Gaza

This was the port city that the Nabataeans used on the Mediterranean Sea until most of their trade was switched to Alexandria. The ancient harbor was situated in the north west of the old city in a place known as Blackhia (El-Mashtal.) The name of the sea harbor varied according to the various eras and rulers. It was called Athedyoun, meaning the white flower Costandia during the age of Constantine, Meyouma then Teda in the Roman and the Bezantine time.

Gaza is one of the oldest cities in the world. The city is strategically situated between two continents, Asia and Africa. This geographical location made the city acquire a strategic and extraordinary military status. Consequently, the city had been a battle field for most of the ancient and recent empires, the Pharaonic, the Assyrian, the Persian, the Greek, the Roman, the Crusades, and during the First World War.

 

Gaza has an important strategic location between the continents of Asia and Africa. This important location made Gaza a vital entrance to the most important trade and military route in the world. This route was known as "Via Mars - Sea Route" or "Horas Route". This route connects Palestine with Egypt on one side, and the Arabian Peninsula and Southeast Asia on the other; it also connects all of these areas with Europe through the Mediterranean.

The Cana'nites originally established the city and called it Gaza around the year 3000 BC. During the reign of the Pharaoh III, 1447-1501 BC., the Egyptians named the city Gazatwa which was related to the treasures said to be buried by Cambayses during the Persian rule. The city was described as the Kings Tunnel and the Gate between Africa and Asia by Napoleon Bonaparte.

For more information see Gaza on the Incense Road

 Bibliography

Gibson, Dan, The Nabataeans, Builders of Petra, CanBooks, Saskatchewan, Canada 2002

Gibson, Dan, The Nabataean Collection, CanBooks, Saskatchewan, Canada, 2003

Glueck, Nelson, Rivers in the Desert, A history of the Negev, The Norton Library, W. W. Norton & Company Inc, New York, 1959, 1968

Levy, Udi, The Lost Civilization of Petra, Bath Press Color Books, Glasgow, 1999