ment, and circulated correct manuscripts. This synagogue has sometimes been erroneously confounded with the Sanhedrim or Jewish Senate. The great synagogue was not an ordinary synod: it commenced with Ezra, and expired with Simon surnamed the Just, the son of Onias the First, who is commended in Ecclesiasticus 51. Simon died two hundred and ninety-three years before Christ.

From the days of the Asmonean princes, the ordinary synagogues, or appointed places of worship, multiplied so much in the Holy Land, that, as the Rabbins tell us, there were four hundred and eighty in Jerusalem

alone.

In the later Hebrew, the synagogue is called

beth keneseth. The rule for establishing a synagogue requires that in the town or city there shall be ten batelnim. Concerning these batelnim there is a difference of opinion; some think the word meant free men of full age, competent to assist two days a week besides the Sabbath at the service. Buxtorf thinks it meant persons who received a stipend for attending duly, in order that ten persons might be present to form a congregation, according to the canon, which required that number. Lightfoot understands it, as ten officers, curators, or ministers of the synagogue. The Talmudists understand it as men of leisure, to attend to, and administer the affairs of the synagogue.

It was to rectify the inconvenience of this rule, which virtually prohibited the public assembling to worship God of a less number than ten, that Our Lord declared, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." (Matt. 18. 20.) It was required to build the synagogue in the highest part within the city, on account of verse 9 of Ezra, chap. 9, "to set up the house of our God;" Hebraic, to set up on high, to exalt, D In conformity with this rule, the Jews still erect their synagogues on the highest spot that they can conveniently procure. The walls are wainscotted or whitewashed, and inscribed with texts of Scripture inciting to devotion. In the middle of the synagogue is the desk or pulpit, surrounded with rails, and large enough to accommodate three or four persons. Here the book of the Law is unrolled with great solemnity, and read to the people; and here sits the preacher or expounder when he addresses the congregation. The principal object in the synagogue is a curtained chest, representing the Ark of the Covenant, in which is kept the synagogue manuscripts of the Law, and other copies of the Hebrew Scriptures. The ark is always set towards Jerusalem. The benches are so disposed that the congregation face the ark. The upper benches front the people (so arranged, however, as not to allow the persons there seated to turn their backs on the ark, which would be held profane); on these upper benches sit the rulers and rabbis. These seats were much affected by the Pharisees, because, facing the people, they drew on themselves the attention of all, by their show of extraordinary devotion; to which Our Lord alludes in Matthew 23. 6.

The seats nearest the ark are generally purchased by the rich Jews. Besides the ark, the synagogue contains other chests, for keeping the books of prayer, the veils worn by the Jews during the service, the candles for lighting the synagogue, the trumpets and horns for proclaiming the festivals, new moons, &c.

From the cieling and walls of the synagogue are suspended lamps; and at the door are boxes for voluntary alms.

The women sit apart from the men, in a latticed gallery, where they can hear the service without being

seen.

1261

The door is opposite the ark, towards which all bow on entering, and turn towards it during prayer.

The synagogue days for service are Monday, the eve of the Sabbath (Friday), and Sabbath (Saturday), and of course the festivals; and in some places Thursday is also a synagogue day.

The service is three times a day, viz., morning, noon or afternoon, and night, according to Psalm 55. 17, "Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray." The Jews say that Abraham instituted morning prayer, (Gen. 19. 29,) “And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord." Isaac the afternoon prayers, (Gen. 24. 63,) “And Isaac went out to meditate (rather, to pray) in the field at the even-tide." And Jacob the night prayer; for the Rabbins render Genesis 28. 11, "He lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night;" he prayed in that place, &c., &c.

The hours of morning and evening service are made to correspond with the hours of the daily morning and evening sacrifice in the Temple. At morning service, the people first recite many collects, privately; then the minister, standing up, begins the public prayers, which always commence and end with a particular prayer, called the Kadish, somewhat resembling our "Lord's Prayer." Then the Chazan takes out of the ark, with great solemnity, the book of the Law, and lifts it up, and displays it; at sight of which the people express great joy. This book is a large roll, which is unfolded and read in seven sections, by as many readers; the two first being ministers, the others seculars. The reader recites the original text in Hebrew, in a low whispering voice, and an interpreter by his side translates it aloud to the people. To this custom Our Lord alludes in Matthew 10. 27: "What ye hear in the ear, that preach ye on the house-tops." This custom of reading and interpreting verse by verse began when the Hebrew ceased to be vernacular with the Jews, and gave rise to the Chaldee paraphrases, called the Targums. reading of the Law is closed by solemn prayer. Originally the Law only was read at morning service; but now an eighth portion of Scripture is added, called Haphtorah, taken from the Prophets. Any person is eligible to read it, except a female.

