Negev Desert
The Negev desert is located in modern day Israel, expanding for over 4600 square miles in the small country. The broad expanse of desert is a vitally important part of the Israeli landscape, stretching over approximately 60 % of the country's landmass. It also plays a role in the religious development of the area, as both the Christian faiths and Judaism assert that the Negev desert was the site where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob tended their herds. According to the source, the name of the Negev Desert derives from either the Hebrew word for "dry" or "south" . While the origin of the name is contentious, both possible definitions seem plausible.
Geography
The Negev Desert is roughly trianglular in shape, with the city of Beer Sheva at its northen tip and the resort town of Eilat at the southern end. The landscape of the desert is distinguished by a large amount of erosion landforms, most notably canyons and deep valleys. An important and prominent geographic feature of the Negev desert is the deep cut in the landscape called Zin. Most of the deep canyons in the Negev Valley drain towards the Syro-African Rift Valley, the lowest place on earth.
The broad and sandy expanse of land that is the Negev Desert is classified as an arid and semi-arid climate, depending on the exact location within the desert. It annually recieves very little rainfall, only 2-6 inches annually. The variance in classification occurs as a result of the variance within the desert itself. There are five different ecological regions within the desert: Northern, Western and Central Negev, the High Plateau and the Arava Valley. The ecological zones vary in regards to rainfall, with The Northern Negev recieving the most annual precipitation at 300 mm and the Arava Valley recieving the least amount of rain a year at 100mm. The ecosystems also differ in regards to terrain and landscape, with some like the Western Negev boasting the sand dunes that are the traditional image of deserts. Another important ecosystem, High Plateau, is noted for its singular plateaus that can reach up to 520 meters above sea level.
Overall, the soil of the Negev desert is rocky and not condusive to agiculture. The landscape is also frequently interrupted by rocky and sutry montains that rise unexpectadly out of the flat terrain. In an interesting archaeological development, recent research has revealed marine shells in the sands of the Negev Desert. Archaeologists are currently using the fossils to support the idea that the Negev was once part of the sea floor. Using this theory, the surface of the Negev Desert only became visible as the sea receded.
History
Nomadic life in the Negev dates back 4000 years and the first urbanized settlements were established by a combination of Canaanite, Amalkite, and Edomite groups circa 2000 B.C.E.[1] Pharaonic Egypt is credited with introducing copper mining and smelting in both the Negev and the Sinai between 1400 and 1300 B.C.E.[1] [2]
In the 9th century B.C.E., development and expansion of mining in both the Negev and Edom (modern Jordan) coincided with the rise of the Assyrian Empire.[3]Bir es-Saba was the region's capital and a center for trade in the 8th century B.C.E.[3] Small settlements of Jews in the areas around the capital and later further afield were existent between 1020 and 928 B.C.E.[3]
The 4th century B.C.E. arrival of the Nabateans resulted in the development of irrigation systems that supported at least five new urban centers: Oboda, Mamphis, Sobata, Elusa, and Nessana.[3] The Nabateans controlled the trade and spice route between their capital Petra and the Gazan seaports. Nabatean currency, as well as the remains of red and orange potsherds identified as a trademark of their civilization have been found along the route, remnants of which are also still visible.[3]
Nabatean control of southern Palestine ended when the Roman empire annexed their lands in 106 C.E.[3] The population, largely made up of Arabian nomads and Nabateans, remained largely tribal and independent of Roman rule, with an animist belief system.[3]
Byzantine rule in the 4th century AD introduced Christianity to the population.[3] Agricultural-based cities were established and the population grew exponentially.[3]
The arrival of Muslim forces in the 7th century AD was accepted with relative ease by the population, due to their shared Arab background, and Islam was easily adopted by most as well.[3] Upon Islamic conquest, permanent agricultural sites were established and the Ummayads built hundred of farms and systematic terracing of wadis. The efforts, in part were made to settle the semi-nomadic Arab tribes of the area.[4]
Nomadic tribes ruled the Negev largely independently and without interference for the next thousand years.[3] What is known of this time is largely derived from oral histories and folk tales of tribes from the Wadi Musa and Petra areas in present-day Jordan[5] Late in the rule of the Ottoman empire, an administrative center for southern Palestine was established in Bir es-Saba and schools and a railway station were built.[5] The authority of the tribal chiefs over the region was recognized by the Ottomans.[5]
Today
Today, the Negev is home to some 379,000 Jews and some 175,000 Bedouins. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. around 200,000), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Eilat and the resort city of Eilat. Other towns include Dimona, Arad, Mitzpe Ramon as well as a number of small Bedouin towns, including Rahat and Tel Sheva. There are also several kibbutz settlements, including Revivim and Sde Boker; the latter became the home of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, after his retirement from politics.
The desert is home to the Ben-Gurion University, whose faculties include the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research and the Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, both located on the Midreshet Ben-Gurion campus next to Sde Boker.
People and Culture
The Negev bedouins are nomadic tribes who have discontinuously inhabited the desert for more than 7,000 years. Although unaffected by external influences throughout history, the tribal culture and way of life has changed dramatically recently.[6]
The bedouins of the Negev survive on sheep and goat husbandry. Scarcity of water and of permanent pastoral land requires them to move constantly. The bedouins have established very few permanent settlements.[7]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mariam Shahin. Palestine: A Guide. (2005) Interlink Books. ISBN:156656557
- ↑ Juan Manuel Tebes. (2007) Centro y periferia en el mundo antiguo. El Negev y sus interacciones con Egipto, Asiria, y el Levante en la Edad del Hierro (1200-586 a.C.) CEHAO Monograph Series Vol. 1 Free access
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Mariam Shahin. Palestine:A Guide. (2005) Interlink Books. ISBN:156656557
- ↑ Robert Schick (6 1998). Archaeological Sources for the History of Palestine: Palestine in the Early Islamic Period: Luxuriant Legacy. Near Eastern Archaeology 61 (2): 74-1008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mariam Shahin. Palestine:A Guide. (2005) Interlink Books. ISBN:156656557
- ↑ Kurt Goering (Autumn, 1979). Israel and the Bedouin of the Negev. Journal of Palestine Studies 9 (1): 3-20.
- ↑ Israel Finkelstein; Avi Perevolotsky (Aug., 1990). Processes of Sedentarization and Nomadization in the History of Sinai and the Negev. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (279): 67-88.
Resources
- Evenari, Michael, Leslie Shanan, and Naphtali Tadmor. 1971. The Negev; the challenge of a desert. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674606708
- Negev, Avraham. 1977. Archaeology in the land of the Bible. New York: Schocken Books. ISBN 9780805236590
- Meir, Avinoam. 1996. As nomadism ends the Israeli bedouin of the Negev. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press. ISBN 9780813389592
External links
- Tourism in the Negev Desert Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- Israel's Negev Desert Retrieved December 18, 2007.
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