Samaria (/səˈmæriə,-ˈmɛəriə/), theHellenized form of the Hebrew nameShomron (Hebrew:שֹׁמְרוֹן),[1] is used as a historical andbiblical name for the centralregion of theLand of Israel. It is bordered byJudea to the south andGalilee to the north.[2][3] The region is known in Arabic under two names,Samirah (Arabic:السَّامِرَة,as-Sāmira), andMount Nablus (جَبَل نَابُلُس,Jabal Nābulus).
The name "Samaria" is derived from theancient city of Samaria, capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel.[5][6][7] The name Samaria likely began being used for the entire kingdom not long after the town of Samaria had become Israel's capital, but it is first documented after its conquest by theNeo-Assyrian Empire, which incorporated the land into the province ofSamerina.[5]
Samaria was used to describe the northern midsection of the land in theUN Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. It became the administrative term in1967, when theWest Bank wasdefined by Israeli officials as theJudea and Samaria Area,[8] of which the entire area north of theJerusalem District is termed as Samaria. In 1988,Jordan ceded its claim of the area to thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO).[9] In 1994, control of Areas 'A' (full civil and security control by thePalestinian Authority) and 'B' (Palestinian civil control and joint Israeli–Palestinian security control) were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority and the international community do not recognize the term "Samaria"; in modern times, the territory is generally known as part of the West Bank.[10]
According to theHebrew Bible, the Hebrew name "Shomron" (Hebrew:שֹׁומְרוֹן) is derived from the individual (or clan)Shemer (Hebrew:שֶׁמֶר), from whomKing Omri (ruled 880s–870s BCE) purchased the hill on which he built his new capital city ofShomron.[11][12]
The fact that the mountain was called Shomeron when Omri bought it may indicate that the correct etymology of the name is to be found more directly in theSemitic root for "guard", hence its initial meaning would have been "watch mountain". In the earliercuneiform inscriptions, Samaria is designated under the name of "Bet Ḥumri" ("the house of Omri"); but in those ofTiglath-Pileser III (ruled 745–727 BCE) and later it is called Samirin, after itsAramaic name,[13] Shamerayin.[6]
The classical Roman-Jewish historianJosephus wrote:
(4) Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee; it begins at a village that is in the great plain calledGinea, and ends at theAcrabbenetoparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful. They have abundance of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild, and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally watered by many rivers, but derive their chief moisture from rain-water, of which they have no want; and for those rivers which they have, all their waters are exceeding sweet: by reason also of the excellent grass they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places; and, what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance, they each of them are very full of people. (5) In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea.[3]
The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over 800 m (2,600 ft). Samaria's climate is more hospitable than the climate further south.
There is no clear division between the mountains of southern Samaria and northern Judea.[2]
According to theHebrew Bible, theIsraelites captured the region known as Samaria from theCanaanites and assigned it to theTribe of Joseph. The southern part of Samaria was then known asMount Ephraim. After the death ofKing Solomon (c. 931 BC), the northern tribes, includingEphraim andMenashe, separated themselves politically from the southern tribes and established the separateKingdom of Israel. Initially its capital wasTirzah until the time of King Omri (c. 884 BC), who built the city ofSamaria and made it his capital. Samaria functioned as the capital of the Kingdom of Israel (the "Northern Kingdom") until its fall to the Assyrians in the 720s. Hebrew prophets condemned Samaria for its "ivory houses" and luxury palaces displaying pagan riches.[18]