The

When Antiochus Epiphanes conquered the Jews, about 163 B.C., he prohibited the reading of the Law; and the Jews, that they might not be wholly deprived of their Scriptures, chose portions out of the Prophets, as nearly as possible corresponding with the Pentateuch, and read them instead. In memory of which, after the reading of the Law was restored, that of the Prophets was still continued. (Acts 13. 14,15.) It is from this custom that the Christian Church derived the reading of the first and second lessons.

The Law was divided into fifty-three sections, according to the Massorites, which were so arranged that they read the whole Law in the year, and began the new course on the same day on which they finished the old course, which was the Sabbath before the first Sabbath after the Feast of Tabernacles.

After the reading of the Haphtorah, the officiating person dismisses the congregation with a blessing, unless there be some one to preach, which was always done sitting, as in Luke 4, Our Lord after reading the Haphtorah from Isaiah, sat down and began to expound it. He also sat down to deliver his sermon on the Mount, (Matt. 5;) and he sat in a ship to teach the people standing on the shore. (Matt. 13.)

The afternoon service consists of singing Psalm 84, from verse 5 to the end, and the whole of Psalm 145, and repeating the prayer Kadish; then one of the morn

ing prayers; then several other prayers and thanksgivings; and concluding with the Kadish.

The night or evening service is almost exactly the

same.

The synagogue is called by the Jews the Lesser Sanctuary. They dedicate it by solemn prayer; after which it is held in such reverence as a sacred place that no one may even take shelter in it from the weather, much less conduct themselves with levity, or transact any worldly business therein.

The dedication of the Great Synagogue at Amsterdam, in A.D. 1675, was very solemn. It commenced with prayer; and the most eminent Jews carried in the rolls of the Law richly adorned, in grand procession, marking their entry by alms and devotion; and several sermons were preached on the occasion.

(For the officers of the synagogue, see RULER.) The first synagogue in England, of which we have any certain knowledge, was at Oxford, in the time of William Rufus; but it is probable there was one about the same period in London, as the burial-place of the Jews was in Jewin-street.

SYRACUSE, a famous city on the south-east of Sicily, with a fine prospect from every entrance both by sea and land. Its port, which had the sea on both sides of it, was almost all of it environed with beautiful buildings, and all that part of it which was without the city was on both sides banked up and sustained with very fair walls of marble. The city itself, while in its splendour, was the largest and richest that the Greeks possessed in any part of the world.. For (according to Strabo,) it was twenty-two miles in circumference, and both Plutarch and Livy inform us that the spoil of it was equal to that of Carthage. It was built about A.M. 3269, and in a manner consisted of four cities united into one; or as others express it, it was called quadruplex, as being divided into four parts, Acradina, Tyche, Neapolis, and the island of Ortygia. The first of these contained in it the famous temple of Jupiter, the second the temple of Fortune, the third a large amphitheatre, and a wonderful statue of Apollo in the midst of a spacious square, and the fourth the two temples of Diana and Minerva, and the renowned fountain of Arethusa. For about two hundred and fifty years it made little noise in the world; but in the next two hundred and eighty it became conspicuous in war, in sea trade, and in wealth, under its 'kings Gelon, Dionysius, elder and younger, Dion, Agathocles, and Hiero.

About two hundred and ten years before the birth of Christ this city was taken and sacked by Marcellus, the Roman general, and, in storming the place, Archimedes, the great mathematician, who is esteemed the first inventor of the sphere, (and who, during the siege, had sorely galled the Romans with astonishing military engines of his own invention,) was slain by a common soldier while intent upon his studies. After it was thus destroyed by Marcellus, Augustus rebuilt that part of it which stood upon the island, and in time it so far recovered itself as to have three walls, three castles, and a

marble gate, and to be able to set out twelve thousand horse soldiers, and four hundred ships. A.D. 675, the Saracens seized on it, but in 1090 it was taken from them by Roger, duke of Apulia. It is still much frequented on account of its commodious harbour. Paul staid here three days as he went prisoner to Rome, (Acts 27. 12;) here also Christianity was early planted, and still, at least in name, continues, but the city has lost its ancient splendour, though it is a bishop's see. A.

