thofe kings that had reigned at Tyre, he came to Hirom, and fays thus: "Upon the death of Abibalus, his fon Hirom took the kingdom; he lived fifty-three years, and reigned thirtyfour. He raised a bank on that called the Broad Place, and dedicated that golden pillar which is in Jupiter's temple: He alfo went and cut down timber from the mountain called Libanus, and got timber of cedar for the roofs of the temples. He alfo pulled down the old temples, and built new ones: Befides this, he confecrated the temples of Hercules, and of Aftarte. He firft built Hercules's temple, in the month Peritus, and that of Aftarte, when he made his expedition against the Tytians, who would not pay him their tribute; and, when he had fubdued them to himself, he returned home. Under this king there was a younger fon of Abdemon, who mastered the problems which Solomon king of Jerufalem had recommended to be folved." Now the time from this king to the building of Carthage is thus calculated: "Upon the death of Hirom, Beleazarus his fon took the kingdom; he lived fortythree years, and reigned feven years: After him fucceeded his fon Abdaftartus; he lived twenty-nine years, and reigned nine years. Now four fons of his nurfe plotted against him, and flew him, the eldeft of which reigned twelve years: After them came Aftartus, the fon of Deleaflartus; he lived fiftyfour years, and reigned twelve years: After him came his brother Afery mus; he lived fifty-four years, and reigned nine years: He was flain by his brother Pheles, who took the kingdom, and reigned but eight months, though he lived fifty years; he was flain by Ithobalus, the priest of Aftarte, who reigned thirty-two years, and lived fixty-eight years: He was fucceeded by his fon Badezorus. who lived forty-five years, and reigned fix years: He was fucceeded by Margenus his fon; he lived thirty-two years, and reigned nine years: Pygmalion fucceeded him; he lived fitty-fix years, and reigned forty-feven years. Now in the feventh year of his reign, his fifter fled away from him, and built the city Carthage in Libya." So the whole time from the reign of Hiram, till the building of Carthage, amounts to the fum of one hundred fifty-five years and eight months. Since then the temple was built at Jerufalem in the twelfth year of the reign of Hiram, there were from the building of the temple, until the building of Carthage, one hundred forty-three years and eight months. Wherefore, what occafion is there for alleging any more teftimonies out of the Phenician hiftories, [on the behalf of our nation], fince what I have faid is fo thoroughly confirmed already? And to be fure our ancestors came into this country long before the building of the temple; for it was not till we had gotten poffeffion of the whole land by war, that we built our temple. And this is the point that I have clearly proved out of our facred writings in my Antiquities.

19. I will now relate what hath been written concerning us in the Chaldean hiftories, which records have a great agree

ment with our books in other things alfo. Berofus fhall be witnefs to what I fay; he was by birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned. on account of his publication of the Chaldean books of philofophy and aftronomy among the Greeks. This Berolus, therefore, following the most ancient records of that nation, gives us an hiftory of the deluge of waters that then happened, and of the deftruction of mankind thereby, and agrees with Moles's narration thereof. He also gives us an account of that ark wherein Noah, the origin of our race, was preferved when it was brought to the highest part of the Armenian mountains: After which he gives us a catalogue of the pol terity of Noah, and adds the years of their chronology, and at length comes down to Nabolaffar who was king of Babylon, and of the Chaldeans. And when he was relating the acts of this king, he defcribes to us, "How he fent his fon Nabuchodonofor against Egypt, and against our land, with a great army, upon his being informed that they had revolted from him; and how, by that means, he fubdued them all, and fet our temple that was at Jerufalem on fire; nay, and removed our people entirely out of their own country, and transferred them to Ba bylon; when it fo happened that our city was defolate, du ring the interval of feventy years, until the days of Cyrus king of Perfia." He then fays, That "this Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia, and Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon and Chaldea." A little after which Berofus fubjoins what follows in his hiftory of ancient times: I will fet down Berofus's own accounts, which are these: " When Nabuchodonofor, father of Nabolaffar, heard that the governor whom he had fet over Egypt and over the parts of Celefyria and Phenicia, had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any longer, but committing certain parts of his army to his fon Nabuchodonofor, who was then but young, he fent him against the rebel: Nabuchodonofor joined battle with him, and conquered him, and reduced the country under his dominion again. Now it fo fell out, that his father Nabolaffar fell into a diftemper at this time, and died in the city of Babylon, after he had reigned twenty-nine years. But as he understood, in a little time, that his father Nabuchodonofor was dead, he fet the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries in order, and committed the captives he had taken from the Jews, and Phenicians, and Syrians, and of the nations belonging to Egypt, to lome of his friends, that they might conduct that part of the forces that had on heavy armour, with the reft of his baggage, to Babylonia; while he went in hafte, having but a few with him, over the defert to Babylon; whither, when he was come, he found the public affairs had been managed by the Chaldeans, and that the principal perfon among them had preferved the kingdom for him. Accordingly he now entirely obtained all his father's dominions. He then

