The Hellenistic Kingdoms after 198 BCE: Map
This map shows the divisions of the Hellenistic kingdoms after the Battle of Paneas in 198 BCE. After this point, the land of Israel/Palestine was controlled by the Seleucids. The Ptolemiac Kingdom continued to occupy Egypt and North Africa.
This photograph shows the back wall of the Sidonian Tomb at Maresha, called the 'Sidonian' Tomb because of an inscription designates the tomb's deceased as members of a Sidonian colony living at Maresha. Each of the openings on the walls is a 'loculus,' which is where the bodies of the deceased were placed. There were 41 loculi in total.
This map shows the extent of Alexander the Great's conquests on the eve of his death in 323 BCE. His empire stretched from Macedonia and Northern Greece in the west to the border of India in the east, and from the Black Sea in the north to Egypt in the south.
This detail photograph is from the 'Sidonian Tomb' at Maresha, so called because of an inscription that says that the deceased were members of a Sidonian colony at Maresha. In this photograph we see a painting of a horse-mounted hunter accompanied by a hunting dog spearing a leopard. The Greek inscription above the rider reads 'the white horse of the rider,' and the Greek word above the leopard says 'pardalos,' a variant of the Greek word for the animal ('pardalis').
This photograph shows the entrance stairs leading down into the Sidonian Tomb at Maresha, so called because of an inscription that says that the deceased who were buried here were members of a Sidonian community in Maresha. The paintings on the walls show a hunting scene.
This detail photograph is from the 'Sidonian Tomb,' so called because of an inscription that says that the deceased were members of a Sidonian colony living at Maresha. In this photograph we see paintings of animals from Egypt, along with their Greek names: a lynx (left), a porcupine (center), and perhaps a rhinoceros (right).
This map shows the regional divisions (eparchies) after the Battle of Paneas (198 BCE), when the Seleucids seized control of Israel/Palestine: Phoenicia, Samaria, Paralia, Idumaea, and Galaaditis.
This photograph shows one of the main streets of the 3rd century BCE city of Dor. This phase of the city was built under King Ptolemy II (285-246 BCE) on a Hippodamian plan (i.e., a checkerboard pattern of city blocks) and had an advanced sewage system (note the drain cutting across the street at an angle in the center of the picture) and was supplied by an aqueduct. Shops opened into the street on both sides, and apartments would have stood above the shops.
This map shows the regional divisions (hyparchies) in the Ptolemaic Period (i.e., 312-198 BCE): Phoenicia, Galilee, Samaria, Judaea, Perea, Ammonitis, Moabitis, and Idumaea.