Jezreel Valley in the context of "Bethsan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Jezreel Valley

The Jezreel Valley (Biblical Hebrew: עמק יזרעאל, romanized: ʿĒmeq Yizrəʿēl, LXX Koine Ιεζραελ), or Marj ibn Amir (Arabic: مرج ابن عامر, romanizedMarj ibn ʿĀmir, lit.'Cultivated Meadow') is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands of the Lower Galilee, to the south by the highlands of Samaria, to the west and northwest by the Mount Carmel range, and to the east by the Jordan Valley, with Mount Gilboa marking its southern extent. The largest settlement in the valley is the city of Afula, which lies near its center.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Israeli coastal plain

The Israeli coastal plain (Hebrew: מישור החוף, romanizedMishor HaḤof, lit.'coastal plain') is the Israeli segment of the Levantine coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea, extending 187 kilometres (116 mi) north to south. It is a geographical region defined morphologically by the sea, in terms of topography and soil, and also in its climate, flora and fauna. It is narrow in the north and broadens considerably towards the south, and is continuous, except the short section where Mount Carmel reaches almost all the way to the sea. The Coastal Plain is bordered to the east by – north to south – the topographically higher regions of the Galilee, the low and flat Jezreel Valley, the Carmel range, the mountains of Samaria, the hill country of Judea known as the Shephelah, and the Negev Mountains in the south. To the north it is separated from the coastal plain of Lebanon by the cliffs of Rosh HaNikra, which jut out into the sea from the Galilee mountains, but to the south it continues into the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

The plain can be conventionally divided into a number of areas: the Northern Coastal Plain borders the Galilee in its northern part, and the Jezreel Valley in its southern part between Akko and Haifa, where it is also called the Plain of Zebulon; Hof HaCarmel, or the Carmel Coastal Plain, runs along the Mount Carmel range; the Sharon Plain continues down to northern Tel Aviv; the Central Coastal Plain stretches from Tel Aviv to the northern limit of the Gaza Strip, with the Nahal Shikma [he] stream as its limit – there Israel's access to the Mediterranean ends and the Israeli Southern Coastal Plain, also known as the Western Negev, actually consists of the hinterland of the Strip. For almost its entire length, the plain has sandy beaches, and a Mediterranean climate, except at its southern end where the climate is semi-arid.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Battle of Ain Jalut

The Battle of Ain Jalut (Arabic: معركة عين جالوت, romanizedMa'rakat ‘Ayn Jālūt), also spelled Ayn Jalut, was fought between the Bahri Mamluks of Egypt and the Ilkhanate on 3 September 1260 (25 Ramadan 658 AH) near the spring of Ain Jalut in southeastern Galilee in the Jezreel Valley. It marks as the first major loss of the Mongolian advances and halted their expansion into Arabia and Europe.

Continuing the westward expansion of the Ilkhanate, the armies of Hulegu Khan captured and sacked Baghdad in 1258, along with the Ayyubid capital of Damascus sometime later. Hulegu sent envoys to Cairo demanding Qutuz surrender Egypt, to which Qutuz responded by killing the envoys and displaying their heads on the Bab Zuweila gate of Cairo. Shortly after this, Möngke Khan was slain in battle against the Southern Song. Hulegu returned to Mongolia with the bulk of his army to attend the kurultai in accordance with Mongol customs, leaving approximately 10,000 troops west of the Euphrates under the command of Kitbuqa.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Tel Megiddo

Tel Megiddo (from Hebrew: תל מגידו), Arabic: Tell el-Muteselim, is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo (/məˈɡɪd/; Hebrew: מגידו; Greek: Μεγιδδώ), the remains of which form a tell or archaeological mound, situated in northern Israel at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley. During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state, and in the Iron Age, it became a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel. The site is renowned for its historical, geographical, and theological significance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon, which is famously associated with the biblical Battle of Armageddon as described in the Book of Revelation.

