1.
West Bank
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The West Bank shares boundaries to the west, north, and south with Israel, and to the east, across the Jordan River, with Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has a land area of 5,640 km2 plus a water area of 220 km2, consisting of the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea. As of July 2015 it has an population of 2,785,366 Palestinians, and approximately 371,000 Israeli settlers. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under international law and this annexation was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan. The term was chosen to differentiate the west bank of the River Jordan from the east bank of this river, the neo-Latin name Cisjordan or Cis-Jordan is the usual name for the territory in the Romance languages and Hungarian. The name West Bank, however, has become the standard usage for this entity in English. The analogous Transjordan has historically used to designate the region now roughly comprising the state of Jordan. From 1517 through 1917, the now known as the West Bank was under Ottoman rule as part of the provinces of Syria. At the 1920 San Remo conference, the victorious Allied powers allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine, the San Remo Resolution adopted on 25 April 1920 incorporated the Balfour Declaration of 1917. It and Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations were the basic documents upon which the British Mandate for Palestine was constructed. Faced with the determination of Emir Abdullah to unify Arab lands under the Hashemite banner, the West Bank area, was conquered by Jordan during the 1948 war with the new state of Israel. In 1947, it was designated as part of a proposed Arab state by the United Nations partition plan for Palestine. 1949 Armistice Agreements defined the boundary between Israel and Jordan. In 1950, Transjordan annexed the area west of the Jordan River, naming it West Bank or Cisjordan, Jordan ruled over the West Bank from 1948 until 1967. Jordans annexation was never recognized by the international community, with the exception of the United Kingdom. King Abdullah of Jordan had been crowned King of Jerusalem by the Coptic Bishop on 15 November 1948. and granted Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank, in June 1967, the West Bank and East Jerusalem were captured by Israel as a result of the Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian no mans land, the Israeli settlements were, on the other hand, administered subsequently as Judea and Samaria Area directly by Israel. Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority officially controls a geographically non-contiguous territory comprising approx, 11% of the West Bank which remains subject to Israeli incursions
2.
State of Palestine
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The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as the designated capital. Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization in Algiers as a government-in-exile. Since the British Mandate, the term Palestine has been associated with the area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank. In 1947, the UN adopted a plan for a two-state solution in the remaining territory of the mandate. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab leaders, on the eve of final British withdrawal, the Jewish Agency for Israel declared the establishment of the State of Israel according to the proposed UN plan. During the war, Israel gained additional territories that were designated to be part of the Arab state under the UN plan, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Transjordan occupied the West Bank. Egypt initially supported the creation of an All-Palestine Government, but disbanded it in 1959, Transjordan never recognized it and instead decided to incorporate the West Bank with its own territory to form Jordan. The annexation was ratified in 1950 but was rejected by the international community, the Six-Day War in 1967, when Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought against Israel, ended with Israel being in occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, besides other territories. In 1964, when the West Bank was controlled by Jordan, the Palestinian National Charter of the PLO defines the boundaries of Palestine as the whole remaining territory of the mandate, including Israel. Following the Six-Day War, the PLO moved to Jordan, the October 1974 Arab League summit designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed their right to establish an independent state of urgency. In November 1974, the PLO was recognized as competent on all matters concerning the question of Palestine by the UN General Assembly granting them observer status as an entity at the UN. In spite of this decision, the PLO did not participate at the UN in its capacity of the State of Palestines government, in 1979, through the Camp David Accords, Egypt signaled an end to any claim of its own over the Gaza Strip. In July 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank—with the exception of guardianship over Haram al-Sharif—to the PLO, in November 1988, the PLO legislature, while in exile, declared the establishment of the State of Palestine. In the month following, it was recognised by many states, including Egypt. In the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the State of Palestine is described as being established on the Palestinian territory, the UN membership application submitted by the State of Palestine also specified that it is based on the 1967 borders. During the negotiations of the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised Israels right to exist, after Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza Strip from Egypt, it began to establish Israeli settlements there. These were organised into Judea and Samaria district and Hof Aza Regional Council in the Southern District, in 1980, Israel decided to freeze elections for these councils and to establish instead Village Leagues, whose officials were under Israeli influence. Later this model became ineffective for both Israel and the Palestinians, and the Village Leagues began to break up, with the last being the Hebron League, dissolved in February 1988
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Palestine grid
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The Palestine grid was the geographic coordinate system used in Mandatory Palestine. The system was chosen by the Survey Department of the Government of Palestine in 1922, the projection used was the Cassini-Soldner projection. The central meridian was chosen as that passing through a marker on the hill of Mar Elias Monastery south of Jerusalem, the false origin of the grid was placed 100 km to the south and west of the Ali el-Muntar hill that overlooks Gaza city. The unit length for the grid was the kilometre, the British units were not even considered, at the time the grid was established, there was no intention of mapping the lower reaches of the Negev Desert, but this did not remain true. The fact that those regions would have negative north-south coordinate then became a source of confusion. For some military purposes,1000 was added to the coordinates of all locations. During World War II, a Military Palestine Grid was used that was similar to the Palestine Grid, the difference between the two projections was only a few meters. It was replaced by the Israeli Transverse Mercator grid in 1994, the Palestine grid is still commonly used to specify locations in the historical and archaeological literature. The basic way of specifying a location on the Palestine grid is to write the east-west coordinate followed by the north-south coordinate using 3 digits each, for example, the Dome of the Rock is at 172132. This specifies the location within one kilometer, if more precision is required, extra digits can be added to each coordinate, for example,17241317 gives the Dome of the Rock to within 100 meters. Many authors separate the two coordinates with punctuation for readability purposes, for example 172-132 or 172/132
5.
Jericho Governorate
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The Jericho Governorate is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine. It is located along the areas of the West Bank, along the northern Dead Sea. The governorate spans west to the mountains east of Ramallah and the slopes of Jerusalem. The population of the Jericho Governorate is estimated to be 31,501, agriculture is important to the economy in the district, especially in the valley near Jericho, its capital. Jericho is often considered the oldest continuous settlement in the world, its many historic, elishias Park is an oasis in the Jericho District that is home to orchards, palm groves, banana plantations, and other flora. Jericho al-Auja al-Jiftlik Fasayil an-Nuwayimah Ein ad-Duyuk at-Tahta Ein ad-Duyuk al-Foqa az-Zubaidat Aqabat Jaber Ein as-Sultan
6.
History of Palestine
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Other terms for the same area include Canaan, Zion, the Land of Israel, Southern Syria, Jund Filastin, Outremer, and the Holy Land. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during Late Bronze Age 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the minor Hasmonean principality in the Judean Mountains. From 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of the area, the Judean control over the wider region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea, a term that had previously only referred to the smaller region of the Judean Mountains. During 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella. As a result, many Jewish landowners converted to the Ebionim to maintain their properties, during 259–272, the region fell under the rule of Odaenathus as King of the Palmyrene Empire. Persecution of Ebionites led to their dispersion to Arabia and the Parthian Empire, Palestine became a center of Christianity, attracting numerous monks and religious scholars. Also the Samaritan Revolts during this period caused their near extinction, in 661 CE, with the assassination of Ali, Muawiyah I became the uncontested Caliph of the Islamic World after being crowned in Jerusalem. In 691, the Dome of the Rock became the worlds first great work of Islamic architecture, the Umayyad were replaced by the Abbasids in 750. From 878 Palestine was ruled from Egypt by semi-autonomous rulers for almost a century, beginning with Ahmad ibn Tulun, over these centuries many heretical Christians had converted to Islam. The Fatimids conquered the region in 969, in 1073 Palestine was captured by the Great Seljuq Empire, only to be recaptured by the Fatimids in 1098, who then lost the region to the Crusaders in 1099. Their control of Jerusalem and most of Palestine lasted almost a century until defeat by Saladins forces in 1187, after which most of Palestine was controlled by the Ayyubids. A rump Crusader state in the coastal cities survived for another century, but, despite seven further Crusades. The Mamluk Sultanate was indirectly created in Egypt as a result of the Seventh Crusade, in 1486, hostilities broke out between the Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks and the Ottomans captured Palestine in 1516. In 1832, the region was conquered by Muhammad Alis Egypt, the turbulent period of Egyptian rule experienced two major revolts and a significant demographic change in coastal areas, populated by Egyptian Arab peasants and former soldiers of Ali. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration, increasing Jewish immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries added considerably to the Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and Jaffa. During World War I the British government issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the British captured Jerusalem a month later. The League of Nations formally awarded Britain a mandate over Palestine in 1922, the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs against British colonial rule and mass Jewish immigration
7.
Prehistory of the Levant
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The prehistory of the Levant includes the various cultural changes that occurred, as revealed by archaeological evidence, prior to recorded traditions in the area of the Levant. Not only have many cultures and traditions of humans lived here, in addition, this region is one of the centers for the development of agriculture. The lithic assemblages relate to the Early Acheulian culture, later Acheulian sites include Gesher Benot Yaakov, Tabun Cave and others dated to the time span of ca. This layer contains the worlds first signs of domesticated dogs and controlled usage of fire, the Middle Palaeolithic period is represented in the Levant by the Mousterian culture, known from numerous sites through the region. The chronological subdivision of the Mousterian is based on the sequence of the Tabun Cave. Middle Paleolithic human remains include both the Neanderthals, and anatomically modern humans from Jebel Qafzeh and Skhul Cave, the Upper Palaeolithic period is dated in the Levant to ca. Epi-Palaeolithic period is characterized by significant cultural variability and wide spread of the microlithic technologies, beginning with the appearance of the Kebaran culture a microlithic toolkit was associated with the appearance of the bow and arrow into the area. Kebaran affiliated cultures spread as far as Southern Turkey, the latest part of the period is the time of flourishing of the Natufian culture and development of sedentism among the hunter-gatherers. This Culture existed from about 13,000 to 9,800 BCE in the Levant, a lot of archaeological excavations of this culture creates a relatively well defined understanding of these people. One of the most significant aspects of this Culture was their large community sizes, the Neolithic period is traditionally divided to the Pre-Pottery and Pottery phases. PPNA developed from the earlier Natufian cultures of the area, in addition, the Levant in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic was involved in large scale, far reaching trade. This is indicative of a large trade circle reaching as far as the Northern Fertile Crescent at Nemrut Dağ. The Ghassulian period created the basis of the Mediterranean economy which has characterised the area ever since, geographically the area is divided between a coastal plain, hill country to the East and the Jordan Valley joining the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Rainfall decreases from the north to the south, with the result that the region of Israel has generally been more economically developed than the southern one of Judah. A Hill Route, travelling through the Negev, Kadesh Barnea, to Hebron and Jerusalem, and thence north to Samaria, Shechem, Shiloh, Beth Shean and Hazor, and thence to Kadesh and Damascus. The Kings Highway, travelling north from Eilat, east of the Jordan through Amman to Damascus, the area seems to have suffered from acute periods of desiccation, and reduced rainfall which has influenced the relative importance of settled versus nomadic ways of living. Eventually they revert to fully nomadic cultures, which, when rainfall increases settle around important sources of water, the increased prosperity leads to a revival of inter-regional and eventually international trade. Warfare leads to opening the region to pandemics, with resultant depopulation, overuse of fragile soils, the urban development of Canaan lagged considerably behind that of Egypt and Mesopotamia and even that of Syria, where from 3,500 BCE a sizable city developed at Hamoukar
8.
