For the merely internal Palestinian roads, Re land may be consulted. He gives a list of them (iii. 2), which will supply the reader with the requisite information, especially if studied under the corrections supplied by recent travellers.
Our remarks will be confined to roads which connected Palestine with other countries, since a notice of the internal roads as well, if at all com plete, would require too much space.
The Phcenicians, as a mercantile people, main tained a connection not only with the West, by sea, but also, overland, with the East. They had two great commercial highways. One came out of Arabia Felix, through Petra. The other struck from the northern extremity of the Persian Gulf, through Palestine, to Tyre.
The first road in Palostine which we mention ran from Ptolemais, on the coast of the Mediter ranean, to Damascus. This road remains to the present day. Beginning at Ptolemais (Acco), it ran south-east to Nazareth, and continuing south and east, passed the plain of Esdraelon on the north ; after which, turning north and east, it came to Tiberias, where, running along the sea of Galilee, it reached Capernaum, and having passed the Jordan somewhat above the last place, it went over a spur of the Anti-Libanus (Jebel Heish), and keeping straight forward east by north, came to Damascus. This road was used for the purposes both of trade and war. In the history of the Crusades it bears the name of Via Maris. It connected Europe with the interior of Asia. Troops coming from Asia over the Euphrates passed along this way into the heart of Palestine. Under the Romans it was a productive source of income. It was on this road, not far from Capernaum, that Jesus saw Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom,' and gave him his call to the apostleship.
Another road passed along the Mediterranean coast southward into Egypt. Beginning at Pto lemais, it ran first to Cmsarea, thence to Diospolis, and so on, through Ascalon and Gaza, down into Egypt. This was also an important line of com munication, passing as it did through cities of great importance, running along the coast and extending to Eg7.,,pt. A glance at the map will
show how important it was for trade by land and by sea, as well as for the passage of troops. A branch of this road connected the sea with the metropolis leading from the same Cmsarea through Diospolis to Jerusalem. Down this branch Paul was sent on his way to Felix (Acts xxiii. 23-33). The band went through Antipatris, and thence on to Cmsarea.
A third line of road connected Galilee with Judma, running, through tbe intervening Samaria (Luke xvii. 11 ; John iv. 4 ; Joseph. An/lg. xx. 6. ; Vila, sec. 52). The joi.rney took three days. Passing along the plain of Esdraelon the traveller entered Samaria at Ginea (Jenin), and was thence conducted to Samaria (Sebaste), thence to She chem (Nablous), whence a good day's travel brought him to Jerusalem. This last part of the journey has been described by Maundrell (Yourney, p. 85, seg.) In the time of the Romans there was also a road from Jerusalem to the lake Gennesareth, through Shechem and Scythopolis. The same road sent a branch off at Scythopolis, in a westerly direction through Esdraelon to Cmsarea ; and another branch across the Jordan to Gadara, on to Damascus, along which line of country there still lies a road, southward of the sea of Galilee, to the same cele brated city.
There were three chief roads running from Jerusalem. One passed in a north-easterly di rection over the Mount of Olives, by Bethany, through openings in hills and winding ways on to Jericho, near which the Jordan was passed when travellers took their way to the north, if they wished to pass through Perma : which was the road the Galilean Jews, in coming to and returning from the festivals in the capital, were accustomed to take, thus avoiding the unfriendly territory of Samaria ; or travellers turned their faces towards the south, if they intended to go towards the Dead Sea. This road was followed by the Israelites when they directed their steps towards Canaan. Through Perma the Syrian and Assyrian armies made their hostile advances on Israel (2 Kings 28 ; ix. 14 ; x. 32, seq. ; Chron. v. 26).