TUs dty lay about 130 miles north from Jerusalem,
CJQSAREA
and a day and a halTs Journey from Damascus, at the springs c^ the Jordan, and n^r the fbot of Isbel Shrik, or the Prince's Mount, a lofty branch of Lebanon, forming in that direction the boundary between Pales- tine and Syria Proper. Here Herod the Qreat erected a tem|de to Augustus (Joseph. Ant. xv, 10, 8; comp. War, i, 21, 8). Ponittm became part of the territory of Philip, tetrarch of Trachonitis, who enlarged and embellished the town, and called it C<Bsarea PkiHppi, partly after his own name and partly after that of the emperor (Ant. xviii, 2, 1 ; War, n, 9, 1). Agrippa II followed in the same course of flattery, and ^kd the place Neromae {Ant, xx, 9, 4). Josephus seems to imply (Life, 18) that many heathens resided here. Titus exhibited gladiatorial shows at Casarea PhUippi after the downfUl of Jerusalem, in which the Jewidi prisoners were compelled to fight like gladiators, snd numbers perished in the inhuman contests (Wear, vii, 2, 1). The old name was not lost. Coins of Caiarea Pamas continued through the reigns of many emper- ors. Under the simple name of Paneae it was the seat of a Greek bishopric in the period of the great councils (the second bishop being present at the Council of •Nice, and the last at the Council of Chalcedon in 451), and of a Latin bishopric of Phoenicia during subse- quent Christian occupancy, when it was called Beli" nae. "During the Crusades," says Dr. Bobinson, *'it was the scene of various changes and conflicts. It first came into the possession of the Christians in 1129, along with the fortress on the adjacent mountain, being delivered over to them by its Israelite governor, after their unsuccessful attempt upon Damascus in be- half of that sect. The city and castle were given as a fief to the Knight Bavner Brus. In 1182, during the absence of Rayner, Bani&s was taken, after a short as- sault, by the Sultan Ismail of Damascus. It was re- captured by the Franks, aided by the Damascenes themselves. In 1189 the tempond control was re- stored to Rayner Brus, and the city made a Latin bish- opric, under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop otTjwe*^ (Reaeardue, iii, 860).
The site is still called Bamas, the first name having here, as in other cases, surrived the second. It has now dwindled into a paltiy and insignificant village, whose mean and destitute condition contrasts striking- ly with the rich and luxuriant character of the sur- rounding country. Tet many remains of ancient ar- chitecture are fbund in the neighborhood, bearing tes- timony to the former grandeur of the place, although it is d^cult to trace the site of the splendid temple erected here in honor of Augustus. The place itself is remarkable in its i^ysical and picturesque charac- teristics, as well as in its historical associations. It was at the easternmost and most important of the two recognised sources of the Jordan, the other being at Tell el-Kady. The spring rises, and the dty was built, on a limestone terrace in a valley at the base of Mount Hermon. On the north-east side of the present village, the river, held to be the principal source of the Jordan, issues frvm a spacious cavern under a wall of rock. Around this source are many hewn stones. In the fkoe of the cliff, directly over the cavern and in other parts, several niches have been cut, apparently to re- ceive statues. Each of these niches had once an in- scription ; and one of them, copied by Burckhardt, ap- pears to have been a dedication by a priest of Pan. The situation is unique, combining in an unusual degree the elements of grandeur and beauty. It nestles in its recess at the southern base of the mighty Hermon, which towers in mi^ty to an elevation of 7000 or 8000 feet above. The abundant waters of tiie glorious fountain spread over the terrace luxuriant fertility and the graceftd interchange of copse, lawn, and wav- ing fields (Bobinson, Later Bib, Bee, p. 404)^
About three mOes north-east of Banias are the re- mains of an immense ancient castle, covering one of the spurs of Lebanon, about fifteen hundred feet above
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Cave at Banias.
the plain and city. It is enclosed by walls of immense strength and thickness, and must have been an almost impregnable fortress. It is of Saracenic architecture ; bat many of the fine bevelled stones with which the noble rotmd towers are constructed must have belong- ed to a far more ancient edifice. This castle received th^ name of etSubeibeh about the time of the Crusades, perhaps from the half-gipsy Arab tribe of the same name that still inhabit the vicinity. A short distance east of this castle there is a very ancient ruin, sur- rounded by a thick grove of venerable oaks. There are also ruins west of Banias, consisting of columns, capitals, and foundations of buildings, together with canals that formerly conveyed the water of the brook, now crossed by a stone bridge. Above the fountain are Greek inscriptions in the rock, confirming the tes- timony of Josephus that Agrippa adorned Banias with royal liberality, and also sustaining the ancient state- ments that the fountain was held sacred to Pan {Bib- lloth. Sacra, 1846, p. 194). See Reland, Palat^, p. 918 sq. ; Eckhel, Doctr, Num, iii, 839 sq. ; Burckhardt, JS^fria, p. 87 sq. ; Buckingham, ii, 814 sq. ; Thomson, Land and Book, i, 344 sq.; Schwarz, PaleM, p. 144; Mod. Traveller, p. 827 sq.. Am. ed. ; Raumer, PcdasU p. 215 ; Wilson, Landt of Bible, ii, 176 sq. ; Porter, DamoMCus, i, 307 sq.