Introduction to Historical Geography

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An Introduction to Historical Geography

Beginning to study the Fifth Gospel

For more information on any of the topics below check out the atlases and historical geography resources on the Resources page.

The 5th Gospel

Timeline of the Land

The 4 Elements

Early Historical Geographers

This is the dust in LivingDusty

“Five Gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and one you will find in the land they call Holy. Read the fifth Gospel and the world of the four will open to you.”

—St. Jerome, a 4th century Christian scholar

Why this land?

Why is it that God chose this land instead of Greece, China, or Canada as the setting for the Biblical narrative? He had a reason for choosing this particular part of the globe. The mission of this website is to illuminate that reason and a large part of that reason can be revealed in the name by which we call this land.

This land lies within the western arm of the Fertile Crescent. The entire Fertile Crescent is the region highlighted in green in the map to the right. Included in this land were the ancient lands of Judah, Israel, Aram-Damascus, Gilead, Ammon, Moab and Edom. These ancient lands cover parts of the modern nations of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. What is an accurate name that can be used for describing this multi-country region?

The Holy Land

Like the names Israel or Palestine the name Holy Land brings with it a lot of political and religious luggage. The goal of this website is not to understand this land, its history and geography in light of theology. Instead, the goal is to formulate an understanding of the Bible and its characters through developing an understanding of the land and its history. To dub this land The Holy Land would therefore be putting the cart before the horse. Beyond that, what is it about this land that is holy? Is that an adjective that can be accurately applied to this land today?

The Levant

A second name this land has been given is Levant which, in French, means "morning-land" or "rising place of the sun". Obviously, this was a name applied to this land by Europeans as these would have been the only people for which this land could accurately be called the Levant. For countries west of this land this would be more accurately called "sunset-land". For this reason this is an inaccurate name for this land. The same goes for the Middle East. What is this region middle east of? These are names given to this region by Westerners and not names accepted by natives to this region.

The Land Between

The most appropriate name for this land for the purposes of historical geography is the Land Between. This name was first a first applied to this land by Jim Monson, an alumnus and former president of the American Institute (now known as the Jerusalem University College) and also the author of the Regions on the Run materials. This name does not carry the political or religious issues of the other names and it simultaneously illustrates the function of this land throughout all of history. What is this function? To the great empires throughout all of human history this Land Between has acted as a sort of speed-bump along the highway of empire expansion. This land stood between Africa and the rest of the world. Thus the empires of Europe and Asia who wanted to capture the wealth of Egypt for themselves had to first plough through the Land Between. When the Egyptians desired to trade with their northern neighbors, they first had to secure the trade routes through the Land Between. This land was significant to history because it was the location where all the routes of the ancient world met. Whomever controlled this land, controlled trade and became incredibly wealthy. King Solomon is one such example.

More LivingDusty dustiness that you should know about

Below is a timeline of the Land Between. Select any age to learn more about that time in the Land Between. Only a few significant events are mentioned here. For more detail see any of the atlases recommended listed on the Resources page.

8500-4500BC Neolithic Age

It is during this time that permanent settlements first emerge in Israel. Jericho is built during this time. You can still see a fortified tower from this period in the remains of the ancient tel. That tower is the round stone structure in the image to the right. Around 6000BC the first evidence of pottery production appeared.

4500-3500BC Chalcolithic Age

Chalco refers to copper and lithic refers to stone. Thus it was the copper and stone age. It was during this age that the shift from stone to copper occurred.

3500-2300BC Early Bronze Age

Despite the name of this age, bronze does not appear until around 1500 years after the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. It is during this period that writing appears in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The texts which have been found from this period indicate that trade between these two regions on either end of the Fertile Crescent had begun. Because of its position between these two regions, the Land Between becomes exactly that. It becomes necessary for the people of the Land Between to protect themselves from the empires passing through and this is possibly why fortified settlements spring up at Gezer, Arad and other sites during this age. The image on the right shows the fortified wall of the city of Arad during this period.

