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BASHAN

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 465 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BASHAN , a region lying E. of the See also:

Jordan, and towards its source. Its boundaries are not very well defined, but it may be said in See also:general to have been See also:north of the territory of See also:Gilead. The name first appears in See also:Hebrew See also:history in connexion with the wanderings of the Israelites. According to See also:Numbers xxi. 33, the tribes after the rout of Sihon, See also:king of the See also:Amorites, turned to go by the See also:land of Bashan; and its king, Og, met them at Edrei, and was there defeated and slain. The value of this narrative is a See also:matter of much dispute. The gigantic stature of the king, and the curious details about his " bedstead " (Deut. iii. I) are regarded as suggestive of See also:legend; to say nothing of the lateness of all the documents See also:relating to the See also:wars of Og, .and the remoteness of Bashan from the regions of the Israelites' wandering. The See also:story, however, had so See also:firm a hold on Hebrew tradition that it can hardly fail to have some basis in fact; and an invasion by See also:Israel of Bashan before coming to Jordan is by no means an improbability. The See also:great stature of Og is explained in the passage of See also:Deuteronomy mentioned by the statement that he was of the remnant of the aboriginal Rephaim. This was a See also:race distinguished by lofty stature; and in See also:Genesis xiv. 5 we find them established in Ashteroth-Karnaim (probably the same as Ashtoreth, which, as we shall see, was an important See also:city of Bashan).

The territory was allotted on the .See also:

partition of the conquered land to the eastern See also:division of the tribe of See also:Manasseh (Numbers xxxiii. 33; Josh. xiii. 29). One of the cities of See also:refuge, Golan, was in Bashan (Deut. iv. 43). By See also:Solomon, Bashan, or rather " the region of Argob in Bashan," containing " threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars," was assigned to the administrative See also:district of See also:Ben-See also:Geber, one of his lieutenants (r See also:Kings iv. 13, compare ver. 19). In the days of See also:Jehu the See also:country was taken from Israel by Hazael, king of See also:Syria (2 Kings x. 33). This is the last See also:historical event related in the Old Testament of Bashan. In the poetical and prophetic books it is referred to in connexion with the products for which it was noted.

From a passage in the " Blessing of See also:

Moses " (Deut. xxxiii. 22) it seems to have been inhabited by lions. Elsewhere it is referred to in connexion with its See also:cattle (Dent. xxxii. 14; Ezek. xxxix. 18), which seem to have been proverbial for ferocity (Ps. xxii. 12); See also:Amos (iv. i) calls the wealthy See also:women of See also:Samaria, who oppressed the poor, " kine of Bashan." It is also noted for its See also:mountain (Ps. lxviii. 15), and especially for oaks, which are coupled with the cedars of See also:Lebanon (Isa. ii. 13; compare xxxiii. 9; See also:Zechariah xi. 2). Oars were made from them (Ezek. See also:xxvii. 6).

The boundaries of Bashan may to some extent be deduced from the indications afforded in the earlier historical books. Og dwelt at Ashteroth, and did See also:

battle with the Israelites at Edrei (Dent. i. 4). In Deut. iii. 4, " the region of Argob " with its threescore cities is mentioned; Mt. See also:Hermon is referred to as a See also:northern limit, and Salecah is alluded to in addition to the other cities already mentioned. Josh. xii. 4 and Josh. xiii. 29 confirm this. See also:Josephus (See also:Ant. iv. 5. 3; Wars, ii.

Phoenix-squares

6. 3) enumerates four provinces of Bashan, Gaulanitis, Trachonitis, Auranitis and Batanaea. Gaulanitis (which probably derived its name from the city of refuge, Golan, the site of which has not yet been discovered) is represented by the See also:

modern Jaulan, a See also:province extending from the Jordan lakes to the Haj Road. Josephus (Wars, iv. 1. 1) speaks of it as divided into two sections, Gamalitis and Sogana. Trachonitis (mentioned in See also:Luke iii. r as in the territory of See also:Philip the See also:tetrarch) adjoined the territory of See also:Damascus, Auranitis and Batanaea. This corresponds to the Trachones of See also:Strabo (xvi. 20), and the modern district of the Leja; See also:inscriptions have been found in the Leja giving Trachon as its former name. Auranitis is the Hauran of See also:Ezekiel xlvii. 16, and of the modern See also:Arabs. It is See also:south of the Jaulan and north of Gilead.

