SALCAH and SALCHAH (nnt); 'EXxa ; 2ercxal ; Alex. MeNxa ; 2A0-eTxd ; •Salecha), an ancient city of Bashan, situated on its eastern bor der. The territory which the Israelites took from the giant Og is described as embracing all Bashan unto Salchah' (Deut. to ; Josh. xiii. r). This city appears to have been one of the old capitals of Og's kingdom (Josh. xii. 5). A statement in Chron. v. r appears to show that Salchah was upon the eastern confines of both Manasseh and Gad. In later Jewish history the name is never mentioned, and the probability is that the city soon fell into the hands of the original inhabitants.
There can be no doubt that Salcah is identical with the modern Sulkhad (ay.A.A. The town occupies a strong and commanding position on a conical hill at the southern extremity of the range of Jebel Hauran. On the summit stands the castle, a circular building of great size and strength, surrounded by a deep moat. The external walls are still tolerably perfect, and were evidently founded not later than the Roman age, though the upper portions are Saracenic. The sides of the cone immediately beneath the walls are steep and smooth, and are covered with light cinders and blocks of lava. The city occupies the lower slopes
on the south, extending to the plain. A large number of the houses are still perfect, with their stone roofs and stone doors, though they have been long deserted. On the walls of the castle, and among the ruins, the writer saw Greek inscriptions bearing dates equivalent to A.D. 246 and 37o ; while an Arabic record on the walls of a large mosque showed that it was built in the year A.D. 1224 ; and a minaret near it about four centuries later. The latter appeared to be the newest ing in the place.
The country round Salcah is now without inha bitants ; but traces of former industry and wealth, and of a dense population, are visible. The roads, the fields, the terraces, the vineyards, and the fig orchards are there, but man is gone. The view from the summit of the castle of Salcah is one of the most remarkable for desolation in all Palestine (Porter, Damascus, ii. 171-187 ; &bulled. Tab. Syr. p. to6).—J. L. P.