The 1948 Arab-Israeli War lasted until a ceasefire agreement was signed in 1949 on the island of Rhodes. The Arabs lost about 20% of the land that they were originally allotted in the UN Partition Plan, and even the land that they received here was annexed to Jordan in the east and Egypt in the south. These lines held until the 1967 “Six-Day War.”
This map shows the compromise plan drawn by a series of United Nations committees to divide the land between its Jewish and Arab residents. Jerusalem (in white, in the middle of the map) was meant to become an international zone under UN administration. The plan was accepted by Jewish leaders, and voted as the borders of the new State of Israel in 1948, but it was rejected by Arab leaders. This disparity led to the declaration of war in 1948.
This map was published by the Palestine Arab Refugee office and represents developments from 1945–1949. The areas in red show Jewish land owned in March of 1945. The black lines show the proposed 1947 UN Partition Plan (“J” for Jewish State, and “A” for Arab State). The city of Jerusalem would become an international zone ("IZ"). The red-dotted line shows the Rhodes Armistice boundary after the Arab-Israeli Civil War in 1949.
Izz ad din Al-Qassam was a controversial Muslim religious activist in the 1920–30s. He opposed foreign influence on Arab lands and led resistance movements in multiple countries against the French, Italians, British, and Zionists. After immigrating to Palestine, he became popular among lower classes and disenfranchised Arab tenant farmers, some of whom moved to Haifa after their farms were sold to Jews. His radical political views brought him into conflict with other secular Arab leaders. Al-Qassam organized hundreds of men into small cell groups to carry out violent acts. His dramatic martyr-style death inspired masses of Arabs towards violent resistance, which erupted in the 1936–39 Arab Revolt. Modern groups such as Hamas, derive their ideology from the vision of Al-Qassam.
The Suez Canal is a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea (the large body of water in the image) to the Mediterranean Sea, barely visible at the top. The Suez Canal is on the top left side of the Sinai Peninsula. The Canal was originally designed in 1854 by the French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps. It was strongly opposed by the British for the possible negative effects it would have on British global trade. The British, however, eventually bought a 44% share in the canal in 1875 from Egypt. The Suez Canal was a major point of contention in the 1956 conflict, known as the “Suez Crisis” (or “Sinai War”), when the Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Canal and seized its waterways, leading to a series of military conflicts, culminating in the 1967 Six-Day war.
Mamluk Architecture in the Old City of Jerusalem
The Mamluks (1250–1517 CE) introduced many unique styles of architecture to Jerusalem. The vaulted doorway pictured here is an example of a finely crafted recessed stone arch encased with a klebo design of interlaced stone blocks of dark and light colors.
Yarmuk River: Islamic Period significance
The Yarmuk river flows east-to-west, forming the modern political border between Syria and Jordan. The Yarmuk empties into the Jordan River just south of the Sea of Galilee, where it also marks the border between Jordan and Israel. The Yarmuk River was the site of a famous military victory by the Arab Rashidun Caliphate over the Byzantine Empire (636 CE), after which the Islamic forces established their supremacy over Syria. The brilliant military strategist, Khalid ibn al-Walid, trapped the Byzantine army by outflanking them on the north, thus pinning them against the ravine to the west and the Yarmuk River to the south.
This image shows the famous Colosseum of Rome. It was built by Vespasian and Titus (70–80 CE) and reflects their efforts to elevate the imperial profile of the Flavian Dynasty. At the center of the Colosseum, a retractable floor once covered an intricate labyrinth of corridors and rooms. These stored lions, bears, gladiators, and weapons. To build the Colosseum was extremely expensive. It was funded by the slave auction of the Jewish captives from the Great Revolt against Rome in Judaea (66–70 CE).
Pastoral scenery in the hills of Judaea, between Bethlehem and Jerusalem
Shepherds and flocks of sheep, as pictured here, are frequent themes in the Hebrew Bible – David, who’s native town was Bethlehem was a Shepherd. Goats, sheep, and shepherds also comprise the socio-economic context in some Gospel stories.
