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 stage of biblical history. The name (Gr. Παλαιστίνη, Lat. Palaestina) reproduces Pèlèsth “Philistine” (Egypt. Pw-r'-š-tj, Assyr. Palastu), which before the Hellenistic period designated the south-western coastal plain of Palestine (Σεβηλαλή).
The numerous discoveries in recent decades of stone implements and human fossil remains in various caves of Palestine have shown that it was inhabited by man from the most recent epochs of prehistory, whose form, habits, diet and tools have been reconstructed. After the discovery of the “human skull” in the ez-Zattijih cave in Wàdi el-'Amùd, made in 1925 by F. Turville-Petre, the finds of human remains in the caves of Šugbàh (1928) near Ramleh, of Carmel (1928–34) and of Gebel Qafzeh (1934) with stone implements of Abbevillian, Levalloisian and Mousterian characteristics confirmed the presence in Palestine of Palaeolithic man (Palaeanthropos Palaestinus) akin to the Neanderthal type.
The Mesolithic, represented by the Natufian (from Wàdi Natùf, near Lidda), shows the agricultural man, also an artist. Its particular feature is microlithism and the working of bone into needles, hooks, fish-hooks and awls. Special care was given to the burial of the dead; in the cemetery in front of el-Wad cave in Wàdi Magàrah, skulls and heads were adorned with cowrie shells and bones. The presence of Neolithic culture in Palestine is still debated; some think there was a direct transition from Mesolithic to Chalcolithic. The distinctive features of the pre-ceramic village of Jericho, with clay houses, a sanctuary and figurines of animals and deities, seem to belong 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 Telejàt Ghassùl (v.), in the valley east of the Jordan, and later at Megiddo, Bejsàn, 'Affuèh and Tell el-Fara'. The population, of unknown origin, displays an advanced culture.
I. CIVIL HISTORY
With the “Canaanite” age (3000–1200 B.C.) Palestine enters the light of history. It is the Bronze Age, called “Canaanite” to designate, in a broad sense, the peoples who inhabited Palestine before the coming of the Israelites and who left abundant 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.About 3000 B.C. a first Semitic immigration, strictly called “Canaanite,” brought a true revolution to Palestinian civilization. Cities were built on hilltops or spurs near springs and were fortified with massive walls and supplied with water. The political and social organization is unclear; but probably there existed only city-states around which the bulk of the population, still nomadic or semi-nomadic, moved. Over a large part of the region Egyptian influence extended, remaining dominant, through various vicissitudes, throughout the Bronze Age. Toward the end of the 2000s B.C. the Canaanites were overwhelmed by new Semitic invaders, the Amorites (v.), whose settlement in Palestine is reflected in the Egyptian proscription texts published by Sethe in 1926 and by Posener in 1940. These texts, written on ostraca or statuettes, aimed effectively to curse princes and cities rebellious to the Pharaoh and reveal Egyptian expansionist policy, which, weakened by the new invaders, sought to consolidate along the trade routes. But with the overwhelming military occupation of the Hyksos (c. 1730–1580 B.C.), Egypt was eliminated from Palestine. With the use of horse-drawn chariots and new weapons, the Hyksos, having overwhelmed Palestine, even managed to occupy Egypt. Dreaming of founding a vast empire under their dominion, from Africa to Asia, they fostered exchanges between the two countries and left traces of a composite culture.
After the expulsion of the Hyksos (c. 1580 B.C.) Palestine became an Egyptian province. When Thutmose III subdued in 1479 B.C. the revolt of Syrian and Palestinian princes in the plain of Megiddo, the country under a firm and wise regime enjoyed material prosperity, as excavations show. Serious disturbances to the peace were caused in the 14th century by the bands of Habiru and by the rivalries and double-dealing of local princes, as the letters of el-'Amàrnah inform us.
