Imagens / Nostalgia & Memórias no Mundo
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As we had a few sunny moments this morning I went to the lake at Monrepos to look for goslings but didn't see any there. On my way home I decided to quickly stop at the river where I ran into a family of Egyptian geese with 8 goslings. Sadly by the time I arrived at the river the sun had disappeared behind dark clouds and it even started to rain. I may try to find them again on a day with better light because today it was really too dark for good photos.
Cimitero S. Michele
zur Geschichte
Die Insel gibt es ja seit Jahr und Tag. Seit dem 13. Jahrhundert befand sich hier ein Kloster, an das noch der Kreuzgang, eine kleine Renaissancekirche (San Michele in Isola) und eine Kapelle (Cappella Emiliani) erinnern. Auf der benachbarten Insel San Cristoforo della Pace lag der erste Friedhof.
Die erste Umwandlung zum Friedhof auf San Cristoforo vollzog sich nach einem Dekret der Gesundheitsbehörde Magistrato della Sanità 1719. In diesem Jahr wurde die Insel auch von einer Mauer umgeben.
Mauern dien ihr hier seht aus der Zeit der laten Staatsanwaltschaft umgeben diesen friedlichen Ort.
Nach dem Edikt Napoleons im Jahr 1804 wurde die Bestattung von Toten in unmittelbarer Nähe zu Kirchen verboten. Deswegen wurde die Insel San Christogforo immer wichtiger. 1839 wurden die beiden Inseln San Michele und San Cristoforo verbunden. Dieser große Schritt hatte eine komplette Umgestaltung beider Inseln und eine Anpassung des Geländes zum Ergebnis. San Michele wurde zum wichtigen Friedhof der Stadt.
Der Friedhof respektiert die verschiedenen Religionsgemeinschaften, die in in Vendeig friedlich zusammen leben und ist in unterschiedlichen Berdichen für Katholiken, Protestanten, Orthodoxe und Junden unterteilt..
JederBereich zeichnet sich durch die Schönheit und Wprde seiner Denkmäler und seiner üpigen Vegetation aus.
In den folgenden Jahren wurde mehrere Architektur-Wettbewerbe ausgerufen und den Komplex ästhetisch zu vereinheitlichen – 1830er und in den 1850er. 1876 war diese Vereinheitlichung dann abgeschlossen.
1998 schrieb Venedig wieder einen Wettbewerb aus – der Friedhof musste erweitert werden. Der Architekt David Chipperfield gewann diesen Wettbewerb. Er ist unter anderem bekannt für seine Museum Folkwang in Essen, den Wiederaufbau des Neues Museum, Berlin oder den Erweiterungsbau das Kunsthaus Zürich. Hier findet ihr sein Konzept mit Bildern.
ERWITERUNG, bei der Innenhöfe, ein Beinhaus und ein Gebäude dür die öffentlichen Dienste hinzugefügt wurden, 2017 wurde diese Erweiterung abgeschlossen
Er sollte die bestehenden Strukturen für Bestattung, Einäscherung und Ossuare in eine organisierte Anordnung mit Innenhöfen bringen, die an den Kreuzgang aus dem 15. Jahrhundert erinnern sollen. Sein Konzept bestach unter anderem durch eine harmonische Auswahl an Materialien. Die Wände sind mit Basalt und Pietra d’Istria verkleidet, während die internen Säulengänge aus dunklem grauem Beton bestehen.
Das Projekt wird in verschiedenen Phasen abgeschlossen. „Der Innenhof der vier Evangelisten“ wurde als erster im Jahr 2007 für die Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht und dient immer noch als Archetyp für die gesamte Anordnung.
IMG_6735ar
Der Rest ist immer noch in Arbeit…
Liturgische Besonderheiten
Die Toten/die Särge müssen mit einem Boot auf die Insel gelangen. Früher wurden dafür reich geschmückte Gondeln benutzt.
Auf der Insel gibt es auch Platz für Tote und Zeremonien andere Glaubensrichtungen.
Bis in die Mitte des letzten Jahrhunderts hinein gab es zu Festtagen eine lange Pontonbrücke bis zur Insel. Diese war dann 400 Meterlang und man konnte über das Wasser laufend zur Insel gelangen.
arqueologia pictórica.. fotografi esse mudo de novo ontem.. outro trampo do ise... arte temporal... grafite
não costumo postar duas fotos jundas.. mas está é pra ser visat com a enterior
The structure known today as the "Upper Basilical Hall" has been identified, tentatively, as the Dar al-Jund ("House of the Army" in Arabic), a name mentioned in literary sources. It was probably built in the 950s during a new program of construction and state reform.
The exact function of this large structure is uncertain, but scholars and archeologists have traditionally assumed that it had an administrative or official (semi-public) function, such as a reception chamber for ceremonies and for ambassadors on their way to see the caliph. The Dar al-Jund is mentioned in historical sources as an assembly hall for the officers of the caliph's army. Felix Arnold, an archeologist and scholar on the topic of Islamic palace architecture in the region, suggests that the building's size means that it must have been the main audience hall of Madinat al-Zahra, which might identify it instead with either the Majlis ash-Sharqi ("Eastern Hall") or Majlis al-Gharbi ("Western Hall") mentioned in historical sources.
The building is located near the northeastern corner of the excavated area today, on a terrace west of the Bab al-Sudda entrance. It consists of a large basilica-type structure to the north adjoined to a large open courtyard to the south. Visitors to the city reached this area by walking up a ramped street that started on the central axis of the Bab al-Sudda gate and climbed its way to the terrace above, bending 180 degrees several times along the way. The ramp was wide enough and its slope gentle enough to allow visitors to remain on horseback, and was even lined with benches where they could sit and wait their turn to enter. It ended at a small porticoed court, where the visitors were possibly assigned to new guides, and from which they then entered into the courtyard of the Dar al-Jund along its middle axis. Felix Arnold suggests that this overall layout had a precedent in the older Alcázar of Cordoba, where visitors coming from the main public entrance to the west arrived into a courtyard or garden in front of the Majlis al-Kamil ("Perfect Hall"), the main audience chamber of the palace.
The courtyard of the Dar al-Jund measures 54.5 meters wide and 51 meters deep. Its northern side is occupied by the broad entrance façade of the main hall, its western and eastern sides were occupied by narrow porticos, and its southern side was closed by a simple wall. The main hall stood 1.2 meters above the level of the courtyard. Stairs and ramps leading to its platform were located at the northern corners of the courtyard – the stairs were for those on foot, the ramps for horses. The remains of the courtyard were converted into a garden in the 1960s.
The main hall itself is the largest interior space ever documented in the historic palace architecture of the western Islamic world, being large enough to accommodate up to 3000 people. The hall is composed of five parallel rectangular chambers, placed side-by-side and open to each other through various archways. Each chamber is about 20 meters long (from north to south) and 6.8 meters wide, with the exception of the central chamber which is about 7.5 meters wide. Each hall opens onto a sixth chamber to the south, perpendicular to the others, which is about 30 meters long (from east to west) and 6.9 meters wide, with a smaller square chamber located at either end. This south hall opens onto the courtyard to the south through five broad archways. Other auxiliary rooms are present nearby. The decoration of the building was plain in comparison with other royal edifices in the city. The walls were made of stone and plastered, with little ornamentation other than a red dado near the base, while the floors were paved in brick instead of stone. Only the capitals of the columns were ornately carved. However, the walls may have originally been covered with ornamental furnishings such as tapestries and curtains may have been draped across the arches.
The precise intentions of the hall's design are ambiguous, as the chambers are all connected to each other but in slightly different ways. The central chamber is wider than the others and its entrance from the south is marked by a triple archway instead of a double archway like the other four parallel chambers, which actually made the openings between the columns narrower for the central chamber than for the others. The three middle chambers are also each connected to each other though a wide central door flanked by triple archways with columns, while the two outermost chambers at the sides are connected to the inner chambers through three simple doors. During official receptions, the caliph likely sat in the middle of the back wall of the central chamber. Antonio Vallejo Triano argues that the overall design of the building suggests that the two outermost chambers, along with the southern chamber at the front, formed a "U"-shaped space around the three central chambers and that the latter formed a privileged space for the caliph's audience. He also adds that there is archeological evidence that the spaces of the two outermost chambers were actually divided into two stories. Felix Arnold, in a slightly different interpretation, suggests that visitors entered the building from the sides and then entered the central chamber by moving from the outermost chambers to the central one, with each wall of doors and archways acting as a "screen" through which they passed closer to the caliph.
TECO CGR97 de Vicalvaro Cl. a Jundiz de Acciona con la 333.323 pasando por Bif. Rioja. 20-12-16. 10h12.
Las fortalezas queriendo contallas,
no puede hazerse con facilidad,
ay muchas, y fuertes, y de antigüedad,
y oviera castillos de buenas murallas,
también otras torres con sus antiguallas,
mas muchos de aquestos en tiempos passados,
han sido por junda de gente assolados,
por más que civiles, y viles batallas.
Ay en este Reyno muy famosas fortalezas, y de gentiles fuerças, y edificios, y oviera muchas más, si a manos no ovieran sido derrivadas (...).
Licenciado Molina, Descripción del Reino de Galicia, 1550.
MÚSICA: Rodrigo Martinez - La Folia (1490), interpretada por La Capella de Ministrers
Jardim Botânico Jundiaí
Botanical garden in Jundiaí, São Paulo.
Jardim Botânico Jundiaí
Jardim botânico em Jundiaí, São Paulo
Tren 90498 de Continental Rail de Jundiz a Zaragoza Corbera Alta con un corte de portatecos vacíos. 15-3-17.
Está é uma das inúmeras belas paisagens da "Serras de Sudeste" (frequentemente chamada de Serra do Sudeste), na verdade, é um nome que designa um planalto, o Planalto Dissecado de Sudeste ou Escudo Sul-Rio-Grandense, localizado na região sudeste do estado brasileiro do Rio Grande do Sul, próximo ao Uruguai.⠀
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Este planalto compreende um conjunto de ondulações suaves a moderadas e cobertas por vegetação rasteira e herbácea, conhecidas como coxilhas, cujos níveis mais altos não ultrapassam muito além dos 500 m de altitude. É um planalto antigo, cuja superfície tabular só foi preservada entre alguns rios. Esses terrenos de granito e gnaisse do período Pré-Cambriano formam o chamado Escudo Sul-Rio-Grandense e ocupam toda a porção sudeste do estado.⠀
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Possui uma fauna bem interessante. As espécies mais características da região são: mamíferos como veado-virá, veado-campeiro, lebre, tatu, raposa, gambá, capivara, zorrilho, graxaim (sorro), aves como chimango, perdiz, caturrita, quero-quero, jacu, ema, seriema, pomba do mato (pombão), cardeal-de-topete-vermelho, periquito, tico-tico, joão-de-barro, répteis como lagarto, cobra cruzeira, cobra verde e peixes como traíra, jundiá, lambari etc. Lamentavelmente os jaguares, jaguatiricas e suçuaranas já não existem mais nesta área.⠀
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#vanderlisr⠀
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
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Hama (Arabic: حماة, Hama, pronounced [Hama] Hamath biblical "fortress") is a city on the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. The city is the historic site of Hamat.
The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium Aclos Amorites came from Mari on the Euphrates River about 250 kilometers east of Hama, colonizing many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq. Although the city is not mentioned in the sources before the first millennium BC, the site seems to have enjoyed great prosperity around 1500 BC, during which it is assumed that belonged to the Amorites Mittanni Empire, an empire that extencio along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria. Mitani was later overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria after the famous battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285 BC
By the turn of the millennium, the ancient Hittite Empire had fallen and centralized Hama is proclaimed as the capital of a prosperous kingdom neo-Hittite Aramaean known in the Bible as Hamath (Aramaic Hittite: Amatuwana, in Hebrew: חֲמָת), which was extended widely , particularly in what is now Israel. Hittite and Aramaic peoples lived in relative peace, coexisting with other states in the region, as Carchemish. The most significant of all was Damascus Aramean states, who became the leader of a federation of states Arameans of which Hamath was a member. Gradually, Aramaic became the most widely used language in the Middle East.
When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858-824 AD) conquered northern Syria reached Hamath in 835 BC, marking the beginning of the Assyrian inscriptions concerning the kingdom. led a coalition of cities in Syria against the invasion of Assyrian armies according to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2000 cavalry 62,000 infantry and 1,000 camel jockeys in the battle of Carcar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more While a tie,
In 743 BC, Tiglath-pileser III took a number of cities in the territory of Hamath territories distributed among his generals, and forcibly displaced 1,223 people to inhabit the upper valley of the Tigris, which they demands to the king of Hamath
Hamat is one of the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. More than 30,000 people were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives of the Zagros. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Hamath Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt that led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Sargon II wiped out the city, which recolonized with 6,300 Assyrians and their king condemned to be flayed alive in Assyria. Were also carried Nimrud ivory furniture adorning their kings
The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire came to include most of the Near East to the coast Mediterráneoa. However, his empire fell, when in 612 BC an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but in the 540a.c. Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.
The few biblical citations that report indicate that Hamath was the capital of a kingdom Canaanites (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated the King David for his victory over Hadad-ezer, king of Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Chronicles 13:9-11). Solomon apparently took possession of Hamath and of its territory. The prophet Amos called the city Hamath the Great. In fact, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, in the second half of the fourth century BC Syria was under the influence of Greco-Roman instead of Arabic and Persian cultures. Alexander campaigned in, 334 to 323 BC Syria sometiendoa Hellenic influence. Since the country was on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other cities of Syria, once again became rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great Middle East conquests were divided among his generals, Seleucus Nicator and became the ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a resurgence in the fortunes of Hama. For the Syrians were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania. The Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to take control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.
The Romans hizieron by the original settlements, as Hama and made their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey in 64 BC, after which Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, governed from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman period, but archaeological evidence is scarce.
In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In the time was known as Byzantine Hama Hamath. Byzantium Roman rule meant that the Christian religion has been reinforced throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphany was born in Hama in the sixth century.
Muslim rule
During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the city regained its old name, which has since been preserved. After his capture, was under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the empire of the Umayyads until the ninth century. The Umayyads built the Great Mosque of Hama in the eighth century that served as a model for the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Although the history of the city is dark at this time, we know that Hama was a walled city with a ring of outlying towns. He remained under the control of the Hamdanid. rulers of Aleppo in the tenth century and remained so until the twelfth century these have been considered the dark years of Hama. The Byzantines under Emperor Nicephorus Phocas stormed the city in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. In the eleventh century, the Fatimids gained sovereignty over northern Syria during this period, the Mirdasids ruled Hama.
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost to Saladin definitely. In 1157 an earthquake destroyed the city. In 1175, Hama was taken by Saladin, the city granted his nephew, Omar al-Muzaffar, and placed under the control of the Ayyubid family. This marked the beginning of an era of stability and prosperity in the Ayyubid Hama ruling almost continuously until 1342. The geographer Yaqut Al Hamawi, born in Hama in 1225 described him as a great city surrounded by a great wall. Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, like other cities in Syria, but the Mongols were defeated that year and again in 1303 by the Mamluks to the Ayyubid sucedióron as rulers of the region. Hama briefly became the Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of the governor of al-Mansur, Mahmud II. However, unlike other cities earlier Ayyubid, Mamluk Ayyubid returned to the family of Hama by Abu al-Fida, historian and geographer, governor of the city reigning from 1310 to 1332. He described his city as a very old ... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the nicest places in Syria. After his death, was succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Afdal eventually lost favor with the Mamluks and was deposed. Therefore, Hama came under the direct control of the Mamluks.
Gradually extended to the banks of the Orontes River, in the neighborhood of the right bank is connected to the city proper by a bridge of new construction. The city on the left is divided into upper and lower portions, each of them was surrounded by a wall. . The city was full of palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, a hospital, and over thirty different wells. It was during the reign of the Mamluks that many of the wells, which began during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were refurbished and expanded, and their numbers increased. Water and other pipeline systems were built to bring water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields. Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to the neighboring city of Hama in Salamiyah.
Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and noted that the Orontes River, to the pleasant city to live, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits, also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (the name of an Ayyubid emir) containing; a very nice market, a mosque and baths, in 1400, conquered Timurlane Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.
Ottoman Empire
The period of prosperity of the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria after defeating the Mamelukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, fell under the Ottoman rule of Constantinople. Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the management structure of the region. Hama, again became an important center of trade routes from the Mediterranean to Asia. A number of caravaneses were built in the city, like Rustum Pasha Khan dating back to 1556. Syria was then divided into three governorates and Hama was ruled by the government based in Aleppo.
Then in the eighteenth century, became the governor of Damascus. The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, which also ruled in other parts of Syria by the Ottomans. They built sumptuous residences in Hama, including Azem Palace and Khan Asad Pasha, which were built by Asad Pasha al-Azem, who ruled Hama for several years until 1742. By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool and other raw materials. After approval of the Law vilayet in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (winning the city asministrativos powers,
Modern Age
Ottoman rule ended in 1917 after its defeat in World War at the hands of the allied forces. Hama became part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had become what remained: a provincial town of medium size, with an important market for an agricultural area rich in cereals, cotton and sugar beets. He became famous as the center of landlords of large estates worked by peasants. Since the 1940s, a conflict erupted important class of agricultural workers seeking reforms in Hama. Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, member of a notable poor family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and improved conditions of Hama sociales.Hizo the basis of the Arab Socialist Party which later merged with another socialist party, the Baath. The party ascended to power in 1963 and marked the end of the power of the landed elite. . In the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of a revolt by conservative forces encouraged by the speeches of the preachers in the mosque denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops to the barracks of the ancient city of Hama to quell the insurrection.
In 1964, the unrest caused dozens of deaths, and in the 1970's, Hama became an important source of opposition to the regime during the uprising Sunni Islam that began in 1976. In the spring of 1982, government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the rebellion with means very hard. Tanks and artillery bombed neighborhoods in the hands of insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilians living after submitting the revolt. In the cleaning after the fighting ended, large city districts, including most of the old city, were leveled by bulldozers and then rebuilt, changing the face of the city. Deaths in the slaughter of Hama have been estimated to range between 5,000 and 20,000, although no reliable figures are available. (Opponents of the regime, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, the encrypted between 30,000 and 40,000.) The story is deleted from the official books and is considered highly sensitive in Syria. 31 JULY 2011 NEW TANKS ENTER UNTOLD LEAVING DEAD
Peter Rosegger wurde am 31 Juli 1843 als erstes von sieben Kindern eines armen Waldbauerns in Alpl bei Krieglach in der Steiermark geboren.
Durch seine frühe Tätigkeit als Hüter genoss er nur eine unregelmäßige Schulausbildung. Lesen und Schreiben lernte er bei einem pensionierten Schullehrer und die restliche Bildung erarbeitete er sich autodidaktisch.
Weil er körperlich zu schwach war um Bauer zu werden, absolvierte Peter Rosegger von 1860 bis 1863 eine Lehre als Wanderschneider und lernte dabei Leute und Bräuche kennen.
Parallel zu seiner Lehre versuchte er bereits seine ersten literarischen Werke zu veröffentlichen.
Der Redakteur der Grazer Tagespost, Dr. Svodoba, entdeckte das Talent des junden Schriftstellers und vermittelte Ihn aufgrund dessen an die Grazer Akademie für Handel und Industrie.
Einen der Höhepunkte des heurigen Rosegger-Jubiläumsjahres bilden die Aufführungen des bekannten Rosegger-Romanes „Jakob der Letzte" vor seinem Geburtshaus am Alpl.
Par ordre d'apparition: Claude BENTZ (président Fleurs et Fruits, Ernolsheim), Claude WALTER (A.R.B.R.E.S), Jean-Marie GRUNELIUS (propriétaire des terrains de la Réserve), Dany KARCHER (maire de Kolbsheim), Ulrich MOHR (Bund Rheinland-Pfalz), Alain JUND (vice-président Eurométropole, adjoint au maire de Strasbourg, les Verts), Christian GRISOLLET (co-président ACIPA, Notre-Dame-des-Landes), et STIKINE pour la musique de fin.
Un grand merci à l'ensemble des bénévoles pour leur aide et dévouement.
La réserve du Bishnoï des 2 et 3 avril 2016 a été le premier gros événement des antis GCO. La lutte se poursuit ! – Pour toutes infos, voir le site du collectif GCO Non Merci
Revue de presse locale :
gcononmerci.org/archives/revue-de-presse-2000-personnes-p...
Revue de presse nationale :
gcononmerci.org/revue-de-presse/les-medias-nationaux-parl...
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source vidéo : www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-QvDJiO93U
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem in the State of Palestine, in the West Bank. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus. That original basilica was likely built between 330 and 333, being already mentioned in 333, and was dedicated on 31 May 339. It was probably destroyed by fire during the Samaritan revolts of the sixth century, possibly in 529, and a new basilica was built a number of years later by Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), who added a porch or narthex, and replaced the octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform transept complete with three apses, but largely preserved the original character of the building, with an atrium and a basilica consisting of a nave with four side aisles.
The Church of the Nativity, while remaining basically unchanged since the Justinianic reconstruction, has seen numerous repairs and additions, especially from the Crusader period, such as two bell towers (now gone), wall mosaics and paintings (partially preserved). Over the centuries, the surrounding compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters, comprising three different monasteries: one Catholic, one Armenian Apostolic, and one Greek Orthodox, of which the first two contain bell towers built during the modern era.
The silver star marking the spot where Christ was born, inscribed in Latin, was stolen in October 1847 by Greek monks who wished to remove this Catholic item. Some assert that this was a contributing factor in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. Others assert that the war grew out of the wider European situation.
Since 2012, the Church of the Nativity is a World Heritage Site and was the first to be listed by UNESCO under 'Palestine'.
Since 1852, the rights of the three religious communities are ruled by Status Quo.
Base in scripture
Of the four canonical gospels, Matthew and Luke mention the birth of Jesus, both placing it in Bethlehem. Luke mentions the manger: "and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
A variant of the narrative is contained in the Gospel of James, an apocryphal infancy gospel.
History
Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire. Jerome claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.
Around AD 248, Greek philosopher Origen of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.
Constantinian basilica (326 – 529 or 556)
The first basilica on this site was built by Emperor Constantine I, on the site identified by his mother, Empress Helena and Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem. The construction started in 326 under the supervision of Makarios, who followed Constantine's orders, and was dedicated on 31 May 339—however, it had already been visited in 333 by the Bordeaux Pilgrim, at which time it was already in use.
Construction of this early church was carried out as part of a larger project following the First Council of Nicaea during Constantine's reign, aimed to build churches on the sites assumed at the time to have witnessed the crucial events in the life of Jesus. The design of the basilica centered around three major architectural sections:
At the eastern end, an apse in a polygonal shape (broken pentagon, rather than the once proposed, but improbable full octagon), encircling a raised platform with an opening in its floor of ca. 4 metres diameter that allowed direct view of the Nativity site underneath. An ambulatory with side rooms surrounded the apse.
A five-aisled basilica in continuation of the eastern apse, one bay shorter than the still standing Justinianic reconstruction.
A porticoed atrium.
The structure was burned and destroyed in one of the Samaritan Revolts of 529 or 556, in the second of which Jews seem to have joined the Samaritans.
Justinian's basilica (6th century)
The basilica was rebuilt in its present form in the 6th century on the initiative of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527–565), after the destruction of either 529 or 556. It was probably accomplished after the Emperor's death, as is indicated by the dating of the wooden elements embedded in the church walls between 545 and 665, which was provided by the dendrochronological analyses made during the recent restoration works.
The Persians under Khosrau II invaded Palestine and conquered nearby Jerusalem in 614, but they did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction above the church entrance of the Three Magi wearing the garb of Persian Zoroastrian priests, so he ordered that the building be spared.
Crusader period (1099-1187)
The Church of the Nativity was used as the primary coronation church for Crusader kings, from the second ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1100 and until 1131. In an earlier phase starting from c. 1130, the Crusaders promoted the redecoration of the building in the medium of wall painting: images of saints were displayed in the central and southern colonnades of the nave, largely on the initiative of private donors, as is shown by the frequent use of dedicatory inscriptions and portraits. Remnants of a cycle of narrative scenes are preserved in the north-western pillar of the choir and the south transepts, as well as in the chapel located below the bell tower. The Crusaders undertook extensive decoration and restoration on the basilica and grounds, a process that continued until 1169, from 1165 to 1169 even through a sort of "joint venture" between the Latin Bishop of Bethlehem, Raoul, the Latin King Amalric I of Jerusalem and the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. As detailed in the bilingual Greek and Latin inscription in the altar space, the mosaic decoration was made by a teamwork headed by a painter named Ephraim. Another bilingual, Latin and Syriac, inscription located in the lower half of a mosaic panel displaying an angel in the northern wall of the nave bears witness to the work of a painter named Basil, who was probably a local Syrian Melkite. The two artists collaborated within the same workshop.
