SABEANS, a people mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah (xlv. 14), who terms them "men of stature." They were probably the Sabeans of Arabia Felix, but there were several tribes of this name. Those who seized the flocks of Job (i. 15) were probably a people of Arabia Deserta, in the neighbourhood of Bozrah, who lived by pillaging from and plundering their neighbours. See SHEBA.

SABTA, a town in Arabia Felix, in a district supposed to have been peopled by Sabtah, third son of Cush, Gen. x. 7. SALAMIS, a city of the island of Cyprus visited by St Paul and Barnabas, where they converted Sergius Paulus, Acts xiii. 5. It is said to have been founded by Teucer, son of Telamon, and it was subsequently called Constantia, after its restorer the Emperor Constantius. Its modern name is Costanza.

SALCHAH, a city of the kingdom of Og in the country of Bashan, towards the northern extremity of the portion of Manasseh, Deut. iii. 10; Josh. xii. 5.

SALEM. See JERUSALEM. SALEM, or SALIM, a place where John the Baptist baptized in the Jordan, the situation of which is unknown.

SALISSA, or SHALISSA, a place north of Jerusalem, called also Baal-Shalissa, 2 Kings iv. 42.

SALMONE, or SALMONA, a sea-port in the island of Crete, Acts xxvii. 7.

SALT, VALLEY OF, where David "got a name" at his return from defeating the Edomites, and not the Syrians as our version renders it, is generally placed in the eastern parts of Idumea to the south of the Dead Sea, between Tadmor (Palmyra) and Bozrah, 2 Sam. viii. 13. See SELAH.

SAMARIA, the capital of the king dom of the Ten Tribes, sometimes called the kingdom of Samaria, was built by Omri, king of Israel. This prince "bought

the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria," in Hebrew Shomeron, 1 Kings xvi. 24. Before the reign of Omri the kings of the Ten Tribes resided at Shechem or at Tirzah, and the destruction of the palace in the latter place, 1 Kings xvi. 18, probably assisted Omri's intention to found a new capital. The two talents of silver which he paid for the hill were equal to L.684 sterling.

The kings of Samaria exerted themselves to adorn, embellish, and strengthen this city. Ahab erected in it a palace of ivory, and the Prophet Amos describes it in the reign of Jeroboam II. as a place sunk in effeminacy and luxury. The Syrian king Benhadad built some public places or streets which his own subjects inhabited, probably for the purposes of traffic and commerce. His son besieged it in the reign of Ahab, but was defeated by a small party of young men. The Syrian monarch had vowed to level Samaria with the ground, and encamped before it with a numerous army, assisted by thirty-two petty princes or chiefs who were his tributaries. Confident of success, he spent his time in drunkenness and revelry with his allies, when he was attacked by the handful of young patriots, who put the Syrians to flight, and “slew every one his man." It is remarkable, that the king of Syria's flatterers did not ascribe the shame of their defeat to the revelry of their master, but to the interposition of the gods of the Jews :-"Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they." Benhadad took the field with an army in the following year, probably with a design to march against Samaria, which was now a place

of great strength, but he was a second time defeated with the loss of 100,000 men. Some years after this we find him again marching against this city, which he invested, and reduced to such extremities by famine that a mother was forced to eat her own child. The place, however, was relieved by a very striking interposition of Divine Providence, 2 Kings vi. and vii. Samaria was besieged by Salmanezer, king of Assyria, in the ninth year of the reign of its king Hosea, and the fourth of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and after a siege of three years he took it and razed it to the ground, 2 Kings xvii. The Prophet Hosea speaks of the cruelties exercised by the Assyrian king when he obtained possession of the city, and Micah says that it was reduced to a heap of rubbish, Hosea x. 4, 8, 9; xiv. 1; Micah i. 6. The foreigners whom the conqueror settled in the desolated country took the name of Samaritans, and seem to have made the neighbouring city of Shechem their chief seat, which it ever afterwards was; but they rebuilt part of it, and we find it occupied by them after the southern Jews had returned from their captivity, Ezra iv. 17; Neh. iv. 2. In after times it was more fully rebuilt and occupied by the Samaritans, for they revolted from Alexander the Great on account of the favours he conferred on the Jews, with whom they were always at variance, and burnt Andromachus, whom Alexander had appointed its governor. The conqueror was then in Egypt, but he advanced against it, took the city, and peopled it with Macedonians. He gave the surrounding country to the Jews, and to encourage them to cultivate it he granted them exemption from tribute. After this it was sometimes in the hands of the kings who succeeded Alexauder in Syria, and at other times in the possession of the Egyptian Ptolemys, who deprived the Jews both of the privileges granted to them by the great conqueror and of the country. The Jews obtained complete possession of it under John Hyrcanus, son of Simon Maccabæus, who pillaged