Despite the military expeditions of Ramses II (1292–1226) and Merenptah (1225–1205) to keep open the lines of communication, Egyptian influence steadily weakened and was submerged with the new wave of invaders, “the Sea Peoples,” who, though repulsed at Egypt’s borders, left a powerful group, the Philistines (v.), along the southern coasts of Palestine. In these chaotic conditions, favourable to any new invader, the Hebrews entered the land.
The “Hebrew” period extends from the end of the 13th or beginning of the 12th century B.C. 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 breached the Jordan valley and captured Jericho, the Hebrews advanced directly to the central highlands, from where, through gradual campaigns in the south and north, they conquered the entire land, except for the city of Jerusalem, the plain of Esdraelon, strongly held by the Canaanites, and the coastal cities, occupied by the Philistines. The twelve tribes, into which the conquered territory was divided, found themselves separated by these Canaanite enclaves into three groups: the tribe of Judah and Simeon in the south, the house of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) in the centre, and the northern tribes in Galilee.
Without a central power, political functions were exercised by tribal chiefs; but the constant threats to Israelite expansion and hegemony from the Canaanites, raiders from the east and especially the Philistines led to a change in social structure. Deliverers arose (v. JUDGES), who, in difficult times, placed at the head of one or more tribes with limited power and only for the duration of the crisis, saved the land from the oppressor: Deborah from the Canaanites, Othniel (Ehud) from the Moabites, Gideon from the Midianites, Samson from the Philistines. But a grave danger remained the Philistines. Thanks to their civil and military organization and the use of new iron weapons, they advanced from the coast into the hill country, destroying Shiloh (1050 B.C.) and carrying off the Ark (v. ARK OF THE COVENANT). Then the need for national unity was felt, and Samuel, the last of the Judges, anointed Saul king of Israel, who began his reign with victorious campaigns but ended it with the defeat at Gilboa.
The true political unity of the people developed under King David (q.v.). Through fortunate wars he subdued the last resistance of the Canaanites and Philistines, expanded the borders of the state, and after finally expelling the Jebusites from their stronghold of Zion, established Jerusalem as his capital, bringing back the Ark and making it the political and religious center of Israel. Under his son Solomon, the kingdom gained increasing prominence abroad, while domestically the cities were urbanized with Eastern-style construction of the Temple, the royal palace, and administrative and military offices. Dividing the kingdom into twelve districts, each governed by a responsible overseer, Solomon created a powerful army and opened new trade routes to Phoenicia, Arabia, and Ophir, developing the trade in chariots and horses and the mining industry. But upon his death, the kingdom, burdened by heavy taxation and traditional tribal antagonisms, split into two parts: the smaller portion of the people, namely the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, remained under the Davidic dynasty with Jerusalem as its capital and territory stretching from Idumea to the mouth of the Jordan in the Dead Sea; the other tribes, under the preeminence of Ephraim, retained the rest of Palestine with its capital first at Shechem, then at Tirzah, and finally at Samaria.
In internal politics, the northern kingdom, called “Israel,” was continually embroiled in palace revolts, while the dynasty of Judah was more stable. The history of the two kingdoms is one of wars between them; Israel, being militarily stronger, usually prevailed. They also fought other wars together to defend the borders left by King David or to preserve their independence from the Assyrian colossus. But the kingdom of Israel was unable to withstand the formidable Assyrian onslaught, and in 722 B.C. Samaria, the capital, was taken by Sargon II and the population deported to Assyria. From the few remaining elements and new arrivals emerged the hybrid race of the Samaritans.
The kingdom of Judah, having avoided the Assyrian crisis, could not withstand Nebuchadnezzar and in 587 B.C. Jerusalem was taken and destroyed with great slaughter, and the population was deported to Babylon.
In 538 B.C., Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who had conquered the Babylonian Empire, allowed the Jews to return home and rebuild the Temple. The returnees confined themselves within the borders of Judah and around Jerusalem; but reconstruction was long and arduous due to opposition from the Samaritans and internal strife. The great figures of this period are Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Only in 515 B.C. was the reconstruction of the Temple completed, and in 445 B.C. that of the walls.
