French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1917-05-03
BRITISH MENACE SCENE
OF SAMS0Ns EXPLOITS.
City in Which Strong Man Met His
Death Has 10000 Inhabitants


TN advancing upon GAIA. an an
eient city of Palestine. situated some
three miles inland from the Mediter-
ranean and about so miles in an air
line southwest of Jerusalem. the Rrit-
ish forces in the Near East are fight
ing over territory which was the scene
of the spectacular exploits of the
great judge of IsraeI-Samson-more
than a thousand years before~th
Christian era," says a war geography
bulletin issued Saturday by the Ma
tional Geographic Society from it's
headquarters.
"Gaza was one of the five great
cities of the Philistines, having risen
to commercial Importance having risen
of its situation at the juncture OF the
trade routes between Egypt and Baby
lonia. Elath and Arabia. It's seanort
was Majumas (re-named Constantia
many centuries later by ConstantineO
During the heydey of Gaza's pros
perity the Philistines were a powerful
and warlike people, their soldiers be-
ing equipped with copper helmets,
coats of mail. javelins and long lances.
each man thus accoutred being ac-
companied into battle by a shield
bearer. The light-armed soldiers were
archers. ,
after the Israelites II.
GAIA was a prey to Assyrians, Baby
lonians. and Persians. 1t resisted the
Greeks under Alexander the Great for
several months. More than two cen
turtles later it was destroyed by Alex
ander Jannaeus, the Jewish king.
Subsequently a new GAIA. some dis
lance to the south of the old, city, was
built and was presented by Emperor
Augustus to King Herod. Upon the
~latter's death it became a part of the
Roman province of Syria.
up to the days \of Constantine,
Ga1a vas one Of the chief strong
holds of paganism, the god Marnas
being worshipped there until the be-
ginning of the fifth century. In the
seventh century came the Arabs, and
the Moslems still venerate it as the
place of burial of Mohammed's grand
The Crusaders under Bald
win II tried to revive its former glory
but without success. and twenty years
after their erection of a military
stronghold here Saladin ~plundered the !
Napoleon plundered the town. !
Napoleon captured GAIA in 1899.
Zone of the points of interest /
out to tourists is the "tomb of I
but there is no evidence to |
'how that the site is authentic. Ell 9
Iuntar Cthe watch tower') is thought L
o be the eminence to which the strong I
nan of Israel took the doors of the S
ate, Of the city, and the two posts n
lie went away with them, bar and all. a
nd carried them UP to the top of a
i'll hat is before Hebron 1t was in t
raza also that the final tragic CHAPTER V
4 Samson's life was enacted. And 6
said. Let me die with the S
'hilistines,' so runs the Biblical ac- E
ount. And he bowed himself with
IL his might and the house fell uDon o
he lords, and uDon all the people that c.
ere therein. So the dead which he tt
lew at his death we're more than they N
.hich he slew in his life W
"Gaza i stoday a city of some 40. 900 T
The chief industry of W
lie community is the manufacture of tt
peculiar black pottery. Barley is eC
used extensively and exported to W
ngland. The bazaars and the ap- Iii
arel of the Moslem IA are
rongly suggestive of Egypt" al