Palestine

It is the historical area that lies on the Eastern Cost of the Mediterranean Sea in South East Asia.

History:

The Canaanites were the earliest known inhabitants of Palestine.  They became urbanized and lived in city states, one of which was Jericho.  They developed an alphabet that contributed to the development of other writings.  Palestine's location made it the meeting place for religious and cultural influences from Egypt, Syria and other surrounding countries.  It was also the battleground for the great powers of the region and subject to domination by empires, beginning with Egypt in the 3^rd millennium BC.

Egyptian power began to weaken and new invaders appeared, such as the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia and Philistines(after whom the country was named)people of Indo- European stock.

The Hebrews conquered parts of Palestine. They settled in the hill country as they were unable to conquer all of Palestine.

The confederation of Hebrew tribes called the Israelites finally defeated the Canaanites but their struggle with the Philistines was more difficult. The Philistines had established an independent state on the Southern Coast of Palestine, controlling Jerusalem.

Philistines were superior in military organization therefore they defeated the Israelis in about 1050 BC . The great King of Israel, David, defeated the Philistines in 1000BC and eventually assimilated with the Canaanites. 

King David was able to establish a large independent state with Jerusalem as the Capital.

After the death of King David’s son, Solomon, the kingdom was divided into Israel in the North and Judah in the South.

Nearby empires resumed their expansion and the divided Israelites could no longer stay independent, Israel fell to Assyria in 722 BC.

In 586 BC Judah was conquered by Babylonia,  they destroyed Jerusalem and exiled most Jews living there. Nebuchnezzar  entered Jerusalem, the Temple was brought to the ground and the royal palace was destroyed. The people were carried off in chains to Babylon.

In 539 BC, Cyrus of  Persia conquered Babylonia and permitted the Jews to return to Judea, a district of  Palestine.  The Jews were allowed  considerable autonomy under Persian rule.  They rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem and the Torah became the code of social life and religious observance.

In 333BC  Persian domination of Palestine was replaced by the Greeks when Alexander the Great of Macedonia took the region.  His successors, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria ruled the country. The Seleucids tried to impose Greek Culture and religion on the people.

141-63 BC the Jews revolted and set up an independent State.

In 132-35 BC, the Jew revolts erupted, numerous Jews were killed and many were sold into slavery.  The rest were not allowed to visit Jerusalem and Judea was renamed Syria Palaistina.

In 63 BC Jerusalem was invaded by Rome.  Herod was the appointed king of Judea.  He slaughtered the last of the Hasmoneans and ordered a lavish restoration and extension of the second temple.  A period of Great Civil disorder followed.

During the rule of King Herod, Jesus may peace be upon him was born, years later he began his teaching mission.  His attempts to call people back to the teachings of Abraham and Moses were judged subversive by the authorities.  He was trialed and sentenced to death.

In 70AD Titus of Rome laid a siege on Jerusalem.  the temple eventually fell. Titus ordered a complete destruction of the Herodian  temple. Aelia was built by the Romans on the ruins of Jerusalem.

In 313AD the Roman emperor Constantine I legalized Christianity, his mother visited Jerusalem and Palestine become the focus of Christian Pilgrimage.  A golden age of prosperity and security followed and most of the population become Christian.

Byzantine (Rome) rule was interrupted by a brief Persian occupation that ended when Muslim Arab armies invaded Palestine. The people were eager to be rid of their Byzantine overlords and were aware of their shared heritage with the Arabs along with the Muslim reputation for mercy and compassion in victory,  the people of Jerusalem handed over the city after a brief siege.  They made only one condition, that the terms of their surrender be only negotiated with the Khalif himself (Omer).  The Khalif entered Jerusalem on foot,  there was no bloodshed.

Those who wanted to leave were allowed  to and those who wanted to stay were granted protection of their lives, properly and places of worship.

The Muslim rulers didn’t impose their religion on the Palestinians and more then a century passed before the majority converted to Islam.  The remaining Christians and Jews were allowed autonomous control in their communities and were guaranteed security and freedom of worship.

In 750AD the power shifted to Baghdad with the Abbasids, Palestine was neglected.  It suffered unrest and successive domination by Seljuks, Fatimids and European crusaders.

In 1187, in the battle of Hittin in Palestine, Saladin of Egypt defeated the crusaders and liberated Palestine.

Palestine was under Arab Islamic rule again. Then in 1517 the Ottoman conquest for most of the Arab world, not Palestine.  Palestine remained under Ottoman rule till 1918.

 In 1882 came the first wave of Jewish immigrants.  Then the second wave of immigrants between 1904 and 1914.

In 1915, Shareef Hussain and Henry McMahon  the British Commissioner in Egypt, exchanged correspondence guaranteeing Arab independence in return for the Arab revolt against the Ottomans.

On the 16^th of May, 1916, Britain and France signed the Sykes-Picot agreement, dividing the Ottomans Middle East provinces among themselves.

On the 2^nd of November, 1917, Lord Author Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary sent a letter (later known as the Balfour declaration) to Lord Edmund de Rothschild supporting the establishment of a Jewish National home in Palestine.

In 1918 Britain occupied Palestine then on the 24^th of April, 1920, the San Remo Conference granted Britain mandate over Palestine.

An Arab revolt erupted in Palestine between 1936 and 1939.

On the 17^th of May, 1939, the British Government restricted Jewish Immigration and land purchases in Palestine.

On the 29^th of November, 1947, the UN Special Committee on Palestine recommended the partition of Palestine into an Arab State and a Jewish State.

On the 14^th of May, 1948, The Mandate over Palestine officially ended and the Zionists proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel.  The U.S extended full diplomatic recognition of Israel.       

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