On the following morning he took his departure. The governor politely gave him an escort as far as Samaria; fearing, as he said, that he should expose himself to the same dangers as on mount Gerizim: Helon accepted the offer, but shook off the dust of Sichem from his feet when he had quitted it. Samaria was in the former territory of the tribe of Manasseh. Omri, the sixth king of Israel, and father of Ahab, built it, and called it after Samer, the possessor of the ground.[119] Thirza, which had before been the royal residence, having been reduced to ashes, Samaria became the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and remained so till its destruction. At that time it was a league in circumference, was called the head of Ephraim, and contained a magnificent temple of Baal which Jezebel had erected.[120] It slighted the warnings of Elijah and Elisha, and was destroyed by the Assyrian Salmanasser, after a siege of three years.[121] ----- Footnote 119: 1 Kings xvi. 24. Footnote 120: 1 Kings xvi. 32. Footnote 121: 2 Kings xvii. 5. ----- At this time it was a picture of desolation. The lofty hill on which it once stood, with a view towards Joppa, Carmel, and the Mediterranean sea, was covered with heaps of ruins and water-courses diverted from their channels. Its commanding prospect only made it a more conspicuous monument of the valour and the vengeance of the heroes of Judah and of the wickedness of its inhabitants. A second time the prophetic word of Hosea and Micah had received its accomplishment.[122] Helon looked down at once with exultation and gratitude to God upon the scattered huts in which the children of Samaria were hiding themselves, while the sons of Jerusalem were praising Jehovah in their houses and their palaces. ----- Footnote 122: Hos. viii. ix. x.; Micah i. 6. ----- He dismissed the escort of the governor and pursued his way to Thirza, the limits of this day’s journey. He had purposed to reach Megiddo, but his progress was arrested by a spectacle equally new and interesting; a tribe of wandering shepherds, who were making their annual migration from the plain of Sharon to mount Hermon. They had been detained later than usual, for they commonly remove early in the spring. The flocks and herds led the way, behind them came camels laden with their tents, baggage, and poultry, and the young of the flocks, which as yet were too weak to accompany the march. The women and children followed, mounted on other camels; some of the females were spinning as they rode, others grinding in their hand-mills, others tending their infant children. The boys ran by the side of the camels, playing or fighting. Lances, from eight to ten feet in length, were every where seen above the heads of this tumultuous train; and on all sides were heard the hoarse voices of the men who carried them, some of whom were endeavouring to maintain order, and others surrounded and protected the line of march.