Lokacin farko da aka rubuta sunan Filastin, a ƙarshen zamanin Tagulla kimanin shekaru 3200 da suka wuce, sunan (Girkanci: Παλαιστίνη; Larabci: فلسطين, Filastin), shi ne sunan da aka saba amfani da shi tsakanin shekara 450 kafin haihuwar Annabi Isa da shekara 1948 bayan haihuwarsa don bayyana yankin ƙasa tsakanin Tekun Bahar Rum da Kogin Urdun da wasu ƙasashe makwabta. Wannan aikin yana binciken yadda ra'ayin ya sauya, tarihi, asali, harsuna da al'adun Filastin tun daga ƙarshen zamanin Tagulla zuwa zamanin yau. Haka kuma, ana koyar da tarihin Filastin a Yamma sau da yawa a matsayin tarihin wata ƙasa, ba a matsayin tarihin Falasɗinawa ko tarihin wata al'umma ba. Wannan littafi yana ƙalubalantar hanyar mulkin mallaka game da Filastin da kuma tatsuniyar cutarwa ta ƙasar da babu mutane a cikinta (Masalha 1992, 1997), kuma yana jayayya da karanta tarihin Filastin da idanun 'yan asalin Filastin.

First documented in the late Bronze Age, about 3200 years ago, the name Palestine (Greek: Παλαιστίνη; Arabic: فلسطين , Filastin), is the conventional name used between 450 BC and 1948 AD to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and various adjoining lands. This work explores the evolution of the concept, histories, identity, languages and cultures of Palestine from the Late Bronze Age to the modern era. Moreover, Palestine history is often taught in the West as a history of a land, not as Palestinian history or a history of a people. This book challenges colonial approach to Palestine and the pernicious myth of a land without a people (Masalha 1992, 1997) and argues for reading the history of Palestine with the eyes of the indigenous people of Palestine.

Falasdinawa su ne mutanen asali na Falasdinu; tushensu na gida yana zurarre sosai a cikin ƙasar Falasdinu, kuma asalinsu da gadon tarihinsu sun riga sun wanzu kafin bayyanar wani sabon motsin ƙasa na Falasdinawa a ƙarshen zamanin Daular Usmaniyya, da kuma zuwan mulkin mallakar mazauna na Sahyoniyya kafin Yaƙin Duniya na Farko.

The Palestinians are the indigenous people of Palestine; their local roots are deeply embedded in the soil of Palestine and their autochthonous identity and historical heritage long preceded the emergence of a local Palestinian nascent national movement in the late Ottoman period and the advent of Zionist settler-colonialism before the First World War.

Friedrich Nietzsche ya yi jayayyar cewa tarihi koyaushe ana rubuta shi ne daga wani hangen nesa na musamman, kuma abin da ya gabata yana bayyana daban daga hangen nesa daban-daban, duk da cewa wasu hangen nesa sun fi gaskiya bisa hujja ko kuma sun fi karkatar da gaskiya fiye da wasu. Wannan aiki ba an yi shi ne don ƙirƙirar babban labari ko babban tsari na tarihin Falasɗinu ba, a matsayin hanyar kwaikwayon ko madubin tatsuniyoyin asali na Sihiyoniyanci. Duk da haka, la'akari da hangen nesa madadi da na suka, da neman hujja da shaida ta hakika, su ma suna da muhimmanci a rubuce-rubucen tarihi masu suka. Ta hanyar amfani da fadi-fadi na shaidu, shaida-shaida da majiyoyi na zamani, wannan littafi yana amfani da hanyar hangen nesa mai yawa wajen nazarin tarihin Falasɗinu a tsawon lokaci, yana kuma kiyaye a kullum hakikanin ƙasar da mutanenta na asali. Har ila yau, yana bayar da hujjar cewa juyin halittar layi-layi da yawa na ra'ayin gogewar Falasɗinu, tare da juye-juyen da ba a yi tsammani ba a tsawon lokaci da wuri, ya ta'allaka ne kan ra'ayoyin gabaɗaya da na zahiri waɗanda ke wakiltar halayen tarihi da na asali da kuma gogewar rayuwa ta Falasɗinu da mutanenta na asali.