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1187-1516)
The Ayyubid conquest of Jerusalem and its area in 1187 was without consequences for the Nativity church. The Greek-Melkite clergy was granted the right to serve in the church, and similar concessions were given almost immediately also to other Christian denominations.
In the year 1227 the church was embellished with an elegantly carved wooden door, the remnants of which can still be seen in the narthex. As detailed in its double, Armenian and Arabic inscription, it was made by two Armenian monks, Father Abraham and Father Arakel, in the times of King Hethum I of Cilicia (1224-1269) and the Emir of Damascus, and Saladin's nephew, al-Mu'azzam Isa. In 1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed an agreement with Sultan al-Kamil which led to the restitution of the Holy Places to the Crusaders. The property of the Nativity Church came back into the possession of the Latin clergy on the condition that Muslim pilgrims may be allowed to visit the holy cave. Latin hegemony probably lasted until the incursion of Khwarezmian Turks in April 1244. On that occasion, the church treasures, now preserved in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem, were concealed underground and rediscovered only in 1863. The church was devastated, but not destroyed, the major damage being the dilapidation of its roof.
Under Mamluk rule, the church was used by different Christian denominations, including Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syrians. In 1347 the Franciscans of the newly established Custody of the Holy Land were bestowed with the ownership of the former monastery of the regular canons to the north of the basilica. The Friars managed to gain a hegemonic role in Bethlehem until the Ottoman period.
Starting from the late 13th century, pilgrims lament the dilapidation of the church interior by order of Mamluk authorities: in particular, the marble revetments of the walls and floor were gradually removed, until they thoroughly disappeared.
The Duchy of Burgundy committed resources to restore the roof in August 1448, and multiple regions contributed supplies to have the church roof repaired in 1480: England supplied the lead, the Second Kingdom of Burgundy supplied the wood, and the Republic of Venice provided the labor.
Ottoman period, first three centuries (16th–18th)
After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, the Nativity church suffered from a long decay. The nave was largely abandoned and used for profane purposes. In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it. An elevated chancel, provided with three doors, thoroughly separated the nave from the east end of the building, which was reserved for liturgical activities. The Ottoman period was characterized by increasing tensions between the different Christian denominations. In 1637, Greeks were granted hegemony by the Sublime Porte and the Franciscans were expelled from the holy cave. In 1621 the Armenian Patriarch Grigor Paronter bought the partly ruined buildings to the south of the courtyard and established there a monastery and a hospice for pilgrims. In 1639, the Cretan painter Jeremias Palladas was commissioned by the Greek Patriarch to paint new icons to embellish the church. Further works were made in 1671 on the initiative of Patriarch Dositheos II. In 1675, Dositheos managed to gain control also of the nave, and promoted restorations of the floor and the roof, as well as the making of a new iconostasis. The Franciscans were restored in their rights in 1690, but they lose their hegemony once again in 1757, when the Greek Orthodox were granted full ownership of the upper church and the authorization to keep the keys to the grotto. Afterwards, a redecoration of the church was promoted: the nave was newly paved, the bema was provided with a solemn iconostasis and a wooden baldachin was erected over the main altar.
Because of uninterrupted water infiltrations from the roof, the Crusader mosaics started falling down, as is documented in many pilgrims' accounts from the 16th century onwards.
Nineteenth century
Earthquakes inflicted significant damage to the Church of the Nativity between 1834 and 1837. The 1834 Jerusalem earthquake damaged the church's bell tower, the furnishings in the cave on which the church is built, and other parts of its structure. Minor damages were further inflicted by a series of strong aftershocks in 1836 and the Galilee earthquake of 1837. As part of the repairs executed by the Greek Orthodox after receiving a firman in 1842, a wall was built between the nave and aisles, used at the time as a market, and the eastern part of the church containing the choir, which allowed for worship to be continued there.
The religiously significant silver star marking the exact birthplace of Jesus was removed in October 1847 from the Grotto of the Nativity by the Greek Orthodox. The church was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, but around Christmas 1852, Napoleon III forced the Ottomans to recognise Catholic France as the "sovereign authority" over Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. The Sultan of Turkey replaced the silver star at the grotto, complete with a Latin inscription, but the Christian Orthodox Russian Empire disputed the change in authority. They cited the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and then deployed armies to the Danube area. As a result, the Ottomans issued firmans essentially reversing their earlier decision, renouncing the French treaty, and restoring to the Orthodox Christians the sovereign authority over the churches of the Holy Land for the time being, thus increasing local tensions—and all this fuelled the conflict between the Russian and the Ottoman empires over the control of holy sites around the region.
Twentieth century to the present
The passageway which connects St. Jerome's Cave and the Cave of the Nativity was expanded in February 1964, allowing easier access for visitors. American businessman Stanley Slotkin was visiting at the time and purchased a quantity of the limestone rubble, more than a million irregular fragments about 5 mm (0.20 in) across. He sold them to the public encased in plastic crosses, and they were advertised in infomercials in 1995.
During the Second Intifada in April 2002, the church was the site of a month-long siege in which approximately 50 armed Palestinians wanted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took refuge inside the church. Christians in the church gave refuge to the fighters, giving them food, water, and protection from Israeli military forces stationed outside. Israeli media claimed that the Christians inside were being held hostage, however, parishioners inside the church say they and the church were treated with respect.
Curtains caught fire in the grotto beneath the church on 27 May 2014, which resulted in some slight damage.
The church's joint owners undertook a major renovation starting in September 2013, probably to be completed in 2021 (see also under Restoration (2013–2019)).
World Heritage Site
In 2012, the church complex became the first Palestinian site to be listed as a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session on 29 June. It was approved by a secret vote of 13–6 in the 21-member committee, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams, and following an emergency candidacy procedure that by-passed the 18-month process for most sites, despite the opposition of the United States and Israel. The site was approved under criteria four and six. The decision was a controversial one on both technical and political terms. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 2012 to 2019, as it was suffering from damages due to water leaks.
Restoration (2013–2019)
The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order—to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.
A Presidential committee for the restoration of the Nativity Church was appointed in 2008. In the following year, an international consortium team of experts from different Universities, under the supervision of Prof. Claudio Alessandri (University of Ferrara, Italy), was given the task of planning and coordinating the restoration works.
Logistics and organisation
In 2010, the Palestinian Authority announced that a multimillion-dollar restoration programme was imminent. Although a majority Muslim nation, albeit with a significant Christian minority, Palestinians consider the church a national treasure and one of their most visited tourist sites. President Mahmoud Abbas has been actively involved in the project, which is led by Ziad al-Bandak. The project is partially funded by Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts.
Restoration process
The initial phase of the restoration work was completed in early 2016. New windows have been installed, structural repairs on the roof have been completed and art works and mosaics have been cleaned and restored. The works went further with the consolidation of the narthex, the cleaning and consolidation of all wooden elements, the cleaning of wall mosaics, mural paintings, and floor mosaics. The works came to an end in 2020.
Discoveries
Italian restoration workers uncovered a seventh surviving mosaic angel in July 2016, which was previously hidden under plaster.[66] According to the Italian restorer Marcello Piacenti, the mosaics "are made of gold leaf placed between two glass plates" and solely "faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone."
Property and administration
The property rights, liturgical use and maintenance of the church are regulated by a set of documents and understandings known as the Status Quo. The church is owned by three church authorities, the Greek Orthodox (most of the building and furnishings), the Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic (each of them with lesser properties). The Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox are holding minor rights of worship at the Armenian church in the northern transept, and at the Altar of Nativity. There have been repeated brawls among monk trainees over quiet respect for others' prayers, hymns and even the division of floor space for cleaning duties. The Palestinian police are often called to restore peace and order.
Site architecture and layout
The centrepiece of the Nativity complex is the Grotto of the Nativity, a cave which enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
The core of the complex connected to the Grotto consists of the Church of the Nativity itself, and the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine north of it.
Outer courtyard
Bethlehem's main city square, Manger Square, is an extension of the large paved courtyard in front of the Church of the Nativity and St Catherine's. Here crowds gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in anticipation of the midnight services.
Basilica of the Nativity
The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is designed like a typical Roman basilica, with five aisles formed by Corinthian columns, and an apse in the eastern end containing the sanctuary.
The basilica is entered through a very low door called the "Door of Humility."
The church's interior walls feature medieval golden mosaics once covering the side walls, which are now in large parts lost.
The original Roman-style floor of the basilica has been covered over with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the Constantinian basilica.
There are 44 columns separating the aisles from each other and from the nave, some of which are painted with images of saints, such as the Irish monk Catald (fl. 7th century), the patron of the Sicilian Normans, Canute IV (c. 1042–1086), king of Denmark, and Olaf II (995–1030), king of Norway.
The east end of the church consists of a raised chancel, closed by an apse containing the main altar and separated from the chancel by a large gilded iconostasis.
A complex array of sanctuary lamps is placed throughout the entire building.
The open ceiling exposes the wooden rafters, recently restored. The previous 15th-century restoration used beams donated by King Edward IV of England, who also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this lead was taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition to use in war against Venice.
Grotto of the Nativity
The Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the Nativity. It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed by two staircases on either side of the chancel. The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the adjacent Church St Catherine's. The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is normally locked.
The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born, which contains the Altar of Nativity. The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717). It was installed by the Catholics in 1717, removed – allegedly by the Greeks – in 1847, and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853. The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic. The Altar of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary lay on when she gave birth to Jesus.
Catholics are in charge of a section of the grotto known as the "Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger. The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger site.
Church of St. Catherine
The adjoining Church of St. Catherine is a Catholic church dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, built in a more modern Gothic Revival style. It has been further modernized according to the liturgical trends which followed Vatican II.
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Certain customs in this Midnight Mass predate Vatican II, but must be maintained because the Status Quo was legally fixed by a firman (decree) in 1852 under the Ottoman Empire, which is still in force today.
The bas-relief of the Tree of Jesse is a 3.75 by 4 metres (12 ft 4 in by 13 ft 1 in) sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj which was recently incorporated into the Church of St. Catherine as a gift of Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to the Holy Land in 2009. It represents an olive tree as the Tree of Jesse, displaying the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham through Joseph, as well as symbolism from the Old Testament. The upper portion is dominated by a crowned figure of Christ the King in an open-armed pose blessing the Earth. It is situated along the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity.
Caves accessed from St. Catherine's
Several chapels are found in the caves accessed from St. Catherine's, including the Chapel of Saint Joseph commemorating the angel's appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt; the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod; and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, in the underground cell where tradition holds he lived while translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
Tombs
Traditional tombs of saints
According to a tradition not sustained by history, the tombs of four Catholic saints are said to be located beneath the Church of the Nativity, in the caves accessible from the Church of St. Catherine:
Jerome, whose remains are said to have been transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Paula, a disciple and benefactor of Jerome
Eustochium, the daughter of Paula
Eusebius of Cremona, a disciple of Jerome. A different tradition holds that he is buried in Italy.
Ancient burials
A number of ancient trough-shaped tombs can be seen in the Catholic-owned caves adjacent to the Nativity Grotto and St Jerome's Cave, some of them inside the Chapel of the Innocents; more tombs can be seen on the southern, Greek-Orthodox side of the Basilica of the Nativity, also presented as being those of the infants murdered by Herod.
According to researcher Haytham Dieck, rock-cut tombs and bone fragments in one restricted room of the church date from the 1st century AD. In another clandestine chamber, the Cave of the Holy Innocents, skulls and other bones from as many as 2,000 people (according to Dieck) are collected, but are clearly not infantile.
Christmas in Bethlehem
There are three different dates for the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Bethlehem:
December 24 and 25 for the Catholics (Latins), who use the General Roman Calendar (Gregorian);
January 6 and 7 for the Greek Orthodox, together with the Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox, who use the Julian calendar;
January 18 and 19 for the Armenian Apostolic Church, which combines the celebration of the Nativity with that of the Baptism of Jesus into the Armenian Feast of Theophany on January 6, according to the early traditions of Eastern Christianity, but follows the rules of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in its calculations (January 6 Julian style corresponds to January 19 Gregorian style).
Latin and Protestant
The Catholic Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is broadcast around the world. Festivities begin hours earlier when dignitaries welcome the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the entrance to the city, near Rachel's Tomb. Accompanied by a parade of youth organizations, he then makes his way to Manger Square, where crowds are waiting. Finally, he enters the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine for Mass, after which he leads the way to the adjacent Church of the Nativity. The patriarch carries a figurine of the Baby Jesus and places it on the silver star in the Nativity Grotto under the basilica.
Protestants worship either at the Lutheran church or the Church of the Nativity. However, some Protestant congregations go to Beit Sahour, a village near Bethlehem.
Greek Orthodox
On the Orthodox Christmas Eve, 13 days later, many visitors and faithful again fill Manger Square, this time to watch processions and receptions for the religious leaders of the different Eastern Orthodox communities.
Armenian
Members of the Armenian community are the last ones to celebrate Christmas, on January 18 and 19, in their own section of the Nativity Church. The altars there are also used by the smaller denominations during their respective Christmas festivities.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
Esso Gas Station located at 315 Main St. (US-201) in Binhgam,ME. The property which is currently vacant was most recently occupied by a thrift store operating under the name Village Variety consignment store.
Note this Esso service station opened in 1946 and operated until the early 1990s. It's also worth noting Esso rebranded all of their US locations under the Exxon name in 1973.
*Image scanned from the Jund 2nd 1951 edition of the Waterville Morning Sentinel
Vacío de Continental Rail de Jundiz a Bilbao remolcado con la 319301 y la 335018 remolcada en Miranda donde invertiría sentido de las locomotoras. 12-12-16
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
Scheherazade - ... E os pássaros começaram a chegar de todos os cantos da ilha, e jundo deles adivinhem quem veio também ? Os ca-ça-do-res...Simão tratou de subir na árvore mais alta que estava ali perto e ficou quietinho esperando...Do alto da árvores Simão podia enxergar cada movimento dos caçadores e foi assim que ele teve outra idéia...
Meus filhos Guilherme e Jenniffer.
Domingo é dia de pescar e contar com a sorte.
Nós fizemos uma ótima pescaria entre Carpa medalha, Carpa capim e Jundiá peixe de água doce pescamos 11 Kg.
Para quem gosta de peixe! Que tal provar?
Feito por mim e tem peixe para todos os gostos!
Filé de Peixe: Frito, á milanesa , ao molho branco e ensopado.
Bom apetite!
The Mosque of Omar (Arabic: مسجد عمر Masjid Umar) is the only mosque in the Old City of Bethlehem, Palestine. It is located on the west side of Manger Square, across the square from the Church of the Nativity.
History
Early Muslim period; location
The mosque is named after Omar (Umar) ibn al-Khattab (c. 581–644), the second Rashidun Caliph. Having conquered Jerusalem, Omar had travelled to Bethlehem in 637 CE to issue a law that would guarantee respect for the shrine and safety of Christians and clergy. Only four years after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Omar allegedly prayed at the location of the mosque.
Yaqut al-Hamawi (d. 1229) relates how Caliph Omar was advised by a Christian monk to build a mosque in an arcaded building or haniyya, rather than transform the Church of the Nativity into a mosque. Yaqut places the haniyya at a site where biblical kings David and Solomon were thought to be buried. In the early 10th century, Eutychius of Alexandria (877–940) describes the haniyya as placed within a Christian site, facing south and thus being appropriate for Muslim prayer (qibla), and mentions Omar as allowing Muslims to pray in the haniyya only one at a time; and prohibiting them to touch anything there, as well as to call for or conduct congregational prayers inside. Eutychius complained that in his time, the early 10th century, Muslims had broken these three rules. The evolution of the status of this site of prayer seems to have been from an arcaded space attached to a Christian building, where at first Muslims held only limited rights for performing prayers, to a congregational mosque starting from the early tenth century.
The exact location of the haniyya is not clear, but the place thought during late antiquity to be the burial site of David and Solomon was described by the Pilgrim of Bordeaux (330) as not far from the Basilica of the Nativity, and by the Piacenza Pilgrim (570) as half a Roman mile from the town centre.
Modern mosque at new location (1860)
The current mosque was built in 1860, on land given for the purpose by Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox Church. It was renovated in 1955 during Jordanian control of the city. In the past, before the advent of light bulbs, it was common for Muslims and Christians in Bethlehem to offer olive oil to light up the surroundings of the mosque, which was evidence of religious coexistence in the city.
Tensions (2000s)
On February 20, 2006, the Dalai Lama canceled his visit to the mosque, among other places, due to pressure from the government of China. The Palestinian National Authority had requested the cancellation. A foreign ministry official, Majdi al-Khaldi, told reporters,
At the request of the Chinese government, we have not received or dealt with him given his separatist ambitions for Tibet.... Given our friendly relations with the Chinese government, which supports the Palestinian people, we asked the local (Bethlehem) authorities as well as civil society groups not to receive him and they acquiesced with our request.
In February 2007, Israel's Shin Bet security agency arrested 20 men who were allegedly recruited for a "Hamas-linked cell" by a Muslim cleric in the Mosque of Omar. Nevertheless, the mosque remained peaceful when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited on Christmas Eve 2007.
Manger Square (Arabic: ميدان المهد; Hebrew: כיכר האבוס) is a city square in the center of Bethlehem in Palestine. It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born which, according to Christian tradition, took place at the Grotto of the Nativity, enshrined since the fourth century in the Church of the Nativity. A particular building set in Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar, the Old City's only mosque, and the Palestinian Peace Center. The streets that lead to the square are related to the Christian faith, such as Star Street and Nativity Street.
In 1998–1999, the square was renovated to relieve the traffic congestion and currently is, to a large degree, pedestrian only. It is mainly a meeting place for locals and for the town's many pilgrims. There are rows of celtis australis trees that provide shade to its people, with benches and fountains made of yellowish-white local limestone known as Naqab marble.
Christmas celebrations
Manger Square is a focal point for all of the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, with a giant Christmas tree crowning the square. It is the traditional spot where locals and pilgrims sing Christmas carols before the midnight mass at the Church of the Nativity. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Armenian Apostolic Church follow the Julian Calendar liturgically, whereas the Roman Catholic Church follows the modern Gregorian Calendar. Thus Christmas Eve services for the Eastern and Western confessions are held on different days. The Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Nativity on 25 December; the Orthodox celebrations are on 7 January.
Venue for sports and cultural activities
On 21 April 2013, Manger Square was the starting and finishing line of Palestine Marathon.
Church of the Nativity siege
Main article: Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
In May 2002, during an Israel Defense Forces raid on the square a part of Operation Defensive Shield, a number of locals (some of whom were armed) and peace activists took refuge in the Church of the Nativity. It became the site of a five-week stand-off. The number of people inside was estimated between 120 and 240. It was alleged by Palestinians that several Palestinians inside the church compound were shot dead by Israeli snipers during the siege. The siege ended with an agreement for 13 militants to be sent via Cyprus to various European countries and another 26 to be sent to Gaza. The rest were set free. The IDF stated that 40 explosive devices were found and removed from the compound after the standoff was concluded.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem in the State of Palestine, in the West Bank. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus. That original basilica was likely built between 330 and 333, being already mentioned in 333, and was dedicated on 31 May 339. It was probably destroyed by fire during the Samaritan revolts of the sixth century, possibly in 529, and a new basilica was built a number of years later by Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), who added a porch or narthex, and replaced the octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform transept complete with three apses, but largely preserved the original character of the building, with an atrium and a basilica consisting of a nave with four side aisles.
The Church of the Nativity, while remaining basically unchanged since the Justinianic reconstruction, has seen numerous repairs and additions, especially from the Crusader period, such as two bell towers (now gone), wall mosaics and paintings (partially preserved). Over the centuries, the surrounding compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters, comprising three different monasteries: one Catholic, one Armenian Apostolic, and one Greek Orthodox, of which the first two contain bell towers built during the modern era.
The silver star marking the spot where Christ was born, inscribed in Latin, was stolen in October 1847 by Greek monks who wished to remove this Catholic item. Some assert that this was a contributing factor in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. Others assert that the war grew out of the wider European situation.
Since 2012, the Church of the Nativity is a World Heritage Site and was the first to be listed by UNESCO under 'Palestine'.
Since 1852, the rights of the three religious communities are ruled by Status Quo.
Base in scripture
Of the four canonical gospels, Matthew and Luke mention the birth of Jesus, both placing it in Bethlehem. Luke mentions the manger: "and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
A variant of the narrative is contained in the Gospel of James, an apocryphal infancy gospel.
History
Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire. Jerome claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.
Around AD 248, Greek philosopher Origen of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.
Constantinian basilica (326 – 529 or 556)
The first basilica on this site was built by Emperor Constantine I, on the site identified by his mother, Empress Helena and Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem. The construction started in 326 under the supervision of Makarios, who followed Constantine's orders, and was dedicated on 31 May 339—however, it had already been visited in 333 by the Bordeaux Pilgrim, at which time it was already in use.
Construction of this early church was carried out as part of a larger project following the First Council of Nicaea during Constantine's reign, aimed to build churches on the sites assumed at the time to have witnessed the crucial events in the life of Jesus. The design of the basilica centered around three major architectural sections:
At the eastern end, an apse in a polygonal shape (broken pentagon, rather than the once proposed, but improbable full octagon), encircling a raised platform with an opening in its floor of ca. 4 metres diameter that allowed direct view of the Nativity site underneath. An ambulatory with side rooms surrounded the apse.
A five-aisled basilica in continuation of the eastern apse, one bay shorter than the still standing Justinianic reconstruction.
A porticoed atrium.
The structure was burned and destroyed in one of the Samaritan Revolts of 529 or 556, in the second of which Jews seem to have joined the Samaritans.
Justinian's basilica (6th century)
The basilica was rebuilt in its present form in the 6th century on the initiative of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527–565), after the destruction of either 529 or 556. It was probably accomplished after the Emperor's death, as is indicated by the dating of the wooden elements embedded in the church walls between 545 and 665, which was provided by the dendrochronological analyses made during the recent restoration works.
The Persians under Khosrau II invaded Palestine and conquered nearby Jerusalem in 614, but they did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction above the church entrance of the Three Magi wearing the garb of Persian Zoroastrian priests, so he ordered that the building be spared.
Crusader period (1099-1187)
The Church of the Nativity was used as the primary coronation church for Crusader kings, from the second ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1100 and until 1131. In an earlier phase starting from c. 1130, the Crusaders promoted the redecoration of the building in the medium of wall painting: images of saints were displayed in the central and southern colonnades of the nave, largely on the initiative of private donors, as is shown by the frequent use of dedicatory inscriptions and portraits. Remnants of a cycle of narrative scenes are preserved in the north-western pillar of the choir and the south transepts, as well as in the chapel located below the bell tower. The Crusaders undertook extensive decoration and restoration on the basilica and grounds, a process that continued until 1169, from 1165 to 1169 even through a sort of "joint venture" between the Latin Bishop of Bethlehem, Raoul, the Latin King Amalric I of Jerusalem and the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. As detailed in the bilingual Greek and Latin inscription in the altar space, the mosaic decoration was made by a teamwork headed by a painter named Ephraim. Another bilingual, Latin and Syriac, inscription located in the lower half of a mosaic panel displaying an angel in the northern wall of the nave bears witness to the work of a painter named Basil, who was probably a local Syrian Melkite. The two artists collaborated within the same workshop.
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1187-1516)
The Ayyubid conquest of Jerusalem and its area in 1187 was without consequences for the Nativity church. The Greek-Melkite clergy was granted the right to serve in the church, and similar concessions were given almost immediately also to other Christian denominations.
In the year 1227 the church was embellished with an elegantly carved wooden door, the remnants of which can still be seen in the narthex. As detailed in its double, Armenian and Arabic inscription, it was made by two Armenian monks, Father Abraham and Father Arakel, in the times of King Hethum I of Cilicia (1224-1269) and the Emir of Damascus, and Saladin's nephew, al-Mu'azzam Isa. In 1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed an agreement with Sultan al-Kamil which led to the restitution of the Holy Places to the Crusaders. The property of the Nativity Church came back into the possession of the Latin clergy on the condition that Muslim pilgrims may be allowed to visit the holy cave. Latin hegemony probably lasted until the incursion of Khwarezmian Turks in April 1244. On that occasion, the church treasures, now preserved in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem, were concealed underground and rediscovered only in 1863. The church was devastated, but not destroyed, the major damage being the dilapidation of its roof.