Natufian culture
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The Epipaleolithic Natufian culture /nəˈtuːfiən/ existed from around 12,500 to 9,500 BC in the Levant, a region in the Eastern Mediterranean. It was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction of agriculture, the Natufian communities may be the ancestors of the builders of the first Neolithic settlements of the region, which may have been the earliest in the world. Natufians founded Jericho which may be the oldest city in the world, some evidence suggests deliberate cultivation of cereals, specifically rye, by the Natufian culture, at Tell Abu Hureyra, the site of earliest evidence of agriculture in the world. Generally, though, Natufians exploited wild cereals, Dorothy Garrod coined the term Natufian based on her excavations at Shuqba cave in Wadi an-Natuf, in the western Judean Mountains. The Natufian culture was discovered by British archaeologist Dorothy Garrod during her excavations of Shuqba cave in the Judaean Hills, prior to the 1930s, the majority of archaeological work taking place in Palestine was biblical archaeology focused on historic periods, and little was known about the regions prehistory. She discovered a layer sandwiched between the Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age deposits characterised by the presence of microliths. She identified this with the Mesolithic, a period between the Palaeolithic and the Neolithic which was well represented in Europe but had not yet been found in the Near East. A year later, when she discovered similar material at el-Wad Terrace, Garrod suggested the name the Natufian culture, as early as 1931, both Garrod and Neuville drew attention to the presence of stone sickles in Natufian assemblages and the possibility that this represented very early agriculture. Radiocarbon dating places this culture from the terminal Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The period is split into two subperiods, Early Natufian and Late Natufian. The Late Natufian most likely occurred in tandem with the Younger Dryas, the Natufian developed in the same region as the earlier Kebaran industry. It is generally seen as a successor, which evolved out of elements within that preceding culture, more generally there has been discussion of the similarities of these cultures with those found in coastal North Africa. In fact, Weiss et al. have shown that the earliest known usage of plants was in the Levant 23,000 years ago at the Ohalo II site. Loring Brace cross-analysed the craniometric traits of Natufian specimens with those of ancient and modern groups from the Near East, Africa. Settlements occur in the belt where oak and Pistacia species dominated. The underbrush of this woodland was grass with high frequencies of grain. The habitations of the Natufian are semi-subterranean, often with a dry-stone foundation, the superstructure was probably made of brushwood. No traces of mudbrick have been found, which became common in the following Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, the round houses have a diameter between three and six meters, and they contain a central round or subrectangular fireplace
9.
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
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The Pre-Pottery Neolithic represents the early Neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent. It succeeds the Natufian culture of the Epipaleolithic as the domestication of plants and animals was in its beginnings, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic culture came to an end around the time of the 8.2 kiloyear event, a cool spell lasting several hundred years centred on 6200 BCE. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic is divided into Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and the following Pre-Pottery Neolithic B and these were originally defined by Kathleen Kenyon in the type site of Jericho. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic precedes the ceramic Neolithic, at Ain Ghazal in Jordan the culture continued a few more centuries as the so-called Pre-Pottery Neolithic C culture. Around 8000 BCE during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A the worlds first town Jericho appeared in the Levant, PPNB differed from PPNA in showing greater use of domesticated animals, a different set of tools, and new architectural styles. Work at the site of Ain Ghazal in Jordan has indicated a later Pre-Pottery Neolithic C period, cultures practicing this lifestyle spread down the Red Sea shoreline and moved east from Syria into southern Iraq. Pre-history of the Southern Levant History of pottery in the Southern Levant Ofer Bar-Yosef, J. Cauvin, Naissance des divinités, Naissance de l’agriculture. La révolution des symboles au Néolithique, translation The birth of the gods and the origins of agriculture
10.
Canaan
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Canaan was a Semitic-speaking region in the Ancient Near East during the late 2nd millennium BC. The name Canaan occurs commonly in the Hebrew Bible, in particular, the references in Genesis 10 and Numbers 34 define the Land of Canaan as extending from Lebanon southward to the Brook of Egypt and eastward to the Jordan River Valley. References to Canaan in the Bible are usually backward-looking, referring to a region that had something else. The term Canaanites serves as an ethnic catch-all term covering various indigenous populations—both settled, the Amarna Letters and other cuneiform documents use Kinaḫḫu, while other sources of the Egyptian New Kingdom mention numerous military campaigns conducted in Ka-na-na. Canaan had significant geopolitical importance in the Late Bronze Age Amarna period as the area where the spheres of interest of the Egyptian, Hittite, Mitanni and Assyrian Empires converged. Much of the knowledge about Canaan stems from archaeological excavation in this area at sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo. The English term Canaan comes from the Hebrew כנען, via Greek Χαναάν Khanaan and it appears as KUR ki-na-ah-na in the Amarna letters, and knʿn is found on coins from Phoenicia in the last half of the 1st millennium. It first occurs in Greek in the writings of Hecataeus as Khna, scholars connect the name Canaan with knʿn, Kanaan, the general Northwest Semitic name for this region. An early explanation derives the term from the Semitic root knʿ to be low, humble, purple cloth became a renowned Canaanite export commodity which is mentioned in Exodus. The dyes may have named after their place of origin. The purple cloth of Tyre in Phoenicia was well known far, however, according to Robert Drews, Speisers proposal has generally been abandoned. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, Jonathan Tubb states that the term ga-na-na may provide a third millennium reference to Canaanite while at the same time stating that the first certain reference is in the 18th century BC. See Ebla-Biblical controversy for further details, Mari letters A letter from Mutu-bisir to Shamshi-Adad I of the Old Assyrian Empire has been translated, It is in Rahisum that the brigands and the Canaanites are situated. It was found in 1973 in the ruins of Mari, an Assyrian outpost at that time in Syria, additional unpublished references to Kinahnum in the Mari letters refer to the same episode. Alalakh texts A reference to Ammiya being in the land of Canaan is found on the Statue of Idrimi from Alalakh in modern Syria. After a popular uprising against his rule, Idrimi was forced into exile with his mothers relatives to seek refuge in the land of Canaan, the other references in the Alalakh texts are, AT154 AT181, A list of Apiru people with their origins. All are towns, except for Canaan AT188, A list of Muskenu people with their origins, the letters are written in the official and diplomatic East Semitic Akkadian language of Assyria and Babylonia, though Canaanitish words and idioms are also in evidence. May the king ask Yanhamu about these matters, may the king ask his commissioner, who is familiar with Canaan EA151, Letter from Abimilku to the Pharaoh, The king, my lord wrote to me, write to me what you have heard from Canaan
11.
Phoenicia
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The enterprising, sea-based Phoenician civilization spread across the Mediterranean between 1500 BC and 300 BC. Their civilization was organized in city-states, similar to those of Ancient Greece, perhaps the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Berytus and Carthage. Each city-state was an independent unit, and it is uncertain to what extent the Phoenicians viewed themselves as a single nationality. In terms of archaeology, language, lifestyle, and religion there was little to set the Phoenicians apart as markedly different from other Semitic Canaanites. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make use of alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, the name Phoenicians, like Latin Poenī, comes from Greek Φοίνικες. The word φοῖνιξ phoînix meant variably Phoenician person, Tyrian purple, the word may be derived from φοινός phoinós blood red, itself possibly related to φόνος phónos murder. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the ethnonym, the oldest attested form of the word in Greek may be the Mycenaean po-ni-ki-jo, po-ni-ki, possibly borrowed from Ancient Egyptian fnḫw Asiatics, Semites, although this derivation is disputed. The folk-etymological association of Φοινίκη with φοῖνιξ mirrors that in Akkadian which tied kinaḫni, the land was natively known as knʿn and its people as the knʿny. In the Amarna tablets of the 14th century BC, people from the region called themselves Kenaani or Kinaani, the ethnonym survived in North Africa until the 4th century AD. Herodotus account refers to the myths of Io and Europa, according to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. The Greek historian Strabo believed that the Phoenicians originated from Bahrain, Herodotus also believed that the homeland of the Phoenicians was Bahrain. The people of Tyre in South Lebanon in particular have long maintained Persian Gulf origins, however, there is little evidence of occupation at all in Bahrain during the time when such migration had supposedly taken place. Canaanite culture apparently developed in situ from the earlier Ghassulian chalcolithic culture, Byblos is attested as an archaeological site from the Early Bronze Age. The Late Bronze Age state of Ugarit is considered quintessentially Canaanite archaeologically, fernand Braudel remarked in The Perspective of the World that Phoenicia was an early example of a world-economy surrounded by empires. The high point of Phoenician culture and sea power is usually placed c, archaeological evidence consistent with this understanding has been difficult to identify. A unique concentration in Phoenicia of silver hoards dated between 1200 and 800 BC, however, contains hacksilver with lead isotope ratios matching ores in Sardinia and Spain. This metallic evidence agrees with the memory of a western Mediterranean Tarshish that supplied Solomon with silver via Phoenicia
12.
History of ancient Israel and Judah
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Israel and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of the ancient Levant. The Kingdom of Israel emerged as an important local power by the 10th century BCE before falling to the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE and this, the last nominally independent Judean kingdom, came to an end in 63 BCE with its conquest by Pompey of Rome. East of the plain and the Shephelah is a ridge, the hill country of Judah in the south, the hill country of Ephraim north of that, then Galilee. To the east again lie the valley occupied by the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, and the wadi of the Arabah. Beyond the plateau is the Syrian desert, separating the Levant from Mesopotamia, to the southwest is Egypt, to the northeast Mesopotamia. The location and geographical characteristics of the narrow Levant made the area a battleground among the entities that surrounded it. Politically and culturally it was dominated by Egypt, each city under its own ruler, constantly at odds with its neighbours, and appealing to the Egyptians to adjudicate their differences. The Canaanite city-state system broke down at the end of the Late Bronze period, the name Israel first appears in the stele of the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah c.1209 BCE, Israel is laid waste and his seed is no more. In the Late Bronze Age there were no more than about 25 villages in the highlands, the villages were more numerous and larger in the north, and probably shared the highlands with pastoral nomads, who left no remains. Other Aramaean sites also demonstrate a contemporary absence of pig remains at that time, unlike earlier Canaanite, in The Bible Unearthed, Finkelstein and Silberman summarised recent studies. They described how, up until 1967, the Israelite heartland in the highlands of western Palestine was virtually an archaeological terra incognita, since then, intensive surveys have examined the traditional territories of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. These surveys have revealed the emergence of a new culture contrasting with the Philistine. This new culture is characterised by a lack of remains, by an abandonment of the Philistine/Canaanite custom of having highly decorated pottery. The Israelite ethnic identity had originated, not from the Exodus and a subsequent conquest and these surveys revolutionized the study of early Israel. There was no sign of violent invasion or even the infiltration of a clearly defined ethnic group, instead, it seemed to be a revolution in lifestyle. From then on, over a period of hundreds of years until after the return of the exiles from Babylon, after the period of Ezra there is no more biblical record of them. The Hebrew language, a dialect of Canaanite, became the language of the hill country, modern scholars therefore see Israel arising peacefully and internally from existing people in the highlands of Canaan. Unusually favourable climatic conditions in the first two centuries of Iron Age II brought about an expansion of population, settlements and trade throughout the region
13.
