DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10357#0372
338
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE,
The land was not wholly conquered, and some of the original inhabitants were allowed to
remain.
Eighteen centuries ago the distinction between Upper and Lower Galilee was well defined
and understood. The boundaries are given by Josephus (" Wars," iii. 3, 1), but it is impossible
to identify several of the places mentioned. The Talmud defines Upper Galilee as the
region where the sycamore grows, and Lower Galilee where it does not; but this definition
is no longer of any service.
In these two parts of Galilee no less than fourteen strongholds were fortified by Josephus
in the Jewish War (" Life," xxxvii. ; " Wars," ii. 20, 6) ; and this number does not include
several other places of strength which are mentioned either incidentally or as the scene of a
bloody struggle. The statement of the Jewish historian that Galilee had two hundred and
four cities and villages, the smallest of which numbered above fifteen thousand inhabitants,
has been regarded as an exaggeration ; but, when all the facts are considered, it will probably
be found to be correct. As military governor of Galilee, Josephus raised without difficulty an
army " of above a hundred thousand young men ;" and there is evidence that in addition to this
force, he had an equal number of men enrolled who were not actually called into the field.
In a.d. 39, twenty-seven years previous to the time just referred to, Herod Antipas was
on trial at Rome, charged with preparing to levy war against the Romans, and the fact was
developed that in a single armory he had armour collected for seventy thousand men. This,
it must be noted, was in a time of comparative peace. These facts are mentioned in order
to convey some idea of the military strength of this province at the beginning of our era.
With these should be stated another, namely, that Galilee bore, unaided, the whole brunt
of that terrible war during the first year of its progress, and that, too, when the sixty
thousand veteran troops with which her young men had to contend were fresh for the conflict,
and were led by Vespasian, the best general in the Roman Empire. The backbone of the
rebellion was broken when Galilee was subdued ; but in that bloody year one hundred and
fifty thousand of her people perished, and among these the flower of her youth had fallen.
Even Vespasian praised the conduct of the Galileans ; but the ranks of his own army had
been thinned in the struggle, and he was obliged to order time for rest and recruiting.
The people of Upper Galilee could not but be powerfully affected by their neighbours
on the sea-coast, with whom they were in constant intercourse. Twenty miles from the
Mediterranean would, at almost any point, take one into the heart of Galilee ; and the
inhabitants of these two sections, living in such close proximity to each other, must have been
to a large extent identical in their interests. It was not a small matter for the Galileans to
be thus situated, at the very gates of the market of the world. The ships of the people who
controlled so largely the trade and commerce of all civilised lands were at their very doors.
Strabo says of the people of Tyre, " The great number and magnitude of their colonies
and cities are proofs of their maritime skill and power " (xvi. 2, 24). While both Tyre and
Sidon were distinguished and illustrious cities, it was disputed even in ancient times which
PICTURESQUE PALESTINE,
The land was not wholly conquered, and some of the original inhabitants were allowed to
remain.
Eighteen centuries ago the distinction between Upper and Lower Galilee was well defined
and understood. The boundaries are given by Josephus (" Wars," iii. 3, 1), but it is impossible
to identify several of the places mentioned. The Talmud defines Upper Galilee as the
region where the sycamore grows, and Lower Galilee where it does not; but this definition
is no longer of any service.
In these two parts of Galilee no less than fourteen strongholds were fortified by Josephus
in the Jewish War (" Life," xxxvii. ; " Wars," ii. 20, 6) ; and this number does not include
several other places of strength which are mentioned either incidentally or as the scene of a
bloody struggle. The statement of the Jewish historian that Galilee had two hundred and
four cities and villages, the smallest of which numbered above fifteen thousand inhabitants,
has been regarded as an exaggeration ; but, when all the facts are considered, it will probably
be found to be correct. As military governor of Galilee, Josephus raised without difficulty an
army " of above a hundred thousand young men ;" and there is evidence that in addition to this
force, he had an equal number of men enrolled who were not actually called into the field.
In a.d. 39, twenty-seven years previous to the time just referred to, Herod Antipas was
on trial at Rome, charged with preparing to levy war against the Romans, and the fact was
developed that in a single armory he had armour collected for seventy thousand men. This,
it must be noted, was in a time of comparative peace. These facts are mentioned in order
to convey some idea of the military strength of this province at the beginning of our era.
With these should be stated another, namely, that Galilee bore, unaided, the whole brunt
of that terrible war during the first year of its progress, and that, too, when the sixty
thousand veteran troops with which her young men had to contend were fresh for the conflict,
and were led by Vespasian, the best general in the Roman Empire. The backbone of the
rebellion was broken when Galilee was subdued ; but in that bloody year one hundred and
fifty thousand of her people perished, and among these the flower of her youth had fallen.
Even Vespasian praised the conduct of the Galileans ; but the ranks of his own army had
been thinned in the struggle, and he was obliged to order time for rest and recruiting.
The people of Upper Galilee could not but be powerfully affected by their neighbours
on the sea-coast, with whom they were in constant intercourse. Twenty miles from the
Mediterranean would, at almost any point, take one into the heart of Galilee ; and the
inhabitants of these two sections, living in such close proximity to each other, must have been
to a large extent identical in their interests. It was not a small matter for the Galileans to
be thus situated, at the very gates of the market of the world. The ships of the people who
controlled so largely the trade and commerce of all civilised lands were at their very doors.
Strabo says of the people of Tyre, " The great number and magnitude of their colonies
and cities are proofs of their maritime skill and power " (xvi. 2, 24). While both Tyre and
Sidon were distinguished and illustrious cities, it was disputed even in ancient times which