Ancient Israel, also known as the Land of Canaan, was a region in the Middle East that was located between Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is home to many important sites and cities that are mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. This article also discusses why is it called ancient near east.
This map shows some of these sites:
Jerusalem: The capital city of ancient Israel where King David established his kingdom (2 Samuel 5:6). This city is also referred to as Zion and Mount Moriah.
Temple Mount: A hilltop area between two valleys in Jerusalem that contains several important religious buildings such as Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s Temple (1 Kings 6:1-38).
Nazareth: A town that Jesus grew up in (Matthew 2:22). It is also where he performed some of his miracles (Luke 4:16-30). You’ll also learn about who are the ancient near east.
Map Of Ancient Near East Old Testament
The Ancient Israel Old Testament is a collection of books that were written by people who lived in Ancient Israel, which was a place in Asia where people lived during the Old Testament times. The people would write about what was happening in their lives, as well as what they believed about God and how he affected their lives.
The books of the Ancient Israel Old Testament include:
Genesis: This book begins at creation and ends with the death of Joseph. It explains how God created all things, including people and animals; how he gave them rules for living; how he punished them when they broke those rules; and how he showed love and mercy toward them when they acted righteously toward him.
Exodus: This book tells us how God led Moses out of Egypt through many trials and tribulations so that he could lead his people into freedom from slavery under Pharaoh’s rule. It also tells us about all the laws God gave them through Moses so that they would know how to live righteously before him throughout.
After the invasion of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, Ancient Israel extended 150 miles / 240 km from north to south, ‘from Dan to Beersheba’ (see 2 Samuel 24:2 and Map 34).
Map 34 Ancient Israel in the Old Testament
As the boundaries of Canaan set out by Joshua (see Numbers 34:1-12) and the boundaries of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (see Joshua 14:1-19:51) are broadly similar, it is often assumed that Israel controlled the whole of Canaan after the conquest in c.1406BC. This is, however, a gross simplification as much of the ‘promised land’ of Canaan remained unconquered for hundreds of years. Jerusalem, Hazor and Gezer, for example, remained independent Canaanite city-states for many years. For much of the following four hundred year period of the ‘Judges’, Israel was under the control of the Philistines, while the Philistine cities of Ashdod, Ekron, Ashkelon, Gaza and Gath were only eventually conquered by King David in c.1000BC (see 2 Samuel 5:17-25 & 8:1 and Map 34).
Why Is It Called Ancient Near East
The British Empire in the 19th century made a distinction between the Near East and the Far East, and the phrase “ancient Near East” refers to this division. The Crimean War was the starting point for the differentiation. Hamidian Massacres of Armenians and Assyrians by the Ottoman Empire in 1894-1896 and the First Sino-Japanese War in 1894-1895 were current in diplomacy as the last major exclusive partition of the East between these two terms in the late 19th century. Officials and experts in the British Empire referred to the two regions as “the Near East” and “the Far East” when discussing the two battlefields. They would soon share the spotlight with the “Middle East,” a phenomenon that began in the early 20th century and persists to this day.
With the decline and eventual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the term “Near East,” which had previously referred to its former territory, fell out of favor in diplomatic usage in favor of “Middle East.” During this time, a unique culture developed in what was once called the ancient Near East. From Vienna in the north to the southernmost tip of the Arabian Peninsula, and from Egypt in the west to the borders of Iraq in the east, the Near East was under Ottoman rule (in the east). 19th-century archaeologists expanded the definition to include Iran, which was never an Ottoman province, but left out the rest of Europe and, more generally, Egypt, which was a part of the empire.
Who Are The Ancient Near East
Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran, and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran (Elam, Media, Parthia, and Persis), ancient Anatolia/Asia Minor and the Armenian highlands (Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia Region, Armenia, northwestern Iran, southern Georgia, and western Azerbaijan), and the Levant (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palest Ancient history, archaeology, and ancient languages are all fields that examine the ancient Near East.
The rise of Sumer in the fourth millennium B.C. marks the beginning of recorded history in the ancient Near East, though the end of this period is debated. Until the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, or the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD, the term refers to the time period spanning the region’s Bronze Age and Iron Age.
One of the places where civilization began is the ancient Near East, according to scholars. It was in these regions that the first dense urban settlements arose, as well as many of the defining features of our modern societies, including social stratification, centralized government and empires, organized religion, and organized warfare. Invention of the wheel, as well as the first writing system, alphabet (abjad), currency, and law codes; early developments in astronomy and mathematics; and the first writing system all originated during this time period.
Larger and larger states emerged during this time period, eventually giving way to militaristic empires that ruled over a wide range of cultural traditions.