This is a south-north aerial view of the ancient port-city Caesarea Maritima, one of King Herod’s most extravagant building projects (22-10 BCE). It was built in honor of Caesar Augustus, and became the capital of Roman Judaea around 6 CE. The eastern Mediterranean lacks a natural harbor, so Herod imported massive stones and built a wave breaker (part of which can be seen protruding from the beach in the upper third of the picture) which supported an artificial enclosed port. This port dramatically increased the revenue flowing into Herod’s kingdom and rivaled the famous ports of Alexandria and Athens. Herod also made Caesarea the epicenter of Greco-Roman culture in Israel. At the bottom of the image, one can see the remains of the ancient theater (circular structure). Just to the left, jutting out into the ocean, was Herod’s palace. A race track follows the coast north, and leads up to the location where a temple to Augustus once stood. This overlooked the main harbor. At the top of the image, one can see the end of the aqueduct that brought fresh water from a spring near the base of Mount Carmel, which was 7 miles away, a remarkable feat of engineering.
This map shows the eastern coastal cities of ancient Phoenicia (modern Lebanon) and its natural resources. These ancient cities were loosely connected and politically independent, but they shared a common Canaanite culture. During the Iron Age (1200–600 BCE), the Phoenicians amassed great wealth from seafaring trade, including cedar, glass, wine, cloth, and a famous purple dye from the Murex sea snail, native to the coastal waters. With a booming economy, they began to establish colonies across the Mediterranean, most important of which was Carthage in North Africa. Over time, Phoenician society dissolved with successive waves of invasions by the Babylonians, Persians, and then Greeks. This led to a shift in the center of Phoenician culture towards Carthage, until Rome vanquished the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War (146 BCE). Both the origin and demise of the Phoenicians is debated, but they seem to have assimilated with Greeks and Romans.
Kurkar Ridge along Seashore Coastal Plain
The coast of northern Israel, between Tel Aviv and Haifa, is characterized by “kurkar” ridges. The term “kurkar” refers to sea-sand that has hardened into rock. This results from a mineral reaction between the sea water and shore sediments producing a carbonate cement. This naturally occurring phenomenon has preserved this part of the coast from development because the cement-like ridges posed an obstacle to the construction of sea ports.
Mortuary Temple of Ramesses III (Medinet Habu, Luxor, Egypt)
This image shows the burial-temple complex of Ramesses III (1186–1155 BCE), one of the last powerful Egyptian kings. The walls display an impressive array of inscriptions, hieroglyphics, and decorated reliefs. Some tell the story of the rise of the “Sea People” known as the “Peleshet.” These are the biblical Philistines, from which the modern term “Palestine” is derived. Ramesses inscriptions boast of victory over the Peleshet, but this probably includes more exaggeration than fact. Such boasting, at any rate, attests to the growing presence of sea-faring people into the eastern Mediterranean who sought to escape the economic crisis of the late Bronze Age. These “Sea People” ventured east and filled a power vacuum left by diminution of the Egyptians and Hittites.
This image shows Tel Hazor looking west. The six-chambered gate is near the center of the image. There appear to be eight chambers, but the front square sections are remains of two tower foundations, guarding the entrance. Notice where the “casemate” city walls extend to the right and left. The towers protrude past the city wall in order to flank anyone who would attack the wall directly. The roofed area in the image, to the top left, is a modern building that covers the ancient Canaanite palace/temple. Hazor was an international hub of trade in the Bronze Age, and later, during the Iron Age, turned into a fortified Israelite city. Many debates remain among historians and archaeologists about the role of Hazor in ancient Israelite history and religion.