Under Mamluk rule, the church was used by different Christian denominations, including Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syrians. In 1347 the Franciscans of the newly established Custody of the Holy Land were bestowed with the ownership of the former monastery of the regular canons to the north of the basilica. The Friars managed to gain a hegemonic role in Bethlehem until the Ottoman period.
Starting from the late 13th century, pilgrims lament the dilapidation of the church interior by order of Mamluk authorities: in particular, the marble revetments of the walls and floor were gradually removed, until they thoroughly disappeared.
The Duchy of Burgundy committed resources to restore the roof in August 1448, and multiple regions contributed supplies to have the church roof repaired in 1480: England supplied the lead, the Second Kingdom of Burgundy supplied the wood, and the Republic of Venice provided the labor.
Ottoman period, first three centuries (16th–18th)
After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, the Nativity church suffered from a long decay. The nave was largely abandoned and used for profane purposes. In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it. An elevated chancel, provided with three doors, thoroughly separated the nave from the east end of the building, which was reserved for liturgical activities. The Ottoman period was characterized by increasing tensions between the different Christian denominations. In 1637, Greeks were granted hegemony by the Sublime Porte and the Franciscans were expelled from the holy cave. In 1621 the Armenian Patriarch Grigor Paronter bought the partly ruined buildings to the south of the courtyard and established there a monastery and a hospice for pilgrims. In 1639, the Cretan painter Jeremias Palladas was commissioned by the Greek Patriarch to paint new icons to embellish the church. Further works were made in 1671 on the initiative of Patriarch Dositheos II. In 1675, Dositheos managed to gain control also of the nave, and promoted restorations of the floor and the roof, as well as the making of a new iconostasis. The Franciscans were restored in their rights in 1690, but they lose their hegemony once again in 1757, when the Greek Orthodox were granted full ownership of the upper church and the authorization to keep the keys to the grotto. Afterwards, a redecoration of the church was promoted: the nave was newly paved, the bema was provided with a solemn iconostasis and a wooden baldachin was erected over the main altar.
Because of uninterrupted water infiltrations from the roof, the Crusader mosaics started falling down, as is documented in many pilgrims' accounts from the 16th century onwards.
Nineteenth century
Earthquakes inflicted significant damage to the Church of the Nativity between 1834 and 1837. The 1834 Jerusalem earthquake damaged the church's bell tower, the furnishings in the cave on which the church is built, and other parts of its structure. Minor damages were further inflicted by a series of strong aftershocks in 1836 and the Galilee earthquake of 1837. As part of the repairs executed by the Greek Orthodox after receiving a firman in 1842, a wall was built between the nave and aisles, used at the time as a market, and the eastern part of the church containing the choir, which allowed for worship to be continued there.
The religiously significant silver star marking the exact birthplace of Jesus was removed in October 1847 from the Grotto of the Nativity by the Greek Orthodox. The church was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, but around Christmas 1852, Napoleon III forced the Ottomans to recognise Catholic France as the "sovereign authority" over Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. The Sultan of Turkey replaced the silver star at the grotto, complete with a Latin inscription, but the Christian Orthodox Russian Empire disputed the change in authority. They cited the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and then deployed armies to the Danube area. As a result, the Ottomans issued firmans essentially reversing their earlier decision, renouncing the French treaty, and restoring to the Orthodox Christians the sovereign authority over the churches of the Holy Land for the time being, thus increasing local tensions—and all this fuelled the conflict between the Russian and the Ottoman empires over the control of holy sites around the region.
Twentieth century to the present
The passageway which connects St. Jerome's Cave and the Cave of the Nativity was expanded in February 1964, allowing easier access for visitors. American businessman Stanley Slotkin was visiting at the time and purchased a quantity of the limestone rubble, more than a million irregular fragments about 5 mm (0.20 in) across. He sold them to the public encased in plastic crosses, and they were advertised in infomercials in 1995.
During the Second Intifada in April 2002, the church was the site of a month-long siege in which approximately 50 armed Palestinians wanted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took refuge inside the church. Christians in the church gave refuge to the fighters, giving them food, water, and protection from Israeli military forces stationed outside. Israeli media claimed that the Christians inside were being held hostage, however, parishioners inside the church say they and the church were treated with respect.
Curtains caught fire in the grotto beneath the church on 27 May 2014, which resulted in some slight damage.
The church's joint owners undertook a major renovation starting in September 2013, probably to be completed in 2021 (see also under Restoration (2013–2019)).
World Heritage Site
In 2012, the church complex became the first Palestinian site to be listed as a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session on 29 June. It was approved by a secret vote of 13–6 in the 21-member committee, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams, and following an emergency candidacy procedure that by-passed the 18-month process for most sites, despite the opposition of the United States and Israel. The site was approved under criteria four and six. The decision was a controversial one on both technical and political terms. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 2012 to 2019, as it was suffering from damages due to water leaks.
Restoration (2013–2019)
The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order—to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.
A Presidential committee for the restoration of the Nativity Church was appointed in 2008. In the following year, an international consortium team of experts from different Universities, under the supervision of Prof. Claudio Alessandri (University of Ferrara, Italy), was given the task of planning and coordinating the restoration works.
Logistics and organisation
In 2010, the Palestinian Authority announced that a multimillion-dollar restoration programme was imminent. Although a majority Muslim nation, albeit with a significant Christian minority, Palestinians consider the church a national treasure and one of their most visited tourist sites. President Mahmoud Abbas has been actively involved in the project, which is led by Ziad al-Bandak. The project is partially funded by Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts.
Restoration process
The initial phase of the restoration work was completed in early 2016. New windows have been installed, structural repairs on the roof have been completed and art works and mosaics have been cleaned and restored. The works went further with the consolidation of the narthex, the cleaning and consolidation of all wooden elements, the cleaning of wall mosaics, mural paintings, and floor mosaics. The works came to an end in 2020.
Discoveries
Italian restoration workers uncovered a seventh surviving mosaic angel in July 2016, which was previously hidden under plaster.[66] According to the Italian restorer Marcello Piacenti, the mosaics "are made of gold leaf placed between two glass plates" and solely "faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone."
Property and administration
The property rights, liturgical use and maintenance of the church are regulated by a set of documents and understandings known as the Status Quo. The church is owned by three church authorities, the Greek Orthodox (most of the building and furnishings), the Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic (each of them with lesser properties). The Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox are holding minor rights of worship at the Armenian church in the northern transept, and at the Altar of Nativity. There have been repeated brawls among monk trainees over quiet respect for others' prayers, hymns and even the division of floor space for cleaning duties. The Palestinian police are often called to restore peace and order.
Site architecture and layout
The centrepiece of the Nativity complex is the Grotto of the Nativity, a cave which enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
The core of the complex connected to the Grotto consists of the Church of the Nativity itself, and the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine north of it.
Outer courtyard
Bethlehem's main city square, Manger Square, is an extension of the large paved courtyard in front of the Church of the Nativity and St Catherine's. Here crowds gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in anticipation of the midnight services.
Basilica of the Nativity
The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is designed like a typical Roman basilica, with five aisles formed by Corinthian columns, and an apse in the eastern end containing the sanctuary.
The basilica is entered through a very low door called the "Door of Humility."
The church's interior walls feature medieval golden mosaics once covering the side walls, which are now in large parts lost.
The original Roman-style floor of the basilica has been covered over with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the Constantinian basilica.
There are 44 columns separating the aisles from each other and from the nave, some of which are painted with images of saints, such as the Irish monk Catald (fl. 7th century), the patron of the Sicilian Normans, Canute IV (c. 1042–1086), king of Denmark, and Olaf II (995–1030), king of Norway.
The east end of the church consists of a raised chancel, closed by an apse containing the main altar and separated from the chancel by a large gilded iconostasis.
A complex array of sanctuary lamps is placed throughout the entire building.
The open ceiling exposes the wooden rafters, recently restored. The previous 15th-century restoration used beams donated by King Edward IV of England, who also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this lead was taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition to use in war against Venice.
Grotto of the Nativity
The Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the Nativity. It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed by two staircases on either side of the chancel. The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the adjacent Church St Catherine's. The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is normally locked.
The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born, which contains the Altar of Nativity. The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717). It was installed by the Catholics in 1717, removed – allegedly by the Greeks – in 1847, and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853. The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic. The Altar of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary lay on when she gave birth to Jesus.
Catholics are in charge of a section of the grotto known as the "Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger. The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger site.
Church of St. Catherine
The adjoining Church of St. Catherine is a Catholic church dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, built in a more modern Gothic Revival style. It has been further modernized according to the liturgical trends which followed Vatican II.
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Certain customs in this Midnight Mass predate Vatican II, but must be maintained because the Status Quo was legally fixed by a firman (decree) in 1852 under the Ottoman Empire, which is still in force today.
The bas-relief of the Tree of Jesse is a 3.75 by 4 metres (12 ft 4 in by 13 ft 1 in) sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj which was recently incorporated into the Church of St. Catherine as a gift of Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to the Holy Land in 2009. It represents an olive tree as the Tree of Jesse, displaying the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham through Joseph, as well as symbolism from the Old Testament. The upper portion is dominated by a crowned figure of Christ the King in an open-armed pose blessing the Earth. It is situated along the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity.
Caves accessed from St. Catherine's
Several chapels are found in the caves accessed from St. Catherine's, including the Chapel of Saint Joseph commemorating the angel's appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt; the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod; and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, in the underground cell where tradition holds he lived while translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
Tombs
Traditional tombs of saints
According to a tradition not sustained by history, the tombs of four Catholic saints are said to be located beneath the Church of the Nativity, in the caves accessible from the Church of St. Catherine:
Jerome, whose remains are said to have been transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Paula, a disciple and benefactor of Jerome
Eustochium, the daughter of Paula
Eusebius of Cremona, a disciple of Jerome. A different tradition holds that he is buried in Italy.
Ancient burials
A number of ancient trough-shaped tombs can be seen in the Catholic-owned caves adjacent to the Nativity Grotto and St Jerome's Cave, some of them inside the Chapel of the Innocents; more tombs can be seen on the southern, Greek-Orthodox side of the Basilica of the Nativity, also presented as being those of the infants murdered by Herod.
According to researcher Haytham Dieck, rock-cut tombs and bone fragments in one restricted room of the church date from the 1st century AD. In another clandestine chamber, the Cave of the Holy Innocents, skulls and other bones from as many as 2,000 people (according to Dieck) are collected, but are clearly not infantile.
Christmas in Bethlehem
There are three different dates for the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Bethlehem:
December 24 and 25 for the Catholics (Latins), who use the General Roman Calendar (Gregorian);
January 6 and 7 for the Greek Orthodox, together with the Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox, who use the Julian calendar;
January 18 and 19 for the Armenian Apostolic Church, which combines the celebration of the Nativity with that of the Baptism of Jesus into the Armenian Feast of Theophany on January 6, according to the early traditions of Eastern Christianity, but follows the rules of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in its calculations (January 6 Julian style corresponds to January 19 Gregorian style).
Latin and Protestant
The Catholic Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is broadcast around the world. Festivities begin hours earlier when dignitaries welcome the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the entrance to the city, near Rachel's Tomb. Accompanied by a parade of youth organizations, he then makes his way to Manger Square, where crowds are waiting. Finally, he enters the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine for Mass, after which he leads the way to the adjacent Church of the Nativity. The patriarch carries a figurine of the Baby Jesus and places it on the silver star in the Nativity Grotto under the basilica.
Protestants worship either at the Lutheran church or the Church of the Nativity. However, some Protestant congregations go to Beit Sahour, a village near Bethlehem.
Greek Orthodox
On the Orthodox Christmas Eve, 13 days later, many visitors and faithful again fill Manger Square, this time to watch processions and receptions for the religious leaders of the different Eastern Orthodox communities.
Armenian
Members of the Armenian community are the last ones to celebrate Christmas, on January 18 and 19, in their own section of the Nativity Church. The altars there are also used by the smaller denominations during their respective Christmas festivities.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
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Hama (Arabic: حماة, Hama, pronounced [Hama] Hamath biblical "fortress") is a city on the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. The city is the historic site of Hamat.
The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium Aclos Amorites came from Mari on the Euphrates River about 250 kilometers east of Hama, colonizing many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq. Although the city is not mentioned in the sources before the first millennium BC, the site seems to have enjoyed great prosperity around 1500 BC, during which it is assumed that belonged to the Amorites Mittanni Empire, an empire that extencio along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria. Mitani was later overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria after the famous battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285 BC
By the turn of the millennium, the ancient Hittite Empire had fallen and centralized Hama is proclaimed as the capital of a prosperous kingdom neo-Hittite Aramaean known in the Bible as Hamath (Aramaic Hittite: Amatuwana, in Hebrew: חֲמָת), which was extended widely , particularly in what is now Israel. Hittite and Aramaic peoples lived in relative peace, coexisting with other states in the region, as Carchemish. The most significant of all was Damascus Aramean states, who became the leader of a federation of states Arameans of which Hamath was a member. Gradually, Aramaic became the most widely used language in the Middle East.
When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858-824 AD) conquered northern Syria reached Hamath in 835 BC, marking the beginning of the Assyrian inscriptions concerning the kingdom. led a coalition of cities in Syria against the invasion of Assyrian armies according to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2000 cavalry 62,000 infantry and 1,000 camel jockeys in the battle of Carcar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more While a tie,
In 743 BC, Tiglath-pileser III took a number of cities in the territory of Hamath territories distributed among his generals, and forcibly displaced 1,223 people to inhabit the upper valley of the Tigris, which they demands to the king of Hamath
Hamat is one of the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. More than 30,000 people were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives of the Zagros. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Hamath Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt that led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Sargon II wiped out the city, which recolonized with 6,300 Assyrians and their king condemned to be flayed alive in Assyria. Were also carried Nimrud ivory furniture adorning their kings
The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire came to include most of the Near East to the coast Mediterráneoa. However, his empire fell, when in 612 BC an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but in the 540a.c. Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.
The few biblical citations that report indicate that Hamath was the capital of a kingdom Canaanites (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated the King David for his victory over Hadad-ezer, king of Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Chronicles 13:9-11). Solomon apparently took possession of Hamath and of its territory. The prophet Amos called the city Hamath the Great. In fact, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, in the second half of the fourth century BC Syria was under the influence of Greco-Roman instead of Arabic and Persian cultures. Alexander campaigned in, 334 to 323 BC Syria sometiendoa Hellenic influence. Since the country was on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other cities of Syria, once again became rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great Middle East conquests were divided among his generals, Seleucus Nicator and became the ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a resurgence in the fortunes of Hama. For the Syrians were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania. The Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to take control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.
The Romans hizieron by the original settlements, as Hama and made their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey in 64 BC, after which Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, governed from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman period, but archaeological evidence is scarce.
In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In the time was known as Byzantine Hama Hamath. Byzantium Roman rule meant that the Christian religion has been reinforced throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphany was born in Hama in the sixth century.
Muslim rule
During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the city regained its old name, which has since been preserved. After his capture, was under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the empire of the Umayyads until the ninth century. The Umayyads built the Great Mosque of Hama in the eighth century that served as a model for the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Although the history of the city is dark at this time, we know that Hama was a walled city with a ring of outlying towns. He remained under the control of the Hamdanid. rulers of Aleppo in the tenth century and remained so until the twelfth century these have been considered the dark years of Hama. The Byzantines under Emperor Nicephorus Phocas stormed the city in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. In the eleventh century, the Fatimids gained sovereignty over northern Syria during this period, the Mirdasids ruled Hama.
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost to Saladin definitely. In 1157 an earthquake destroyed the city. In 1175, Hama was taken by Saladin, the city granted his nephew, Omar al-Muzaffar, and placed under the control of the Ayyubid family. This marked the beginning of an era of stability and prosperity in the Ayyubid Hama ruling almost continuously until 1342. The geographer Yaqut Al Hamawi, born in Hama in 1225 described him as a great city surrounded by a great wall. Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, like other cities in Syria, but the Mongols were defeated that year and again in 1303 by the Mamluks to the Ayyubid sucedióron as rulers of the region. Hama briefly became the Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of the governor of al-Mansur, Mahmud II. However, unlike other cities earlier Ayyubid, Mamluk Ayyubid returned to the family of Hama by Abu al-Fida, historian and geographer, governor of the city reigning from 1310 to 1332. He described his city as a very old ... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the nicest places in Syria. After his death, was succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Afdal eventually lost favor with the Mamluks and was deposed. Therefore, Hama came under the direct control of the Mamluks.
Gradually extended to the banks of the Orontes River, in the neighborhood of the right bank is connected to the city proper by a bridge of new construction. The city on the left is divided into upper and lower portions, each of them was surrounded by a wall. . The city was full of palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, a hospital, and over thirty different wells. It was during the reign of the Mamluks that many of the wells, which began during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were refurbished and expanded, and their numbers increased. Water and other pipeline systems were built to bring water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields. Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to the neighboring city of Hama in Salamiyah.
Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and noted that the Orontes River, to the pleasant city to live, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits, also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (the name of an Ayyubid emir) containing; a very nice market, a mosque and baths, in 1400, conquered Timurlane Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.
Ottoman Empire
The period of prosperity of the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria after defeating the Mamelukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, fell under the Ottoman rule of Constantinople. Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the management structure of the region. Hama, again became an important center of trade routes from the Mediterranean to Asia. A number of caravaneses were built in the city, like Rustum Pasha Khan dating back to 1556. Syria was then divided into three governorates and Hama was ruled by the government based in Aleppo.
Then in the eighteenth century, became the governor of Damascus. The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, which also ruled in other parts of Syria by the Ottomans. They built sumptuous residences in Hama, including Azem Palace and Khan Asad Pasha, which were built by Asad Pasha al-Azem, who ruled Hama for several years until 1742. By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool and other raw materials. After approval of the Law vilayet in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (winning the city asministrativos powers,
Modern Age
Ottoman rule ended in 1917 after its defeat in World War at the hands of the allied forces. Hama became part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had become what remained: a provincial town of medium size, with an important market for an agricultural area rich in cereals, cotton and sugar beets. He became famous as the center of landlords of large estates worked by peasants. Since the 1940s, a conflict erupted important class of agricultural workers seeking reforms in Hama. Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, member of a notable poor family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and improved conditions of Hama sociales.Hizo the basis of the Arab Socialist Party which later merged with another socialist party, the Baath. The party ascended to power in 1963 and marked the end of the power of the landed elite. . In the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of a revolt by conservative forces encouraged by the speeches of the preachers in the mosque denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops to the barracks of the ancient city of Hama to quell the insurrection.
In 1964, the unrest caused dozens of deaths, and in the 1970's, Hama became an important source of opposition to the regime during the uprising Sunni Islam that began in 1976. In the spring of 1982, government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the rebellion with means very hard. Tanks and artillery bombed neighborhoods in the hands of insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilians living after submitting the revolt. In the cleaning after the fighting ended, large city districts, including most of the old city, were leveled by bulldozers and then rebuilt, changing the face of the city. Deaths in the slaughter of Hama have been estimated to range between 5,000 and 20,000, although no reliable figures are available. (Opponents of the regime, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, the encrypted between 30,000 and 40,000.) The story is deleted from the official books and is considered highly sensitive in Syria. 31 JULY 2011 NEW TANKS ENTER UNTOLD LEAVING DEAD
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem in the State of Palestine, in the West Bank. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus. That original basilica was likely built between 330 and 333, being already mentioned in 333, and was dedicated on 31 May 339. It was probably destroyed by fire during the Samaritan revolts of the sixth century, possibly in 529, and a new basilica was built a number of years later by Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), who added a porch or narthex, and replaced the octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform transept complete with three apses, but largely preserved the original character of the building, with an atrium and a basilica consisting of a nave with four side aisles.
The Church of the Nativity, while remaining basically unchanged since the Justinianic reconstruction, has seen numerous repairs and additions, especially from the Crusader period, such as two bell towers (now gone), wall mosaics and paintings (partially preserved). Over the centuries, the surrounding compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters, comprising three different monasteries: one Catholic, one Armenian Apostolic, and one Greek Orthodox, of which the first two contain bell towers built during the modern era.
The silver star marking the spot where Christ was born, inscribed in Latin, was stolen in October 1847 by Greek monks who wished to remove this Catholic item. Some assert that this was a contributing factor in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. Others assert that the war grew out of the wider European situation.
Since 2012, the Church of the Nativity is a World Heritage Site and was the first to be listed by UNESCO under 'Palestine'.
Since 1852, the rights of the three religious communities are ruled by Status Quo.
Base in scripture
Of the four canonical gospels, Matthew and Luke mention the birth of Jesus, both placing it in Bethlehem. Luke mentions the manger: "and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
A variant of the narrative is contained in the Gospel of James, an apocryphal infancy gospel.
History
Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire. Jerome claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.
Around AD 248, Greek philosopher Origen of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.
Constantinian basilica (326 – 529 or 556)
The first basilica on this site was built by Emperor Constantine I, on the site identified by his mother, Empress Helena and Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem. The construction started in 326 under the supervision of Makarios, who followed Constantine's orders, and was dedicated on 31 May 339—however, it had already been visited in 333 by the Bordeaux Pilgrim, at which time it was already in use.
Construction of this early church was carried out as part of a larger project following the First Council of Nicaea during Constantine's reign, aimed to build churches on the sites assumed at the time to have witnessed the crucial events in the life of Jesus. The design of the basilica centered around three major architectural sections:
At the eastern end, an apse in a polygonal shape (broken pentagon, rather than the once proposed, but improbable full octagon), encircling a raised platform with an opening in its floor of ca. 4 metres diameter that allowed direct view of the Nativity site underneath. An ambulatory with side rooms surrounded the apse.
A five-aisled basilica in continuation of the eastern apse, one bay shorter than the still standing Justinianic reconstruction.
A porticoed atrium.
The structure was burned and destroyed in one of the Samaritan Revolts of 529 or 556, in the second of which Jews seem to have joined the Samaritans.
Justinian's basilica (6th century)
The basilica was rebuilt in its present form in the 6th century on the initiative of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527–565), after the destruction of either 529 or 556. It was probably accomplished after the Emperor's death, as is indicated by the dating of the wooden elements embedded in the church walls between 545 and 665, which was provided by the dendrochronological analyses made during the recent restoration works.
The Persians under Khosrau II invaded Palestine and conquered nearby Jerusalem in 614, but they did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction above the church entrance of the Three Magi wearing the garb of Persian Zoroastrian priests, so he ordered that the building be spared.
Crusader period (1099-1187)
The Church of the Nativity was used as the primary coronation church for Crusader kings, from the second ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1100 and until 1131. In an earlier phase starting from c. 1130, the Crusaders promoted the redecoration of the building in the medium of wall painting: images of saints were displayed in the central and southern colonnades of the nave, largely on the initiative of private donors, as is shown by the frequent use of dedicatory inscriptions and portraits. Remnants of a cycle of narrative scenes are preserved in the north-western pillar of the choir and the south transepts, as well as in the chapel located below the bell tower. The Crusaders undertook extensive decoration and restoration on the basilica and grounds, a process that continued until 1169, from 1165 to 1169 even through a sort of "joint venture" between the Latin Bishop of Bethlehem, Raoul, the Latin King Amalric I of Jerusalem and the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. As detailed in the bilingual Greek and Latin inscription in the altar space, the mosaic decoration was made by a teamwork headed by a painter named Ephraim. Another bilingual, Latin and Syriac, inscription located in the lower half of a mosaic panel displaying an angel in the northern wall of the nave bears witness to the work of a painter named Basil, who was probably a local Syrian Melkite. The two artists collaborated within the same workshop.
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1187-1516)
The Ayyubid conquest of Jerusalem and its area in 1187 was without consequences for the Nativity church. The Greek-Melkite clergy was granted the right to serve in the church, and similar concessions were given almost immediately also to other Christian denominations.