According to See also:

Porter (See also:Journal See also:Soc. Lit., 1854, p. 303), the name is locally restricted to the See also:plain south of the Leja and the narrow See also:strip on the See also:west; although it is loosely applied by strangers to the whole country See also:east of the Jaulan. The See also:fourth province, Batanaea, which still is remembered in the name `Ard el-Bathaniyeh, lies east of the Leja and the Hauran plain, and includes the See also:Jebel ed-Druz or Hauran mountain. The See also:identification of Argob, a region of the See also:kingdom of Og, is a matter of much difficulty. It has been equated on philological grounds to the Leja. But these arguments have been shown to be shaky if not baseless, and the identification is now generally abandoned. The confidence with which the great cities of Og were identified with the extensive remains of See also:ancient sites in the Leja and Hauran has also been shown to be without See also:justification. All the so-called " See also:giant cities of Bashan " without exception are now known to be See also:Greco-See also:Roman, not earlier than the See also:time of See also:Herod, and, though in themselves of very high architectural and historical See also:interest, have no connexion whatever with the more ancient periods. No tangible traces of Og and his See also:people, or even of their Israelite supplanters, have yet been found. This fact somewhat weakens the various identifications that have been proposed for the cities of Bashan enumerated by name. Edrei for example is identified with Ed-Dera`a.

This is perhaps the most satisfactory comparison, for besides the Greco-Roman remains there is an extensive subterranean city of unknown date, which may be of great antiquity, though even this is still sub judice. The other identifications that have commanded most See also:

acceptance are as follows:—Ashteroth Karnaim, also called Ashtaroth and (Josh. xxi. 27) Be-eshterah, has been identified465 with Busrah (Bostra), where are very important Herodian ruins, but there is no tangible See also:evidence yet adduced that the history of this site is of so remote antiquity. From the similarity of the names, it has also been sought at Tell Ashari and Tell Ashtera. The true site can be determined, if at all; by excavation only; identifications based on See also:mere outward similarity of names have always been fruitful See also:sources of See also:error. Salecah is perhaps less doubtful; it is a remarkable name, and a ruin similarly styled, Salkhat, is to be seen in the Hauran. It is inhabited by See also:Druses. Another See also:town in eastern Manasseh, namely Kenath, has been identified by Porter with Kanawat, which may be correct. In the later history Bashan became remarkable as a refuge for outlaws and robbers, a See also:character it still retains. The great subterranean " city " at Ed-Dera'a has been partially destroyed by the See also:local sub-See also:governor, in See also:order to prevent it becoming a refuge of fugitives from See also:justice or from See also:government requirements (See also:conscription, See also:taxation, &c.). Strabo refers to a great See also:cave in Trachonitis capable of holding 4000 robbers. Arab tradition regards it as the See also:home of See also:Job; and it is famous as being the centre of the Ghassanid See also:dynasty.

The Hauran is one of the See also:

principal habitations of the See also:sect of the Druses (q.v.). The See also:physical characteristics of Bashan are noteworthy. Volcanic in origin—the Jebel ed-Druz is a See also:group of See also:extinct volcanoes—the friable volcanic See also:soil is extraordinarily fertile. It is said to yield See also:wheat eighty-See also:fold and See also:barley a See also:hundred. The oaks for which the country was once famous still distinguish it in places. BASHI-BAZOIJK, the name given to a See also:species of irregular mounted troops employed by the See also:Turks. They are armed and maintained by the government but do not receive pay. They do not See also:wear See also:uniform or distinctive badges. They, fight either mounted or dismounted, chiefly the latter, but are incapable of undertaking serious See also:work, because of their lack of discipline. Their uncertain See also:temper has sometimes made it necessary for the See also:Turkish See also:regular troops to disarm them by force, but they are often useful in the work of See also:reconnaissance and in outpost See also:duty. They are accused, and generally with justice, of See also:robbery and maltreatment of the See also:civil See also:population, resembling in those things, as in their fighting methods and value, the Croats, Pandours and Tolpatches of 18th-See also:century See also:European armies. The See also:term is also used of a mounted force, existing in See also:peace time in various provinces of the Turkish See also:empire, which performs the duties of See also:gendarmerie.

End of Article: BASHAN

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