This is an aerial image of the remains of Tel Hazor (Tell el-Qedah), an ancient city north of the Sea of Galilee, in the Hula Valley of northern Israel. At the top left of this picture, the square-like stone structures are the remains of a distinctive six-chambered gate (only half of which is shown in the picture). Such gates have three chambers on each side. The smaller square at the top of this image is the foundation of a tower. The wall extending to the right is known as a “casemate” wall. This was a hollow wall that could be filled with weapons or supplies for the city. Hazor was one of the most important pre-Israelite fortified cities of the Bronze Age. The site was later inhabited by the Israelites during the reign of King Solomon.
Tell Beit Mirsim is a site in southern Israel, about 13 miles southwest of Hebron. Albright excavated this site on multiple occasions in the 1920s and 30s. He is shown at the top of the picture with a white hat. Local Arabs worked with Albright on these early digs.
Albright (1891-1971) was an American archaeologist and biblical scholar. He became the foremost proponent of “biblical archaeology,” a movement that attempted to authenticate events, people, and ideas found in the Bible through scientific, archaeological excavations. Albright used the stratigraphic method of excavating a “tel” (hill) by digging down and studying how each layer or cross section relates to the layers above and below. This includes examining the distinct material from each layer, such as pottery, debris, coins, sediment, or building ruins that have piled up over time. Albright directed important excavations at Hazor and Megiddo.
Shown here is a potter working from a shop in the southern part of the Central Hill, spinning a wheel to shape clay into a pot. Behind him, one can see finished examples before they are fired in a kiln to remove moisture, hardening the clay into durable ceramic vessels. Today, hand-crafted pottery is made essentially the same way as it was thousands of years ago. The development of ceramic vessels around 6000 BCE revolutionized the transportation of food and water, increased economic prosperity, and led to population growth. Because pottery was everywhere in the ancient world, and portrays various styles over time, scholars can use pottery found during archaeological digs to provide relative dates for layers or “strata” of habitation.
This image shows a reconstruction of homo erectus (“upright man”). Behind homo erectus is a map of migration routes— beginning in Africa, near the origins of the Nile in Kenya and Uganda, and extending north, along the Syrian-African Rift, through Israel (Ubeidiya) and into Europe. The rift caused the collection of fresh water, thus supporting human habitation. The settlement at Ubeidiya, just south of the Sea of Galilee, is one of our earliest windows into the nascent stages of human development.
This is the skull of homo erectus (“upright man”), the predecessor to the homo sapien. The skull is now held at the University of Michigan, Museum of Natural Sciences. Evidence for homo erectus has been found in Israel at various sites, in particular at Tel Ubeidiya, south of the Sea of Galilee.
This map shows the demographics of modern Jerusalem by color. The total population is over 800,000 with about 65% Jewish (blue) and 32% Arab (yellow). Pictured also are two important lines: (1) the red-dotted line marks the municipal boundary of the 1949 Rhodes Armistice Agreement, demarcating the Israeli controlled area from 1949-1967; (2) the solid black line encompasses an enlarged municipal boundary, showing the area under Israeli control since the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan. Importantly, the Old City and the Temple Mount are in the Israeli occupied territory east of the 1949 red-dotted line. Jerusalem is at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as both groups consider it their capital.
The different colors of the map show different areas of sovereignty in modern Israel and Palestine. The light tan color is the modern State of Israel within the borders recognized by the international community in 1948-9. Israel shares a border with Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. The areas in light green are the territories conquered by Israel in 1967 – the Gaza strip (from Egypt, along with the Sinai, which has since been returned to Egypt), the West Bank (from Jordan), and the Golan Heights (from Syria).
Rahat (Arabic for “desert dwellers”) is a well-known Bedouin city, home to people of mostly semi-nomadic Arab descent. The city is north of Be’er Sheva, in the northern Negev, between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It holds about 60,000 people the majority of whom are Muslim, as evident in this image from the minarets (“beacons”) of the mosques that are visible along the skyline. In modern Israel, the Bedouins are a recognized minority with equal rights of Israeli Jewish citizens—they vote in Israeli elections and enroll in the Israeli army. Still, many problems remain as to their integration into Israeli society.
