Josephus, according to Epiphanius,* when about to build the church, found part of an ancient temple, called the Adrianeum consisting of stones six feet square, which the inhabitants of Tiberias wished to convert into a public bath. This he im mediately appropriated to the erection of the new sanctuary; and in the present building similar remaius may be observed. Whatsoever be the date of it, we may regret that, in the nu merous publications which have appeared concerning the Holy Land, no accurate delineation of these interesting specimens of vanlted architecture has yet been afforded by artists duly qua lified for the representation. The town of Tiberias is situated close to the edge of the lake. It is fortified by walls, but has no artillery; and, like all Turkish citadels, it makes a great figure from without, ex hibiting at the same time the utmost wretchedness within. Its castle stands upon a rising ground, in the north part of it. No antiquities now remain, except the building I have described, and the celebrated hot baths of Emmaus,§ about a mile to the south of the town. "Thermus Tiberiadis quis ignorat?" || They were visited by Egmont and Heyman; but the water has never been accurately analized. Hasselquist states, that he remained long enough for this purpose,** but he has given no account of its chemical constituents. Pococke indeed brought a bottle of it away, having observed a red sediment npon the stones about the place. He affirms, that it contained" gross fixed vitriol, some alum, and a mineral salt." A traveller of the name of Monconys, cited by Reland,‡‡ relates, that the water is extremely hot, having a taste of sulphur mixed with nitre. Egmont and Heyman describe its quality as resembling that of the springs at Aix la Chapelle. They bathed here, and found the water "so hot, as not easily to be Epiphanii Opera, tom. ii. lib. i. Adv. Haer. pp. 136, 137. Paris, 1622. +'Asplavov. Temples without images were called ADRIANEA, from Adrian, by whom they were introduced. That is to say, of four cubits square; reckoning each cubit at eighteen inches. Emmaus, or Ammaus, signifies BATHS. (Vid. Joseph. lib. iv. de Bell. Jud c. 1.) The Hebrew appellation is n CHAMMATH (Reland. Palaest. Illust. tom. i. lib. i. p. 302.) The baths of Tiberias are thus mentioned by Pliny; "Aboccidente Tiberiade, aquis calidis, salubri." (Hist. Nat. lib. v. c. 15.) Josephus also mentions them, and their situation with regard to the city, Θέρμα ἐκ απωθεν ἔνεστιν ἐν κώμῃ, 'Αμμα Es dvoua a8r. Thermae non longe (ab urbe Tiberiadis) absunt, in vico, Ammaus dic(Josephus, Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 3.) The Arabian word for baths, chammam or hammam, is not very different from the Hebrew; and by this name the baths of Tiberias are now called. to." Relandi Palaestina Illustr. tom. ii. lib. iii. p. 1039. Traj. Bat. 1714. **Travels to the East, p. 157. Lond. 1766. tt Description of the East, vol. ii part i. p. 69. Lond. 1745. Palaest. Illust. tom. ii. lib. iii. p. 1040. Traj. Bat. 1714. Travels through part of Europe, Asia Minor, &c. vol. ii. p. 33 Lond. 1759, endured," and "so salt, as to communicate a brackish taste to that of the lake near it,' Volney says, that, "for want of cleaning, it is filled with a black mud, which is a genuine Æthiops Martial;" that " persons attacked by rheumatic complaints, find great relief, and are frequently cured by baths of this mud." These observations have been introduced, because we were unable ourselves to visit the place; and were compelled to rest satisfied with a distant view of the building which covers a spring renowned, during many ages, for its medical properties. In the space between Tiberias and Emmaus, Egmont and Heyman noticed remains of walls, and other ruins, which are described as foundations of the old city.t This is said, by Pococke, to have extended about half a mile farther to the south than the present inclosure of its walls. Adrichomius,& considering Tiberias as the Cinneroth of the Hebrews, says, that this city was captured by Benhadad king of Syria; and, in after ages, restored by Herod, who surrounded it with walls, and adorned it with magnificent buildings. But Cinneroth, or, as it is otherwise written, Kinnereth, was a city of Naphtali, and not of Zabulon.** The old Hebrew city, whatever was its name, probably owed its birth to the renown of its medicinal baths. Some of the most ancient temples in the world, together with the cities to which they belonged, Travels in Egypt and Syria, vol. ii. p. 230. Lond. 1787. † Egmont and Heyman, vol. II. p. 33. Description of the East, vol. II. part 1. p. 68. Pococke says, that when they were digging for stones to build the castle, upon the north side of the town, they found a great number of sepulchres, wherein it was stated the Jews had been buried eight hundred years before. He saw a stone coffin (p 69.) adorned with reliefs, exhibiting a bull's head within a crown of flowers, and a festoon supported by a spread engle." The city has never been inhabited by any people unto whom this religion can be ascribed, except its Jewish owners The fact therefore affords curious proof of the antiquity of a very popular symbol in heraldry. Adrichomii Theat. Terr. Sanct. in Zabulon. Vid. p. 143. Colon. 