but think that, if the kings of England had not some probable record of that his memorable act among many others, it was strange that the order, full of honour, which Edward III. founded, and which his successors royally have continued, should have borne his name, seeing the world had not that scarcity of saints in those days, as that the English were driven to make such an erection upon a fable or person feigned. The place is described by Adrichomius, in his description of Asher, to have been in the fields of Libanus, between the river Adonis and Zidon. His own words are these: Hoc loco qui ab incolis Cappadocia appellatur, non longe a Beryto, memorant inclytum Christi militem D. Georgium, regis filiam ab immanissimo dracone asservasse: eamque mactata bestia parenti restituisse. In cujus rei memoriam ecclesia postmodum fuit ædificata; "In this place, which by the inhabit"ants is called Cappadocia, not far from Berytus, men say "that the famous knight of Christ, St. George, did rescue "the king's daughter from a huge dragon, and, having killed "the beast, delivered the virgin to her parent. In memory "of which deed a church was after built there." Thus far Adrichomius. His authors he citeth Ludovicus Roman. Patric. Navigationum, 1. 1. c. 3. and Bridenbach, Itin. 5. The valley under this castle, sometime called Asher, was afterward called the valley of St. George. If this authority suffice not, we may rather make the story allegorical, figur

• Broch.

Itin. 4. Of the place and memory of his death, see ch. 9. sect. 1.

ing the victory of Christ, than accept of George the Arian bishop, mentioned by Am. Marcellinus.

§. 6.

Of Acziba, Sandalium, and others.

BETWEEN Ptolomais and Tyre, along the sea-coast, was the strong city of Acziba, or Achazib, which u St. Jerome calleth Achziph, and Josephus, Ecdippos, Pliny, Ecdippa, one of those which defended itself against the Asherites. Belforrest finds Acziba and Sandalium, or the castle of Alexander, to be one; but I know not whence he had it.

The twelve searchers of the land, which Moses sent from Cades-barne, travelled as far to the north as Roob, or Rechob, in the tribe of Asser, which Rechob, as also Berothæ, which by Ezekiel, xlvii. 16. is placed in these north borders, belonged, in David's time, to the king Hedarhezer, as it may be gathered out of 2 Sam. viii. 8. and x. 6. and it defended itself against the Asserites, as Zidon, Tyre, Achziph, Ptolomais, Alab, Helbah, and Aphek did.

This Aphek it was, whose wall falling down slew 27,000 of Benhadad's soldiers, after that 100,000 had been slaughtered by the Israelites under the conduct of Ahab. Here Junius finds that the Philistines encamped a little before the battle at Gilboa, though in his note upon 1 Sam. ix. 1. he takes Aphek there mentioned (at which battle the ark was taken) to have been in * Juda. Of which Joshua xv. 53. and in 2 Kings xiii. 17. he reads Fortiter, for in Aphek. Where others convert it, Percutiens Syros in Aphek.

The next place along the coast is Sandalium, first called Schandalium of Schander, which we call Alexander, for Alexander Macedon built it when he besieged Tyre; and set it on a point of land which extendeth itself into the sea between Acziba and Tyre; which castle Baldwin the First rebuilt and fortified in the year of Christ 1157, when he undertook the recovery of Tyre.

Not much above a mile from this castle, there ariseth

Jerom. de locis Heb. Jos. Bell. * 1 Kings xx. 29. 1 Sam. xxix. 1. Jud. 1. 1. c. 11. Plin. l. 5. c. 19.

that most plentiful spring of water, which Solomon remembereth, called the y well of living waters: from whence, not only all the fields and plains about Tyre are made fruitful by large pipes hence drawn; but the same spring, which hath not above a bow-shot of ground to travel till it recover the sea, driveth six great mills in that short passage, saith z Brochard.

Within the land, and to the east of a Acziba and Sandalium, standeth Hosa; and beyond it, under the mountains of Tyre, the city of Achsaph, or Axab, or after St. Jerome, Acisap, a city of great strength, whose king, amongst the rest, was slain by Joshua at the waters of Merom.

§. 7.

Of Thoron, Giscala, and some other places.

