subjects to the Roman empire. [84]

[Footnote 821: This comparison is exaggerated, with the intention, no
doubt, of attacking the authority of the Bible, which boasts of the
fertility of Palestine. Gibbon's only authorities were that of Strabo
(l. xvi. 1104) and the present state of the country. But Strabo only
speaks of the neighborhood of Jerusalem, which he calls barren and arid
to the extent of sixty stadia round the city: in other parts he gives a
favorable testimony to the fertility of many parts of Palestine: thus
he says, "Near Jericho there is a grove of palms, and a country of a
hundred stadia, full of springs, and well peopled." Moreover, Strabo
had never seen Palestine; he spoke only after reports, which may be as
inaccurate as those according to which he has composed that description
of Germany, in which Gluverius has detected so many errors. (Gluv. Germ.
iii. 1.) Finally, his testimony is contradicted and refuted by that
of other ancient authors, and by medals. Tacitus says, in speaking of
Palestine, "The inhabitants are healthy and robust; the rains moderate;
the soil fertile." (Hist. v. 6.) Ammianus Macellinus says also, "The
last of the Syrias is Palestine, a country of considerable extent,
abounding in clean and well-cultivated land, and containing some fine
cities, none of which yields to the other; but, as it were, being on a
parallel, are rivals."--xiv. 8. See also the historian Josephus, Hist.
vi. 1. Procopius of Caeserea, who lived in the sixth century, says that
Chosroes, king of Persia, had a great desire to make himself master of
Palestine, on account of its extraordinary fertility, its opulence, and
the great number of its inhabitants. The Saracens thought the same,
and were afraid that Omar. when he went to Jerusalem, charmed with the
fertility of the soil and the purity of the air, would never return to
Medina. (Ockley, Hist. of Sarac. i. 232.) The importance attached by the
Romans to the conquest of Palestine, and the obstacles they encountered,
prove also the richness and population of the country. Vespasian and
Titus caused medals to be struck with trophies, in which Palestine is
represented by a female under a palm-tree, to signify the richness of he
country, with this legend: Judea capta. Other medals also indicate this
fertility; for instance, that of Herod holding a bunch of grapes, and
that of the young Agrippa displaying fruit. As to the present state
of he country, one perceives th