The archaeological record suggests that Samaria experienced significant settlement growth in Iron Age II (fromc. 950 BC). Archaeologists estimate that there were 400 sites, up from 300 during the previous Iron Age I (c. 1200 BC onwards). The people dwelt ontells, in small villages, farms, and forts, and in the cities ofShechem, Samaria and Tirzah in northern Samaria.Zertal estimated that about 52,000 people inhabited the Manasseh Hill in northern Samaria prior to the Assyrian deportations. According to botanists, the majority of Samaria's forests were torn down during the Iron Age II, and were replaced by plantations and agricultural fields. Since then, few oak forests have grown in the region.[19]
In the 720s, theconquest of Samaria byShalmaneser V of theNeo-Assyrian Empire, which culminated in the three-year siege of thecapital city of Samaria, saw the territory annexed as the Assyrian province ofSamerina.[20] The siege has been tentatively dated to 725 or 724 BC, with its resolution in 722 BC, near the end of Shalmaneser's reign.[20] The first documented mention of the province of Samerina is from the reign of Shalmaneser V's successorSargon II. This is also the first documented instance where a name derived from "Samaria", the capital city, was used for the entire region, although it is thought likely that this practice was already in place.[5]
Following the Assyrian conquest,Sargon II claimed in Assyrian records to have deported 27,280 people to various places throughout the empire, mainly toGuzana in the Assyrian heartland, as well as to the cities of theMedes in the eastern part of the empire (modern-day Iran).[21][22][23] The deportations were part of a standardresettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to deal with defeated enemy peoples.[24] The resettled people were generally treated well as valued members of the empire and transported together with their families and belongings.[25][26][27] At the same time, people from other parts of the empire were resettled in the depopulated Samerina.[28] The resettlement is also called theAssyrian captivity inJewish history and provides the basis for the narrative of theTen Lost Tribes.[24]
Babylonian and Persian periods
Persian Achaemenid coin minted in Samaria, datedc. 375–333 BC. Left; Persiansatrap holding lance and reins on horseback, Aramaic inscriptionBDYḤBL below. Right; satrap and driver inchariot drawn by two horsesPersianAchaemenid coin minted in Samaria, datedc. 375–333 BC. Left; a seated Persian wearingtiara and holding bird. Right; Persian king standing, holding dagger and bull by its horn, flanked by anAramaic inscription which readsŠMRY
According to many scholars, archaeological excavations at Mount Gerizim indicate that aSamaritan temple was built there in the first half of the 5th century BCE.[29] The date of theschism between Samaritans and Jews is unknown. Much of the anti-Samaritan polemic in the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical texts (such as Josephus) originate from this point and on.[30]
Hellenistic period
During theHellenistic period, Samaria was largely divided between a Hellenizing faction based around the town of Samaria and a pious faction in Shechem and surrounding rural areas, led by the High Priest.
Samaria was a largely autonomous province nominally dependent on theSeleucid Empire. However, the province gradually declined as theMaccabean movement andHasmonean Judea grew stronger.[31] The transfer of three districts of Samaria—Ephraim,Lod andRamathaim—under the control of Judea in 145 BCE as part of an agreement betweenJonathan Apphus andDemetrius II is one indication of this decline.[31][32] Around 110 BCE, the decline of Hellenistic Samaria was complete, when the JewishHasmonean rulerJohn Hyrcanus destroyed the cities of Samaria and Shechem, as well as the city and temple on Mount Gerizim.[31][33] Only a few stone remnants of the Samaritan temple exist today.
Roman period
In 6 CE, Samaria became part of the Roman province ofIudaea, following the death of KingHerod the Great.