2300-2000BC Intermediate Bronze Age

This period has been known by numerous names such as Early Bronze Age IV and Middle Bronze Age I, but is now most commonly known as the Intermediate Bronze Age. An intermediate age is a time of transition during which an earlier civilization collapses. The Intermediate Bronze Age was characterized by a collapse of the permanent settlements all across the Fertile Crescent. There are many theories concerning what could have happened to cause this, but nobody really knows. This period is one of the many mysteries of human history. What is known is that the people who survived during this period in the Land Between lived a nomadic lifestyle.

2000-1550BC Middle Bronze Age II

This is the period during which the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) lived (Genesis 11:10-Genesis 50). Because the Intermediate Age was originally called the Middle Bronze Age I there is no longer a first Middle Bronze Age. It is during this second Middle Bronze Age that bronze makes its first appearance. Also, in the wake of the close of the Intermediate Age fortified cities were re-established. In the Land Between writing began while in Egypt the Hyksos invaded and introduced the horse and chariot only to be kicked out in 1550 by Egyptians using Hyksos' chariot technology.

1550-1200BC Late Bronze Age

This period begins immediately following the ejection of the Hyksos from Egypt. During the Late Bronze Age the new Egyptian dynasties take control of the Land Between. At some point during this period Moses and the Hebrews embark upon the Exodus (Exodus 1-40).

1200-1000BC Iron Age I

By the beginning of this period the Hebrews had entered Canaan and begun to settle in the hill country (Joshua 2-24). By this time the Sea Peoples, known as the Philistines in the Bible, had established a strong hold on the Coastal Plain of the Land Between. During this period iron technology comes into existence.

1000-925BC Iron Age IIA

The United Monarchy of David and Solomon existed during this age. King David conquered Jebus (Jerusalem) around 1000BC (2 Samuel 5:6-16). Solomon inaugurated the Temple in 958BC and the kingdom became prosperous through mining, foreign trade and construction (1 Kings 8-9). In 930BC the kingdom was divided between Judah and Israel with their kings being Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 12).

925-720BC Iron Age IIB

This is the period of the Divided Monarchy (1 Kings 12). The prophets Elijah and Elisha live during this time (1 Kings 17; 19). Simultaneous with the division of the kingdom of David and Solomon is the rise of the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser III, invaded the northern kingdom of Israel from 734-732BC. At the end of this conquest Israel is defeated and many of its Israelite citizens are deported to other subjugated kingdoms within the Assyrian empire. This is the very beginning of the Jewish Diaspora. To replace the Israelites who were deported the Assyrians import foreigners. The intermarrying of the remaining Israelites with the foreigners created the people who became known as the Samaritans.

720-586BC Iron Age IIC

In 701BC Sennacharib, an Assyrian king, invaded Judah, sacked Lachish and other Judahite cities but failed to take Jerusalem (2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32). Hezekiah was the king of Jerusalem and Isaiah was God's prophet in Judah during this invasion. This period ends with the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 586BC. Following his successful conquest, Nebuchadnezzar deports many of the brightest and wealthiest citizens of Judah to Babylon (2 Kings 24-25).

586-539BC Babylonian Period

This period is so short that very little is known about anything that went on in the Land Between during its course. What is known is that this period came to a close in 539BC with the fall of Babylon to the rapidly expanding Persian Empire.

539-532BC Persian Period

In 538BC Cyrus allowed the return of some of the Judean exiles. Nehemiah and Ezra returned with the exiles and were involved in re-establishing the exiles and building the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

332-167BC Early Hellenistic Period

Alexander the Great ends the Persian period through conquering the entire Persian Empire in 332BC. Alexander died only 9 years later at age 33. His kingdom was split between the Ptolemies in Egypt, and the Seleucids in Syria. The Ptolemies and Seleucids brought about the Hellenization (i.e., the introduction and adoption of Greek culture) of Judea. This is part of what is sometimes called the Intertestamental Period which was the time between the writing of the last books of the Hebrew Bible and the first books of the New Testament.

