The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

SUPPLKMKXTAi,r.A CYCLOPEDIAseems to have been religious fanaticism. About the year1041 the great Togrol Beg, grandson of Seljook, commencedthe invasion of Khorassan and other provinces of Persia,and in 1061 completed th!*conquest of the whole of Persia,and assumed the title of Sultan. In 1073 Melek Shah, adescendant of Seljook, came into power and conqueredArabia, Syria and Palestine, Asia Minor and Armenia, andruled from the Mediterranean to the Chinese frontier, andfrom the Caspianto the Arabian Sea. At his death theSeljook Empire was divided between his four sons, andsoon a large number of small, independent sultanates wasformed, which circumstance finally caused the ruin of theSeljook dominion. With the overthrow of the Seljookdynasty in 1299, and on the ruins of its dominion, arose theTurkish Empire.*Shechem A city of central Canaan, thirty-four milesnorth of Jerusalem. It is first mentioned in the history ofAbraham, who here erected his first altar in Canaan, andtook possession of the country in the name of the greatJehovah. Jacob bought a field in its neighborhood, which,by way of overplus, he gave to his son Joseph, who wasburied there. After the conquest of Canaan it became aLevitical city of refuge in Ephraim, and a gathering-placeof the tribes. Here Rehoboam gave the ten tribes occasionto revolt (I. Kings xii.). After the ruin of Samaria byShalmaneser, Shechem became the capital of the Samaritans.At tjie present dayit is also the seat of the small remnantof the Samaritans. It was called by the Romans Neopolis.from which the Arabs have made Napolose or Nabulus(John iv.).Shiloh A famous city of Ephraim, about ten milessouth of Shechem, and twenty-four north of Jerusalem.Here Joshua assembled the peopleto make a second distributionof the land of promise;and here the tabernaclewas set up when they were settled in the country. The arkand the tabernacle continued at Shiloh from 1444 B. C. to197