Palestine

PALESTINE. - A region of the Near East, on the Mediterranean coast between Phoenicia and Egypt, which was conquered as the "Promised Land" by Israel in the time of Joshua, and was the theater of biblical history. The name (Gr. Παλαιστίνη, Lat. Palaestina) reproduces Pēlēseth "Philistia" (Egypt. Pω-r'-δ-θ, Assyrian Palastu), which before the Hellenistic period designated the southwestern coastal plain of Palestine (Šēphēlāh).

The numerous discoveries in recent decades of lithic artifacts and of remains of human fossils in various caves of Palestine have demonstrated that it was, from the most remote epochs of prehistory, inhabited by man, whose form, habits, food, and tools have been reconstructed. After the discovery of the "human skull" in the ez-Zattijhēh cave in the Wādī el-'Amūd, made in 1925 by F. Turville-Petre, the findings of human remains in the caves of Suqbah (1928) near Ramleh, of Carmel (1928-34) and of Gebel Qafzeh (1934) with lithic artifacts bearing the characteristics of the Abbevillian, Levalloisian and Mousterian, confirmed the presence in Palestine of Paleolithic man (Palaeanthropus Palaestinus) akin to the Neanderthal type.

The Mesolithic, represented by the Natufian (from the Wādī Naṭūf, near Lydda), presents man as farmer, shepherd and also artist. Its particularity is microlithism and the working of bone transformed into needles, hooks, fishhooks, and combs. A quite particular care is devoted to the burial of the dead; in the cemetery in front of the el-Wad cave in the Wādī Maġārah, the skulls and heads were adorned with shells and with bones. The presence of Neolithic culture in Palestine is still controversial; some think that one passes directly from the Mesolithic to the Chalcolithic. The distinctive characteristics of the pre-pottery village of Jericho, with houses of clay, a sanctuary and figurines of animals and of divinities, seem to have to be attributed to the Neolithic. To this period (6000-4500 B.C.) are also attributed the megalithic monuments (dolmens, menhirs, cromlechs), of which Transjordan is particularly rich.

The appearance of metal and the new development in ceramic technique characterize the Chalcolithic (end of the 5th and beginning of the 4th millennium B.C.), also called "Ghassulian" from the excavations carried out in 1929 at Telejāt Gassūl (v.), in the valley east of the Jordan, and later at Megiddo, Bejsān, 'Affūleh and Tell el-Fara'. The population, of unknown origin, displays an advanced culture.

I. CIVIL HISTORY

With the "Canaanite" age (3000-1200 B.C.) P. enters the light of history. It is the Bronze Age, called "Canaanite" to designate, in an extended sense, the whole of the peoples who inhabited P. before the advent of the Israelites and who left copious remains of their civilization, brought to light by excavations and chronologically determined as follows: Bronze I (Early): 3000-2000; Bronze II (Middle): 2000-1600; Bronze III (Late): 1600-1200.

Around 3000 a first Semitic immigration, called "Canaanite" in the strict sense, brought a true revolution in Palestinian civilization. The cities were built on hilltops or on spurs of hills, near the springs, and were fortified with massive walls and supplied with water. The political and social organization appears unclear; but probably there existed only city-states, around which moved the bulk of the inhabitants, still in a nomadic or semi-nomadic condition. Over a large part of the region extended Egyptian influence, which remained dominant, through various vicissitudes, throughout the entire Bronze Age. Toward the end of the 2000 B.C. the Canaanites were overwhelmed by new Semitic invaders, the Amorites (v.), whose settlement in P. lives again through the Egyptian "execration" texts, published by Sethe in 1926 and by Posener in 1940. These texts, written on ostraca or on statuettes, have as their purpose to effectively curse princes and cities rebellious to the pharaoh and allow one to witness the expansionist policy of Egypt, which, weakened by the new invaders, sought to consolidate itself along the trade routes. But with the overwhelming military occupation of the Hyksos (ca. 1730-1580 B.C.), Egypt was eliminated from P. With the use of horse-drawn chariots and with new weapons, the Hyksos, having overwhelmed P., even succeeded in occupying Egypt. Dreaming of founding a vast empire under their dominion, from Africa to Asia, they favored exchanges between the two countries and left traces of a composite culture.

After the expulsion of the Hyksos (ca. 1580 B.C.) P. became an Egyptian province. Once the revolt of the Syrian and Palestinian princes in the plain of Megiddo had been put down by Thutmosis III in 1479 B.C., the country under a firm and wise regime enjoyed material prosperity, as is shown by the excavations. Serious disturbances to the peace were caused in the 14th century by the bands of Habiru and by the rivalries and double-dealing of the local princes, as the letters of el-'Amārnah inform us.

Despite the military expeditions of Ramses II (1292-1226) and of Meneptah (1225-1205) to keep the lines of communication open, Egyptian influence became ever more weakened and remained submerged with the new wave of invaders, "the peoples of the sea," who, though driven back from the frontiers of Egypt, left a powerful group, the Philistines (v.), along the southern coasts of P. In these chaotic conditions, favorable to every new invader, the Hebrews entered the country.

The "Hebrew" period runs from the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 12th to the Babylonian exile (587 B.C.). After the death of Moses on the threshold of the Promised Land, Joshua undertook the conquest of Canaan. Having opened a breach in the valley of the Jordan and occupied Jericho, the Hebrews aimed directly at the center of the highland, from where, pushing forward with gradual expeditions into the south and the north, they conquered the entire country, with the exception of the city of Jerusalem, of the plain of Esdrelon, held strongly by the Canaanites, and of the cities of the coast, occupied by the Philistines. The twelve tribes, among which the conquered territory had been divided, found themselves separated by these Canaanite islets into three groups: the tribe of Judah and Simeon in the south, the house of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) in the center, and the tribes of the north in Galilee.