167-37BC Late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) Period

This period began with a revolt of the oppressed returnees from the exile against the Hellenists. It was begun in 167BC by the Maccabee family. In 164BC the Maccabees conquered Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple which had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes, one of the Seleucid kings. After this the new Judean kings are known as the Hasmoneans. Sometime during this period the Jews went up to Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan community was centered, and destroyed the temple the Samaritans had built there. To the right is an image of possible remains of this destroyed Samaritan Temple on top of Mount Gerizim.

Eventually the Hasmoneans became as Hellenist as the rulers driven out by their ancestors barely 100 years earlier. This Hellenization of the ruling Jewish family leads to unrest and division throughout the kingdom. The position of high priest at the Jerusalem Temple became something that could be bought and sold. This is one of the reasons the Essenes, who left us the Dead Sea Scrolls, left Jerusalem and secluded themselves in the wilderness near the Dead Sea.

The Hasmoneans were easily defeated by the Roman general, Pompey in 63BC. Herod the Great was an Idumean (Edomite) who rose to prominence as a successful general and was granted kingship over Judea by the Romans in 40BC. It took Herod 3 more years to obtain control of all of Judea.

37BC-132AD Early Roman Period

This period began with the solidification of Herod's rule over the Roman province of Judea. Once he had enforced the Pax Romana in Judea Herod was free to carry out massive building projects including the expansion of the Temple Mount and rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The west and south walls of Herod's Temple Mount are shown in the image to the right.

It was during this time that Jesus of Nazareth lived.

Because of the unrest in Judea Rome assigned procurators, such as Pontius Pilate, to govern. They governed primarily from Herod's beautiful seaside resort at Caesarea. Eventually the unrest among the Jews exploded in the First Jewish Revolt which occurred from 66-70AD. It essentially ended with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the 2nd Temple by Titus in 70AD. A few strongholds of the Jewish rebels held out, such as Masada. By 73AD all of these had fallen.

132-324AD Late Roman Period

This period began with the Second Jewish Revolt led by Simon Bar Kochba (132-35). Once the revolt was quelled the Roman emperor Hadrian retaliated by destroying Jerusalem and rebuilding it as a Roman city named Aelia Capitolina. Within this new city he built a temple to Aphrodite/Venus on the place where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands today and possibly built a temple to Jupiter upon the deserted Temple Mount of Herod. Hadrian also officially renamed Judea as Palestina. The remaining Jews of the Land Between were centered in the Galilee and the remains of many of their synagogues may still be seen. It was during this time that the Mishnah (the oral traditions of the Jews explaining the first five books of the Bible) was redacted.

324-638AD Byzantine Period

Constantine brought Christian rule to Jerusalem in 326AD and constructed the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on the place which tradition held as the site of Jesus of Nazareth death, burial and resurrection. The Church has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. Its modern facade may be seen in the image to the right.

The Samaritan Revolt occurred in 529AD. In 614AD the Persians invaded and eventually their leader, Omar, conquered Jerusalem in 638AD. Also during this period the Talmud was written and Muhammad lived (570-632AD).

638-1099AD Early Islamic Period

The Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid dynasties ruled Palestine during this period. The Dome of the Rock (691AD) and Al Aqsa (715AD) Mosque were constructed by the Umayyads. The Holy Sepulcher was destroyed in 1009AD under Fatimid rule. In 1071 Jerusalem was captured by the Seljuk Turks and the result was that Christian pilgrims could no longer safely make pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Utilizing this opportunity Pope Urban II called for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem and the holy sites in 1099AD.

1099-1291AD Crusader and Ayyubid Period

Pope Urban II's crusade was successful and Jerusalem was successfully occupied in 1099AD. However, the crusaders were not able to control the rest of the Holy Land. Five more crusades were carried out attempting to take possession of all of Palestine. The Crusaders were defeated and driven out of Palestine following their devastating defeat by Saladin at the Horns of Hattin in 1187AD.

Saladin's Ayyubid successors ruled Palestine until 1252AD when they were conquered by the Mamlukes of Egypt. In 1291AD the Mamlukes conquered the last Crusader stronghold in the Palestine which was at Acre (Acco). Part of the Crusader fortress at Acco may be seen in the image to the right. That marked the end of all Crusader presence in the Land Between.

