Gaza City

“ Secure in Jerusalem, David extended his conquests on every side, subduing Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, and Midianites; placing garrisons in the towns of Syria, and even extending his rule as far as the river Euphrates. Of all these countries Philistia alone comes into the survey of Western Palestine.
Gaza, the capital of Philistia, still exists as an inhabited city, and is very picturesquely situated, having a fine approach down a broad avenue from the north. It rises on an isolated hill, about 100 feet above the plain, and bristles with minarets. ”

“ During the many wars between the Muslim rulers of Egypt and Syria, which preceded the Crusades, Gaza again suffered greatly.
a.d. 867.—Bernard the Wise—a Breton monk—describes Gaza as "very rich in all things."
a.d. 1149.—Baldwin III built a fortress at Gaza, in order to cut off the approach to Ascalon from the south.
The defence of the castle was entrusted to the Knights Templars.
The great buildings of Palestine are not to be ascribed to the Jews (for they were not a great building people) , but to the Byzantine and Crusading Christian epochs. ”

“ Gaza is only twenty furlongs distant from the seashore, and exceeding difficult of access, because of the depth of the sand, and the neighbouring sea, which is, everywhere, shallow. The city itself is large and populous, seated on a high hill, and surrounded with a strong wall. It is also the last inhabited place which travellers meet with in their way from Phœnicia to Egypt, and borders upon a vast desert. Alexander, immediately after his arrival there, encamped over against that part of the wall which seemed most subject to an assault, and ordered his engines to be brought thither ”

“ Gaza, next to Tyre, was the most important fortress in the Philistinian-Phœnician coast. Plutarch (c. a.d. 66) , telling the story of its siege by Alexander, calls it "the biggest city of Syria."
After this siege, Gaza became more and more a Greek centre. New colonists settled within the city, which ceased to be a Philistine centre. Josephus expressly designated it a πόλις Ἑλληνίς.
315 b.c.—Gaza was conquered by Antigonus, King of [31] Asia, having been wrested from Ptolemy I, Soter, of Egypt (323-285) , who had seized Philistia and garrisoned Gaza in 320 b.c. ”

“ Coles, of Haifa, possesses a large number of Hadrian's Gaza coins.
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"In the second and third centuries Gaza became a prosperous centre of Greek commerce and culture. Her schools were good, but her temples were famous, circling round the Marneion.... The schools of Gaza in philosophy and rhetoric grew more and more distinguished. Students, it is said, left Athens to learn the Attic style in Philistia, and even Persia borrowed her teachers." —G. A. Smith.
c. a.d. 300-371.—St. Hilarion, the first hermit of Palestine, was born at Thabatha, five miles from Gaza. ”

“ In fact the fairs at Gaza were always famed throughout Palestine.
Until the last seven years the numerous hordes of 100,000 Beduins within the Beersheba district were under the government of Gaza. They swarm the desert towards the south in the winter months, and then move northwards, up the Philistia plain, for herbage.
Even in Christian families, until about thirty years ago, slaves were sold in Gaza.
The cattle of Gaza are few, and there is scarcely any export. Camels are common. ”

“ FRANKINCENSE (ARABIAN) AND GAZA
In early times the Beduins of the desert were glad of a market in Gaza for their spices and frankincense. [40] In fact, according to Dr. Meyer (from whom I freely quote) , the foundation of Gaza is most probably associated with the Minæans in their development of the frankincense trade. Extensive remains have been found in Central and Southern Arabia, which have been ascribed to these Minæans. Mr. Edward Glaser maintains that this people existed from about the seventeenth century b.c., and that the Sabæans followed them in the occupancy of those regions. ”

“ Gaza was situated near the Mediterranean Sea, and was one of the most southern cities of Palestine. It has been supposed by some to have derived its name from the treasures deposited there by Cambyses, king of the Persians; because they say Gaza, in Persian, signifies treasure; so Pomponius Mela and others. But it is more likely to be a Hebrew word, and that this city derived its name, עזה azzah, from עזז azaz, to be strong, it being a strong or well fortified place. The Hebrew ע ain in this word is, by the Septuagint, the Arabic, and the Vulgate, rendered G ”

