garrisons of the two nations
fought with each other from one year's end to another--carrying off each
other's cattle, massacring one another, burning each other's villages
and leading their inhabitants into slavery.**

* Among nineteen kings of Israel, eight were assassinated
and were replaced by the captains of their guards--Nadab,
Elah, Zimri, Joram, Zachariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, and Pekah.

** This is what is meant by the Hebrew historians when they
say "there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the
days of his life" (1 Kings xv. 6; cf. 2 Ohron. xii. 15), and
"between Abijam and Jeroboam" (1 Kings xv. 7; 2 Ohron. xiii.
2), and "between Asa and Baasha" (1 Kings xv. 16, 32) "all
their days."

From time to time, when the situation became intolerable, one of the
kings took the field in person, and began operations by attacking such
of his enemy's strongholds as gave him the most trouble at the time.
Ramah acquired an unenviable reputation in the course of these early
conflicts: its position gave it command of the roads terminating in
Jerusalem, and when it fell into the hands of Israel, the Judaean capital
was blockaded on this side. The strife for its possession was always
of a terrible character, and the party which succeeded in establishing
itself firmly within it was deemed to have obtained a great success.*

* The campaign of Abijah at Mount Zemaraim (2 Chron. xiii.
3-19), in which the foundation of the narrative and the
geographical details seem fully historical. See also the
campaign of Baasha against Ramah (1 Kings xv. 17-22; cf. 2
Chron. xvi. 1-6).

The encounter of the armies did not, however, seem to produce much more
serious results than those which followed the continual guerilla warfare
along the frontier: the conqueror had no sooner defeated his enemy
than he set to work to pillage the country in the vicinity, and, having
accomplished this, returned promptly to his headquarters with the booty.
Rehoboam, who had seen something of the magnificence of Solomon, tried
to perpetuate the tradition of it in his court, as far as his slender
revenues would permit him. He had eighteen women in his harem, among
whom figured some of his aunts and cousins. The titular queen was
Maacah, who was represented as a daughter of Absalom. She was devoted to
the _asheras_, and the king was not behind his father in his tolerance
of strange gods; th