In the year 1227 the church was embellished with an elegantly carved wooden door, the remnants of which can still be seen in the narthex. As detailed in its double, Armenian and Arabic inscription, it was made by two Armenian monks, Father Abraham and Father Arakel, in the times of King Hethum I of Cilicia (1224-1269) and the Emir of Damascus, and Saladin's nephew, al-Mu'azzam Isa. In 1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed an agreement with Sultan al-Kamil which led to the restitution of the Holy Places to the Crusaders. The property of the Nativity Church came back into the possession of the Latin clergy on the condition that Muslim pilgrims may be allowed to visit the holy cave. Latin hegemony probably lasted until the incursion of Khwarezmian Turks in April 1244. On that occasion, the church treasures, now preserved in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem, were concealed underground and rediscovered only in 1863. The church was devastated, but not destroyed, the major damage being the dilapidation of its roof.
Under Mamluk rule, the church was used by different Christian denominations, including Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syrians. In 1347 the Franciscans of the newly established Custody of the Holy Land were bestowed with the ownership of the former monastery of the regular canons to the north of the basilica. The Friars managed to gain a hegemonic role in Bethlehem until the Ottoman period.
Starting from the late 13th century, pilgrims lament the dilapidation of the church interior by order of Mamluk authorities: in particular, the marble revetments of the walls and floor were gradually removed, until they thoroughly disappeared.
The Duchy of Burgundy committed resources to restore the roof in August 1448, and multiple regions contributed supplies to have the church roof repaired in 1480: England supplied the lead, the Second Kingdom of Burgundy supplied the wood, and the Republic of Venice provided the labor.
Ottoman period, first three centuries (16th–18th)
After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, the Nativity church suffered from a long decay. The nave was largely abandoned and used for profane purposes. In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it. An elevated chancel, provided with three doors, thoroughly separated the nave from the east end of the building, which was reserved for liturgical activities. The Ottoman period was characterized by increasing tensions between the different Christian denominations. In 1637, Greeks were granted hegemony by the Sublime Porte and the Franciscans were expelled from the holy cave. In 1621 the Armenian Patriarch Grigor Paronter bought the partly ruined buildings to the south of the courtyard and established there a monastery and a hospice for pilgrims. In 1639, the Cretan painter Jeremias Palladas was commissioned by the Greek Patriarch to paint new icons to embellish the church. Further works were made in 1671 on the initiative of Patriarch Dositheos II. In 1675, Dositheos managed to gain control also of the nave, and promoted restorations of the floor and the roof, as well as the making of a new iconostasis. The Franciscans were restored in their rights in 1690, but they lose their hegemony once again in 1757, when the Greek Orthodox were granted full ownership of the upper church and the authorization to keep the keys to the grotto. Afterwards, a redecoration of the church was promoted: the nave was newly paved, the bema was provided with a solemn iconostasis and a wooden baldachin was erected over the main altar.
Because of uninterrupted water infiltrations from the roof, the Crusader mosaics started falling down, as is documented in many pilgrims' accounts from the 16th century onwards.
Nineteenth century
Earthquakes inflicted significant damage to the Church of the Nativity between 1834 and 1837. The 1834 Jerusalem earthquake damaged the church's bell tower, the furnishings in the cave on which the church is built, and other parts of its structure. Minor damages were further inflicted by a series of strong aftershocks in 1836 and the Galilee earthquake of 1837. As part of the repairs executed by the Greek Orthodox after receiving a firman in 1842, a wall was built between the nave and aisles, used at the time as a market, and the eastern part of the church containing the choir, which allowed for worship to be continued there.
The religiously significant silver star marking the exact birthplace of Jesus was removed in October 1847 from the Grotto of the Nativity by the Greek Orthodox. The church was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, but around Christmas 1852, Napoleon III forced the Ottomans to recognise Catholic France as the "sovereign authority" over Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. The Sultan of Turkey replaced the silver star at the grotto, complete with a Latin inscription, but the Christian Orthodox Russian Empire disputed the change in authority. They cited the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and then deployed armies to the Danube area. As a result, the Ottomans issued firmans essentially reversing their earlier decision, renouncing the French treaty, and restoring to the Orthodox Christians the sovereign authority over the churches of the Holy Land for the time being, thus increasing local tensions—and all this fuelled the conflict between the Russian and the Ottoman empires over the control of holy sites around the region.
Twentieth century to the present
The passageway which connects St. Jerome's Cave and the Cave of the Nativity was expanded in February 1964, allowing easier access for visitors. American businessman Stanley Slotkin was visiting at the time and purchased a quantity of the limestone rubble, more than a million irregular fragments about 5 mm (0.20 in) across. He sold them to the public encased in plastic crosses, and they were advertised in infomercials in 1995.
During the Second Intifada in April 2002, the church was the site of a month-long siege in which approximately 50 armed Palestinians wanted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took refuge inside the church. Christians in the church gave refuge to the fighters, giving them food, water, and protection from Israeli military forces stationed outside. Israeli media claimed that the Christians inside were being held hostage, however, parishioners inside the church say they and the church were treated with respect.
Curtains caught fire in the grotto beneath the church on 27 May 2014, which resulted in some slight damage.
The church's joint owners undertook a major renovation starting in September 2013, probably to be completed in 2021 (see also under Restoration (2013–2019)).
World Heritage Site
In 2012, the church complex became the first Palestinian site to be listed as a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session on 29 June. It was approved by a secret vote of 13–6 in the 21-member committee, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams, and following an emergency candidacy procedure that by-passed the 18-month process for most sites, despite the opposition of the United States and Israel. The site was approved under criteria four and six. The decision was a controversial one on both technical and political terms. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 2012 to 2019, as it was suffering from damages due to water leaks.
Restoration (2013–2019)
The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order—to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.
A Presidential committee for the restoration of the Nativity Church was appointed in 2008. In the following year, an international consortium team of experts from different Universities, under the supervision of Prof. Claudio Alessandri (University of Ferrara, Italy), was given the task of planning and coordinating the restoration works.
Logistics and organisation
In 2010, the Palestinian Authority announced that a multimillion-dollar restoration programme was imminent. Although a majority Muslim nation, albeit with a significant Christian minority, Palestinians consider the church a national treasure and one of their most visited tourist sites. President Mahmoud Abbas has been actively involved in the project, which is led by Ziad al-Bandak. The project is partially funded by Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts.
Restoration process
The initial phase of the restoration work was completed in early 2016. New windows have been installed, structural repairs on the roof have been completed and art works and mosaics have been cleaned and restored. The works went further with the consolidation of the narthex, the cleaning and consolidation of all wooden elements, the cleaning of wall mosaics, mural paintings, and floor mosaics. The works came to an end in 2020.
Discoveries
Italian restoration workers uncovered a seventh surviving mosaic angel in July 2016, which was previously hidden under plaster.[66] According to the Italian restorer Marcello Piacenti, the mosaics "are made of gold leaf placed between two glass plates" and solely "faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone."
Property and administration
The property rights, liturgical use and maintenance of the church are regulated by a set of documents and understandings known as the Status Quo. The church is owned by three church authorities, the Greek Orthodox (most of the building and furnishings), the Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic (each of them with lesser properties). The Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox are holding minor rights of worship at the Armenian church in the northern transept, and at the Altar of Nativity. There have been repeated brawls among monk trainees over quiet respect for others' prayers, hymns and even the division of floor space for cleaning duties. The Palestinian police are often called to restore peace and order.
Site architecture and layout
The centrepiece of the Nativity complex is the Grotto of the Nativity, a cave which enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
The core of the complex connected to the Grotto consists of the Church of the Nativity itself, and the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine north of it.
Outer courtyard
Bethlehem's main city square, Manger Square, is an extension of the large paved courtyard in front of the Church of the Nativity and St Catherine's. Here crowds gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in anticipation of the midnight services.
Basilica of the Nativity
The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is designed like a typical Roman basilica, with five aisles formed by Corinthian columns, and an apse in the eastern end containing the sanctuary.
The basilica is entered through a very low door called the "Door of Humility."
The church's interior walls feature medieval golden mosaics once covering the side walls, which are now in large parts lost.
The original Roman-style floor of the basilica has been covered over with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the Constantinian basilica.
There are 44 columns separating the aisles from each other and from the nave, some of which are painted with images of saints, such as the Irish monk Catald (fl. 7th century), the patron of the Sicilian Normans, Canute IV (c. 1042–1086), king of Denmark, and Olaf II (995–1030), king of Norway.
The east end of the church consists of a raised chancel, closed by an apse containing the main altar and separated from the chancel by a large gilded iconostasis.
A complex array of sanctuary lamps is placed throughout the entire building.
The open ceiling exposes the wooden rafters, recently restored. The previous 15th-century restoration used beams donated by King Edward IV of England, who also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this lead was taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition to use in war against Venice.
Grotto of the Nativity
The Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the Nativity. It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed by two staircases on either side of the chancel. The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the adjacent Church St Catherine's. The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is normally locked.
The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born, which contains the Altar of Nativity. The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717). It was installed by the Catholics in 1717, removed – allegedly by the Greeks – in 1847, and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853. The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic. The Altar of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary lay on when she gave birth to Jesus.
Catholics are in charge of a section of the grotto known as the "Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger. The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger site.
Church of St. Catherine
The adjoining Church of St. Catherine is a Catholic church dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, built in a more modern Gothic Revival style. It has been further modernized according to the liturgical trends which followed Vatican II.
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Certain customs in this Midnight Mass predate Vatican II, but must be maintained because the Status Quo was legally fixed by a firman (decree) in 1852 under the Ottoman Empire, which is still in force today.
The bas-relief of the Tree of Jesse is a 3.75 by 4 metres (12 ft 4 in by 13 ft 1 in) sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj which was recently incorporated into the Church of St. Catherine as a gift of Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to the Holy Land in 2009. It represents an olive tree as the Tree of Jesse, displaying the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham through Joseph, as well as symbolism from the Old Testament. The upper portion is dominated by a crowned figure of Christ the King in an open-armed pose blessing the Earth. It is situated along the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity.
Caves accessed from St. Catherine's
Several chapels are found in the caves accessed from St. Catherine's, including the Chapel of Saint Joseph commemorating the angel's appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt; the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod; and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, in the underground cell where tradition holds he lived while translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
Tombs
Traditional tombs of saints
According to a tradition not sustained by history, the tombs of four Catholic saints are said to be located beneath the Church of the Nativity, in the caves accessible from the Church of St. Catherine:
Jerome, whose remains are said to have been transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Paula, a disciple and benefactor of Jerome
Eustochium, the daughter of Paula
Eusebius of Cremona, a disciple of Jerome. A different tradition holds that he is buried in Italy.
Ancient burials
A number of ancient trough-shaped tombs can be seen in the Catholic-owned caves adjacent to the Nativity Grotto and St Jerome's Cave, some of them inside the Chapel of the Innocents; more tombs can be seen on the southern, Greek-Orthodox side of the Basilica of the Nativity, also presented as being those of the infants murdered by Herod.
According to researcher Haytham Dieck, rock-cut tombs and bone fragments in one restricted room of the church date from the 1st century AD. In another clandestine chamber, the Cave of the Holy Innocents, skulls and other bones from as many as 2,000 people (according to Dieck) are collected, but are clearly not infantile.
Christmas in Bethlehem
There are three different dates for the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Bethlehem:
December 24 and 25 for the Catholics (Latins), who use the General Roman Calendar (Gregorian);
January 6 and 7 for the Greek Orthodox, together with the Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox, who use the Julian calendar;
January 18 and 19 for the Armenian Apostolic Church, which combines the celebration of the Nativity with that of the Baptism of Jesus into the Armenian Feast of Theophany on January 6, according to the early traditions of Eastern Christianity, but follows the rules of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in its calculations (January 6 Julian style corresponds to January 19 Gregorian style).
Latin and Protestant
The Catholic Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is broadcast around the world. Festivities begin hours earlier when dignitaries welcome the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the entrance to the city, near Rachel's Tomb. Accompanied by a parade of youth organizations, he then makes his way to Manger Square, where crowds are waiting. Finally, he enters the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine for Mass, after which he leads the way to the adjacent Church of the Nativity. The patriarch carries a figurine of the Baby Jesus and places it on the silver star in the Nativity Grotto under the basilica.
Protestants worship either at the Lutheran church or the Church of the Nativity. However, some Protestant congregations go to Beit Sahour, a village near Bethlehem.
Greek Orthodox
On the Orthodox Christmas Eve, 13 days later, many visitors and faithful again fill Manger Square, this time to watch processions and receptions for the religious leaders of the different Eastern Orthodox communities.
Armenian
Members of the Armenian community are the last ones to celebrate Christmas, on January 18 and 19, in their own section of the Nativity Church. The altars there are also used by the smaller denominations during their respective Christmas festivities.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity, is a basilica located in Bethlehem in the State of Palestine, in the West Bank. The grotto holds a prominent religious significance to Christians of various denominations as the birthplace of Jesus. The grotto is the oldest site continuously used as a place of worship in Christianity, and the basilica is the oldest major church in the Holy Land.
The church was originally commissioned by Constantine the Great a short time after his mother Helena's visit to Jerusalem and Bethlehem in 325–326, on the site that was traditionally considered to be the birthplace of Jesus. That original basilica was likely built between 330 and 333, being already mentioned in 333, and was dedicated on 31 May 339. It was probably destroyed by fire during the Samaritan revolts of the sixth century, possibly in 529, and a new basilica was built a number of years later by Byzantine Emperor Justinian (r. 527–565), who added a porch or narthex, and replaced the octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform transept complete with three apses, but largely preserved the original character of the building, with an atrium and a basilica consisting of a nave with four side aisles.
The Church of the Nativity, while remaining basically unchanged since the Justinianic reconstruction, has seen numerous repairs and additions, especially from the Crusader period, such as two bell towers (now gone), wall mosaics and paintings (partially preserved). Over the centuries, the surrounding compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters, comprising three different monasteries: one Catholic, one Armenian Apostolic, and one Greek Orthodox, of which the first two contain bell towers built during the modern era.
The silver star marking the spot where Christ was born, inscribed in Latin, was stolen in October 1847 by Greek monks who wished to remove this Catholic item. Some assert that this was a contributing factor in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. Others assert that the war grew out of the wider European situation.
Since 2012, the Church of the Nativity is a World Heritage Site and was the first to be listed by UNESCO under 'Palestine'.
Since 1852, the rights of the three religious communities are ruled by Status Quo.
Base in scripture
Of the four canonical gospels, Matthew and Luke mention the birth of Jesus, both placing it in Bethlehem. Luke mentions the manger: "and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them."
A variant of the narrative is contained in the Gospel of James, an apocryphal infancy gospel.
History
Holy site before Constantine (ca. 4 BC–AD 326)
The holy site known as the Nativity Grotto is thought to be the cave in which Jesus was born. In 135, Emperor Hadrian had the site above the grotto converted into a worship place for Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and desire. Jerome claimed in 420 that the grotto had been consecrated to the worship of Adonis, and that a sacred grove was planted there in order to completely wipe out the memory of Jesus from the world.
Around AD 248, Greek philosopher Origen of Alexandria wrote the following about the grotto:
In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in those places, and among foreigners of the Faith, that indeed Jesus was born in this cave who is worshiped and reverenced by the Christians.
Constantinian basilica (326 – 529 or 556)
The first basilica on this site was built by Emperor Constantine I, on the site identified by his mother, Empress Helena and Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem. The construction started in 326 under the supervision of Makarios, who followed Constantine's orders, and was dedicated on 31 May 339—however, it had already been visited in 333 by the Bordeaux Pilgrim, at which time it was already in use.
Construction of this early church was carried out as part of a larger project following the First Council of Nicaea during Constantine's reign, aimed to build churches on the sites assumed at the time to have witnessed the crucial events in the life of Jesus. The design of the basilica centered around three major architectural sections:
At the eastern end, an apse in a polygonal shape (broken pentagon, rather than the once proposed, but improbable full octagon), encircling a raised platform with an opening in its floor of ca. 4 metres diameter that allowed direct view of the Nativity site underneath. An ambulatory with side rooms surrounded the apse.
A five-aisled basilica in continuation of the eastern apse, one bay shorter than the still standing Justinianic reconstruction.
A porticoed atrium.
The structure was burned and destroyed in one of the Samaritan Revolts of 529 or 556, in the second of which Jews seem to have joined the Samaritans.
Justinian's basilica (6th century)
The basilica was rebuilt in its present form in the 6th century on the initiative of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527–565), after the destruction of either 529 or 556. It was probably accomplished after the Emperor's death, as is indicated by the dating of the wooden elements embedded in the church walls between 545 and 665, which was provided by the dendrochronological analyses made during the recent restoration works.
The Persians under Khosrau II invaded Palestine and conquered nearby Jerusalem in 614, but they did not destroy the structure. According to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction above the church entrance of the Three Magi wearing the garb of Persian Zoroastrian priests, so he ordered that the building be spared.
Crusader period (1099-1187)
The Church of the Nativity was used as the primary coronation church for Crusader kings, from the second ruler of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1100 and until 1131. In an earlier phase starting from c. 1130, the Crusaders promoted the redecoration of the building in the medium of wall painting: images of saints were displayed in the central and southern colonnades of the nave, largely on the initiative of private donors, as is shown by the frequent use of dedicatory inscriptions and portraits. Remnants of a cycle of narrative scenes are preserved in the north-western pillar of the choir and the south transepts, as well as in the chapel located below the bell tower. The Crusaders undertook extensive decoration and restoration on the basilica and grounds, a process that continued until 1169, from 1165 to 1169 even through a sort of "joint venture" between the Latin Bishop of Bethlehem, Raoul, the Latin King Amalric I of Jerusalem and the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. As detailed in the bilingual Greek and Latin inscription in the altar space, the mosaic decoration was made by a teamwork headed by a painter named Ephraim. Another bilingual, Latin and Syriac, inscription located in the lower half of a mosaic panel displaying an angel in the northern wall of the nave bears witness to the work of a painter named Basil, who was probably a local Syrian Melkite. The two artists collaborated within the same workshop.
Ayyubid and Mamluk periods (1187-1516)
The Ayyubid conquest of Jerusalem and its area in 1187 was without consequences for the Nativity church. The Greek-Melkite clergy was granted the right to serve in the church, and similar concessions were given almost immediately also to other Christian denominations.
In the year 1227 the church was embellished with an elegantly carved wooden door, the remnants of which can still be seen in the narthex. As detailed in its double, Armenian and Arabic inscription, it was made by two Armenian monks, Father Abraham and Father Arakel, in the times of King Hethum I of Cilicia (1224-1269) and the Emir of Damascus, and Saladin's nephew, al-Mu'azzam Isa. In 1229 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II signed an agreement with Sultan al-Kamil which led to the restitution of the Holy Places to the Crusaders. The property of the Nativity Church came back into the possession of the Latin clergy on the condition that Muslim pilgrims may be allowed to visit the holy cave. Latin hegemony probably lasted until the incursion of Khwarezmian Turks in April 1244. On that occasion, the church treasures, now preserved in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem, were concealed underground and rediscovered only in 1863. The church was devastated, but not destroyed, the major damage being the dilapidation of its roof.
Under Mamluk rule, the church was used by different Christian denominations, including Greeks, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Syrians. In 1347 the Franciscans of the newly established Custody of the Holy Land were bestowed with the ownership of the former monastery of the regular canons to the north of the basilica. The Friars managed to gain a hegemonic role in Bethlehem until the Ottoman period.
Starting from the late 13th century, pilgrims lament the dilapidation of the church interior by order of Mamluk authorities: in particular, the marble revetments of the walls and floor were gradually removed, until they thoroughly disappeared.
The Duchy of Burgundy committed resources to restore the roof in August 1448, and multiple regions contributed supplies to have the church roof repaired in 1480: England supplied the lead, the Second Kingdom of Burgundy supplied the wood, and the Republic of Venice provided the labor.
Ottoman period, first three centuries (16th–18th)
After the Ottoman conquest of Palestine in 1516, the Nativity church suffered from a long decay. The nave was largely abandoned and used for profane purposes. In the aim to prevent people from entering the church with horses and cattle, the main entrance was walled up and transformed into a diminutive door, known until our days as the "Door of Humility", since visitors are forced to bend down to go through it. An elevated chancel, provided with three doors, thoroughly separated the nave from the east end of the building, which was reserved for liturgical activities. The Ottoman period was characterized by increasing tensions between the different Christian denominations. In 1637, Greeks were granted hegemony by the Sublime Porte and the Franciscans were expelled from the holy cave. In 1621 the Armenian Patriarch Grigor Paronter bought the partly ruined buildings to the south of the courtyard and established there a monastery and a hospice for pilgrims. In 1639, the Cretan painter Jeremias Palladas was commissioned by the Greek Patriarch to paint new icons to embellish the church. Further works were made in 1671 on the initiative of Patriarch Dositheos II. In 1675, Dositheos managed to gain control also of the nave, and promoted restorations of the floor and the roof, as well as the making of a new iconostasis. The Franciscans were restored in their rights in 1690, but they lose their hegemony once again in 1757, when the Greek Orthodox were granted full ownership of the upper church and the authorization to keep the keys to the grotto. Afterwards, a redecoration of the church was promoted: the nave was newly paved, the bema was provided with a solemn iconostasis and a wooden baldachin was erected over the main altar.
Because of uninterrupted water infiltrations from the roof, the Crusader mosaics started falling down, as is documented in many pilgrims' accounts from the 16th century onwards.
Nineteenth century
Earthquakes inflicted significant damage to the Church of the Nativity between 1834 and 1837. The 1834 Jerusalem earthquake damaged the church's bell tower, the furnishings in the cave on which the church is built, and other parts of its structure. Minor damages were further inflicted by a series of strong aftershocks in 1836 and the Galilee earthquake of 1837. As part of the repairs executed by the Greek Orthodox after receiving a firman in 1842, a wall was built between the nave and aisles, used at the time as a market, and the eastern part of the church containing the choir, which allowed for worship to be continued there.
The religiously significant silver star marking the exact birthplace of Jesus was removed in October 1847 from the Grotto of the Nativity by the Greek Orthodox. The church was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, but around Christmas 1852, Napoleon III forced the Ottomans to recognise Catholic France as the "sovereign authority" over Christian holy sites in the Holy Land. The Sultan of Turkey replaced the silver star at the grotto, complete with a Latin inscription, but the Christian Orthodox Russian Empire disputed the change in authority. They cited the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and then deployed armies to the Danube area. As a result, the Ottomans issued firmans essentially reversing their earlier decision, renouncing the French treaty, and restoring to the Orthodox Christians the sovereign authority over the churches of the Holy Land for the time being, thus increasing local tensions—and all this fuelled the conflict between the Russian and the Ottoman empires over the control of holy sites around the region.
Twentieth century to the present
The passageway which connects St. Jerome's Cave and the Cave of the Nativity was expanded in February 1964, allowing easier access for visitors. American businessman Stanley Slotkin was visiting at the time and purchased a quantity of the limestone rubble, more than a million irregular fragments about 5 mm (0.20 in) across. He sold them to the public encased in plastic crosses, and they were advertised in infomercials in 1995.
During the Second Intifada in April 2002, the church was the site of a month-long siege in which approximately 50 armed Palestinians wanted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took refuge inside the church. Christians in the church gave refuge to the fighters, giving them food, water, and protection from Israeli military forces stationed outside. Israeli media claimed that the Christians inside were being held hostage, however, parishioners inside the church say they and the church were treated with respect.
Curtains caught fire in the grotto beneath the church on 27 May 2014, which resulted in some slight damage.
The church's joint owners undertook a major renovation starting in September 2013, probably to be completed in 2021 (see also under Restoration (2013–2019)).
World Heritage Site
In 2012, the church complex became the first Palestinian site to be listed as a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session on 29 June. It was approved by a secret vote of 13–6 in the 21-member committee, according to UNESCO spokeswoman Sue Williams, and following an emergency candidacy procedure that by-passed the 18-month process for most sites, despite the opposition of the United States and Israel. The site was approved under criteria four and six. The decision was a controversial one on both technical and political terms. It was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger from 2012 to 2019, as it was suffering from damages due to water leaks.
Restoration (2013–2019)
The present state of the church is worrying. Many roof timbers are rotting, and have not been replaced since the 19th century. The rainwater that seeps into the building not only accelerates the rotting of the wood and damages the structural integrity of the building, but also damages the 12th-century wall mosaics and paintings. The influx of water also means that there is an ever-present chance of an electrical fire. If another earthquake were to occur on the scale of the one of 1834, the result would most likely be catastrophic. ... It is hoped that the listing will encourage its preservation, including getting the three custodians of the church—the Greek Orthodox Church, the Armenian Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order—to work together, which has not happened for hundreds of years. The Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority would also have to work together to protect it.