Philistia
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They ruled major parts of southern Canaan at the peak of its expansion, but was eventually conquered and subdued by neighbouring Israelites. The Philistines were not mentioned following the conquest of the Levant by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the area east of Gaza, particularly around Nahal Besor that reaches into the hills as far as Beersheva had very substantial Philistine presence. This area is a part of the Negev desert and it also includes Nahal Gerar to the north that joins Nahal Besor before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea. This was a populated area during the early Iron Age. It includes archaeological sites such as Tell Beit Mirsim, Tel Haror, Tel Sera along Nahal Gerar, all these sites and others in the area had Philistine settlements. As far as the Neo-Assyrian policy goes, when they first invaded this area, but later, while responding to various revolts, their policy hardened. Achish the king of Gath Palistin, a Syro-Hittite kingdom in what is now NW Syria and the SE Turkish province of Hatay Strongs Lexicon
14.
Medes
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The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in an area known as Media and who spoke the Median language. This allowed new peoples to pass through and settle, in addition Elam, the dominant power in Iran, was suffering a period of severe weakness, as was Babylonia to the west. During the reign of Sinsharishkun the Assyrian empire, which had been in a state of constant civil war since 626 BC, subject peoples, such as the Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Scythians, Cimmerians, Lydians and Arameans quietly ceased to pay tribute to Assyria. The Median kingdom was conquered in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great. However, nowadays there is doubt whether a united Median empire ever existed. There is no evidence and the story of Herodotus is not supported by sources from the Neo-Assyrian Empire nor the Neo-Babylonian Empire. A few archaeological sites and textual sources provide a documentation of the history. Apart from a few names, the language of the Medes is unknown. The Medes had an Ancient Iranian Religion with a priesthood named as Magi, later during the reigns of the last Median kings, the reforms of Zoroaster spread into western Iran. Besides Ecbatana, the other existing in Media were Laodicea. The fourth city of Media was Apamea, near Ecbatana, whose location is now unknown. According to the Histories of Herodotus, there were six Median tribes, Thus Deioces collected the Medes into a nation, now these are the tribes of which they consist, the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, and the Magi. The six Median tribes resided in Media proper, the triangular shaped area between Ecbatana, Rhagae and Aspadana, in modern Iran, that is the area between Tehran, Isfahan and Hamadan. Of the Median tribes, the Magi resided in Rhaga, modern Tehran and it was a type of sacred caste, which ministered to the spiritual needs of the Medes. The Paretaceni tribe resided in and around Aspadana, modern Isfahan, the Arizanti lived in and around Kashan, the Struchates and the Budii lived in villages in the Median triangle. The original source for different words used to call the Median people, their language, the meaning of this word is not precisely established. The Median people are mentioned by name in many ancient texts. According to the Histories of Herodotus, The Medes were called anciently by all people Aryans, but when Medea, such is the account which they themselves give
15.
Achaemenid Empire
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The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
16.
Yehud Medinata
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The area of Yehud Medinata corresponded to the previous Babylonian province with the same name, formed after the fall of the kingdom of Judah to the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Yehud Medinata continued to exist for two centuries, until being incorporated into the Hellenistic empires following the conquests of Alexander the Great. There is not complete agreement on the chronology of the Babylonian and Persian periods, the table is used in this article. The probable date for his mission is 458 BCE, but it is possible that it took place in 397 BCE, the revolt failed, and in 597 BCE, many Judahites, including the prophet Ezekiel, were exiled to Babylon. A few years later, Judah revolted yet again, in 589 Nebuchadnezzar again besieged Jerusalem, and many Jews fled to Moab, Ammon, Edom and other countries to seek refuge. The city fell after an 18-month siege and Nebuchadnezzar again pillaged and destroyed Jerusalem, the former kingdom of Judah then became a Babylonian province Yehud, with Gedaliah, a native Judahite, as governor. According to Miller and Hayes, the province included the towns of Bethel in the north, Mizpah, Jericho in the east, Jerusalem, Beth-Zur in the west, the administrative centre of the province was Mizpah. On hearing of the appointment, the Jews that had taken refuge in surrounding countries returned to Judah, however, before long, Gedaliah was assassinated by a member of the former royal house, and the Babylonian garrison was killed, triggering a mass movement of refugees to Egypt. In Egypt, the refugees settled in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph, and Pathros, the numbers deported to Babylon or who made their way to Egypt and the remnant that remained in Yehud province and in surrounding countries are subject to academic debate. The Book of Jeremiah reports that a total of 4600 were exiled to Babylon, the Book of Kings also suggests that it was 8000. Israel Finkelstein, a prominent archaeologist, suggests that the 4600 represented the heads of households and 8000 was the total, Jeremiah also hints that an equivalent number may have fled to Egypt. Given such figures, Finkelstein suggests that three fourths of the Judahite population had remained in Judah, in 539 BCE, Babylon fell to the Persians. That event is dated securely from non-biblical sources, in his first year, Cyrus the Great decreed that the deportees in Babylon could return to Yehud and rebuild the Temple. Led by Zerubbabel,42,360 exiles returned to Yehud, according to Book of Ezra, Jeshua and Zerubbabel were frustrated in their efforts to rebuild the Temple by the enmity of the people of the land and the opposition of the governor of Beyond-the-River. The Book of Ezra dates Ezras arrival in Jerusalem to the year of Artaxerxes. Its position in the narrative implies that he was Artaxerxes I in which case the year was 458 BCE, Ezra, a scholar of the commandments of Yahweh, was commissioned by Artaxerxes to rebuild the Temple and enforce the laws of Moses in Beyond-the-River. Ezra led a party of exiles back to Yehud, where he found that Jews had intermarried with the peoples of the land. He succeeded in doing so but encountered resistance from the people of the land
17.
Seleucus I Nicator
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Seleucus I Nicator /səˈljuːkəs naɪˈkeɪtər/ was one of the Diadochi. However, after the outbreak of the Wars of the Diadochi in 322, Perdiccas was betrayed and assassinated in a conspiracy by Seleucus, Peithon and Antigenes in Pelusium sometime in either 321 or 320 BC. At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Seleucus was appointed Satrap of Babylon under the new regent Antipater, but almost immediately, the wars between the Diadochi resumed and Antigonus forced Seleucus to flee Babylon. Seleucus was only able to return to Babylon in 312 BC with the support of Ptolemy, from 312 BC, Seleucus ruthlessly expanded his dominions and eventually conquered the Persian and Median lands. Seleucus ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire eastern part of Alexanders empire. Seleucus victories against Antigonus and Lysimachus left the Seleucid dynasty virtually unopposed in Asia, however, Seleucus also hoped to take control of Lysimachus European territories, primarily Thrace and Macedon itself. But upon arriving in Thrace in 281 BC, Seleucus was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, the assassination of Seleucus destroyed Seleucid prospects in Thrace and Macedon, and paved the way for Ptolemy Ceraunus to absorb much of Lysimachus former power in Macedon. Seleucus was succeeded by his son Antiochus I as ruler of the Seleucid empire, Seleucus was the son of Antiochus. It is possible that Antiochus was a member of an upper Macedonian noble family, Seleucus mother was supposedly called Laodice, but nothing else is known of her. Later, Seleucus named a number of cities after his parents, Seleucus was born in Europos, located in the northern part of Macedonia. Just a year before his birth, the Paeonians invaded the region, Philip defeated the invaders and only a few years later utterly subdued them under Macedonian rule. Seleucus year of birth is unclear, justin claims he was 77 years old during the battle of Corupedium, which would place his year of birth at 358 BC. Appianus tells us Seleucus was 73 years old during the battle, eusebius of Caesarea, however, mentions the age of 75, and thus the year 356 BC, making Seleucus the same age as Alexander the Great. This is most likely propaganda on Seleucus part to him seem comparable to Alexander. As a teenager, Seleucus was chosen to serve as the kings page and it was customary for all male offspring of noble families to first serve in this position and later as officers in the kings army. A number of legends, similar to those told of Alexander the Great, were told of Seleucus and it was said Antiochus told his son before he left to battle the Persians with Alexander that his real father was actually the god Apollo. The god had left a ring with a picture of an anchor as a gift to Laodice, Seleucus had a birthmark shaped like an anchor. It was told that Seleucus sons and grandsons also had similar birthmarks, the story is similar to the one told about Alexander
18.
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
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Antigonus I Monophthalmus, son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian nobleman, general, and satrap under Alexander the Great. During his early life he served under Philip II, and he was a figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexanders death, declaring himself king in 306 BC. Antigonus was appointed governor of Greater Phrygia in 333 BC and he was primarily responsible for defending Alexanders lines of supply and communication during the latters extended campaign against the Achaemenid Persian Empire. As part of the division of the provinces after Alexanders death in 323 BC, Antigonus also received Pamphylia and Lycia from Perdiccas, regent of the empire, at the Partition of Babylon. He incurred the enmity of Perdiccas, the regent, by refusing to assist Eumenes to obtain possession of the allotted to him. Leonnatus had left with his army for Greece, leaving Antigonus alone to deal with Cappadocia, Perdiccas seems to have viewed this as a direct affront to his authority and went up with the royal army himself to conquer the area. Eumenes was defeated and forced to retire to the fortress of Nora in Cappadocia, when Antipater died in 319 BC, he gave the regentship to Polyperchon, excluding Cassander, his son. Antigonus and the other refused to recognize Polyperchon, since it would undermine their own ambitions. He entered into negotiations with Eumenes, but Eumenes had already been swayed by Polyperchon, effecting his escape from Nora, he raised an army and built a fleet in Cilicia and Phoenicia, and soon after formed a coalition with the satraps of the eastern provinces. Antigonus fought against Eumenes in two battles at Paraitacene in 317 BC and Gabiene in 316 BC. After some deliberation, Antigonus had Eumenes executed, as a result, Antigonus now was in possession of the empires Asian territories, his authority stretching from the eastern satrapies to Syria and Asia Minor in the west. He seized the treasures at Susa and entered Babylon, the governor of the city, Seleucus, fled to Ptolemy and entered into a league with him, Lysimachus and Cassander against Antigonus. In 314 BC Antigonus invaded Phoenicia, under Ptolemys control, and his son Demetrius was defeated at the Battle of Gaza by Ptolemy in 312 BC, and after the battle, Seleucus made his way back to Babylonia. Seleucus returned to Babylon in order to build up a base of his own, the Babylonian War began between Antigonus and Seleucus, where Seleucus defeated both Demetrius and Antigonus, and secured Babylonia. After the war had been carried on with varying success from 315 to 311, peace was concluded, by which the government of Asia Minor and Syria was provisionally secured to Antigonus. This agreement was violated on the pretext that garrisons had been placed in some of the free Greek cities by Antigonus. Demetrius Poliorcetes, the son of Antigonus, wrested part of Greece from Cassander, after defeating Ptolemy at the naval Battle of Salamis in 306 BC, Demetrius conquered Cyprus. Following the victory Antigonus assumed the title king and bestowed the same upon his son, the other dynasts, Cassander, Ptolemy, Lysimachus and Seleucus, soon followed
19.
