Koraan inipei'ial Cuin of Gaza.
duced into Gaza, the city long remained a stronghold of idolatry. In the beginning of the 5th century its bishop received authority to demolish its temples and build a large Christian church (Sozomen, H. E. ii, 6). In ,\.D. 034 Gaza was taken by the Moslems, and its s|dendid church turned into a mosque (Elmakin, Hist. Saracen, ch. ii, p. 20). Prom this period it gradually' declined under the blight of Islann.-m, and the Cru- saders found it deserted. They built a castle on the hill, which became the nucleus of a new town ( WiViain of Tyre, xvii, 12). In the 12th century we find the place garrisoned by the Knights Tenqilars. It finally fell into the hands of Saladin, A.D. 1170, after the dis- astrous l)attle of Ilattin.
The modern town is called Ghuzzfh, and contains about 15,000 inhaliitants. It resembles a cluster of large villages. The principal one stands on the flat top of a low hill, and has some good stone houses, though now much dilapidated. The others lie on the plain below ; their houses are mean mud hovels, and their lanes narrow and filthy. The hill ajjpears to be composed in a great measure of the accunudatcd ruins of successive cities. AN'e can see fragments of massive walls, and pieces of columns cropping up everywhere from the rubbish. Traces of ruins have been discov- ered at various places among the sand-hills to the -west, which are supposed to be those of primeval Gaza. Tiie great mosque crowns the hill, and can be distinguish- ed in the distance liy its tall minaret and pointed roof. Tlie town has no walls or defences of any kind. Its inhabitants have been long known as a lierco and law- less set of fanatics. Between Gaza and tiie sea there is a broad lielt completely covered with mounds of drifting sand. A mile east of the town a long ridge of low hills runs parallel to the coast line. Between
G^vZu:XLUS
757
GAZELLE
tha sanrl and the hills tlie ground is very fertile, and supplies the town with abundance of the choicest fruit and vegetables. The climate of the place is almost tropical, but it has deep -wells of excellent water. There arc a few p.ilm-trees in the town, and its fruit- orchards are very jiroductive. Uut the chief feature of the nsighborhood is tiie wide-spread olive-grove to the N. and N.E. Hence arises a considerable manu- facture of soap, which Ghuzzeh exports in large quanti- ties. It has also an active trade in corn. For a full account of nearly all that has been wi'itten concerning the topographical and historical relations of Gaza, see Iiitter's Erdkunde, xvi, 45-GO. Among the travellers who have described the place wo may mention espe- cially Robinson (^Biblical Researches, ii, 375 sq.) and Van de Velde {Syria and Palestine, ii, 179-188) ; also Thomson {Land and Book, ii, 331 sq.). The last writer speaks of the great extent of corn-land near Gaza, and of the sound of mill-stones in the citj'.' Even now its bazaars are better than those of .Jerusalem. " Those travelling towards Egypt naturally' lay in here a stock of provisions and necessaries for the desert, while those coming from Egypt arrive at Gaza exhausted, and must of course supply themselves anew" (Robin- son, ii, 378). The i)lace is often mentioned in the Tal- mud (Otho, Lex. liahh. p. 258). See Cellarii Noiit. ii, COS sq. ; Siber, De Gaza (Lips. 1715) ; Burscher, De Gaza narr t. (Lips. 17G7), and De Gaza dcrelicta (Lips. 17G8). — Kitto, s. V. ; Smith, s. v.
GazcBiis. Sec Gazet.
Gazani. See Palmer-worm.
Gaz'ara [usually Gaza'ra'] {t) or rci VdZapa), a town of Palestine, often mentioned in the Apocrypha and by Josephus as the scene of many battles in the INIaccabaian period, and as alternatch' possessed by each of the opposing parties. When Gorgias, general of Antiochus Epiphanes, was defeated by Judas Mac- cabaeus, his forces were pursued " unto Gazara, and unto the plains of Idumaja, and Azotus, and Jamnia" (k.jc Fa^ijpwv, etc., 1 jMacc. iv, 15; f.dxP'- radapiov, etc., Josephus, Ant. xii,7,4); Nicanor was also defeated by Judas, and pursued from "Adasa to Gazara" {(!(; rd'itjpa, 1 Mace, vii, 45). After the defeat of the Idu- mseaus, Judas went against Timotheus, who fled to Ga- zara for refuge. Judas, after several days' siege, took the city (2 Mace, x, 32-37 ; comp. Josephus, Ant. xii, 8, 1-4) ; many of its towers were burnt, and Timotheus himself killed (2 Maec. 1. c). "When Bacchides re- turned to Jerusalem, after the defeat of Jonathan, he fortified several cities, and among them Bethsura and Gazara, and the tower {uKpa) of Jerusalem (1 Mace. ix, 52 ; Josephus, Ant. xiii, 1, 3), and it was again forti- fied b}' Simon when it had been recovered bj' the Jews (1 Jlaec. xiv, 7, 33, 34; Josephus, Ant. xiii, G, 6; War, i, 2, 2). Simon built himself a house at Gazara, and also made it the abode of his son John, the cajitain of all his hosts (1 Mace, xiii, 53 ; xvi, 1, 10, 21). It is de- scribed as being "a verj^ strong hold" (d\;'V"^J""' 2 Mace. X, 32; VdZapa . . . ovauv 6x"|0(ii' (pvmi, comp. Josephus, Ant. viii, 6, 1). Gazara is mentioned with Joppa in the treaty of friendship between Hja-canus and the Romans after the death of Antiochus VII, Si- detes, B.C. eir. 129-8 (Josephus, Ant. xiii, 9, 2; comp. Clinton, /'". //. iii, 332). The Gaza in 1 Mace, (xiii, 43) and the Gadara in Josephus {.Int. v, 1, 22; xii, 7, 4) should doubtless be read Gazara (comp. Prideaux, Connection, lib. iv, p. 2G7, note ; Reland, Palcest. p. 679). It maj' perhaps be identified with the Gadaris of Stra- bo (xvi, 2, Didot. cd., p. 046), also described bj' him as a town not far from Azotus (Reland, Palcest. 1. c. ; Cel- larius, Geoff. ii, 530). See also Gazera.