Zion, Or Sion (Heb. Tziyori), Mount, one of the hills on which Jerusalem is built. It occupies the whole S. W. section of the ancient site of the city, rising abruptly from the valley of Hinnom on the west and south about 150 ft., and above the valley of Jehoshaphat on the east about 300 ft. On the southeast it slopes steeply in a series of cultivated terraces to the site of the "king's gardens," whole declivity being sown with grain and dotted with olive trees. On the east, overlookup the Tyropoeon valley, are precipices which were anciently much higher than now. To the north alone was the site anciently unprotected by nature, and here it was strongly fortified with towers by the Jebusites. The Tyropoeon separated Zion from Acra on the north, Moriah on the northeast, and Ophel on the east. (See Jerusalem.) Mount Zion is supposed to have been the first spot in Jerusalem occupied by buildings, and to be the Salem of Melchisedek. It was captured from the Jebusites by King David, who made it the seat of his court and the depository of the ark.

Hence it is frequently called in Scripture the "city of David" and the'"holy hill." Its name often represents the whole of Jerusalem. Josephus calls it the " upper city," adding that it was known also in his day as the " upper market." A large part of it is outside the modern walls. Among the very recent discoveries from the excavations made by Henry Maudsley, are a portion of the old west wall of the city and the remains of an ancient tower about 25 ft. square, believed to indicate the S. W. angle of the first wall. Connected with this tower is a rock scarp averaging about 20 ft. in height, which has been traced a considerable distance northerly and easterly. At the tower and along the line of the scarp are many cisterns. All these, with a great causeway previously discovered by Capt. Warren, connecting Mount Zion with Mount Moriah, have a covering of soil and debris of great depth, at some points 50 ft. For these and other recent discoveries in detail, see "Freemasonry in the Holy Land" (New York, 1873), and the Palestine exploration fund society's " Quarterly Statement " for January and April, 1875 (London).