As they lay prostrate upon the ground, the Israelite leader bade the captains of the men of war put their feet on their necks, and then smote them, and slew them, and hanged them upon five trees, until the evening. Then, as the sun went down upon that memorable day, like which was _no day before or after it_, they were taken down, and flung into the cave where they had vainly tried to conceal themselves, great stones were once more rolled to its mouth, and the royal sepulchre was closed (Josh. x. 16–27). Such was the issue of the eventful battle of Beth-horon. It sealed the fate of every important city of southern Palestine. One after another, Makkedah and Libnah, Lachish and Eglon, Hebron and Debir fell before the victorious Israelites. From one captured city they passed on to another conquering and to conquer, till they had smitten _all the country of the hills and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs_ from Kadesh-Barnea in the southern desert to the central plain of Esdraelon (Josh. x. 41). CHAPTER III. _BATTLE OF MEROM AND DIVISION OF THE LAND._ JOSH. XI.–XXI. B.C. 1450–1444. INTELLIGENCE of the decisive battle of Beth-horon before long reached the ears of that powerful chief in northern Palestine, who has been already mentioned, JABIN, _the Wise_, whose capital Hazor was the principal fortress in that part of the country. Determined to make a last effort to defeat the Israelites he rallied round his standard[160] not only the chiefs in his own immediate neighbourhood, but from the plains south of the sea of Galilee, or, as it was then called, _the sea of Chinnereth_, from the valley of the Jordan, the maritime plain of Dor, and the as yet unconquered fortress of Jebus. Again encouraged by the Lord with the promise of a decisive victory, Joshua did not shrink from encountering this formidable confederacy. Setting forth on a forced march, he burst upon the combined armies of the northern chiefs, as they were encamped by the waters of Merom. As before, his attack was irresistible. The Lord delivered the vast hosts of the foe into the hands of Israel, who smote them with great slaughter, and chased them as far as the friendly city of great Zidon on the west, and the valley of Mizpeh on the east. This was the first occasion on which the Israelites encountered the horses and iron chariots of the Canaanites. According to the special command of their leader (Josh. xi. 6), they cut the ham-strings of their horses, so as to render them unfit for further use, and burnt the chariots with fire. Hazor, the stronghold of Jabin, was captured and burnt, its king and all its inhabitants were put to the sword, the flocks and herds only being reserved as spoil for the people.