came, and ordered the captives to be placed as colonies in the moft proper places of Babylonia: But for himfelf, he adorned the temple of Belus, and the other temples, after an elegant manner out of the fpoils he had taken in this war. He allo rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on the outfide, and fo far restored Babylon, that none who fhould besiege it afterwards might have it in their power to divert the river, fo as to facilitate an entrance into it; and this he did by building three walls about the inner city, and three about the outer. Some of chefe walls he built of burnt brick and bitumen, and fome of brick only. So when he had thus fortified the city with walls, after an excellent manner, and had adorned the gates magnificently, he added a new palace to that which his father had dwelt in, and this clofe by it alfo, and that more eminent in its height, and in its great fplendor; it would perhaps require too long a narration, if any one were to defcribe it: However, as prodigious large, and as magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. Now in this palace he erected very high walks, fupported by ftone pillars, and by planting what was called a penfile paradife, and replenishing it with all forts of trees, he rendered the profpect of an exact refemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to pleafe his queen, becaufe she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous fituation *"

20. This is what Berofus relates concerning the forementioned king, as he relates many other things about him alfo in the third book of his Chaldean hiftory; wherein he com. plains of the Grecian writers for fuppofing, without any foundation, that Babylon was built by Semiramis queen of Affyria, and for her falfe pretence to thole wonderful edifices thereto relating, as if they were her own workmanship; as indeed in thefe affairs the Chaldean hiftory cannot but be the moft credible. Moreover, we meet with a confirmation of what Berofus fays in the archives of the Phenicians, concerning this king Nabuchodonofor, that he conquered all Syria and Phenicia; in which cafe Philoftratus agrees with the others in that hiftory which he composed, where he mentions the fiege of Tyre; as does Megafthenes alfo, in the fourth book of his Indian hiftory, wherein he pretends to prove that the forementioned king of the Babylonians was fuperior to Hercules in frength, and the greatnefs of his exploits; for he fays that he conquered a great part of Libya, and conquered Iberia alfo. Now as to what I have faid before about the temple at Jerufalem, that it was fought against by the Babylonians, and burnt by them, but was opened again when Cyrus had taken the kingdom of Afia, fhall be now demonftrated

* The great improvements that Nebuchadnezzar made in the buildings at Babylon, do no way contradift those ancient and authentic teftimonies which ascribe its fictt building to Nimrod, and its first rebuilding to Semiramis, as Berofus icems here to fuppofe.