Friedrich Nietzsche argued that history is always written from and with a particular perspective and the past looks different from different perspectives, although some perspectives are empirically more truthful or less distorting than others. This work is not aimed at creating a grand narrative or a metanarrative for Palestine, as a way of mirroring or mimicking the foundational myths of Zionism. However, considering alternative and critical perspectives and looking for proof and empirical evidence are also central to critical historical writing. Using a wide range of contemporary evidence, testimony and sources, this book applies a multiple-perspective approach to the history of Palestine across time, while always keeping in mind the realities of the country and its indigenous people. It further argues that multi-linear evolution of the conceptual experience of Palestine, with its unanticipated twists and turns over time and space, centre on the general and concrete ideas which represent the historical and fundamental characteristics and lived experiences of Palestine and its indigenous people.

Tsarin siyasa da wakilcin ƙasa da ake yi wa Falasɗinu (da kuma tsarin asali na mutanen gida) sun samu tushe sosai a cikin tunanin al'ummar Falasɗinawa da kuma abubuwan da suka faru da su kai tsaye, da kuma tarihin da ya haɗa al'adu daban-daban tun da daɗewa.

The geo-political unit and contextualised representations (and indigenous framing) of Palestine are deeply rooted in the collective consciousness and empirical experiences of the indigenous people of Palestine and the multicultural and shared ancient past.

Sunan Falasɗinu shi ne wanda aka fi amfani da shi tun zamanin Tagulla na Ƙarshe (daga 1300 BC) zuwa gaba. Sunan yana bayyana a tarihohi marasa adadi, a rubuce-rubucen Abbasiyawa daga lardin Jund Filastin (Elad 1992), a shaidun kuɗin tsoffin Musulmai da taswirori (ciki har da 'taswirorin duniya' tun zamanin Tsohon Girka da Roma), da kuma tsabar kuɗin Filisiyawa daga Zamanin Ƙarfe da na zamanin dā, da kuma yawan tsabar kuɗin Umayyawa da Abbasiyawa na Filastin waɗanda ke ɗauke da sunan masana'antar kuɗi ta Filastin. Kamar yadda za mu gani a ƙasa, rubuce-rubucen Genizah na al-Fustat (tsohon Alƙahira) na tsakiyar zamani suma sun ambaci lardin Musulmi Larabawa na Filastin (Gil 1996: 28‒29). Tun daga Zamanin Tagulla na Ƙarshe, sunayen da aka yi amfani da su ga yankin, kamar Djahi, Retenu da Cana'an, duk sun bar wa sunan Falasɗinu hanya.

The name Palestine is the most commonly used from the Late Bronze Age (from 1300 BC) onwards. The name is evident in countless histories, ‘Abbasid inscriptions from the province of Jund Filastin (Elad 1992), Islamic numismatic evidence maps (including ‘world maps’ beginning with Classical Antiquity) and Philistine coins from the Iron Age and Antiquity, vast quantities of Umayyad and Abbasid Palestine coins bearing the mint name of Filastin. As we shall see below, the manuscripts of medieval al-Fustat (old Cairo) Genizah also referred to the Arab Muslim province of Filastin (Gil 1996: 28‒29). From the Late Bronze Age onwards, the names used for the region, such as Djahi, Retenu and Cana’an, all gave way to the name Palestine.