Without a central power, political functions were exercised by the tribal chiefs; but the continuous threats to Israelite expansion and hegemony on the part of the Canaanites, of the raiders from the east and, more than all, of the Philistines, brought a change in the social structure. There arose the deliverers (v. GIUDICI), who, in difficult moments, placed at the head of one or more tribes, with limited power and only for the duration of the crisis, saved the country from the oppressor: Deborah from the Canaanites, Ehud from the Moabites, Gideon from the Midianites, Samson from the Philistines. But the Philistines remained a grave danger. These, thanks to their civil and military organization and to the use

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of new iron weapons, advanced from the coast onto the mountain until they destroyed Shiloh (1050 B.C.) and seized the Ark (v.) of the Covenant. Then the necessity of national unity was felt, and Samuel, the last of the Judges, anointed as king of Israel the young Saul, who began his reign with victorious campaigns, but closed it with the defeat of Gilboa.

The true political unity of the people developed with King David (v.). With fortunate wars he put down the last resistance of the Canaanites and Philistines, enlarged the boundaries of the State and, having finally dislodged the Jebusites from their stronghold of Zion, established his capital in Jerusalem, bringing back the Ark there and making it the political and religious center of Israel. With his son Solomon the Kingdom asserted itself ever more abroad, while internally it became urbanized with oriental luxury in the construction of the Temple, of the royal palace and of the administrative and military offices. Having divided the Kingdom into 12 districts, each governed by a responsible governor, Solomon created a powerful army, and opened new trade routes for Phoenicia, Arabia and Ophir, developing the trade in chariots and horses and the mining industry. But at his death the Kingdom, burdened by fiscalism, following the traditional antagonisms among the tribes, split into two parts: the smaller part of the people, that is the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin, remained under the dynasty of David with Jerusalem as capital and with territory that extended from Idumea as far as the point where the Jordan empties into the Dead Sea; the other tribes, under the pre-eminence of Ephraim, kept the rest of P. with the capital first at Shechem, then at Tirzah and finally at Samaria. In internal politics, the northern Kingdom, called "of Israel," was continually involved in palace revolts, while the dynasty of Judah was more stable. The history of the two Kingdoms is a history of wars between them; Israel, militarily stronger, almost always obtained the success. Other wars they fought together to defend the boundaries left by King David, or to preserve their independence from the Assyrian colossus. But the Kingdom of Israel was incapable of resisting the formidable onslaught of the Assyrians, and in 722 B.C. Samaria, the capital, was taken by Sargon II and the population deported to Assyria. With the few elements that remained and with new ones imported, the hybrid race of the Samaritans arose.

The Kingdom of Judah, having avoided the Assyrian crisis, could not however stand up to Nebuchadnezzar and in 587 B.C. Jerusalem was taken and destroyed with great slaughter and the population deported to Babylon.

In 538 Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, having conquered the Empire of Babylon, granted the Jews repatriation and the rebuilding of the Temple. The returnees confined themselves within the sole boundaries of Judah and around Jerusalem; but the reconstruction was long and painful, because of the opposition of the Samaritans and internal struggles. The great figures of this period are Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. But only in 515 B.C. was the rebuilding of the Temple completed and in 445 B.C. that of the walls.

Little is known about the "Persian" period of P. The Achaemenid kings (v.) left the Jews complete autonomy, and the community, closed in upon itself under the authority of the high priest and the Sanhedrin, led a peaceful existence devoted to the collection and organization of the national heritage of the Scriptures. No traces of material works have survived. After the conquest of Alexander the Macedonian (333 B.C.), under the Seleucids the country acquired a completely Hellenistic character, as is shown by the conspicuous ruins of temples, theaters, and public buildings scattered everywhere. Greek became the language of educated people, and in neighboring Egypt the Bible itself was translated into Greek. The oppressive decrees of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (v.) against the observance of the Yahwist religion provoked the reaction of the Maccabees (v.). Through their heroism religious peace was restored and absolute independence was regained with the Hasmonean dynasty. Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 B.C.) extended the borders of the kingdom, fortifying its strategic points; but at his death the fratricidal struggles over the succession to the throne favored Roman intervention (Pompey occupied Jerusalem in 63 B.C.) and the seizure of power by Herod the Great (37 B.C.).

Herod (v.), the son of Antipater, by shrewdly balancing between the local factions and the interference of Rome, succeeded in having himself recognized as sovereign by Augustus. A great admirer of Roman culture, he spread it throughout the country, as the cities of Sebaste and Caesarea attest. In Jerusalem he built, in the Roman taste, the amphitheater and his own palace, and he rebuilt the Temple. Shortly before his death (4 B.C. according to the usual chronology), Jesus was born in Bethlehem; through his preaching and divine doctrine he illuminated the world with a new light and made "holy" for his followers the land where he was born, lived and died.

At Herod's death his kingdom was divided among his sons, who continued the transformation begun by their father in P.: Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, rebuilt the palace of Jericho; Philip, tetrarch of Gaulanitis and Trachonitis, built

Caesarea Philippi and Bethsaida Julias; Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, founded the cities of Tiberias and Livia in Transjordan. At their death the territory was directly annexed to the province of Syria, except for the brief period of Agrippa I (37-44) and of Agrippa II (50-100), and governed by procurators (v.) residing at Caesarea. Among these was Pontius Pilate (26-36), who tried and condemned Jesus to death. The violent "Jewish war" (66-70) ended with the occupation of Jerusalem in 70 by Titus and the destruction of the Temple, the massacre and the deportation of the Jews of P.

