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}}}>Begin Ituraea ancient country on the northern border of Palestine. Jetur, the son of Ishmael, was its founder. Ancient geographers are not agreed as to the exact limits of the country. The inhabitants were Arabs with their capital at Chalchis and their religious center at Heliopolis (Baalbek). Ituraea was conquered in 105 b.c. by Aristobulus, king of Judaea, who annexed it to Judaea and converted many of the inhabitants to Judaism. Later, after a brief period of independence, the country was subdued by Pompey. It remained thereafter chiefly in Roman hands, being united (a.d. c.50) to the Roman province of Syria. Many Ituraeans served in the armies of Rome and were renowned for their skill as horsemen and archers. Edom mountainous country, called also Mt. Seir. According to the Book of Genesis, it was given to Esau, also called Edom, and his descendants. It extended along the eastern border of the Arabah valley, from the Dead Sea to Elat. Edomite history was marked by continuous hostility and warfare with Jews, Assyrians, and Syrians. At the end of the second century b.c., they were subdued by Hasmonaean priest-king John Hyrcanus I, forcibly circumcised, and merged with the Jews. Herod the Great was Idumaean. The Romans grouped Idumaea with Judaea and Samaria in one procuratorship. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Idumaea was included in Arabia Petraea. Felix, Antonius fl. a.d. 60, Roman procurator of Judaea, Samaria, Galilee, and Peraea (a.d. c.52-a.d. 60), a freedman of Claudius I. He was judge of the apostle Paul. He married Drusilla, a Herodian princess. He was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and when recalled to Rome, he escaped being sentenced to death by Nero only through the intercession of his brother, Pallas. His oppressive rule caused deep resentment among the Jews and strengthened the anti-Roman party. Peraea in Roman times, the area E of the Jordan River, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and S of the Decapolis. Decapolis [Gr.,=ten cities], confederacy of 10 ancient cities, all E of the Jordan, except Scythopolis. The others were (according to Pliny) Dion, Pella, Gadara, Hippos, Gerasa, Philadelphia, Damascus, Raphana, and Kanatha. The league was constituted after Pompey's campaign (65 b.c.-62 b.c.) as a protection against the Jews and the Arabian tribes and as a customs union. The Roman governor of Syria exercised general supervision of its affairs, and the cities belonging to the league were liable to Roman military service and taxation. Samaria ancient city, central Palestine, on a hill NW of Nablus (Shechem). The site is now occupied by a village, Sabastiyah (West Bank). Samaria (named for Shemer, who owned the land) was built by King Omri as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in the early 9th cent. b.c. The scene of the wickedness of Omri's son Ahab and Ahab's wife Jezebel, Samaria was considered a place of iniquity by the Hebrew prophets. In the expansion of Assyria, Samaria fell in 721 b.c. to Sargon. The native population was deported, others were settled in its place, and the city was made the capital of an Assyrian province. (1 Kings 16.23-33; 20.1-21; 2 Kings 6.24-33; 10.17- 28; 13.9-13; 17). It was destroyed in 120 b.c. by John Hyrcanus and was rebuilt by Herod the Great, who called it Sebaste in honor of Emperor Augustus [Gr.,=Sebastos]. There Philip the Evangelist (see Philip, Saint) preached and the incident of Simon Magus occurred (Acts 8.5-24). According to tradition St. John the Baptist is buried there. Remains of a church of the Crusaders are in the city. Excavations (1908-10, 1931-35) uncovered fortifications and the palace of Omri, as well as ostraca, or potsherds, and ivories probably made by Phoenician artists. There are also extensive Roman remains. The city has given its name to the Samaritans, of whom a small remnant still live at Nablus and Jaffa, Israel. The Samaritans are the descendants of non-Jewish colonists from Babylonia, Syria, and elsewhere who were settled in Samaria when the Israelites were deported (722 b.c.) In the Bible the Samaritans recognize only the Pentateuch and are even more scrupulous about observing its ordinances than are Orthodox Jews. They worship on Mt. Gerizim, where they had a temple in ancient times. The continual hatred between Jew and Samaritan apparently governed the choice of characters in the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10.30-37). The Samaritan language is a variety of Palestinian Aramaic (a Semitic language). The Samaritan manuscripts, although