Solomon broke the rebellion of the Edomites not by his arms only, but also by withdrawing from them the support of Egypt. He sought the hand of the daughter of the king of Egypt and obtained it.[328] Thus he not only withdrew from Edom their reliance on Egypt, he also obtained the active support of his father-in-law. The Edomites were defeated in battle by Solomon; Egyptian soldiers reduced Gezer for him.[329] On the other hand, Solomon could not defeat the new king of Damascus. Rezon maintained his place, and was an "adversary to Israel as long as Solomon lived."[330] Hence it is hardly possible that Solomon reduced the kingdom of Hamath, north of Damascus, to subjection, as the Chronicles assert;[331] on the other hand, it appears that the oasis of Tadmor, in the Syrian desert, north of Damascus, was gained, and the city of that name was founded and established there. Hence, even after the loss of Damascus, he had command of one of the roads to the Euphrates.[332] We may assume that Solomon retained the kingdom of David without any essential alteration in extent; that he, like his predecessor, held sway as far as the north-east point of the Red Sea; and that even if his rule did not extend, like David's, to the Euphrates, yet he possessed a predominant position in this direction. The connection in which Hiram king of Tyre stood with his father he not only maintained, but made it more close and more extensive. With the close of the third year of the reign of Solomon the wars which the change on the throne kindled came to an end. It is said to have been David's intention in the last years of his reign to build a temple in the place of the sacred tent on Zion. As soon as times of peace came Solomon set himself to carry out this purpose. Hiram of Tyre promised to deliver wood from the forests of Lebanon at a price, and to put at his disposal architects and moulders of brass. To the north of the palace which David had built on Zion the mountain, on which the citadel was, rose higher. Here the new temple was to be erected. The first task was to level the height; a terrace was raised upon it by removing some parts and filling up others, and building substructures; this terrace was intended to form the precincts and support the temple itself. The surrounding hills and the neighbourhood provided an ample supply of stones for building; stone of a better quality was quarried in Lebanon and carried down. The trees felled in Lebanon were carried to the coast, floated round the promontory of Carmel as far as Japho (Joppa), and again dragged up from this point to Jerusalem.[333] The vessels and the ornaments of brass intended for the temple were cast "in clay ground" beyond the Jordan, between Succoth and Zarthan, by the Tyrian Hiram.[334] A wall of huge stones, on which were built the dwellings of the priests, surrounded the temple precincts. The temple itself was a building of moderate dimensions, but richly adorned. A portico of 20