Jericho
Jericho
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|---|---|
| Arabic transcription(s) | |
| • ALA-LC | Arīḥā |
Jericho from Tell es-Sultan Sycamore Tree of Zacchaeus | |
 Municipal logo | |
 Interactive map of Jericho | |
  Jericho Location of Jericho within Palestine | |
| Palestine grid | 193/140 |
| Country | State of Palestine |
| Governorate | Jericho |
| Founded | c. 9000 BCE |
| Government | |
| • Type | City (from 1994) |
| • Head of Municipality | Salem Ghrouf[1][2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 58,701 dunams (58.701 km2; 22.665 sq mi) |
| Elevation | −258 m (−846 ft) |
| Population (2017)[3] | |
• Total | 20,907 |
| • Density | 356.16/km2 (922.45/sq mi) |
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| History of Palestine |
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Jericho (/ˈdʒɛrɪkoʊ/ JERR-ik-oh; Arabic: أريحا, romanized: Arīḥā, IPA: [ʔaˈriːħaː] ⓘ; Hebrew: יְרֵחוֹ, romanized: Yərīḥō) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate.[4] The city is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west.
Jericho is among the oldest cities in the world.[5][6][7] Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of more than 20 successive settlements in Jericho, the first of which dates back 11,000 years (to 9000 BCE),[8][9] almost to the very beginning of the Holocene epoch of the Earth's history.[10][11] Copious springs in and around the city have attracted human habitation for thousands of years.[12] Jericho is described in the Bible as the "city of palm trees".[13]
Following the era of Mandatory Palestine, the West Bank was annexed and ruled by Jordan starting in 1950, then was occupied by Israel in 1967. Administrative control of Jericho was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994.
The city had a population of 20,907 in 2017. In 2023, the archaeological site in the center of the city, known as Tell es-Sultan / Old Jericho, was inscribed in UNESCO's list as a World Heritage Site in the State of Palestine, and described as the "oldest fortified city in the world".[14][15]
Etymology
Jericho's name in Biblical Hebrew, Yəriḥo (יְרִיחוֹ) is generally thought to derive from the Canaanite word rēḥ 'fragrant', but other theories hold that it originates in the Canaanite word Yaraḥ 'moon' or the name of the lunar deity Yarikh, for whom the city was an early centre of worship.[16]
Jericho's Arabic name, Arīḥā, means 'fragrant' and also has its roots in Canaanite rēḥ.[17][18][19]
History and archaeology
The first excavations of the site were carried out by Charles Warren in 1868. Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger excavated Tell es-Sultan and Tulul Abu el-'Alayiq between 1907 and 1909, and in 1911, and John Garstang excavated between 1930 and 1936. Kathleen Kenyon worked there between 1952 and 1958.[citation needed]
Subsequently, Lorenzo Nigro and Nicolò Marchetti excavated in 1997–2000. Since 2009, the Italian-Palestinian archaeological project of excavation and restoration was resumed by Rome ("La Sapienza" University and Palestinian MOTA-DACH) under the direction of Nigro, Hamdan Taha, and Jehad Yasine since 2015.[20] The Italian-Palestinian Expedition carried out 13 seasons in 20 years (1997–2017), with some major discoveries, like Tower A1 in the Middle Bronze Age southern Lower Town and Palace G on the eastern flanks of the Spring Hill overlooking the Spring of 'Ain es-Sultan dating from Early Bronze III.[citation needed]
Stone Age: Tell es-Sultan and spring
The earliest excavated settlement was located at the present-day Tell es-Sultan (or Sultan's Hill), a couple of kilometers from the current city. In both Arabic and Hebrew, tell means "mound"; consecutive layers of habitation built up a mound over time, as is common for ancient settlements in the Middle East and Anatolia. Jericho is the type site for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) periods.[21]
Natufian hunter-gatherers, c. 10,000 BCE
Epipaleolithic construction at the site appears to predate the invention of agriculture, with the construction of Natufian culture structures beginning earlier than 9000 BCE, the beginning of the Holocene epoch in geologic history.[7]
Jericho has evidence of settlement dating back to c. 10,000 BCE. During the Younger Dryas period of cold and drought, permanent habitation of any one location was impossible. However, the Ein es-Sultan spring at what would become Jericho was a popular camping ground for Natufian hunter-gatherer groups, who left a scattering of crescent-shaped microlith tools behind them.[24] Around 9600 BCE, the droughts and cold of the Younger Dryas stadial had come to an end, making it possible for Natufian groups to extend the duration of their stay, eventually leading to year-round habitation and permanent settlement.[citation needed]
Pre-Pottery Neolithic, c. 9500–6500 BCE
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The Pre-Pottery Neolithic eras at Jericho are divided into PPNA and PPNB.[21]
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA)
The first permanent settlement on the site of Jericho developed near the Ein es-Sultan spring between 9,500 and 9000 BCE.[25][26] As the world warmed up, a new culture based on agriculture and sedentary dwelling emerged, which archaeologists have termed PPNA. Its cultures lacked pottery,[21] but featured the following:[citation needed]
- small circular dwellings
- burial of the dead under the floor of buildings
- reliance on hunting of wild game
- cultivation of wild or domestic cereals
At Jericho, circular dwellings were built of clay and straw bricks left to dry in the sun, which were plastered together with a mud mortar. Each house measured about 5 metres (16 ft) across and was roofed with mud-smeared brush. Hearths were located within and outside the homes.[28]