Excavations have unearthed 20 strata of ruins since the Neolithic phase, indicating a long settlement period. Occupied continuously from the early Bronze Age (c. 3000 BCE) to the Persian period (c. 332 BCE), Megiddo was strategically located at the crossroads of major ancient trade routes, making it a key center for trade, politics, and military affairs. Excavations have uncovered impressive fortifications, including massive city walls and gates, as well as palaces, temples, residential buildings, and a sophisticated water system. The site is protected as Megiddo National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Lower Galilee

The Lower Galilee (Hebrew: הגליל התחתון, romanizedhag-Galil hat-Taḥton; Arabic: الجليل الأسفل, romanizedal-Jalil al-Asfal) is a region within the Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to the north, from which it is separated by the Beit HaKerem Valley; the Jordan Rift Valley with the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee to the east; and to the west, a segment of the Northern Coastal Plain known as the Zvulun Valley (Zebulon Valley), stretching between the Carmel ridge and Acre. The Lower Galilee is the southern part of the Galilee. In Josephus' time, it was known to stretch in breadth from Xaloth (Iksal) to Bersabe, and in length from Cabul to Tiberias, a region that contains around 470 km. It is called "Lower" since it is less mountainous than the Upper Galilee. The peaks of the Lower Galilee rise to 500 m (1,600 ft) above sea level. The tallest peaks are Mount Kamon (598 m (1,962 ft)) at the northern part of the Lower Galilee, and Mount Tabor (588 m (1,929 ft)) in the southern part.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Mount Gilboa

Mount Gilboa (Hebrew: הַר הַגִּלְבֹּעַ, romanizedHar hagGīlbōaʿ; Arabic: جبل جلبوع Jabal Jalbūʿ or جبل فقوعة Jabal Fuqqāʿa), sometimes referred to as the Mountains of Gilboa, is the name for a mountain range in Israel. It overlooks the Harod Valley (the eastern part of the larger Jezreel Valley) to the north, and the Jordan Valley and Hills to the southeast and to the west, respectively.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Acre, Israel

Acre (/ˈɑːkər, ˈkər/ AH-kər, AY-kər), known in Hebrew as Akko (Hebrew: עַכּוֹ, ʻAkkō, IPA: [ˈako]) and in Arabic as Akka (Arabic: عكّا, ʻAkkā, IPA: [ˈʕak.ka]), is a city in the coastal plain region of the Northern District of Israel.

The city occupies a strategic location, sitting in a natural harbour at the extremity of Haifa Bay on the coast of the Mediterranean's Levantine Sea. Aside from coastal trading, it was an important waypoint on the region's coastal road and the road cutting inland along the Jezreel Valley. The first settlement during the Early Bronze Age was abandoned after a few centuries but a large town was established during the Middle Bronze Age. Continuously inhabited since then, it is among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements on Earth. It has, however, been subject to conquest and destruction several times and survived as little more than a large village for centuries at a time.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Palaestina Secunda

Palaestina Secunda or Palaestina II was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 390, until its conquest by the Muslim armies in 634–636. Palaestina Secunda, a part of the Diocese of the East, roughly comprised inland Galilee, the Jezreel (Yizrael) Valley, Bet Shean Valley, and the corresponding area of Transjordan (parts of the former Decapolis, with the southern territories of the Golan plateau and the bishopric of Pella south of the Yarmuk River), with its capital in Scythopolis (Bet Shean). The province experienced the rise of Christianity under the Byzantines, but was also a thriving center of Judaism, after the Jews had been driven out of Judea by the Romans as a result of their 1st- and 2nd-century revolts.

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Jezreel Valley in the context of Qafzeh Cave

Qafzeh Cave (Hebrew: מערת קפזה, Arabic: كهف القفزة), or Kedumim Cave (Hebrew: מערת קדומים, lit.'Cave of the Ancients'), is a prehistoric archaeological site located at the bottom of Mount Precipice in the Jezreel Valley of Lower Galilee south of Nazareth, Israel. Important remains of prehistoric people were discovered on the site - some of the oldest examples in the world, outside of Africa, of virtually anatomically modern human beings. These were discovered on the ledge just outside the cave, where 18 layers from the Middle Paleolithic era were identified. The interior of the cave contains layers ranging from the Neolithic era to the Bronze Age.

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