Little is known of the “Persian” period of Palestine. The Achaemenid kings (q.v.) granted the Jews complete autonomy, and the community, enclosed within itself under the authority of the high priest and the Sanhedrin, led a peaceful existence devoted to collecting and organizing the national heritage of Scripture. No material works remain from this time. After the conquest by Alexander the Macedonian (333 A.D.), under the Seleucids the country took on a thoroughly Hellenized appearance, as evidenced by the substantial ruins of temples, theaters, and public buildings scattered everywhere. Greek became the language of the educated, and in nearby Egypt the Bible itself was translated into Greek. The oppressive decrees of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (q.v.) against the observance of the Yahwist religion provoked the Maccabean reaction (q.v.). Through their struggle, religious peace was restored and absolute independence was regained under the Hasmonean dynasty. Alexander Yannai (103–76 B.C.) extended the kingdom’s borders, fortifying strategic points; but upon his death, the violent succession struggles facilitated Roman intervention (Pompey occupied Jerusalem in 63 B.C.) and the rise to power of Herod the Great (37 B.C.).
Herod (q.v.), son of Antipater, adroitly balancing local factions and Roman interference, managed to be recognized as king by Augustus. A great admirer of Roman culture, he spread it in the land, as attested by the cities of Sebaste and Caesarea. In Jerusalem he built, in Roman style, an amphitheater, his own palace, and rebuilt the Temple. Shortly before his death (4 B.C. according to the usual chronology), Jesus was born in Bethlehem, who through his preaching and divine doctrine illuminated the world with new light and made the land where he was born, lived, and died “holy” to his followers.
At Herod’s death, his kingdom was divided among his sons, who continued the transformation begun by their father in Palestine: Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, rebuilt the palace at 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 Livias in Transjordan. Upon their deaths, the territory was directly annexed to the province of Syria, except for the brief reign of Agrippa I (37–44) and Agrippa II (50–100), and governed by procurators (q.v.) resident in 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 Palestine.
The Christians, as the Roman troops approached, had taken refuge in 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 a final attempt to rebuild themselves as a nation, led by the audacious Bar Kokhba (q.v.). The revolt was long and tenacious, especially around the fortress of Bethar, where for three years (132–135) the rebels held out against the Roman legions; but in the end it was crushed, and Hadrian, to prevent any resurgence of Jewish aspirations, transformed Jerusalem on an entirely different plan, making it the Roman colony known as Aelia Capitolina. On the site of the Jewish Temple, pagan statues were erected, and on Golgotha, where Jesus had been crucified, a temple to the Capitoline triad was built. The Christians, led by a bishop of Gentile origin, were not disturbed; but the Jews were even forbidden from entering the new city. The ancient name of Judea was changed to that of Syria Palaestina.
In the 4th century, with Constantine’s conversion to Christianity, Palestine entered a period of prosperity. The emperor’s mother, St Helena, visited Palestine in 326 to venerate the Holy Places and promote the construction of the sumptuous basilicas of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, of the Nativity in Bethlehem, and of the Eleona on the Mount of Olives. Pilgrimages then intensified, and important written accounts of them have been preserved (v. ITINERARI), while monastic colonies settled throughout Palestine. The population grew not only in Palestine and Transjordan, as attested by the numerous Byzantine churches, monasteries, and hospices that continue to come to light, but even in regions now almost deserted, such as the Negev.
In 451, Jerusalem was made the head of an independent patriarchate (v. GERUSALEMME, patriarcato di). In 614, the Persians, led by Chosroes II in his war against the Byzantine Empire, swept over Palestine, welcomed by the Jews and Samaritans, and devastated the country, destroying or damaging the basilicas and monasteries and slaughtering or enslaving Christians. A bold and patient work of reconstruction followed, promoted by the monk Modestus, and when Heraclius returned (628–629), Palestine was just beginning to recover when the Arab conquest intervened.