it, razed its foundations, and caused torrents to overflow its ruins, but it was afterwards rebuilt by Aulus Gabinius, the Roman proconsul of Syria, who called it after his own name. It nevertheless remained a comparatively inconsiderable place until it was restored to something like its ancient splendour by Herod the Great, B.C. 21, who built a temple in it, and changed its name to the Greek one of Sebaste, which in Latin is Augustus, in honour of Augustus Cæsar, by which name it is generally known in modern times. As thus restored it existed in the time of our Saviour, and it continued a place of importance until the Jews were expelled from their country by the Emperor Adrian, after which it went gradually to decay. Such ruins as have since been mentioned, or now exist, belong to the city as it existed in our Saviour's time, when according to Josephus it was twenty furlongs in circumference.

There is little reference to Samaria as a city in the New Testament, and when it is mentioned, it refers chiefly to the country or district so called, which was one of the smallest but most fruitful districts of Judea, and which was given by Joshua to the tribe of Ephraim. When it is said that our Saviour passed through the midst of Samaria, the meaning is through the midst of the country of Samaria, Luke xvii. 11. It is also said, "Then cometh he to a city of Samaria called Sychar," near which he held his celebrated conversation with a woman of Samaria, namely, with a Samaritan woman of the city of Sychar in Samaria. After the martyrdom of St Stephen, when the disciples were dispersed throughout the towns of Judea and Samaria, Philip withdrew into this city and made some converts, Acts viii. 1, 3; and when the Apostles heard that the city had received the Word of God, they sent St Peter and St John thither to communicate the Holy Ghost. Samaria is never called Sebaste in the New Testament, though it is now hardly known by any other name. St Jerome is of opinion that the Prophet Obadiah was buried at Samaria, and here

were also shown the tombs of Elisha and of John the Baptist. There are some ancient medals still extant which were struck in this city, and we find the names of Bishops of Sebaste among the subscriptions to the acts of several ancient Councils.

Samaria, which is distant about thirtyfour miles from Jerusalem, was the name of the city during the first Temple, and under the second of the country. The district lies between Judea Proper and Galilee, and it begins, according to Josephus, at a town called Sinea, in the Great Plain, and ends at the toparchy of Acrabatene. Benjamin of Tudela says, " Sebaste is Samaria, where the palace of Ahab, king of Israel, is still known. Now, that city was on a mountain, and well fortified, had springs, well watered land, gardens, paradises, vineyards, and olive yards. Distant eight miles is Neapolis, that is, Sychem, in Mount Ephraim. It is seated in a valley between the mountains Gerizim and Ebal; in it are about a hundred Cutheans, observing the Law of Moses only; they are called Samaritans, and have priests of the seed of Aaron. They sacrifice in the Temple on Mount Gerizim on the days of the Passover, and on feast days on the altar built there of the stones set up by the Children of Israel when they passed over Jordan."