Southern Samaria reached a peak in settlement during the early Roman period (63 BCE–70 CE), partly as a result of theHasmonean dynasty's settlement efforts. The impact of theJewish–Roman wars is archaeologically evident in Jewish-inhabited areas of southern Samaria, as many sites were destroyed and left abandoned for extended periods of time. After theFirst Jewish-Roman War, the Jewish population of the area decreased by around 50%, whereas after theBar Kokhba revolt, it was completely wiped out in many areas. According to Klein, the Roman authorities replaced the Jews with a population from the nearby provinces ofSyria,Phoenicia, andArabia.[34][35] An apparent new wave of settlement growth in southern Samaria, most likely by non-Jews, can be traced back to the late Roman andByzantine eras.[36][19]
TheNew Testament mentions Samaria inLuke 17:11–2,[37] in the miraculoushealing of the ten lepers, which took place on the border of Samaria and Galilee.John 4:1-26[38] records Jesus' encounter atJacob's Well with the woman of Sychar, in which he declares himself to be the Messiah. In Acts 8:1,[39] it is recorded that the early community of disciples of Jesus began to bepersecuted in Jerusalem and were 'scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria'.Philip went down to thecity of Samaria and preached and healed the sick there.[40] In the time ofJesus,Iudaea of the Romans was divided into thetoparchies of Judea, Samaria, Galilee and theParalia. Samaria occupied the centre ofIudaea.[41] (Iudaea was later renamedSyria Palaestina in 135, following theBar Kokhba revolt.) In theTalmud, Samaria is called the "land of the Cuthim".
Byzantine period
Following the bloody suppression of theSamaritan Revolts (mostly in 525 CE and 555 CE) against theByzantine Empire, which resulted in death, displacement, andconversion to Christianity, the Samaritan population dramatically decreased. In the central parts of Samaria, the vacuum left by departing Samaritans was filled by nomads who gradually becamesedentarized.[42]
TheByzantine period is considered the peak of settlement in Samaria, as in other regions of the country.[43] Based on historical sources and archeological data, theManasseh Hill surveyors concluded that Samaria's population during the Byzantine period was composed of Samaritans, Christians, and a minority of Jews.[44] The Samaritan population was mainly concentrated in the valleys of Nablus and to the north as far asJenin andKfar Othenai; they did not settle south of the Nablus-Qalqiliya line. Christianity slowly made its way into Samaria, even after the Samaritan revolts. With the exception of Neapolis, Sebastia, and a small cluster of monasteries in central and northern Samaria, most of the population of the rural areas remained non-Christian.[45] In southwestern Samaria, a significant concentration of churches and monasteries was discovered, with some of them built on top of citadels from the late Roman period. Magen raised the hypothesis that many of these were used by Christian pilgrims, and filled an empty space in the region whose Jewish population was wiped out in the Jewish–Roman wars.[46][19]
Early Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods
Following theMuslim conquest of the Levant, and throughout theearly Islamic period, Samaria underwent a process ofIslamization as a result of waves of conversion among the remaining Samaritan population, along with the migration of Muslims into the area.[47][48][49] Evidence implies that a large number of Samaritans converted underAbbasid andTulunid rule, as a result of droughts, earthquakes, religious persecution, high taxes, and anarchy.[48][50] By the mid-Middle Ages, the Jewish writer and explorerBenjamin of Tudela estimated that only around 1,900 Samaritans remained inPalestine andSyria.[51]
As a result of the1948 Arab–Israeli War, most of the territory was unilaterally incorporated asJordanian-controlled territory, and was administered as part of the West Bank (west of the Jordan river).
Israeli administration
The Jordanian-held West Bank was captured andhas been occupied by Israel since the 1967Six-Day War.Jordan ceded its claims in the West Bank (except for certain prerogatives in Jerusalem) to thePLO in November 1988, later confirmed by theIsrael–Jordan Treaty of Peace of 1994. In the 1994Oslo accords, thePalestinian Authority was established and given responsibility for the administration over some of the territory of West Bank (Areas 'A' and 'B').
Samaria is one of several standard statistical districts utilized by theIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics.[57] "The Israeli CBS also collects statistics on the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza District. It has produced various basic statistical series on the territories, dealing with population, employment, wages, external trade, national accounts, and various other topics."[58] The Palestinian Authority however useNablus,Jenin,Tulkarm,Qalqilya,Salfit,Ramallah andTubasgovernorates as administrative centers for the same region.
