This was undertaken by Joshua after the death of Moses, and, as far as can be ascertained from the record, was accomplished in three campaigns. The war began with the passage of the Jordan, B.C. 1210, and, so far as active hostilities were concerned, was finished in seven years. But the great mass of the native population remained upon the soil, to plague the Chosen People by the influence of their wickedness, so that the conquest was never thoroughly completed. Indeed, some writers think that the inhabitants of Palestine at the present time belong mainly to the old Canaanite stock, which has perpetuated itself under all the changes of government. 1. =The Conquest of Central Palestine.= (Josh. 3-8.) According to the account in the book of Joshua, this was a brief campaign; but the Samaritan records relate a series of supplementary sieges and battles, which would indicate that the war may have been longer than appears. Still, there are evidences that the Hivites and Perizzites, who occupied most of this district, were peaceful peoples, readily yielding to the conquerors, so that the resistance was less stubborn than in other sections. The war began with the passage of the Jordan, an event ever kept in mind as the entrance of the people upon their own land. They pitched their camp at Gilgal, in the Jordan Valley, and fortified the place as a permanent headquarters during the entire period of conquest. (Josh. 5.) Jericho was first taken, by supernatural aid, and devoted to God as the first fruits of conquest. (Josh. 6.) An act of trespass against God by Achan, caused a defeat at Ai (near Bethel), the next place attacked; but the sin was punished, and, by a stratagem and ambush, Ai was taken. They then marched northward to Shechem, an ancient Hivite city, of which the last previous account is its destruction by the sons of Jacob. (Gen. 34.) It may not have been rebuilt, as we find at this time the Hivites occupying a number of towns at a distance from it (Gibeon and others, Josh. 9); or it may have submitted to the overwhelming power of Israel. In the Vale of Shechem, between the mountains Ebal and Gerizim, all the Israelites were assembled, the law was read in their hearing, and memorial stones were erected. After this, the Hivites of four villages, of which Gibeon was the most important, by means of a deception made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, and obtained a pledge of protection; being the only nation in all the land formally spared from destruction. Their deceit was soon discovered; but the word of Israel was kept, though the people of the four villages were reduced to the condition of "servants of the sanctuary," _i. e._, employed in the menial duties of the Tabernacle. The central portion of the land was now possessed by Israel, from Jericho and Gibeon northward to the Carmel range of mountains, and the army returned to the fortified camp at Gilgal. (Josh. 9.)