The Christians, as the Roman troops approached, had taken refuge at Pella, beyond the Jordan; once the storm had passed, they returned to Jerusalem and settled around their mother church on Mount Zion. Social life was gradually resuming its rhythm, when the Jews made an extreme attempt to reconstitute themselves as a nation, led by the daring Bar Kokhba (v.). The revolt was long and tenacious, especially around the fortress of Bethar, where, for three years (132-35), the rebels held out against the Roman legionaries; but at last it was subdued, and Hadrian, to prevent Jewish aspirations from resurfacing, transformed Jerusalem on an entirely different plan, so that it became the Roman colony called Aelia Capitolina. On the site of the Jewish Temple pagan statues were placed, and on Golgotha, where Jesus had been crucified, a temple to the Capitoline triad was erected. The Christians, having at their head a bishop of Gentile blood, were not disturbed; but the Jews were forbidden even to enter the new city. The ancient name of Judaea was changed to that of Syria Palaestina.

In the 4th century, with Constantine's adherence to Christianity, a period of prosperity began for P. Constantine's mother, St. Helena, visited P. in 326 to venerate the Holy Places and to promote the construction of the magnificent basilicas of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and of the Eleona on the Mount of Olives. Pilgrimages then intensified, of which important written accounts have been handed down (v. ITINERARIES), and the many colonies of monks settled everywhere in P. The population increased not only in P. and Transjordan, as the numerous Byzantine churches, monasteries and hospices that are continually coming to light indicate, but even in regions today almost deserted, such as the Negev.

In 451 Jerusalem was made the head of an independent patriarchate (v. JERUSALEM, patriarchate of).

But in 614 the Persians, led by Khosrow II in struggle against the Byzantine Empire, fell upon P., favorably welcomed by the Jews and the Samaritans, and devastated the country, destroying and seriously damaging the basilicas and monasteries, persecuting the Christians to death or leading them into slavery. There followed a daring and patient work of reconstruction, promoted by the monk Modestus, and with the return of Heraclius (628-629) P. was barely recovering, when the Arab conquest supervened.

The caliph 'Omar, having defeated the Byzantine army at the Yarmuk, in 637 made his entry into Jerusalem, which had surrendered with the pacts negotiated by the patriarch Sophronius.

During the Arab dominion, held first by the elective caliphs of Medina, then by the Umayyads and the 'Abbasids, the policy of tolerance promoted by 'Omar was maintained. Pilgrimages were resumed and the reconstruction of the ancient sanctuaries was permitted. The country, embellished, especially under the Umayyads, with monuments and winter palaces (such as those discovered at Mefğer near Jericho, at Hîrbet el-Minjeh on the Lake of Galilee) became predominantly Arab-Muslim.

When the Fatimids of Egypt succeeded the 'Abbasids, the persecution against the Christians was unleashed under the caliphate of al-Hakim. By his order in 1009 the church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed, its treasures and relics plundered, the monks and pilgrims killed or driven out. A brief interlude of tolerance came after his death. When the Seljuq Turks succeeded the Fatimids, they resumed the persecutions in an even more violent manner.

The sad situation moved Europe and provoked the liberation movement constituted by the Crusades (v.). P. was organized into a Kingdom by the Latins or "Franks." But on 15 July 1187 the sultan Saladin, who had proclaimed the "holy war," retook Jerusalem and, despite the various attempts of the Christians, in 1291, with St. John of Acre, the last defense of the Latin Kingdom fell. P. was then incorporated, with Syria, under the dominion of the Mamluks of Egypt.

Periods of persecution alternate with periods of tolerance. In 1335, through the good offices of the sovereigns Robert and Sancia of Naples, the Franciscans, as representatives of the Latins or of the Catholics, officially settled in the convent of Mount Zion on the site of the Holy Cenacle, and entered into the office of the Holy Sepulchre, obtaining a place inside the basilica, together with the dissident communities.

The dominion of the Mamluks of Egypt was replaced by that of the Ottomans, which lasted four centuries (1517-1917). Its beginning was marked by great activity in administrative reorganization and reconstruction (to Suleiman the Magnificent, 1542, is owed the present circuit of walls); but their dominion was ruinous for the country, harassed by the pashas and beys who considered it a land for exploitation. The corrupt administration and fiscal oppression reduced the region to economic misery. At the end of the 18th century Napoleon, having conquered Egypt, advanced toward P.; but being unable to take Acre ('Akkah), powerfully defended by Gazzâr pasha and by the English, he abandoned the enterprise on 20 March 1799. Later the sultan Mahmud II sought to reestablish order in P.; but the turbulence of the pasha of Acre, 'Abdallâh, son of the aforementioned Gazzâr, eager to make himself independent of the Sultan, provoked the intervention of Mohammed 'Ali, viceroy of Egypt, who with 30,000 men, under the command of his son Ibrahim pasha, conquered Acre.

The Egyptian occupation, which lasted 9 years (1831-40), was not without good effects. The administration was reorganized, European initiative and in general relations with Europe were favored, with the establishment of consulates in the principal cities. Greater freedom was given to the exercise of Christian worship, ancient sanctuaries were rebuilt, charitable institutes, schools, hospitals were opened, and the religious communities increased: the Catholic ones under the protectorate of France, the "Orthodox" ones under the influence of Russia, the Protestant ones at the initiative of the Germans and the English. A strong immigration current of Jews also arose. But this promising restoration was brusquely interrupted by the world war: Turkey, allied with the central powers, made P. a base of operations against Egypt occupied by the English. On 11 Dec. 1917 Jerusalem surrendered to General Allenby.