TheShomron Regional Council is the local municipal government that administers the smaller Israeli towns (settlements) throughout the area. The council is a member of the network of regional municipalities spread throughout Israel.[59] Elections for the head of the council are held every five years by Israel's ministry of interior, all residents over age 17 are eligible to vote. In special elections held in August 2015Yossi Dagan was elected as head of the Shomron Regional Council.[60]
Archaeological finds from Roman-era Sebaste, a site that was rebuilt and renamed by Herod the Great in 30 BC, include a colonnaded street, a temple-lined acropolis, and a lower city, whereJohn the Baptist is believed to have been buried.[65]
The Harvard excavation of Samaria, which began in 1908, was headed by EgyptologistGeorge Andrew Reisner.[66] The findings included Hebrew, Aramaic, cuneiform and Greek inscriptions, as well as pottery remains, coins, sculpture, figurines, scarabs and seals, faience, amulets, beads and glass.[67] The joint British-American-Hebrew University excavation continued underJohn Winter Crowfoot in 1931–35, during which time some of the chronology issues were resolved. The round towers lining the acropolis were found to be Hellenistic, the street of columns was dated to the 3–4th century, and 70 inscribed potsherds were dated to the early 8th century.[68]
In 1908–1935, remains of luxury furniture made of wood and ivory were discovered in Samaria, representing the Levant's most important collection of ivory carvings from the early first millennium BC. Despite theories of theirPhoenician origin, some of the letters serving as fitter's marks are inHebrew.[18]
As of 1999 three series of coins have been found that confirmSinuballat was a governor of Samaria. Sinuballat is best known as an adversary ofNehemiah from theBook of Nehemiah where he is said to have sided withTobiah the Ammonite andGeshem the Arabian. All three coins feature a warship on the front, likely derived from earlierSidonian coins. The reverse side depicts the Persian King in hiskandys robe facing down alion that is standing on its hind legs.[69]
TheSamaritans (Hebrew: Shomronim) are anethnoreligious group named after and descended from ancient Semitic inhabitants of Samaria, since theAssyrian exile of the Israelites, according to2 Kings 17 and first-century historianJosephus.[70] Religiously, the Samaritans are adherents ofSamaritanism, anAbrahamic religion closely related toJudaism. Based on theSamaritan Torah, Samaritans claim their worship is the true religion of the ancient Israelites prior to theBabylonian exile, preserved by those who remained behind. Their temple was built atMount Gerizim in the middle of the 5th century BCE, and was destroyed under theHasmonean kingJohn Hyrcanus ofJudea in 110 BCE, although their descendants still worship among its ruins. The antagonism between Samaritans and Jews is important in understanding the Bible'sNew Testament stories of the "Samaritan woman at the well" and "Parable of the Good Samaritan". The modern Samaritans, however, see themselves as co-equals in inheritance to the Israelite lineage through Torah, as do the Jews, and are not antagonistic to Jews in modern times.[71]
Flora and fauna
The geographical region lies on theIrano-Turanian border, and its slopes support vegetation grown in that broad region. Typical for this region aremaquis, the dense scrub vegetation consisting of hardy evergreen shrubs and small trees, characteristic of coastal regions in the Mediterranean and which, in this area, are found on the cliffs' step-crevices.[72] The kermes oak (Quercus coccifera) is common.
In contrast to theGalilee and theJudean Mountains, there are very few remnants of natural vegetation in the Samaria Mountains. Large areas in the south and west of Samaria and in the valleys have been cultivated for many generations as agricultural land and are planted mainly witholive,fig,almond andpomegranate trees; the areas in the valleys are used for arable land or vegetable crops.[73] Only on the edges of the fields and in places that have been regenerated and where damaging the plant-life is prohibited by law have remnants of natural vegetation been preserved.[73]
The wildlife of Samaria, as in other regions of the country, consists of populations that invaded the general area at different times and adapted to the conditions prevailing in the area.[74] Hunting (with the introduction of modern firearms in the 20th-century) and extensive farming have been the principal causes for a decline in the area's natural wildlife.[74] The animals that dominate the general area have their origins in theMediterranean basin and inEurope, such as thebadger, thewild boar, thered fox, thehedgehog, thefield mouse, and themole (among mammals).[74]
^"Samaria".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. HarperCollins Publishers. 2022.Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved23 November 2022.
