| Jezreel Valley | |
|---|---|
 Agriculture in the Jezreel Valley | |
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| Geography | |
| Location |  Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°35′47″N35°14′31″E / 32.59639°N 35.24194°E /32.59639; 35.24194 |
TheJezreel Valley (Biblical Hebrew:עמק יזרעאל,romanized: ʿĒmeq Yizrəʿēl,LXX KoineΙεζραελ), orMarj ibn Amir (Arabic:مرج ابن عامر,romanized: Marj ibn ʿĀmir,lit. 'Meadow ofibn Amir')[1] is a large fertile plain and inland valley in theNorthern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands of theLower Galilee, to the south by the highlands ofSamaria, to the west and northwest by theMount Carmel range, and to the east by theJordan Valley, withMount Gilboa marking its southern extent. The largest settlement in the valley is the city ofAfula, which lies near its center.
The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city ofJezreel (known in Hebrew as Yizre'el;יזרעאל; known in Arabic asZir'ēn,زرعين) which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley. The wordJezreel comes from the Hebrew, and means "God sows" or "El sows".[2]
The Arabic name of the valley is Marj Bani Amir (Arabic:مرج بني عامر,romanized: Marj Banī ʿĀmir), which translates as the 'Meadow of theBanu Amir', an Arab tribe, parts of which took up abode in the valley after the 7th-centuryMuslim conquest. The name was increasingly used in Arabic texts to refer to the region as an administrative unit during the lateMamluk period (1260–1517). In earlier Arabic texts, the region was called after one of its well known sites, theAyn Jalut spring. Marj Bani Amir became the official administrative name of the district which encompassed the valley from earlyOttoman rule (1517–1917).[3] A common variant of this name isMarj Ibn ʿĀmir (Arabic:مرج ابن عامر),lit. 'Meadows of the son of Amir'.[4] With the advent of British rule in 1917 and the gradual acquisition of the valley by Jewish land organizations, the Arabic name fell out of official use in favor of the biblical 'Jezreel Valley'.[3]
The valley once acted as the channel by which theMediterranean Sea, at the north-western end of the valley, connected to theSea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley and ultimately to theDead Sea. About two million years ago, as the land between the Mediterranean Sea and theJordan Rift Valley rose, this connection was lost, and the periodic floods from the Mediterranean Sea ceased. This resulted in the Dead Sea no longer having a connection to the ocean, and over time, due to greaterevaporation thanprecipitation plussurface water inflow, it has become heavilysaline. The Sea of Galilee, on the other hand, consists offresh water.
The Jezreel Valley is a green fertile plain covered with fields of wheat, watermelon, melon, oranges, white beans, cowpeas, chickpeas, green beans, cotton,sunflowers andcorn, as well as grazing tracts for multitudes of sheep and cattle. The area is governed by theJezreel Valley Regional Council. The Max Stern College of Emek Yizreel and the Emek Medical Center are located in the valley.
According to theHebrew Bible, the valley was the scene of several battles with theIsraelites. A victory was led byDeborah andBarak against theCanaanites (Judges 4). Another was led byGideon against theMidianites, theAmalekites, and "the children of the East" (Judges 6:3). It was later the location at which the Israelites, led byKing Saul, were defeated by thePhilistines (1 Samuel 29:1–29:6). According totextual scholars,[who?] the account of an ancient Philistine victory at Jezreel derives from themonarchial source, in contrast to therepublican source, which places the Philistine victory against the Israelites atMount Gilboa (1 Samuel 28:4,1 Samuel 31:1–31:6). Another defeat was of KingJosiah by theEgyptians (2 Kings 23:29).
According to2 Kings 9:1–9:10, the Jezreel Valley was whereJehu massacred all members of theOmride family.
