frightful deserts, this province was noted for its large and splendid cities; its gardens, palaces, and numerous temples; and the accomplishment of its inhabitants. This city was called Palmara by the Greeks, Palmyra by the Romans; in Scriptures, Tadmor; and by Josephus, Thadamor. Of its origin little is known; but by some learned historians, it is supposed to have been founded by Solomon. It flourished for many years; and was unfortunately the cause of frequent and bloody conflicts between the Romans and Carthaginians. It was destroyed by Antiochus; and re-built and beautifully adorned by Aurelian. When, however, that country became subject to the Turks, that barbarous, ignorant and bigoted people shamefully laid it in ruins. The statements of various travellers describe these ruins as very interesting. The principal, at present, are temples and porticos of Grecian architecture. These ruins cover several square miles; and present a melancholy spectacle. The temple of the sun, or rather its ruins, which attracts particular notice, covers a square of 220 yards. It was high and massive, and adorned within and without with pilasters, of which 124 are remaining. The Turks, by beating down the cornices, have deprived the world of the most finished work of the kind. In this square are fifty-eight entire pillars, thirty-seven feet high, with capitals of the finest carving. In the middle of this enclosure, stood the Temple encompassed by another row of pillars fifty feet in height. It was one of the most splendid edifices in the world.

To the north of the temple, is a stately obelisk fifty feet high, of wreathed work; the sculpture is considered extremely fine. To the west of this is a spacious entrance to a noble piazza, which is a quarter of a mile in length, and forty feet in breadth formed by two rows of marble pillars twenty-six feet high and nine in circumference. There were originally five hundred and sixty of these pillars: only one hundred and twenty-nine are now standing.

SELEUCIA. (Acts xiii. 4.) A city of Syria, on the shores of the Mediterranean, west of Antioch, and near the mouth of the Orontes.

ZAREPHATH, or Sarepta, where Elijah dwelt some time

with a widow, was a seaport of Phoenicia, midway between Tyre and Sidon. (1 Kings xvii. 9, 10; Luke iv. 26.) About A. D. 400, it was still of some note. present name is Sarfend.

Its

THE GREAT COMMERCIAL CITY OF TYRUS OR TYRE. It was situated at the entry of the sea, and founded by the celebrated Ethiopian wise men, who built a strong city, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as mire of the streets, (Zech. ix. 3,) with her kings and princes, merchants and captains, pilots and seamen, ships with fine linen broidered work from Egypt for their sails. (Ez. xxvii.) This mighty city, which once had the entire control of the trade with India, and into whose lap the treasures of the world were poured, is about five miles distant from the other Tyre, and was the city which Alexander reached by means of a causeway from the main land, and entirely consumed it, in accordance with some of the most interesting prophecies, Zech. ix. 3, 4; Isa. xxiii.; Ezek. xxvi., xxviii.;) and we are told by modern travellers that its desolation is complete. Tyre, which is now called Sur, is only inhabited by a few fishermen, who live in the ruins of its primitive state.

THE COLONIES OF TYRE. Carthage, a city in Africa, was one of the colonies of Tyre. It was founded by the Canaanites-Egyptians blacks. [Herodotus.]

UTICA. This city was built by the Phoenicians in Africa, a colony from Tyre, about 15 miles from Carthage on the Mediterranean. — [Rollin.]

CITIES OF AFRICA.

CARTHAGE. The foundation of this celebrated city is ascribed to Elissa, a Tyrian princess, better known as Dido; it may therefore be fixed at the year of the world 3158; when Joash was king of Judah; 98 years before the building of Rome, and 846 years before Christ. The king of Tyre, father of the famous Jezebel, called in Scripture Ethbaal, was her great-grandfather. She married her near relation Acerbas, also called Sicharbas, or Sichaeus, an extremely rich prince;

Pygmalion king of Tyre was her brother. Pygmalion put Sichaeus to death in order that he might have an opportunity to seize his immense treasures; but Dido eluded her brother's cruel avarice, by secretly conveying away her deceased husband's possessions. With a large train of followers she left her country, and after wandering sometime, landed on the coast of the Mediterranean, in Africa; and located her settlement at the bottom of the gulf, on a peninsula, near the spot where Tunis now stands. Many of the neighboring people allured by the prospect of gain, repaired thither to sell to those foreigners the necessaries of life; and soon became incorporated with them. The people thus gathered from different places soon grew very numerous. And the citizens of Utica, an African city about fifteen miles distant, considering them as their countrymen, as descended from the same common stock, advised them to build a city where they had settled. The other natives of the country, from their natural esteem and respect for strangers, likewise encouraged them to the same object. Thus all things conspiring with Dido's views, she built her city, which was appointed to pay an annual tribute to the Africans for the ground it stood upon, and called it Carthage-a name that in the Phœnician and Hebrew languages, [which have a great affinity,] signifies the "New City." It is said that in digging the foundation, a horse's head was found; which was thought to be a good omen, and a presage of the future warlike genius of that people. Carthage, had the same language, and national character as its parent state-Tyre. It became at length, particularly at the period of the Punic War, one of the most splendid cities in the world; and had under its dominion 300 cities bordering upon the Mediterranean. From the small beginning we have described, Carthage increased till her population numbered 700,000; and the number of her temples and other public buildings was immense. Her dominion was not long confined to Africa. Her ambitious inhabitants extended their conquests into Europe, by invading Sardinia, seizing a great part of Sicily, and subduing almost all of Spain. Having sent powerful colonies every where, they enjoyed the empire of the seas for more