A Presidential committee for the restoration of the Nativity Church was appointed in 2008. In the following year, an international consortium team of experts from different Universities, under the supervision of Prof. Claudio Alessandri (University of Ferrara, Italy), was given the task of planning and coordinating the restoration works.
Logistics and organisation
In 2010, the Palestinian Authority announced that a multimillion-dollar restoration programme was imminent. Although a majority Muslim nation, albeit with a significant Christian minority, Palestinians consider the church a national treasure and one of their most visited tourist sites. President Mahmoud Abbas has been actively involved in the project, which is led by Ziad al-Bandak. The project is partially funded by Palestinians and conducted by a team of Palestinian and international experts.
Restoration process
The initial phase of the restoration work was completed in early 2016. New windows have been installed, structural repairs on the roof have been completed and art works and mosaics have been cleaned and restored. The works went further with the consolidation of the narthex, the cleaning and consolidation of all wooden elements, the cleaning of wall mosaics, mural paintings, and floor mosaics. The works came to an end in 2020.
Discoveries
Italian restoration workers uncovered a seventh surviving mosaic angel in July 2016, which was previously hidden under plaster.[66] According to the Italian restorer Marcello Piacenti, the mosaics "are made of gold leaf placed between two glass plates" and solely "faces and limbs are drawn with small pieces of stone."
Property and administration
The property rights, liturgical use and maintenance of the church are regulated by a set of documents and understandings known as the Status Quo. The church is owned by three church authorities, the Greek Orthodox (most of the building and furnishings), the Catholic and the Armenian Apostolic (each of them with lesser properties). The Coptic Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox are holding minor rights of worship at the Armenian church in the northern transept, and at the Altar of Nativity. There have been repeated brawls among monk trainees over quiet respect for others' prayers, hymns and even the division of floor space for cleaning duties. The Palestinian police are often called to restore peace and order.
Site architecture and layout
The centrepiece of the Nativity complex is the Grotto of the Nativity, a cave which enshrines the site where Jesus is said to have been born.
The core of the complex connected to the Grotto consists of the Church of the Nativity itself, and the adjoining Catholic Church of St. Catherine north of it.
Outer courtyard
Bethlehem's main city square, Manger Square, is an extension of the large paved courtyard in front of the Church of the Nativity and St Catherine's. Here crowds gather on Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols in anticipation of the midnight services.
Basilica of the Nativity
The main Basilica of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. It is designed like a typical Roman basilica, with five aisles formed by Corinthian columns, and an apse in the eastern end containing the sanctuary.
The basilica is entered through a very low door called the "Door of Humility."
The church's interior walls feature medieval golden mosaics once covering the side walls, which are now in large parts lost.
The original Roman-style floor of the basilica has been covered over with flagstones, but there is a trap door in the floor which opens up to reveal a portion of the original mosaic pavement from the Constantinian basilica.
There are 44 columns separating the aisles from each other and from the nave, some of which are painted with images of saints, such as the Irish monk Catald (fl. 7th century), the patron of the Sicilian Normans, Canute IV (c. 1042–1086), king of Denmark, and Olaf II (995–1030), king of Norway.
The east end of the church consists of a raised chancel, closed by an apse containing the main altar and separated from the chancel by a large gilded iconostasis.
A complex array of sanctuary lamps is placed throughout the entire building.
The open ceiling exposes the wooden rafters, recently restored. The previous 15th-century restoration used beams donated by King Edward IV of England, who also donated lead to cover the roof; however, this lead was taken by the Ottoman Turks, who melted it down for ammunition to use in war against Venice.
Grotto of the Nativity
The Grotto of the Nativity, the place where Jesus is said to have been born, is an underground space which forms the crypt of the Church of the Nativity. It is situated underneath its main altar, and it is normally accessed by two staircases on either side of the chancel. The grotto is part of a network of caves, which are accessed from the adjacent Church St Catherine's. The tunnel-like corridor connecting the Grotto to the other caves is normally locked.
The cave has an eastern niche said to be the place where Jesus was born, which contains the Altar of Nativity. The exact spot where Jesus was born is marked beneath this altar by a 14-pointed silver star with the Latin inscription Hic De Virgine Maria Jesus Christus Natus Est-1717 ("Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary"-1717). It was installed by the Catholics in 1717, removed – allegedly by the Greeks – in 1847, and replaced by the Turkish government in 1853. The star is set into the marble floor and surrounded by 15 silver lamps representing the three Christian communities: six belong to the Greek Orthodox, four to the Catholics, and five to the Armenian Apostolic. The Altar of the Nativity is maintained by the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches. The significance of the 14 points on the star is to represent the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. First 14 from Abraham to David, then 14 from David to the Babylonian captivity, then 14 more to Jesus Christ. In the middle of the 14 pointed star is a circular hole, through which one can reach in to touch the stone that is said to be the original stone that Mary lay on when she gave birth to Jesus.
Catholics are in charge of a section of the grotto known as the "Grotto of the Manger", marking the traditional site where Mary laid the newborn baby in the manger. The Altar of the Magi is located directly opposite from the manger site.
Church of St. Catherine
The adjoining Church of St. Catherine is a Catholic church dedicated to Catherine of Alexandria, built in a more modern Gothic Revival style. It has been further modernized according to the liturgical trends which followed Vatican II.
This is the church where the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem celebrates Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Certain customs in this Midnight Mass predate Vatican II, but must be maintained because the Status Quo was legally fixed by a firman (decree) in 1852 under the Ottoman Empire, which is still in force today.
The bas-relief of the Tree of Jesse is a 3.75 by 4 metres (12 ft 4 in by 13 ft 1 in) sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj which was recently incorporated into the Church of St. Catherine as a gift of Pope Benedict XVI during his trip to the Holy Land in 2009. It represents an olive tree as the Tree of Jesse, displaying the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham through Joseph, as well as symbolism from the Old Testament. The upper portion is dominated by a crowned figure of Christ the King in an open-armed pose blessing the Earth. It is situated along the passage used by pilgrims making their way to the Grotto of the Nativity.
Caves accessed from St. Catherine's
Several chapels are found in the caves accessed from St. Catherine's, including the Chapel of Saint Joseph commemorating the angel's appearance to Joseph, commanding him to flee to Egypt; the Chapel of the Innocents, commemorating the children killed by Herod; and the Chapel of Saint Jerome, in the underground cell where tradition holds he lived while translating the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate).
Tombs
Traditional tombs of saints
According to a tradition not sustained by history, the tombs of four Catholic saints are said to be located beneath the Church of the Nativity, in the caves accessible from the Church of St. Catherine:
Jerome, whose remains are said to have been transferred to the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
Paula, a disciple and benefactor of Jerome
Eustochium, the daughter of Paula
Eusebius of Cremona, a disciple of Jerome. A different tradition holds that he is buried in Italy.
Ancient burials
A number of ancient trough-shaped tombs can be seen in the Catholic-owned caves adjacent to the Nativity Grotto and St Jerome's Cave, some of them inside the Chapel of the Innocents; more tombs can be seen on the southern, Greek-Orthodox side of the Basilica of the Nativity, also presented as being those of the infants murdered by Herod.
According to researcher Haytham Dieck, rock-cut tombs and bone fragments in one restricted room of the church date from the 1st century AD. In another clandestine chamber, the Cave of the Holy Innocents, skulls and other bones from as many as 2,000 people (according to Dieck) are collected, but are clearly not infantile.
Christmas in Bethlehem
There are three different dates for the celebration of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Bethlehem:
December 24 and 25 for the Catholics (Latins), who use the General Roman Calendar (Gregorian);
January 6 and 7 for the Greek Orthodox, together with the Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox, who use the Julian calendar;
January 18 and 19 for the Armenian Apostolic Church, which combines the celebration of the Nativity with that of the Baptism of Jesus into the Armenian Feast of Theophany on January 6, according to the early traditions of Eastern Christianity, but follows the rules of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem in its calculations (January 6 Julian style corresponds to January 19 Gregorian style).
Latin and Protestant
The Catholic Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve is broadcast around the world. Festivities begin hours earlier when dignitaries welcome the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem at the entrance to the city, near Rachel's Tomb. Accompanied by a parade of youth organizations, he then makes his way to Manger Square, where crowds are waiting. Finally, he enters the Catholic Church of Saint Catherine for Mass, after which he leads the way to the adjacent Church of the Nativity. The patriarch carries a figurine of the Baby Jesus and places it on the silver star in the Nativity Grotto under the basilica.
Protestants worship either at the Lutheran church or the Church of the Nativity. However, some Protestant congregations go to Beit Sahour, a village near Bethlehem.
Greek Orthodox
On the Orthodox Christmas Eve, 13 days later, many visitors and faithful again fill Manger Square, this time to watch processions and receptions for the religious leaders of the different Eastern Orthodox communities.
Armenian
Members of the Armenian community are the last ones to celebrate Christmas, on January 18 and 19, in their own section of the Nativity Church. The altars there are also used by the smaller denominations during their respective Christmas festivities.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid". At a total length of 708 kilometres (440 mi) upon completion, the route traced by the barrier is more than double the length of the Green Line, with 15% of its length running along the Green Line or inside Israel, and the remaining 85% running as much as 18 kilometres (11 mi) inside the West Bank, effectively isolating about 9% of the land and approximately 25,000 Palestinians from the rest of the Palestinian territory.
The barrier was built by Israel following a wave of Palestinian political violence and incidents of terrorism inside Israel during the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000 and ended in February 2005. The Israeli government cites a decreased number of suicide bombings carried out from the West Bank as evidence of its efficacy, after such attacks fell from 73 between 2000 and July 2003 (the completion of the first continuous segment) to 12 between August 2003 and the end of 2006. While the barrier was initially presented as a temporary security measure at a time of heightened tensions, it has since been associated with a future political border between Israel and the State of Palestine.
The barrier has drawn criticism from Palestinians, human rights groups, and members of the international community, who have all argued that it serves as evidence of Israel's intent to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security. It has also been alleged that the construction of the wall aims to undermine the Israeli–Palestinian peace process by unilaterally establishing new de facto borders. Key points of dispute are that it substantially deviates eastward from the Green Line, severely restricts the travel of many Palestinians, and impairs their ability to commute to work within the West Bank or to Israel. The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion finding that the barrier qualifies as a violation of international law. In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that charged Israel's building of the barrier to be a violation of international law and demanded its removal by a vote of 144–4 with 12 abstentions.
The walled sections of the barrier have become a canvas for graffiti art, with its Palestinian side illustrating opposition to the barrier, Palestinian resistance, their right to return, as well as human rights in general.
The barrier is described by the Israeli Defense Forces as a "multi-layered composite obstacle", with parts of it being consisting of a 9 metres (30 ft) high concrete wall, while others stretches consist of a multi-layered fence system, with three fences with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire on the two outer fences and a lighter-weight fence with intrusion detection equipment in the middle; an anti-vehicle ditch; patrol roads on both sides; and a smooth strip of sand for "intrusion tracking".
Where the multi-layered fence system is employed, it contains an exclusion area of 60-metre (200 ft) in width on average,[33] with some sections having an exclusion area that reaches up to 100 metres (330 ft). The concrete wall has a width of 3 metres (9.8 ft), and the wall is 9 metres (30 ft) high.
The barrier runs partly along or near the 1949 Jordanian–Israeli armistice line ("Green Line") and partly through the Israeli-occupied West Bank diverging eastward from the armistice line by up to 20 km (12 mi) to include on the western side several of the areas with concentrations of highly populated Israeli settlements, such as East Jerusalem, the Ariel Bloc (Ariel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Immanuel etc.), Gush Etzion, Givat Ze'ev, Oranit, and Maale Adumim.
The barrier nearly encircles some Palestinian towns, about 20% follows the armistice line, and a projected 77,000 ha (191,000 acres) or about 13.5% of the West Bank area is on the west side of the wall. According to a study of the April 2006 route by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 8.5% of the West Bank area will be on the Israeli side of the barrier after completion, and 3.4% partly or completely surrounded on the eastern side. Some 27,520 to 31,000 Palestinians will be captured on the Israeli side. Another 124,000, on the other hand, will effectively be controlled and isolated. Some 230,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem will be placed on the West Bank side. Most of the barrier[vague] was built at the northern and western edges of the West Bank, mostly beyond the Green Line and created 9 enclaves, which enclosed 15,783 ha (39,000 acres). An additional barrier, circa 10 km long, run south of Ramallah.
Israel states that the topography does not permit putting the barrier along the Green Line in some places because hills or tall buildings on the Palestinian side would make the barrier ineffective against terrorism. The International Court of Justice states that in such cases it is only legal to build the barrier inside Israel.
The barrier route has been challenged in court and changed several times. Argument presented to the court has reiterated that the cease-fire line of 1949 was negotiated "without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines" (Art. VI.9).
In 1992, the idea of creating a physical barrier between the Israeli and Palestinian populations was proposed by then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, following the murder of an Israeli teenage girl in Jerusalem. Rabin said that Israel must "take Gaza out of Tel Aviv" in order to minimize friction between the peoples.
Following an outbreak of violent incidents in Gaza in October 1994, Rabin said: "We have to decide on separation as a philosophy. There has to be a clear border. Without demarcating the lines, whoever wants to swallow 1.8 million Arabs will just bring greater support for Hamas." Following an attack on HaSharon Junction, near the city of Netanya, Rabin made his goals more specific: "This path must lead to a separation, though not according to the borders prior to 1967. We want to reach a separation between us and them. We do not want a majority of the Jewish residents of the state of Israel, 98% of whom live within the borders of sovereign Israel, including a united Jerusalem, to be subject to terrorism."
In 1994, the first section of a barrier (slabs of concrete contiguous for miles) was constructed. The section follows the border between Bat Hefer and Tulkarm communities.
In 1995, the Shahal commission was established by Yitzhak Rabin to discuss how to implement a barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, prior to the Camp David 2000 Summit with Yasser Arafat, vowed to build a separation barrier, stating that it is "essential to the Palestinian nation in order to foster its national identity and independence without being dependent on the State of Israel".
In November 2000, during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in Washington, Prime Minister Ehud Barak approved financing of a 74 km (46 mi) fence between the Wadi Ara region and Latrun. Not until 14 April 2002, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to implement the plan and establish a permanent barrier in the Seam Area. On 23 June 2002, the Ariel Sharon Government definitely approved the plan in principle and work at the barrier began.
At the end of 2002, due to government inaction, several localities who suffered the most from lack of a border barrier had already started to build the barrier using their own funds directly on the green-line.
By 2003, 180 km (112 mi) had been completed and in 2004, Israel started the southern part of the barrier.
The barrier and behind it Beit Surik. "The Beit Surik Case (HCJ 2056/04)" [HE] of the Supreme Court of Israel in 30 June 2004 set the standards of proportionality between Israeli security and the injury to the Palestinian residents and resulted in a change in the route of the barrier.
In February 2004, the Israeli government said it would review the route of the barrier in response to US and Palestinian concerns. In particular, Israeli cabinet members said modifications would be made to reduce the number of checkpoints Palestinians had to cross, and especially to reduce Palestinian hardship in areas such as the city of Qalqilyah which the barrier completely surrounds. On February 20, 2005, the Israeli cabinet approved the barrier's route on the same day it approved the execution of the Gaza disengagement plan. The length of the route was increased to 670 km (416 mi) (about twice the length of the Green Line) and would leave about 10% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and nearly 50,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side. It also put the large settlement Maale Adumim and the Gush Etzion bloc on the Israeli side of the barrier, effectively annexing them. The final route, when realized, closes the Wall separating East Jerusalem, including Maale Adumim, from the West Bank. Before, the exact route of the barrier had not been determined, and it had been alleged by opponents that the barrier route would encircle the Samarian highlands of the West Bank, separating them from the Jordan valley. In June 2004, in exchange for Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's support Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza, Prime Minister Sharon pledged to build an extension of the barrier to the east of the settlement Ariel to be completed before the finish of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Despite the ICJ ruling that the wall beyond the Green Line is illegal, Ariel Sharon reiterated on September 8, 2004, that the large settlement blocs of Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion will be on the Israeli side of the Barrier. He also decided that the Barrier would run east of Ariel, but its connection with the main fence be postponed. Israel appropriated Palestinian private land to build the fence upon and started preparations for constructing the wall to the farthest point ever inside the West Bank, 22 km (14 mi) beyond the Green Line, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long, and 100 m (330 ft) wide.
In 2005, the Israeli Supreme Court made reference to the conditions and history that led to the building of the barrier. The Court described the history of violence against Israeli citizens since the breakout of the Second Intifada and the loss of life that ensued on the Israeli side. The court ruling also cited the attempts Israel had made to defend its citizens, including "military operations" carried out against "terrorist acts", and stated that these actions "did not provide a sufficient answer to the immediate need to stop the severe acts of terrorism. ... Despite all these measures, the terror did not come to an end. The attacks did not cease. Innocent people paid with both life and limb. This is the background behind the decision to construct the separation fence (Id., at p. 815)."
In 2006, 362 km (224.9 mi) of the barrier had been completed, 88 km (54.7 mi) was under construction and 253 km (157.2 mi) had not yet been started. On April 30, 2006, the route was revised by a cabinet decision, following a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. In the Ariel area, the new route corrects an anomaly of the previous route that would have left thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side. The Alfei Menashe settlement bloc was reduced in size, and the new plan leaves three groups of Palestinian houses on the Palestinian side of the fence. The barrier's route in the Jerusalem area will leave Beit Iksa on the Palestinian side; and Jaba on the Israeli side, but with a crossing to the Palestinian side at Tzurif. Further changes were made to the route around Eshkolot and Metzadot Yehuda, and the route from Metzadot to Har Choled was approved.
In 2012, 440 km (273.4 mi) (62%) of the barrier had been completed.
In September 2014, eight years after approving the 45 km stretch of barrier enclosing Gush Etzion, no progress had been made on it, and Israel reopened the debate. The fence is scheduled to go through the national park, the Nahal Rafaim valley, and the Palestinian village of Battir. The Israeli land appropriated in Gva'ot would be on the Palestinian side of the barrier. On 21 September 2014, the government voted to not reauthorize the barrier in the Gush Etzion area.
In 2022, 45 km (28.0 mi) of the barrier that had been built as a multi-layered fence were replaced by new sections of the 9-meter high concrete wall.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary security barrier against Palestinian political violence; whereas Palestinians describe it as an element of racial segregation and a representation of Israeli apartheid, who often call it "Wall of Apartheid". At a total length of 708 kilometres (440 mi) upon completion, the route traced by the barrier is more than double the length of the Green Line, with 15% of its length running along the Green Line or inside Israel, and the remaining 85% running as much as 18 kilometres (11 mi) inside the West Bank, effectively isolating about 9% of the land and approximately 25,000 Palestinians from the rest of the Palestinian territory.
The barrier was built by Israel following a wave of Palestinian political violence and incidents of terrorism inside Israel during the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000 and ended in February 2005. The Israeli government cites a decreased number of suicide bombings carried out from the West Bank as evidence of its efficacy, after such attacks fell from 73 between 2000 and July 2003 (the completion of the first continuous segment) to 12 between August 2003 and the end of 2006. While the barrier was initially presented as a temporary security measure at a time of heightened tensions, it has since been associated with a future political border between Israel and the State of Palestine.
The barrier has drawn criticism from Palestinians, human rights groups, and members of the international community, who have all argued that it serves as evidence of Israel's intent to annex Palestinian land under the guise of security. It has also been alleged that the construction of the wall aims to undermine the Israeli–Palestinian peace process by unilaterally establishing new de facto borders. Key points of dispute are that it substantially deviates eastward from the Green Line, severely restricts the travel of many Palestinians, and impairs their ability to commute to work within the West Bank or to Israel. The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion finding that the barrier qualifies as a violation of international law. In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that charged Israel's building of the barrier to be a violation of international law and demanded its removal by a vote of 144–4 with 12 abstentions.
The walled sections of the barrier have become a canvas for graffiti art, with its Palestinian side illustrating opposition to the barrier, Palestinian resistance, their right to return, as well as human rights in general.
The barrier is described by the Israeli Defense Forces as a "multi-layered composite obstacle", with parts of it being consisting of a 9 metres (30 ft) high concrete wall, while others stretches consist of a multi-layered fence system, with three fences with pyramid-shaped stacks of barbed wire on the two outer fences and a lighter-weight fence with intrusion detection equipment in the middle; an anti-vehicle ditch; patrol roads on both sides; and a smooth strip of sand for "intrusion tracking".
Where the multi-layered fence system is employed, it contains an exclusion area of 60-metre (200 ft) in width on average,[33] with some sections having an exclusion area that reaches up to 100 metres (330 ft). The concrete wall has a width of 3 metres (9.8 ft), and the wall is 9 metres (30 ft) high.
The barrier runs partly along or near the 1949 Jordanian–Israeli armistice line ("Green Line") and partly through the Israeli-occupied West Bank diverging eastward from the armistice line by up to 20 km (12 mi) to include on the western side several of the areas with concentrations of highly populated Israeli settlements, such as East Jerusalem, the Ariel Bloc (Ariel, Karnei Shomron, Kedumim, Immanuel etc.), Gush Etzion, Givat Ze'ev, Oranit, and Maale Adumim.
The barrier nearly encircles some Palestinian towns, about 20% follows the armistice line, and a projected 77,000 ha (191,000 acres) or about 13.5% of the West Bank area is on the west side of the wall. According to a study of the April 2006 route by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, 8.5% of the West Bank area will be on the Israeli side of the barrier after completion, and 3.4% partly or completely surrounded on the eastern side. Some 27,520 to 31,000 Palestinians will be captured on the Israeli side. Another 124,000, on the other hand, will effectively be controlled and isolated. Some 230,000 Palestinians in Jerusalem will be placed on the West Bank side. Most of the barrier[vague] was built at the northern and western edges of the West Bank, mostly beyond the Green Line and created 9 enclaves, which enclosed 15,783 ha (39,000 acres). An additional barrier, circa 10 km long, run south of Ramallah.
Israel states that the topography does not permit putting the barrier along the Green Line in some places because hills or tall buildings on the Palestinian side would make the barrier ineffective against terrorism. The International Court of Justice states that in such cases it is only legal to build the barrier inside Israel.
The barrier route has been challenged in court and changed several times. Argument presented to the court has reiterated that the cease-fire line of 1949 was negotiated "without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines" (Art. VI.9).
In 1992, the idea of creating a physical barrier between the Israeli and Palestinian populations was proposed by then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, following the murder of an Israeli teenage girl in Jerusalem. Rabin said that Israel must "take Gaza out of Tel Aviv" in order to minimize friction between the peoples.
Following an outbreak of violent incidents in Gaza in October 1994, Rabin said: "We have to decide on separation as a philosophy. There has to be a clear border. Without demarcating the lines, whoever wants to swallow 1.8 million Arabs will just bring greater support for Hamas." Following an attack on HaSharon Junction, near the city of Netanya, Rabin made his goals more specific: "This path must lead to a separation, though not according to the borders prior to 1967. We want to reach a separation between us and them. We do not want a majority of the Jewish residents of the state of Israel, 98% of whom live within the borders of sovereign Israel, including a united Jerusalem, to be subject to terrorism."
In 1994, the first section of a barrier (slabs of concrete contiguous for miles) was constructed. The section follows the border between Bat Hefer and Tulkarm communities.
In 1995, the Shahal commission was established by Yitzhak Rabin to discuss how to implement a barrier separating Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, prior to the Camp David 2000 Summit with Yasser Arafat, vowed to build a separation barrier, stating that it is "essential to the Palestinian nation in order to foster its national identity and independence without being dependent on the State of Israel".
In November 2000, during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in Washington, Prime Minister Ehud Barak approved financing of a 74 km (46 mi) fence between the Wadi Ara region and Latrun. Not until 14 April 2002, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to implement the plan and establish a permanent barrier in the Seam Area. On 23 June 2002, the Ariel Sharon Government definitely approved the plan in principle and work at the barrier began.
At the end of 2002, due to government inaction, several localities who suffered the most from lack of a border barrier had already started to build the barrier using their own funds directly on the green-line.
By 2003, 180 km (112 mi) had been completed and in 2004, Israel started the southern part of the barrier.