The caliph Omar, having defeated the Byzantine army at the Yarmuk, entered Jerusalem in 637 under terms negotiated by Patriarch Sophronius.
During the Arab domination, first under the caliphs of Medina, then under the Umayyads and the Abbasids, the policy of tolerance inaugurated by Omar was maintained. Pilgrimages resumed, and the reconstruction of ancient sanctuaries was permitted. The country, embellished especially under the Umayyads with winter palaces and monuments (such as those discovered at Meffer near Jericho and at Hirtet el-Minjeh on the Sea of Galilee), became predominantly Arab-Muslim.
After the Abbasids came the Fatimids of Egypt, and under the caliphate of al-Hakim persecution of Christians broke out. By his order, in 1009, the church of the Holy Sepulchre was destroyed, its treasures and relics plundered, and monks and pilgrims killed or driven out. A brief interval of tolerance followed his death. Succeeding the Fatimids, the Seljuk Turks resumed the persecutions in an even more violent manner.
This dire situation moved Europe and provoked the liberation movement of the Crusades (v.). Palestine was organized into a kingdom by the Latins and Franks. But on 15 July 1187, Saladin, who had proclaimed a holy war, recaptured Jerusalem, and despite various Christian attempts, the last bastion of the Latin Kingdom fell in 1291 with the loss of Acre. Palestine was then incorporated, together with Syria, under the rule of the Mamluks of Egypt.
Periods of persecution alternated with periods of tolerance. In 1335, through the efforts of King Robert and Queen Sancia of Naples, the Franciscans, as representatives of the Latins or Catholics, officially established themselves in the convent on Mount Zion, the site of the Upper Room, and entered into the custody of the Holy Sepulchre, obtaining a place within the basilica alongside the dissident communities.
Egyptian Mamluk rule gave way to that of the Ottomans, which lasted four centuries (1517–1917). The beginning was marked by great activity in administrative reorganization and reconstruction (the present city walls are due to Suleiman the Magnificent, 1542), but their rule was oppressive for the country, which was exploited by the pashas and beys. Corrupt administration and heavy taxation reduced the region to economic misery. At the end of the 18th century, Napoleon, having conquered Egypt, advanced into Palestine; but unable to take Acre, stoutly defended by Jazzar Pasha and the British, he abandoned the enterprise on 20 March 1799. Later, Sultan Mahmud II sought to restore order in Palestine; but the turbulence of the pasha of Acre, Abdullah, son of the aforementioned Jazzar, who sought independence from the Sultan, provoked the intervention of Muhammad Ali, viceroy of Egypt, who with 30,000 men under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha captured Acre.
The Egyptian occupation, which lasted nine years (1831–40), was not without beneficial effects. Administration was reorganized, European initiatives and relations with Europe were encouraged with the establishment of consulates in the principal cities, greater freedom was granted for Christian worship, ancient sanctuaries were rebuilt, charitable institutions, schools, and hospitals were opened, and religious communities grew: the Catholic ones under the protection of France, the “Orthodox” under the influence of Russia, and the Protestant ones through the initiative of Germans and the British. There was also a strong wave of Jewish immigration. But this promising restoration was abruptly interrupted by the World War: Turkey, allied with the Central Powers, made Palestine a base of operations against British-occupied Egypt. On 11 December 1917, Jerusalem surrendered to General Allenby.
The Balfour Declaration of 2 November 1917, providing for the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, without prejudice to the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities there, was incorporated into the Treaty of Peace with Turkey signed at Sèvres on 20 August 1920 and into the text of the British Mandate approved by the League of Nations on 24 July 1922. From the difficulty of reconciling the establishment of the national home with respect for the rights of the existing communities arose the Palestinian problem or Arab-Jewish conflict, which became so acute that in 1947 Britain relinquished its mandate to the United Nations. On 15 May 1948, British troops left Palestine and the Arab-Israeli war broke out. Since 1948, Palestine has been divided into two zones under the sovereignty of the two antagonists: Israel (v.), with its capital at Tel Aviv, comprises most of the territory from Galilee to the Negev; Jordan controls, in addition to Gaza, the eastern part of Palestine along the Jordan (Samaria) as far as the Old City of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This division corresponds to the status quo of the armistice concluded in 1948. V. TRANSGIORDANIA.