A cikin Zamanin Dā da kuma Zamanin Ƙarshen Dā – wani lokaci da masana tarihi ke amfani da shi wajen bayyana lokacin tsakanin ƙarni na 3 zuwa na 8 bayan haihuwar Annabi Isa, lokacin sauyi daga Zamanin Dā na Girka da Roma zuwa Zamanin Tsakiya a duniyar Bahar Rum, Turai da Gabas ta Kusa – sunan Falasɗinu ya ci gaba da zama wanda aka fi amfani da shi. Haka kuma, a lokacin Romawa, Byzantine da Musulunci, ra'ayi da ƙasar siyasa ta Falasɗinu sun sami matsayin gudanarwa a hukumance. Wannan aikin yana nufin bayyana da yin bayani kan asalin da ci gaban ra'ayin Falasɗinu ta fuskar ƙasa, al'ada, siyasa da gudanarwa. Haka nan yana neman nuna yadda aka fi amfani da sunan 'Falasɗinu' a bisa ƙa'ida da kuma yadda ake amfani da shi a tarihin zamani. Yana kuma bayar da hujjar cewa labarin 'mamayar Isra'ilawa a ƙasar Kan'ana' da sauran manyan labaran Tsohon Alkawari (ko 'Littafi Mai Tsarki na Ibraniyawa') – ɗakin littattafai da aka tara a cikin ƙarnuka da dama – labarai ne na tatsuniya da aka tsara don tabbatar da ƙarya a zukatan mutane, ba tarihi mai tushe a kan shaida ba wanda ke inganta gaskiya da fahimta. Haka kuma yana jayayya cewa ya kamata shirye-shiryen karatun tarihi na jami'o'i da makarantu su dogara ne a kan gaskiyar tarihi da aka duba a yanayinta, shaidu na zahiri, binciken kayan tarihi da na kimiyya, ba a kan ra'ayoyin al'ada ba ko labarun almara na Tsohon Alkawari da akidun addini-siyasa da ake maimaitawa don amfanin masu ƙarfi da iko.

Throughout Classical and Late Antiquity – a term used by historians to describe a period between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD, a transitional period from Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean world, Europe and the Near East – the name Palestine remained the most common. Furthermore, in the course of the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods the conception and political geography of Palestine acquired official administrative status. This work sets out to explain and contextualise the multiple beginnings and evolution of the concept of Palestine, geographically, culturally, politically and administratively. It also seeks to demonstrate how the name ‘Palestine’ was most commonly and formally used in ancient history. It argues that the legend of the ‘Israelites’ conquest of Cana’an’ and other master narratives of the Old Testament (or ‘Hebrew Bible’) – a library of books built up across several centuries – are myth-narratives designed to underpin false consciousness, not evidence-based history which promotes truth and understanding. It further argues that academic and school history curricula should be based on contextualised historical facts, empirical evidence, archaeological and scientific discoveries, not on conventional opinions or the fictional narratives of the Old Testament and religio-political dogmas repeatedly reproduced in the interest of powerful elites.

Masanin tarihi na Ingilishi sananne kuma marubucin zamanin Haskakawa Edward Gibbon, a shekarar 1776, ya lura cewa ‘Phoenicia da Palestine za su rayu har abada a cikin [ƙwaƙwalwar] ɗan adam’. Gibbon ya kuma lura da hikima cewa Romawa, Farisawa da Larabawa sun so Palestine saboda ƙwarewar ƙasarta, da arzikin birane da kyawunsu, da tsabtar iskarta (Gibbon 1838, Juzu’i na 1: 40; 1840, Juzu’i na 5: 173).

The celebrated English historian and Enlightenment author Edward Gibbon, writing in 1776, noted that ‘Phoenicia and Palestine will forever live in the [collective] memory of mankind’. Gibbon also astutely observed that the Romans, Persians and Arabs wanted Palestine for the extraordinary fertility of its soil, the opulence and beauty of its cities and purity of its air (Gibbon 1838, Vol. 1: 40; 1840, Vol. 5: 173).

A yau ana yawan danganta ra'ayin ƙasa da ra'ayin zamani na 'ƙasa-kasa' (nation-state), amma ba koyaushe haka yake ba, kuma ƙasashe sun kasance tun kafin kishin ƙasa ko ƙirƙirar labaran da ke goyon bayan ƙasa-kasa. Fahimtar Falasdinu a matsayin yanki na siyasa da ƙasa (a Larabci: bilad ko qutr), wanda iyakokinsa ke canzawa, ta samu ci gaba a tarihi kuma tana ci gaba da yin hakan. Asali da al'adun Falasdinu halittu ne masu rai: suna canzawa, suna tasowa, suna girma. Wannan aiki yana binciken yadda Falasdinu ke bayyana a tsawon lokaci a matsayin haɗakar abin da ake gani da tunani da kuma gaskiyar rayuwar ƙasar. Ra'ayin Falasdinu da ke canzawa an tsara shi anan cikin manyan zato guda biyar, waɗanda kuma suka ta'allaka kan ka'idojin ikon ɗan adam, mahalli da kuma abubuwan da mutane suka fuskanta a rayuwa.