The "Balfour Declaration" of Nov. 2, 1917 for the establishment in P. of a National Home for the Jews, with the civil and religious rights of the non-Israelite communities existing there preserved, was inserted in the peace treaty with Turkey signed at Sèvres on Aug. 20, 1920 and in the text of the British mandate, approved by the League of Nations on July 24, 1922. From the difficulty of reconciling the establishment of the National Home with respect for the rights of the existing communities was born the Palestinian problem, or Arab-Jewish conflict, which grew so much worse as to oblige England to hand back its "mandate" to the U.N. in 1947. On May 15, 1948 the English troops left P. and the Arab-Jewish war broke out. Since 1948 P. has been divided into two zones under the sovereignty of the two antagonists: the State of Israel (v.), with its capital at Tel Aviv, comprises most of the territory, from Galilee to the Negev; Jordan controls, besides Gaza, the eastern part of P. toward the Jordan (Samaria) as far as the old city of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This division corresponds to the statu quo of the armistice concluded in 1948. V. TRANSCIORDANIA.

Donato Baldi

II. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY

For the history prior to the First World War, v. GERUSALEMME, PATRIARCATO di Palestine, which after the war of 1914-18 came under the English mandate, according to official statements of the British government toward the end of 1945 numbered 1,795,179 inhabitants, of whom 1,101,565 were Muslims, 554,329 Jews and 139,285 Christians.

The number of Jews up to 15 May 1948 increased by a further ca. 58,000.

These figures already indicate the situation of the Christians, who find themselves in a very weak minority between the two hostile blocs of Muslims and Jews. In the struggle between these blocs the Christians aligned themselves clearly on the side of their Muslim fellow citizens, feeling themselves to be Arabs as well.

Among the Christians only 39%, that is 51,320, are Catholics. The last detailed statistics for the individual confessions are from 1931. It is supposed that the proportions have remained more or less the same, although the absolute number of the faithful has grown considerably, given that at that time only 91,398 Christians in all were counted.

Among the Catholics the most important community is the Latin one, which constitutes 53.1%. For it there exists the Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem (v.). The Latin Catholics of Palestine are for the most part indigenous, converted to the Catholic faith from Greek "Orthodoxy" especially in the last century, through the work of the Latin patriarchate (re-established in 1847) and of the Franciscan Fathers of the Custody of the Holy Land (v.). The Latin patriarchate has at its disposal a well-formed secular clergy, for the most part indigenous, and a fairly high number of religious men and women, mostly European.

In Jerusalem, besides the Latin patriarch, resides the patriarchal vicar of the Greek Catholics, that is, the Melkites (v.). The Melkite patriarch of Antioch in fact also bears the title of Jerusalem and has jurisdiction over the faithful of the Greek rite in Palestine, who constitute 35.5% of the Catholics. The great majority of the Catholic Melkites reside in the diocese of St. John of Acre ([v.] ancient Ptolemais) with residence at Haifa. Worth noting is the Seminary of St. Anne in Jerusalem, directed by the White Fathers.

The other Catholic communities, with the exception of the Maronites who constitute 9.6% of the Catholics, are few in number. There is a small number of Armenians, Syrians and Chaldeans. The diversity of rites in Palestine is not as great as elsewhere, since at the time of the Christological disputes Monophysitism could not gain a foothold in the patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Among the non-Catholics the Greek rite predominates. 71.2% of the dissidents are "Orthodox". The dissident Greek patriarchate of Jerusalem is still dominated by the Greeks, who occupy all the important posts, while the people and the lower clergy are Arabs. The antagonism between the Greek leaders and the Arab people is the principal fact of the situation of this patriarchate, which finds itself without doubt in a

The Y. M. C. A. carries on a great deal of activity. Then come the Armenians, who have their own patriarchate in Jerusalem, existing since 1311. They make up 5.6% of the dissidents. There are also small groups of Jacobites, Nestorians, Abyssinians and Copts.

The Russian colony passed toward the end of 1948 under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, whereas previously it was subject to the anti-Soviet episcopal Synod of the Russian emigration.

The religious situation has been completely overturned by recent events. After the outbreak of the war between Israel and the Arab League (May 15, 1948), more than half a million Arabs fled; among them 60-70,000 Christians, of whom 20-30,000 were Catholics. Only a small part has so far (1951) been able to return. Catholic works and institutions have suffered enormously from the war. In the State of Israel, which according to official figures from the end of 1950 has 1,150,000 inhabitants, of whom 87% are Jews, only a very small minority, about 50,000, is Christian. The future of these Christians is very worrisome. The Greek-Catholic diocese of St. John of Acre has survived the war and has also been able to reopen some schools. But still about 43% of the faithful live in exile. V. also ISRAELE; TRANSGIORDANIA.

Guglielmo de Vries

III. CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

The study of Christian archaeology in P. can be said to have begun with this century, and a general summarizing work is still lacking.

1. From the 1st to the 4th century - Of the episcopal ecclesiastical complex on Mount Zion, seat of the successors of St. James, nothing remains but a rather ruined wall (the eastern one of the present Cenacle). The fact that the church was enlarged in the 4th century suggests that it was quite small. Truly large and with three apses would be, according to Father Vincent who excavated the site, the church of 'Amwās (Emmaus [v.]), built in the 2nd-3rd century, but his opinion is not shared by many scholars; indeed some prefer to lower this dating (Lassus, C. Cecchelli) while others (A. Prandi) think that the primitive building had a different purpose. An apsidal grotto near Bejt Gibrin, with broken crosses was little flourishing. Greek predominance is exercised by the Confraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, composed of numerous Greeks. The financial situation of the patriarchate, once the Russian subsidies ceased, became disastrous.