InChristian eschatology, the part of the valley on which the Battle of Megiddo was fought is believed to be the destined site of the penultimate battle between good and evil (with a later, final battle taking place 1,000 years later aroundJerusalem[5] (Revelation 20:7–20:10)), the place being known asArmageddon, atoponym derived from the HebrewHar Megiddo, 'Mount Megiddo'.
Archaeological excavations have indicated near continuous settlement from theGhassulian culture of theChalcolithic Age (c. 4500–3300 BCE) to theAyyubid periods of the 11–13th centuries CE.[6]
Biblical cities in the Jezreel Valley include Jezreel,Megiddo,Beit She'an,Shimron andAfula.[6]
There is a surviving detailed account of the earliest battle for the Jezreel Valley, the 15th-century BCBattle of Megiddo, to prove that it was fought in the valley. Due to the surrounding terrain,Egyptian chariots were only able to travel fromEgypt as far as the Jezreel Valley and the valley north ofLake Huleh.
In the western part of the Jezreel Valley, 23 of the 26 Iron Age I sites (12th to 10th centuries BCE) yielded typicalPhilistine pottery. These sites includeTel Megiddo,Tel Yokneam,Tel Qiri,Afula,Tel Qashish, Be'er Tiveon, Hurvat Hazin, Tel Risim, Tel Re'ala, Hurvat Tzror,Tel Sham,Midrakh Oz andTel Zariq. Scholars have attributed the presence of Philistine pottery in northern Israel to their role as mercenaries for the Egyptians during their military administration of the land in the 12th century BCE. This presence may also indicate further expansion of the Philistines to the valley during the 11th century BCE, or their trade with theIsraelites. There are biblical references toPhilistines in the valley during the times of the judges. The quantity of Philistine pottery within these sites is still quite small, which means that even if the Philistines did settle the valley they were a minority that blended within theCanaanite population during the 12th century BC. The Philistines were present in the valley during the 11th century according to theBook of Samuel's biblical account of their victory at theBattle of Gilboa.[7][8]
In the lateSecond Temple period,Josephus refers to both the Jezreel Valley and theBeit Netofa Valley as the "Great Plain".[9]
During theMamluk period, the Jezreel Valley formed the southern part of Mamlakat Safad (the province of Safed). In the 14th century, it was inhabited by the Bani Haritha tribe ofYaman (southern Arab)-affiliatedBedouins, the progenitors of theTurabay dynasty.[10]
During the earlyOttoman period, the Jezreel Valley was the core territory of theTurabay Emirate (1517–1683). The Valley's capital was initially atLajjun, the center of aneponymous sanjak and one ofPalestine's provincial capitals during the 16th century. Around 1600, the seat of the Turabays moved toJenin.[10] In the early 16th-centuryOttoman tax records, the Valley contained 38 villages, as well as 74 uninhabitedmazra'a's, a reflection of the Valley's decline during the late Mamluk period. The Turabays were entrusted with securing the region and restoring its prosperity.[3] After the fall of the Turabay Emirate, the Valley became contested space between the rulers ofAcre andNablus until taken over byDaher al-Umar during the 1760s.[10]
In the late Ottoman era, the outskirts of the Jezreel Valley, within both theNazareth andShefa-'Amrnahiyas, had sparse populations.Malaria was widespread, particularly in the plains, notably in the vicinity of theKishon River and its tributaries. This disease drove away many locals, allowingBedouins to fill the void. In drought years, Bedouins from theghor even encroached into lands cultivated by thefellahin, covering the area with their tents. The "permanent" nomads, Bedouins ofTurkmen descent, resided in the Jezreel Valley during summer and autumn, then wintered between the Sharon region and the Valley, moving through theManasseh Hills.[11]
In 1858,Josias Leslie Porter summarized the appearance of the valley in the following words: "Two things strike us forcibly when looking over the plain of Esdraelon. First, its wonderful richness, ..., second, its desolation. if we except its eastern branches there is not a single inhabited village on its whole surface, and not more than one-tenth of its soil is cultivated. It is home to the wandering Bedawy... It has always been insecure."[12]Laurence Oliphant, who visited theAkkoSanjak valley area in 1887, then a subprovince of theBeirutvilayet,[13] wrote that the Valley of Esdraelon (Jezreel) was "a huge green lake of waving wheat, with its village-crowned mounds rising from it like islands; and it presents one of the most striking pictures of luxuriant fertility which it is possible to conceive."[14] In the early 1900, theOttomans constructed theJezreel Valley railway which ran along the entire length of the valley.