Originally the Syrians were called Aramites, the offspring of Aram, the youngest son of Shem, who possessed parts of Syria, Mesopotamia, Chaldea, and Armenia: "Aram was the father of the Aramites, whom the Greeks call Syrians: of the four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus; this country lies between Palestine and Coele-Syria." (Josephus Antiq.) As early as the days of the patriarch Abraham, we find that Damascus, the capital of that part of Syria extending eastward along Mount Libanus, was in existence; for the steward of his house, we are informed, was “Eliezer of Damascus." The name of Syria was employed in the subsequent age; Rebekah, the wife of Isaac, being described as "the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian." (Gen. 25.20.) In some parts of the Pentateuch, Jacob is also called a Syrian: "And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous." (Deut. 26. 5.) Before the time of David, B.C. 1034, Syria was divided into several principalities, or petty kingdoms, the names of which frequently occur in the historical parts of the Old Testament,-Zobah, Damascus, Hamath, Geshur, Rehob, Ishtob, Maachah. The kings of these cities frequently made hostile incursions into the territory of the children of Israel, carrying away captives and committing destructive ravages. They received a decided check from David, who marched an army against the King of Zobah, and defeated his forces near the Euphrates, although the Syrians of Damascus had cour of Zobah. On that occasion David slew twentytwo thousand Syrians, exacted homage and tribute from his enemies, and garrisoned Damascus. Soon after. wards, however, we find Hadarezer, the same king of Zobah, again in the field, as an auxiliary of the children of Ammon, who we are informed hired the services of

gone

to the suc

approach of the conqueror; Tyre alone offered a determined resistance, and on it accordingly was poured the fury of Alexander. After a seven months' siege it fell; an indiscriminate massacre of the inhabitants took place; the harbour was filled up; the city was fired; two thousand of the Tyrian soldiers, who had been taken prisoners, being fixed on crosses along the sea-shore.

After the death of Alexander, Syria attained a degree of importance higher than it ever had reached. It became the seat of the Syro-Macedonian empire established by the family of kings called the Seleucidæ, Antioch being the capital. Seleucus Nicator, the founder of Antioch, and of the kingdom of which it was the centre, was the son of Antiochus, one of the four generals between whom the vast empire of Alexander was divided. Having assumed the title of king of Syria, he reduced to subjection all the countries from the Hellespont to India and the Jaxartes. About three hundred years before the appearance of Christ, he built the city of Antioch, on the banks of the river Orontes, about twenty miles from the place where it falls into the Mediterranean; calling it Antioch in honour of his father Antiochus. Seleucus also built the city of Seleucia, about thirty miles from Babylon, on the borders of the Tigris and the Euphrates; he founded Apamea, which he named from his wife, and Laodicea, so called as a tribute of affection to his mother.

his troops. "And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew the men of seven hundred chariots of the Syrians, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach, the captain of their host, who died there. And when all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were smitten before Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more." (2Sam. 10. 18,19.) David, nevertheless, appears all along to have maintained amicable relations with some of the Syrian toparchs. One of his wives was the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur; and Absalom, after the murder of his brother, took refuge at Geshur, remaining with his grandfather, the king, for three years. During the reign of King Solomon, Syria remained subject to Israel. By this monarch was founded Tadmor, or Palmyra, in Syria, the grandeur of whose stupendous ruins, still remaining, excite the wonder and admiration of every traveller who visits them. There is nothing mentioned in the Bible relative to Tadmor except the fact of its erection. It derived the name of Tadmor from the great number of palm-trees that ornamented the oasis in the centre of which it stood; after the conquest of the country by Alexander the Great, the city was called Palmyra, which is a translation of the Syriac term. Josephus, referring to it, says, "Nay, Solomon went so far as the desert above Syria, and possessed himself of it; and built there a very great city, which was distant two days' journey from Upper Syria, and one day's journey from the Euphrates, and six days' journey from Babylon the Great. Now, the reason why this city lay so remote from the parts of Syria that are inhabited is, that below there is no water, and that in that place only are there springs. When he had therefore built this city, and encompassed it with very strong walls, he gave it the name of Tadmor, and that is the name it is still called by at this day among the Syrians; but the Greeks name it Palmyra." (Antiq. viii. 6.) After the death of Solomon, the Syrians threw off the Jewish yoke, and appear to have maintained their independence till the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah, B.C. 742, after the formation of the separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah. At that time Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel, formed a confederacy against Ahaz; and with their combined armies invested Jerusalem. In this extremity, Ahaz sent letters to Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, soliciting succour; and to propitiate that powerful monarch, sent the gold and silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and the treasures of his own palace, as a present to him. The Assyrian, anxious for a pretext to interfere in the quarrel, and hoping from an ally to become a master, gladly responded to the invitation from Ahaz; entered Syria with an invading host; sacked Damascus, carrying back into Assyria a multitude of Syrians who escaped the slaughter in which King Rezin perished. These wretched captives were located in Kir, on the banks of the river Cyrus, or Kirus, and are supposed to have given the name to that part of Media called Syro-Media. Syria remained in subjection to Assyria; and the Assyrians, following up their aggressive policy, soon afterwards reduced the tribes of Israel to abject slavery, from which they never emerged.

