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Introduction
The Galilee, the land of dreams and visions, draws its
name from the Hebrew word for circle or region: galil. The prophet Isaiah
refers to it as the Galil ha-Goyim – the Galilee of Nations. The Messiah
is supposed to appear in these places.
Demarcated by the Mediterranean to the west, the Jordan Valley to the
east and the Jezreel Valley to the south, the Galilee is divided in
two parts along the valley of Beth ha-Kerem, which connects that of
Ghenossar to the city of Akko on the Mediterranean: the Upper Galilee
to the north surrounds the city of Safed and the Lower Galilee to the
south surrounds Nazareth. The mountains in the Upper Galilee are almost
900 meters high, with the Meron reaching as high as 1,200 meters; those
in the Lower Galilee are about 500 meters high with the Tavor reaching
558 meters.
Lakes fill the geological depressions in the Jordan Valley: the Huleh
had become so mired throughout the course of the centuries that it became
a vast marshland ; Lake Tiberias or the Kinneret Sea, bordered on the
east by the Golan Mountains, which are dominated by the Hermon, at 200
meters above the Mediterranean Sea level, preserves the unforgettable
memories of Jesus, of the Talmud masters and of the Jewish settlers
who renewed their bond to it, which had been interrupted by a long exile.
The Galilee is furrowed with small valleys where brooks and mountain
streams flow during the period that the capricious winter grants them,
being alternately dry and rainy. At the beginning of the 20th century,
Pierre Loti declared:
I crossed
the sad Galilee in the spring and it was silent under an immense
shroud of flowers. The heavy April showers were still falling;
it was but a desert of grass, a world of sparse grass, brought
to life with the song of the innumerable birds. The great memories,
the debris, the remains seem to sleep more profoundly here under
the silent renewal of the plants.
P.
Loti, the Galilee
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Human remains, discovered in the Arbel Valley like that of the Ammud
Valley, attest to the presence of humans in the region since the early
Paleolithic Age. The Canaanites inhabited the cities located in the
Jordan Valley on the coastal plain along the Via Maris, which also crossed
the Lower Galilee. The Hebrews settled on the desert summits before
occupying the plains and valleys. Joshua’s victories near the Meron
and Deborah’s victories near the Tavor reinforced their dominion. The
Galilee was divided among four of the twelve tribes: Asher in the northwest,
Zevulun in the southwest, Naftali in the east and Issachar in the southeast.
The Hebrews, nevertheless,
had to wait for King David’s victories (around 1040 – 970 B.C.) to complete
the conquest of the cities located in the Jezreel Valley. Around 930
B.C., at the time of the schism between the twelve tribes, the Galilee
is included in the Northern Kingdom. In 732, the latter succumbs to
assaults by the Assyrians who deport most of the inhabitants and annex
the Galilee to the province of Magiddu or Megiddo.
Under the Ptolemies
(around 300-200 B.C.), the Galilee is the site of the first free cities.
Under the Seleucids (around 220 – 167), it is linked to the eparchy
in Samaria, administered from Mount Tavor. It will not belong to the
Jews again until 104 B.C. when it is included in the Hasmonean kingdom.
Under the Romans (around 140 B.C. – 135 A.D.), as a region of Judea,
it will incorporate new localities, like the city of Tiberias, built
by King Antipas (around 4 B.C. – 6 A. D.).
The fall of
Gamala
In
66 A.D., the inhabitants of the Galilee participate in the Great Revolt,
which begins in Caesarea and overtakes all of the country.
The commander of the region, nevertheless, is one of the first leaders
to surrender to Vespasian: his name is Yosef ben Mattatias, better
known as Flavius Joseph, the author of Jewish Antiquities and The
Jewish War, the most important historical documents that we have about
that turbulent period. His account of the fall of Gamala on the Golan
reconstructs the fierce determination of the Galileans at the beginning
of that revolt, which was to end with the destruction of Jerusalem
and of Masada at the other end of the country
Gamala
was built on a knoll in the middle of a chain of mountains,
which earned it the name of Gamal – camel in Hebrew -, or
Gamala in the pronunciation of the Galileans. It is surrounded
by three inaccessible valleys and as many ramparts. The inhabitants
had dug trenches to protect the side that leans against the
mountain, which is naturally more accessible. Its slope is
covered with houses and viewed from the south, the city appears
to be built on a precipice, ready to collapse. A very high
hill rises on the same side, flanked by a valley that is so
deep that it forms a natural wall. A spring flows through
the city, all the way to the end…
Vespasian
set up camp Emmaus, which draws its name from a source of
water that heals a variety of illnesses, near Tiberias, facing
Gamala. Because the geographic conditions did not permit him
to encircle the site on every side, he fortified the quarters
where possible and occupied the hill that dominated the city.
In accordance with their custom, the Romans aimed at protecting
their camp and divided up the work among themselves. The fifteenth
legion undertook the building of a tower in the east, on the
highest side of the site; the fifth legion seized the quarters
facing the city and the tenth legion worked to fill up the
trenches and other excavations…
Thanks
to their great numbers and their capacity to work hard, the
Romans quickly completed the preparations and installed their
war machines. On their side, Chares and Joseph, the most important
leaders, dispersed their people, exhorting them to defend
the city. But even the hardiest among them was not particularly
confident, doubtful that they could sustain a long siege due
to the lack of water and provisions. They resisted very little,
withdrawing quickly to the interior of the city to escape
the arrows and rocks from the Roman war machines.
