Decline of

possessions fell away, never to be recovered. By 1100 B.C. Egypt had been restricted to her former boundaries in the Nile valley. The Persians, in the sixth century, brought the country within their own vast empire.

the Egyptian power

The pyramid when completed had a height of 481 feet. It is now 451 feet high. Its base covers about thirteen acres. Some of the blocks of white limestone used in construction weigh fifty tons. The facing of polished stone was gradually removed for building purposes by the Arabs. On the northern side of the pyramid a narrow entrance, once carefully concealed, opens into tortuous passages which lead to the central vault. Here the sarcophagus of the king was placed. This chamber was long since entered and its contents rifled.

10. The Phoenicians and the Hebrews

The Phoenicians were the first Syrian people to assume importance. Their country was a narrow stretch of coast, about one hundred and twenty miles in length, The Phoeniseldom more than twelve miles in width, between cians the Lebanon Mountains and the sea. This tiny land could not support a large population. As the Phoenicians increased in numbers, they were obliged to betake themselves to the sea. The Lebanon cedars furnished soft, white wood for shipbuilding, and the deeply indented coast offered excellent harbors. Thus the Phoenicians became preeminently a race of sailors. Their great cities, Sidon and Tyre, established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and had an extensive commerce with every region of the known world.

The Hebrews lived south of Phoenicia in the land of Canaan, west of the Jordan River. Their history begins with the emigration of twelve Hebrew tribes (called Israelites) The Hebrews from northern Arabia to Canaan. In their new home the Israelites gave up the life of wandering shepherds and

This colossal figure, human-headed and lion-bodied, is hewn from the natural rock. The body is about 150 feet long, the paws 50 feet, the head 30 feet. The height from the base to the top of the head is 70 feet. Except for its head and shoulders, the figure has been buried for centuries in the desert sand. The eyes, nose, and beard have been mutilated by the Arabs. The face is probably that of one of the pyramid kings.

became farmers. They learned from the Canaanites to till the soil and to dwell in towns and cities.

Period of the Judges

1

The thorough conquest of Canaan proved to be no easy task. At first the twelve Israelitish tribes formed only a loose and weak confederacy without a common head. "In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." The sole authority was that held by valiant chieftains and law-givers, such as Samson, Gideon, and Samuel, who served as judges between the tribes and often led them in successful attacks upon their foes. Among these were the warlike Philistines, who occupied the southwestern coast of Canaan. To resist the Philistines

with success it was necessary to have a king who could bring all the scattered tribes under his firm, well-ordered rule. In Saul, "a young man and a goodly," the warriors of Israel found a leader to unite them against their enemies. His reign was passed in constant struggles with the Philistines. David, who followed him, utterly destroyed the Philistine power and by further conquests

Reigns of

Saul and

David

he selected the ancient fortress of Jerusalem. Here David built himself a royal palace and here he fixed the Ark, the sanctuary of Jehovah. Jerusalem became to the Israelites their dearest possession and the center of their national life.

The reign of Solomon, the son and successor of David, was the most splendid period in Hebrew history. His kingdom stretched from the Red Sea and the peninsula of Sinai northward to the Lebanon Mountains and the EuReign of Solomon, about phrates. With the surrounding peoples Solomon 955-925 B.C. was on terms of friendship and alliance. He married an Egyptian princess, a daughter of the reigning Pharaoh. He joined with Hiram, king of Tyre, in trading expeditions on

From a slab found at Nineveh in the palace of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. The vessel shown is a bireme with two decks. On the upper deck are soldiers with their shields hanging over the side. The oarsmen sit on the lower deck, eight at each side. The crab catching the fish is a humorous touch.

the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The same Phoenician monarch supplied him with the "cedars of Lebanon," with which he erected at Jerusalem a famous temple for the worship of Jehovah. A great builder, a wise administrator and governor, Solomon takes his place as a typical Oriental despot, the most powerful monarch of the age. But the political greatness of the Hebrews was not destined to endure. The people were not ready to bear the burdens of empire. They objected to the standTribes, about ing army, to the forced labor on public buildings, and especially to the heavy taxes. The ten

Secession of

the Ten

925 B.C.

northern tribes seceded shortly after Solomon's death and established the independent kingdom of Israel, with its capital at Samaria. The two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, formed the kingdom of Judea, and remained loyal to the successors of Solomon.

The two small Hebrew kingdoms could not resist their powerful neighbors. About two centuries after

the secession of the Ten Tribes, the Assyrians

Decline of

the Hebrew

power

overran Israel. Judea was subsequently conquered by the Babylonians. Both countries in the end became a part of the Persian Empire.