|
This article is about the Israeli city of Nazareth. For other uses, see Nazareth (disambiguation). Nazareth () (Arabic الناصرة an-Nāṣirah; Hebrew נָצְרַת, Standard Hebrew Naẓərat, Tiberian Hebrew Nāṣəraṯ) is an ancient town in the North District in Israel. In the New Testament, it is described as the childhood home of Jesus, and is a center of Christian pilgrimage, with many shrines commemorating biblical associations.
Etymology The etymology of Nazareth from as early as Eusebius up until the 20th century has been said to derive from netser, a "shoot" or "sprout", while the apocryphal Gospel of Phillip derives the name from Nazara meaning "truth". "Nazarene," meaning "of the village of Nazareth," should not be confused with "Nazirite," meaning a "separated" Jew. Geography and population Modern-day Nazareth is nestled in a hollow plateau some 1,200 feet (350m) above sea level, located between 1,600 foot high hills that form the most southerly points of the Lebanon mountain range.• It is about 25 km from the Sea of Galilee and about 9 km west from Mount Tabor. The main road for traffic between Egypt and the interior of Asia passes by Nazareth near the foot of Tabor, and thence northward to Damascus. Nazareth has an estimated population of 60,000. The majority of residents are Arab citizens of Israel, about 35-40% of whom are Christians and the rest Muslims. The adjacent city of Upper Nazareth has a population of 49,000 Israeli Jews. Earliest History & Archaeological Evidence Archaeological research has revealed a funerary and cult center at Kfar HaHoresh, about two miles from Nazareth, dating roughly 9000 years ago (in what is known as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B era). The remains of some 65 individuals were found, buried under huge horizontal headstone structures, some of which consisted of up to 3 tons of locally-produced white plaster. Decorated human skulls found have led archaeologists to believe that Kfar HaHoresh was a major cult center in that remote era.• “Nazareth is not mentioned in ancient Jewish sources earlier than the third century AD. This likely reflects its lack of prominence both in Galilee and in Judaea,” writes American archaeologist James Strange. Strange variously estimates Nazareth’s population at “roughly 1,600 to 2,000 people” in the time of Christ, and in another publication at “a maximum of about 480.” However, some historians argue that the absence of textual references to Nazareth in the Old Testament and the Talmud, as well as the works of Josephus, suggest that a town called 'Nazareth' did not exist in Jesus' day. The latter view is supported by the results of the excavations at Nazareth which do not furnish evidence from Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Hellenistic or Early Roman times, despite many claims to the contrary made in the literature. B. Bagatti (the principle archaeologist at the venerated sites in Nazareth) has unearthed quantities of later Roman and Byzantine artefacts, attesting to unambiguous human presence there from 2 AD onward. Thus, it is possible that the town of Nazareth came into existence only with the spread of Christianity. In the mid-1990s, shopkeeper Elias Shama discovered tunnels under his shop near Mary’s Well in Nazareth. The tunnels were eventually recognized as a hypocaust (a space below the floor into which warm air was pumped) for a bathhouse. The site was excavated in 1997-98 by Y. Alexandre, and the archaeological remains exposed were ascertained to date from the Middle Roman, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. •• A tablet currently at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, dating to 50 AD, was sent from Nazareth to Paris in 1878. It contains an inscription known as the "Ordinance of Caesar" that outlines the penalty of death for those who violate tombs or graves. However, it is suspected that this inscription came to Nazareth from somewhere else (possibly Sepphoris). Bagatti writes: “we are not certain that it was found in Nazareth, even though it came from Nazareth to Paris. At Nazareth there lived various vendors of antiquities who got ancient material from several places.” C. Kopp is more definite: "It must be accepted with certainty that the Ordinance of Caesar... was brought to the Nazareth market by outside merchants." Jack Finegan describes additional archaeological evidence related to settlement in the Nazareth basin during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and adds that "Nazareth was a strongly Jewish settlement in the Roman period." The critical question now under scholarly debate is when in the Roman period Nazareth came into existence, that is, whether settlement there began before or after 70 AD (the First Jewish War). New Testament Times and Associations
Islamic Rule The Muslim conquest of Palestine in 637 AD during the early medieval period eventually led to the First Crusade, which began an extended period of conflict. Control over Galilee and Nazareth shifted frequently during this time, with corresponding impact on the religious makeup of the population. In 1099 AD, the Crusader Tancred captured Galilee and established his capital in Nazareth. The ancient diocese of Scythopolis was also relocated under the Archbishop of Nazareth. The town returned to Muslim control in 1187 AD following the victory of Saladin in the Battle of Hattin. Christian control of the area resumed in 1229 AD as part of the events of the Sixth Crusade, but ended in 1263 AD with the destruction of all Christian buildings by the Sultan Baibars and the expulsion of the Christian population until Fakhr-al-Din II permitted their return in 1620 AD. 1947-1948 The 1947 UN Partition Plan placed Nazareth near the southern border within the northernmost portion of the proposed Palestinian State. At the start of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the attacking armies crossed the international borders into territory of the proposed Jewish State from Lebanon in the north and Syria in the east. Nazareth was not a field of battle before the first truce on June 11, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant resistance forces, and troops from the Arab Liberation Army had entered Nazareth. During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated July 16 to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel, after little more than token resistance. The surrender was formalized in a written agreement, where the town leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander Ben Dunkelman, (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. A few hours later Chaim Laskov gave order to Dunkelman to evacuate the civilian population of Nazareth. Dunkelman refused to obey these orders. In sharp contrast to the surrounding towns, the Arab inhabitants in Nazareth were therefore never forced to evacuate.• However, the influx of Muslim Arab refugees from the surrounding villages and towns that were destroyed changed the population of Nazareth from having a Christian majority to having a Muslim majority. Current Events Preparations for the Pope's visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the Basilica of the Annunciation. The 1997 permission for construction of a paved plaza to handle the expected thousands of Christian pilgrims caused Muslim protests and occupation of the proposed site, which is considered the grave of a nephew of Saladin. The initial government approval of subsequent plans for a large mosque to be constructed at the site led to protests from Christian leaders worldwide, which continued after the papal visit. Finally, in 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque. • • In March 2006, public protests that followed the disruption of a Lenten prayer service by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who detonated incendiary devices inside the church, • succeeded in dismantling a temporary wall that had been erected around the public square that had been constructed but had yet to be unveiled, putting an end to the entire controversy. On July 19, 2006 a rocket fired by the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah as part of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict killed two children in Nazareth. No holy sites were damaged.• Religious Shrines Nazareth is home to many churches which are its chief tourist attractions. The most important commemorate biblical events. A Contrary View Some historians have called the city's traditional association with the life of Jesus into question, suggesting instead that what was originally a title was corrupted (Nazarene) into the name of his hometown (alternately, Nazara or Nazaret or Nazareth). Alfred Loisy, for example, in The Birth of Christianity argues that Iesous Nazarene meant not "from Nazareth", but rather that his title was "Nazarene." Frank Zindler, managing editor of the American Atheist Press, has asserted that Nazareth did not exist in the first century. His arguments include the following: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| |