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The Palestinian Question A.D. 30-Present
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area on earth is more strategically lo–
/
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cated than the Holy Land. Throughout
its history, the country has been exposed to
política/ pressures from al/ directions. For
the past 19 centuries, it has been subject to
one or another of the great empires ruling
the West. Only briefly: under the dynasty of
ROMAN
EMPIRE
David and Iater the Hasmonaeans, has the
country been independent of foreign rule.
Today, the Holy Land is the focal point of a
dual struggle between Arab and lsraeli, and
between the Soviet Union and the West.
lndirectly, al/ nations are involved through
the United Nations peace-keeping force .
Herodian Kingdom
in the Time o(Jesus
The Herodian family were vassal kings under
the early Roman Empire. In the first century
B. C., Rome conquered Syria, Judaea and Egypt
and, after 40 B.C., allotted Judaea and Galilee
to Herod. After the death of Mark Antony, He–
rod' s realm was expanded to include Samaria
and the major part of Coelesyria. The map de–
picts the realm of Herod Agrippa 1 (A.D. 37-
44) . The Jewish revolt of A .D. 66- 70 occurred
under the rule of Herod Agrippa 11.
Byzantine Empire
Roman rule over Palestine continued after
the sundering of the empire into western and
eastern (Byzantine) divisions. With the excep–
tion of the brief Persian rule of Chosroes 11
(A.D . 611-628), Byzantine rule over Palestine
continued until 636. In that year, Emperor He–
raclius was defeated by Caliph Omar at the
battle of the Yarmuk River near the Sea of
Galilee. This year marked the beginning of
Omayyad rule and 13 centuries of lslamic cul–
ture in Palestine.
MoslemExpansion
The Moslem Empire reached its greates t ex–
tent under the Omayyad dynasty. Their rule
extended from Spain in the West to Turkestan
in the East. In A.D. 750, the Omayyads were
deposed by the Abassids, and the capital was
moved from Damascus to Baghdad. In 936,
Egypt declared its independence under a fine of
caliphs who descended from Fatima, daughter
of the prophet Mohammed. The Fatimids took
over Palestine and founded El Kahira (Cairo)
the same year.