“ These magnificent groves are the largest in Palestine. They are said to have been planted by the Greeks, and it is asserted that at all events since the coming of the Saracens some seven hundred years back, not a single new tree has been planted. Most of the trees stand on huge roots, and have evidently sprung up from the remains of former trunks rotted away.
Lentils are a common crop. Gaza trades with an excellent quality of barley to Egypt. Consequently, wealth increases, but the population, being still in a low state of civilisation, live poorly. ”

“ In favour of his Ascalon descent are certain allusions of Herod I to that city. At the death of Herod the Great, Gaza, still called a "maritime city," was annexed once more by Augustus to the province of Syria. [13]
Two of the passes through the Judæan and the Samaritan hills were strongly fortified by Herod I, who also held the tolls at Gaza, for Arabia by Petra and for Egypt. Gaza is the outpost of Africa, and the door of Asia. ”

“ The Circus of Gaza [53]
Moonrise on the desert. Above the dark ridges of rocks which rose from the tawny waste of sand, a pale faint light poured down on the wilderness of Gaza. An aged man, yet apparently more worn with labour than with years, was standing at the entrance of a cave, which, dark and silent, pierced one of the mountain ridges.
The time of which I am speaking was about 350 years after the birth of our Lord; the place was one of the deserts which stretched themselves between the Nile and the Holy Land. Already innumerable hosts of monks occupied the wilderness of Egypt ”

“ As a magistrate of this city, I am bound to judge and decide impartially; but as a believer in our [107] ancient faith, I am not ashamed to express my hope that Marnas will vindicate his honour by giving the victory to his worshipper. And this, men of Gaza, I know to be your wish as well as my own; the soothsayers have given us the promise of success; our god himself is on our side; and the prayers of all that have the ancient fame of Gaza at heart will be joined with mine that Ælius Flaccus may prove the victor in this race. ”

“ Yet it also seems clear from the Egyptian monuments that the settlement was not fully completed until after the Asiatic campaigns of the Pharaoh had occurred. The Philistines indeed formed part of the great invading host which poured through Syria and assailed Egypt in the early part of his reign, but Gaza was one of his conquests, and its possession enabled him to march into Canaan. Before Gaza could become a Philistine city it was needful that its Egyptian garrison should be withdrawn. ”

“ As that of Ælius Flaccus takes up its position, the Red faction through the circus rise, clap their hands, stamp with their feet, and cheer. And well they may; for every one agrees that finer animals than the three black horses yoked abreast which draw it were never seen in Gaza. There is also some applause bestowed on the three bay horses of Italicus, but poor and faint indeed, as compared with the thunder that had greeted the other. As you may well imagine, their master has carefully observed the directions of Hilarion ”

“ The fellahin form the bulk of the population—mostly of the poorer classes. The non-increase of population is due to the bad harvests of the last few years. In consequence of the drought in 1905, 15,000 of the city and district, chiefly of the poorer classes, migrated to Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Nazareth, Damascus and Egypt, owing to the exactions of the Government, and the high rate of interest demanded by [85] the Effendis to whom they were indebted. This exodus is only a temporary misfortune.
The population of Gaza is said at one time to have outnumbered that of Jerusalem. ”

“ EL ARÎSH AND C.M.S. MISSION
The border town of Egypt, El Arîsh, seventy miles south of Gaza, is generally identified as the "River of Egypt," which was the most southern boundary of the Holy Land in patriarchal times. At present the actual boundary between Palestine and Egypt is a line running from Rafah, the ancient Rhaphia, some thirty miles to the north of El Arîsh, to Akaba. [49]
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The country between Rafah and El Arîsh is desolate. The large sand dunes, the dust of ages, have encroached upon the land, whereas the Land of Promise may be recognised by its fertility. ”

“ The imperial coins of Gaza from Augustus to Gordian bear two different sets of dates; the first Gaza era beginning 61 b.c., the second beginning a.d. 129. The second era probably commemorates the visit of Hadrian to Gaza. [17] On some of the coins these two eras appear concurrent. These imperial coins, with inscriptions ΓΑΖΑΙΩΝ, ΓΑΖΑ, etc., have usually the addition of the Phœnician letter , from which the Swastica, the characteristic mark on Gaza coins, is possibly derived, the initial representing the divinity Marnas. The Temple of Marnas was called the Marneion. ”