After the "Orthodox," the most numerous among the dissident Christians are the Protestants of various denominations, mostly foreigners: 20.3% of all dissidents. Protestants have been working in Palestine since 1830; since 1888 there exists an Anglican "bishopric" of Jerusalem of its own. Since 1932 for digging columbarium niches, suggests a sacred environment that was profaned. Some ossuaries with crosses, found on the Mount of Olives and on the road to Bethlehem, have a probable Christian origin, at the time when the Church of Jerusalem was composed predominantly of converted Jews. Clay lamps with crosses and swastika, found in cisterns at Bejt Nattif together with other objects of the 2nd-3rd century, suggest crypto-Christian objects.

2. From the 4th to the 7th century

The building movement begun by St. Helena, under the impulse of Bishop Macarius, continues throughout the Byzantine period until it transforms Jerusalem into a "new city" and erects sacred buildings in every village of P. In Galilee the activity of Count Joseph of Tiberias stands out, who seems to have raised rather modest buildings, as can be judged from buildings attributed to him, such as the lower church of the Multiplication of the loaves and fishes at et-Tābigah. In Judea, Melania the Younger and Eudocia in the 5th century and Justinian in the 6th distinguished themselves as builders. The Holy Places (v.), witnesses of the Savior's deeds, were embellished with sanctuaries. The tomb of the Savior (326) was followed by the tombs of the martyrs, and often as a result of visions in dreams: St. James the Less (351) on the Cedron, St. John the Baptist (tomb profaned in 561-62) at Sebaste, Moses on Nebo (Sijāgah), St. Stephen at Cafargamala (415) and probably also the two martyrs of 'Ajn Kārim to whom the mosaic inscription alludes: "Hail, O martyrs of God."

In the construction of the sanctuaries the memorial element powerfully influenced the architectural arrangement. It consists of a "grotto" as at the Holy Sepulchre, Eleona, Bethlehem, etc.; of "sand" left deliberately visible as at the Ascension; of "water" as in the fountains of Siloam and of the Probatica, at the River Jordan and at the Well of the Samaritan Woman. This memorial sometimes remained simply in communication with the liturgical basilica, as at the Holy Sepulchre the tomb of the Redeemer communicates with the Martyrion by means of the triportico; at Bethany the tomb of Lazarus (= Lazarion) is situated to the west of the atrium (4th century), exactly as at St. Menas in Egypt. More often, instead, the building surmounts the memorial: Well of the Samaritan Woman; Bethlehem, grotto of the Nativity; Eleona, grotto of the teaching, etc. When it is a "grotto" it sometimes remains at the level of the new building, as the Holy Sepulchre of the Redeemer, inside the Anastasis, and the tomb of the Virgin (5th century) by cutting the rock, but most of the time it becomes the crypt of the building as at Bethlehem, on the Mount of the Beatitudes (4th century), Eleona, etc., giving rise to a motif that would later be developed in Europe.

The religious buildings of P. present a construction

(phot. Sira)
PALESTINE - Archaeological material found in the excavations of Ascalon.

quite varied: basilicas with 5 naves (Bethlehem and the Martyrion), with 3 naves with a single apse (the ordinary type) or with 3 (a rare case, and the first certain example at Gethsemane, 4th century), most often with two sacristies flanking the apse; buildings with a trefoil plan (Deir Dosi and St. John in Jerusalem, both of the 5th century, and Bethlehem, joined to the Basilica in Justinian's reconstruction); cruciform (the Samaritan Woman's Well and the pinnacle of the Temple, both known only from literature; 4th and 5th centuries); with 2 apses (east and west: the tomb of the Virgin); with an octagonal plan (Bethlehem joined to the Basilica in the Constantinian period, Capernaum with an apse, and Gerizim with 4 chapels side by side); round (Anastasis, the cathedral of Beisan with an apse). The rock-cut chapels, ordinarily used by the monks, are sometimes caves left in a semi-natural state, except for the painted decoration (Deir Mukellik, Mar Saba, el-Merd), at other times well adapted by leveling the rock or with masonry (the cave of the Nativity, partly that of Gethsemane), which is instead found when the spaces had been used in an earlier period as tombs (e.g., the columns on the Wadi el-'Amad in Jerusalem, provided with an apse only later) or cisterns (e.g., at Bethany, near the Sisters of Charity and at the Beatitudes). The walls of the buildings, generally from 75 to 95 cm thick, are mostly of squared stones (courses from 29 to 49 cm) of rectangular shape in the 4th and 5th centuries and tending to become square in the 5th. They are covered with painted plaster (in the 4th century Bethlehem, Bethany; in the 5th Han el-Ahmar or the Monastery of St. Euthymius, etc.), or with mosaics (Sijagah, Bethlehem 6th century, etc.). Around the apse there are sometimes seats for the clergy (Sijagah) with the bishop's cathedra. Seats are sometimes found at the sides of the presbytery, which extends before the apse into the space of the central nave (Mhajjet), and ordinarily set against the perimeter walls. The pulpits were often hexagonal (Sijagah, St. Stephen in Jerusalem) and placed in the south nave or before the presbytery.