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ment with our books in other things alfo. Berofus fhall be witnefs to what I fay; he was by birth a Chaldean, well known by the learned on account of his publication of the Chaldean books of philofophy and aftronomy among the Greeks. This Berofus, therefore, following the moft ancient records of that nation, gives us an hiftory of the deluge of waters that then happened, and of the deftruction of mankind thereby, and agrees with Moles's narration thereof. He alfo gives us an account of that ark wherein Noah, the origin of our race, was preferved when it was brought to the highest part of the Armen ian mountains: After which he gives us a catalogue of the pofterity of Noah, and adds the years of their chronology, and at length comes down to Nabolaffar who was king of Babylon, and of the Chaldeans. And when he was relating the acts of this king, he defcribes to us," How he fent his fon Nabuchodonofor against Egypt, and against our land, with a great army, upon his being informed that they had revolted from him; and how, by that means, he fubdued them all, and fet our temple that was at Jerufalem on fire; nay, and removed our people entirely out of their own country, and transferred them to Ba. bylon; when it fo happened that our city was defolate, during the interval of feventy years, until the days of Cyrus king of Perfia." He then fays, That "this Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia, and Arabia, and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him in Babylon and Chaldea." A little after which Berofus fubjoins what follows in his hiftory of ancient times: I will fet down Berofus's own accounts, which are thefe: "When Nabuchodonofor, father of Nabolaffar, heard that the governor whom he had fet over Egypt and over the parts of Čelefyria and Phenicia, had revolted from him, he was not able to bear it any longer, but committing certain parts of his army to his fon Nabuchodonofor, who was then but young, he fent him against the rebel: Nabuchodonofor joined battle with him, and conquered him, and reduced the country under his dominion again. Now it fo fell out, that his father Nabolaffar fell into a diftemper at this time, and died in the city of Babylon, after he had reigned twenty-nine years. But as he understood, in a little time, that his father Nabuchodonofor was dead, he fet the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries in order, and committed the captives he had taken from the Jews, and Phenicians, and Syrians, and of the nations belonging to Egypt, to iome of his friends, that they might conduct that part of the forces that had on heavy armour, with the reft of his baggage, to Babylonia; while he went in hafte, having but a few with Lim, over the defert to Babylon; whither, when he was come, he found the public affairs had been managed by the Chaldeans, and that the principal perfon among them had preferved the kingdom for him. Accordingly be now entirely obtained all his father's dominions. He then

came, and ordered the captives to be placed as colonies in the moft proper places of Babylonia: But for himself, he adorned the temple of Belus, and the other temples, after an elegant Inanner out of the fpoils he had taken in this war. He allo rebuilt the old city, and added another to it on the outfide, and fo far restored Babylon, that none who fhould befiege it afterwards might have it in their power to divert the river, so as to facilitate an entrance into it; and this he did by building three walls about the inner city, and three about the outer. Some of chefe walls he built of burnt brick and bitumen, and fome of brick only. So when he had thus fortified the city with walls, after an excellent manner, and had adorned the gates magnificently, he added a new palace to that which his father had dwelt in, and this clofe by it alfo, and that more eminent in its height, and in its great fplendor; it would perhaps require too long a narration, if any one were to defcribe it: However, as prodigious large, and as magnificent as it was, it was finished in fifteen days. Now in this palace he erected very high walks, fupported by ftone pillars, and by planting what was called a penfile paradife, and replenishing it with all forts of trees, he rendered the profpe&t of an exact refemblance of a mountainous country. This he did to please his queen, becaufe she had been brought up in Media, and was fond of a mountainous fituation *"

20. This is what Berofus relates concerning the forementioned king, as he relates many other things about him alfo in the third book of his Chaldean hiftory; wherein he com. plains of the Grecian writers for fuppofing, without any foundation, that Babylon was built by Semiramis queen of Affyria, and for her falfe pretence to thofe wonderful edifices thereto relating, as if they were her own workmanship; as indeed in thefe affairs the Chaldean hiftory cannot but be the moft credible. Moreover, we meet with a confirmation of what Berofus fays in the archives of the Phenicians, concerning this king Nabuchodonofor, that he conquered all Syria and Phenicia; in which cafe Philoftratus agrees with the others in that hiftory which he composed, where he mentions the fiege of Tyre; as does Megafthenes alfo, in the fourth book of his Indian hiftory, wherein he pretends to prove that the forementioned king of the Babylonians was fuperior to Hercules in frength, and the greatnefs of his exploits; for he fays that he conquered a great part of Libya, and conquered Iberia alfo. Now as to what I have faid before about the temple at Jerufalem, that it was fought againft by the Babylonians, and burnt by them, but was opened again when Cyrus. had taken the kingdom of Afia, fhall be now demonftrated

* The great improvements that Nebuchadnezzar made in the buildings at Babylon, do no way contradift thofe ancient and authentic teftimonies which alcribe its fictt building to Nimrod, and its first rebuilding to Semiramis, as Berojus ieems here to fuppofe.

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