Syria was next held by the Chaldeans, who, imitating their predecessors, plundered Jerusalem itself, and carried the people of Judah captive into Babylon. The Persians then became the ascendant power in the East; and the sovereignty of Syria was transferred to them, continuing in their hands till the Macedonian invasion of Asia by the army under Alexander the Great. Most of the principal cities of Syria surrendered on the

In all he erected thirty-four cities in Asia, in which he planted Greek colonies. Antioch soon became a mighty city, and its inhabitants acquired a reputation for pride and voluptuousness. "Fashion," says Gibbon, speaking of the city in the time of the Roman emperors, "was the only law, pleasure the only pursuit, and the splendour of dress and furniture was the only distinction of the citizens of Antioch. The arts of luxury were honoured; the serious and manly virtues were the subject of ridicule; and the contempt for female modesty and reverent age announced the universal corruption of the capital of the East. The love of spectacles was the taste, or rather passion of the Syrians; a considerable share of the revenue was devoted to the public amusements; and the magnificence of the games was considered as the happiness and glory of Antioch."

tor restored, 130; Alexander Zebina, 127, dethroned by Antiochus Gryphus, 123; Antiochus Cyzicenus, 112, who took part of Syria, which he called Coele-Syria; Philip and Demetrius Eucerus, 93; and in Cole-Syria, Antiochus Pius; Aretas, king of Cole-Syria, B. C. 85. Antiochus, surnamed Asiaticus, was the last of the Seleucida; being dethroned by Pompey, B. C. 66; when Syria became a Roman province.

Anticchus.

The era of the Seleucida is usually reckoned from the reign of Seleucus Nicator, three hundred and eleven years and four months before Christ. It was used in computing time in Syria, for many years, and is referred to in the book of Maccabees; it was frequently employed by the Jews till the fifteenth century; and some of the Arab tribes yet date from that era. At the period of the birth of Christ, Cyrenius was the Roman governor of Syria; the administration of affairs in Judea being entrusted to the tyrant Herod, whom the Romans permitted to assume the title of king, after the invasion of the country by the Parthians. At the death of Herod, his son Archelaus went to Rome, to solicit the royal dignity and acknowledge himself the vassal of Cæsar: the Jews detesting his character, sent an embassy to oppose his application; but their remonstrances were disregarded, and he returned home the tributary monarch of Judea. His reign was not auspicious; terminating at the end of ten years, when Augustus deposed Archelaus for mal-administration, and annexed Judea to Syria as a province of the Roman empire. The preaching of Jesus had considerable effect in Syria, whither the reports of his miracles were carried from the neighbouring country of Galilee. His fame, we are informed by St. Matthew, went throughout all Syria; and sick people, from thence, were brought to Christ in order that he might heal them. Two most interesting events connected with the early history of the Church of Christ occurred in Syria; Saul of Tarsus "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," was arrested by a voice from Heaven on his road to Damascus, and there commissioned to be a preacher of Christ crucified;-at Antioch, the name of Christians was first applied to the followers of

Jesus.

Roman.

ROMA

Syria continued to maintain its importance under the Roman emperors. Its noble capital attracted strangers from Athens, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome; the temples, porticos, and stately palaces of Palmyra rose during this era of prosperity; and the numerous cities that flourished in various parts of the province were the seats of politeness and learning. "A plain of ten days' journey from Damascus to Aleppo and Antioch is watered on the western side by the winding course of the

