Strategically situated between three continents, the region of Palestine has a tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. The area has been controlled by many kingdoms and powers, including Ancient Egypt, Ancient Israel and Judah, the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great and his successors, the Hasmoneans, the Roman Empire, several Muslim caliphates, and the crusaders.
Skhul Cave
A dwelling unearthed at Tell es-Sultan, Jericho
Statue of Ramesses III, unearthed in Beit She'an. Together with the Egyptian Stelae in the Levant, such evidence shows that Egyptian rule in Canaan was maintained until about the middle of the 12th century BCE
Basalt lions from the Orthostat Temple of Hazor (c. 1500–1300 BCE) Hazor was violently destroyed during the Bronze Age collapse.
The Land of Israel is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definitions of the limits of this territory vary between passages in the Hebrew Bible, with specific mentions in Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47. Nine times elsewhere in the Bible, the settled land is referred as "from Dan to Beersheba", and three times it is referred as "from the entrance of Hamath unto the brook of Egypt".
The Valley of Elah, near Adullam
A verdant hill near Moshav Tzafririm
Sunrise over the Elah Valley
Valley of Sur