II. HISTORY AND ECCLESIASTICAL MATTERS
For the history prior to the First World War, V. GERUSALEMME, PATRIARCATO di. Palestine, which after the war of 1914–18 came under British mandate, according to official British government figures at the end of 1945 numbered 1,795,179 inhabitants, of whom 1,101,565 were Muslims, 554,329 Jews, and 139,285 Christians.
These figures already indicate the situation of the Christians, who are in a very weak minority between the two hostile blocs of Muslims and Jews. In the struggle between these blocs, the Christians clearly sided with their Muslim fellow citizens, feeling themselves to be Arabs.
Among Christians only 39%, that is 51,320, are Catholics. The last detailed statistics for individual denominations date from 1931. It is assumed that the proportions have remained more or less the same, although the absolute number of faithful has grown considerably, since at that time only 91,398 Christians were counted in total.
Among Catholics the most important community is the Latin one, which constitutes 53.1%. For this there exists the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (q.v.). The Latin Catholics in Palestine are for the most part native, converted to the Catholic faith from “Greek Orthodoxy” especially in the last century, through the work of the Latin Patriarchate (restored in 1847) and of the Franciscan Fathers of the Custody of the Holy Land (q.v.). The Latin Patriarchate has at its disposal a well-trained secular clergy, largely native, and a fairly large number of religious men and women, mostly Europeans.
In Jerusalem, besides the Latin Patriarch, there resides the Patriarchal Vicar of the Greek-Catholics, that is, the Melkites (q.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 Melkite Catholics reside in the diocese of St John of Acre (q.v., ancient Ptolemais) with residence at Caiphas. Noteworthy is the Seminary of St Anne in Jerusalem, directed by the White Fathers.
The other Catholic communities, apart from the Maronites who constitute 9.6% of the Catholics, are few in number. There are small numbers 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 take root in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Among non-Catholics the Greek rite predominates. 71.2% of dissidents are “Orthodox.” The dissident Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem is still dominated by Greeks, who occupy all the important positions, while the people and the lower clergy are Arabs. The antagonism between the Greek leaders and the Arab people is the principal fact in the situation of this Patriarchate, which is undoubtedly in a very unflourishing state. Greek predominance is enforced by the Brotherhood of St Sebastian, composed of numerous Greeks. The financial situation of the Patriarchate, deprived of Russian subsidies, has become disastrous.
After the “Orthodox,” the next most numerous among dissident Christians are the Protestants of various denominations, mostly foreigners: 20.3% of all dissidents. Protestants have worked in Palestine since 1890; since 1888 there has existed an Anglican “Bishop” of Jerusalem. Since 1932 the Y.M.C.A. has been very active. Then came the Armenians, who have in Jerusalem their own Patriarchate, existing since 1911. They constitute 5.6% of the dissidents. There are also small groups of Jacobites, Nestorians, Abyssinians and Copts.
The Russian colony passed at the end of 1948 under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow, whereas previously it had been subject to the anti-Soviet Episcopal Synod of the Russian emigration.
The religious situation has been completely disrupted by recent events. After the outbreak of war between Israel and the Arab League (15 May 1948), more than half a million Arabs fled; among them 60–70,000 Christians, of whom 20–30,000 Catholics. Only a small part has been able to return up to now (1951). Catholic works and institutions have suffered greatly from the war. In the State of Israel, which according to official indications at the end of 1950 numbered 1,150,000 inhabitants, of whom 87% Jews, only a very small minority, about 50,000, are Christians. The future of these Christians is very precarious. The Greek-Catholic diocese of St John of Acre has survived the war and has been able to reopen some schools. But still about 43% of the faithful live in exile. See also ISRAEL; TRANSJORDAN.
III. CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
The study of Christian archaeology in Palestine may be said to have begun in this century and there is still lacking a comprehensive general work.
1. From the 1st to the 4th century – Of the episcopal complex on Mount Sion, 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 very small. According to Fr Vincent, who excavated the site, the church at ‘Amwas (Emmaus [q.v.]), built in the 2nd–3rd century, was really large and had three apses, but his opinion is not shared by many scholars; in fact some prefer to lower this dating (Lassus, C. Cecchelli), while others (A. Prandi) think that the original building had a different purpose. A cave inhabited near Bejt Jibrin, with broken crosses carved out to make pigeon-holes, suggests a profaned sacred place. Some ossuaries with crosses, found on the Mount of Olives and on the road to Bethlehem, probably have a Christian origin, when the Church of Jerusalem was composed mainly of converted Jews. Terracotta lamps with crosses and swastikas, found in cisterns at Bejt Nattif together with other objects of the 2nd–3rd century, suggest objects of crypto-Christians.
2. From the 4th to the 7th century – The building activity begun by St Helena, under the impulse of Bishop Macarius, continued throughout the Byzantine period, transforming Jerusalem into a “new city” and erecting sacred buildings in every village of Palestine. In Galilee the activity of Count Joseph of Tiberias is notable; he seems to have erected rather modest buildings, as one may judge from buildings attributed to him, such as the lower church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes at et-Tabighah. In Judea distinguished themselves as builders Melania the Younger and Eudocia in the 5th century and Justinian in the 6th. The Holy Places (q.v.), witnesses of the deeds of the Saviour, were adorned with sanctuaries. To the tomb of the Saviour (326) there succeeded the tombs of martyrs, often as a result of visions in dreams: St James the Less (351) on the Kedron, St John the Baptist (tomb profaned in 361–62) at Sebaste, Moses on Nebo (Siyagh), St Stephen at Cafargamala (415) and probably also the two martyrs of ‘Am Kārim to whom the mosaic inscription alludes: “Hail, O martyrs of God.”
In the construction of sanctuaries, the commemorative element strongly influenced the architectural layout. This element consists of a "grotto" as at the Holy Sepulchre, Eleona, Bethlehem, etc.; "sand" left intentionally visible as at the Ascension; or "water" as in the pools of Siloam and the Probatica, the Jordan River, and the Well of the Samaritan Woman. Sometimes this memory simply communicated with the liturgical basilica, as at the Holy Sepulchre where the Redeemer’s tomb communicates with the Martyrium via the triportico; at Bethany, the tomb of Lazarus ("Lazzarion") is situated to the west of the atrium (4th century), exactly as at St. Menas in Egypt. More often, however, the building surmounts the memory: the Well of the Samaritan Woman; Bethlehem, the grotto of the Nativity; Eleona, the grotto of the Teaching, etc. When it is a matter of a "grotto," it sometimes remains at the level of the new building, as the Holy Sepulchre of the Redeemer within the Anastasis, and the tomb of the Virgin (5th century) through the cutting of the rock, but more often it becomes the crypt of the building, as at Bethlehem, the Mount of Beatitudes (4th century), Eleona, etc., giving rise to a motif later developed in Europe. The religious buildings of Palestine exhibit a varied construction:
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**Palestine - Archaeological material discovered in the excavations of Ascalon.**
were not particularly flourishing. The Greek predominance is exercised by the Confraternity of the Holy Sepulchre, composed of numerous Greeks. The financial situation of the patriarchate, deprived of the subsidies
