Jericho, the ancient city of the Holy Land

(Photo: Tell Jericho's (aka Tell es-Sultan
unearthed dwelling foundations from the
Neolithic era (10,000- 9000 BC).
Jericho's first permanent settlement.

Yesterday we asked our Facebook fans if they knew which Holy Land city is considered one of the world's ancient - and the answer to that is: Jericho.

Here are a few facts about the Biblical City of Palms:

Jericho is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It has been home to human beings for 12,000 years.

Located in the Jordan Valley at 825 feet below sea level, Jericho is the lowest inhabited spot on the planet.

The earliest wall built in the city is thought to be 10,000 years old. This dating is based on radiocarbon dating of organic material from this level of the city, which indicated it was from 7825 BC.

Jericho is mentioned in the Bible as the first city that was conquered by the Israelites in Canaan.

Kathleen Kenyon, which excavated Jericho between 1952 and 1955, described a large wall that fell in an earthquake and a city of many that was burned and leveled in an offensive that came after this earthquake. Scholars however debated for years on whether dating fits to the exact time frame when the Israelites settled in the country. 

Most scholars agree that the city was not rebuilt in the centuries following the mentioned destruction, a fact that matches a verse from the book of Joshua: “Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho…" (Joshua 6:26).

In 35 BC, when Judea was a Roman province, Mark Anthony gave the city as a present to his beloved Cleopatra. After Mark Antony and Cleopatra died, Herod the Great gained ownership of the city and built his winter residence in it. He died in Jericho in 4 BC.

Located on the main route from Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus passed through Jericho several times.

Fast-forward to 4 May, 1994 Jericho was the first city to be transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority.

 

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