1250-1517AD Late Islamic Period

This period began with the fall of the Ayyubids at the hands of the Mamlukes. The Mamlukes ruled all of Palestine and much of the Islamic architecture which may still be seen in the Land today was constructed during this period.

1517-1917AD Ottoman Turkish Period

From 1536-41AD Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt the city walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City of Jerusalem's western wall, which was built by Suleiman, is shown in the image to the right.

The Ottoman Empire includes Palestine until the end of this period when the Ottomans join the Germans in World War I. In the Great War's aftermath Britain was given control of Palestine by the League of Nations.

1917-1948AD British Mandate Period

During the time of the Mandate Britain tightly controlled the number of Jews allowed to immigrate into Palestine. This led to significant illegal Jewish immigration throughout this period. Kibbutzim began to appear around the Land Between. These were communal settlements created by the Jewish settlers. Archaeological digs in the Land Between began and Western interest in the Land and its history rapidly began to increase. Both the Arabs and the Jews actively opposed British Mandate rule.

1948-Present

This period began with the creation of the State of Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found between 1946 and 1956 at the time Israel became a state. The effort for a peace between the Israeli and Palestinian governments and people is still active today. Though, as might be noticed from this timeline, the Land Between has rarely been a land of peace.

Physical Geography

This is the study of the land and all its natural features. The reason this facet of study exists within historical geography is because a knowledge of the land is immensely useful for placing the historical events within their physical context.

Philology

This is the study of texts, and in the case of historical geography we are studying ancient texts. Textual study often begins with the Bible as it is the only textual record of a portion of humanity from the creation of the world until c. 1st century CE. While views on the historicity of the Bible as an accurate text will vary, the span of time it covers and the extent to which it reveals the society of different people-groups throughout its 6000+/- year history is undisputed. For historical purposes, this is currently the best text available to the field of historical geography.

Toponymy

This is the study of place names. In the early 19th century it was discovered that ancient names of towns, mountains and other features was preserved in some of the modern Arabic toponyms. This allowed for the identification of many Biblical sites to be carried out by 19th and early 20th century explorers. An overview of these explorers will be given in a future update.

Archaeology

This is the study of the lives of past humans, particularly as their lives are revealed through material objects which have survived from ancient times. My professor, Anson Rainey, PhD., describes archaeology as being "The science of digging a hole and the art of spinning a yarn." What that means is that an archaeologist must have a good imagination when interpreting the data. When you dig you do not come across 3000 year old houses still standing. Usually all the archaeologist finds are the collapsed remains of what was once a house as well as potsherds (broken pieces of pottery) which were a part of the day-to-day activities which went on inside this dwelling. The knowledgeable archaeologist can learn much about the inhabitants of an area through just the potsherds. By observing the type of material used in construction, the layout of buildings in a village or town and many other observable elements, the archaeologist is able to put together a detailed picture of what life was like for the inhabitants of villages, towns and cities in every period in which a site was inhabited.

All four of these elements are brought together in historical geography. By employing these elements historical geography is able to give us a more detailed picture of what life was like for the people of the Bible. By understanding the people of the Bible as best as we are able with the resources we have, we are able to better understand the Biblical text, the events of which these people lived and recorded.

Some people who lived and breathed the dust of this Land

Select any option below to learn more.

Edward Robinson (1794-1863)

True archaeological exploration in the Land Between began in the 19th century with Edward Robinson. He is regarded as the father of modern archaeology. He rode his horse everywhere, surveying the country. He was the first explorer who did not accept the information supplied by the guides, who were usually monks, at face value. He is best known for identifying an archway which was an entrance to the Temple platform built by Herod. Today, that archway is known as Robinson’s Arch.

Palestine Exploration Fund

The 1860s are very important as they are the beginnings of true archaeology in this land. The PEF came to Israel to conduct a survey of the entire Land Between. The results of its various expeditions to the Land Between form the foundation of modern historical geography.

Charles Wilson (1836-1905)

He was a surveyor for the PEF. The maps he made of Jerusalem for the PEF were accompanied by markings of important buildings such as the Citadel, the Holy Sepulcher, and the Temple Mount. He even marked each tree and cistern within the city limits of Jerusalem in his maps. The maps he published are the basis for the maps of Jerusalem which are still published today.