1628. 1 Kings, xv. 20. At the precise moment when this note is introduced, the irruption of the Wahabee Arabs into the neighbourhood of Damascus has made the eastern district of Syria a scene of transactions resembling the state of the country nine hundred and fifty-one years before the Christian era. Ibn Saoud, the Wahabee chief, remained only two days and a half in the Hauran; overrun, in that time, a space of at least 140 miles; plundered and ransacked about thirty villages; and returned, flying into the heart of his desert dominions. These particulars are communicated to the author in a letter (dated Aleppo, May 3, 1911) from his friend Burkhardt, now travelling under the auspices of the African Society. They afford a striking parallel with the Acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did," who, in his war with Baasha, sent Ben-hádad of Damascus against the cities of Israel," and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali." **Reland, Palæst. Illust. tom. II. lib. iji. p. 1036. D'Anville, however, reconciles this position of Kinnereth, which he writes Cinereth, by extending the boundaries of Naphtali to the southern extremity of the Lake Gennesareth had a similar origin.* Tiberias, according to some authors, was built by Tiberius the Roman emperor, who called it af ter his own name. But Josephus relates, that Herod the Tetrarch erected it in honour of Tiberius, with whom he was in great favourt. For this purpose, it is said, he selected the most suitable place in all Galilee, upon the border of the Lake of Gennesareth. The ample document afforded by Josephus is sufficient to prove that Herod's city was precisely on the spot occupied by the town as it now stands; for in the account given by him of its situation, he describes the hot baths of Emmaus as being out the city, and not far from it. Very considerable privileges were given to those who chose to settle there: the ground whereon the city was built being full of sepulchres, and thereby considered as polluted by dead bodies. Hence we may infer the existence of a former city upon the same territory. Tiberias makes a conspicuous figure in the Jewish annals:* ** it was the scene of some of the most memorable events recorded by Josephus. In refuting the writings of Justus, aù historian often quoted by Stephanus Byzantinus, he speaks of Sepphoris and Tiberias as the two most illustrious cities of Galilee.tt During a visit paid to it by Agrippa, the successor of Herod, the kings of Comagene, of Emessa, of the Lesser Armenia, of Pontus, and of Chaleis, here met to do him honour, and were magnificently entertained. After the downfall of Jerusalem, it continued, until the fifth century, the residence of Jewish patriarchs, rabbius, and learned men. A university was founded here. The of fice of patriarch was hereditary; and appeared with some lustre under the Emperor Adrian, in the person of Simon the Third. In the begining of the fifth century,*** the patriarchate was suppressed, after haying subsisted three hundred and Witness the temple of Jupiter in Mount Ida, mentioned by Homer and by Eschylus; the temple of Esculapius in Epidauria ; &c. &c. † Ὃς κτίσας πόλιν ἐν τῇ Ιεδαίᾳ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ ἴδιον ὄνομα Τιβεριάδα, s urbem in Judaa condidit, et de nomine suo appellavit Tiberiada." Joel in Chronographia, p. 162. Eadem hæc leguntur apud Michaelem Glycam in Annal. part 3. p. 233, Vid. Reland. Palast. Illust. tom. II. p. 1037. Antiquit. lib. xvin. c. 3. et De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 8. Ibid, Ibid. **Vide Misnam Schabbath, III. 4. et XXII. 5. &c." Reland. Palaest. Illust. tom. II. lib. iii. p. 1039. Josephus Antiq. lib. xviii. c. 3. lib. xix. c. 7. In vit. &c. &c. Josephus in Vitâ Sua. Antiq. lib. xix. c. 7. Reland says, usque ad saeculum quartum " Egmont and Heyman mention the fifth; and Pococke, the eleventh century. I have preferred the aera assigned by Egmont and Heyman, (vol. II. p. 31.) because they mention the precise year, and give their authority. Egmont and Heyman, vol. H. p. 31. ****A. D. 429. Ibid. fifty years.* In the sixth, Justinian, according to Procopius, rebuilt the walls. In the seventh century, the city was taken by the Saracens, under Caliph Omar; yet, in the eighth, we find it mentioned in an itinerary cited by Reland, as still containing many churches and Jewish synagogues.§ Various medals are extant of the city, bearing different inscriptions. These are interesting, not only from the dates which they commemorate, but also in the allusion made by some of them to the baths of Tiberias, the principal cause of the city's celebrity. They are principally of the time of Trajan or of Adrian. Upon some, the Syrian goddess Astarte is represented standing upon the prow of a vessel, with the head of Osiris in her right hand, and a spear in her left.* Others represent Jupiter sitting in his temple. There are also other medals of the city, with the figure of Hygeia, holding a serpent, and sitting on a mountain; from whose base issue two fountains, intended for the hot springs of Emmaus.