The barrier and behind it Beit Surik. "The Beit Surik Case (HCJ 2056/04)" [HE] of the Supreme Court of Israel in 30 June 2004 set the standards of proportionality between Israeli security and the injury to the Palestinian residents and resulted in a change in the route of the barrier.
In February 2004, the Israeli government said it would review the route of the barrier in response to US and Palestinian concerns. In particular, Israeli cabinet members said modifications would be made to reduce the number of checkpoints Palestinians had to cross, and especially to reduce Palestinian hardship in areas such as the city of Qalqilyah which the barrier completely surrounds. On February 20, 2005, the Israeli cabinet approved the barrier's route on the same day it approved the execution of the Gaza disengagement plan. The length of the route was increased to 670 km (416 mi) (about twice the length of the Green Line) and would leave about 10% of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and nearly 50,000 Palestinians on the Israeli side. It also put the large settlement Maale Adumim and the Gush Etzion bloc on the Israeli side of the barrier, effectively annexing them. The final route, when realized, closes the Wall separating East Jerusalem, including Maale Adumim, from the West Bank. Before, the exact route of the barrier had not been determined, and it had been alleged by opponents that the barrier route would encircle the Samarian highlands of the West Bank, separating them from the Jordan valley. In June 2004, in exchange for Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's support Israel's planned withdrawal from Gaza, Prime Minister Sharon pledged to build an extension of the barrier to the east of the settlement Ariel to be completed before the finish of the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Despite the ICJ ruling that the wall beyond the Green Line is illegal, Ariel Sharon reiterated on September 8, 2004, that the large settlement blocs of Ariel, Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion will be on the Israeli side of the Barrier. He also decided that the Barrier would run east of Ariel, but its connection with the main fence be postponed. Israel appropriated Palestinian private land to build the fence upon and started preparations for constructing the wall to the farthest point ever inside the West Bank, 22 km (14 mi) beyond the Green Line, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) long, and 100 m (330 ft) wide.
In 2005, the Israeli Supreme Court made reference to the conditions and history that led to the building of the barrier. The Court described the history of violence against Israeli citizens since the breakout of the Second Intifada and the loss of life that ensued on the Israeli side. The court ruling also cited the attempts Israel had made to defend its citizens, including "military operations" carried out against "terrorist acts", and stated that these actions "did not provide a sufficient answer to the immediate need to stop the severe acts of terrorism. ... Despite all these measures, the terror did not come to an end. The attacks did not cease. Innocent people paid with both life and limb. This is the background behind the decision to construct the separation fence (Id., at p. 815)."
In 2006, 362 km (224.9 mi) of the barrier had been completed, 88 km (54.7 mi) was under construction and 253 km (157.2 mi) had not yet been started. On April 30, 2006, the route was revised by a cabinet decision, following a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. In the Ariel area, the new route corrects an anomaly of the previous route that would have left thousands of Palestinians on the Israeli side. The Alfei Menashe settlement bloc was reduced in size, and the new plan leaves three groups of Palestinian houses on the Palestinian side of the fence. The barrier's route in the Jerusalem area will leave Beit Iksa on the Palestinian side; and Jaba on the Israeli side, but with a crossing to the Palestinian side at Tzurif. Further changes were made to the route around Eshkolot and Metzadot Yehuda, and the route from Metzadot to Har Choled was approved.
In 2012, 440 km (273.4 mi) (62%) of the barrier had been completed.
In September 2014, eight years after approving the 45 km stretch of barrier enclosing Gush Etzion, no progress had been made on it, and Israel reopened the debate. The fence is scheduled to go through the national park, the Nahal Rafaim valley, and the Palestinian village of Battir. The Israeli land appropriated in Gva'ot would be on the Palestinian side of the barrier. On 21 September 2014, the government voted to not reauthorize the barrier in the Gush Etzion area.
In 2022, 45 km (28.0 mi) of the barrier that had been built as a multi-layered fence were replaced by new sections of the 9-meter high concrete wall.
Bethlehem (/ˈbɛθlɪhɛm/; Arabic: بيت لحم, Bayt Laḥm, pronunciation; Hebrew: בֵּית לֶחֶם Bēṯ Leḥem) is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and has a population of approximately 25,000 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
The earliest-known mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, when the town was inhabited by the Canaanites. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Helena, and her son, Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Amidst the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War.[8] After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, it became part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, when it was annexed by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; it is still home to a significant community of Palestinian Christians, however it has dwindled significantly, mostly due to difficulties resulting from living under the Israeli occupation. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية, romanized: aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; Hebrew: הַגָּדָה הַמַּעֲרָבִית, romanized: HaGadáh HaMaʽarávit), so called due to its relation to the Jordan River, is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip). A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the Levant region of West Asia, it is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea to the east and by Israel (via the Green Line) to the south, west, and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The territory first emerged in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War as a region occupied and subsequently annexed by Jordan. Jordan ruled the territory until the 1967 Six-Day War, when it was occupied by Israel. Since then, Israel has administered the West Bank as the Judea and Samaria Area, expanding its claim into East Jerusalem in 1980. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords split the West Bank into three regional levels of Palestinian sovereignty, via the Palestinian National Authority (PNA): Area A (PNA), Area B (PNA and Israel), and Area C (Israel, comprising 60% of the West Bank). The PNA exercises total or partial civil administration over 165 Palestinian enclaves across the three areas.
The West Bank remains central to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Palestinians consider it the heart of their envisioned state, along with the Gaza Strip. Right-wing and religious Israelis see it as their ancestral homeland, with numerous biblical sites. There is a push among some Israelis for partial or complete annexation of this land. Additionally, it is home to a rising number of Israeli settlers. Area C contains 230 Israeli settlements into which Israeli law is applied and under the Oslo Accords was supposed to be mostly transferred to the PNA by 1997, but this did not occur. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Citing the 1980 law in which Israel claimed Jerusalem as its capital, the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, and the Oslo Accords, a 2004 advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, remain Israeli-occupied territory.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين, romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a state in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Founded on 15 November 1988 and officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, all of which have been Israeli-occupied territories since the 1967 Six-Day War. The West Bank contains 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian rule, but the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control. The Gaza Strip was governed by Egypt but conquered by Israel in 1967. Israel governed the region until it withdrew in 2005. The United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and various human-rights organizations still consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they regard as Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes this. Hamas seized power after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. This has since been ensued by a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel and Egypt.
After World War II, in 1947, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Partition Plan for Mandatory Palestine, which recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states and an internationalized Jerusalem. Immediately after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181, a civil war broke out in Palestine, and the plan was not implemented. The day after the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, neighboring Arab countries invaded the former British Mandate and engaged Israeli forces in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Later, the All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 to govern the All-Palestine Protectorate in the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, which had occupied and later annexed the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Palestine is currently recognized by 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. Though jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria.
On 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Yasser Arafat, as Chairman of the PLO, issued the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, which established the State of Palestine. A year after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was formed to govern (in varying degrees) areas A and B in the West Bank, comprising 165 enclaves, and the Gaza Strip. After Hamas became the PNA parliament's leading party in the most recent elections (2006), a conflict broke out between it and the Fatah party, leading to the Gaza Strip being taken over by Hamas in 2007 (two years after the Israeli disengagement).
The State of Palestine's mid-year population in 2021 was 5,227,193. Although Palestine claims Jerusalem as its capital, the city is under the control of Israel; both Palestinian and Israeli claims to the city are mostly unrecognized by the international community. Palestine is a member of the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the G77, the International Olympic Committee, as well as UNESCO, UNCTAD and the International Criminal Court. Following a failed attempt in 2011 to secure full United Nations member state status, the United Nations General Assembly voted in 2012 to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state. On 26 February 2024, the Palestinian government collapsed, with the entire Palestinian government resigning, including the prime minister.
Bethlehem is a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the State of Palestine, located about ten kilometres (six miles) south of Jerusalem. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate, and as of 2017 had a population of 28,591 people. The city's economy is largely tourist-driven; international tourism peaks around and during Christmas, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, revered as the location of the Nativity of Jesus.
A possible first mention of Bethlehem is in the Amarna correspondence of ancient Egypt, dated to 1350–1330 BCE, although that reading is uncertain. In the Hebrew Bible, the period of the Israelites is described; it identifies Bethlehem as the birthplace of David. In the New Testament, the city is identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Under the Roman Empire, the city of Bethlehem was destroyed by Hadrian, but later rebuilt by Constantine the Great, who commissioned the Church of the Nativity in 327 CE. In 529, the Church of the Nativity was heavily damaged by Samaritans involved in the Samaritan revolts; following the victory of the Byzantine Empire, it was rebuilt by Justinian I.
Later, during the rule of several Caliphates, Bethlehem became part of Jund Filastin in 637. Muslims continued to rule the city until 1099, when it was conquered by the Crusaders, who replaced the local Christian Greek Orthodox clergy with Catholic ones. In the mid-13th century, Bethlehem's walls were demolished by the Mamluk Sultanate. However, they were rebuilt by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century when it came to control the region. After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, Bethlehem was part of Mandatory Palestine until 1948, and later of the West Bank that was annexed by Jordan following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. During the 1967 Six Day War, Bethlehem was occupied by Israel along with the rest of the West Bank. Since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, Bethlehem has been designated as part of Area A of the West Bank, nominally rendering it as being under Palestinian control. Movement around the city is limited due to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
While it was historically a city of Arab Christians, Bethlehem now has a majority of Arab Muslims; while it is still home to a significant population of Palestinian Christians, this community has dwindled significantly, from about 86 per cent in 1950 to about 10 per cent in 2022. Presently, Bethlehem has become encircled by dozens of Israeli settlements, which significantly hinder the ability of Palestinians in the city to openly access their land and livelihoods, which has contributed to the exodus of Palestinians.
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria y el Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria.
homs
Hims (Arabic:حمص , transliteration: Ḥims, also spelled Homs and anciently called "Emesa"[1] (Greek: ἡ Ἔμεσα) is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Hims Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,640 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus.[2] Located on the Orontes River, Hims is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean Sea coast.
Hims did not emerge into the light of history until the 1st century BCE at the time of Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name. Originally a pagan center of worship for the Sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. It was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century and made capital of a district that bore its current name. Throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Hims due to the city's strategic position in the area. It began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its economic importance when its cotton industry boomed.
Today, Hims is a major industrial center in Syria, and with a population of 823,000, it is the third largest city in the country. Its population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, composed mostly of Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims, with a Christian minority. The city boasts a number of historic mosques and churches and is near the Krak des Chevaliers, a world heritage site.
Etymology
"Emesa" is a compound of "Ham-Es", with the Es representing an assemblage of the locally-revered sun god in (El-Gabal) in ancient times.[3] The name "Emesa" or "Hemesa" is also attributed to "Emesenoi", the name of the Arab tribe that ruled the area before its incorporation into the Roman Empire.[4] When the name of the tribe became attached to the city is indiscernible, but is generally thought to have been used under the Romans.[5]
"Emesa" was called "Hems" or "Hims" by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria.[5][6] This name has been preserved throughout the period of Islamic rule continuing to the present day. It was known as "la Chamelle" by the Crusaders, although they never ruled the city.[7][8] A second possibility about the origin of the city's modern name is that it is an Arabic form of the city's Latin name "Emesus", derived from the Greek "Emesa" or "Emesos".[9]
History
For roughly 2,000 years, Hims has served as a key agricultural market, production site, and trade center for the villages of northern Syria. It has also provided security services to the hinterland of Syria, protecting it from invading forces.[5]
Emesani dynasty and Roman rule The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus
Excavations at the Citadel of Hims indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BCE. Biblical scholars have identified the city with Zobah mentioned in the Bible.[10][5] In 1274 BCE,[11] a battle took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River near Hims.[12] It was possibly the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000–6,000 chariots.[13][14]
Hims itself may have been founded by Seleucus I Nicator who established the Seleucid Empire upon the death of Alexander the Great, though the city did not emerge in the light of history until the 1st century BCE. At this time, Greek philosopher Strabo spoke of a tent-dwelling tribe called the "Emesani" living in the area around the Orontes and south of the Apamea region.[5] They were an Arab tribe in the area and settled in Emesa—which derived its name from them. Upon Pompey's incorporation of the Seleucid state of Syria into the Roman Empire in 64 BCE, the Emesani dynasty were made vassals to the Romans for aiding their troops in various wars. Their chief at the time, Samsigeramus I, gained the status as king of the Emesanis, but their capital was at Arethusa, a city north of Emesa, also along the Orontes River. At its greatest extent, the kingdom's boundaries extended from the Bekaa Valley in the west to the border with Palmyra in the east, and from Yabrud in the south to al-Rastan (Arethusa) in the north. Semsigeramus's kingdom was the first of Rome's Arab clients on the desert fringes.[4]
The city of Emesa grew to prominence after the new-found wealth of the Emesani dynasty, governed first by Samsigeramus's son Iamblichus who made it the kingdom's capital.[4] The Emesani proved their loyalty to Rome once more when they aided Caesar in his siege of Alexandria in 41 BCE, by sending him army detachments. Subsequently, they became embroiled in the Roman Civil War between the rebelling Mark Antony and the pro-Caesar Octavian. King Iamblichus took the side of Octavian, and so upon encouragement from Antony, the king's brother Alexas usurped the throne and put him to death in 31 BCE. Octavian's forces prevailed in the war, however, and as a result the kingdom's throne was reverted to Iamblichus II after Alexas was executed for treason. Under his stable rule emerged a new era of peace from 20 BCE and 14 CE, known as Emesa's "golden age". In 32 CE, Heliopolis and the Bekaa Valley came under the kingdom's control.[4]
Relations with the Roman government grew closer when King Sohaemus inherited the kingship. Under him, Emesa sent the Roman military a regular levy of archers and assisted them in their siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. His loyalty to Rome gained the Emesani dynasty little, however; in 75 CE the Kingdom of Emesa was completely incorporated into the Roman Empire, diminishing the dynasty's autonomy. It is unclear whether King Sohaemus abdicated his throne or had died with an incapable heir, prompting the Romans to annex the territory.[15]
Some frescoes inside the Church of Saint Elian date back to the 6th century
Under the Romans, Emesa began to show attributes of a Greek city-state and traces of Roman town planning still remain. Its transformation into a major city was completed under the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161) when Emesa began to mint coins.[5] By the 3rd century, it grew prosperous and well-integrated into the Roman Orient. This was partly due to the marriage of Septimus Severus to a woman from a family of notables based in Emesa. It attained the coveted status as a Roman colonia by Severus, and two other emperors of Severan Dynasty were raised in Emesa. One of them was Elagabalus who served as the high priest at the Temple of El-Gabal, the local sun god. He brought the image of this god, a conical black stone, to the Elagabalium in Rome.[16][17]
Emesa also grew wealthy because it formed a link in the eastern trade funneled through Palmyra, however, this dependence also caused the city's downfall when Palmyra sank to insignificance in the 4th century. Nonetheless, Emesa at this time had grown to rank with the important cities of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Damascus. It also continued retain local significance, because it was the market center for the surrounding villages. The city remained a strong center of paganism, because of the Temple of El-Gabal. After one of his victories over Zenobia, emperor Aurelian visited the city to pay thanks to the deity.[16]
Due to the strength of the pagan sun-cult in Emesa, Christians initially did not settle in the city. Eusibius writes that Silvanus, the city's first bishop, had no jurisdiction over the city, but the surrounding villages. He was executed aside Emperor Julian and succeeded by Bishop Antonius—the first bishop to settle Emesa.[18] By the 5th century, Christianity was well-established under the Byzantine Empire; however, few ancient Christian inscriptions exist in Hims today.[16] Under the Byzantines, it became an important center for Eastern Christianity.[19] Initially a diocese, Hims was given the status of ecclesiastical metropolis after the discovery John the Baptist's head in a nearby area in 452.[16]
Arab Caliphate The mausoleum of Khalid ibn al-Walid is in a mosque in Hims that bears his name
Prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria, Arab tribes, particularly the Banu Kalb settled around Emesa, ensuring its position as an important Yemeni center. The Byzantine emperor Heraclius abandoned the city—which served as his headquarters[20]—after the defeat of his army to that of the Rashidun Muslims under Umar ibn al-Khattab during the Battle of Yarmouk in southern Syria. In 637 CE, the Rashidun army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid captured Emesa peacefully as the city agreed to pay a substantial ransom of 71,000 to 170,000 dinars.[16][21][22] Afterward, they renamed the city "Hims". The caliph Umar established Hims as the capital of Jund Hims, a district within the province of Bilad ash-Sham, encompassing the towns of Latakia, Jableh, and Tartus along the coast, as well as the Palmyra in the Syrian Desert and the territory in between, including the town of Hama.[23] Hims was probably the first city in Syria to have a substantial Muslim population.[24]
The Muslims transformed half of St. John's Church into the city's Friday Mosque (Great Mosque of al-Nuri) and Hims soon became a center of Islamic piety since some 500 companions of Muhammad settled there after its conquest.[16] The tombs of Ibn al-Walid, his son Abd ar-Rahman, and Ubaid Allah, the son of Umar are located in the city.[25] During the conflict between the Umayyads and Ali, the inhabitants of Hims allied themselves with Ali and when the latter was defeated, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiyah hived the northern half of Jund Hims to form a separate district, Jund Qinnasrin, apparently as punishment.[16] Ali's oratory (mash-had 'Ali) was located in the city, and Islamic tradition claims his fingerprints are engraved on it.[22] Despite repression by the Umayyads, Hims remained a center of Shia Islam for a while longer. As a stronghold of the Banu Kalb, the city became involved in its conflicts with the Qais tribal faction. The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II, enjoyed the support of the latter tribe and subsequently razed the city walls. In 750 CE the Abbasids wrested control of Syria, including Hims, from the Umayyads, but the Arab tribes continued to revolt against the Caliphate.[16]
The interior of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri
During the reign of caliph Harun al-Rashid from 796 to 809 and after his reign, the Abbasid authorities sent numerous punitive expeditions against Hims and although the city was quite prosperous in this era, Abbasid rule was generally not welcomed.[16] Under the reign of al-Mutawakkil, in October 855, an uprising by the Christians of the city erupted in response to additional taxation. The caliph put down the revolt by expelling Christians from the city, burning down its churches, and executing members of its leadership.[26] With Abbasid rule over the Caliphate weakening in the mid-9th century, Hims became sought after by rebel dynasties contending for control of Syria due to the city's strategic position.[16]
Initially, the Egypt-based Tulunids came into control of it, but they were forced out by the Aleppo-based Hamdanids who were briefly succeeded by the Qarmatians,[16] after their Turkish rebel ally Aftakin invaded northern Syria and made Hims his base.[27] In 891 CE, geographer al-Yaqubi wrote that Hims was situated along a broad river from which the inhabitants drink.[28] It was one of the largest cities in Syria and had several smaller districts surrounding it. In 944, the Hamdanids took definitive control of the city dominated it until 1016.[16] Arab geographer al-Mas'udi noted in the early 10th century, that Hims was "noted for the personal beauty of its inhabitants".[28] In 985, al-Muqaddasi claimed that Hims was the largest city in all of Syria, but it had suffered "great misfortunes" and was "threatened with ruin". He stated that when the city was conquered by the Muslims they turned half of its church into a mosque.[29]
For roughly thirty years during the 10th century, Hims was raided by the Byzantines and its inhabitants were subject to slaughter and plunder and the city's mosque was briefly restored to become a church. Throughout most of the 11th century, the Byzantine raids receded greatly and the Mirdasids of the Banu Kalb tribe ruled over Hims, replacing the Hamdanids. Inclined towards Shia Islam, they did not oppose the Shia Fatimids of Egypt who were aiming to extend their rule into northern Syria and Iraq at the time. This precipitated a Sunni reaction led by the Seljuk Turks who occupied Hims under Aq Sunqur al-Hajib in 1090.[16]
Seljuk, Ayyubid, and Mamluk rule Romantic illustration of Hims by Louis-Francois Cassas. The artist in the foreground is shown sketching the Citadel of Hims, surrounded by his guards and the inquisitive locals
The First Crusade was launched in 1096, and in 1098, the Crusaders captured Antioch to the northeast, looted Ma'arat al-Numan, and finally besieged Hims itself. Although they managed to cut the city off from its main port Tartus, they failed in taking the city. Soon after, Hims came under the control of the Seljuk ruler of Damascus who turned it into a large, fortified camp and key fortress effectively preventing the Crusaders from penetrating deeper into Muslim territory. Immune from attack, the city became a point where the Muslims could marshal their forces and launch raids against Crusader holds along the Mediterranean coast.[16] In the early 12th century, the Seljuks affianced in internal fighting, during which Hims was often a prize. In 1149, the Mosul-based Zengids under Nur al-Din captured Hims in 1149.[30]
al-Idrisi reports in 1154, that the city was populous, had paved streets, possessed one of the largest mosques in Syria, contained open markets, and was frequented by travelers attracted to its "products and rarities of all kinds". He also noted that its residents were "pleasant; living with them is easy, and their manners are agreeable. The women are beautiful and are celebrated for their fine skin."[31] A series of earthquakes in 1157 inflicted heavy damage upon Hims and its fortress, then in 1170, a minor quake finished off the latter. Yet because of its strategic importance, being opposite of the Crusader County of Tripoli, the city and its fortifications were soon restored. In 1164, Nur al-Din handed Hims over to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh as a fief, but reclaimed it five years later after Shirkuh's death. The latter's nephew, Saladin, came into control of the city in 1175 and in 1179, after reorganizing northern Syria, he restored the fief to his Ayyubid dynasty who retained it for nearly a century until 1262. In 1225, geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned that Hims was large, "celebrated", and walled, having a strongly fortified castle on its southern hill.[22]
During the later Ayyubid period of rule, Hims remained a centerpiece of the wars between them and the Crusaders, as well as internecine conflicts with the Mongol Empire and the Mamluks.[30] The first battle between the Mongols and the Mamluks took place on December 10, 1260, ending in a decisive Mamluk victory. A second battle was fought on October 29, 1281, also ending in a Mamluk victory. The Mamluks were finally defeated in the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, also known as the "Third Battle of Hims", in 1299.
Hims declined politically after falling to the Mamluks under Baibars because they effectively drove out the Crusaders and Mongols from the entirety of Syria. At the beginning of the 14th century, the city was merely the capital of the smallest province of Syria and was often included in the province of Damascus.[30] Ibn Batuta visited Hims in 1355, writing that it had fine trees, good markets, and a "fine Friday Mosque", noting that all of its inhabitants were Arabs.[32] Timur seized the city in 1400, and later in the 15th century as Mamluk weakness had brought insecurity to the countryside, Hims was ravaged by Bedouin raids; In 1510, the powerful tribe led by al-Fadl bin Nu'ayr were sent on an expedition by the governor of Damascus to loot the city markets as Hims had failed to pay for his "services".[30]
Ottoman rule Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque, an example of Ottoman architecture in Hims See also: Ottoman Syria
In 1516, Hims was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and consequently suffered a greater political eclipse, but it continued to thrive as an economic center, processing the agricultural and pastoral products that flowed to it from surrounding districts.[33] Hims was particularly well-known for silk and wool weaving, especially the alaja, which was mottled muslin run through with gold threads and used in feminine apparel. This silk was exported to as far as the Ottoman capital Istanbul. In addition to weaving industries, there were olive oil presses and water mills for wheat and sesame, while grapes and rice, grown in the surrounding marshlands from the 16th century, were found in abundance in the city's markets. Moreover, the markets of Hims were the center of a trade in animal, where flocks of sheep and goats coming from Aleppo met camels and cows moving north from Damascus.[30]
The coming of the Ottomans brought administrative change to Hims, now becoming the center of a sanjak ("district") attached to the wilaya ("province") of Tripoli—its old rival.[34] At this time, a French visitor noted that the city walls and citadel were in good repair, all within was in decay and only its covered markets "retained their beauty". French traveler, Volney wrote in 1785 of the city's one_time great importance and its current "miserable" condition. He described it as large, but ruined village administratively dependent on Damascus. The Ottomans did little to revitalize Hims or ensure it security against Bedouin raids. Tribal unrest throughout the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in the sacking of its markets on several occasions. Security was even more hampered, when in the 18th century, the Ottomans tore down the gates of the city's walls.[30]
The countryside of Hims saw an increase in Bedouin ravages in the first half of the 19th century, interrupted by it and Syria's occupation by Muhammad Ali's Egypt led by Ibrahim Pasha between 1832 and 1840.[35][33] The city revolted against Egyptian rule, and its citadel was destroyed when the Egyptians were suppressing the revolt. Ottoman rule was soon restored and up to the 1860s, Hims was large enough to form a discrete economic unit of trade and processing of agricultural products from its satellite villages and the neighboring Bedouin tribe.[30]
The local economy was stimulated when the Ottoman government extended security to the city and its surrounding area; new villages were established and old ones were resettled. Hims found itself faced with European economic competition since Ottoman rule was restored. Hims' economic importance was boosted again during the depression of the 1870s, as its cotton industry boomed due to a decline European textile production. The quality and design of cotton goods from Hims satisfied both the lower and upper classes of the local, Ottoman, and even the foreign market. There were around 5,000 looms in Hims and nearby Hama, and one British consul referred to Hims as the "Manchester of Syria".[30]
Modern era A street in downtown Hims
Throughout the 20th century Hims held high political importance in the country and was home to several heads of state and other high-ranking government officials.[30]
Under the French mandate Hims was part of the State of Damascus. In Autumn 1925, the city joined Damascus and the southern Druze chieftains in a full-blown revolt against French rule.[36] In 1932 the French moved their military academy from Damascus to Hims, which was the only military academy in Syria until 1967.[37] The Hims Military Academy played a major role in the years following the independence, as many of its graduates went on to become high ranked officers in the Syrian Army and many of them took part in the series of coup d'états that were to follow. Most important of them was Hafez Assad who was to become the president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000.[38]
An oil pipeline between Tripoli and Kirkuk was built in Hims in the early 1930s and it followed ancient caravan route between Palmyra and the Mediterranean. 1n 1959, an oil refinery was built to process some of this oil for consumption by Syria.[30] Israel bombed the Hims oil refinery during the Yom Kippur war in 1973.[38] The city flourished under the newly formed Syrian state due to its central location and partial destruction of its rival city Hamah in 1982 when Hafez al-Assad ordered the Syrian army to quell the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion.
