"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٦‎١] (٧٣٨/١٢٧)

116
MILITARY HISTORY
masters of inland Palestine as far as the Jordan. Saul’s
career is distinguished by his deliverance of the hill country
from their yoke. Gilboa, on the edge of the central plain,
was perhaps the limit of his government.
The reign of David exemplifies the establishment of a native
Syrian power of some considerable extent. David drove the
Philistines back into the western lowlands, united the rest of
Palestine under his rule, and subdued the country east of
Jordan, including the Aramean district of Damascus. But
his conquests did not survive his lifetime, and the union of
Israel which he effected ended with the death of his son
(Solomon). All the more do David’s achievements and his
military power demand special explanation. The king’s
personal qualities were probably an important factor in the
case. So was his employment of a standing army of foreign
mercenaries and of adventurers, whose nucleus dates from the
cave of Adullam. They were paid by plunder and by the
wealth which conquest brings. In a country suited for empire
building, and with a larger population, David might have
accomplished more. The independence of the Phoenician
coast towns, and possibly also of the Philistines, sharply
marks the limits of his power. Solomon’s reign as compared
with that of David, was probably a period of decline. It
cannot be maintained that his kingdom extended to the
Euphrates. —
The creation of David’s kingdom was made easier by the
quiescence of Egypt at the time. The division of Israel into
two petty kingdoms after Solomon’s death was probably
settled or confirmed by the Egyptian invasion which then
took place. Judah, to protect itself from its northern neigh
bour, Ephraim, made alliance with the Arameans of Damascus.
The kingdom of Ephraim, thus placed between two enemies,
made peace with Judah. Even so the Hebrews were a match
for the Arameans only because of the intervention of Assyria
from the north. The records of the wars between Judah
and Ephraim and between Israel and Damascus are very
fragmentary.