Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/77

Western Asia 41 On entering Palestine the Hebrews found the Canaanites already dwelling there in flourishing towns with massive walls. They had comfortable houses, a well-developed government, in- dustries, trade, and writing. The Hebrews settled on the land around the towns of the Canaanites and gradually adopted their civilization. 58. Rise of the Hebrew Kingdom (about 1025-930 B.C.). Even after the Hebrews had set up a king the old nomad customs ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PAINTING OF A BRICKYARD WITH ASIATIC CAPTIVES ENGAGED IN BRICKMAKING (FIFTEENTH CENTURY B.C.) The Hebrew slaves working in the Egyptian brickyards (see Exod. i, 14 and v, 6-1 9 must have looked like this when Moses led them forth into Asia. At the left below, the soft clay is being mixed in two piles ; one laborer helps load a basket of clay on the shoulder of another, who carries it to the brick- molder, at the right above. Here a laborer empties the clay from his basket, while the molder before him fills with clay an oblong box, which is the mold. He has already finished three bricks. At the left above, a molder spreads out the soft bricks with spaces between for the circulation of air to make them dry quickly in the sun. The overseer, staff in hand, sits in the upper right- hand corner, and below him we see a workman carrying away the dried bricks, hanging from a yoke on his shoulders. Thus were made the bricks used for thousands of years for the buildings forming so large a part of the cities of the ancient world, from the Orient to Athens and Rome were still strong; for Saul, their first king (about 1025 B.C.), had no fixed home, but lived in a tent. His successor, David, saw the importance of a strong castle as the king's permanent home. He therefore seized the Canaanite fortress of Jerusalem and made it his residence. From this new capital David extended his power 1 1 For a fuller account of Palestine and the Hebrews see Ancient Times, chap. vii.