Orontes. The hills of Libanus and Anti-Libanus are planted from north to south between the Orontes and the Mediterranean; and the epithet of hollow (ColeSyria) was applied to a long and fruitful valley, which is confined in the same direction, by the two ridges of snowy mountains. Among the cities which are enumerated by Greek and Oriental names in the geography and conquest of Syria, we may distinguish Emesa or Hems, Heliopolis or Baalbec, the former as the metropolis of the plain, the latter as the capital of the valley. Under the last of the Cæsars, they were strong and populous: their turrets glittered from afar: an ample space was covered with public and private buildings; and the citizens were illustrious by their spirit or at least by their pride; by their riches, or at least by their luxury. In the days of paganism, both Emesa and Heliopolis were addicted to the worship of Baal or the sun; but the decline of their superstition and splendour has been marked by a singular variety of fortune. Not a vestige remains of the temple of Emesa, which was equalled in poetic style to the summits of Mount Libanus, while the ruins of Baalbec, invisible to the writers of antiquity, excite the curiosity and wonder of the European traveller."

The capital of Syria was frequently honoured with the presence of the emperors, and was the favourite residence of Verus, Jovian, and Valens. In the reign of Theodosius, its inhabitants rose in a general tumult in consequence of severe taxation, and of interference with their pleasures; and in their frenzy threw down the statues of the emperor and his family. Theodosius was greatly incensed when the account of the sedition reached him at Constantinople, and resolved to visit Antioch with signal punishment. "That proud capital was degraded from the rank of a city; and the metropolis of the East, stripped of its lands, its privileges, and its revenues, was subjected under the humiliating denomination of a village to the jurisdiction of Laodicea. The baths, the circus, and the theatres were shut; and, that every source of plenty and pleasure might be at the same time intercepted, the distribution of corn was abolished by the severe instruc tions of Theodosius. His commissioners then proceeded to inquire into the guilt of individuals; of those who had perpetrated, and of those who had not prevented, the destruction of the sacred statues.

"The tribunal of Hellebicus and Cæsarius, encompassed with armed soldiers, was erected in the midst of the forum. The noblest and most wealthy of the citizens of Antioch appeared before them in chains; the exami nation was assisted by the use of torture, and their sentence was pronounced, or suspended, according to the judgment of these extraordinary magistrates. The houses of the criminals were exposed to sale, their wives and children were suddenly reduced from affluence and luxury to the most abject distress; and a bloody execution was expected to conclude the horrors of a day, which the preacher of Antioch, the eloquent Chrysostom, has represented as a lively image of the last and universal judgment of the world." The Syrians hastened to make submission to Theodosius; they sent deputies to Antioch to the emperor, to beg for pardon; the city of Seleucia petitioned in their behalf, and the senate of Constantinople ventured to intercede for them. The deputies, who were accompanied by Chrysostom, obtained a favourable audience of Theodosius; and in a few days the emperor granted a free and general pardon to the city and people of Antioch. At this period the fame of the learned and pious John Chrysostom added lustre to the province of Syria. He was born at Antioch, and was designed for the bar by his parents, who were noble and opulent. He studied philosophy and rhetoric in the school of the celebrated Libanius, the sophist of

Antioch; but, although his talents were highly appreciated by his master, who declared that he was destined to be his successor in the chair of philosophy, Chrysostom renounced the profession of the law, received Christian baptism, and for six years withdrew to one of the monastic retreats which were to be found in numbers among the hills of Libanus, or in the desert tracts of Syria. Returning from thence he was ordained a presbyter; and so celebrated did he become as a preacher at Antioch, that on the death of Nectarius, patriarch of Constantinople, he was appointed as his successor.

