Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley (Hebrew עמק יזרעאל Emek Jizre'el, so Jezreel Valley, the "Valley of the seed of (God's ) Al ") is a valley in northern Israel between the mountains of Galilee and Samaria. Often the level is simply called haEmek ( " The Valley " ), in the Bible is also the name of Esdraelon valley.
Geographical information
With " Jezreel " the whole chain of valleys is occasionally meant that extend from the Bay of Haifa in a southeasterly direction to the Jordan River at Bet She'an. The valleys provide the only access from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, where no mountains to be crossed.
For a correct use of the term, the term " Jezreel " but refers only to the central portion of this chain. This smaller area corresponds to the area between the cities Jokne'am, Nazareth and Jenin.
Accordingly, in the West Carmel Mountain forms a natural boundary of the plane; just north of Jokne'am consists Zevuluntal a natural connection to the sea at Haifa. In the north, the valley of the abruptly sloping hills of Galilee is limited. In the east, close along the mountains of Gilboa, the Harodtal and the valley of Beit She'an to the level and thus form a connection to the deeper Jordan Rift Valley. The mountains of Samaria limit the basin in the south. In the south-eastern foothills of Mount Carmel is the road to Hadera over a pass to connect to the Plain of Sharon.
The Jezreel Valley is 365 square kilometers, the largest flat basin of Israel. The valley is drained by the river Kishon, which flows into the sea at Haifa. The subsequent valleys to the east are already below sea level and drain the Jordan.
The main town of the Jezreel Valley is the city of Afula. There are many kibbutzim and moshav; also Nahallal, the oldest moshav, located in the Jezreel Valley.
History
Because of its central location and its streets the Jezreel Valley has always been a strategically important and contested area. The Bible also reported fighting in the Jezreel Valley, for example, in Judges 5:19 and 7
Since the time of the Romans the basin was largely marshy and there were only a few traffic routes. The fortress of Megiddo was located on the main intersection and therefore had for centuries a great military importance (eg in the Battle of Megiddo in 1457 BC), which is why the apocalyptic end-time battle between good and evil often with this place ( cf.. Armageddon ) is associated.
The last major battles took place in the 20th century: in the plain 1918, the British were able to decide the conquest of Palestine; in the Palestine War in 1948, the Israeli army secured after a victory access to the northern parts of the country.
Jewish settlement in the Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley was settled at the end of the 19th century by Arab farmers and agricultural use. The settlements were in most cases to secure the surrounding mountain slopes, which was attributed to the periodic incursions of nomads.
On the fertility level is already pointed out in the travel records of the 19th century:
- " The road to Ramleh prosecuting, we came across Merdsch ibn Amr, an extensive and highly sophisticated level ... " ( the U.S. Naval Officer WF Lynch )
- "... And without question here is the largest contiguous area of arable land, which is located at all in the interior of Western Palestine " (Georg Ebers and Hermann Guthe )
- "Readers will be amazed to learn that there is almost every morning the plain of Esdraelon at this time in the highest state of cultivation ... " ( the British travelers Laurence Oliphant )
Beginning in 1901, the Jewish National Fund ( the Greek banker Sursuk from Beirut ) began to buy up land from the owner of the whole plane. Mid-20th century the marshes were mainly by the Jewish settlers drained and forested mountains and slopes.
Today, the area is because of its fertility to the most intensively farmed areas of Israel.