The altars found are of the table type, often with semicircular hollows, supported by 4 small columns. As appears from some cases (e.g., Mhajjet, St. George, where there is the mosaic with a lamb at the tree), the orientation of the altar is toward the East, so that the priest celebrated with his back turned to the faithful. Eusebius' description of the 12 columns of the Martyrion suggests a ciborium, and it seems that the circular platform with octagonal steps of the Constantinian octagon of Bethlehem (v.) is precisely the remains of the ciborium, although it is ordinarily regarded as an oculus. Columns of mediocre size have suggested the presence of the ciborium in other churches, as in St. Stephen in Jerusalem (5th century). Beneath the altars ('Ajn Hannijeh, Mhajjet), or near them, reliquaries have been found, ordinarily in the shape of a small sarcophagus with a sloping roof, where there are sometimes holes for aromatic oils (Sijagah). The interior space was sometimes (St. Stephen, 'Ajn Hannijeh) divided to separate the relics of the various martyrs.

The decoration of the sacred buildings in the 4th century and to a great extent also in the 5th consisted of decorative or symbolic motifs, perhaps with a lavish use of gilding, but without the use of the human figure. Such appears from the description of Egeria (v.) and from the remains found. Wall paintings or mosaics of that time are not preserved; many floor mosaics remain instead (Bethlehem, Eleona, Bethany, Gethsemane, Mount of the Beatitudes) from the 4th century, always however without figures and only with geometric motifs and some rare bird (Bethlehem). This is understandable when one reflects that eminent persons, such as Eusebius of Caesarea (v.) and St. Epiphanius (v.), adhered to the current opposed to sacred images. It is therefore not the case to speak of iconographic types created in P., in the sanctuaries, and then spread throughout the world. The evidence adduced on this point with the ampullae (v.) of Monza and Bobbio are only of the 6th century, when even in P. a current of art with a wide use of human figures had by then formed. In this time we have the descriptions of Choricius concerning the churches of Gaza and the few remains of mosaic described by the authors (Adoration of the Magi at Bethlehem in the building rebuilt by Justinian) or paintings seen down to our own times (Baptism of Jesus at Sbejtah) and perhaps the Majesty at Gethsemane and above all a large repertory of floor mosaics. It is uniform in P. and the neighboring countries and presents characteristics sufficiently defined, in iconographic and technical respects. On the iconographic side there is a wide use of scenes of real life: hunting, fishing, agriculture, etc., of symbolic motifs often explained with biblical phrases: deer at the spring, animals at the tree, the ox and the lion together, the bulls near the altar, the 4 rivers of Paradise; or allegorical ones such as the 4 seasons, the Earth with fruits in her lap, etc. Only once is there the scene of the deeds of Jonah (Beit Gibrin). On the technical side one notes: the use of very small tesserae in the heads and hands compared with the rest of the body, a double bed, animated backgrounds, stocky figures with fixed gazes and outlined by dark lines, with orbiculi and tabulae in the garments, with chiaroscuro sometimes purely conventional. The places where this movement is observed are: Sbejtah, Beit Gibrin, Jerusalem (Orpheus), Beisan (Hammam and monastery), the region of Madaba and Gerasa and many other places where the repertory is restricted to animals alone, especially birds (e.g., with an Armenian inscription on the Mount of Olives). The dating to the 6th century, or shortly after, is given by the mosaic inscriptions affixed to the mosaics themselves: 518 at Beit Alfah (Synagogue), 529-33 at St. John at Gerasa, 567-69 at Beisan (monastery); 575 at Qabr Hiram (Lebanon), 395-96 at St. Elias at Madaba, 597-608 in the chapel of the Theotokos at Sijagah, 604 at St. Sophia at Ḥalid al-Kifasi, while before this time they are not found; and by the evidence of the excavation. Earlier than this movement of the 6th century is the mosaic floor of et-Tibasah (church of the Loaves and Fishes), executed on a Nilotic repertory that had some influence on the later movement, e.g., through the repetition of birds on the papyrus corolla (Madaba, 'Amwas, Beit Gibrin, Mhajjet).

Sculpture had little importance in P.: in fact, except for a crude Good Shepherd, coming from el-Mineh near Gaza, perhaps imported from Egypt, one finds only a repertory restricted to geometric and floral motifs. The capitals are ordinarily of Corinthian style with boss and two or three orders of leaves, much in relief in the 4th century (Gethsemane, Bethany), much stunted and conventional afterward. Others of the basket type are noted (Eleona, Holy Sepulchre) and many of a simplified and not unattractive floral style (Sijagah, Gira near Qubejbeh), where sometimes the cross predominates and some figure of an animal (Sbejtah). The chancel screens too have floral motifs and some rare animal, such as sheep at el-Merd, and gazelles drinking at the vessel, in a fragment in the Museum of the White Fathers in Jerusalem. These last two motifs seem to be copied from the mosaics.

The baptisteries known thus far are always small and, as it were, annexes of a religious complex ('Amwās, Eleona, Sbejtah, Sijāgāh, etc.), ordinarily in the form of a small apsidal chapel. Such appears to have been the one of the Holy Sepulchre and the one of Bethlehem, placed, it seems, in the northwest corner of the Basilica or more precisely in the atrium. Many baptismal fonts are preserved and of various shapes: cruciform inside and outside (Sbejtah), quatrefoil inside and outside (Sbejtah, Bejt 'Awwā and Melakatha near Bejt Nattif, which bears the inscription: "For the health of Matthew and of George"), octagonal outside and quatrefoil inside (Thecua and Bethlehem, which has the inscription: "For the remembrance, peace and remission of the sins of those whose name God knows"), square outside and quadrilobed inside ('Amwās, Bersabea, Hirbet Zakarijjah with the mutilated inscription: "For the health of Sophronia and of Baricha"), round on both sides (el-Merd and Hirbet Maqāṭir near Bejtīn). The font of Hirbet el-Ma'mūdijjeh, near Hebron, was fed by the spring itself.

