2. The Tyrian alliance opened up also the traffic of the Mediterranean. On every shore washed by this sea Phœnician energy had founded colonies, and opened trading ports, of which the chief was Tarshish, or Tartessus――“the Peru of Tyrian adventure[335]”――on the southern coast of Spain, at this time abounding in gold and silver mines. Hither Solomon’s fleet sailed in company with that of Hiram, and brought back every three years of its precious products (1 K. x. 22). 3. Another important outlet for trade was supplied by Egypt. Not only had Solomon espoused a daughter of Pharaoh, but in defiance of the Mosaic Law (Deut. xvii. 16) he exchanged the produce of his own country for the horses and chariots of Egypt, as also for the linen-yarn, spun from the flax which the Nile valley yielded in abundance (1 K. x. 28, 29). 4. Last, but not least important, was the inland trade of the Arabian peninsula. Caravans of the native tribes transported on camels the spices, incense, gold, precious stones, and valuable woods of the country, especially the almug or sandal, and brought them into the dominions of Solomon, or, if they were intended for his Tyrian allies, to Gezer and Beth-horon, whence they were transported to the port of Joppa. But though these several branches of commerce opened up to the Hebrew kingdom many and various sources of national prosperity, and tended to multiply the luxuries and magnificence of the court, this prosperity was on the surface only. Hidden beneath its external splendour were several cankers, which surely though secretly undermined the true life of the nation. First of all, this massing of gold and silver, as doubtless the Jewish Lawgiver had foreseen, could only be brought about by a process of severe taxation. And while forced to bear burdens heavy and grievous, the nation saw the tide of commercial profits, instead of being fairly distributed among the people, flowing only into the royal exchequer. Secondly, these commercial alliances seriously affected the nation’s allegiance to Jehovah. In imitation of other Oriental empires Solomon surrounded himself with a numerous harem, having 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 K. xi. 1–3). Besides the daughter of Pharaoh, he espoused women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites, and, as he grew old, they turned away his heart from the worship of the true God. Three times, indeed, during the year he celebrated the Festivals of Jehovah (1 K. ix. 25), but the licentious worship of Baal and Ashtaroth, of Moloch and Chemosh, found its way even into the Holy City, and their hideous orgies were enacted “hard by the oracles of God” (1 K. xi. 5–8).