It Will Belong To Us Trivia Quiz

Many scholars consider the Canaanites to be the original inhabitants of Palestine. A group of Canaanites, known as Phoenicians, lived in city-states like Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos in coastal areas, and established a trading empire that eventually reached well beyond Palestine, including modern day Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. These people established successful trading routes in the region that stood the test of time; eventually their trading empire expanded across the entire Mediterranean area to the Arabian Peninsula and India.

The Phoenicians developed the first alphabet and made such fine purple cloth that it was coveted by the wealthy from both near and far. As Egypt, their neighbor to the south, grew in power, the Canaanite city-states became Egyptian vassals. Sometime around 1700 BC, however, a group of Canaanites called the Hyksos conquered Egypt and held control there until around 1550 BC.

By 1550 BC the Egyptians were entering the phase of their history that is called the New Kingdom. The Canaanite Hyksos, who ruled Egypt for about a hundred years, had been expelled, and pharaoh was ready to expand his empire. Palestine provided an important buffer between Egypt and northern neighbors like the Hittites, who might challenge the Egyptians' quest for land.

The area was already a part of trade routes that nearly reached to Mesopotamia and the Arabian and Anatolian Peninsulas. Considering the civilizations that were developing in Egypt and Mesopotamia, one can only imagine how important this was for the exchange of ideas and culture, let alone trade goods. Mesopotamian peoples were happy to trade their wool and textiles, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and cereal crops in exchange Egyptian linen and gold. Resins that were used in mummification came from the Arabian Peninsula, while precious metals, including silver, tin, and copper came from Anatolia.

Although Egyptian pharaohs continued to rule Egypt for quite some time, until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, they lost control of Palestine around 1178 BC, and the region became fragmented and ruled by different groups before one power once again gained control.

According to Biblical scholars, the Israelites, under the leadership of their patriarch Abraham, arrived in Palestine - which they called Canaan - sometime around 2,000 BC. While living in Ur, Abraham had been told by God to convert his people to monotheism and lead them to a promised land, which established the area as the birthplace of Judaism. Hardship and famine, however, forced the people to seek a better living arrangement in Egypt. It has been estimated that sometime around 1406 BC the Israelites completed their forty years of wandering, and reestablished themselves in Palestine.

It did take some time for them to establish complete control over the land, as other groups, such as the Philistines, had taken areas, especially on the southern coast, while the Israelites were in Egypt. It's a bit curious that the name Philistia, or land of the Philistines, from which the name Palestine was derived, was taken from these people who only controlled a small bit of land for a short time.

King David's reign is believed to have occurred c 1010 BC; he was instrumental in getting rid of the threat from the Philistines and building Jerusalem into a proper capital city. His son, Solomon, divided the people into Twelve Tribes according to their family lineage, but after his death a division occurred which resulted in the formation of two separate kingdoms - the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.

Tiglath-Pileser III began the first phase of Assyrian invasion into Palestine in the 730s BC. Ten years later, the Kingdom of Israel in the northern part of Palestine, was completely annihilated - so much that the people of the Ten Tribes simply ceased to exist. It is likely that the conquered people were deported to other regions of the Assyrian empire - that was the common practice - but to history they became the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. While they were never able to conquer Jerusalem, the Assyrians made great use of the rest of the territory.

They controlled trade with the nearby Phoenician seaports and collected money from tax revenue, which resulted in enormous wealth for the Assyrians, who gained not only trade goods, like livestock and olive oil, but also people who could potentially work in other parts of their empire.

Assyrian military control the area was accomplished by building forts along the coast; they were used as staging areas for forays into Egypt. Now the Assyrians were the ones who needed the buffer between their growing empire and Egypt. Rather than having to export food for their troops from Mesopotamia, they used locally grown food to feed their army.

The Chaldeans coveted the land called Palestine for the same reason the others did - for the great trading location and as a buffer to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled the Chaldeans from their capital of Babylon from 605 BC, wished to secure his border. In addition, controlling the land increased the wealth of the empire in the form of tribute taxes as well as profit from trade.

The remaining Israelite kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah in the south, constantly revolted against Chaldean rule, refusing to be a vassal of the Chaldeans in the same way they were vassals to the Assyrians. In 587-586 BC Nebuchadnezzar was finally successful in taking Jerusalem, and destroyed the First Temple of Solomon. He deported the people to Babylon, during a period known in Jewish history as the Babylonian Captivity.