Modern Be’er Sheva is in southern Israel, where the climate is arid. It is the largest city in the Negev, and home to many global Jewish cultural traditions, represented especially by Sephardic (Spanish), Mizrahi (Egyptian, Iraqi), as well as Jews of Indian decent. Today, Be’er Sheva is a flourishing city with a top university and prosperous soccer team. The archaeological evidence for Be’er Sheva dates back to the Iron Age, where it appears to have been the first planned town in the Negev. It was also one of the earliest sites to develop an elaborate man-made water system.
This image looks east over the Dead Sea towards the Jordanian hills. The Dead Sea is 31 miles long and 9 miles wide. It is situated along the Syrian-African Rift, and is the lowest place on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea is fed by the Jordan river at its northern end, but the high banks at the southern end cordon off the water so that it cannot flow out. The fresh water mixes with the sediments of the ground resulting in the extreme salinity of the water, estimated to be over 9 times saltier than the ocean. Fish and plant life is thus impossible. The Dead Sea, however, is rich in mineral resources, such as potash, salt, and fertilizers, which are used for cosmetic products that are exported throughout the world.
This picture shows a portion of the Central Hill rising up from the Seashore plaines, looking east. Over the Hill is the Dead Sea and the Jordan River. The Central Hill is a rectangular topographic feature that runs north and south through central Israel. It comprises a series of interconnected hills, and roughly corresponds to the area known as the West Bank. At the front of the picture are the archaeological remains of the Iron Age town Beit Shemesh, located in a region called the Shefelah, a narrow area of lowland foothills between the Central Hill and the Seashore plains.
Pictured here, looking west towards the Mediterranean, are the modern neighborhoods of Gaza city [population of over 515,000], the largest city in the Palestinian Territories. Gaza is historically significant as a nexus of ancient Mediterranean culture and a major hub of seafaring trade throughout the 1st millennia BCE. The city is located along the Gaza Strip, a small parcel of Palestinian territory about 25 miles long and ranging from 3 to 7 miles wide (at various points).
Tel-Aviv has become today the most important economic center of Israel. Jewish immigrants began settling in the area in the 1880’s, but the city was not officially established until the early 1900’s. It is outlined in this image by the high-rise buildings in the center and north of the city, where global businesses and luxury residences are found. The southern part of the city, known as Jaffa (Yafo), is a famous ancient port city that played a vital role in the economic prosperity of the region in antiquity. The red-roofed buildings, behind the green seaside park, and east of the modern wave-breaker, show this area. Jews live primarily in the north, while Jaffa is home mostly to Arabs. In 1950 Tel-Aviv and Yafo merged into one Israeli municipality, with one elected mayor governing both; it offers a system of dual existence with mixed neighborhoods and even a mixed school, but tensions between the populations still simmer beneath the surface and erupt from time to time.
The land of Israel (circled in red) though small in size, occupies one of the great crossroads of the ancient world. The global superpowers of the ancient Near East (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia) coveted this area, either as a buffer between warring empires (e.g., Egypt and Assyria) or for its access to important trade routes running through an area that resembles a bottleneck in northern Israel.
How should one define the geographic entity known as the “Middle East”? Scholars have diverging views based on political, demographic, and historical factors. The natural topographic and geological features of the region provide a helpful starting point, in particular, the major bodies of water. The “Middle East” can be drawn by tracing the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, down to the Nile River, and then continuing south to include the Red Sea, then east to the Persian Gulf, then north to the southern part of the Caspian Sea. Lastly, this demarcation continues west towards Turkey and the Mediterranean.
The areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea have played a pivotal role in the history of the ancient world. On the northern coast, from west to east, we encounter the regions of Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, and the Black Sea. On the southern coast we find Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. The land of Israel/Palestine is on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
This map shows an aerial view of the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding regions. The Black Sea is directly above the eastern part of the Mediterranean and the Caspian Sea is further east. The European continent is north of the Mediterranean, with North Africa to the south and the Middle East to the east, covering the regions between Egypt and Iran.
