1884 Perron map NAZARETH & MOUNT TABOR, PALESTINE (#147) |
Nice small map titled Nazareth et le mont Tabor, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring. Overall size approx. 16 x 13.5 cm, image size approx. 10.5 x 6.5 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol. (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
Nazareth
Arabic an-Nāṣira , Hebrew Naẕerat
historic city of Lower Galilee, in northern Israel; it is the largest Arab city
of the country. In the New Testament Nazareth is associated with Jesus as his
boyhood home, and in its synagogue he preached the sermon that led to his
rejection by his fellow townsmen. The city is now a centre of Christian
pilgrimage.
The etymology of the city's name is uncertain; it is not mentioned in the Old
Testament or rabbinic literature; the first reference is in the New Testament
(John 1). The contempt in which this then insignificant village was held is
expressed in the same chapter (“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”). From
there, Jesus went to perform his first miracle, that of the changing of water to
wine at Cana (John 2). Nazareth had a Jewish population in Jesus' time; its
Christian holy places are first mentioned after Christianity became the state
religion of the Roman Empire (313 CE). The only site in Nazareth that can be
definitely identified as dating back to New Testament times is the town well,
now called St. Mary's Well; others are in dispute between the various churches.
During the Crusades, Nazareth was fought over bitterly; when the Norman-Sicilian
crusader Tancred captured Galilee (1099), he set himself up as prince of
Galilee, with his capital at Nazareth. After the crusaders' final expulsion from
Palestine (1291), Christian influence waned, and when the Ottoman Turks took
Palestine (early 16th century), they expelled all Christians from the city. Only
under Fakhr ad-Dīn II, emir of Lebanon (reigned 1590–1635), were Christians
permitted to return to Nazareth; Christian Arabs now form about a third of the
population.
Nazareth's chief attractions are its many churches. Of these, the Roman Catholic
Church of the Annunciation (completed 1966, on the site of a previous church of
1730 and a crusader foundation) is perhaps the best known. In it is the Grotto
of the Annunciation, where, according to the New Testament, the archangel
Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and announced that she was to be the mother
of Jesus (Luke 1:26–31). The grotto has part of a mosaic floor dating back to
the 5th–6th century. The Church of the Annunciation is the largest Christian
house of worship in the Middle East. Other important churches include Gabriel's
Church, held by Greek Catholics to be the site of the Annunciation; the
Synagogue-Church, on the traditional site of the synagogue where Jesus preached
(Luke 4); the Church of Joseph, on the reputed site of Joseph's carpentry shop;
the Mensa Christi (“Table of Christ”) Church, where tradition holds that Jesus
dined with the Apostles after his Resurrection; and the Basilica of Jesus the
Adolescent, on a hill overlooking the city. Several of the churches have
attached museums with holy relics.
Modern Nazareth is a regional market and trade centre for the Arabs of Galilee;
tourism and light manufacturing are also important. Many workers commute to
industrial jobs in the Haifa Bay area and to agricultural and construction work
in the Jewish settlements of the Plain of Esdraelon.
Beginning in 1957, the Jewish suburb called Naẕerat ʿIllit (“Upper Naẕareth”)
was built on the hills to the east of the city. It has auto-assembly,
food-processing, and textile plants; some of Nazareth's Arabs work there. It
also is the administrative seat of Israel's Northern district. Pop. (2010 est.)
73,000.
Mount Tabor
Hebrew Har Tavor, Arabic Jabal Aṭ-ṭur,
historic elevation of northern Israel, in Lower Galilee near the edge of the
Plain of Esdraelon (ʿEmeq Yizreʿel). Though comparatively low (1,929 feet [588
m]), it dominates the level landscape around it, leading to the biblical
expression “like Tabor among the mountains” (Jeremiah 46:18). It is first
mentioned in the 13th century BC in Egyptian inscriptions of the pharaoh Ramses
II. Its chief Old Testament association is as the site of the triumph of the
Israelite general Barak over the Canaanite leader Sisera (c. 11th century BC),
under the inspiration of the judge and prophetess Deborah (Judges 4). Although
it is not named in the New Testament, Mount Tabor is the traditional site of the
Transfiguration of Jesus. The first churches on the mountain were built in the
4th century AD. At the summit of the mountain there are a Franciscan church and
hospice and a Greek Orthodox church. From atop the summit, there is a panoramic
view of Upper Galilee. Ruins of crusader fortifications are numerous. The
mountain has fine woodlands and attracts many hikers.