Levant
The Levant is the name given to the area along the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, between Anatolia (Turkey) and Egypt. This area comprises the present-day countries of Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Cyprus and part of southern Turkey. The term is used especially in archaeology and history.
The Region in Antiquity
The definition of this region occurs already in the Bible (see Genesis 15:18-21
Meaning of the Name
The meaning of the name is related to the Latin word levare — “rise”. The Levant is “the land where the sun rises”.
Strategic Situation
The Levant was important in antiquity on account of its strategic position. The area formed a land bridge between the great powers of Egypt in the west and Mesopotamia in the east. The only alternative route from Egypt to Mesopotamia and vice versa was the inhospitable Arabian Desert. Anyone who wanted to travel from the northern coast of the Mediterranean to the southern coast would prefer to go through the Levant; the only alternative route was the sea.
So the Levant was not only a transit area for travellers and merchants, but also for advancing armies. Any great power in the ancient Near East had an interest in gaining control of the Levant.
The Northern and Southern Levant
A distinction is often made between the northern part of the Levant and the southern part:
- The northern Levant: present-day Syria and northern Lebanon. This is where ancient Syria lay in antiquity. The peoples that lived there changed through the centuries. Among others, the inhabitants were Amorites, Canaanites, Phoenicians and Arameans.
- The southern Levant: present-day Israel, the Palestinian areas, Jordan and southern Lebanon. In Old Testament times this was the land of Israel and Judah, the area of the Philistines and (east of the Jordan) Ammon, Moab and Edom.
Other Terms for the Area
Other terms for the Levant include:
- Canaan: This is a name for the Levant in the second millennium BC, in the time when the area was still mainly inhabited by the Canaanites. This lasted until the 12th century BC. After that, the southern part of Canaan was occupied by the Israelites. So we no longer refer to Canaan but to Israel in the south and Phoenicia in the north. From that period onwards, Canaan is less useful as a geographical term for the area.
- Palestine or Syria-Palestine: From the third century BC onwards, the Seleucids used the name Syria to indicate the Levant. This practice was adopted by the Greeks and the Romans. The name “Palestine” comes from Peleset, a name found already in texts from the 12th century BC. It occurs in the Bible in reference to the area of the Philistines (Philistia). The term Palestine itself is first found in Herodotus (fifth century BC). He writes that Palestine means part of Syria, including the mountains of Judah and the Jordan Valley. In AD 135 Emperor Hadrian combined the province of Judea with a number of other areas into a larger province which he called “Syria Palestine”.
- The disadvantage of the term Palestine is that for many people it has now gained political connotations, although “Palestine” was originally used in a non-political sense.
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