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Judaean Mountains

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TheJudaean Mountains,orJudaean Hills(Hebrew:הרי יהודה,romanized:Harei Yehuda) or theHebron Mountains(Arabic:تلال الخليل,romanized:Tilal al-Khalīl,lit. 'Al-KhalilMountains'), are amountain rangeinIsraeland theWest BankwhereJerusalem,Hebronand several other biblical cities are located. The mountains reach a height of 1,026 metres (3,366 ft).[1]The Judean Mountains can be divided into a number of sub-regions, including theMount Hebronridge, the Jerusalem ridge and the Judean slopes.

Judaean Mountains
Harei Yehuda/Jibal Al Khalil
View of the Judaean Mountains near Jerusalem
Highest point
PeakMount Halhul
Elevation1,026 m (3,366 ft)[1]
Coordinates31°40′N35°10′E/ 31.667°N 35.167°E/31.667; 35.167[2]
Geography
Judaean Mountains is located in Israel
Judaean Mountains
Location
Parent rangeGreat Rift Valley
Geology
Age of rockLate Cretaceous
Type of rockTerra rossa,limestone
Climbing
Easiest routeRoad of the Patriarchs(the ridge route)

The Judaean Mountains formed the heartland of theKingdom of Judah(930–586 BCE), where the earliest Jewish settlements emerged, and from which Jews are originally descended.[3][4][5]

Geography

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The Judaean mountains are part of a more extended range that runs in a north-south direction. The ridge consists of theSamarian Hillsin its northern part, and of the Judaean mountains in its southern part, the two segments meeting at the latitude ofRamallah.The westward descent from the hard limestone country of the Judaean mountains towards thecoastal plainis by way of a longitudinal trough of fosse cut through chalk, followed by the low, rolling soft limestone hills of theShephelah,while eastwards the landscape falls steeply towards theJordan Rift Valley.The southern end of the mountain range is atBeersheba[6][7][8]in the northern part of theNegev,where the mountains slope down into the Beersheba-Aradvalley.[citation needed]The average height of the Judaean mountains is of 900 metres (2,953 ft), and they encompass the cities of Ramallah,Jerusalem,BethlehemandHebron.[citation needed]The northern section of the Judaean mountains is referred to as Jerusalem Hills, and the southern one asHebron Hills.[citation needed]

The Judaean Mountains were heavily forested in antiquity. The range is mostly composed ofterra rossa soilsover hardlimestones.[1][9]

Geology and palaeontology

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The Judaean Mountains are the surface expression of a series ofmonoclinicfoldswhich trend north-northwest through Israel. The folding is the central expression of theSyrian Arcbelt ofanticlinalfolding that began in theLate CretaceousPeriod in northeast Africa and southwest Asia. The Syrian Arc extends east-northeast across theSinai,turns north-northeast through Israel and continues the east-northeast trend into Syria. The Israeli segment parallels theDead Sea Transformwhich lies just to the east.[10][11]Theupliftevents that created the mountain occurred in two phases one in theLate Eocene-Early Oligoceneand second in theEarly Miocene.[12]

Inprehistorictimes, animals no longer found elsewhere in theLevantregion were found here, includingelephants,rhinoceroses,giraffesandwild Asian water buffalo.[13]

The range haskarst topographyincluding astalactitecaveinNahal Sorek National ParkbetweenJerusalemandBeit Shemeshand the area surroundingOfra,where fossils of prehistoric flora and fauna were found.

In the Hebrew Bible

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According to theHebrew Bible,the Judaean mountains were the allotment of theTribe of Judahand the heartland of the formerKingdom of Judah.[14][15]

Transportation

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The main freeway betweenTel AvivandJerusalem,which further extends to theJordan Valleyas a regular road.Highway 1,passes through the Judaean Mountains, betweenBeit ShemeshandJerusalem.

AnIsrael Railwaysline,Jaffa-Jerusalem railway,runs from Beit Shemesh along theBrook of SorekandValley of Rephaimto theJerusalem Malha Train Station.The line has since been largely replaced by theTel Aviv-Jerusalem railway,which utilizes tunnels and bridges through the Judaean Mountains, runs up to 160 km/h (99 mph) betweenBen Gurion AirportandJerusalem-Yitzhak Navon railway station.

