peaceful existence; it had given way before
Egypt and Chaldaea whenever the Egyptians or Chaldseans had appeared
within striking distance, but had refrained from taking any part in the
disturbances by which Syria was torn asunder. Having been occupied
by the Amorites, it threw its lot in with theirs, keeping, however,
sedulously in the background: while the princes of Qodshu waged war
against the Pharaohs, undismayed by frequent reverses, Damascus did
not scruple to pay tribute to Thutmosis III. and his descendants, or to
enter into friendly relations with them. Meanwhile the Amorites had
been overthrown, and Qodshu, ruined by the Asiatic invasion, soon
became little more than an obscure third-rate town;** the Aramaeans made
themselves masters of Damascus about the XIIth century, and in their
hands it continued to be, just as in the preceding epochs, a town
without ambitions and of no great renown.

* 1 Kings xv. 17; cf. 2 Ghron. xvi. 1.

** Qodshu is only once mentioned in the Bible (2 Sam. xxiv.
6), in which passage its name, misunderstood by the
Massoretic scribe, has been restored from the Septuagint
text.

We have seen how the Aramaeans, alarmed at the sudden rise of the Hebrew
dynasty, entered into a coalition against David with the Ammonite
leaders: Zoba aspired to the chief place among the nations of Central
Syria, but met with reverses, and its defeat delivered over to the
Israelites its revolted dependencies in the Hauran and its vicinity,
such as Maacah, Geshur, and even Damascus itself.* The supremacy was,
however, shortlived; immediately after the death of David, a chief named
Rezon undertook to free them from the yoke of the stranger. He had
begun his military career under Hada-dezer, King of Zoba: when disaster
overtook this leader and released him from his allegiance, he collected
an armed force and fought for his own hand. A lucky stroke made him
master of Damascus: he proclaimed himself king there, harassed the
Israelites with impunity during the reign of Solomon, and took over the
possessions of the kings of Zoba in the valleys of the Litany and the
Orontes.** The rupture between the houses of Israel and Judah removed
the only dangerous rival from his path, and Damascus became the
paramount power in Southern and Central Palestine. While Judah and
Israel wasted their strength in fratricidal struggles, Tabrimmon,
and after him Benhadad I., gradually extended their territory i