This petrified forest is considered one of the
great natural wonders of California.
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM.--The earliest name of Jerusalem
appears to have been Jebus, or poetically, Salem, and its king in
Abraham's time was Melchizedek. When the Hebrews took possession of
Canaan, the city of Salem was burned, but the fortress remained in the
hands of the Jebusites till King David took it by storm and made it the
capital of his kingdom. From that time it was called Jerusalem. During
the reigns of David and Solomon it attained its highest degree of power.
When ten of the Jewish tribes seceded under Jeroboam they made Shechem
(and later Samaria) the capital of their kingdom of Israel, and
Jerusalem remained the capital of the smaller but more powerful kingdom
of Judah. The city was taken by Shishak, King of Egypt, in 971 B.C., was
later conquered and sacked by Joash, King of Israel, and in the time of
Ahaz, the King of Syria came against it with a large force, but could
not take it. The city was besieged in Hezekiah's reign, by the army of
Sennacherib, King of Assyria, but was saved by the sudden destruction of
the invading army. After the death of Josiah, the city was tributary for
some years to the King of Egypt, but was taken after repeated attempts
by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C., and was left a heap
of ruins. The work of rebuilding it began by order of King Cyrus about
538 B.C., who allowed the Jewish people who had been carried into
captivity to return for this purpose.
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