Hasmonean dynasty
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The Hasmonean dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea, some modern scholars refer to this period as an independent kingdom of Israel. In 63 BCE, the kingdom was conquered by the Roman Republic, broken up, the dynasty had survived for 103 years before yielding to the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE. Even then, Herod the Great tried to bolster the legitimacy of his reign by marrying a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne, the dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt. However, the power vacuum that enabled the Jewish state to be recognized by the Roman Senate c. 139 BCE was later exploited by the Romans themselves. Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Simons great-grandsons, became pawns in a war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The deaths of Pompey and Caesar, and the related Roman civil wars temporarily relaxed Romes grip on Israel and this short independence was rapidly crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Octavian. The installation of Herod the Great as king in 37 BCE made Israel a Roman client state, in AD6, Rome joined Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea into the Roman province of Iudaea. In AD44, Rome installed the rule of a Roman procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings, an alternative view posits that the Hebrew name Hashmonai is linked with the village of Heshbon, mentioned in Joshua 15,27. Gott and Licht attribute the name to Ha Simeon, a reference to the Simeonite Tribe. Between 319 and 302 BC. Under Antiochus III the Seleucids wrested control of Israel from the Ptolemies for the final time and it was in Antioch that the Jews first made the acquaintance of Hellenism and of the more corrupt sides of Greek culture, and it was from Antioch that Judea henceforth was ruled. The books are considered part of the Biblical canon by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and apocryphal by most Protestants, the books include historical and religious material from the Septuagint that was codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians. The other primary source for the Hasmonean dynasty is the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, Josephus account is the only primary source covering the history of the Hasmonean dynasty during the period of its expansion and independence between 110 to 63 BCE. The books of Maccabees use the names Judea and Israel as geographical descriptors throughout for both the land and people over whom the Hasmoneans would rule, the Talmud includes one of the Hasmonean kings under the description Kings of Israel. Scholars refer to the state as the Hasmonean Kingdom to distinguish it from the kingdoms of Israel. The Hellenization of the Jews in the period was not universally resisted. Generally, the Jews accepted foreign rule when they were required to pay tribute. Nevertheless, Jews were divided between those favoring Hellenization and those opposing it, and were divided over allegiance to the Ptolemies or Seleucids, when the High Priest Simon II died in 175 BCE, conflict broke out between supporters of his son Onias III and his son Jason
20.
Herodian kingdom
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The Herodian kingdom of Judaea was a client state of the Roman Republic from 37 BCE, when Herod the Great was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. When Herod died in 4 BCE, the kingdom was divided among his sons into the Herodian Tetrarchy, the first intervention of Rome in the region dates from 63 BCE, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War, when Rome created the province of Syria. After the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus, Pompey sacked Jerusalem in 63 BCE, the Hasmonean Queen, Salome Alexandra, had recently died and her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, turned against each other in a civil war. In 63 BCE, Aristobulus was besieged in Jerusalem by his brothers armies and he sent an envoy to Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, Pompeys representative in the area. Aristobulus offered a bribe to be rescued, which Pompey promptly accepted. Afterwards, Aristobulus accused Scaurus of extortion, since Scaurus was Pompeys brother in law and protégée, the general retaliated by putting Hyrcanus in charge of the kingdom as Prince and High Priest. When Pompey was defeated by Julius Caesar, Hyrcanus was succeeded by his courtier Antipater the Idumaean, in 57-55 BCE, Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts of Sanhedrin/Synedrion. The Parthian army crossed the Euphrates and Labienus was able to entice Mark Antonys Roman garrisons around Syria to rally to his cause, the Parthians split their army, and under Pacorus conquered the Levant from the Phoenician coast through the Land of Israel, Antigonus. Roused the Parthians to invade Syria and Palestine, the Jews eagerly rose in support of the scion of the Maccabean house, when Phasael and Hyrcanus II set out on an embassy to the Parthians, the Parthians instead captured them. Antigonus, who was present, cut off Hyrcanuss ears to make him unsuitable for the High Priesthood, Antigonus, whose Hebrew name was Mattathias, bore the double title of king and High Priest for only three years. He had not disposed of Herod, who fled into exile, Herod was designated King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 40 BCE, Antony then resolved to get made king of the Jews. Told that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king, Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign. The struggle thereafter lasted for years, as the main Roman forces were occupied with defeating the Parthians and had few additional resources to use to support Herod. After the Parthian defeat, Herod was victorious over his rival in 37 BCE, Antigonus was delivered to Antony and executed shortly thereafter, bringing about the end of the Hasmonean rule over Israel. Under his enterprise, such projects as the Masada fortress, the Herodion, during King Herods reign the last representatives of the Hasmoneans were eliminated. Antigonus was not, however, the last Hasmonean, the fate of the remaining male members of the family under Herod was not a happy one. Aristobulus III, grandson of Aristobulus II through his elder son Alexander, was made high priest. His sister, Mariamne was married to Herod, but fell victim to his notorious jealousy and her sons by Herod, Aristobulus IV and Alexander, were in their adulthood also executed by their father
21.
Judea (Roman province)
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It was named after Herod Archelauss Tetrarchy of Judea, but the Roman province encompassed a much larger territory. The name Judea was derived from the Kingdom of Judah of the 6th century BCE, Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding in 6 CE during the Census of Quirinius and several wars were fought in its history, known as the Jewish–Roman wars. The first intervention of Rome in the dates from 63 BCE, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War. After the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus, Pompey sacked Jerusalem and established Hasmonean prince Hyrcanus II as Ethnarch and High Priest, a later appointment by Julius Caesar was Antipater the Idumaean, also known as Antipas, as the first Roman Procurator. Herod the Great, Antipaters son, was designated King of the Jews by the Roman Senate in 40 BCE and he did not gain military control until 37 BCE. During his reign the last representatives of the Hasmoneans were eliminated, and he died in 4 BCE, and his kingdom was divided mostly among three of his sons, who became tetrarchs. One of these tetrarchies was Judea corresponding to the territory of the historic Judea, plus Samaria, Herods son Herod Archelaus, ruled Judea so badly that he was dismissed in 6 CE by the Roman emperor Augustus, after an appeal from his own population. Another, Herod Antipas, ruled as tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BCE to 39 CE, the third tetrarch, Herods son Philip, ruled over the northeastern part of his fathers kingdom. In 6 CE Archelaus tetrachy came under direct Roman administration, even though Iudaea is simply derived from the Latin for Judea, many historians use it to distinguish the Roman province from the previous territory and history. Iudaea province did not initially include Galilee, Gaulanitis, nor Peraea or the Decapolis, the capital was at Caesarea, not Jerusalem. Quirinius became Legate of Syria and conducted the first Roman tax census of Syria and Iudaea, pontius Pilate, whose name was recorded in the Pilate Stone, was one of these prefects, from 26 to 36 CE. Still, Jews living in the province maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offences, until c.28 CE. The Province of Judea, during the late 2nd Temple period was divided into five conclaves, or administrative districts, 1) Jerusalem, 2) Gadara, 3) Amathus, 4) Jericho. Caiaphas was one of the appointed High Priests of Herods Temple, both were deposed by the Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius in 36 CE. The Crisis under Caligula has been proposed as the first open break between Rome and the Jews and he elevated Iudaeass procurator whom he trusted to imperial governing status because the imperial legate of Syria was not sympathetic to the Judeans. Following Agrippas death in 44 CE, the returned to direct Roman control, incorporating Agrippas personal territories of Galilee and Peraea. Nevertheless, Agrippas son, Agrippa II was designated King of the Jews in 48 and he was the seventh and last of the Herodians. From 70 CE until 135 CE, Iudaeas rebelliousness required a governing Roman legate capable of commanding legions
22.
Syria Palaestina
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Syria Palaestina was a Roman province between 135 and about 390. It was established by the merger of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea, shortly after 193, the northern regions were split off as Syria Coele in the north and Phoenice in the south, and the province Syria Palaestina was reduced to Judea. The earliest numismatic evidence for the name Syria Palaestina comes from the period of emperor Marcus Aurelius, Syria was an early Roman province, annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War, following the defeat of Armenian King Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom into tetrarchies in 6 AD, it was absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea. The Roman province of Judea incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea and it was named after Herod Archelauss Tetrarchy of Judea, but the Roman province encompassed a much larger territory. H. Ben-Sasson, had been the capital of the region beginning in 6 AD. Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding in 6 AD during the Census of Quirinius and several wars were fought in its history, the Temple was destroyed in 70 as part of the Great Jewish Revolt resulting in the institution of the Fiscus Judaicus. Disturbances followed throughout the region during the Kitos War in 117–118, between 132–135, Simon Bar Kokhba led a revolt against the Roman Empire, controlling parts of Judea but seemingly not Jerusalem, for three years. As a result, Hadrian sent Sextus Julius Severus to the region, after crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province. The city of Aelia Capitolina was built by the emperor Hadrian on the ruins of Jerusalem, the capital of the enlarged province remained in Antiochia. In 193, the province of Syria-Coele was split from Syria Palaestina, in the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty. Syria was of strategic importance during the Crisis of the Third Century. Beginning in 212, Palmyras trade diminished as the Sassanids occupied the mouth of the Tigris, in 232, the Syrian Legion rebelled against the Roman Empire, but the uprising went unsuccessful. Septimius Odaenathus, a Prince of the Aramean state of Palmyra, was appointed by Valerian as the governor of the province of Syria Palaestina. After Valerian was captured by the Sassanids in 260, and died in captivity in Bishapur, Odaenathus campaigned as far as Ctesiphon for revenge, when Odaenathus was assassinated by his nephew Maconius, his wife Septimia Zenobia took power, ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son, Vabalathus. Zenobia rebelled against Roman authority with the help of Cassius Longinus and took over Bosra and lands as far to the west as Egypt, next, she took Antioch and large sections of Asia Minor to the north. In 272, the Roman Emperor Aurelian finally restored Roman control and Palmyra was besieged and sacked, Aurelian captured Zenobia, bringing her back to Rome. He paraded her in chains in the presence of the senator Marcellus Petrus Nutenus, but allowed her to retire to a villa in Tibur
23.
