present walls. History relates that it was built by Herod the Tetrarch, and dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius, his patron, although there prevails, at the same time, an obscure tradition, that the new city owed its foundation entirely to the imperial pleasure, and was named by him who commanded it to be erected. Josephus notices the additional circumstance, which of itself gives great probability to the opinion of its being established on the ruins of an older town, that, as many sepulchres were removed in order to make room for the Roman structures, the Jews could hardly be induced to occupy houses which, according to their notions, were legally impure. Adrichomius considers Tiberias to be the Chinneroth of the Hebrews, and says, that it was captured by Benhadad, king of Syria, who destroyed it, and was in after-ages restored by Herod, who surrounded it with walls, and adorned it with magnificent buildings. The old Jewish city, whatever was its name, probably owed its existence to the fame of its hot baths,-an origin to which many temples, and even the cities belonging to them, may be traced.

The present town of Tabaria, as it is now called, is in the form of an irregular crescent, and is enclosed towards the land by a wall flanked with circular towers. It lies nearly north and south along the edge of the lake, and has its eastern front so close to the water, on the brink of which it stands, that some of the houses are washed by the sea. The whole does not appear more than a mile in circuit, and cannot, from the manner in which they are placed, contain above 500 separate dwellings. There are two gates visible from without, one near the southern and the other in the western wall; there are appearances also of the town having been surrounded by a ditch, but this is now filled up and used for gardens.

The interior presents but few subjects of interest, among which are a mosque with a dome and minaret, and two Jewish synagogues. There is a Christian place of worship called the House of Peter, which is thought by some to be the oldest building used for that purpose in any part of Palestine. It is a vaulted room, thirty feet long by fifteen broad, and perhaps fifteen in height, standing nearly east and west, with its door of entrance at the western front, and its altar immediately opposite in a shallow recess. Over

the door is one small window, and on each side four others, all arched and open. The structure is of a very ordinary kind, both in workmanship and material; the pavement within is similar to that used for streets in this country; and the walls are entirely devoid of sculpture or any other architectural ornament. But it derives no small interest from the popular belief that it is the very house which Peter inhabited at the time of his being called from his boat to follow the Messias. It is manifest, notwithstanding, that it must have been originally constructed for a place of divine worship, and probably at a period much later than the days of the apostle whose name it bears, although there is no good ground for questioning the tradition which places it on the very spot long venerated as the site of his more humble habitation. Here too it was, say the dwellers in Tiberias, that he pushed off his boat into the lake when about to have his faith rewarded by the miraculous draught of fishes.*

Besides the public buildings already specified are the house of the aga, on the rising ground near the northern quarter of the town, a small bazaar, and two or three coffeesheds; the ordinary dwellings of the inhabitants are such as are commonly seen in eastern villages, but are marked by a peculiarity which Mr. Buckingham witnessed there for the first time. On the terrace of almost every house stands a small square enclosure of reeds, loosely covered with leaves; to which, he learned, heads of families are wont to resort during the summer months, when, from the low situation of the town and the absence of cooling breezes, the heat of the nights is literally intolerable.†

* Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 366.

"Within two hours and a half of Tiberias, we looked down on a fine cultivated plain, quite bare of trees; beyond which, at a much lower level, lay the narrow Valley of the Jordan. This plain was pastured over by horses from the town, for the keepers of which white tents were scattered about in all directions. We now came in sight of the Sea of Galilee: we only saw the northern half, and its size disappointed us; but the dark blue still water, the green hills around covered with bushes, and the high snowy ridge of Djibbel el Sheik made a very delightful landscape. Tiberias, with its high-feudal citadel, its walls and towers, now forms a remarkable feature in the view; and the steep hills, which descend at once to the lake on the east, attract attention from their strangely-channelled sides, diversified with dark green bushes and white chalky soil. The lake at the town may be six or eight miles broad. We could see no stream formed by the Jordan through it. Before it was

According to the opinion of the best informed among the inhabitants, the population of Tiberias (or Tabareeah, as they pronounce it) does not exceed two thousand. Of these about one-half are Jews, many of whom are from Europe, particularly from Germany, Russia, and Poland; the rest are Mohammedans, with the exception of twenty or thirty Christian families who profess the tenets of the Latin church.

The warm baths, which have given celebrity to that neighbourhood, are still found at the distance of between two and three miles southward from the town. The building erected on the spring is small and mean, and altogether the work of the present rulers of Palestine. The bath itself is a square room of eighteen or twenty feet, covered with a low dome, and having seats or benches on each side. The cistern for containing the hot water is in the centre of this room, and sunk below the pavement. It is a square of eight or nine feet only, and the spring rises to supply it through a small head of some animal; but this is so badly executed that it is difficult to know for what it was intended. Mr. Buckingham states, that his thermometer, when immersed in the water, instantly rose to 130°, which was the utmost limit of the instrument. He is satisfied, however, that the heat was much greater, because it was painful to the hand as it issued from the spout, and could only be borne by those who had bathed in the cistern.*

Tiberias makes a conspicuous figure in the Jewish annals, and was the scene of some of the most remarkable events which are recorded by Josephus. After the downfall of Jerusalem, it continued until the fifth century to be the residence of Jewish patriarchs, rabbis, and learned men. A university was established within its boundaries; and as the patriarchate was allowed to be hereditary, the remnant dark we had a very fine view of the lake; at the southern part it is narrow, and the sides bold. The sun threw a deep shade on this side and on the water, while it marked the hills and valleys on the opposite side with strong light and shade. The northern part is much wider and tamer; but the hills are still high and green, and the lofty snowy mountain of Djibbel el Sheik rising over them gives great dignity to the landscape. This mountain was very striking late in the evening, as retaining the sun's rays after every thing around us was in darkness. In all respects it is the greatest ornament of the lake, and I am surprised that travellers have not mentioned it more."-Anonymous Journal. * Buckingham, vol. ii. p. 368.