The faith of Christ was now pretty generally prevalent in Syria. Constantine the Great had not only afforded protection to its professors, but exerted himself to suppress the licentiousness and immoralities of the heathen worship. In obedience to his orders, several of their altars in the province were cast down. Eusebius mentions the demolition of a temple dedicated to the impure worship of Venus, at Aphaca, in Libanus, on whose heights, in modern times, the Druses,—a sect whose worship exhibits a curious mixture of the practices of heathenism, Christianity, and Mahommedanism,-yet revel in similar abominations. "As some most sharpsighted eagle," observes the historian of the early Christian Church, "which has raised herself to heaven on her wings, sees from above those things on the earth which are at the greatest distance, in the same manner he, whilst he was resident in the imperial palace of his most beautiful city, beheld, as from a watch-tower, a certain pernicious snare of souls in the province of Phonicia. It was a grove and a temple, not situated in the midst of a city, nor in the forums or streets, of which sort many are visible in cities most gloriously built for ornament sake; but this temple was out of the way, far distant from the common road and beaten path, consecrated to the filthy dæmon termed Venus, in part of the top of Mount Libanus, which is at Aphaca. This was a school of wickedness open to all impure persons." (Life of Constantine, edit. Camb., 1683.) The Emperor Julian had in vain attempted to subvert the religion of Jesus, although his principal efforts were directed against Syria and Palestine. He exerted himself to restore heathenism in the country where Christianity originated; and, by his personal exhortations and example, endeavoured to induce the people to do honour to his gods. He celebrated with great pomp the festival of Apollo, at the temple of Daphne, near Antioch; but, although the scene was well calculated to seduce the thoughtless multitude, he had the mortification to find that the influence of religion was superior among the great body of the inhabitants to the commands of an emperor and the allurements of ungodliness. "At the distance of five miles from Antioch, the Macedonian kings of Syria had consecrated to Apollo one of the most elegant places of devotion in the Pagan world. A magnificent temple rose in honour of the god of light; and his colossal figure almost filled the capacious sanctuary, which was enriched with gold and gems, and adorned by the skill of the Grecian artists. The deity was represented in a The deity was represented in a bending attitude, with a golden cup in his hand, pouring out a libation on the earth, as if he supplicated the venerable mother to give to his arms the cold and beauteous Daphne; for the spot was ennobled by fiction, and the fancy of the Syrian poets had transported the amorous tale from the banks of the Peneus to those of the Orontes. The ancient rites of Greece were imitated by the royal colony of Antioch. A stream of prophecy, which rivalled the truth and reputation of the Delphic oracle, flowed from the Castalian fountain of Daphne. In the adjacent fields a stadium was built by a special privilege, which had been purchased from Elis; the Olympic games

1265

were celebrated at the expense of the city, and a revenue of thirty thousand pounds sterling was annually applied to the public pleasures. The perpetual resort of pilgrims and spectators, insensibly formed in the neighbourhood of the Temple, the stately and populous village of Daphne, which emulated the splendour, without acquiring the title of a provincial city. The temple and the village were deeply bosomed in a thick grove of laurels and cypresses, which reached as far as a circumference of ten miles, and formed, in the most sultry summers, a cool and impenetrable shade. A thousand streams of the purest water, issuing from every hill, preserved the verdure of the earth and the temperature of the air." (GIBBON.) Yet the exertions of Julian could not revive the taste for such scenes; and no sooner had the pageant ended than he saw the temple in flames, which consumed the statue of Apollo, and left the theatre of idolatry a miserable ruin. Julian's vain attempt to falsify the prophecies by rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem, had the effect of confirming the fidelity of the Christians, who saw in the frustration of the design a signal manifestation of the power of God, and a new proof of the divine origin of their sacred writings. Accordingly, we find that in the reign of the Emperor Theodosius the Christian population of the Syrian capital exceeded 100,000 souls, although no less than 250,000 persons had perished in the earthquake which visited Antioch during the residence of the elder Justin in that city. Still it is probable that the Christians of Syria did not, upon the whole, form more than a fourth of the aggregate population; a circumstance which can scarcely be a matter of surprise, when, to the consideration of the various obstacles to the spread of the truth, is added the numberless heresies and rancorous controversies which vexed the churches of Syria, in common with the other churches of Asia, Africa, and Europe.

In the year A. D. 450, Chosroes, also called Nushervan, the king of Persia, having engaged in war with the Roman emperor Justinian, entered Syria with a powerful feeble resistance: Hierapolis, Berea or Aleppo, Apamea, army. The inhabitants enervated by luxury, made but a and Chalcis, purchased safety by giving ransoms of gold and silver to the invader. Chosroes laid siege to Antioch, which soon falling into his hand, was plundered and burnt; many of its inhabitants been carried captive into Persia. To mark his conquest of Syria, Chosroes descended the Orontes, and after bathing in the Mediterranean sea, at the mouth of the river, offered a sacrifice to the sun, the divinity he worshipped, in honour of his victories. By the skilful manoeuvres of the Roman general, Belisarius, the Persians were compelled to retire within the Euphrates; but from this period the power of Rome in the East continued to declinc. Chosroes II., A. D. 611, again over-ran Syria with a Persian army: Hierapolis, Chalcis, and Aleppo, fell in succession; Antioch, already weakened by the ravages of fire and earthquake, could offer no opposition; and the Persian conqueror resolved to advance into Palestine. Six and twenty thousand Jews enlisted in his army to aid in the reduction of Jerusalem; and after some severe battles in Galilee, and the region beyond Jordan, the holy city itself was taken by assault. The Christian shrines and temples were plundered and burnt; ninety thousand