than six hundred years; and formed a State which was able to dispute pre-eminence with the greatest empire of the world, by their wealth, their commerce, their numerous armies, their formidable fleets, and above all by the courage and ability of their commanders; and she extended her commerce over every part of the known world. A colony of Phoenicians or Ethiopians, known in scripture as Canaanites, settled in Carthage. The Carthaginians settled in Spain and Portugal. The first inhabitants of Spain were the Celta, a people of Gaul; after them the Phoenicians possessed themselves of the most southern parts of the country, and may well be supposed to have been the first civilizers of this kingdom, and the founders of the most ancient cities. After these, followed the Grecians; then the Carthaginians.

Portugal was anciently called Lusitania, and inhabited by tribes of wandering people, till it became subject to the Carthaginians and Phoenicians, who were dispossessed by the Romans 250 years before Christ. [Rollin.]

The Carthaginians were masters of all the coast which lies on the Mediterranean, and all the country as far as the river Iberus. Their dominions, at the time when Hannibal the Great set out for Italy, all the coast of Africa from the Aræ Phileanorum, by the great Syrtis, to the pillars of Hercules was subject to the Carthaginians, who had maintained three great wars against the Romans. But the Romans finally prevailed by carrying the war into Africa, and the last Punic war terminated with the overthrow of Carthage. [Nepos in vita Annibalis. Liv.]

The celebrated Cyrene was a very powerful city, situated on the Mediterranean, towards the greater Syrtis, in Africa, and had been built by Battus, the Lacedemonian. [Rollin.]

CYRENE. (Acts xi. 20.) A province and city of Libya. There was anciently a Phoenician colony called Cyrenaica, or "Libya about Cyrene." (Acts ii. 10.)

CYRENE. A country west of Egypt, and the birthplace of Callimachus the poet, Eratosthenes the historian, and Simon, who bore the Savior's cross. Many Jews from hence were at the Pentecost, and were converted

under Peter's sermon. (Acts ii.) The region is now under the Turkish power, and has become almost a desert. It is now called Cairoan. Some of the Cyrenians were among the earliest Christians, (Acts xi. 20.) and one of them, it is supposed, was a preacher at Antioch. (Acts xiii. 1.) We find also, that among the most violent opposers of Christianity, were the Cyrenians, who had a synagogue at Jerusalem, as had those of many other nations. It is said there were 480 synagogues in

Jerusalem.

LYBIA, or Libya, (Acts ii. 10.) was anciently among the Greeks a general name for Africa, but properly it embraced only so much of Africa as lay west of Egypt, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. Profane geographers call it Libya Cyrenaica, because Cyrene was its capital. It was the country of the Lubims, (2 Chron. xii. 3,) or Lehabims of the Old Testament, from which it is supposed to have derived its name.

The ancient city of Cyrene is now called Cyreune, Cairoan, or Cayran, and lies in the dominion of Tripoli. This district of the earth has lately occasioned much interest among Italian and French geographers. Great numbers of Jews resided here. (Matt. xxvii. 32.)

LIBYA, a part of Africa, bordering on Egypt, famous for its armed chariots and horses. (2 Chron. xvi. 8.)

OPHIR, the son of Joktan, gave name to a country in Africa, famous for gold, which was renowned even in the time of Job, (Job ch. xxii. 24; xxviii. 16,) and from the time of David to the time of Jehoshaphat, the Hebrews traded with it, and Uzziah revived this trade when he made himself master of Elath, a noted port on the Red Sea. In Solomon's time, the Hebrew fleet took up three years in their voyage to Ophir, and brought home gold, apes, peacocks, spices, ivory, ebony, and almugtrees. (1 Kings ix. 28; x. 11; xxii. 48; 2 Chr. ix. 10.)

TARSHISH, (Isa. xxiii. 1,) or Tharshish. (1 Kings x. 22.) It is supposed that some place of this name existed on the eastern coast of Africa, or among the southern ports of Asia, with which the ships of Hiram and Solomon traded in gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. (2 Chron. ix. 21.) It is said that once in every