Today the idea of a country is often conflated with the modern concept of ‘nation-state’, but this was not always the case and countries existed long before nationalism or the creation of metanarratives for the nation-state. The conception of Palestine as a geo-political unit and a country (Arabic: bilad or qutr), with evolving boundaries, has developed historically and continues to do so. The identity and cultures of Palestine are living organisms: they change, evolve and develop. This work explores the representation of Palestine over time as a mixture of the perceived and conceived and the lived realities of the country. The evolving idea of Palestine is framed here within five basic assumptions which also centre on the principles of human agency, context and lived experiences:

• Filastin ita ce ƙasa (bilad) ta mutum ɗaya da ta jama'a – a zamani kuwa: watan, ko mawtin ('ƙasar haihuwa') – ta al'ummar Filasɗinawa: mutanen asali na Filastin ta tarihi (Filastin al-Tarikhiyyah) da baƙin da suka zama 'yan asali a Filastin. Al'ummar Filasɗinawa (ɗaiɗaiku da gaba ɗaya) suna da gādo na addinai da al'adu daban-daban, da kuma asali mai zurfi da ya samo tushe tun zamanin dā (Farsoun 1997).

• Palestine is the individual and collective bilad (country) – in modern terms: watan, or mawtin (‘homeland’) – of the Palestinian people: the indigenous people of historic Palestine (Filastin al-Tarikhiyyah) and the indigenised immigrants in Palestine. The Palestinian people (individually and collectively) have a multifaith and multicultural heritage and a multi-layered identity deeply rooted in the ancient past (Farsoun 1997).

Tarihin Falasdinu gida ne mai ɗakuna da yawa – don maimaita furucin da marigayi masanin tarihin Lebanon, Kamal Salibi, ya fara amfani da shi game da tarihin zamani na Lebanon. Ƙabilanci na al'adu na Falasdinu da kuma ainihin ɗabi'ar Falasdinawa mai matakai da yawa (a matsayin mutane ɗaiɗai da kuma a matsayin al'umma) dole ne a sanya su cikin yanayin zamantakewa, al'adu da siyasa da ke canjawa da kuma ainihin yanayin tarihi da suke ciki.

• Palestinian history is a house of many mansions – to echo an expression coined by the late Lebanese historian Kamal Salibi in connection with the modern history of Lebanon. The cultural pluralism of Palestine and the multi-tier identity of the Palestinians (as individual and collective agencies) must be situated within their evolving social, cultural and political context and actual historical circumstances.

• Girman al'adu da yawan al'adu na Falasɗinawa da kuma tsarin siyasa mai bambance-bambance na Falasɗin an kafa su ne a kan tarihi mai rai da abubuwan da suka faru a rayuwa ta 'yan asalin Falasɗin da kuma baƙin da suka zama Falasɗinawa a ƙasar.

• The multicultural dimensions of Palestianness and the textured polity of Palestine are grounded here in the living history and living experiences of the indigenous people of Palestine and the Palestinised immigrants in the country.

