Jewish Communities

MAP 7

M E D I T E R R A N E A N

S E A

S Y R I A

L E B A N O N

J O R D A N

E G Y P T

DEAD SEA DEAD SEA

Tyre Tyre Banias Banias

Dalton Dalton Gush Halav Gush Halav

Biriyah Biriyah Safed Safed Kfar Hananiah Kfar Hananiah

Acre Acre

Kfar Mandl Kfar Mandl Iablin Iablin

Tsipori Tsipori Haifa Haifa

Hoseifa Hoseifa

Tiberias Tiberias

Caesarea Caesarea

Ein Ganim Ein Ganim

Nablus Nablus

Jaffa Jaffa

Lod Lod Ramla Ramla Yavne Yavne

Jerusalem Jerusalem

Jericho Jericho

Amman Amman

Beit Guvrin Beit Guvrin

Hebron Hebron

Ashkelon Ashkelon

Gaza Gaza

Rafiah Rafiah

El Arish El Arish

Jarba Jarba

Udruch Udruch

L E G E N D

Modern Israel

Jewish community

N

50 km

31 mi

North at top. Positions are approximate. The border of modern Israel is for reference.

MAP-007 · map

HISTORICAL MAPS

MAP 7 Jewish Communities

7th to 11th centuries

After Emperor Julian II’s death in 363 CE, Jewish settlement in the south declined under imperial policy, war and economic hardship. Jewish life endured in the Galilee and in cities such as Tiberias, Sepphoris and Caesarea. Tiberias became a center of scholarship, where the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible was developed.

The Byzantine era alternated oppression with relative autonomy. After the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, Jews, as dhimmis, received a limited but protected status in exchange for a tax, and trade, agriculture and crafts revived.

Jerusalem kept a small but influential Jewish population. Under Muslim rule Jews again had access to the Temple Mount, which Byzantine governance had denied.

COMMUNITIES SHOWN

U P P E R GA L I L E E

Tyre port with a Jewish community in Geniza letters

Banias Jordan-source town with Jews

Dalton village of long Jewish history

Gush Halav Gischala, Jewish into the Middle Ages

Biriyah village by Safed, sages’ tombs

Safed first named in 11th-century Geniza letters

Kfar Hananiah pottery village of the Mishnah

LO W E R GA L I L E E

Tiberias seat of the Masoretes

Tsipori Sepphoris, shaken by the 749 earthquake

Kfar Mandl village on the community lists

Hoseifa Carmel village with a mosaic synagogue

Iablin site not identified

J E R US A L E M A N D E A ST

Jerusalem Palestinian academy until 1071

Jericho Jordan Valley oasis town

Amman Transjordan city with Jews

S O U T H O F T H E D E A D S E A

Jarba near Petra, treaty town of 630

Udruch Adhruh, treaty town of 630

COA ST

Acre busy port in Geniza letters

Haifa its Jews helped defend it in 1099

Caesarea Jews and Samaritans until 1101

Jaffa landing port for pilgrims

Yavne Sanhedrin seat after 70 CE

Ashkelon ransomed the Aleppo Codex in 1099

Gaza trade port toward Egypt

Rafiah last stop before Sinai

El Arish desert-route town to Egypt

H I L LS A N D P L A I N

Ein Ganim Jenin, on the Galilee to Samaria road

Nablus Samaritan center with some Jews

Lod rabbinic town, eclipsed by Ramla

Ramla capital from about 715, Rabbanites and Karaites

Beit Guvrin Judean lowland town

Hebron Jews prayed at the Cave of the Patriarchs

MAP007 Open on your phone $.- ’)*2’ %˜*(„(+›„„‹