The numerous monasteries of P. present the peculiarity of being built, often, on the rocky and steep flanks of the wādī, so as to have cells that are elevated and sometimes reachable only by rope, with the advantage of obtaining solitude and easy defense against wild beasts. Of this kind are various caves in the Wādī Fārah, among them the cell of St. Chariton, those of the Wādī Mukellik, of the Quarantine, of the Wādī Sūwejnit (cell of St. Firminus), etc. Monastic organization has always persisted in the two principal types: that of the laura with separate cells (Dejr Mukellik, Mār Sābā) and that of the monastery with common life (Hān el-Aḥmar, Dejr Dōsi, etc.). The latter developed especially among the abi-

settlement and where a monastery with cells and cloisters could easily be built. Among the best preserved from the Byzantine period are Sijāgāh (completely excavated), Sijār el-Gānem near Bethlehem (with fine water installations), Hān el-Aḥmar (5th century), which have a complex surrounded by walls and several cells. Of the double foundation near the Jordan of St. Gerasimus almost nothing remains, because the cells must have been made with very weak materials. At first a cave served as a church, but by the 5th century many churches were built (Mār Ṣābā, Kossiba, Wādī Fārah, etc.), ordinarily with a single nave with pillars, though the rock-cut chapels were not entirely abandoned.

The Christian cemeteries of Palestine are often rock-cut chambers, with tombs predominantly of the arcosolium type. The chambers are rarely painted and the repertoire is limited: crosses, birds, palmettes (Gethsemane, Bejt Ĝibrīn, 'Ajn Kārim), perhaps a figure of an angel (Qolōnijjah). The cross on the pediment is never missing and is added if the tomb is reused ('Ajn Ḥannijeh, Jerusalem, etc.). This tomb system is sometimes in masonry, for example, the complex near the gate of St. Stephen in Jerusalem. The catacomb system, or system of connected galleries, is known, though with few examples, for example, the tombs called "of the Prophets" on the Mount of Olives with a semicircular plan. Scattered everywhere are many funerary stelae, which shows that open-air cemeteries were also much used. They bear the cross, the name of the deceased and some brief phrase. To find formulas of a purely Christian flavor one must ordinarily go down to the 6th century. The date is computed from the local eras: of Eleutheropolis (Bejt Ĝibrīn), Gaza, Scythopolis (Bejsān), Bosra, of Pompey, etc. In churches and monasteries there are the polyandria, that is, very deep common pits, provided with a ring toward the mouth where three stones were deposited, one of which had a hole (pelluikon) so as to be easily extracted. Sometimes the tombs are covered with mosaic (Sijāgāh, at Jericho the church of Anthimus, 'Amwās, Bejsān, etc.).

Pottery continues without notable differences the system of the Roman period, with vases, cups, plates, etc., maintaining good firing. The vases are coated with black pigment and decorated with white lines, or only with red-lead lines in geometricized floral designs, rarely with some figure. As relief decoration the roulette is found used, and many moldings on the rims. The "terra sigillata," less precise work compared with the preceding period, bears the cross in various forms ('Ajn Bejt Sūriq, 6th century), Sijār el-Gānem (plain of Jericho), indeterminate human figures (Sijāgāh), perhaps an imperial personage (Bejt Alfāh, Synagogue) and it may be Jesus Christ (Jericho). Among the plates, notable is one for a polycandelon found at Gallicantu, which bears the inscription: "St. Theodosius: Joseph humble monk," and one found at 'Ajn Kārim (Visitation) which bears the letters: IC XC YC OY at the sides of the cross and the names of John and Paul. The terracotta lamps generally have an elongated and ovoid body, good firing but very restricted decorations; the cross in many forms, palmettes and few inscriptions, among which the two very common ones: ΛΥΧΝΑΡΙΑ ΚΑΛΑ and ΦΩC ΧΥ ΦΕΝΗ ΠΑCΙΝ. There is also a "heart-shaped" type, with less good firing, and fine decorations even with representations of scenes and of animals, but it seems to have developed after the 6th century. The stamps for bread, bricks, etc. often bear the cross with the A and the Ω, sometimes only cornered by little dots (Sijāgāh) or planted on the Calvary made with a small arch or three in pyramidal fashion ('Tulūl er-Rūsum near Gaza). Also noted are some small terracotta flasks, evidently used for the holy oils, with two small handles near the mouth and walls adorned with simple representations in which the cross and the three crosses on Calvary dominate (Sion, Ophel) or doves, small vases and palms ('Ajnabus near Nābulus). Known as eulogiae are some discs of sun-dried earth, which bear impressions of scenes of the Nativity, Annunciation, the cross and the legendary hiding on the mountain of St. John (a disc preserved at Bobbio and coming from 'Ajn Kārim).

Many are the metal objects, such as the ampullae (v.) preserved at Bobbio and Monza coming from Palestine, through the consul Leontius (end of the 6th century) who sent them to St. Gregory the Great. It is believed that they reproduce some compositions existing in Palestine at that time and some representations of the Holy Sepulchre with elements perhaps copied from life. Many are the little chains, coming from excavations of churches, with rings interspersed with crosses for the "polycandela" and for the censers. These present the rounded bowl with lobes (Jericho) or without (Mubmās), or equal (Bejsān), or hexagonal (Nestorian hermitage near Jericho). Few candlesticks are known and of round form without ornament ('Ajn Bejt Sūriq, 6th century). The metal lamps often have the cross as a handle. The medals found in the tombs sometimes present the figures of Our Lord and of the Virgin (leaden seals at Bejsān, monastery) or figures of saints among which St. George and another on the Cross in the act of blessing, perhaps a stylite. It is curious to observe that the latter were found together (at el-Ĝiš, ancient Giscaia) with others that bear "the mystic eye" to ward off the evil eye and the very common inscription: EIC ΘΕΟC O ΝΙΚΩΝ ΤΑ ΚΑΚΑ. The rings are often simple; to be noted is one with symbols: serpent, eagle and lion (Ascalon) and others with the word ΥΓΙΑ followed by the name, and one with the figures of the Savior and the Virgin (Gezer) made in a very crude manner. The metal weights too ordinarily bear the cross with ornaments around or beneath a portico, sometimes (lead) on the Calvary.