^abcJosephus Flavius."Jewish War, book 3, chapter 3:4-5". Fordham.edu.Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved31 December 2012 – via Ancient History Sourcebook: Josephus (37 – after 93 CE): Galilee, Samaria, and Judea in the First Century CE.
^The New Encyclopaedia Britannica: Macropaedia, 15th edition, 1987, volume 25, "Palestine", p. 403
^Emma Playfair (1992).International Law and the Administration of Occupied Territories: Two Decades of Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Oxford University Press. p. 41.On 17 December 1967, the Israeli military government issued an order stating that "the term 'Judea and Samaria region' shall be identical in meaning for all purposes ... to the term 'the West Bank Region'". This change in terminology, which has been followed in Israeli official statements since that time, reflected a historic attachment to these areas and rejection of a name that implied Jordanian sovereignty over them.
^James Hastings (editor),A Dictionary of the Bible, Volume III: (Part II: O - Pleiades), "Palestine: Geography", p.652, University Press of the Pacific, 2004,ISBN978-1-4102-1727-1
^קליין, א' (2011).היבטים בתרבות החומרית של יהודה הכפרית בתקופה הרומית המאוחרת(135–324 לסה"נ). עבודת דוקטור, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן. עמ' 314–315. (Hebrew)
^שדמן, ע' (2016).בין נחל רבה לנחל שילה: תפרוסת היישוב הכפרי בתקופות ההלניסטית, הרומית והביזנטית לאור חפירות וסקרים. עבודת דוקטור, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן. עמ' 271–275. (Hebrew)
^Finkelstein, I. 1993. The Southern Samarian Hills Survey. In E. Stern (ed.). The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, Carta, Vol. 4, pp. 1314.
^Ellenblum, Ronnie (2010).Frankish Rural Settlement in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-511-58534-0.OCLC958547332.From the data given above it can be concluded that the Muslim population of Central Samaria, during the early Muslim period, was not an autochthonous population which had converted to Christianity. They arrived there either by way of migration or as a result of a process of sedentarization of the nomads who had filled the vacuum created by the departing Samaritans at the end of the Byzantine period [...] To sum up: in the only rural region in Palestine in which, according to all the written and archeological sources, the process of Islamization was completed already in the twelfth century, there occurred events consistent with the model propounded by Levtzion and Vryonis: the region was abandoned by its original sedentary population and the subsequent vacuum was apparently filled by nomads who, at a later stage, gradually became sedentarized
^זרטל, א' (1992).סקר הר מנשה. קער שכם, כרך ראשון. תל-אביב וחיפה: אוניברסיטת חיפה ומשרד הביטחון. (Hebrew) 63–62.
^זרטל, א' (1996).סקר הר מנשה. העמקים המזרחיים וספר המדבר, כרך שני. תל-אביב וחיפה: אוניברסיטת חיפה ומשרד הביטחון. 93–91 (Hebrew)
^די סגני, ל' (2002). מרידות השומרונים בארץ-ישראל הביזנטית. בתוך א' שטרן וח' אשל (עורכים),ספר השומרונים. ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה, עמ' 454–480. (Hebrew)
^מגן, י' 2002 .השומרונים בתקופה הרומית – הביזנטית. בתוך א' שטרן וח' אשל (עורכים),ספר השומרונים. ירושלים: יד יצחק בן-צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה, עמ' 213–244. (Hebrew)
^abM. Levy-Rubin, "New evidence relating to the process of Islamization in Palestine in the Early Muslim Period - The Case of Samaria", in:Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 43 (3), pp. 257–276, 2000,Springer
^Fattal, A. (1958).Le statut légal des non-Musulman en pays d'Islam, Beyrouth: Imprimerie Catholique, pp. 72–73.