pre-Masoretic (see Masora) are not believed to be ancient, but they supply some useful variants of biblical passages. See J. W. Crowfoot, et al., The Buildings of Samaria (1942) and The Objects from Samaria (1958); André Parrot, Samaria (tr. 1958). Cuth ancient city of Mesopotamia, near Babylon. The inhabitants, when settled in Samaria, introduced the worship of Nergal. In later times the Jews called the Samarians Cuthites (2 Kings 17.24, 30). Galilee region, N Israel, roughly the portion north of the plain of Esdraelon. Galilee was the chief scene of the ministry of Jesus Christ. The Sea of Galilee, the countryside, and the towns— Cana, Capernaum, Tiberias, Nazareth—are repeatedly referred to in the Gospels. Jesus himself was called the Galilean, and his disciples were chosen from the local fishermen. After the destruction of Jerusalem (a.d. 70), Galilee became the main center of Judaism in Palestine. Zionist colonization of the region began at the end of the 19th cent. The Beit Natufa Dam there is part of the national water carrier system, of which the main reservoir is the Sea of Galilee. Galilee is divided into Upper and Lower sections. The major towns in Upper Galilee are Zefat and Tiberias; Nazareth is the largest town in Lower Galilee. Jews, Arabs, and Druze compose the bulk of the population. Most of the towns of the region are industrialized, and the fertile agricultural areas produce an abundance of olives and grain. Judaea [Lat. from Judah], region, Greco-Roman name for S Palestine. It varied in size in different periods. In the time of Christ it was both part of the province of Syria and a kingdom ruled by the Herods. It was the southernmost of the Roman divisions of Palestine, the others being Galilee, Samaria, and Peraea. Idumaea was S of Judaea. A strip of Samaria lay between Judaea and the Mediterranean. The former region of Judaea was occupied by Israel after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war (see West Bank). Judah, kingdom the southern of the two kingdoms remaining after the division of the kingdom of the Jews that occurred under Rehoboam. The northern kingdom, Israel, was continually at war with Judah. In the Bible the southern kingdom is regarded as usually more loyal to God than the northern kingdom was. Judah's capital was Jerusalem, and its dynasty was the house of David. It lasted from 931 b.c. to 586 b.c. Jews [from Judah], traditionally, descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, whose tribe, with that of his half brother Benjamin, made up the kingdom of Judah; historically, members of the worldwide community of adherents to Judaism. The degree to which national and religious elements of Jewish culture interact has varied throughout history and has been a matter of considerable debate. There were approximately 17.8 million Jews in the world in 1990, with 8 million in the Americas (of which about 5.7 million were in the United States), 3.5 million in Israel, and 3.5 million in Europe. Rehoboam in the Bible, last king of the United Monarchy, first king of Judah, son of Solomon. Under him the northern tribes broke away from the rule of Jerusalem and set up a separate kingdom (called Israel) with Jeroboam I as their king. Rehoboam's foolish insolence to the protesting tribesmen is celebrated. In Rehoboam's reign Palestine was invaded by Sheshonk I of Egypt. It is also spelled Roboam. Solomon d. c.930 b.c., king of the ancient Hebrews (c.970-c.930 b.c.), son and successor of David. His mother was Bath-sheba. His accession probably took place c.970 b.c., when he was still quite young. Solomon's reign was marked by foreign alliances (notably with Egypt and Phoenicia) and the greatest extension of Israel's territory in biblical times. He built numerous cities, constructed copper smelting furnaces in the Negev, and had the first temple built at Jerusalem. However, his despotism resulted in the alienation of N Israel and the revolt of Jeroboam I. Solomon's wisdom is proverbial. The biblical account of Solomon derives from the „Succession Narrative” in Second Samuel and First and Second Kings; Temple archives; and various folk-tales. The Song of Solomon bears his name. The Psalms of Solomon (1st cent. b.c.) and the Odes of Solomon (early 2d cent. a.d.) are found in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were ascribed to him, as was Wisdom of Solomon, a book of the Old Testament Apocrypha. Solomon's original name was Jedidiah. End<{{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no automatic endorsement + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. 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