The term “Palestinian” today refers to the Arab population living in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank), east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. By adopting this name, there is an implication that these people have been linked somehow to this land for thousands of years; that is, these Palestinians have deep roots in the land – which is certainly not the case.
The term “Palestinian” is derived from the word Philistine. The Philistines (of whom Goliath was one) were a sea-faring people who likely originated in Crete and invaded the coastal strip around 1200 BCE. Their land included the Gaza Strip and extended north to around present-day Caesarea. The Philistines disappeared under the Babylonian conquest in the 6th century BCE and, as far as I know, have not been heard of since.
In 63 BCE, the Roman army under Pompey the Great captured Jerusalem. The Roman goal was to destroy any vestige of Jewish attachment to this land, which was then called Judea and from which the term Jew arose. The Romans then reinvented and modified the name by calling the land Palestina.
Islam was founded in 610 CE, and spread rapidly by conquest and conversion. The Muslims reached and conquered Palestina in 632 CE and the name Palestina disappeared.
The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 CE and drove out or killed thousands of Muslims and Jews and repurposed al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock as Christian shrines. Jerusalem was later taken back in 1187 by the Muslim military genius Saladin.
The writer’s bronze coin dated 1946. (credit: JACOB SIVAK)
In 1291, the Templars were defeated in the siege of Acre (the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the last major stronghold of the Crusaders) by the Mamluks. It was only a matter of time before the Christian presence in The Holy Land was extinguished. The land remained under the control of the Mamluks for 220 years until their surrender to the might of the Ottomans in 1516.
During the Ottoman rule, which lasted 400 years, the land was referred to as Filastin.
The term “Palestinian” is derived from the word Philistine. The Philistines (of whom Goliath was one) were a sea-faring people who likely originated in Crete and invaded the coastal strip around 1200 BCE. Their land included the Gaza Strip and extended north to around present-day Caesarea. The Philistines disappeared under the Babylonian conquest in the 6th century BCE and, as far as I know, have not been heard of since.
In 63 BCE, the Roman army under Pompey the Great captured Jerusalem. The Roman goal was to destroy any vestige of Jewish attachment to this land, which was then called Judea and from which the term Jew arose. The Romans then reinvented and modified the name by calling the land Palestina.
Islam was founded in 610 CE, and spread rapidly by conquest and conversion. The Muslims reached and conquered Palestina in 632 CE and the name Palestina disappeared.
The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 CE and drove out or killed thousands of Muslims and Jews and repurposed al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock as Christian shrines. Jerusalem was later taken back in 1187 by the Muslim military genius Saladin.
In 1291, the Templars were defeated in the siege of Acre (the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the last major stronghold of the Crusaders) by the Mamluks. It was only a matter of time before the Christian presence in The Holy Land was extinguished. The land remained under the control of the Mamluks for 220 years until their surrender to the might of the Ottomans in 1516.
During the Ottoman rule, which lasted 400 years, the land was referred to as Filastin.