FURTHER into the land, towards Jordan, was seated the castle of Thoron, which Hugo de Sancto Abdemare built on the easternmost hills of Tyre in the year 1107, thereby to restrain the excursions of the Saracens, while they held Tyre, against the Christians, the place adjoining being very fruitful, and exceeding pleasant. From this castle, the lords of Thoron, famous in the story of the wars for the recovery of the Holy Land, derive their names, and take their nobility. It had in it a curious chapel, dedicated to the blessed Virgin, in which Humphrey of Thoron, constable to Baldwin III. king of Jerusalem, lieth buried. There were five castles besides this within the territory of Asser; whereof four are seated almost of equal distance from each other; to wit, Castrum Lamperti, Montfort, Indin, or Saron, Castrum Regium, and Belfort. The first near the sea, under the hills of Saron; the next three, to wit, Indin, Montfort, and Regium, stand more within the land, and belonged to the brotherhood and fellowship of the Teutonici, or Dutch knights, (by which they defended themselves, and gave succour to other Christians, at such time as the Saracens possessed the best part of the upper Galilee,) the chief of which order was in Ptolomais Acon. The first fortress was for beauty and strength called Belfort,

y Cant. iv.

z Itin. I.

■ Josh. xii. 20.

seated in the high ground upon the river Naar, near the city Rama; of which, in this tribe, Joshua xix. 29. for which the Vulgar reads Horma, making the article a part of the word, and mistaking the vowels; from the siege of this castle of b Belfort, the great Saladine, king of Syria and Egypt, was by the Christians' army raised, and, with great loss and dishonour, repulsed.

To the east of Belfort is the strong city of Alab, or Achlab, which St. Jerome calleth Chalab; one of those that defended themselves against Asser, as Roob, or Rechob, not far thence, did.

с

of

Towards the south from Roob they place Gabala, (which Herod, surnamed the Ascalonite, rebuilt,) making it of the territory of Chabol, Quod Syrorum lingua displicere significat, (saith Weissenburg,) so called, because Hiram of Tyre was ill-pleased with those twenty cities seated hereabout, which Solomon presented unto him in recompense those provisions sent him for the building of the temple. Others think this d Chabol, or Cabul, containing a circuit of those twenty cities given to Hiram, to have been without the compass of the Holy Land, though bordering Asher on the north side; as it is said, 1 Reg. ix. 11. that they were in regione limitis; that is, in limite regionis, "in the border "of the country:" for it was not lawful, say they, to give to strangers any part of the possessions allotted to the Israelites: howsoever, that after Hiram had refused them, they were peopled by the Israelites, it appears 2 Chron. viii. 14. And it seems they were conquered by David, from the Syri Rechobai, whose city Roob, or Rechob, was in these parts.

e

Almost of equal distance from the castle of Thoron, they place the cities of Giscala and Gadara; of which Gadara is rather to be placed over Jordan. Giscala was made famous by John the son of Levi, who from a mean estate, gathering together 400 thieves, greatly troubled all the upper Galilee, at such time as the Romans attempted the conquest of

Judæa; by whose practice Josephus, who then commanded in the upper Galilee, was greatly endangered; whereof himself hath written at large, in his second book of those wars, chap. 26. This John betraying, in all he could, the city of Giscala (whereof he was native) to the Roman state: and finding a resistance in the city, gave opportunity, during the contention, to the Tyrians and Gadarims to surprise it; who at the same time forced it, and burnt it to the ground. But being by Josephus's authority rebuilt, it was afterwards rendered to Titus by composition. They find also the cities of Cana major, and fCades, or Cedessa; of the first was that Syro-Phoenician, whose daughter Christ delivered of the evil spirit. Near the other, they say, it was, that Jonathas Macchabæus overthrew the army of Demetrius.

There are, besides these forenamed cities within the tribe of Asser, divers others; as on the south border, and near the sea, Messal, or Misheal; within the land g Besara, h Bethdagon, and Bethemec, standing on the south border, between Asher and Zabulon; on the north side, joining to Syro-Phoenicia, is the city of Hethalon, or Chethlon, the utmost of the Holy Land that way; under which, towards the sea, is Chali, and then i Enoch, supposed to be built by Cain, and named of his son Enoch, but without probability, as I have formerly proved. There are others also besides these, as Ammon, or Chammon, of which Joshua xix. 28. where also we read of Nehiel, Rama, Alamelec, and Beton; the cities of Alcath, or Chelcath, Habdon, and Rechob, and Misheal, which we have already mentioned, were by the Asserites given to the Levites. Of others held by the Canaanites, mention is made Judges i. 30. to which, out of k Joshua, we may add Ebron, Amhad, and others, on which no story dependeth; and therefore I will not pester the description with them.

f See Kadesh in Nephthalim, Matth. xv. Mark vii. Maccab. i. 73. Jos. Ant. 13. c. 8.

Of which Josephus in vita sua.

h Of both which, Josh. xix. 27. Ezek. xlvii. 15.

i Or Enosa, Joseph. Ant. 1. 1. c. 4.' * Josh. xxi. 30.