Charles Warren (1840-1927)

In 1867, two years after Charles Wilson’s expedition the PEF sent Charles Warren to Jerusalem. He did so much digging around Jerusalem that the city's inhabitants dubbed him "Warren the Mole".

On October 24, 1867 Charles Warren entered Hezekiah’s Tunnel. Within it there was an accumulation of silt which prevented most people from entering it and caused him to have to squirm and squeeze through it on his stomach. He had a notebook in one hand, a pencil in the other, and a candle in his mouth. He eventually crawled to a point where there was not enough oxygen for both the candle and him, so he gave up the writing of notes (at least that's Dr. Barkay's version of the story)! In the course of this crawl Warren discovered a vertical shaft leading up from Hezekiah’s Tunnel. He purchased some scaffolding equipment and set it up within the shaft, then began digging up! This is the only dig in Jerusalem which ever went from the bottom upwards. Today the shaft is called Warren’s Shaft after its discoverer.

Conrad Schick (1822-1901)

Schick came to Palestine in 1845 as a missionary for the Christian Brotherhood of Richonah. After several weeks as a missionary in Jerusalem it was apparent that Schick was not cut out for missionary work. He began to make cuckoo clocks for tourists. He supplemented this income by teaching carpentry at the Bishop Gobat School for Arab boys. Today the campus of the Bishop Gobat School is leased and used as the campus of Jerusalem University College.

Whenever Schick was not working to support his family he wandered around Jerusalem making sketches and taking notes concerning the ancient remains he observed. He soon became the world's expert on the archaeology of Jerusalem.

Schick was a weekly correspondent for the PEF in Jerusalem. Whenever he had nothing to report about he excavated some ancient remains and reported about them. Schick had terrible handwriting and for that reason some of his letters to the PEF have not been deciphered or published to this day.

Survey of Western Palestine - Conder and Kitchener

In the 1870s, the PEF continued their explorations of the Land Between by sending a group of surveyors to carry out what is known as the Survey of Western Palestine. This survey had a hidden military objective. The British realized that Turkish domination of the region would not last forever and wanted a series of maps of Palestine for a future conquest. This was a good disguise behind which data for that future conquest might be gathered.

The SWP (Survey of Western Palestine) was led by two people, Claude R. Conder, a British military man and royal engineer, and Horatio H. Kitchener. These two men headed a team of surveyors which reached Jerusalem in 1875. During their time in Palestine they surveyed all of what is now Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. They created a system of delineation for their maps which is still used today for the modern maps of Israel.

Charles Clermont-Ganneau (1846-1923)

In 1873-74 Charles Clermont-Ganneau lived in Jerusalem. He was one of the best scholars of the 19th century in Jerusalem. He is best known for several inscriptions he discovered as well as identifying the remains of the ancient city of Gezer. Among the inscriptions is an one prohibiting Gentiles from entering the inner courts of the Temple Mount.

William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942)

In the 1890s Petrie came to Jerusalem from Egypt. He was a mathematical genius who could make many complex calculations in his head. He knew the distance from his eye to his thumb and could multiply this distance to a distant object for measuring purposes. He could write in two languages, one with his right hand and one with his left, simultaneously!

Petrie came up with an understanding of tels and their stratigraphy which was an enormous step forward in dating archaeological finds. He also discovered that pottery could be used for dating purposes. These methods of dating are the primary ones used in archaeology to this day.

George Adam Smith (1856-1942)

Smith is one of the founders of historical geography in Palestine. In 1907 he published a book called The Historical Geography of Jerusalem. In it he attempted to combine all that was known about the geography and archaeology of Jerusalem with what was known from the sources about the history of Jerusalem.

William Foxwell Albright (1891-1971)

From 1920 on Jerusalem was the location of the activities of the American, William Foxwell Albright. Albright was a genius of the 20th century who knew all Near Eastern languages and was an expert in every field of ancient Near Eastern studies. His impact is found in much of American scholarship still today. He also had a significant impact on the archaeology of the Land Between.