Diocese of the East
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The Diocese of the East was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. Its capital was at Antioch, and its governor had the title of comes Orientis instead of the ordinary vicarius. The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian, and was subordinate to the prefecture of the East. The last creation of a new province dated in the reign of Justinian I, when Theodorias, at about the same time, Cyprus was split off and became part of a new super-province, the quaestura exercitus. The entire area of the diocese came under Sassanid Persian occupation in the 610s and 620s. From the old provinces of the Diocese of the East, only Isauria and parts of the two Cilicias remained under Byzantine rule, grouped under the new Anatolic Theme
24.
Palaestina Prima
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Palæstina Prima or Palaestina I was a Byzantine province from 390, until the 7th century. It was lost to the Sassanid Empire in 614, but was re-annexed in 628, despite Christian domination, through 4th and 5th centuries Samaritans developed a semi-autonomy in the hill country of Samaria, a move which gradually escalated into a series of open revolts. The four major Samaritan Revolts during this period caused an extinction of the Samaritan community. In the late 6th century, Byzantines and their Christian Ghassanid allies took an upper hand in the struggle. In 614, Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Secunda were conquered by a joint Sassanid, the event shocked the Christian society, as many of its churches were destroyed and the True Cross taken by the Persians to Ctesiphon. After withdrawal of the Persian troops and the subsequent surrender of the local Jewish rebels, Byzantine control of the province was again and irreversibly lost in 636, during the Muslim conquest of Syria. The province of Palaestina Prima included a mixed Greek and Aramaic-speaking population, with Greek, Samaritans were the second dominant group, which populated most of the hill country of Samaria, numbering around one million in the 4th and 5th centuries. Minorities of Jews, Christian Ghassanids and Nabateans were present as well, Jews formed a majority in the neighbouring Palaestina Secunda, while the Ghassanids and Nabateans inhabited the Arabian desert to the south and east. Most of the Jews of prior Antiquity, however, had been exiled to Babylon after wars with the Romans, depending on the time, either a notable Roman or Persian military presence would be noted. Arianism and other forms of Christianity found themselves in an environment as well. Variants of the Mosaic religion were still at large from the 4th until the 6th centuries, practiced by communities of Samaritans. However, with the decline of the Samaritan and Jewish populations through war and by conversion the 6th and 7th century, by the late Byzantine period fewer synagogues could be found and many were destroyed in violent events. The city of Hebron is notable in being one of the last Jewish cities remaining, ancient episcopal sees of the Roman province of Palaestina Prima listed in the Annuario Pontificio as titular sees, Palaestina Secunda Palestina Salutaris Coele-Syria Iudaea Province
25.
Palaestina Secunda
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Palæstina Secunda or Palaestina II was a Byzantine province from 390, until its conquest by the Muslim armies in 634-636. Palaestina Secunda, a part of the Diocese of the East, roughly comprised the Galilee, Yizrael Valley, Bet Shean Valley and southern part of the Golan plateau, the major cities of the province were Scythopolis, Capernaum and Nazareth. In the 5th and 6th centuries, Byzantines and their Christian Ghassanid allies took a role in suppressing the Samaritan Revolts in neighbouring Palaestina Prima. By the 6th century Christian Ghassanids formed a Byzantine vassal confederacy with a capital on the Golan, in 614, both Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Secunda were conquered by a joint Sasanian-Jewish army. The leader of the Jewish rebels was Benjamin of Tiberias, a man of wealth according to Middle Aged sources, and by Nehemiah ben Hushiel. The event came as shock to the Christian society, as many of its churches were destroyed according to Christian sources of that period, after withdrawal of the Persian troops and the afterward surrender of the local Jewish rebels, the area was shortly reannexed into Byzantium in 628 CE. Byzantine control of the province was again and irreversibly lost in 636 and it was later roughly reorganized as Jund al-Urdunn military district of Bilad al-Sham province of the Rashidun Caliphate. Prior to the 6th century, the province of Palaestina Secunda largely included Jews, as well as a mixed Greek and Aramaic-speaking population, who were mostly practicing Christianity. North-Eastern parts of the province were also inhabited by pagan Itureans, in the early 7th century, the province experienced a significant demographic collapse due to the consequences of the Byzantine-Persian war and the Jewish rebellion. The province of Palaestina Secunda was a center of Judaism through the 4th and 5th centuries. The primary Jewish authority, the Sanhedrin, existed in Tiberias until the early 5th century, the last Nasi of the Sanhedrin was Gamaliel VI, who died in 425. After his death, the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius did not allow for a successor, the conversion of Constantine set in motion events that restored Palestine as a major theater in the development of the Christian church, as it had not been since 70. Only a few Minim had lived in few Galilean towns such as Sepphoris, less successfully, imperial policy tried to encourage Jews to convert to Christianity by offering protection and rewards. Eventually, as a result of Christian settlement in the vicinities of Nazareth and Capernaum and Tabgha, small minority of pagans - whether non-Christian Romans and Hellenists or Itureans had been populating the province during early Byzantine rule
26.
Islam in Palestine
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Muslim history in the Palestine region began in the 630s with the Early Muslim conquests. The Roman region of Palestine was conquered by the Muslim armies of the Caliphate under Caliph Umar, Muslim presence in the region has continued to the present time for nearly 1400 years. The region of Palestine has a significance for Muslims, as it contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Muslims call it the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, according to the Islamic tradition the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the site from which the Islamic prophet Mohammed is said to have ascended to Heaven. According to the Muslim tradition, during a night around the year 621. According to the tradition, from there he ascended to heaven where he spoke with Allah, Islam first came to the region of Palestine in the 630s during the great Muslim conquests in which the Caliphate conquered vast areas of Asia and Africa, including the region of Palestine. The Muslim conquests of the 7th century started a long and steady process of Islamization of many nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and this gradual process, which began with the formation of the Muslim empire, lasted for several hundred years. Through time many of the indigenous people merged with the Arab tribes, until a vast region, including the region of Palestine, became dominated by the Arabic language. Following the Muslim conquest of the region of Palestine, the Caliphate decided to build a mosque in Jerusalem - the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition, during that time many other Muslim structures were constructed throughout Palestine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered nowadays as the worlds oldest Islamic building still in use. Rival dynasties and various conflicts which occurred later on, led to a split within the Muslim world, eventually, during the 9th century, Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid dynasty. During that time the region of Palestine became again the center of violent disputes followed by wars, at that time, the Byzantine Empire continued trying to recapture the territories they previously lost to the Muslims, including Jerusalem. The Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem who expressed their support to the Byzantine Empire were killed by the Muslim authorities, due to the growing importance of Jerusalem in the Muslim world, the tolerance towards the other faiths began to fade. The Christians and the Jews in Palestine were persecuted and many Churches and Synagogues were destroyed and this trend peaked in 1009 AD when Caliph al Hakim of the Fatimid dynasty, destroyed also the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This provocation ignited enormous rage in the Christian world, which led to the first Crusades from Europe to the Holy Land, the Crusaders transformed the Dome of the Rock into the Shrine of the Lord and the Al-Aqsa mosque into the Hall of Solomon. The local Muslim reaction was to try to find an accommodation with the Crusaders, during this era, the larger Muslim world looked upon the setbacks in Jerusalem with indifference. In 1187, the Ayyubid Sultan Salah ad-Din led his armies to win a victory over the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin. As a direct result of the battle, Islamic forces once again became the dominant power in the region, re-conquering Jerusalem, the Christian defeat led to a Third Crusade aimed to regain the lost territories in the Holy Land
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Muslim conquest of the Levant
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During the Roman period, beginning after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, the entire region was renamed Palaestina, subdivided into Diocese I and II. The Romans also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, part of the area was ruled by the Arab vassal state of the Ghassanids symmachos. Thus, on the eve of the Muslim conquests the Romans were still in the process of rebuilding their authority in these territories, politically, the Syrian region consisted of two provinces, Syria proper stretched from Antioch and Aleppo in the north to the top of the Dead Sea. To the west and south of the Dead Sea lay the province of Palestine, Syria was mostly a Syriac and Hellenized land with some Jewish presence and with a partly Arab population, especially in its eastern and southern parts. The Ghassan Dynasty became one of the princely dynasties of the Empire, with the Ghassan king ruling over the Arabs in Jordan. The last of the Ghassan kings, who ruled at the time of the Muslim invasion, was Jabla bin Al Aiham, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, after re-capturing Syria from the Sassanians, set up new defense lines from Gaza to the south end of the Dead Sea. These lines were designed to protect communications from bandits, and the bulk of the Byzantine defenses were concentrated in Northern Syria facing the traditional foes. This defense line had as a drawback that it enabled the Muslims, the 7th century was a time of fast military changes in the Byzantine Empire. Muhammad died in June 632, and Abu Bakr was appointed Caliph, soon after Abu Bakrs succession, several Arab tribes revolted against him in the Ridda wars. The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on 18 March 633, with Arabia united under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. After successful campaigns against the Sassanids and the ensuing conquest of Iraq Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, while engaged with Sassanid forces, confrontation also ensued with the Byzantine Arab clients, the Ghassanids. Tribal contingents were recruited to the call from Medinah from all over the Arabian peninsula. The tradition of raising armies from tribal contingents remained in use until 636, Abu Bakr organised the army into four corps, each with its own commander and objective. Move on Elat route, then across Valley of Arabah, Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan, Objective Damascus. Move on Tabuk route after Yazid, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Objective Emesa. Move on Tabuk route after Shurahbil, in case the corps had to concentrate for one major battle, Abu Ubaidah was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the entire army. In the first week of April 634, the Muslim forces began to move from their camps outside Medina, the first to leave was Yazids corps, followed by Shurahbil, Abu Ubaidah and Amr, each a days march from the other
28.
