t * lllva Astiirle. liiinilnuin deonimmio \i!t, vltn, ftalnn: nirsun udein q,iie est IVrnieles, mors. Interltus. Slnro, tuiitis, cjeluni, aidem, -lovis <|nii-cutn(|iio tern|tla colliniis, ehis dncnnttir ntitu, Ull obtenipernnt, Kani spectant' {.Mfrcator, IV. vl. s-j.*, ly.).
1 See parallels from earlier (»r. poets in Monro's notes rir/ ftn^.
** Monitmunn and .Muller. Silli. />riiiiiiill.T. !»*!, p. Wl; W. It. Smith. A•.^' p. Hill, If Barton. I.e. p. M If. : Itatliiren, p|i. 117- 121. The epithet ir^-^'-' seems to Indicate that he was viewed as the riHina (morninir) star; cf \i*ni\u\c\,Sikt-Arab.Chreittom., 1898, p. 88.
• • rr.Ttiiyi'ihl. 1S9«. hii
attributes of Milk (Molech)* and Ashtart (CIS 1. i. 8' 250^; and in the Inscr. of Ma'subt), and Eshmun'a.thlart {ib. 245). Among Aram.-speak- ing peoples inr; became i.nr-y (cf. j-;', s !>.-■, etc.), which was soon written in;-,} whence 'ArapydTis (I'almyrene r\:^;"\:^;; § Syr. liwii-i, also represented by Afp/terii), i.e. 'Athtar of 'Ati,\\ the name of a deity much worshipped in parts of Syria, esp. at Hierapolis (between Antioch and Kdessa), and also (2 ilac 12^) at Karnion (probably either near to, or identical with, 'Aslileroth-Karnaim : see ASUTAUOTII).
See, further, Eoscher'a Ansf. Lexicon der OHech. u. Rom. MijUtol. (1S!>1-1S90), arts. Astarte tby E. Meyer), and Apiip.o- DiTF. (by Uoscher and Furtwangler), pp. 390 If., 4l)iJ tf. ; Farnell. Cttlf^ of the Greek States. c\\^. x.xi.-xxiii. (which appeared since the above article was written). g, U. l)KIVEli.
ASHURITES Clue's?, B ©oo-e.pe.', A Oa^o.'.p, Luc. ''E.Cpt). — One of the tribes over whom Ishbosheth ruled (2 S 2^). The name is clearly corrupt, for neither the Assyrians C^'-s'!'), nor the Arabian tribe (2<iis=x (^,1 253) gan be intended. Kwald, Thenius, Wellh. follow the Pesh. and Vulg. in reading ' the Geshurites' ('";'"5'^^). who.se territory bordered on that of Gilead (.los 12" 13'i), and who might there- fore be suitably incluiled here. It has been urged, however, against this view, that Geslutr was an independent kingdom at this time (cf. 2 S ?>■' 13-*'), so that Ishbosheth could not have exercised control over it. We must therefore read, with Ivoliler, Klost., Kirkp., and Budde 'l^'?? 'the Asherites,' i.e. the tribe of Aslier (cf. Jg l"-') ; this reading is supported by the Targ. of .Jonathan (-itys .T31 S'), and agrees well with the context ; according to the latter, the dominions of Ishbosheth extended from A.sher to Beiijainin on the Vf . of .Jordan, and further included the large tract of Gilead on the E.
.J. F. STENNING.
ASHYATH (^B*;:).— An Ashcrite (1 Ch 1^).
•*ASIA ('Aff/a) was the Roman province which embraced the W. parts of the great peninsula now called Asia Minor, including the countries Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and great part of Phrygia, with the Dorian, Ionian, .and vEoliau co,ast-cities, the Troad, and the islands oft the co.ast (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Patmos, Cos, etc.). The name, as thas used, was created by the IJom. administra- tion. The Gr. geographei-s generally employed the name Asia to denote the whole continent ; but the Uomans during the 2nd cent. B.C. were accustomed to term the Pergamenian sovereigns (with whom they were in clo.se political relations) 'kings of Asia' ; and when Attains 111. IxMjueathed his kingdom lo Rome in 133, it w.is formed into a province, and named Asia. With rare excep- tions, historians and geographers under the earlier Koman Empire use the name Asia only in two senses, — either the Roman province or the entire continent. About AD. 285, Asia w.as greatly reduced in size, Caria, Phrygia, Lvdia, and .\lysia (llellcspontns) being separated from i( ; and the name Asia w.is then reslrieted to the coast-cities and the lower valleys of the Mieander, Cayster, Hermus, .and Caicus. In the NT, as is generally agreed, ' Asia ' means the Rom. province (Ac 2° being a possible exception). At first Pergamos was the capital of the province ;
• See the writer'* note on Dt IS'".
+ I'lermoutGanneau, Itteueil d'ArcIUot. Orientalt, I. (1SS8) p. 81.
$ Cf. Strabo, p. 79.V 'ArapYaTi vhi TT\v 'AOapav [KaAovcri] ; and see Noldeke In the ZD.Mtt. I-.7II, pp. 92, lll'.l : K. Meyer, if,. 1n77, pp. 780-781. The N. .Vrablan ' Athar of Heaven* has been nlreadv inentlone.1 nb..ve.
S l)i' Voiffte, Si/rie Cenlrale, No. 8, p. 9. See further Ilatheen, pli. Oi-7;),
I On the ileltv cnlleil 'Ati, cf, Buthgon, p. 70 f. chnr'e.^ .'-'rr.'t.nrr'. .^on/
172
ASIARCH
ASMOD.EUS
but after a time the superior advantages of Epliesus gave it the pre-eminence, and llie rule was that the governors must land there. Under Augustus, and even earlier, Ephesus was the supreme ad- ministrative centre of Asia, and the headquarters of the great jjrovincial officials ; but the title ' Kirst of Asia' {ivparn 'Aaias) was keenly contested also by I'ergamos and Smyrna. The governor, who bore tlie title proconsul, was appointed by the Senate by lot from among the senior ex-consuls ; not less tlian five years must have elapsed between consulship and proconsulship ; and, owing to the 7iumber of ex-consuls, the usu^l interval became longer as time p;vssed (being twelve or more }-e;irs iu the 2nd cent.). As a rule, the office was animal ; but in exceptional ea-ses a second year, and still more rarely even a third year, of office was permitted. Asia was one of the most wealthy and populous and intellectually active of the Kom. provinces ; hence the natural se(iuence of the work done by Paul and Barnabas on their first journey was to preach in the great cities of Asia; and this was evidently St. I'aul's intention on his second journey, until he found himself prevented from speaking the word in Asia (Ac 16"). The evani;elisation of Asia was reserved for the third journey, when, during St. Paul's residence of two years and three months in Ephesus, ' the entire population of Asia heard the word ' (Ac 19'") ; partly on account of the frequency with which the provincials came to Ephesus f.ir trade, religion, law, or festivals ; partly through inLs.sions of St. Paul's coadjutors to the leading cities of the province. In ()T Apocr., dating before the forma- tion of tlie Kom. province, the term Asia denotes the continent. On the Asian Jews, see the cities Coii, EiMiKsrs, Laodicea, etc.