• Abin sha'awa musamman a nan shi ne tsarin birane, da bullowar birane-jihohi na farko, da samuwar jihohi a Falasdinu. Sabanin ikirari game da gabobin jiha na kabilanci a Gabas ta Tsakiyar Larabawa, wannan littafi ya yi nazarin cewa samuwar jiha ta farko a Falasdinu da yankin Gabas ta Kusa baki ɗaya ta kasance sakamakon tsarin birane. Waɗannan tsare-tsare sun fara ne a Zamanin Tagulla na Farko kusan shekara 3200 K.Z., kuma suna da alaƙa da bullowar manyan cibiyoyin birane a Falasdinu – wurare na zamantakewar birane masu matakai-matakai idan aka kwatanta da wuraren Zamanin Chalcolithic (4000‒3200 K.Z.) da suka fi ƙanƙanta kuma masu daidaito a ƙasar. A lokacin birninta na Zamanin Tagulla na Farko, manyan cibiyoyin birane a ƙasar, kowannensu girmansa kusan dunam 100‒400, sun kasance tare da bayyanar haruffan Semitic, al'umma mai matakai-matakai, gine-ginen jama'a, fadoji, haikali, hasumiyai da tsarin katanga. Wasu daga cikin cibiyoyin birane da suka bulla a Falasdinu na Zamanin Tagulla na Farko sun haɗa da Jericho, Gaza, Tell al-Ajjul, Tell al-Sakan, Tell al-Tell, Jerusalem, Tell Dothan, Tell Taannek da Tell al-Mutasallim – na ƙarshen shi ne wurin binciken kayan tarihi na birni-jiha mai ƙarfi na Megiddo wanda ya bulla a lokacin Zamanin Tagulla (Taha 2017: 6‒11; De Vaux 1966). Littafin zai kuma binciki mu'amalar biranen Falasdinu a tsawon tarihi da rayuwar karkara da ke kewaye da su da kuma yanayin yankin baki ɗaya. A wannan fanni, abubuwa uku da Henri Lefebvre ya gabatar na samar da zamantakewar wuraren birane – abubuwan da ake gani, abubuwan da ake tunani, da abubuwan da ake rayuwa (Lefebvre 2011) – suna da muhimmanci ga yadda Falasdinu ta birane masu al'adu daban-daban – Caesarea-Palaestina (wadda aka fi sani da Caesarea Maritima; a Larabci: Qaysariah), Gaza (Ghazzah)

• Of particular interest here are the urbanisation processes, the emergence of early city city-states and state formation in Palestine. Contrary to the claims about the tribal organs of the state in the Arab Middle East, this book argues that early state formation in Palestine and the wider Near East was a product of urbanisation processes. These processes began in the Early Bronze Age at around 3200 BC and were associated with the emergence of great urban centres in Palestine – stratified urban social spaces in comparison with the somewhat smaller and more egalitarian Chalcolithic localities in the country (4000‒3200 BC). In the course of the Early Bronze Age urbanisation in the great urban centres in the country, each about 100‒400 dunums in size, was accompanied with the appearance of the Semitic alphabet, stratified society, public buildings, palaces, temples, towers and fortification systems. Some of urban centres which emerged in Early Bronze Age Palestine were represented in Jericho, Gaza, Tell al-Ajjul, Tell al-Sakan, Tell al-Tell, Jerusalem, Tell Dothan, Tell Taannek and Tell al-Mutasallim – the latter being the archaeological site of the powerful city-state of Megiddo which emerged during the Bronze Age (Taha 2017: 6‒11; De Vaux 1966). The work will also explore the interaction of Palestinian cities across history with their surrounding rural life and the wider regional context. In this respect, Henri Lefebvre’s three constituents of the social production of urban spaces – perceived, conceived and lived experiences (Lefebvre 2011) – are relevant to the way multicultural urban Palestine – Caesarea-Palaestina (also known as Caesarea Maritima; Arabic: Qaysariah), Gaza (Ghazzah)

Asqalan (Ascalon), Nablus, Ar-Ramla, Bait al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), Akka (Acre; a Larabci Akka, a Girkanci kuma Ptolemais), Nazarat (Nazareth), Yafa (Jaffa), Tabariya (Tiberias), Baisan (Beisan), Safad – duk sun bunkasa a tarihi. Tsarin birane da tsara garuruwa na Girka, Roma da Byzantine an ci gaba da kiyaye su a karkashin Musulunci a zamanin tsakiya, kuma wannan tsarin tsara gari har yanzu ana iya gani a yau a tsohon birnin Bait al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) na Larabawa-Musulunci na zamanin tsakiya, birnin da tsarin garinsa da gine-ginensa suna cikin mafi kyawun garuruwan zamanin tsakiya da suka rage a duniya.

Ascalon (‘Asqalan), Nablus, al-Ramla, Jerusalem, Acre (Arabic Akka; Greek: Ptolemais) Nazareth, Jaffa, Tiberias, Beisan, Safad – evolved historically. Greek, Roman and Byzantine urbanisation processes and urban planning were maintained under Islam in the Middle Ages and this urban planning is still visible today in the Arab Islamic medieval Old City of Jerusalem, a city whose urban planning and architecture are among the best surviving medieval cities in the world.