The buildings themselves vary greatly: basilicas with five aisles (Bethlehem and the Martyrium), with three aisles and a single apse (ordinary type) or with three (a rare case and the first secure 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 5th century, and Bethlehem, united with the Basilica in Justinian’s reconstruction); in the shape of a cross (the Well of the Samaritan Woman and the pinnacle of the Temple, both known only from literature; 4th and 5th centuries); with two apses (to the east and west: the tomb of the Madonna); with an octagonal plan (Bethlehem united with the Basilica in the Constantinian period, Capernaum with an apse, and Garizim with four chapels); or round (the Anastasis, the cathedral of Beisan with an apse). The rock-cut chapels, ordinarily used by monks, are sometimes grottos left in a semi-natural state, except for pictorial decoration (Deir Mukellik, Mar Saba, el-Merd), while others are well-adapted with the leveling of the rock or masonry (the grotto of the Nativity, partially at Gethsemane), which instead occurs when the spaces were previously used as tombs (e.g., the columns on Wadi el-'Amad in Jerusalem, later equipped with an apse) or cisterns (e.g., at Bethany, near the Sisters of Charity and at the Beatitudes). The walls of the buildings, generally between 75 and 95 cm thick, are mostly of squared stones (courses from 29 to 49 cm) of rectangular shape in the 4th and 5th centuries, tending to become square in the 5th. They are covered with painted plaster (in the 4th century at Bethlehem, Bethany; in the 5th at Hán el-Ahmar or the Monastery of St. Euthymius, etc.) or with mosaics (Sijjagh, Bethlehem 6th century, etc.). Around the apse there are sometimes seats for the clergy (Sijjagh) with the episcopal cathedral. Seats are sometimes found on the sides of the presbytery, which extends in front of the apse into the space of the central nave (Mhajjet), and ordinarily set against the perimeter walls. The fonts were often hexagonal (Sijjagh, St. Stephen in Jerusalem) and placed in the south nave or in front of the presbytery.
The altars found are table-style, often with semicircular recesses, supported by four small columns. As seen in some cases (e.g., Mhajjet, St. George, where the museum is near the tree), the orientation of the altar is toward the east, so that the priest celebrated with his back to the faithful. Eusebius’ description of the twelve columns of the Martyrium suggests a ciborium, and it seems that the circular platform with octagonal steps of Constantine’s octagon at Bethlehem (v. s) is precisely the remnant of the ciborium, although it is ordinarily considered an oculus. Columns of moderate size have suggested the presence of a ciborium in other churches, such as St. Stephen in Jerusalem (v. sec). Under the altars ('Ajn Hannjéh, Mhajjet), or nearby, reliquaries have been found, ordinarily in the form of small sarcophagi with pitched roofs, where sometimes there are holes for aromatic oils (Sijjagh). The interior space was sometimes (St. Stephen, 'Ajn Hannjéh) subdivided to separate the relics of various martyrs.
The decoration of sacred buildings in the 4th century and largely also in the 5th consisted of decorative or symbolic motifs, perhaps with lavish gilding, but without the use of the human figure. This is Egeria (v.) and from the remains found. Wall paintings or mosaics from that time are not preserved; however, many floor mosaics remain (Bethlehem, Eleona, Bethany, Gethsemani, Mount of Beatitudes) from the 4th century, always without figures and only with geometric motifs and a few rare birds (Bethlehem). This is understandable when one considers that eminent persons, such as Eusebius of Caesarea (v.) and St. Epiphanius (v.), adhered to the movement opposed to sacred images. Therefore, there is no question of speaking of iconographic types created in Palestine, in the sanctuaries, and then spread throughout the world. The attestations brought forward in this regard with the ampullae (v.) of Monza and Bobbio are only from the 6th century, when even in Palestine a current of art with extensive use of human figures had already formed. At this time, we have the descriptions by Choricius regarding the churches of Gaza and the few remaining mosaics described by authors (Adoration of the Magi at Bethlehem in the building rebuilt by Justinian) or paintings seen up to our times (Baptism of Jesus at Sbejthah) and perhaps the Majesty at Gethsemani and above all a large repertoire of floor mosaics. This