In the 1870s, theSursock family ofBeirut (present-dayLebanon) purchased the land from the Ottoman government for approximately £20,000.[15] This purchase, along with others, dispossessed local Bedouins and resulted in the creation of new tenant communities, as well as a growth of population in pre-existing villages. However, most of these settlements were established on the outskirts of the valley rather than within it.[11]
Between 1912 and 1925 the Sursock family (then under theFrench Mandate of Syria) sold their 80,000 acres (320 km2) of land in the Vale of Jezreel to theAmerican Zion Commonwealth for about nearly three-quarters of a million pounds. The land was purchased by the Jewish organization as part of an effort to resettle Jews who inhabited the land, as well as others who came from distant lands.[15]
After the land was sold to theAmerican Zion Commonwealth, some of the Arab farmers who lived in nearby villages and had been working for the absentee landowners were given financial compensation or were provided with land elsewhere.[16] Despite the sale, some of the farmers refused to leave their land, as inAfula (El-Ful),[17] however the new owners decided that it would be inappropriate for these farmers to remain as tenants on land intended for Jewish labor. This was a commonplace feeling among segments of the Jewish population, part of a socialist ideology of theYishuv, which included their working the land rather than being absentee landowners. British police had to be used to expel some and the dispossessed made their way to the coast to search for new work with most ending up inshanty towns on the edges ofJaffa andHaifa.[18]
Following the purchase of the land, the Jewish farmers created the first modern-day settlements, founded the modern day city ofAfula and drained the swamps to enable further land development of areas that had been uninhabitable for centuries. The firstmoshav,Nahalal, was settled in this valley on 11 September 1921.
After the widespreadArab riots of 1929 in the thenBritish Mandate of Palestine, theHope Simpson Enquiry was appointed to seek causes and remedies for the instability. The Commission's findings in regard to "Government responsibility towards Arab cultivators", was that the Jewish authorities "have nothing with which to reproach themselves" in the purchase of the valley, noting the high prices paid and land occupants receiving compensation not legally bound. The responsibility of the Mandate Government for "soreness felt (among botheffendi andfellahin) owing to the sale of large areas by the absenteeSursock family" and the displacement of Arab tenants; noted that, "the duty of the Administration of Palestine to ensure that the rights and position of the Arabs are not prejudiced by Jewish immigration. It is doubtful whether, in the matter of the Sursock lands, this Article of the Mandate received sufficient consideration."[19]
In 2006, theIsraeli Transportation Ministry andJezreel Valley Regional Council announced plans to build an international airport near Megiddo but the project was shelved due to environmental objections.[20]
Archaeological sites in the Jezreel Valley are currently excavated and coordinated by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project.[21]
In 2021, archaeologist fromIsrael Antiquities Authority (IAA) led by researchers Tzachi Lang and Kojan Haku found in the village ofEt Taiyiba an engraved stone from the late5th century from the frame of an entrance door of a church, with aGreek inscription. The inscription reads, "Christ born ofMary. This work of the most God-fearing and pious bishop [Theodo]sius and the miserable Th[omas] was built from the foundation. Whoever enters should pray for them."[22] According to archaeologist Dr. Walid Atrash, Theodosius was one of the first Christian bishops and this church was the first evidence of theByzantine church's existence in the village of Et Taiyiba.[23][24][25][26]
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32°35′47″N35°14′31″E / 32.59639°N 35.24194°E /32.59639; 35.24194