Wasu marubuta da masu fasaha na Larabawa, waɗanda ke goyon bayan dalilin siyasa da na ƙasa na Falasɗinu ko kuma Larabci-kawai (pan-Arabism), sukan ƙirƙiri manyan labarai (metanarratives) da ke nuna cewa asalin ƙasar Falasɗinu ko kishin ƙasar Larabawa ya fi tsufa fiye da yadda yake a zahiri. Haka kuma, har zuwa lokacin da siyasar Zionism ta Turai, wadda ba ta dace da zamanin ba, ta bayyana a ƙarshen karni na 20, mutanen Falasɗinu (Larabci: sha'b Filastin) sun haɗa da Larabawa Musulmi, Larabawa Kiristoci da Larabawa Yahudawa. Kasancewar rikicin Isra'ila da Falasɗinawa wani nau'i ne na wannan tarihi, a tarihance rarrabuwar Larabawa da Yahudawa a Falasɗinu tana da ruɗani sosai. Mutanen Falasɗinu suna fuskantar ƙasarsu ta Falasɗinu duka a matsayin mutum-mutum da kuma a matsayin al'umma. Ko da yake mulkin mallakar Zionism ya take musu haƙƙin cin gashin kansu a ƙasarsu ta asali, kuma suna rayuwa ƙarƙashin mamayar mulkin mallaka ko kuma an kore su daga ƙasarsu, ba kasafai ake barin su su yi magana da kansu ba, suna ci gaba da magana game da "Biladuna Filastin" ("Ƙasarmu, Falasɗinu"; a yaren gida: bladna Falastin) ko "Filastinuna" ("Falasɗinunmu"). Ko da 'yan ƙasar Falasɗinu da ke cikin Isra'ila sukan kira ƙasar "al-blad" ko "bladna" ("Ƙasarmu") a matsayin hanyar kishin ƙasa ta hanyar tunani ko wakilci don kauce wa kalmar Isra'ila, da kuma haɗuwa da Falasɗinu ta tarihi da mutanen Falasɗinu gaba ɗaya. Kalmomin "bilad" ko "biladuna" kalmomin Larabci ne na zamanin tsakiya waɗanda aka yi amfani da su sosai tsawon ƙarnuka da dama, kuma suna da tushe sosai a rayuwar yau da kullum ta mutane. A rabin na biyu na karni na 19, kalmar Larabci ta zamanin tsakiya "watan" ("ƙasar haihuwa") ta sami tasiri daga kalmar Turai "patria", kuma "watan" ta ƙara haɗuwa da tashin nau'o'in zamani na kishin ƙasa (wataniyyah) a Falasɗinu da ko'ina a duniyar Larabawa.

Some Arab writers and artists promoting the political and national cause of Palestine or pan-Arabism create metanarratives to depict Palestinian national identity or Arab nationalism as being more ancient than they actually are. Moreover, until the advent of anachronistic European political Zionism at the turn of the 20th century the people of Palestine (Arabic: sha’b Filastin) included Arab Muslims, Arab Christians and Arab Jews. Being a rendering of the Israeli Zionist/Palestinian conflict, historically speaking the binary of Arab versus Jew in Palestine is deeply misleading. The Palestinian people experience their country of Palestine individually and collectively. Although Zionist settler-colonialism violated their indigenous right to self-determination in their historical homeland and they live either under settler-colonial occupation or exiled and rarely allowed to speak for themselves, they continue to speak of Biladuna1 Filastin (‘Our Country, Palestine’;2 vernacularly: bladna Falastin) or Filastinuna (‘Our Palestine’3). Even Palestinian citizens of Israel often speak of al-blad or bladna (‘Our Country’) as a patriotic way of mentally or representationally avoiding the term Israel and connecting with historic Palestine and the Palestinian people as a whole. The terms bilad or biladuna are medieval Arabic terms which have been in common use for many centuries and are deeply rooted in people’s daily lives. In the second half of the 19th century the medieval Arabic term watan (‘homeland’) was impacted by the European term patria, and watan became more closely associated with the rise of modern forms of patriotic homeland nationalism (wataniyyah) in Palestine and throughout the Arab world.