All travellers agree in opinion respecting the fine locality of Samaria. "Its situation," says Dr Richardson, "is extremely beautiful, and strong by nature; more so, I think, than Jerusalem. It stands on a fine large insulated hill, compassed all round by a broad deep valley, and when fortified, as it is stated to have been by Herod, one would have imagined that in the ancient system of warfare nothing but famine could have reduced the place. The valley is surrounded by four hills, one on each side, which are cultivated in terraces up to the top, sown with grain, and planted with fig and olive trees, as is also the valley. The hill of Samaria likewise rises in terraces to a height equal to any of the adjoining mountains. The present village is small and poor, and

VOL. II.

after passing the valley the ascent to it is very steep, but viewed from the situation of our tents is extremely interesting, both from its natural situation, and from the picturesque remains of a ruined convent of good Gothic architecture. Having passed the village, towards the middle of the first terrace there is a number of columns still standing. I counted twelve in one row, besides several which stood apart, the brotherly remains of other rows. The situation is extremely delightful, and my guide informed me that they belonged to the serai, or palace. On the next terrace there are no remains of solid building, but heaps of stone and lime, and rubbish mixed with the soil in great profusion. Ascending to the third or highest terrace, the traces of former buildings were not so numerous, but we enjoyed a delightful view of the surrounding country. The eye passes over the deep valley that compasses the hill of Sebaste, and rests on the mountains beyond, which retreat as they rise with a gentle slope, and meet the view in every direction like a book laid out for perusal on a writing desk. From this lofty eminence we descended to the south side of the hill, where we saw the remains of a stately colonnade, which stretches along this beautiful exposure from east to west. Sixty columns are still standing in one row; the shafts are plain, and fragments of Ionic volutes, scattered about, testify the order to which they belong. These are probably the relics of some of the magnificent structures with which Herod the Great adorned Samaria. None of the walls remain."

Dr Richardson's account of Samaria corresponds to that of Brocard, in his "Descriptio Terræ Sanctæ," written in the thirteenth century, when more of the ancient city remained than at present. He notices the numerous marble columns belonging to the royal buildings, palaces, and colonnades of this once magnificent place; but there were only a few inhabited houses, together with a church dedicated to St John, which the Mahometans had converted into a mosque.

2 c

When Maundrell visited Samaria, at the end of the seventeenth century, he found no other traces of the ancient city than a large square piazza encompassed with pillars; but, according to the reports of later travellers, the fall of several of those pillars has caused such an alteration that its appearance as a square piazza is no longer indicated. As such, however, it corresponds to the description by Josephus, of a sacred inclosure of about a furlong and a half, built by Herod nearly in the centre of the city, adorned by him with all kinds of ornaments, and containing a stately temple. The great church mentioned by Brocard, which is said to have been built by the Empress Helena, is now a conspicuous ruin. It had become dilapidated even in Maundrell's time, and the Mahometans had erected a small mosque within its walls, over the dungeon in which John the Baptist is supposed to have been imprisoned and beheaded. This ruined church, the interior mosque, and indeed the whole site of the ancient Samaria, are completely described by Mr Buckingham.

The present representation of Samaria is a poor village of the most humble description, governed by its own sheik, who is himself a husbandman. The whole of the surrounding valley is cultivated, and Major Skinner informs us, that among the hills of Samaria he passed through the finest scenery he had ever witnessed in Palestine "so beautiful in some parts, that it may be compared to the richest in Europe." The present town is situated on a rounded hill of moderate and gentle ascent in the centre of the valley, surrounded by the mountains a few miles distant, which rise to a considerable elevation. Sebaste commands an extensive view; and the Mediterranean may probably be seen from it in a clear day. The tomb of John the Baptist was shown in the time of the Emperor Julian, when the inhabitants are said to have opened it, and burnt a portion of his bones, preserving the rest as relics. Samaria contained the tombs of its kings, but no memorials remain. In the walls of the houses,

however, portions of sculptured blocks of stone are conspicuous, and even fragments of granite pillars have been worked into the masonry, while other vestiges of former edifices are seen scattered about. There is no trade in the place, and the inhabitants are miserably poor.

