, and here Josiah, king of Judah, was killed in a
battle with the Egyptians under Pharaoh-necoh.

The Plains of Sharon and Philistia, lying south of Carmel, are usually
regarded as the true Maritime Plain. Sharon extends southward from
Carmel about fifty miles, reaching a little below Jaffa, and has an
average width of eight miles. The Zerka, or Crocodile river, which
traverses this plain, is the largest stream of Palestine west of the
Jordan. There are several other streams crossing the plain from the
mountains to the sea, but they usually cease to flow in the summer
season. Joppa, Lydda, Ramleh, and Caesarea belong to this plain. Herod
the Great built Caesarea, and spent large sums of money on its palace,
temple, theater, and breakwater.

The Plain of Philistia extends thirty or forty miles from the southern
limits of Sharon to Gaza, varying in width from twelve to twenty-five
miles. It is well watered by several streams, some of which flow all the
year. Part of the water from the mountains flows under the ground and
rises in shallow lakes near the coast. Water can easily be found here,
as also in Sharon, by digging wells, and the soil is suitable for the
culture of small grains and for pasture. During a part of the year the
plain is beautifully ornamented with a rich growth of brightly colored
flowers, a characteristic of Palestine in the wet season.

Gaza figures in the history of Samson, who "laid hold of the doors of
the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and
all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the
mountain that is before Hebron." Ashkelon, on the coast, is connected
with the history of the Crusades. Ashdod, or Azotus, is where Philip was
found after the baptism of the eunuch. It is said that Psammetichus,
an ancient Egyptian king, captured this place after a siege of
twenty-seven years. Ekron and Gath also belonged to this plain.

The ridge of mountains lying between the coast plain and the Jordan
valley form the backbone of the country. Here, more than elsewhere,
the Israelites made their homes, on account of the hostility of the
inhabitants in the lowlands. This ridge is a continuation of the Lebanon
range, and extends as far south as the desert. In Upper Galilee the
mountains reach an average height of two thousand eight hundred feet
above sea level, but in Lower Galilee they are a thousand feet lower. In
Samaria and Judaea they reach an altitude o