Geography
The Governorate of Hims is the largest in Syria. Hims, the governorate's capital, is located in central western Syria, situated along the east bank of the Orontes River in a particularly fertile area. The city is in between the southern outliers of Jabal Ansayriya located to its west and Mount Lebanon, overlooking the Hims Gap. Because of the gap, the area around Hims receives much more rainfall than interior regions to its north and south.[37] To the east of Hims, is the Syrian Desert. Lake Hims is to the southwest, lying some 125 kilometers (78 mi) south of Aleppo and 34 kilometers (21 mi) south of Hama, halfway on the road between the capital Damascus and Aleppo.[5] The Orontes River splits the city into two main sections: To the east, on a flat land lies the city center and the main neighborhoods; to the west, lies the more recent and modern suburb of al-Waer. The city spans an area of 4,800 hectares (19 sq mi).[39]
Hims is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus, 193 kilometres (120 mi) south from Aleppo, 47 kilometres (29 mi) south Hama, and 186 kilometres (116 mi) southeast from Latakia.[2] Nearby towns and villages include al-Qusayr to the south, Fairouzeh to the southeast, Marmarita and Zweitina to the west, Qatna to the northeast and Ar-Rastan to the north.
Old City and subdivisions The Atassi quarter in the Old City of Hims A building in the neighborhood of al-Mahatta See also: Gates of Hims
The Old City is the most condensed area of Hims, and it includes the neighborhoods of Bab Tadmur, Bab al-Dreib, and Bab Hud and the area around the citadel, covering an area of 1.2 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi).[39] Little remains of the Old City; its walls and gates were demolished in the Ottoman era, but a short section of fortified wall with a circular corner tower still exists. Half a kilometer to the south, a large earth mound marks the site where the citadel once stood.[40] To the north of the citadel lies the Christian Quarter, known as "al-Hamidiyah".[41] This neighborhood is one of the few areas of Hims that retains its older look, with most of the black-and-white stone buildings dating from the Mamluk era. They are still used as shops and dwellings, and there has been recent renovation.[42]
At the time of the Abbasids, Hims was known for its seven gates. They were Bab al-Souq (Gate of the Market), Bab Tadmor (Gate of Palmyra), Bab al-Dreib (or Bab al-Deir), Bab al-Sebaa (Gate of the Lions), Bab al-Turkman (Gate of the Turkmen), Bab al-Masdoud (Closed Door), and Bab Hud (The Gate of Hud).[30] Only two gates—Bab Tadmor and Bab al-Dreib—remain today.[43] The oldest of Hims' mosques and churches are located in the Old City.[40]
Hims consists of several subdivisions outside the Old City. The large neighborhood of Khaldiyah spreads along its northern edge, while the more modern neighborhoods of al-Sabeel, al-Zahra, and Jub al-Jandali are situated to the east of the Old City. South of it are the neighborhoods of Bab al-Sebaa, al-Mreijeh, al-Nezha, Akrama and beyond them lay the Karm al-Zaytoun and Karm al-Loz neighborhoods.[41] The modern commercial center lies to the west in the neighborhood of Jouret al-Shayyah, and further west are the upscale neighborhoods of Qusoor, al-Mahatta and al-Ghouta. The suburb of al-Waer is located even further west, separated from the city by areas of farmland called al-Basateen and the Orontes river forming a green belt where it is forbidden to build anything.[41] The al-Baath University complex and dormitories are located on the western-southern edge of the city next to the neighborhood of Akrama.[41]
Climate
Hims' location ensures that it receives softening influences and breezes from the Mediterranean Sea . As a result, the city has a much milder climate than nearby Hama, with higher average rainfall of 18 inches (457.2 mm) instead of 14 inches (355.6 mm), but it also experiences greater winds.[5]
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria y el Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria.
Pays : France 🇫🇷
Région : Grand Est (Alsace)
Département : Bas-Rhin (67)
Ville : Strasbourg (67000)
Quartier : Wacken-Tivoli
Adresse : 4, quai du Chanoine Winterer / 42, rue Lauth
Fonction : Bureaux
Construction : 2001 → 2003
• Architectes : Struhk Architeckten / Urbanetic [Maechel-Delaunay-Jund]
Niveaux : R+3
Hauteur : ≈15.00 m
Hims
Hims: see Homs, Syria.
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Hims
City (pop., 2004 est.: 800,400), central Syria. It is located near the Orontes River. As Emesa, it contained a large temple to the sun god El Gebal and was the birthplace of the priest-king Elagabalus, who became Roman emperor in AD 218. The emperor Aurelian defeated Queen Zenobia of Palmyra there in 272. It was taken in 636 by the Muslims, who renamed it Hsubdotimssubdot. In 1516 it passed into Ottoman hands, where it remained (except for a brief period of Egyptian control in the 1830s) until the creation of Syria after World War I (1914–18). Hsubdotimssubdot is a thriving agricultural market centre and has oil and sugar refineries. It is the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean Sea coast.
Learn more about Hsubdotimssubdot with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Homs
For military actions near the city, see Battle of Homs.
Homs (حمص, , anciently called Emesa (ἡ Ἔμεσα), or "La Chamelle" during the Crusades, Humus) is a city in western Syria, the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 450 m above sea level, and is located 160 km away from Damascus and 190 km away from Aleppo. It is located on the Orontes river. It is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean Sea coast. In Roman times it was known as Emesa. The famous Crac des Chevaliers is built on the mountain overlooking the Homs Gap. Sites of cultural significance include the tomb of Khalid bin Walid, celebrated Arab Muslim general, Krak des Chevaliers, a Crusader fortress, and Al Fadael Mosque, the city's oldest surviving structure. The 2007 population estimate of the city is 1,647,000.
History
Excavations at Homs citadel by a joint Syrian-British team have revealed ceramic vessels retrieved from just above bed-rock at the base of the south-east side of the tell (hill), which indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BC.
However, the narrowness of the archaeological areas that are safe to excavate preclude any chance of reaching these lower levels by coming down from the top of the tell, given its height of 30 m.
The history of the Homs as a metropolis (city) remains obscure until the times of the Seleucid Empire, when it was founded after the death of Alexander the Great.
Ancient Hemesa, in the Seleucid district of Apamea, was devoted to the worship of El-Gabal (also known as Baal), the sun god, of whose great temple the emperor Elagabalus was originally a priest (218 AD). As a center of native influences it was overawed by the Seleucid foundation of Apamea.
During this period Sampsiceramus or Shams'alkeram, an Aramaic chieftain, reigned over Hemesa (Emesa) and Rasten (Arethusa). In 64 BC Sampsiceramus killed Antiochus XIII, the last Seleucid king, at the behest of Pompey the Great.
During this period the Hellenistic culture flourished, however the Aramaic language prevailed throughout the eastern regions as it was the language of the natives.
Emesa had a temple to the Syrian sun god El-Gabal (Aramaic), also called Elagabalus (Latin) and Heliogabalus (Greek Ἡλιογάβαλος). During Roman times Emesa was ruled by its local dynasty of priest-kings (see Royal Family of Emesa).
It was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Elagabalus, who was a hereditary priest of his namesake deity and succeeded his cousin Caracalla in 218.
In 261, inhabitants of the city killed the usurper Quietus, who tried to find refuge there after failing to defeat the armies of Emperor Gallienus.
Emesa was also Roman Emperor Aurelian's headquarter during his campaign against Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. Caracalla made it a Roman colony (the colonia status being the highest urban status in the Roman Empire), and later it became the capital of a small province, Phoenicia Libanesia or ad Libanum.
After the division of the Roman empire in 395 AD, Emesa remained part of the Byzantine Christian empire until the forces of Rashidun Caliphate captured Emesa in March 636 AD, and they renamed it Homs.
Homs became an administrative/military center (jund) under the first under Rashiduns and then under Ummayads. With the fall of the Ummayads the city gradually lost its importance. It also suffered two destructive earthquakes in the 12th century.
After the Ummayads it passed to the hands of the Abbasides, Hamadanites, Fatimid, Seljuks, Ayoubids, and Mamluks. It also fell briefly to the Crusaders and the Mongols.
In 1516 it passed into Ottoman hands, where it remained as a capital of a sanjak in the wilayah of Damascus until the creation of the modern state of Syria after World War I.
The city flourished under the newly formed Syrian state due to its central location and partial destruction of its rival city Hama in 1982 when Hafez al-Assad ordered the Syrian army to quell the Muslim Brotherhood rebellion.
Israel bombed the Homs oil refinery during the Yom Kippur war in 1973.
In 1982 the security services sieged the industrial zone to capture renegade Muslim brotherhood members, and there is a report of full scale beatings and strip-searching of citizens present at that location.
Main sights
Krak des Chevaliers
Al Fadael Mosque
Al-Nouri mosque
Qubah Mosque
Um Al-Zennar (St Mary's Church)
Homs Museum
Mar Elian (St Elian's tomb)
Mosque of Khalid Ibn Al-Walid
Museum of Traditions at the zahrawi Historical Residence.
Historical roofed souq
Demographics
Homs' population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, made up primarily of Sunnis, Christians, and Alawites. Homs is also home to smaller communities of Armenians and Palestinian refugees. In 2007, the estimated population of the city was 1,647,000.
Education
Homs is home to the Al-Baath University. The University houses several faculties including medicine, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences and a number of 2-year career (vocational) institutions. The German Syrian University at Wadi al-Nasarah opened in 2004 and is located 30 km west of the city.Also, the International School of Choueifat recently opened up a branch just outside the city.
Economy
Homs is an agricultural center serving the farmers of the surrounding country side. Homs is also home to several large public heavy industries like the oil refinery west of the city. A growing private industrial sector has flourished in the past decade and many small to medium sized enterprises occupy the industrial zones northwest and south of the city. A new Sugar refinery is being built by a Brazilian company, and an automobile plant is under construction by Iran Khodro. Also a new phosphate plant and oil refinery are being built east of the city. The service sector is small but growing.
Sports
Homs boasts two big stadiums west of the city and is home to Al-Karamah Sports Club. Al-Karamah soccer team won several national and regional championships. It was runner-up in the 2006 Asian Champions League. Homs is also home to Al-Wathba sports Club.
Cuisine
The cuisine of Homs is well celebrated in Syria. Famous dishes include: The Homsi kibbeh, Beitenjan mehshi (stuffed eggplant), shakriah, and halawet al-jubn.
Notable people
Hashim Atassi, Former President of Syria
Nureddin al-Atassi, Former President of Syria.
Luai al-Atassi, Former President of Syria.
Muhammad Tulaimat, Painter.
George Wassouf, Pop singer.
Elagabalus, Emperor of the Roman Empire.
Asma Assad, the wife of the Syria president Bashar al-Assad.
Anicetus, Pope, 154-167.
Heliodorus of Emesa, Hellenistic author of Aethiopica
References
External links
emesanet emesa net homs
E.sy The First Complete Governmental Online Services
Homs The First Complete website for Homs news and services
homslife.com
Syria Gate - About Syria - Homs
Pictures of Homs
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
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Hama (Arabic: حماة, Hama, pronounced [Hama] Hamath biblical "fortress") is a city on the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. The city is the historic site of Hamat.
The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium Aclos Amorites came from Mari on the Euphrates River about 250 kilometers east of Hama, colonizing many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq. Although the city is not mentioned in the sources before the first millennium BC, the site seems to have enjoyed great prosperity around 1500 BC, during which it is assumed that belonged to the Amorites Mittanni Empire, an empire that extencio along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria. Mitani was later overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria after the famous battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285 BC
By the turn of the millennium, the ancient Hittite Empire had fallen and centralized Hama is proclaimed as the capital of a prosperous kingdom neo-Hittite Aramaean known in the Bible as Hamath (Aramaic Hittite: Amatuwana, in Hebrew: חֲמָת), which was extended widely , particularly in what is now Israel. Hittite and Aramaic peoples lived in relative peace, coexisting with other states in the region, as Carchemish. The most significant of all was Damascus Aramean states, who became the leader of a federation of states Arameans of which Hamath was a member. Gradually, Aramaic became the most widely used language in the Middle East.
When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858-824 AD) conquered northern Syria reached Hamath in 835 BC, marking the beginning of the Assyrian inscriptions concerning the kingdom. led a coalition of cities in Syria against the invasion of Assyrian armies according to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2000 cavalry 62,000 infantry and 1,000 camel jockeys in the battle of Carcar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more While a tie,
In 743 BC, Tiglath-pileser III took a number of cities in the territory of Hamath territories distributed among his generals, and forcibly displaced 1,223 people to inhabit the upper valley of the Tigris, which they demands to the king of Hamath
Hamat is one of the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. More than 30,000 people were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives of the Zagros. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Hamath Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt that led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Sargon II wiped out the city, which recolonized with 6,300 Assyrians and their king condemned to be flayed alive in Assyria. Were also carried Nimrud ivory furniture adorning their kings
The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire came to include most of the Near East to the coast Mediterráneoa. However, his empire fell, when in 612 BC an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but in the 540a.c. Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.
The few biblical citations that report indicate that Hamath was the capital of a kingdom Canaanites (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated the King David for his victory over Hadad-ezer, king of Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Chronicles 13:9-11). Solomon apparently took possession of Hamath and of its territory. The prophet Amos called the city Hamath the Great. In fact, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, in the second half of the fourth century BC Syria was under the influence of Greco-Roman instead of Arabic and Persian cultures. Alexander campaigned in, 334 to 323 BC Syria sometiendoa Hellenic influence. Since the country was on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other cities of Syria, once again became rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great Middle East conquests were divided among his generals, Seleucus Nicator and became the ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a resurgence in the fortunes of Hama. For the Syrians were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania. The Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to take control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.
The Romans hizieron by the original settlements, as Hama and made their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey in 64 BC, after which Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, governed from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman period, but archaeological evidence is scarce.
In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In the time was known as Byzantine Hama Hamath. Byzantium Roman rule meant that the Christian religion has been reinforced throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphany was born in Hama in the sixth century.
Muslim rule
During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the city regained its old name, which has since been preserved. After his capture, was under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the empire of the Umayyads until the ninth century. The Umayyads built the Great Mosque of Hama in the eighth century that served as a model for the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Although the history of the city is dark at this time, we know that Hama was a walled city with a ring of outlying towns. He remained under the control of the Hamdanid. rulers of Aleppo in the tenth century and remained so until the twelfth century these have been considered the dark years of Hama. The Byzantines under Emperor Nicephorus Phocas stormed the city in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. In the eleventh century, the Fatimids gained sovereignty over northern Syria during this period, the Mirdasids ruled Hama.
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost to Saladin definitely. In 1157 an earthquake destroyed the city. In 1175, Hama was taken by Saladin, the city granted his nephew, Omar al-Muzaffar, and placed under the control of the Ayyubid family. This marked the beginning of an era of stability and prosperity in the Ayyubid Hama ruling almost continuously until 1342. The geographer Yaqut Al Hamawi, born in Hama in 1225 described him as a great city surrounded by a great wall. Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, like other cities in Syria, but the Mongols were defeated that year and again in 1303 by the Mamluks to the Ayyubid sucedióron as rulers of the region. Hama briefly became the Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of the governor of al-Mansur, Mahmud II. However, unlike other cities earlier Ayyubid, Mamluk Ayyubid returned to the family of Hama by Abu al-Fida, historian and geographer, governor of the city reigning from 1310 to 1332. He described his city as a very old ... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the nicest places in Syria. After his death, was succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Afdal eventually lost favor with the Mamluks and was deposed. Therefore, Hama came under the direct control of the Mamluks.
Gradually extended to the banks of the Orontes River, in the neighborhood of the right bank is connected to the city proper by a bridge of new construction. The city on the left is divided into upper and lower portions, each of them was surrounded by a wall. . The city was full of palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, a hospital, and over thirty different wells. It was during the reign of the Mamluks that many of the wells, which began during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were refurbished and expanded, and their numbers increased. Water and other pipeline systems were built to bring water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields. Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to the neighboring city of Hama in Salamiyah.
Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and noted that the Orontes River, to the pleasant city to live, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits, also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (the name of an Ayyubid emir) containing; a very nice market, a mosque and baths, in 1400, conquered Timurlane Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.
Ottoman Empire
The period of prosperity of the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria after defeating the Mamelukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, fell under the Ottoman rule of Constantinople. Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the management structure of the region. Hama, again became an important center of trade routes from the Mediterranean to Asia. A number of caravaneses were built in the city, like Rustum Pasha Khan dating back to 1556. Syria was then divided into three governorates and Hama was ruled by the government based in Aleppo.
Then in the eighteenth century, became the governor of Damascus. The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, which also ruled in other parts of Syria by the Ottomans. They built sumptuous residences in Hama, including Azem Palace and Khan Asad Pasha, which were built by Asad Pasha al-Azem, who ruled Hama for several years until 1742. By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool and other raw materials. After approval of the Law vilayet in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (winning the city asministrativos powers,
Modern Age
Ottoman rule ended in 1917 after its defeat in World War at the hands of the allied forces. Hama became part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had become what remained: a provincial town of medium size, with an important market for an agricultural area rich in cereals, cotton and sugar beets. He became famous as the center of landlords of large estates worked by peasants. Since the 1940s, a conflict erupted important class of agricultural workers seeking reforms in Hama. Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, member of a notable poor family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and improved conditions of Hama sociales.Hizo the basis of the Arab Socialist Party which later merged with another socialist party, the Baath. The party ascended to power in 1963 and marked the end of the power of the landed elite. . In the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of a revolt by conservative forces encouraged by the speeches of the preachers in the mosque denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops to the barracks of the ancient city of Hama to quell the insurrection.
In 1964, the unrest caused dozens of deaths, and in the 1970's, Hama became an important source of opposition to the regime during the uprising Sunni Islam that began in 1976. In the spring of 1982, government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the rebellion with means very hard. Tanks and artillery bombed neighborhoods in the hands of insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilians living after submitting the revolt. In the cleaning after the fighting ended, large city districts, including most of the old city, were leveled by bulldozers and then rebuilt, changing the face of the city. Deaths in the slaughter of Hama have been estimated to range between 5,000 and 20,000, although no reliable figures are available. (Opponents of the regime, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, the encrypted between 30,000 and 40,000.) The story is deleted from the official books and is considered highly sensitive in Syria. 31 JULY 2011 NEW TANKS ENTER UNTOLD LEAVING DEAD
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
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Hama (Arabic: حماة, Hama, pronounced [Hama] Hamath biblical "fortress") is a city on the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. The city is the historic site of Hamat.
The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium Aclos Amorites came from Mari on the Euphrates River about 250 kilometers east of Hama, colonizing many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq. Although the city is not mentioned in the sources before the first millennium BC, the site seems to have enjoyed great prosperity around 1500 BC, during which it is assumed that belonged to the Amorites Mittanni Empire, an empire that extencio along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria. Mitani was later overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria after the famous battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285 BC
By the turn of the millennium, the ancient Hittite Empire had fallen and centralized Hama is proclaimed as the capital of a prosperous kingdom neo-Hittite Aramaean known in the Bible as Hamath (Aramaic Hittite: Amatuwana, in Hebrew: חֲמָת), which was extended widely , particularly in what is now Israel. Hittite and Aramaic peoples lived in relative peace, coexisting with other states in the region, as Carchemish. The most significant of all was Damascus Aramean states, who became the leader of a federation of states Arameans of which Hamath was a member. Gradually, Aramaic became the most widely used language in the Middle East.
When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858-824 AD) conquered northern Syria reached Hamath in 835 BC, marking the beginning of the Assyrian inscriptions concerning the kingdom. led a coalition of cities in Syria against the invasion of Assyrian armies according to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2000 cavalry 62,000 infantry and 1,000 camel jockeys in the battle of Carcar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more While a tie,
In 743 BC, Tiglath-pileser III took a number of cities in the territory of Hamath territories distributed among his generals, and forcibly displaced 1,223 people to inhabit the upper valley of the Tigris, which they demands to the king of Hamath
Hamat is one of the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. More than 30,000 people were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives of the Zagros. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Hamath Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt that led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Sargon II wiped out the city, which recolonized with 6,300 Assyrians and their king condemned to be flayed alive in Assyria. Were also carried Nimrud ivory furniture adorning their kings
The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire came to include most of the Near East to the coast Mediterráneoa. However, his empire fell, when in 612 BC an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but in the 540a.c. Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.
The few biblical citations that report indicate that Hamath was the capital of a kingdom Canaanites (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated the King David for his victory over Hadad-ezer, king of Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Chronicles 13:9-11). Solomon apparently took possession of Hamath and of its territory. The prophet Amos called the city Hamath the Great. In fact, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, in the second half of the fourth century BC Syria was under the influence of Greco-Roman instead of Arabic and Persian cultures. Alexander campaigned in, 334 to 323 BC Syria sometiendoa Hellenic influence. Since the country was on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other cities of Syria, once again became rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great Middle East conquests were divided among his generals, Seleucus Nicator and became the ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a resurgence in the fortunes of Hama. For the Syrians were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania. The Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to take control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.
The Romans hizieron by the original settlements, as Hama and made their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey in 64 BC, after which Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, governed from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman period, but archaeological evidence is scarce.
In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In the time was known as Byzantine Hama Hamath. Byzantium Roman rule meant that the Christian religion has been reinforced throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphany was born in Hama in the sixth century.
Muslim rule
During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the city regained its old name, which has since been preserved. After his capture, was under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the empire of the Umayyads until the ninth century. The Umayyads built the Great Mosque of Hama in the eighth century that served as a model for the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Although the history of the city is dark at this time, we know that Hama was a walled city with a ring of outlying towns. He remained under the control of the Hamdanid. rulers of Aleppo in the tenth century and remained so until the twelfth century these have been considered the dark years of Hama. The Byzantines under Emperor Nicephorus Phocas stormed the city in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. In the eleventh century, the Fatimids gained sovereignty over northern Syria during this period, the Mirdasids ruled Hama.
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost to Saladin definitely. In 1157 an earthquake destroyed the city. In 1175, Hama was taken by Saladin, the city granted his nephew, Omar al-Muzaffar, and placed under the control of the Ayyubid family. This marked the beginning of an era of stability and prosperity in the Ayyubid Hama ruling almost continuously until 1342. The geographer Yaqut Al Hamawi, born in Hama in 1225 described him as a great city surrounded by a great wall. Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, like other cities in Syria, but the Mongols were defeated that year and again in 1303 by the Mamluks to the Ayyubid sucedióron as rulers of the region. Hama briefly became the Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of the governor of al-Mansur, Mahmud II. However, unlike other cities earlier Ayyubid, Mamluk Ayyubid returned to the family of Hama by Abu al-Fida, historian and geographer, governor of the city reigning from 1310 to 1332. He described his city as a very old ... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the nicest places in Syria. After his death, was succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Afdal eventually lost favor with the Mamluks and was deposed. Therefore, Hama came under the direct control of the Mamluks.