‡‡ ** Among the pebbles of the shore were pieces of a porous rock, resembling the substance called toadstone in England: its cavities were filled with zeolite. Native gold was found here formerly. We noticed an appearance of this kind, but, on account of its trivial nature, neglected to pay proper attention to it, notwithstanding the hints given by more than one writer upon this subject. Neither boat, nor vessel of any kind, appeared upon the lake. The water was as clear as the purest *See Basnage's Hist. of the Jews. Procop. lib. v. c. 9. de Edific. Justinian. A. D. 640. See Basnage; Egmont and Heyman, &c. The Emperor Heraclius visited this place A. D. 620, as appears from the writings of Anastasius, (Histor. p. 101.) "Tiberiadem adiisset, accusavere Christiani Benjamin quendam nomine. quasi mala sibi facientem (erat enim admodum opulentus) qui suscepit Imperatorem et exercitum ejus. Ast Imperator damnavit eum; quamobrem inquiens, Molestus ea Christianis?' qui ait, Ut inimicis fidei meae." Tunc Imperator admonitum hunc, et ad credendum suasum baptizavit in aedibus Eustachii Neapolitani, qui et ipse cum Christianus esset Imperatorum excepit." Rel. Palaest. tom. II. p. 1040. Itin. Willibaldi. Rel. Palaest. ibid. Vid. Harduin Num Antiq. p. 498. Paris, 1684. Patin. p. 185. Vaillant Numis.. Imperat. August et Caesar. p. 374. Paris, 1698, &c. The legend given by Harduin is, TIBEPIEON. EIII. KAATAIOT. ET. AII. Those commemorated by Vaillant have KAATAIO TIBEPIEON, with different dates. The epocha of the city commences with the year of Rome 770; therefore the AII, or 81, noticed by Harduin, answers to the year of Rome 850, being the first year of Trajan's reign. It was usual to compliment the emperors by striking medals during the first year of their reign. Reland notices a remarkable medal of Tiberias (tom. II. p. 1042. PaTaest. Illust.) which had on one side the legend TIREPIAC within a laurel wreath and upon the other the words HPQAOT TETPAPXOTL. AA with a palm brauch. ** Vaillant, p. 374. Num. Imperat. Paris, 1698. crystal; sweet, cool, and most refreshing to the taste. Świmming to a considerable distance from the shore, we found it so limpid, that we could discern the bottom, covered with shining pebbles. Among these stones was a beautiful but very diminutive kind of shell, being a non-descript species of buccinum*, which we have called BUCCINUM GALILÆUM. We amused ourselves by diving for specimens; and the very circumstance of discerning such small objects beneath the surface, may prove the high transparency of the water The river Jordan maintains its course through the middle of the lake; and, it is said, without mingling its waters. A similar story is related of the Rhine and Moselle at Coblentz, and in other parts of the world, where difference of colour appears in water by the junction of rivers. A strong current is caused by the Jordan in the middle of the lake; and, when this is opposed by contrary winds, which blow here with the force of a hurricane from the southeast, sweeping from the mountains into the lake, it may be conceived that a boisterous sea is instantly raised; this the small vessels of the country are ill qualified to resist. As different statements have been made of the breadth of this lake, and experienced mariners are often tolerably accurate in measuring distance upon water by the eye, we asked Captain Culverhouse what he supposed to be the interval between Tiberias and the opposite shore, where there is a village scarcely perceptible, upon the site of ancient Hippos. He considered it equal to six miles. Mr. Loudon, purser of the Romulus, and also the cockswain, were of the same opinion; of course, such a mode of computing distances must be liable to error. could obtain no information from the inhabitants concerning the dimensions of their lake: the vague method of reckoning according to the time one of their boats can sail round or across it, was the only measure they could furnish, According to Sandys, its length is twelve miles and a half, and its breadth six. This is evidently derived from Josephus. We Of The figure which most resembles this new species of buccinum is in Chemnitz. (Vol. IV. p. 43. tab. 124. ff. 1167, 1169.) He calls it Nassa fasciata: and describes it fasciis alternis obscure brunneis, rufescentibus et candidis circumcincla." He refers also to Seba (Thesaurus, vol. III. tab. 53. f. 43.) who describes it" cinereo-flava, itidem costata crenata, et profunde lyrata." The latter part of Seba's description is particularly characteristic of this new species, which is evidently a buccinum. Chemnitz says that his shell is found in great abundance at Tranquebar. Neither of the figures referred to affords a correct representation of the Galilæan buccinum; nor is there in Linnaeus any description which answers to it. We have therefore named it BUCCI NUM GALILEUM. See p. 42, of this Volume. "In length an hundred furlongs, and fortie in breadth." Sandy's Travels, Book iii. p. 141. Lond, 1637. See a former note, |