Breaching
the city, the assailants besieged the city from three points
at once. The noise of the trumpets and of the arms was soon
overtaken with the cries of the inhabitants. The besieged
then fiercely resisted until the moment when they yielded
to the great numbers and had to withdraw to the highest places
through steep lanes that were so narrow that they could not
get a solid foothold and still continue to defend themselves,
followed by the Romans on their heels who pounced them, overwhelming
them and killing them. Charging together, the Romans hoisted
themselves on to the roofs of the houses, which were not very
solid, and collapsed under the weight, dragging them down
as they caved in. […] Some died under the rocks; others suffocated
in the dust; still others were wounded and many of them perished.
The
besieged did not hide their delight at seeing the houses collapse
on the Romans; they pressed against them, they pushed them
under the debris, stoning those who slid on the steep roads.
They took the stones from the debris and the weapons of the
dead and used the spears of those still breathing to finish
them off. Attempting to jump off the houses that were collapsing,
the Romans, nevertheless, died when they fell down the precipice.
Those who managed to escape the cave-ins did not know where
to go since they were unfamiliar with the roads and paths.
The dust was so thick that they could not recognize each other
and knocked each other down. The fortunate ones who managed
to get away hastened to leave the city…
Therefore, the Romans were forced to withdraw and to launch
a new attack. Provisions were lacking and morale was low in
the city. The collapse of a tower that had been sabotaged
by the Romans succeeded in spreading panic among the besieged:
Remembering their mortifying setback, the Romans did not dare
to venture into the city again and waited for the next day.
But Titus, who had returned, prompted by his men’s presentiment
of failure, stealthily slipped into the city leading two hundred
horsemen and a handful of the most daring soldiers. As soon
as the report of its incursion spread throughout the city,
a group of the besieged, yielding to despair, ran to seek
refuge in the castle, dragging their wives and children with
them; another group went to confront Titus and were massacred
by the soldiers; a third group, unable to enter the castle
and not knowing where to go, fell under the blows of the Romans.
Death was everywhere, taking different forms; the city resounded
with moaning and was inundated with streams of blood that
flowed from the highest points.
Vespasian
concentrated his troops facing the castle that was located
on the summit of the mountain, on stony ground, difficult
to access, surrounded by rocks and so high that the arrows
couldn’t reach it. The besieged had the advantage of being
able to repulse the assailants with the blows of arrows and
rocks. But, as if heaven had taken the side of the Romans
against this wretched people, a whirlwind rose, pushing the
arrows of the Romans forward and diverting those of the Jews.
The impetuous wind prevented the besieged from holding their
positions, which would have allowed them to defend themselves,
and the cloud was so thick that they could no longer see their
enemies. This is how the Romans succeeded in reaching the
summit of the mountain, encircling the besieged from all sides,
driven by the burning memory of the fatal day that they had
survived, they indiscriminately massacred those who surrendered
and those who resisted. Losing all hope, the others pushed
their wives and children off the heights of the rocks, hurling
themselves down behind them in order to not survive them for
an instant. Given the number of their own victims, their cruelty
to themselves exceeded that which the anger of the Romans
made them endure …
F.
Joseph,
The Jewish War 5: 2 – 7
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The cities that
had collaborated with the Romans, like Tiberias and Sepphoris, were
spared any reprisals; the former even attained the rank of an free
city. Fifty years later, the inhabitants of the region did not participate
in the new revolt that erupted under the leadership of Bar Kokhba
(132 – 135) and ended in a blood bath. Thereafter, the Galilee received
the survivors and the fugitives of Judea, imposing itself as the new
center of Palestinian Judaism. The Sanhedrin – the highest religious
and political authority following the destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem – established itself in the region, moving from one locality
to another until it settled in Sepphoris and then Tiberias. Numerous
churches were also built on the sites where Jesus passed through to
preach.
In 635 – 636, the Arabs joined the Galilee to the province of Al-Urdun
or Al-Jurdun – present day Jordan. The Crusaders, especially the Normans,
established a principality on its territory, which they had to evacuate
when facing Saladin (1138 - 1193), at the end of the battle of the
Horns of Hittin in 1187. They recovered it gradually from 1198 to
1240 only to lose it again, this time for good, in the confrontation
with the Mamluks in 1260. Traces of the Crusaders’ passage through
this region can be seen at the sites of Monfort and Belvoir. Under
the Mamluks (1268 – 1517), it was administered from Safed; under the
Turks (1517 – 1917), independent pashas governed it from Akko. In
the 16th century, Safed receives some circles of Kabbalists and asserts
itself as the spiritual center of Palestinian Judaism. An attempt
to restore Tiberias in order to make it the capital of a semi-independent
Jewish province under the auspices of Don Joseph Nassi (1524 – 1579),
a wealthy, Turkish courtier originally from Spain, would fail.
The Jewish population of the Galilee increases in the middle of the
18th century thanks to the conditions of relative security that reign
in the region. The Upper Galilee shelters a community in Safed and
in the small village of Pqiin . In 1878, some inhabitants of Safed
settle in Guei Oni, which will give rise to Rosh Pina - the cornerstone
of Jewish revival in the Upper Galilee – and around the Huleh Valley.
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