Rashidun Caliphate
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The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first five caliphs—the Rightly Guided or Rashidun caliphs. It was founded after Muhammads death in 632 CE, after Muhammads death in 632 CE, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammads household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar, Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalīfatu Rasūli l-Lāh successor of the Messenger of God, or caliph, and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, as a caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title, nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit, as for the fifth Caliph, ‘Alis son Al-Hasan, as a son of Fatimah, he was a grandson of Muhammad. Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, towards the end times, Abu Bakr, the oldest companion of Muhammad, was caliph for only 2 years before he died. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, his two companions, were in the Saqifah meeting to select his successor while the family of Muhammad was busy with his funeral, controversy among the Muslims emerged about whom to name as Caliph. There was disagreement between the Meccan followers of Muhammad who had emigrated with him in 622 and the Medinans who had become followers, the Ansar, considering themselves being the hosts and loyal companions of Muhammad, nominated Sad bin Ubadah as their candidate for the Caliphate. In the end, however, Muhammads closest friend, Abu Bakr, was named the khalifa or Successor of Muhammad, a new circumstance had formed a new, untried political formation, the caliphate. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammads death, threatening the unity and stability of the new community, Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the Banu Thaqif in Taif and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman. In some cases, entire tribes apostatised, others merely withheld zakat, the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some made it during the lifetime of Muhammad, the news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah, many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammads death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader, the result of this situation was the Ridda wars. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and he divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces, other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, the Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri
29.
Jund Filastin
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Jund Filastin was one of the military districts of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Bilad al-Sham, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s. According to al-Biladhuri, the towns of the district, following its conquest by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastia, Nablus, Caesarea, Ludd, Yibna, Imwas, Jaffa, Rafah. At first, under the early Umayyad caliphs, Ludd served as the district capital, after the caliph Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik founded the nearby city of Ramla, he designated it the capital, and most of Ludds inhabitants were forced to settle there. In the 9th century, during Abbasid rule, Jund Filastin was the most fertile of Syrias districts, the population of the region did not become predominantly Muslim and Arab in identity until several centuries after the conquest. At its greatest extent, Jund Filastin extended from Rafah in the south to Lajjun in the north, the mountains of Edom, and the town of Zoar at the southeastern end of the Dead Sea were included in the district. However, the Galilee was excluded, being part of Jund al-Urdunn in the north, the district persisted in some form until the Seljuk invasions and the Crusades of the late 11th century. Palaestina Prima Syria Palaestina Le Strange, Guy, Palestine Under the Moslems, A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A. D.650 to 1500. London, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, mideastweb Map of Palestine Under the Caliphs, showing Jund boundaries
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Jund al-Urdunn
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Jund al-Urdunn was one of the five districts of Bilad ash-Sham during the period of the Arab Caliphates. It was established under the Rashidun and its capital was Tiberias throughout its rule by the Umayyad and it encompassed southern Mount Lebanon, the Galilee, the southern Hauran, the Golan Heights, and most of the eastern Jordan Valley. Major towns besides Tiberias included Baysan, Acre, Qadas, Tyre, Pella, and Jarash, during the Fatimid era, the principal cities were Acre, Tiberias, Baysan, Beit Ras, Jadur, Fiq, Tyre, Lajjun, Faradiyya, Kabul and Saffuriya. It did not include Amman or the part of modern Jordan. Jund al-Urdunn was bordered to the south by Jund Filastin, palaestina Secunda Jund Filastin Jordan River Le Strange, Guy. Palestine Under the Moslems, A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A. D.650 to 1500, london, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund
31.
Umayyad Caliphate
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The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
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Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
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Fatimid Caliphate
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The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of the caliphate, at its height the caliphate included in addition to Egypt varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz. The Fatimids claimed descent from Fatima bint Muhammad, the daughter of Islamic prophet Muhammad, in 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate, Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of their empire. The ruling class belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shiism, as did the leaders of the dynasty, the existence of the caliphate marked the only time the descendants of Ali through Fatimah were united to any degree and the name Fatimid refers to Fatimah. The different term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the caliphates subjects, after the initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam, as well as to Jews, Maltese Christians, and Egyptian Coptic Christians. The Fatimid caliphate was also distinguished by the role of Berbers in its initial establishment and in helping its development, especially on the military. During the late eleventh and twelfth centuries the Fatimid caliphate declined rapidly and he founded the Ayyubid dynasty and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid regime lasted until the twelfth century, though its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population. The Fatimid Caliphates religious ideology originated in an Ismaili Shia movement launched in the 9th century in Salamiyah, Syria by their eighth Imam and he claimed descent through Ismail, the seventh Ismaili Imam, from Fatimah and her husband ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīʻa Imām. Thus his name was al-Fātimiyyūn Fatimid, the eighth to tenth Imams, remained hidden and worked for the movement against the periods times rulers. According to legend, Abdullah and his son were fulfilling a prophecy that the mahdi would come from Mesopotamia to Sijilmasa. They hid among the population of Sijilmasa, then an independent emirate, for four years under the countenance of the Midrar rulers, al-Mahdi was supported by dedicated Shiite Abu Abdullah al-Shii, and al-Shii started his preaching after he encountered a group of Muslim North African during his hajj. These men bragged about the country of the Kutama in western Ifriqiya, and the hostility of the Kutama towards, and their independence from. This triggered al-Shii to travel to the region, where he started to preach the Ismaili doctrine, the Berber peasants, who had been oppressed for decades by the corrupt Aghlabid rule, would prove themselves to be a perfect basis for sedition. Instantly, al-Shii began conquering cities in the region, first Mila, then Sétif, Kairouan, and eventually Raqqada, in 909 Al-Shii sent a large expedition force to rescue the Mahdi, conquering the Khariji state of Tahert on its way there. After gaining his freedom, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah became the leader of the state and assumed the position of imam. The Fatimids existed during the Islamic Golden Age, the dynasty was founded in 909 by the eleventh Imam ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah
34.
Kingdom of Jerusalem
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The Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was a crusader state established in the Southern Levant by Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, the sometimes so-called First Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted from 1099 to 1187, when it was almost entirely overrun by Saladin. This second kingdom is called the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Kingdom of Acre. Three other crusader states founded during and after the First Crusade were located north, the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch. While all three were independent, they were tied to Jerusalem. Beyond these to the north and west lay the states of Armenian Cilicia, further east, various Muslim emirates were located which were ultimately allied with the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. Jerusalem itself fell to Saladin in 1187, and in the 13th century the kingdom was reduced to a few cities along the Mediterranean coast. In this period, the kingdom was ruled by the Lusignan dynasty of the Kingdom of Cyprus, dynastic ties also strengthened with Tripoli, Antioch, and Armenia. The kingdom was soon dominated by the Italian city-states of Venice and Genoa. Emperor Frederick II claimed the kingdom by marriage, but his presence sparked a war among the kingdoms nobility. The kingdom became more than a pawn in the politics and warfare of the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties in Egypt, as well as the Khwarezmian. The Mamluk sultans Baibars and al-Ashraf Khalil eventually reconquered all the remaining crusader strongholds, the kingdom was ethnically, religiously, and linguistically diverse, although the crusaders themselves and their descendants were an elite Catholic minority. They imported many customs and institutions from their homelands in Western Europe, the kingdom also inherited oriental qualities, influenced by the pre-existing customs and populations. The majority of the inhabitants were native Christians, especially Greek and Syrian Orthodox, as well as Sunni. The native Christians and Muslims, who were a lower class, tended to speak Greek and Arabic, while the crusaders spoke French. There were also a number of Jews and Samaritans. According to the Jewish writer Benjamin of Tudela, who travelled through the kingdom around 1170, since sets a lower bound for the Samaritan population at 1,500, since the contemporary Tolidah, a Samaritan chronicle, also mentions communities in Gaza and Acre. The First Crusade was preached at the Council of Clermont in 1095 by Pope Urban II, however, the main objective quickly became the control of the Holy Land
35.
Ayyubid dynasty
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The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries, Saladin had been the vizier of Fatimid Egypt before toppling the Fatimids in 1171. Three years later, he proclaimed himself sultan following the death of his former master, most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders regained control of Palestines coastline in the 1190s, by then, local Muslim dynasties had driven out the Ayyubids from Yemen, the Hejaz, and parts of Mesopotamia. After his death in 1249, as-Salih Ayyub was succeeded in Egypt by al-Muazzam Turanshah, however, the latter was soon overthrown by the Mamluk generals who had repelled a Crusader invasion of the Nile Delta. This effectively ended Ayyubid power in Egypt, attempts by the emirs of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, in 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and conquered the Ayyubids remaining territories soon after. The Mamluks, who expelled the Mongols, maintained the Ayyubid principality of Hama until deposing its last ruler in 1341 and this period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strengthening Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by constructing numerous madrasas in their major cities. The progenitor of the Ayyubid dynasty, Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn Shadhi, belonged to the Kurdish Rawadiya tribe, Ayyubs ancestors settled in the town of Dvin, in northern Armenia. The Rawadiya were the dominant Kurdish group in the Dvin district, circumstances became unfavorable in Dvin when Turkish generals seized the town from its Kurdish prince. Shadhi left with his two sons Ayyub and Asad ad-Din Shirkuh and his friend Mujahid ad-Din Bihruz—the military governor of northern Mesopotamia under the Seljuks—welcomed him and appointed him governor of Tikrit. After Shadhis death, Ayyub succeeded him in governance of the city with the assistance of his brother Shirkuh, together they managed the affairs of the city well, gaining them popularity from the local inhabitants. In the meantime, Imad ad-Din Zangi, the ruler of Mosul, was defeated by the Abbasids under Caliph al-Mustarshid, in his bid to escape the battlefield to Mosul via Tikrit, Zangi took shelter with Ayyub and sought his assistance in this task. Ayyub complied and provided Zangi and his companions boats to cross the Tigris River, as a consequence for assisting Zangi, the Abbasid authorities sought punitive measures against Ayyub. Simultaneously, in an incident, Shirkuh killed a close confidant of Bihruz on charges that he had sexually assaulted a woman in Tikrit. The Abbasid court issued arrest warrants for both Ayyub and Shirkuh, but before the brothers could be arrested, they departed Tikrit for Mosul in 1138. When they arrived in Mosul, Zangi provided them all the facilities they needed. Ayyub was made commander of Baalbek and Shirkuh entered the service of Zangis son, according to historian Abdul Ali, it was under the care and patronage of Zangi that the Ayyubid family rose to prominence. In 1164, Nur al-Din dispatched Shirkuh to lead a force to prevent the Crusaders from establishing a strong presence in an increasingly anarchic Egypt
36.