Caesar Augustus, arguably the first Emperor of Rome (scholars disagree over whether to call Julius Caesar the first "Emperor"), was born Gaius Octavius (he took the name "Augustus" after he became the Caesar of Rome). He was adopted as a son by Julius Caesar, who was his maternal great-uncle. He was responsible for great building projects in Rome and is famous for having said, "I found Rome a city of clay and leave it a city of marble." His reign initiated a period of relative peace in the Mediterranean known as the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace).
This image shows an ancient manuscript with Hebrew writing from the 2nd century CE. This document, along with others, were found in the “Cave of Letters,” located in Nahal Hever, a canyon near the Dead Sea. In total, about 14 letters were sent from Simeon Bar Kokhba, a messianic leader of the Jewish rebels against Rome, to his commanders stationed north at Ein Gedi. They demanded the confiscation of grain from nearby farmers and threatened to punish anyone who did not obey. Another 35 documents belong to the “archive of Babatha,” a prominent Jewish woman who owned land and slaves. This all took place during the Second Jewish War with Rome—known as the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE)—when Jewish fighters hid these documents in caves. They hoped to retrieve them later. The letters comprise military correspondences, real estate contracts, legal records, and religious texts. They remained buried for almost 2000 years until they were discovered in the 1950s.
Currency was issued by Jews during the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the Second Jewish War with Rome (132–135 CE). In the ancient world, minting your own money was a statement of political autonomy. It symbolized open rebellion if one group was subordinate to another. Many of the Bar Kokhba coins were also “overstruck,” which means that original Roman coins were effaced, and re-struck with Jewish symbols. This was another act of rebellion. Roman deities and kings were filed off and replaced with the Temple or the Ark of the Covenant. In the coin pictured here, two trumpets are surrounded by the inscription “For the Freedom of Jerusalem.” A harp appears on the opposite side, and reads “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel.” The coin was probably struck in 134 CE, two years after the beginning of the revolt.
Jerusalem
Nebi Samuel
During the crusader period (1095–1291 CE) several European style castles were built in the land of Israel. These are located in geographically strategic locations. The Belvoir Castle, for example, was built by the Knights Hospitaller (a medieval Catholic military order) in northern Israel on a bluff overlooking the Jordan River valley, in eastern, lower Galilee. The castle guarded one of the roads leading to the Crusader “Kingdom of Jerusalem” to the south. The architecture of such castles is striking in the Middle East, because they include European style moats, useful where water was abundant, but an oddity in arid regions. The Belvoir Castle was built with two protective walls in concentric squares. After Saladin’s remarkable victory at the Horns of Hattin (1187 CE), the castle was besieged and fell to Arab rulers.
Paul was a Jew from Tarsus (modern Turkey). He embarked on three journeys to spread his ideas about the end of the world. His views were shaped by the Jewish scriptures which anticipated a time of divine judgment on all evil. At this time the world would be destroyed, but then recreated and restored. A divinely appointed leader, known as the “anointed one” (i.e., Messiah/Christ), was the figure to usher in the new world. Paul believed that Jesus, a Jew from Nazareth (Israel), was in fact this Messiah and that adherence to Jesus would secure passage through the time of judgment and into the era of restoration. Paul traveled the eastern Mediterranean and argued that Jesus was the key to salvation at the end of the world for both Jews and non-Jews. Many years later, these teachings became the basis of a new religion, called Christianity.
Jerusalem: phases of the ancient city walls
This image shows the growth of Jerusalem's walls and fortifications over the centuries of the Second Temple period (516BCE – 70CE). The first set of walls (in blue) shows the perimeter of the city during Hasmonean rule (second-first century BCE). King Herod added the Second Wall (Green) in late first century BCE to accommodate the extension of the city and the new neighborhood he added in the north. Note that the northern line of this wall and the way it connect to the fortress Antonia is disputed by modern scholars and the map shows a second alternative with the broken green line. The historian Josephus attributes the Third Wall (Red) to Herod Agrippa (41-44CE) and claims it was never really completed before the eruption of the great Revolt (in 66CE). Here too, the map shows two options for the northern line of this wall, one as suggested by the archaeologists Sukenik (at the top of the picture), and an alternative line that follows the walls of the current Old City. The present Old City Wall (Gray) was built by the Ottoman ruler Suleiman the Magnificent, completed in 1541 CE, and still stands to this day.
