Gaza

Gaza (Arabic: غزة‎ transliteration: Ghazza) is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, approximately 78 kilometers (48 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority.
Inhabited since at least the 15th century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by several different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of the their pentapolis after the Ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Romans and later the Byzantines, Gaza experienced relative peace and its port flourished. In 635, it became the first city in Palestine to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a center of Islamic law. It slowly declined under the Fatimids, and by the time the Crusaders invaded the city, it was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships from Mongol raids to floods and locusts, reducing it to a village by the 16th century when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dyansty controlled Gaza and under them the city went through an age of great commerce and peace.
Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. As a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly-formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, but in 1993, the city was transferred to the Palestinian National Authority. Hamas took over the city in 2007 after months of clashes with its rival Fatah, and since then it has been under a blockade by Israel
The primary economic activities in Gaza are small-scale industries, agriculture and labor, however, the economy has been devastated by the blockade and recurring conflicts. Most of Gaza's inhabitants adhere to Islam, although there exists a Christian minority. Gaza has a very young population with roughly 75% being under the age of 25 and today the city has one of the highest population densities in the world—refugees making up over half of the residents.


Etymology

According to Zev Vilnay, the name "Gaza," from the Arabic "Ġazza", originally derives from the Canaanite/Hebrew root for "strong" (oZZ), and was introduced to Arabic by way of the Hebrew, "oazzā", i.e. "the strong one (f.)"; cpr. English stronghold. According to Mariam Shahin, the Canaanites gave Gaza its name, the Ancient Egyptians called it "Ghazzat" ("prized city"), and the Arabs often refer to it as "Ghazzat Hashim", in honor of Hashim, the great-grandfather of Muhammad, who is buried in the city, according to Islamic lore.




History

Gaza's history of habitation dates back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world.[5] Located on the Mediterranean coastal route between North Africa and the Levant, for most of its history it served as a key entrepot of southern Palestine and an important stopover on the spice trade route traversing the Red Sea.[5][6]
Ancient and Biblical periods


Statue of Zeus unearthed in Gaza
Gaza was founded and named in the Early Bronze Age by the Canaanites circa 3000 BCE In ancient times, Gaza was the residence of the Ancient Egyptian governor of the region, and the region was then known as Canaan. A caravan point of strategic importance from the earliest times, it was constantly involved in the wars between Egypt and Palestine, Syria and the Mesopotamian powers, and appeared frequently in Egyptian and Assyrian records. Under Tuthmosis III, it is mentioned on the Syrian-Egyptian caravan route and in the Amarna letters it appears as "Azzati". Gaza was in Egyptian hands for 350 years, until it was conquered by the Philistines, a sea-faring people with cultural links to the Aegean, in the 12th century BCE. It then became a part of the pentapolis; a league of the Philistines' five most important city-states.
In Judeo-Christian religions, Gaza was the place where Samson was imprisoned and met his death. (Judges 16:21) The prophets Amos and Zephaniah prophesied that Gaza would be deserted. According to biblical accounts, Gaza was under Israelite rule from the reign of King David in the early 11th century BCE, as dated by traditional biblical dating systems. It was conquered by the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II around 730 BCE. In the 7th century it again came under Egyptian control, but during the Persian period (6th-4th centuries BCE) it enjoyed a certain independence and was a flourishing city. The attack by Cambyses I was resisted in 529 BCE and later, around 520 BCE, the Greeks established a trading post. The first coins were minted on the Athens model around 380 BCE.
Alexander the Great besieged Gaza for five months, the last city to resist his conquest on his path to Egypt, finally capturing it 332 BCE. Gaza, led by a eunuch named Batis and defended by Arab mercenaries, withstood the siege for two months, until it was overcome by storm. The defenders, mostly local elements, fought to the death, and the women and children were taken captive. The city was resettled by neighboring Bedouins. Greek culture took root in Gaza, and the city gained a reputation as a flourishing center of Hellenic learning and philosophy. Belonging at first to the Ptolemaic kingdom, it passed after 200 BCE to the Seleucids
In the 1st century BCE and the first half of the 1st century CE, it was the Mediterranean port of the Nabateans, whose caravans arrived there from Petra or from Elath on the Red Sea. In 96 BCE, the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus besieged the city for a year and the inhabitants, who had hoped for help from the Nabatean king Aretas II, were slaughtered and their city destroyed by Jannaeus when he did not come to their aid.