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
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The Mamluk Sultanate was a medieval realm spanning Egypt, the Levant, and Hejaz. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, historians have traditionally broken the era of Mamlūk rule into two periods—one covering 1250–1382, the other, 1382–1517. Western historians call the former the Baḥrī period and the latter the Burjī due to the dominance of the regimes known by these names during the respective eras. Contemporary Muslim historians refer to the divisions as the Turkish. The Mamlūk state reached its height under Turkic rule with Arabic culture, the sultanates ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, soldiers of predominantly Cuman-Kipchaks, Circassian, Abkhazian, Oghuz Turks and Georgian slave origin. While Mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, Mamluks were considered to be true lords, with social status above citizens of Egypt. Though it declined towards the end of its existence, at its height the sultanate represented the zenith of medieval Egyptian and Levantine political, economic, the term Mamluk Sultanate is a modern historiographical term. The Arabic sources for the period of the Bahri Mamluks refer to the dynasty as the State/Realm of the Turks, other official names used were State of the Circassians. A variant thereof emphasized the fact that the Circassians were Turkish-speaking, the term Mongol State was used during Sultan al-Adil Kitbughas rule, who was of Mongol extraction. Dawlatāl Qalāwūn or Dawlat Banī Qalāwūn which means Qalāwūnī State/Dynasty which have ruled for hundred years between 1279 and 1382, al-dawla al-Ẓāhiriyya which meant Ẓāhirī state/dynasty which is the dynasty of Baibars and his two sons al-Said Barakah and Solamish. This dynasty have ruled consecutively for 19 years, Mamluk was a term defined as owned slave, distinguishing the mamluk from the garya and ghulam, which referred to household slaves. After thorough training in fields such as martial arts, court etiquette and Islamic sciences. However, they were expected to remain loyal to their master. Mamluks had formed a part of the state or military apparatus in Syria and Egypt since at least the 9th century, each Ayyubid sultan and high-ranking emir had a private mamluk corps. Most of the mamluks in the Ayyubids service were ethnic Kipchak Turks from Central Asia and they were highly committed to their masters, who they often referred to as father, and were in turn treated more as kinsmen than as slaves by their masters. These mamluks became known as the Salihiyyah, to provision his mamluks, as-Salih forcibly seized the iqtaʿat of his predecessors emirs. Despite his close relationship with his mamluks, tensions existed between as-Salih and the Salihiyyah, and a number of Salihi mamluks were imprisoned or exiled throughout as-Salihs reign. Tensions between as-Salih and his mamluks came to a later in 1249 when Louis IX of Frances forces captured Damietta in their bid to conquer Egypt during the Seventh Crusade
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Southern Syria
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Southern Syria is the southern part of the Syria region, roughly corresponding to the Southern Levant. Typically it refers chronologically and geographically to the part of Ottoman Syria provinces. Throughout the Ottoman period, prior to World War I, the Levant was administered and viewed locally as one entity, in 1884, the governor of Damascus made a proposal to establish a new Vilayet of Southern Syria, though nothing came out of this. According to the Minutes of the Ninth Session of the League of Nations Permanent Mandate Commission, the reports say the following, Colonel Symes explained that the country was described as Palestine by Europeans and as Falestin by the Arabs. As a set-off to this, certain of the Arab politicians suggested that the country should be called Southern Syria in order to emphasize its close relation with another Arab State. In 1927, an Arab party named the Arab Independence Party in Southern Syria was established in Mandatory Palestine to emphasize the reaffirmed support for Arab pan-Syrianism. While the use of the term Southern Syria term was common by the early 20th century, it is occasionally used term in politics, literature. Helsinki. fi−Levant internetcourse, Brief history of Southern Syria
38.
Mandatory Palestine
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Mandatory Palestine was a geopolitical entity under British administration, carved out of Ottoman Southern Syria after World War I. British civil administration in Palestine operated from 1920 until 1948, further confusing the issue was the Balfour Declaration of 1917, promising British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. At the wars end the British and French set up a joint Occupied Enemy Territory Administration in what had been Ottoman Syria, the British achieved legitimacy for their continued control by obtaining a mandate from the League of Nations in June 1922. The civil Mandate administration was formalized with the League of Nations consent in 1923 under the British Mandate for Palestine, the land west of the Jordan River, known as Palestine, was under direct British administration until 1948. The land east of the Jordan, a region known as Transjordan, under the rule of the Hashemite family from the Hijaz. The divergent tendencies regarding the nature and purpose of the mandate are visible already in the discussions concerning the name for this new entity. As a set-off to this, certain of the Arab politicians suggested that the country should be called Southern Syria in order to emphasise its close relation with another Arab State. During the British Mandate period the area experienced the ascent of two major nationalist movements, one among the Jews and the other among the Arabs, following its occupation by British troops in 1917–1918, Palestine was governed by the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration. In July 1920, the administration was replaced by a civilian administration headed by a High Commissioner. The first High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel, a Zionist recent cabinet minister, arrived in Palestine on 20 June 1920, following the arrival of the British, Muslim-Christian Associations were established in all the major towns. In 1919 they joined to hold the first Palestine Arab Congress in Jerusalem and its main platforms were a call for representative government and opposition to the Balfour Declaration. The Zionist Commission was formed in March 1918 and was active in promoting Zionist objectives in Palestine, on 19 April 1920, elections were held for the Assembly of Representatives of the Palestinian Jewish community. The Zionist Commission received official recognition in 1922 as representative of the Palestinian Jewish community, Rutenberg soon established an electric company whose shareholders were Zionist organizations, investors, and philanthropists. Palestinian-Arabs saw it as proof that the British intended to favor Zionism, when Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Kamil al-Husayni died in March 1921, High Commissioner Samuel appointed his half-brother Mohammad Amin al-Husseini to the position. Amin al-Husseini, a member of the clan of Jerusalem, was an Arab nationalist. As Grand Mufti, as well as the influential positions that he held during this period. In 1922, al-Husseini was elected President of the Supreme Muslim Council which had created by Samuel in December 1921. The Council controlled the Waqf funds, worth annually tens of thousands of pounds, in addition, he controlled the Islamic courts in Palestine
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All-Palestine Protectorate
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The Protectorate was declared on September 1948 in the Gaza city and All-Palestine Government was formed. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, in December 1948, just three months after declaration, the All-Palestine Government was relocated to Cairo and was never allowed to return to Gaza, making it a government in exile. Ernest A. Gross, a senior U. S. State Department legal adviser, authored a memorandum for the United States government titled Recognition of New States and Governments in Palestine, dated 11 May 1948. Gross also said the law of nations recognizes an inherent right of people lacking the agencies, though this is a generally accepted principle of international law, Gross opinion was only internal US government advice. In any event, the British Mandate did expire on 15 May 1948, other than the Arab Higher Committee, which was re-established in 1945 by the Arab League, the Palestinian Arab community had no government, and no administrative or unified military structure. It relied on the objective declared by the Arab League on 12 April 1948, as the war progressed, however, the ineffectiveness of the Committee became obvious. When it appeared that the Arab forces would not defeat the Israeli forces, by the end of the war, however, the Arab Higher Committee had become politically irrelevant. The All-Palestine Protectorate relied entirely on the Egyptian government for funding and it was finally dissolved in 1959 by decree of Nasser. The 1948 Arab-Israeli War came to an end with the Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement of 24 February 1949, the All-Palestine Government was not a party to the Agreement nor involved in its negotiation. In reality, during most of its existence the All-Palestine Protectorate was under de facto Egyptian administration, Egypt did not offer the Gazan Palestinians citizenship. Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and Egypt were issued All-Palestine passports, however, these passports were only recognized by six Arab countries. The passports ceased to be issued when the All-Palestine Government was dissolved, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, though jurisdiction of the Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the All-Palestine Protectorate. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, the All-Palestine Government revived the Holy War Army with the declared aim of liberating Palestine. The Army, however, has never recovered the defeat of the 1948 War and was in fact a collection of Palestinian fedayeen militias. The Gaza Strip was the area of the former British Mandate territory that was under the nominal control of the All-Palestine Government. The rest of the British Mandate territory became part of Israel or the West Bank. Free Lebanon State Jordanian occupation of the West Bank Shlaim, Avi, the rise and fall of the All-Palestine Government in Gaza
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Jordanian annexation of the West Bank
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Jordanian annexation of the West Bank refers to the occupation and consequent annexation of the West Bank by Jordan in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. At the end of hostilities, Jordan was in control of the West Bank. Following the December 1948 Jericho Conference, and the 1949 renaming of the country from Transjordan to Jordan and it was recognized by the United Kingdom, Iraq and Pakistan. Jordan transferred its citizenship to the residents of the West Bank, prior to hostilities in 1948, all of the country known as Palestine had been under the British-controlled Mandate Government of Palestine, since 1917. Prior to that time, the country had been under Ottoman Turk occupation since 1517, toward the expiration of the British Mandate, Arabs aspired for independence and self-determination, as did the Jews of the country. On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Gurion, on behalf of the Jewish leadership, declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, on 22 September 1948, the All-Palestine Government was established in Gaza captured by Egypt. On 30 September, the First Palestine Congress, which saw Palestine as part of Syria, the December 1948 Jericho Conference, a meeting of prominent Palestinian leaders and King Abdullah, voted in favor of annexation into what was then Transjordan. By the end of the war, Jordanian forces had control over the West Bank, on 3 April 1949, Israel and Jordan signed an armistice agreement. The main points included, Jordanian forces remained in most positions held in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Jordan withdrew its forces from its front posts overlooking the Sharon plain, in return, Israel agreed to allow Jordanian forces to take over positions in the West Bank previously held by Iraqi forces. The committee was never formed, and access to the Holy Places was denied to Israelis throughout the Jordanian occupation, the remainder of the area designated as part of an Arab state under the UN Partition Plan was partly occupied by Egypt, partly occupied and annexed by Israel. The intended international enclave of Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, the Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of East Jerusalem. All but one of the 35 synagogues in the Old City were destroyed over the course of the next 19 years, either razed or used as stables, many other historic and religiously significant buildings were replaced by modern structures. The United States, together with the United Kingdom favored the annexation by Transjordan, Jordan formally annexed the West Bank on 24 April 1950, giving all residents automatic Jordanian citizenship. West Bank residents had received the right to claim Jordanian citizenship in December 1949. Jordans annexation was regarded as illegal and void by the Arab League. A motion to expel Jordan from the League was prevented by the votes of Yemen. On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared the annexation was a temporary, practical measure, on 27 July 1953, King Hussein of Jordan announced that East Jerusalem was the alternative capital of the Hashemite Kingdom and would form an integral and inseparable part of Jordan
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Occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt
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The occupation of the Gaza Strip by Egypt occurred between 1948 and October 1956 and again from March 1957 to June 1967. From September 1948, until its dissolution by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1959, although largely symbolic, the government was recognized by most members of the Arab League. Following its dissolution, Egypt did not annex the Gaza Strip, after World War I, the League of Nations granted Great Britain authority over certain former Ottoman territories, including the Gaza Strip. What became known as the British Mandate for Palestine was formally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations on 24 July 1922, after World War II, the British Mandate of Palestine came to an end. The surrounding Arab nations were emerging from colonial rule. Egypt, while independent, signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 that included provisions by which Britain would maintain a garrison of troops on the Suez Canal. From 1945, Egypt attempted to renegotiate the terms of this treaty, on 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly approved a plan to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. In the immediate aftermath of the adoption of this plan, civil war broke out in the Mandate territory, after capturing the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan. The name of the state was changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 1 December 1948, on 7 January 1949, a truce was achieved. Israeli forces proceeded to withdraw from Sinai and Gaza, on 24 February 1949, the Israel–Egypt Armistice Agreement was signed in Rhodes. The All-Palestine Government was an entity established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, after the War, the Gaza Strip was the only former-Mandate territory under the jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government. However, the members of the Government were consequently removed to Cairo, according to Avi Shlaim, he contrast between the pretensions of the All-Palestine Government and its capability quickly reduced it to the level of farce. It claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Palestine, yet it had no administration, no service, no money. Even in the enclave around the town of Gaza its writ ran only by the grace of the Egyptian authorities. France and the United Kingdom supported Israel in its determination that the canal should remain open to all nations as per the Convention, on October 29,1956, Israel, France and the United Kingdom invaded the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula initiating the 1956 Suez War. Under international pressure, the Anglo-French Task Force withdrew before the end of 1956, in 1959, as he sought to incorporate the Arab nations as a single state, Nassers pan-Arab policies prompted him to abolish the All-Palestine Government. In 1959, the Gaza Strip under the All-Palestine Government was officially merged into the short lived United Arab Republic, all references to an independent Gaza were abolished and Egyptian administration was officially imposed. In this move, Nasser de facto canceled any official Palestinian self-rule, in 1962 the Egyptian government established a Palestinian Legislative Council elected by the population
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History of Israel
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The History of Israel encompasses the Jewish history in the Land of Israel, as well as the history of the modern State of Israel. Modern Israel and the West Bank are roughly located on the site of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and it is the birthplace of the Hebrew language and of the Abrahamic religions, and contains sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Samaritanism, Druze and Baháí Faith. Although coming under the sway of various empires and home to a variety of ethnicities, the area became increasingly Christian after the 3rd century and then largely Muslim following the 7th century conquest and until the middle of the 20th century. A Jewish national movement, Zionism, emerged in the late-19th century, Israeli independence in 1948 was marked by massive migration of Jews from both Europe and the Muslim countries to Israel, and of Arabs from Israel, followed by the extensive Arab–Israeli conflict. About 43% of the worlds Jews live in Israel today, the largest Jewish community in the world, since about 1970, the United States has become the principal ally of Israel. In 1979 an uneasy Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was signed, based on the Camp David Accords, in 1993, Israel signed Oslo I Accord with the Palestine Liberation Organization, followed by establishment of the Palestinian National Authority and in 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty was signed. Despite efforts to finalize the agreement, the conflict continues to play a major role in Israeli and international political, social. The economy of Israel was initially primarily socialist and the country dominated by social democratic parties until the 1970s, since then the Israeli economy has gradually moved to capitalism and a free market economy, partially retaining the social welfare system. Between 2.6 and 0.9 million years ago, at least four episodes of dispersal from Africa to the Levant are known. The oldest evidence of humans in the territory of modern Israel. The flint tool artifacts have been discovered at Yiron, the oldest stone tools found anywhere outside Africa, other groups include 1.4 million years old Acheulean industry, the Bizat Ruhama group and Gesher Bnot Yaakov. Other notable Paleolithic sites include caves Qesem and Manot, the oldest fossils of anatomically modern humans found outside Africa are the Skhul and Qafzeh hominids, who lived in northern Israel 120,000 years ago. Around 10th millennium BCE, the Natufian culture existed in the area, during the 2nd millennium BCE, Canaan, part of which later became known as Israel, was dominated by the New Kingdom of Egypt from c.1550 to c. The first record of the name Israel occurs in the Merneptah stele, erected for Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah c.1209 BCE, Israel is laid waste and his seed is not. William G. Dever sees this Israel in the highlands as a cultural and probably political entity. Ancestors of the Israelites may have included Semites native to Canaan, the first use of grapheme-based writing originated in the area, probably among Canaanite peoples resident in Egypt. All modern alphabetical writing systems are descended from this writing, written evidence of the use of Classical Hebrew exists from about 1000 BCE. It was written using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, villages had populations of up to 300 or 400, which lived by farming and herding, and were largely self-sufficient, economic interchange was prevalent
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Israeli Military Governorate
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The governance was based on the Fourth Geneva Convention, which provides guidelines for military rule in occupied areas. East Jerusalem was the exception from this order, and it was effectively added to Jerusalem municipal area as early as 1967. The Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty led Israel to give up the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 and transform the military rule in the Gaza Strip, the Western part of Golan Heights was effectively annexed by Israel the same year, thus abolishing the Military Governorate system entirely. The Six Day War began on June 5,1967, with Israel launching surprise strikes against Egyptian air-fields in response to the mobilization of Egyptian forces on the Israeli border, a period of high tension had preceded the war. N. Buffer force from the Sinai Peninsula, within six days, Israel had won a decisive land war. Israeli forces had control of the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan. The resulting expansion of territory led to the establishment of a government on those territories to run the affairs of Arab populations falling under Israeli military rule. Overall, Israels territory grew by a factor of three, including one million Arabs placed under Israels direct control in the newly captured territories. East Jerusalem was the exception from this order, and it was effectively added to Jerusalem municipal area as early as 1967. The creation of an administration for the West Bank and Gaza Strip was included within the Camp David Accords signed by Egypt. The nature of civil administration body was defined in Military Order No. 947, by the 1981 military government of the West Bank, the Western part of Golan Heights was effectively annexed to Israel the same year, thus abolishing the Military Governorate system entirely. Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Official COGAT/MATPASH Website
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Israeli Civil Administration
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The Civil Administration is the Israeli governing body that operates in the West Bank. It was established by the government of Israel in 1981, in order to carry out practical bureaucratic functions within the territories captured by Israel in 1967, while formally separate, it was subordinate to the Israeli military and the Shin Bet. The Civil Administration is a part of an entity known as Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. After 2002, the distinction set forth in the Oslo Accords restricting Israeli military operations in area A was de facto terminated, the creation of a civil administration for the West Bank and Gaza Strip was incorporated within the Camp David Accords, signed by Egypt and Israel in 1978. The Civil Administration intended to exchange the military government Israel had established in 1967, the Camp David Accords did not include the Palestine Liberation Organization in the talks over issues of the Palestinian-claimed territories. A modification which preceded the creation of the body was a change in the chain of command. The nature of body was defined in Military Order No. 947, by the 1981 military government of the West Bank and Gaza, after the creation of the Civil Administration, civil affairs were not separated with the military. At the managerial level, most of the staffers were Israelis, the internal security service Shin Bet was also deeply involved behind the scenes. Thomas Friedman describes it as an euphemism for military administration, and it was suspected by Palestinians. Twenty-five West Bank mayors called for its abolition, the Israeli military arrested the rioters, the militarys role extended to appointments, licenses and permits, and legislative powers. The Civil Administration was used as a front to dispense patronage among the occupied population, there was an attempt to create Village Leagues by Menachem Milson in 1978, who later became the head of the Civil Administration. The Village Leagues consisted of a coalition of rural thugs. who had no standing in the community, the Palestinians saw the Leagues as a collection of collaborators and traitors. Political factions and the PLO were outlawed by the Israeli military, with a policy of divide. This policy of co-optation was combined with Iron Fist operations of the then Defense Minister, through the implementation of the Oslo Accords agreed upon by Israel and the PLO, the Civil Administration transferred some of its governance capacities to the Palestinian National Authority in 1994. Since 1994, the Civil Administration has largely focused on involving the issuing of movement permits. Upon the implementation of Israels unilateral disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip in 2005, additionally, the MATPASH Unit promotes humanitarian issues, infrastructure projects, and economical projects. The Civil Administration is practically a counterpart of the Interior Ministry of Israel, after 2002, with Operation Defensive Shield, the agreement in the Oslo Accords disallowing Israeli military operations in Area A was effectively abolished by the latter
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Palestinian National Authority
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Following elections in 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, its authority had extended only in areas A and B of the West Bank. Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority uses the name State of Palestine on official documents, the Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body. Further negotiations were then meant to place between the two parties regarding its final status. The remainder of the territories, including Israeli settlements, the Jordan Valley region, East Jerusalem was excluded from the Accords. In the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006, Hamas emerged victorious, however, the national unity Palestinian government effectively collapsed, when a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah erupted, mainly in the Gaza Strip. The move wasnt recognized by Hamas, thus resulting in two separate administrations – the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and a rival Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. The reconciliation process to unite the Palestinian governments achieved some progress over the years, the PA received financial assistance from the European Union and the United States. All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006, as a result of the Hamas victory in parliamentary elections, shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. In November 2012, the United Nations voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member UN observer state, the Palestinian Authority was created by the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, pursuant to the 1993 Oslo Accords. The administrative responsibilities accorded to the PA were limited to civil matters and internal security, Palestinians in the diaspora and inside Israel were not eligible to vote in elections for the offices of the Palestinian Authority. General elections were held for its first legislative body, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the expiration of the bodys term was 4 May 1999, but elections were not held because of the prevailing coercive situation. Bush stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005 was unlikely due to instability and we will give the Palestinian Authority technical help by sending equipment, training people. We will give the Palestinian Authority helicopters and also communication equipment, the Palestinian Authority became responsible for civil administration in some rural areas, as well as security in the major cities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This increased the percentage of land in the Gaza Strip nominally governed by the PA from 60 percent to 100 percent, Palestinian legislative elections took place on 25 January 2006. Hamas was victorious and Ismail Haniyeh was nominated as Prime Minister on 16 February 2006, Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet suspension of its foreign assistance program and Israel imposed economic sanctions. In an attempt to resolve the financial and diplomatic impasse, the Hamas-led government together with Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas agreed to form a unity government, as a result, Haniyeh resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the agreement. The unity government was formed on 18 March 2007 under Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and consisted of members from Hamas, Fatah and other parties. The situation in the Gaza strip however quickly deteriorated into a feud between the Hamas and Fatah, which eventually resulted in the Brothers War
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Palestine portal
listen)) is a city in the Palestinian Territories and is located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Governorate, and is governed by the Fatah faction of the Palestinian National Authority.[2] In 2007, it had a population of 18,346.[3] The city was occupied by Jordan from 1949 to 1967, and has been held under Israeli occupation since 1967; administrative control was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994.[4][5] It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world[6][7][8] and the city with the oldest known protective wall in the world.[9] It was thought to have the oldest stone tower in the world as well, but excavations at Tell Qaramel in Syria have discovered stone towers that are even older.[10][11]
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