On the death of Moses, _Joshua_ succeeded to the post of a leader. He defeated the _Amontes_ and other tribes on the east of the Jordan. After the first victories of Joshua, each tribe carried on for itself the struggle with Canaanites, victory over them being often followed by indiscriminate slaughter. It is plain, however, especially from the account in the first chapter of the Book of Judges, that there was a process of assimilation as well as one of conquest. The actual settlement was effected by peaceful as well as by warlike methods. Resistance was stubborn, and the progress of occupation slow. It was not until David's time, centuries after the invasion, that _Jebus_, the site of Jerusalem, was captured. This delay was due largely to a lack of union, not to a lack of valor. The strength of the Israelites was in their infantry. Hence they preferred to fight upon the hills, rather than to cope with horsemen and chariots on the plains below. THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES.--The era of the Judges extends from about 1300 B.C. over at least two centuries. Powerful tribes--as _Moabites_, _Midianites_, _Ammonites_, _Philistines_--were unsubdued. The land was desolated by constant war. It was one sure sign of the prevailing disorder and anarchy, that "the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways" (Judg. v. 6). Not unfrequently the people forgot Jehovah, and fell into idolatrous practices. In this period of degeneracy and confusion, men full of sacred enthusiasm and of heroic courage arose to smite the enemies of Israel, and to restore the observance of the law. Of these heroic leaders, _Deborah_, _Gideon_, _Jepththa_, and _Samson_ were the most famous. There remains the song of Deborah on the defeat and death of _Sisera_ (Judg. v.). The _Philistines_, on the western coast, captured the sacred ark,--an act that spread dismay among the Israelites. Then they pushed on their conquests as far as the Jordan, took away from the Israelites their weapons, and grievously oppressed them. The _Ammonites_ threatened the tribes on the east of the Jordan with a like fate. At this juncture, an effective leader and reformer appeared, in the person of _Samuel_, who had been consecrated from his youth up to the service of the sanctuary, and whose devotion to the law was mingled with an ardent patriotism. He roused the courage of the people, and recalled them to the service of Jehovah. In the "schools of the prophets" he taught the young the law, trained them in music and song, and thus prepared a class of inspiring teachers and guides to co-operate with the priesthood in upholding the cause of religion.