Antiquity

Gaza was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 63 BCE and under the command of Pompey Magnus, Gaza was rebuilt by consul Aulus Gabinius. Roman rule brought six centuries of relative peace and prosperity to the city which grew to have a flourishing port and a locus of trade between the Middle East and Africa.[12] In the New Testament, it is mentioned as being on the caravan route to Egypt (Acts 8:26). Granted to Herod the Great by the Roman emperor Augustus in 30 CE, it formed a separate unit within his kingdom, and Cosgabar, the governor of Idumea, was in charge of the city's affairs. On the division of Herod's kingdom, it was placed under the proconsul of Syria. In the Roman period it was a prosperous city and received grants and attention from several emperors, especially Hadrian I who visited it in 130 CE. It was adorned with many temples, the main cult being that of Marnas. Marnas was depicted on coins in the city. Other temples were dedicated to Zeus, Helios, Aphrodite, Apollo, Athene and the local Tyche.
Christianity began to spread throughout Gaza in 250 CE first in the port of Maiuma, but later into the city. The religion faced obstacles as it spread through the local population because pagan worship was strong, with the cult of Marnas being the primary pagan force. Also, its Christians were harshly repressed during the Diocletianic Persecution in 303. The first bishop of Gaza was Philemon, believed to have been one of the 72 disciples, but the first cleric was Saint Silvanus who, during the persecution of Maximinianus in 310, was arrested along with about 30 other Christians, and condemned to death. At that time Silvanus seems to have been a priest who exercised his ministry in the neighborhood of Gaza. Bishop Asclepas took part in the Council of Nicaea in 325. As the Roman Empire was crumbling, Gaza remained unaffected.
Conversion to Christianity in Gaza was spearheaded and completed under Saint Porphyrius between 396 and 420. In 402 CE, he ordered all eight of the city's pagan temples destroyed, and four years later Empress Aelia Eudocia commissioned the construction of a church atop the ruins of the Temple of Marnas. Around 540, Gaza became the starting point for pilgrimages to the Sinai Peninsula. It was also an important city in the early Christian world and many famous scholars taught at its academy of rhetoric, the best known being 5th-6th century scholar Procopius of Gaza. The celebrated Church of Saint Sergius was built in this century.
Depicted in the mosaic Map of Madaba of 600 CE, the city was the most important political and commercial center on the southern coast of Palestine. Its large representation, approximately half of which is preserved, cannot be easily explained, mainly because only small tentative excavations have been made there and because Byzantine Gaza is covered by the still inhabited Old City.



Geography


Central Gaza is situated on a low round hill with an elevation of 50 feet (15 m) or 60 feet (18 m) above sea level. Much of the modern city is built along the plain below especially to the north and east, forming Gaza's suburbs. The beach and the port of Gaza are located west of the city's nucleus and the space between is entirely built up on low-lying hills. The areas south, north and east of the city have numerous gardens of prickly pears.
Gaza is 78 kilometers (48 mi) southwest of Jerusalem, 71 kilometers (44 mi) south of Tel Aviv, and 30 kilometers (19 mi) north of Rafah. Surrounding localities include Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia to the north—the latter basically forms a suburb of the city—the village of Abu Middein, the refugee camp of Bureij, and the city of Deir al-Balah to the south.
The municipal jurisdiction of the city today constitutes about 45,000 square kilometers (17,374.6 sq mi). In the British Mandate era, Gaza's urban or "built-up" area consisted of 7,960 square kilometers (3,073.4 sq mi), while its rural area was 143,063 square kilometers (55,236.9 sq mi). Irrigated land made up 24,040 square kilometers (9,281.9 sq mi) and lands planted with cereals made up 117,899 square kilometers (45,521.1 sq mi).
Tell al-Muntar is a famous hill southeast of Gaza, with an elevation of 270 feet (82 m) above sea level. For centuries it has been claimed as the place to which Samson brought the city gates of the Philistines. The hill is crowned by a Muslim shrine (maqam) dedicated Ali al-Muntar ("Ali of the Watchtower"). There are early Muslim graves around the surrounding trees, and the lintel of the doorway of the maqam has two medieval sculptures.

المصدر: منتديات مدينة الاحلام