In 538 BC, in accordance with his policy of fairness toward conquered people, the Persian King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and allowed the Israelites to return to Canaan. They were allowed to rule themselves as long as they paid taxes and kept the peace. Cyrus was happy to incorporate the conquered Chaldean land, which included Palestine, into the Persian empire.

The area ended up being perhaps more important than was anticipated. It served as an important land bridge to the prize, which was Egypt. Persian ships were docked at harbors in Palestine to facilitate both trade and naval protection; the Palestine land bridge truly connected Asia and Africa, aiding in the movement of troop and supply lines and keeping channels of communication open.

By 525 BC the Persians conquered Egypt, using one of the most interesting strategies in history. They put cats and other animals that were sacred to the ancient Egyptians on their shields. Egyptian archers, afraid that they would harm the sacred animals, failed to act. Cambyses II successfully laid siege to Memphis and was declared the first pharaoh of the 27th Dynasty; Egypt became a satrapy of the Persian empire.

It was only a matter of time before Alexander the Great and the Macedonians took over Palestine as their goal was to conquer the Persian Empire which stretched from modern day Egypt and Turkey to Iran.

Like the Persians, Alexander used Palestine for naval bases in order to secure his supply lines, and as a corridor to get into Egypt. In order to get there he had to capture Gaza, as its fortress controlled the main road to Egypt; the city fell after a two month siege. Afterwards he took Jerusalem and reportedly treated the people there with respect. In Egypt he was hailed as a hero, a leader who saved them from oppressive Persians. He was given the title pharaoh, and recognized as the son of Amun.

Alexander's victory, however, was short lived. He died in 323 BC, saying that the person who was strongest could have his empire. This led to years of fighting; in Palestine it meant that the land was controlled by either of the descendants of his generals, Ptolemy or Seleucius (Ptolemaic or Seleucid Empires).

The Hasmonean Kingdom was established as a Jewish dynasty that came into existence after the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire. A Jewish state in Palestine was reestablished by Simon Thassi, a son of a priestly leader named Mattahias, about twenty years after his more famous brother, Judah Maccabee, led the revolt; his successors ruled for several decades.

It was considered to be an important event in Jewish history because an independent Jewish state was once again present and self-ruling in the land of Canaan. The Hasmoneans are said to have influenced other Jewish peoples to revolt against foreign rule.

The famous general, Pompey the Great, conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC, beginning a long period of Roman rule in the region. Palestine became a Roman client state and the Hasmonean Dynasty ended. When Herod the Great became king in 37 BC, Roman control of the area was strengthened.

Roman interest in the region was not complicated; like others, they wanted Palestine because it acted as a land bridge between Egypt and Syria, provinces that were already part of the Roman Empire. Let's not forget that Roman conquests were also made for glory and wealth. The ancient trade routes were still active in the region, and the taxes and tribute that was collected contributed to the empire's wealth.

By 6 AD the province of Judea (Palestine) was annexed into the Roman Empire, which was followed by several years of Jewish resistance. The Second Temple of Jerusalem was looted and destroyed in 70 AD, and the last stronghold of Jewish resistance was eliminated at Masada in 73-74 AD. Finally, in 135 AD the province was renamed Syria Palaestina to removed all doubt of who was in control. The famous Diaspora began, with both voluntary and forced exile of the Jews from Palestine.

By 330 AD the Roman Empire became too large for one person to effectively administer. While Diocletian began the practice of having Eastern and Western emperors in 285 AD, the beginning of Byzantine rule in 330 AD was precipitated by Emperor Constantine's use of Constantinople (Byzantium) as the new capital of what became known as the Eastern or Byzantine Empire.

Byzantine interest didn't deviate from Roman interest in the region; however, over time a new, extremely important event made the area even more coveted - the advent of Christianity. When Constantine became a Christian, and Theodosius made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire, things changed. Jews were not allowed into Jerusalem, although they were allowed to continue to practice their religion as long as they paid a tax to do so.

The region became important to Christian pilgrims, and they had to be protected; churches were built and the establishment of monasteries was encouraged. Syria Palaestina was further divided into smaller administrative units; the area experienced economic prosperity until it was threatened by another religious group - the Muslims. A new age began in Palestine after the area was conquered yet again in 638 AD.