is uniform in Palestine and neighboring countries and presents quite definite characteristics from the iconographic and technical points of view. From the iconographic side, there is extensive use of scenes from real life: hunting, fishing, agriculture, etc., of symbolic motifs often explained with biblical phrases: stags at the fountain, animals at the tree, the ox and the lion together, the bulls at the altar, the rivers of Paradise; or allegorical ones such as the four seasons, the Earth with fruits in its lap, etc. Only once is there a scene of the deeds of Jonah (Bejt Gibrin). From the technical side, one notes: the use of very small tesserae in the heads and hands compared to the rest of the body, double bedding, moving backgrounds, stout figures with fixed gazes and outlined in dark lines, with orbiculi and tabulae in the garments, with chiaroscuro sometimes quite conventional. The places where this movement is found are: Sbejthah, Bejt Gibrin, Jerusalem (Orpheus), Beisan (Hammam and monastery), the region of Madaba and Gerasa and many other places where the repertoire is limited to animals alone, especially birds (e.g., with 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 Bejt Alfah (Synagogue), 529-33 at St. John’s in Gerasa, 567-69 at Beisan (monastery); 575 at Qabr Hiram (Lebanon), 530-96 at St. Elijah in Madaba, 597-608 in the chapel of the Theotokos at Sijjagh, 604 at St. Sophia in Halid al-Kifajsi, while nothing is found before this time; and from the evidence of excavation. Prior to this 6th-century movement is the mosaic floor of et-Tibighah (Church of the Loaves and Fishes), executed on a Nilotic repertoire that had some influence on the later movement, e.g., for the repetition of birds on the papyrus corolla (Madaba, 'Amwas, Bejt Gibrin, Mhajjet).
Sculpture was of little importance in Palestine: indeed, apart from a rough Good Shepherd, from el-Mineh near Gaza, perhaps imported from Egypt, only a limited repertoire of geometric and floral motifs is found. The capitals are usually of Corinthian style with a rough draft and two or three orders of leaves, very prominent in the 4th century (Gethsemani, Bethany), much more stylized and conventional later. Other basket capitals are noted (Eleona, Holy Sepulchre) and many of simplified floral style and not unattractive (Sijjagh, Gifna near Qubeibeh), where sometimes the cross and a few animal figures dominate (Sbejthah). Even the chancel screens have floral motifs and a few rare animals such as sheep and gazelles drinking from a vessel, in a fragment in the Museum of the White Fathers in Jerusalem. These last two motifs seem to be copied from mosaics.
The baptisteries known so far are always small and attached to a religious complex ('Amwas, Eleona, Sbejthah, Sijjagh, etc.), usually a small, plain chapel. Such seems to have been that of the Holy Sepulchre and that 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: cross-shaped on the inside and outside (Sbejthah, Bejt 'Amwa and Melahath near Bejt Nattif, which bears the inscription: "For the health of Matteo and Giorgio"), octagonal on the outside and quatrefoil on the inside (Thecua and Bethlehem which has the inscription: "For the memory, peace and remission of sins of those whose name God knows"), square on the outside and quadrilobate on the inside ('Amwas, Bersabea, Hirbet Zakariyyah with the mutilated inscription: "For the health of Sofronia and Baricha"), round on both sides (el-Merd and Hirbet Maqatir near Beitin). The font of Hirbet el-Ma'mudiyeh, near Hebron, was fed by the spring itself.
The numerous monasteries of Palestine often present the peculiarity of being built on the rocky and steep sides of wadis so as to have elevated cells, sometimes reachable only by rope, with the advantage of ensuring solitude and easy defense from wild beasts. Of this type are various caves in Wadi Fara, including the cell of St. Chariton, those of Wadi Mukellik, of the Quarantine, of Wadi Suweinit (cell of St. Firminus), etc. The monastic organization has always subsisted in the two main types: of laura with separate cells (Deir Mukellik, Mar Saba) and of monastery with communal life (Han el-Ahmar, Deir Dosi, etc.). The latter developed especially near the