The glass objects continue the repertoire of the Roman period: of glass are many weights and chalices, among which stands out the one found at Gerasa, which bears sheep at the symbolic plant and doves. The glass lamps have a simple cup and a tapered foot, to place it in the polycandelon, ending in a small round knob. The window glasses are yellowish and thick, or folded and curved with a large radius. They are set in gypsum, which is supported by fragments of bricks placed one above the other as if it were a small column.

3. From the 7th to the 12th century

From the inscriptions found it is deduced that the Christians continued to build churches, or at least to repair them, until the 8th century. Notable are those of Sbejtāh (711 and 725-35) and of 'Awgā el-Hāfir (767-68) in Palestine and of Quwejameh (717-18) and of Mā'īn (719-20) in Transjordan. Under Jazīd II (722-23), the iconoclastic movement begins, which respects neither the sacred images nor the human figures of the mosaic floors. It is difficult to say whether the churches that present the undestroyed mosaics were or were not abandoned before this date. As buildings, the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulchre made in the 11th century after the fierce destruction by al-Hakim (1009) is noteworthy, perhaps the erection of the church of the Holy Cross near Jerusalem, still existing, while of the church of the Amalfitans, then famous, nothing remains. The graffiti found in the Arab palace of Mefjer, near Jericho (8th century) and elsewhere, attest that the Christians participated in the construction of Arab works of art.

4. From the 12th to the 13th century

In these centuries there was an almost incredible building movement: churches and castles arose everywhere, and for the most part of rather considerable proportions, built with squared stones or rough ones in the parts not visible. The walls are 2 m. thick so as to be able to bear the weight of the massive vaults. The plans are for the most part of basilical style, except where ancient spaces were adapted, as at the Holy Sepulchre and the Ascension. The workmen worked the stones crosswise, so that today the diagonal marks left by their tool serve as a characteristic of this period. The walls were literally covered with paintings and mosaics, which have unfortunately come down to us much depleted. Among the paintings one notes the fragments of Abû Gôš (Saints, Bosom of Abraham), of the stele of Bethphage, the work of a very skilled and somewhat independent artist (Raising of Lazarus, Disciples fetching the asses, Procession of the palms), of Bethlehem (in a chapel and on the columns of the Basilica), quite rough and primitive (Deesis and saints), of Sebaste (Invention of the head of St. John), defaced by the workmen when it was found in 1931), at Dejr Mukellâ (Christ with saints and Crucifixion). Among the mosaics one notes a fragment of the Ascension on Calvary and parts of three scenes from the life of Christ (Entry into Jerusalem, Transfiguration and Ascension, Nativelâ, in the Grotto), saints, angels and the representation of the councils in the Basilica of Bethlehem. Among the works of sculpture that escaped vandalism one notes an "embrace" or "kiss" coming from the hospital of St. John (now in the Museum of the Flagellation), the artistic capitals of Nazareth with scenes from the life of Christ and of the Apostles, already buried before being placed on the facade of the Basilica, the fine capitals with figures of monstrous animals of the Ascension and of the cloister of Bethlehem, the beautiful cornices of the Holy Sepulchre and above all the sumptuous portal of the Holy Sepulchre itself, which bears the scenes of the last week of the life of Our Lord (Supper, Raising of Lazarus, Procession of the palms). The altars are built of masonry (St. Helena at the Holy Sepulchre) and also present painted ledges (St. Stephen). There is a series of bells, one with the inscription Vox Domini, others with a single letter and one with handles in the form of winged dolphins. They were together with about a hundred organ pipes.

The pottery has no special characteristics and continued to be made by the Arabs, whose name it bears, with the hand system (rough vases painted with minium) and on the wheel. Beautiful glazed wares were found, but for the most part with geometric designs (Emmaus el-Qubejbeh) and rarely with designs of flowers, coats of arms and small human figures ('Aflî). The lamps are always of elongated form, but often bear Arabic inscriptions without the characteristic Muslim formulae. -See pls. XLIII-XLV.

Haven 1947; B. Bagatti, Lucerne fittili « a cuore » nel Museo della flagellazione, in Faenza, 35 (1949), pp. 98-103; H. Schneider, The Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo, part 3, Jerusalem 1950. For the small objects one may consult the various catalogues of the Palestinian museums: Palestine archaeol. Museum, gallery book, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine period (mimeographed, for consultation), Jerusalem 1943; furthermore J. Germer-Durant, Un musée palestinien. Notice sur le Musée archéologique de Notre-Dame de France à Jérusalemme, Paris 1903; B. Bagatti, Il Museo della flagellazione, Jerusalem 1939. For example, of an intact tomb with objects: N. Makhouly, Roch-cut Tombs at el-Jish, in Quart. Depart. antiq. in Palestine, 8 (1939), pp. 45-50. For the Crusader period: C. Enlart, Les monuments des Croisés, 2 vols., Paris 1928.

Bellarmino Bagatti