^לוי-רובין, מילכה (2006). שטרן, אפרים; אשל, חנן (eds.).ספר השומרונים [Book of the Samaritans; The Continuation of the Samaritan Chronicle of Abu l-Fath] (in Hebrew) (2 ed.). ירושלים: יד יצחק בן צבי, רשות העתיקות, המנהל האזרחי ליהודה ושומרון: קצין מטה לארכיאולוגיה. pp. 562–586.ISBN978-965-217-202-0.
^The Archaeology of Palestine, W.F. Albright, 1960, p. 34
^Albright, W. F. (24 July 2017). "Recent Progress in Palestinian Archaeology: Samaria-Sebaste III and Hazor I".Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.150 (150):21–25.doi:10.2307/1355880.JSTOR1355880.S2CID163393362.
^abPollack, Gad; Cohen, Ya'el (1980). "The Vegetation (הצומח)". In Shorer, Ya'akov; Grossman, David (eds.).Israel Guide - The Northern Valleys, Mount Carmel and Samaria (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 8. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House. p. 231.OCLC745203905.
^abcArbel, Avraham (1980). "The Wildlife (החי)". In Shorer, Ya'akov; Grossman, David (eds.).Israel Guide - The Northern Valleys, Mount Carmel and Samaria (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 8. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House. p. 235.OCLC745203905.
Mills, Watson E.; Bullard, Roger Aubrey, eds. (1990).Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press. pp. 788–789.ISBN978-0-86554-373-7. Retrieved31 May 2018.Sargon ... named the new province, which included what formerly was Israel,Samerina. Thus the territorial designation is credited to the Assyrians and dated to that time; however, "Samaria" probably long before alteratively designated Israel when Samaria became the capital.
Yamada, Keiko; Yamada, Shiego (2017)."Shalmaneser V and His Era, Revisited". In Baruchi-Unna, Amitai; Forti, Tova; Aḥituv, Shmuel; Ephʿal, Israel; Tigay, Jeffrey H. (eds.)."Now It Happened in Those Days": Studies in Biblical, Assyrian, and Other Ancient Near Eastern Historiography Presented to Mordechai Cogan on His 75th Birthday. Vol. 2. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns.ISBN978-1575067612.Archived from the original on 2022-02-09. Retrieved2023-08-15.
Further reading
Becking, B. (1992).The Fall of Samaria: An Historical and Archaeological Study. Leiden; New York: E. J. Brill.ISBN978-90-04-09633-2.
Franklin, N. (2003). "The Tombs of the Kings of Israel".Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins.119 (1):1–11.
Park, Sung Jin (2012). "A New Historical Reconstruction of the Fall of Samaria".Biblica.93 (1):98–106.
Rainey, A. F. (November 1988). "Toward a Precise Date for the Samaria Ostraca".Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research.272 (272):69–74.doi:10.2307/1356786.JSTOR1356786.S2CID163297693.
Stager, L. E. (February–May 1990). "Shemer's Estate".Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 277/278 (277):93–107.doi:10.2307/1357375.JSTOR1357375.S2CID163576333.
Tappy, R. E. (2006). "The Provenance of the Unpublished Ivories from Samaria", pp. 637–56 in"I Will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times" (Ps 78:2b): Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, A. M. Maeir and P. de Miroschedji, eds. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
Tappy, R. E. (2007). "The Final Years of Israelite Samaria: Toward a Dialogue Between Texts and Archaeology", pp. 258–79 inUp to the Gates of Ekron: Essays on the Archaeology and History of the Eastern Mediterranean in Honor of Seymour Gitin, S. White Crawford, A. Ben-Tor, J. P. Dessel, W. G. Dever, A. Mazar, and J. Aviram, eds. Jerusalem: The W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and the Israel Exploration Society.
.jpg)
