As a ceasefire takes hold between Israel and Hamas, many view it as just another chapter in a long-standing conflict. However, to truly grasp the current crisis, we must look deeper into Palestine’s complex past, a narrative shaped by centuries of colonization, displacement, and the persistent struggle for sovereignty.
What and Where is Palestine?
For millennia, Palestine has been a land of immense significance, coveted by the world’s major monotheistic religions. It has been a crossroads of civilizations, a rich agricultural region, and a focal point for religious tourism, pilgrimage, and indeed, conquest. Ancient Egyptian texts, dating back to the 14th century BCE, refer to the region as Retenu and Djahi, detailing its geographical divisions and importance along the eastern Mediterranean coast.
While traditional views of the Philistines and ancient Palestine were often influenced by colonial and biblical narratives, recent discoveries—including ancient Philistine burial sites—suggest a more complex picture. Evidence indicates the Philistines were indigenous to the Near East, challenging earlier theories of them being ‘sea peoples’ from the Aegean. Inscriptions from Egyptian pharaohs and Assyrian records confirm the presence and naming of Philistines and the region as Palashtu or Pilistu, referring to its inhabitants as Palestinians.
For the ancient Hebrews, ‘Philistia’ referred to a confederation of five key coastal cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. Notably, historical and biblical narratives often portrayed the Philistines negatively, from figures like Goliath to Delilah, symbolizing opposition. The Old Testament even refers to the Mediterranean Sea as the ‘sea of Philistines’.
The definition of Filastin in Islamic geographies has varied, sometimes encompassing the entire land from Rafah to Lajjun, and at other times referring more specifically to the area around Ramla. Early European maps sometimes focused only on the coastal plain, while others used ‘Palestine’ to denote the entire Holy Land. By the late Ottoman and Mandate periods, the term gained administrative clarity with defined borders, extending as far north as Ras al-Naqura.
Palestine Through the Ages: Prehistory and Civilization
Archaeological studies in Palestine have often been guided by theological and historical interests. Research into its ‘prehistory,’ or pre-literate societies, remains limited, influenced by the politics of colonial history and the search for specific origins. The earliest known inhabitants, the Canaanites, were Semitic people who settled in the region around 3000 BCE. Biblical tradition recounts Abraham’s call from Mesopotamia to settle in Canaan.
Canaanite city-states thrived through trade and diplomacy with Egypt and Syria, as evidenced by Egyptian inscriptions. These cultures worshipped local deities, but over time, shared religious practices and languages emerged across the Levant. From 1550 to 1400 BCE, the region was under Egyptian influence, and following Egypt’s withdrawal in the late 13th century BCE, it saw the rise of groups like the Israelites and the Philistines.
Some scholars, like Niels Peter Lemche, suggest that the narratives of ‘Israelites’ and ‘Canaanites’ in the Old Testament might be ideological constructs rather than strict historical accounts. Similarly, Nur ad-Din Masalha points out that ‘Canaanite’ itself could be a religio-ideological term used by Old Testament authors, not necessarily indicating conflict between historical groups.
The region subsequently experienced various conquests, including those by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Alexander the Great’s conquests in the late 4th century BCE ushered in the Hellenistic period.
Masalha observes that the development of Philistine city-states in Palestine may have mirrored the evolution of the ancient Greek polis. During Hellenic and Roman times, cities like Ascalon adopted the polis structure, a concept that continued through Byzantine rule and is echoed in modern Palestinian city names like Nablus (originally Neapolis).
For centuries, Caesarea-Palaestina served as the administrative heart of Roman Palestine, becoming a major cultural and intellectual center, rivaling Athens and Alexandria. Jewish revolts against Roman rule in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE were ultimately suppressed, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple, and the displacement of much of the Jewish population. During the Classical period, Palestine was known as Judea or Palaestina Prima, home to diverse communities including Jews, Samaritans, pagans, and Christians.
In 637-638 CE, Arab Muslim armies conquered the region. For nearly 500 years, from the 7th century until the Crusades in 1099, the official Arab Islamic province of Jund Filastin existed. Arab rule introduced Islam and Arabic as the dominant language, with significant architectural achievements like the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem highlighting the city’s growing religious importance.
(HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that explores the history of places in the news. The views expressed are personal.)