Winemaking

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The Judaean Mountains have been associated withwinemakingfor thousands of years, as evidenced by the abundance of ancientwinepresses,references toviticulturein ancient texts like theHebrew Bible,and archaeological findings such as theArad ostraca,written byJudahitesoldiers in the late 7th century BCE.[16][17]Nevertheless, with theMuslim conquest of the Levantin the 7th century, and particularly during the laterMamlukrule in the Middle Ages, a significant decline in winemaking activities occurred, ultimately leading to acomplete prohibition of winemaking.[18]In the 1980s, the Judaean Mountains witnessed a notable resurgence in winemaking, driven byIsraeli entrepreneurs.Today, the area is renowned for itsboutiquewineries.This region's combination ofMediterranean microclimates,terra rossa clay soil,and high-altitude vineyards has also propelled it into the spotlight as a burgeoning center for quality wine production. In recent decades, wines originating from this area have garnered international recognition.[16]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abcPeter N. Peregrine,Melvin Ember,ed. (2003-03-31).Encyclopedia of Prehistory: South and Southwest Asia.Vol. 8. Springer.ISBN9780306462627.Retrieved2012-02-13.
  2. ^Judaean_Mountains - Mapcarta
  3. ^Brenner, Michael (2010).A short history of the Jews.Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-14351-4.OCLC463855870.
  4. ^Legacy: a Genetic History of the Jewish People.Harry Ostrer. Oxford University Press USA. 2012.ISBN978-1-280-87519-9.OCLC798209542.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^Adams, Hannah (1840).The history of the Jews: from the destruction of Jerusalem to the present time.Sold at the London Society House and by Duncan and Malcom, and Wertheim.OCLC894671497.
  6. ^Palestine: Land,Encyclopaedia Britannica
  7. ^Stone, Lawson G. (2016). Philip W. Comfort (ed.).Judges (Judges 13:1-25).Vol. 3. Tyndale House. pp. 381–382.ISBN9781414398792.Retrieved11 December2019.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  8. ^Jerusalem Hills - Mapcarta
  9. ^Arieh Singer (2007).The Soils of Israel.Springer. pp. 129, 143.
  10. ^Abd El-Motaal, Essam; Kusky, Timothy M. (2003).Tectonic Evolution of the Intraplate S-Shaped Syrian Arc Fold-Thrust Belt of the Middle East Region in the Context of Plate Tectonics(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2016-03-03.Retrieved2012-02-23.{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help)
  11. ^Flexer A. (1989). "Late Cretaceous evolution of the Judean Mountains as indicated by ostracodes".Terra Nova.1(4): 349–358.Bibcode:1989TeNov...1..349F.doi:10.1111/j.1365-3121.1989.tb00385.x.
  12. ^Bar, Oded; Zilberman, Ezra; Feinstein, Shimon; Calvo, Ran; Gvirtzman, Zohan (2016). "The uplift history of the Arabian Plateau as inferred from geomorphologic analysis of its northwestern edge".Tectonophysics.671:9–23.Bibcode:2016Tectp.671....9B.doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2016.01.004.
  13. ^"History of Jerusalem from Its Beginning to David".Biu.ac.il. 1997-03-06.Retrieved2012-02-13.
  14. ^"Cambridge History of Judaism".Cambridge.org. p. 210.Retrieved16 August2011."In both the Idumaean and the Ituraean alliances, and in the annexation of Samaria, the Judaeans had taken the leading role. They retained it. The whole political–military–religious league that now united the hill country of Palestine from Dan to Beersheba, whatever it called itself, was directed by, and soon came to be called by others, 'the Ioudaioi'"
  15. ^A History of the Jewish People, edited by Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson, page 226,"The name Judea no longer referred only to...."
  16. ^abTodd, Cathrine (2019-04-17)."The Raw Beauty Of The Wines From The Judean Hills".Forbes.Retrieved2023-09-02.
  17. ^Faigenbaum-Golovin, Shira; Mendel-Geberovich, Anat; Shaus, Arie; Sober, Barak; Cordonsky, Michael; Levin, David; Moinester, Murray; Sass, Benjamin; Turkel, Eli; Piasetzky, Eli; Finkelstein, Israel (2017-06-14)."Multispectral imaging reveals biblical-period inscription unnoticed for half a century".PLOS ONE.12(6): e0178400.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178400.ISSN1932-6203.PMC5470672.PMID28614416.
  18. ^Sivan, Aviad; Rahimi, Oshrit; Lavi, Bar; Salmon-Divon, Mali; Weiss, Ehud; Drori, Elyashiv; Hübner, Sariel (2021)."Genomic evidence supports an independent history of Levantine and Eurasian grapevines".Plants, People, Planet.3(4): 414–427.doi:10.1002/ppp3.10197.ISSN2572-2611.
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