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking west and shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple itself (after King Herod's renovations). The Holy of Holies would have been at the far west of the main Temple building, behind the large doorway. The open-air altar stood in the inner court, between the large gate (known as the Gate of Nikanor) and the steps that are visible at the lower center of the photo. The walls in the immediate foreground (at the bottom of the photo) would have separated the Court of the Gentiles (where anybody was allowed) from the Court of the Women (where only Jews were allowed).
Jordan River: north of the Sea of Galilee
The main source of the Jordan River is located near Banias (Caesarea Philippi), 1,312 feet above sea level. It drops down into the Huleh Valley and then down to the Sea of Galilee and from there down to the Dead Sea (1,300 feet below sea level). This view of the upper Jordan River (above the Sea of Galilee) shows both the size and turbulence of the water and the more mountainous terrain of this part of the country.
Jerusalem: Model of the Antonia Fortress
This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking from north to south at the Antonia Fortress, which sat at the north edge of the Temple Mount complex (the Temple building of which can be seen behind it). The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks that was built by King Herod and was used to garrison Roman troops when Judaea was ruled by a Roman procurator.
Tiberias was founded by Herod Antipas in 20 CE and has been continuously occupied since then. It is located on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. At the top of the picture one sees the modern city of Tiberias which sits on the ruins of the Arab town. At the bottom of the picture is the Tiberian neighborhood known as Hammat Tiberias, which developed around the mineral springs that are located there. Between Hammat Tiberias and the modern city one can see an open, green space. That was the location of the Roman and then Byzantine cities. In 1033 CE an earthquake destroyed the Byzantine city and the Arab rulers rebuilt it to the north. At the top the hills of Upper Galilee are visible.
This photograph shows the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, originally commissioned in the 4th century CE by the emperor Constantine and built under the supervision of his mother Helen over a cave that they identified as the site of the birth of Jesus. The current building dates to the days of the emperor Justinian in the 6th century CE. The front of the church is marked by a large apse (to the right of the building with the red roof); the church itself has a shape of a cross. The big open square in front of the church (with all of the cars) is called Manger Square and is the place where people from all over the world gather to hear the mass on Christmas Eve.
This photograph shows the landscape around the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent nearly all of his life.
This map shows the region of Galilee. The circle is around the city of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up. The arrows point to the places that Jesus went during his ministry: toward Tyre and Sidon, on the Phoenician coast, and around the Sea of Galilee.
This map of Israel/Palestine in the time of Jesus shows the locations of Bethlehem and Nazareth, the two central sites associated with the birth of Jesus. Note also the anachronism in the previous statement: the region was not called 'Palestine' until a hundred years later, and was not called 'Israel' until more than 2,000 years later. Nazareth is in Galilee and Bethlehem is on the Central Hill, a few miles south of Jerusalem.
This map shows the gradual expansion of the Roman Empire around the Mediterranean between the years 100 BCE and 150 CE. Red areas indicate Roman control in 100 BCE; yellow areas indicate the extent of the empire at the time of Julius Caesar's death in 44 BCE; green areas indicate areas annexed by Augustus (27-14 BCE); and blue areas indicate regions annexed between the death of Augustus (14 BCE) and 150 CE.
St. Catherine's Monastery: Codex Sinaiticus
This photograph shows a page from the Codex Sinaiticus, which was created in the 4th century CE. The extant pages (400 of an estimated 730) contain the oldest complete manuscript of the New Testament. It was found at St. Katherine's Monastery in the Sinai Desert and procured under controversial circumstances by Konstantin von Tischendorf in the 19th century.