Travels in Syria and the Holy Land | Page 6

district.[See p. 117,
118.] It appears from these inscriptions, that Missema was anciently the
town of the Phaenesii, and the metrocomia or chief place of Trachon,
the descriptions of which district by Strabo and Josephus,[Strabo, 755,
756. Joseph. Antiq. Jud. l.15,c.13.] are in exact conformity with that
which Burckhardt has given us of the Ledja.
From Strabo and Ptolemy,[Strabo, ibid. Ptolemy, l.5,c.15.] we learn
that Trachonitis comprehended all the uneven country extending along
the eastern side of the plain of Haouran, from near Damascus to Boszra.
It was in consequence of the predatory incursions of the Arabs from the
secure recesses of the Ledja into the neighbouring plains, that Augustus
transferred the government of Trachonitis from Zenodorus, who was
accused of encouraging them, to Herod, king of Judaea. [Joseph. Antiq.
Jud.l.5,c.10. De Bell. Jud.l.1,c.20.] The two Trachones, into which
Trachonitis was divided, agree with the two natural divisions of the
Ledja and Djebel Haouran.
[p.xii]Oerman, an ancient ruin at the foot of the Djebel Haouran, to the
east of Boszra, appears from an inscription copied there by Burckhardt,
to be the site of Philippopolis, a town founded by Philip, emperor of
Rome, who was a native of Boszra.
Another ancient name is found at Hebran, in the same mountains, to the
N.E. of Boszra, where an inscription records the gratitude of the tribe of

AEedeni to a Roman veteran. The Kelb Haouran, or summit of the
Djebel Haouran, appears to be the Mount Alsadamum of
Ptolemy.[Ptolem.l.5,c.15.]
Of the ancient towns just mentioned, Philippopolis alone is noticed in
ancient history; and although the name of Phaeno occurs as a
bishoprick of Palestine, and that the adjective Phaenesius is applied to
some mines at that place [Greek text], it seems evident that these
Phaenesii were different from those of Trachon, and that they occupied
a part of Idumaea, between Petra and the southern extremity of the
Dead Sea.[Reland. Palaest. 1.3, voce Phaeno.]
Mezareib, a village and castle on the Hadj route, appears to be the site
of Astaroth, the residence of Og, king of Bashan; [Deuter. c.l.v.4. Josh.
c.ix.v.10.] for Eusebius [Euseb. Onomast. in [Greek text].] places
Astaroth at 6 miles from Adraa (or Edrei, now Draa,) between that
place and Abila (now Abil), and at 25 miles from Bostra, a distance
very nearly confirmed by the Theodosian Table, which gives 24 Roman
miles between those two places. It will be seen by the map, that the
position of Mezareib conforms to all these particulars. The unfailing
pool of the clearest water, which now attracts the men and cattle of all
the surrounding country to Mezareib in summer, must have made it a
place of importance in ancient times, and therefore excited the wonder
of our traveller at its having preserved only some very scanty relics of
antiquity.
Although Mount Sinai, and the deserts lying between that peninsula
[p.xiii]and Judaea, have not, like the latter country, preserved many of
the names of Holy Scripture, the new information of Burckhardt
contains many facts in regard to their geography and natural history,
which may be useful in tracing the progress of the Israelites from Egypt
into Syria.
The bitter well of Howara, 15 hours southward of Ayoun Mousa,
corresponds as well in situation as in the quality of its water, with the
well of Marah, at which the Israelites arrived after passing through a
desert of three days from the place near Suez where they had crossed
the Red Sea.[Exodus, c.xiv. xv. Numbers. c.xxxiii.]

The Wady Gharendel, two hours beyond Howara, where are wells
among date trees, seems evidently to be the station named Elim, which
was next to Marah, and at which the Israelites found "twelve wells of
water, and threescore and ten palm trees." [Exodus, c.xv. Numbers,
c.xxxiii.] And it is remarkable, that the Wady el Sheikh, and the upper
part of the Wady Feiran, the only places in the peninsula where manna
is gathered from below the tamarisk trees, accord exactly with that part
of the desert of Sin, in which Moses first gave his followers the sweet
substance gathered in the morning, which was to serve them for bread
during their long wandering;[Exodus, c.xvi.] for the route through
Wady Taybe, Wady Feiran, and Wady el Sheikh, is the only open and
easy passage to Mount Sinai from Wady Gharendel; and it requires the
traveller to pass for some distance along the sea shore after leaving
Gharendel, as we are informed that the Israelites actually did, on
leaving Elim.[Numbers, c.xxxiii.v.10, 11.]
The upper region of Sinai, which forms an irregular circle of 30 or 40
miles in diameter, possessing numerous sources of water, a temperate
climate, and a soil capable of supporting animal and vegetable nature,
was the part of the peninsula best adapted to [p.xiv]the residence of
near a year, during which