Gradually extended to the banks of the Orontes River, in the neighborhood of the right bank is connected to the city proper by a bridge of new construction. The city on the left is divided into upper and lower portions, each of them was surrounded by a wall. . The city was full of palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, a hospital, and over thirty different wells. It was during the reign of the Mamluks that many of the wells, which began during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were refurbished and expanded, and their numbers increased. Water and other pipeline systems were built to bring water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields. Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to the neighboring city of Hama in Salamiyah.
Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and noted that the Orontes River, to the pleasant city to live, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits, also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (the name of an Ayyubid emir) containing; a very nice market, a mosque and baths, in 1400, conquered Timurlane Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.
Ottoman Empire
The period of prosperity of the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria after defeating the Mamelukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, fell under the Ottoman rule of Constantinople. Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the management structure of the region. Hama, again became an important center of trade routes from the Mediterranean to Asia. A number of caravaneses were built in the city, like Rustum Pasha Khan dating back to 1556. Syria was then divided into three governorates and Hama was ruled by the government based in Aleppo.
Then in the eighteenth century, became the governor of Damascus. The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, which also ruled in other parts of Syria by the Ottomans. They built sumptuous residences in Hama, including Azem Palace and Khan Asad Pasha, which were built by Asad Pasha al-Azem, who ruled Hama for several years until 1742. By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool and other raw materials. After approval of the Law vilayet in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (winning the city asministrativos powers,
Modern Age
Ottoman rule ended in 1917 after its defeat in World War at the hands of the allied forces. Hama became part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had become what remained: a provincial town of medium size, with an important market for an agricultural area rich in cereals, cotton and sugar beets. He became famous as the center of landlords of large estates worked by peasants. Since the 1940s, a conflict erupted important class of agricultural workers seeking reforms in Hama. Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, member of a notable poor family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and improved conditions of Hama sociales.Hizo the basis of the Arab Socialist Party which later merged with another socialist party, the Baath. The party ascended to power in 1963 and marked the end of the power of the landed elite. . In the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of a revolt by conservative forces encouraged by the speeches of the preachers in the mosque denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops to the barracks of the ancient city of Hama to quell the insurrection.
In 1964, the unrest caused dozens of deaths, and in the 1970's, Hama became an important source of opposition to the regime during the uprising Sunni Islam that began in 1976. In the spring of 1982, government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the rebellion with means very hard. Tanks and artillery bombed neighborhoods in the hands of insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilians living after submitting the revolt. In the cleaning after the fighting ended, large city districts, including most of the old city, were leveled by bulldozers and then rebuilt, changing the face of the city. Deaths in the slaughter of Hama have been estimated to range between 5,000 and 20,000, although no reliable figures are available. (Opponents of the regime, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, the encrypted between 30,000 and 40,000.) The story is deleted from the official books and is considered highly sensitive in Syria. 31 JULY 2011 NEW TANKS ENTER UNTOLD LEAVING DEAD
Hama ( en árabe : حماة, Hama, pronunciado [Hama] ; Hamat bíblica, "fortaleza") es una ciudad a orillas del río Orontes, en el centro de Siria, al norte de Damasco. La ciudad es el lugar de la Hamat histórica.
El pueblo amorreo colonizado el área durante el tercer milenio a.c.Los amorreos vinieron de Mari por el río Eufrates, a unos 250 kilómetros al este de Hama, colonizando muchas partes de lo que hoy es Siria e Iraq .Aunque la ciudad no se menciona en las fuentes antes del primer milenio antes de Cristo, el sitio parece haber gozado de gran prosperidad alrededor del 1500 aC, durante el cual se supone que pertenecian al Imperio amorreo Mittanni , un imperio que se extencio a lo largo del Eufrates en el noreste de Siria. Mitani fue derrocado posteriormente por los hititas, que controlaba todo el norte de Siria después de la famosa batalla de Kadesh contra los egipcios bajo Ramsés II , cerca de Homs en 1285 a.c.
Con el cambio de milenio, el antiguo Imperio hitita centralizado había caído y Hama es proclamada como capital de un próspero reino arameo neo-hitita conocido por la Biblia como Hamat ( arameo : hitita : Amatuwana; en hebreo : חֲמָת ), que se extendio ampliamente, en particular en lo que hoy es Israel. Los pueblos hititas y arameos vivían relativamente en paz, coexistiendo con otros Estados de la región, como Carquemis. El más significativo de todos los estados arameos fue Damasco, que se convirtió en el líder de una federación de estados arameos de los cuales Hamat era miembro. Poco a poco, el arameo se convirtió en la lengua más ampliamente utilizada del Cercano Oriente.
Cuando el rey asirio Salmanasar III (858-824 dC) conquistó el norte de Siria llegó a Hamat en el 835 aC, lo que marca el inicio de las inscripciones asirias en relación con el reino. lideró una coalición de ciudades de Siria en contra de la invasión de los ejercitos asirios segun fuentes asirias, fueron confrontados por 4.000 carros, 2000 jinetes 62.000 soldados de infantería y 1.000 jinetes de camellos en la batalla de Carcar .La victoria asiria parece haber sido más bien un empate,
En el año 743 aC, Tiglat-pileser III tomó una serie de ciudades en el territorio de Jamat, distribuyo los territorios entre sus generales, y se desplazado por la fuerza a 1.223 habitantes para habitar el alto valle de Tigris,a los que se les exija tributo al rey de Hamat
Hamat figura entre las ciudades de nuevo conquistada por las tropas asirias. Más de 30.000 habitantes fueron deportados a Ullaba y se reemplazan con cautivos de los Zagros. Después de la caída del reino del norte de Israel , el rey de Hamat Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) encabezó una fallida revuelta de la recién organizada provincias asirias de Arpad , Simirra , Damasco , y Samara . Fue esta revuelta que condujo a la deportación de las Diez Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Sargón II arrasó la ciudad, que recolonizado con 6.300 asirios y condeno a su rey a ser desollado vivo en Asiria. También se llevaron a Nimrud el marfil que adornaba el mobiliario de sus reyes
Las conquistas del Imperio Asirio Nuevo llegó a abarcar la mayor parte del Cercano Oriente hasta la costa Mediterráneoa. Sin embargo, su imperio cayó, cuando en el año 612 a.c. un ejército aliado de babilonios y medos capturo Nínive , la capital asiria. Los asirios fueron reemplazados brevemente por los babilonios como los gobernantes de Siria, pero en el 540a.c. Hama, al igual que el resto de Siria, era parte del Imperio Persa .
Las pocas citas bíblicas que informan de Hamat indican que fue la capital de un reino cananeo (Génesis 10:18; 2 Reyes 23:33; 24:21), cuyo rey felicitó al rey David por su victoria sobre Hadad-ezer , rey de Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Crónicas 13:9-11). Salomón al parecer, tomó posesión de Hamat y de su territorio . El profeta Amós llama la ciudad ;Hamat el Grande. De hecho, el nombre parece deberse al fenicio khamat, En la segunda mitad del siglo cuarto antes de Cristo Siria estuvo bajo la influencia de los greco-romano en lugar de las culturas árabe o persa. Alejandro Magno hizo campaña en el ;334 a 323 a.c. sometiendoa Siria a la influencia Helenica. Dado que el país estaba en las rutas comerciales de Asia a Grecia, Hama, y muchas otras ciudades de Siria, una vez más se han enriquecido a través del comercio. Después de la muerte de Alejandro Magno sus conquistas Oriente Próximo se dividieron entre sus generales, y Seleuco Nicator se convirtió en el gobernante de Siria y en el fundador de la dinastía seléucida . Bajo los seléucidas hubo un resurgimiento en la suerte de Hama. A los arameos se les permitió regresar a la ciudad, que pasó a llamarse Epiphania. El dominio seléucida comenzó a declinar, sin embargo, en los próximos dos siglos, y las dinastías árabes comenzaron a hacerse con el control de las ciudades de esta parte de Siria, incluyendo Hama.
Los romanos se hizieron cargo de los asentamientos originales, como Hama y los hizo propios. Se encontraron poca resistencia cuando invadieron Siria bajo Pompeyo en el año 64 aC, tras lo cual se convirtió Hama en parte de la provincia romana de Siria , gobernada desde Roma por un procónsul. Hama era una ciudad importante durante el período griego y romano, pero la evidencia restos arqueológicos es escasa.
En el año 330, la capital del Imperio Romano se trasladó a Bizancio , y la ciudad siguió prosperando. En el tiempo Bizantino Hama era conocido como Hamat. el dominio romano de Bizancio significó que la religión cristiana se ha reforzado en todo el Cercano Oriente, y fueron construidas iglesias en Hama y otras ciudades. El historiador bizantino Juan de Epifanía nació en Hama en el siglo sexto.
dominio musulmán
Durante la conquista musulmana de Siria en el siglo séptimo, Hama fue conquistada por Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah en 638 o 639 y la ciudad recuperó su antiguo nombre, que desde entonces ha conservado. Tras su captura, estuvo bajo la administración de Homs Jund y permaneció así durante todo el imperio de los Omeyas hasta el siglo IX. Los omeyas construyeron la Gran Mezquita de Hama en el siglo VIII que sirvio de modelo para la Mezquita de los Omeyas en Damasco .
Aunque la historia de la ciudad es oscura en este período de tiempo, se sabe que Hama era una ciudad amurallada con un anillo de ciudades periféricas. Se quedó bajo el control de los Hamdanid. gobernantes de Alepo en el siglo X y asi permanecio hasta el siglo XII estos han sido considerados los años oscuros de Hama. Los bizantinos bajo el emperador Nicéforo Focas asaltaron la ciudad en el año 968 y quemaron la Gran Mezquita. En el siglo XI, los fatimíes adquirieron la soberanía sobre el norte de Siria y durante este período, el Mirdasids goberno Hama.
Tancredo, príncipe de Galilea ,la tomó en 1108, pero en 1114 los cruzados la perdieron definitivamente a manos de Saladino . En 1157 un terremoto destruyó la ciudad. En 1175, Hama fue tomado por Saladino, concedió la ciudad a su sobrino, Omar al-Muzaffar , y la puso bajo el dominio de su familia ayyubí . Esto marcó el comienzo de una era de estabilidad y prosperidad en Hama con los ayyubíes gobernando casi continuamente hasta 1342. El geógrafo Yaqut Al Hamawi , nacido en Hama, lo describió en 1225 como una gran ciudad rodeada de una gran muralla. Hama fue saqueada por los mongoles en 1260, al igual que otras ciudades de Siria, pero los mongoles fueron derrotados ese mismo año y luego otra vez en 1303 por los mamelucos que sucedióron a los ayyubíes como gobernantes de la región. Hama brevemente pasó a control de los mamelucos en 1299 después de la muerte del gobernador de al-Mansur, Mahmud II. Sin embargo, a diferencia de otras ciudades ayyubí anteriores, los mamelucos devolvieron a la familia ayyubí de Hama haciendo Abu al-Fida , historiador y geógrafo, gobernador de la ciudad reinando desde 1310 hasta 1332. Él describió su ciudad como muy antigua ... se menciona en el libro de los israelitas . Es uno de los lugares más agradables en Siria. Después de su muerte, fue sucedido por su hijo Muhammad al-Afdal que finalmente perdió el favor de los mamelucos y fue depuesto. Por lo tanto, Hama quedó bajo el control directo de los mamelucos.
Poco a poco se amplía a orillas del río Orontes, en el barrio de la margen derecha es conectado con la ciudad propiamente dicha por un puente de nueva construcción. La ciudad en la margen izquierda se divide en partes superior e inferior, cada uno de ellos estaba rodeado por un muro. . La ciudad estaba llena de palacios, mercados, mezquitas, madrasas , un hospital, y más de treinta diferentes norias . Fue durante el gobierno de los mamelucos que muchas de las norias, iniciadas durante el gobierno de la dinastía ayyubí, se reacondicionaron y ampliaron, y su número aumentó. Acueductos y otros sistemas de canalización fueron construidos para llevar agua desde el río y usarla para regar los campos cercanos. Por otra parte, un acueducto especial traía el agua potable a Hama de la vecina ciudad de Salamiyah .
Battuta visitó Hama en 1335 y señaló que el río Orontes, hacia la ciudad agradable para vivir, con sus muchos jardines llenos de árboles y frutas; También habla de un gran suburbio llamado al-Mansuriyyah (el nombre de un emir ayyubí) que contenía ;un mercado muy bonito, una mezquita, y unos baños; En 1400, Timurlane conquistado Hama, junto con la cercana Homs y Baalbek .
Imperio Otomano
El período de prosperidad de la dinastia de los mamelucos llegó a su fin en 1516, cuando los turcos otomanos conquistaron Siria a los mamelucos después de derrotarles en la Batalla de Marj Dabiq cerca de Alepo. Hama, y el resto de Siria, cayó bajo la dominación otomana de Constantinopla .Bajo los otomanos, Hama gradualmente se hizo más importante en la estructura administrativa de la región. Hama, una vez más se convirtió en un importante centro de rutas comerciales que van del Mediterraneo a Asia. Un número de caravaneses se construyeron en la ciudad, al igual que Khan Rustum Pasha que data de 1556. Siria se dividió después en tres gobernaciones y Hama fue gobernada por la gobernación con sede en Alepo.
Luego en el siglo XVIII, se convirtió en parte del gobernador de Damasco. Los gobernadores de Damasco en este momento fueron los Azems, que también gobernaban en otras partes de Siria, por los otomanos. Erigieron suntuosas residencias en Hama, incluido el Palacio Azem y Khan Asad Pasha, que fueron construidos por Asad Pasha al-Azem , que gobernó Hama durante varios años, hasta 1742. Para entonces, había 14 caravansaries en la ciudad, en su mayoría utilizados para el almacenamiento y distribución de semillas, algodón, lana y otras materias primas. Después de la aprobación de la Ley vilayet en 1864, Hama se convirtió en la capital de la Sanjak de Hama (ganando la ciudad más poderes asministrativos,
Edad Moderna
El dominio otomano terminó en 1917 después de su derrota en la Primera Guerra Mundial a manos de las fuerzas aliadas. Hama pasó a formar parte del Mandato francés de Siria. Para entonces, Hama se había convertido en lo que se ha mantenido: una ciudad de provincia de tamaño medio, con un importante mercado de una zona agrícola abundante en cereales, algodón y remolacha azucarera. Se hizo famoso como el centro de terratenientes de grandes propiedades trabajadas por los campesinos. A partir de la década de 1940, estalló un conflicto de clases importante de los trabajadores agrícolas en busca de reformas en Hama. Siria accedió a la independencia completa de Francia en 1946. Akram al-Hawrani , miembro de una notable familia pobre en Hama, comenzó a manifestarse a favor de la reforma agraria y mejores condiciones sociales.Hizo de Hama la base del Partido Árabe Socialista que posteriormente se fusionó con otro partido socialista, el Baaz . Este partido ascendio al poder en 1963 y marcó el fin del poder de la élite terrateniente. . En la primavera de 1964, Hama se convirtió en el epicentro de una revuelta por las fuerzas conservadoras alentados por los discursos de los predicadores en las mezquita denunciando las políticas del Ba'ath. El gobierno sirio envió tanques y tropas a los cuarteles de la antigua ciudad de Hama para sofocar la insurrección.
En 1964, los disturbios causaron varias decenas de muertos, y en la década de 1970, Hama se convirtió en una importante fuente de oposición al régimen durante la sublevación sunita islámica que comenzó en 1976. En la primavera de 1982, las fuerzas del Gobierno liderado por el hermano del presidente, Rifaat al-Assad , sofocó la rebelión con medios muy duros. Los tanques y la artillería bombardearon los barrios en manos de los insurgentes de forma indiscriminada, y las fuerzas gubernamentales están acusados de haber ejecutado a miles de prisioneros y civiles residentes después de someter la revuelta. En las operaciones de limpieza después de la final de los combates, grandes distritos de la ciudad, incluyendo la mayor parte de la ciudad vieja, fueron arrasadas con excavadoras y posteriormente reconstruidos, cambiando la cara de la ciudad. Las muertes en la masacre de Hama se han estimado en un rango de entre 5.000 y 20.000, aunque no se disponen de cifras fiables. (Opositores al régimen, en particular la Hermandad Musulmana, las cifran entre 30.000 y 40.000.) La historia se suprime de los libros oficiales y se considera como altamente sensible en Siria. EL 31 DE JULIO DEL 2011 DE NUEVO ENTRAN LOS TANQUES DEJANDO INCALCULABLES MUERTOS
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Hama (Arabic: حماة, Hama, pronounced [Hama] Hamath biblical "fortress") is a city on the Orontes river in central Syria north of Damascus. The city is the historic site of Hamat.
The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium Aclos Amorites came from Mari on the Euphrates River about 250 kilometers east of Hama, colonizing many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq. Although the city is not mentioned in the sources before the first millennium BC, the site seems to have enjoyed great prosperity around 1500 BC, during which it is assumed that belonged to the Amorites Mittanni Empire, an empire that extencio along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria. Mitani was later overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria after the famous battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285 BC
By the turn of the millennium, the ancient Hittite Empire had fallen and centralized Hama is proclaimed as the capital of a prosperous kingdom neo-Hittite Aramaean known in the Bible as Hamath (Aramaic Hittite: Amatuwana, in Hebrew: חֲמָת), which was extended widely , particularly in what is now Israel. Hittite and Aramaic peoples lived in relative peace, coexisting with other states in the region, as Carchemish. The most significant of all was Damascus Aramean states, who became the leader of a federation of states Arameans of which Hamath was a member. Gradually, Aramaic became the most widely used language in the Middle East.
When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858-824 AD) conquered northern Syria reached Hamath in 835 BC, marking the beginning of the Assyrian inscriptions concerning the kingdom. led a coalition of cities in Syria against the invasion of Assyrian armies according to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2000 cavalry 62,000 infantry and 1,000 camel jockeys in the battle of Carcar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more While a tie,
In 743 BC, Tiglath-pileser III took a number of cities in the territory of Hamath territories distributed among his generals, and forcibly displaced 1,223 people to inhabit the upper valley of the Tigris, which they demands to the king of Hamath
Hamat is one of the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. More than 30,000 people were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives of the Zagros. After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, the king of Hamath Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt that led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Sargon II wiped out the city, which recolonized with 6,300 Assyrians and their king condemned to be flayed alive in Assyria. Were also carried Nimrud ivory furniture adorning their kings
The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire came to include most of the Near East to the coast Mediterráneoa. However, his empire fell, when in 612 BC an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but in the 540a.c. Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.
The few biblical citations that report indicate that Hamath was the capital of a kingdom Canaanites (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated the King David for his victory over Hadad-ezer, king of Soba (2 Samuel 8: 11.09; Chronicles 13:9-11). Solomon apparently took possession of Hamath and of its territory. The prophet Amos called the city Hamath the Great. In fact, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, in the second half of the fourth century BC Syria was under the influence of Greco-Roman instead of Arabic and Persian cultures. Alexander campaigned in, 334 to 323 BC Syria sometiendoa Hellenic influence. Since the country was on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other cities of Syria, once again became rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great Middle East conquests were divided among his generals, Seleucus Nicator and became the ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a resurgence in the fortunes of Hama. For the Syrians were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania. The Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to take control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.
The Romans hizieron by the original settlements, as Hama and made their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey in 64 BC, after which Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, governed from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman period, but archaeological evidence is scarce.
In 330, the capital of the Roman Empire moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In the time was known as Byzantine Hama Hamath. Byzantium Roman rule meant that the Christian religion has been reinforced throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphany was born in Hama in the sixth century.
Muslim rule
During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the seventh century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the city regained its old name, which has since been preserved. After his capture, was under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the empire of the Umayyads until the ninth century. The Umayyads built the Great Mosque of Hama in the eighth century that served as a model for the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
Although the history of the city is dark at this time, we know that Hama was a walled city with a ring of outlying towns. He remained under the control of the Hamdanid. rulers of Aleppo in the tenth century and remained so until the twelfth century these have been considered the dark years of Hama. The Byzantines under Emperor Nicephorus Phocas stormed the city in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. In the eleventh century, the Fatimids gained sovereignty over northern Syria during this period, the Mirdasids ruled Hama.
Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost to Saladin definitely. In 1157 an earthquake destroyed the city. In 1175, Hama was taken by Saladin, the city granted his nephew, Omar al-Muzaffar, and placed under the control of the Ayyubid family. This marked the beginning of an era of stability and prosperity in the Ayyubid Hama ruling almost continuously until 1342. The geographer Yaqut Al Hamawi, born in Hama in 1225 described him as a great city surrounded by a great wall. Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, like other cities in Syria, but the Mongols were defeated that year and again in 1303 by the Mamluks to the Ayyubid sucedióron as rulers of the region. Hama briefly became the Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of the governor of al-Mansur, Mahmud II. However, unlike other cities earlier Ayyubid, Mamluk Ayyubid returned to the family of Hama by Abu al-Fida, historian and geographer, governor of the city reigning from 1310 to 1332. He described his city as a very old ... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the nicest places in Syria. After his death, was succeeded by his son Muhammad al-Afdal eventually lost favor with the Mamluks and was deposed. Therefore, Hama came under the direct control of the Mamluks.
Gradually extended to the banks of the Orontes River, in the neighborhood of the right bank is connected to the city proper by a bridge of new construction. The city on the left is divided into upper and lower portions, each of them was surrounded by a wall. . The city was full of palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, a hospital, and over thirty different wells. It was during the reign of the Mamluks that many of the wells, which began during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were refurbished and expanded, and their numbers increased. Water and other pipeline systems were built to bring water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields. Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to the neighboring city of Hama in Salamiyah.
Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and noted that the Orontes River, to the pleasant city to live, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits, also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (the name of an Ayyubid emir) containing; a very nice market, a mosque and baths, in 1400, conquered Timurlane Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.
Ottoman Empire
The period of prosperity of the Mamluk dynasty came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria after defeating the Mamelukes at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, fell under the Ottoman rule of Constantinople. Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the management structure of the region. Hama, again became an important center of trade routes from the Mediterranean to Asia. A number of caravaneses were built in the city, like Rustum Pasha Khan dating back to 1556. Syria was then divided into three governorates and Hama was ruled by the government based in Aleppo.
Then in the eighteenth century, became the governor of Damascus. The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, which also ruled in other parts of Syria by the Ottomans. They built sumptuous residences in Hama, including Azem Palace and Khan Asad Pasha, which were built by Asad Pasha al-Azem, who ruled Hama for several years until 1742. By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool and other raw materials. After approval of the Law vilayet in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (winning the city asministrativos powers,
Modern Age
Ottoman rule ended in 1917 after its defeat in World War at the hands of the allied forces. Hama became part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had become what remained: a provincial town of medium size, with an important market for an agricultural area rich in cereals, cotton and sugar beets. He became famous as the center of landlords of large estates worked by peasants. Since the 1940s, a conflict erupted important class of agricultural workers seeking reforms in Hama. Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, member of a notable poor family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and improved conditions of Hama sociales.Hizo the basis of the Arab Socialist Party which later merged with another socialist party, the Baath. The party ascended to power in 1963 and marked the end of the power of the landed elite. . In the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of a revolt by conservative forces encouraged by the speeches of the preachers in the mosque denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops to the barracks of the ancient city of Hama to quell the insurrection.
In 1964, the unrest caused dozens of deaths, and in the 1970's, Hama became an important source of opposition to the regime during the uprising Sunni Islam that began in 1976. In the spring of 1982, government forces led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the rebellion with means very hard. Tanks and artillery bombed neighborhoods in the hands of insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilians living after submitting the revolt. In the cleaning after the fighting ended, large city districts, including most of the old city, were leveled by bulldozers and then rebuilt, changing the face of the city. Deaths in the slaughter of Hama have been estimated to range between 5,000 and 20,000, although no reliable figures are available. (Opponents of the regime, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, the encrypted between 30,000 and 40,000.) The story is deleted from the official books and is considered highly sensitive in Syria. 31 JULY 2011 NEW TANKS ENTER UNTOLD LEAVING DEAD