The Holy Land: Understanding its History in the Past and Present English 2: Six Rivers Charter High School

Warm-Up Quiz 1.What is the Holy Land? 2.Where is the Holy Land located? 3.Why is the Holy Land holy? 4.Which religions consider the Holy Land the Holy Land? 5.Which country currently controls the Holy Land? 6.What are some current conflicts in the modern day Holy Land?

Importance of Location: Then and Now Then: The center of trade routes linking three continents. Meeting place for religious and cultural influences from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. Natural battleground for the great powers of the region and subject to domination by adjacent empires. Now: Center of three world religions Rich in oil and other exports.

The Succession of Power in Israel/Palestine Egypt Smaller Groups (Hebrews, Philistines, Canaanites, Babylonians, Greeks) Romans Arab Nations Ottoman Empire British Mandate Israel/Palestine

Historical Timeline of Palestine--Israel 3rd millennium BC : The Canaanites, led by Abraham were the earliest known inhabitants of the Palestine/Israel. They became urbanized and lived in city-states.

New Cultures 14th century BC :The Hebrews--a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia, and the Philistines BC : The Israelites, a confederation of Hebrew tribes, defeated the Canaanites. Philistines had established an independent state on the southern coast of Palestine and controlled the Canaanite town of Jerusalem BC : Philistines with there superior in military organization and using iron weapons, they severely defeated the Israelites.

1 st Millennium BC 1000 BC : David, Israel's great king, defeats the Philistines. David establishes a large independent state, with its capital at Jerusalem. 922 BC: David's son Solomon begins his rule. 960 BC: Solomon builds first great temple in Jerusalem.

Detailed Description of Solomon’s Temple

Persian and Macedonian Rule 333 BC : Persian domination of Palestine was replaced by Greek rule. Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the region. Following Alexander’s brief control of the region, Jerusalem changes hands 25+ times by different cultures!

The Jewish Revolt BC: Jews Revolted set up an independent state. 63 BC : Jerusalem was overrun by Rome. Herod was appointed King of Judea and builds the Second- Great-Temple.

Jesus and Mount of Olives 37-4 BC : Jesus of Nazareth was born. His attempts to call people back to the pure teachings of Abraham and Moses were judged subversive by the authorities. He was tried and sentenced to death.

Roman Rule 70 AD : Titus of Rome laid siege to Jerusalem. Titus ordered the total destruction of the 2 nd Great Temple. This is the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora ( ). 313 AD : Palestine received special attention when the Roman emperor Constantine I legalized Christianity. His mother, Helena, visited Palestine, as the Holy Land. Became a focus of Christian pilgrimage. 324 AD : Constantine rebuilt the city walls, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and opened the city for Christian pilgrimage.

Arab Conquest 638 AD The Arab conquest began 1300 years of Muslim presence in what then became known as Filastin. Palestine was holy to Muslims because the Prophet Muhammad had designated Jerusalem as the first qibla (the direction Muslims face when praying). He was believed to have ascended on a night journey to heaven from the the old city of Jerusalem (al-Aqsa Mosque today) where the Dome of the Rock was later built. Jerusalem became the third holiest city of Islam. Muslim rulers did not force their religion on the Palestinians. The majority converted to Islam.

The Dome of the Rock

Shifts in Power and the Crusades 750 AD : Arab power shifted from Jerusalem to Baghdad and Palestine became neglected. Suffered unrest and successive domination by European Crusaders ( ). Muslims preserved Greek learning and broke new ground in several fields, all of which later contributed to the Renaissance in Europe. Knowledge and culture was brought to Europe from the Middle East as a result of the Crusades.

The Ottoman Turks 1517 AD : The Ottoman Turks of Asia Minor defeated the ruling Muslims. Ruled Palestine until the winter of The administration of the districts was placed largely in the hands of Arab Palestinians. The Christian and Jewish communities, however, were allowed a large measure of autonomy.

WWI and British Control 1914 World War I. Britain promised the independence of Arab lands under Ottoman rule, including Palestine. In return Arab nations sided with Britain against Turkey which had entered the war on the side of Germany Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the Arab region. –Lebanon and Syria assigned to France. –Jordan and Iraq to Britain. –Palestine was to be internationalized.

Balfour Declaration 1917 The British government issued the Balfour Declaration on November 2, which promised the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. November 2nd, 1917 Dear Lord Rothschild, I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet. "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation. Yours sincerely, Arthur James Balfour

Jewish Immigration from Europe 1918 After WW I ended, Jews began to migrate to Palestine. Large-scale Jewish settlement and extensive Zionist agricultural and industrial enterprises in Palestine began during the British mandatory period, which lasted until The Palestinians convened their first National Conference and expressed their opposition to the Balfour Declaration. Hitler’s final solution forces many Jews to flee from Europe. Thousands become refugees and find home in Palestine

UN Partition, Palestinian Displacement, First Arab Israeli War Great Britain leaves Palestine and called on the United Nations (UN) to make recommendations. The UN convened its first special session and on November 29, 1947 Adopted a plan calling for partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an international zone under UN jurisdiction. 15 May 1948 Leaders of Israel decided to implement the part of the partition plan calling for establishment of a Jewish state. The same day, the armies of Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq joined Palestinian and other Arab guerrillas in a full-scale war (first Arab-Israeli War). The Arabs failed to prevent establishment of a Jewish state War ended with four armistice agreements between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.

UN Partition for Palestine and Final 1949 Armistice Line