SAMOS, now called SAMO, a celebrated island in the Archipelago, about eighty-seven miles in circumference, on the coast of Asia Minor, from which it is divided by a narrow strait. The Romans wrote to the governor of Samos in favour of the Jews, 1 Macc. xv. 23, and St Paul landed on it when going to Jerusalem, Acts xvi. 11. Its chief city was called Samos, and was founded nearly ten centuries before the Christian era on the site of the modern Cora. This island is famous as the birth-place of the philosopher Pythagoras. Its inhabitants, originally an Ionian colony, became distinguished for their skill in navigation and other arts, especially pottery. The fertility of Samos was proverbial in ancient times, and the possession of it was often strongly contested. Athenæus of Naucratis in Egypt states that its fig trees, apple trees, and vines, bore fruit twice every year, and Pliny notices its pomegranates. At Samos it was commonly said that hens gave milk. The island abounds with a variety of game; it has no rabbits, but it contains hares, wild boars, goats, and some deer. It possesses iron mines, emery stone, and ochre, and its mountains consist of white marble. Samos was celebrated for its salubrious climate, pure air, and abundant supply of water. The ancients found every thing excellent here except wine, which now forms the best revenue of the island. The people of Samos were at first ruled by kings, but subsequently their government became democratic and oligarchical. After a variety of vicissitudes the island became a Roman province in the time of Vespasian. Juno was anciently held in great veneration here; she was said to have been born in it on the banks of the Imbrassus, and her temple, which is now completely annihilated, was uncommonly

magnificent. The former splendour of this island has long since disappeared. Its bishop, who also holds the episcopate of Nicaria, enjoys a considerable revenue. There are some monasteries and nunneries, and a great number of private chapels.

SAMOTHRACIA, an island on the Thracian coast, at which St Paul arrived after departing from Troas for Macedonia, Acts xvi. 11. It bore the different names of Dardania, Melita, Saoris, Leucania, Leucosia, and Electria, and is now called Samodraki. Pliny computes its circumference at about thirty-eight miles, but modern travellers reduce it to twenty. The origin of its inhabitants is unknown, but it is likely they were Thracians, the continent being only thirty-two miles distant, and afterwards increased by colonies of the Pelasgi, Samians, and Phoenicians. Samothracia is famous for a deluge which inundated the island and reached the tops of the highest mountains before age of the Argonauts, occasioned by a sudden overflow of the Euxine, which the ancients considered a lake. It was reduced, with the rest of the islands of the Egean, to the form of a province in the reign of Vespasian.

the

magnificent that Florus calls it a second. Rome. Herodotus relates that this city was taken by the Cimmerians, who were driven from their country by the Scythian nomades about seven hundred years before the Christian era. It remained in the possession of this people nearly a century and a half, when it was seized by the Tyrians and Lycians. Its citadel was built on a craggy mountain south-east of the town, and was thought impregnable, on account of its situation on a perpendicular precipice. "One of the kings," says Dr Chandler, "an ancestor of Crosus, it is related, believed that by leading a lion about the wall he should render the fortress impregnable, and neglected that portion of it as totally inaccessible. Croesus, who was tyrant or king of all the nations within the river Halys, engaging Cyrus, who had followed him into Lydia, was defeated in the plain before the city, the Lydian horses not enduring the sight or smell of the camels. Cyrus then besieged him, and offered a reward to the person who should first mount the wall. One of his soldiers had seen a Lydian descend for his helmet, which had rolled down the back of the citadel. He tried to ascend there, where not even a sentinel was placed, and succeeded. Afterwards the Persian satrap, or commandant, resided at Sardis, as the Emperor did at Susa. In the time of Darius the Milesians sailed to Ephesus, and leaving their vessels at Mount Corissus, marched up by the river Cayster, and crossing Mount Tmolus, surprised the city, except the fortress, in which was a numerous garrison. A soldier set fire to one of the houses, which were thatched, and presently the town was in flames. The Ionians retreated to Tmolus, and in the night to their ships. The city and fortress surrendered on the approach of Alexander after the battle of the Grani

cus.

His army encamped by the river Hermus, which was twenty stadia, or two miles and a half distant. He went up to the citadel, which was then fortified with a triple wall, and resolved to erect in it a temple and altar to Jupiter Olympus,