“ In succeeding centuries Gaza's commerce flourished under the Greeks, who founded schools famous for rhetoric and philosophy, till the Mahomedan wave swept over the land in the first half of the seventh century, when the town became a shadow of its former self, though it continued to exist as a centre for trade. The Crusaders made their influence felt, and many are the traces of their period in this ancient city, but Askalon always had more Crusader support. ”

“ No banks are permanently established in Gaza. All money transactions are carried on through the banks of Jaffa.
There is a growing desire for male education. The [86] citizens, in September 1911, enthusiastically encouraged a public performance of Hamlet, on behalf of a native Muslim school. It was a first and successful attempt of the kind.
Many Jews have been making inquiries with the view of purchasing land in this district, and especially over the boundary at Reifah.
Meyer says that during the Hellenistic period the Jews resorted to the Gaza fairs. ”

“ The wealth of the Minæan kingdom was derived chiefly from the transportation of frankincense and other spices from the East, and from Southern Arabia, which the caravans carried through the desert to Gaza. [15]
In 674 b.c. Esar-haddon, son of Sennacherib, undertook a campaign against the Arabian tribes, put an end to the Minæan kingdom, and secured control of the spice-trade route.
During the Persian period (539-332 b.c.) Gaza was the chief centre of the frankincense trade.
According to Dr. Birdwood in his article on "The Perfumes of the Bible," Bible Educator, vol. i, p. ”

“ Owing to the barrenness of the land the people are exempted from all taxation. Some five thousand camels are owned by these Sawârikeh Beduins, and these "ships of the desert" do much of the carrying trade between Egypt and Syria, and in Egypt itself during the cotton season.
The people are exclusively Muslims, with the exception of two Coptic officials. The town is beautifully clean.
There is here a magnificent field for missionary enterprise. No mission work of any kind had ever been attempted in the town until Dr. Sterling opened a boys' school in 1906. ”

“ No more appropriate moment could have been seized by the British Government to declare itself in favour of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people than the present time, when our Twentieth Century Crusaders have just carried Gaza, the ancient Philistine stronghold, and are pressing on to the capture of the Holy City from the hands of the infidel. ”

“ The natives greatly prize the quality of the water. Good water is, indeed, plentiful at greater or less depth over all the district, even on the sea-shore, though the frequency of rubble cisterns to the south and east show that in ancient times the inhabitants depended largely on artificial supply.
Gaza and Ascalon have always been noted for their wells. ”

“ The other, Nur-ed-din Mohammed, became the chief Moslem prince in Syria, with Aleppo for his capital. In the beginning of December 1170, Nur-ed-din being in the north, Salah-ed-din made a dash against Gaza, and destroyed its suburbs. He plundered the town, but was unable to reduce the fortress.
a.d. 1177.—Salah-ed-din, towards the end of 1177, arrived before Ascalon. The Knights Templars were for the most part in Gaza. The Crusaders came upon Saladin's main body while it was crossing a stream, and was obstructed in its movements by the baggage. The Muslims were easily routed. ”

“ One far-reaching effect of this policy was that when a revolt did break out in some district, it no longer spread like wildfire in all directions, but the governor of the province was himself [Pg 247] able to put down any uprising, and the colonists recently imported, caring nothing for the older inhabitants, could be depended upon to help him.
Tiglath-Pileser III. turned now to Gaza, whose king fled to Egypt there to get aid in behalf of his state. Deserted, the city soon surrendered and the Assyrian king, having sent the old gods home to Assyria, installed Assyrian gods in the temples. ”

“ The climate is sub-tropical, and upon the whole healthy. Eye diseases, however, are very prevalent. Malaria and other tropical diseases are also common.
The chief exports besides barley are wheat, millet, and colocynth, while a coasting trade is carried on in "tibn" (chopped straw) and a coarse black pottery, which is the principal manufacture of Gaza, where there is a good market for it. The poor people of the district buy it, and exchange it for cereals and other articles. ”