Ilimin tarihi da na yanki da iko suna da alaƙa da juna ba tare da rabuwa ba, kuma faɗaɗawa da ƙarfafa Daular Roma ya haifar da bayyanar ayyuka masu yawa na encyclopaedia da suka ƙunshi littattafai da yawa. A ƙarni na 1 miladiyya akwai manyan littattafan yanki guda uku sanannu game da Falasdinu: (a) na masanin ƙasa da tarihi Bahaushen Girka da Roma, Strabo (64‒63 BC–kimanin 24 AD), a cikin littafinsa mai juzu'i da yawa Geographika (Strabo 1917) - wannan ilimin encyclopaedia ya dogara ne a kan tafiye-tafiyensa masu yawa a yankin Bahar Rum da Gabas ta Kusa; (b) Pliny Dattijo (23–79 AD) a cikin aikinsa Naturalis Historia (kimanin 78 AD);5 (c) Pomponius Mela, wanda shi ne masanin ƙasa na farko na Roma kuma ya rubuta tilo na tsohuwar ƙasida kan ilimin yanki a cikin Latin na zamanin gargajiya, De Situ Orbis ('Bayanin Duniya'), wanda aka rubuta kimanin 43 AD. Bayanan Strabo, Pliny Dattijo da Mela duk suna magana a kan ƙasar Falasdinu a faɗin ma'ana, kamar yadda marubutan Girka na gargajiya suka yi amfani da sunan a kan dukkan ƙasar.

Historical and geographical knowledge and power are inextricably linked and the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Empire brought about the rise of encyclopaedic multi-volume works. In the 1st century AD there are three well-known geographical accounts of Palestine by: (a) Greco- Roman geographer and historian Strabo (64‒63 BC–c. 24 AD), in his multi-volume work Geographika (Strabo 1917) – this encyclopaedic knowledge was based on his extensive travels throughout the Mediterranean region and Near East; (b) Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) in his work Naturalis Historia (c. 78 AD);5 (c) Pomponius Mela, who was the first Roman geographer and wrote the only ancient treatise on geography in classical Latin, De Situ Orbis (‘A Description of the World’), written around 43 AD. The accounts of Strabo, Pliny the Elder and Mela all treat the country of Palestine in the wider sense, in the same way as the name applied by the classical Greek writers to the whole country.

Pliny, Strabo da Mela na iya kasancewa sun samo wasu bayanansu game da Falasdinu daga tsoffin majiyoyin Hellenanci. Naturalis Historia ta Pliny (kimanin shekara ta 78 bayan Annabi Isa) littafi ne na sani mai yawa game da duniyar halitta wanda wani marubuci dan Roma kuma kwamandan jiragen ruwa, wanda kuma yana cikin da'irar ciki ta Sarki Vespasian, ya rubuta. Kalmar yanki da gudanarwa Palaestina da aka yi amfani da ita a Naturalis Historia, Littafi na V: Babi na 13 da na 14, tana nuna duka sunayen wurare da suke canzawa a lokacin da kuma sauye-sauyen da Vespasian ya kawo.

Pliny, Strabo and Mela may well derive some of their information on Palestine from earlier Hellenistic sources. Pliny’s Naturalis Historia (c. 78 AD) is an encyclopaedic book about the natural world written by a Roman author and naval commander who also belonged to Emperor Vespasian’s inner circle. The geo-administrative term Palaestina used in Naturalis Historia, Book V: Chapters 13 and 14, reflects both the evolving place names of the time and the changes introduced by Vespasian.

A cikin ilimin ƙasa, Pliny yana amfani da kalmar Palaestina ta hanyoyi biyu daban-daban: tsohuwar Palaestina, ko tsohuwar Philistia, da kuma sabuwar Palaestina wadda faɗinta mai girma ya kai har zuwa Lebanon da Siriya na yau.

Geographically Pliny uses Palaestina in two distinct ways: old Palaestina, or old Philistia, and the new Palaestina whose vast expanses reach all way to modern Lebanon and Syria:

Ƙasa ta gaba a gabar teku ita ce Siriya, wadda a da ita ce mafi girma daga cikin ƙasashe.

The next country on the coast is Syria, formerly the greatest of lands.

Yana da sassa masu yawa, kowanne da suna dabam, inda bangaren da ke makwabtaka da Larabawa a dā ana kiransa Falasdin [Palaestina, ko tsohuwar Filistiya], da Yahudiya, da Siriya Mai Rami, sannan Finikiya, da kuma yankin cikin ƙasa wanda ake kira Damascena, sai kuma kudu da wannan Babilon, da Mesofotamiya a tsakanin Kogin Furat da Kogin Dijla ... Bayan Saida ne Dutsen Lebanon ya fara, wani jeri da ya miƙa har zuwa Zimyra a yankin da ake kira Siriya Mai Rami [Coele-Syria], tazarar kusan mil 190.

It had a great many divisions with different names, the part adjacent to Arabia being formerly called Palestine [Palaestina, or old Philistia], and Judaea, and Hollow Syria, then Phoenicia and the more inland part Damascena, and that still further south Babylonia as well as Mesopotamia between the Euphrates and the Tigris ... Behind Sidon begins Mount Lebanon, a chain extending as far as Zimyra in the district called Hollow Syria [Coele-Syria], a distance of nearly 190

miles. Ana fuskantar Lebanon [Phoenice], tare da kwari a tsakanin, yana miƙewa tsaunin Counter-Lebanon mai tsawo daidai, wanda a dā yana haɗe da Lebanon da katanga. Bayan Counter-Lebanon a cikin ƙasa akwai yankin Garuruwa Goma [Decapolis a lardin Romawa na Syria-Palaestina, da kuma daga baya Palaestina Secunda ta Byzantine] tare da shi kuma yankunan tetrarchies da aka riga aka ambata, da dukan faɗin Palestine [Palaestina] mai yawa. (Pliny 1991: Book V)

miles. Facing Lebanon [Phoenice], with a valley between, stretches the equally long range of Counter-Lebanon, which was formerly connected with Lebanon by a wall. Behind Counter-Lebanon inland is the region of the Ten Cities [the Decapolis in the Roman province of Syria-Palaestina and later Byzantine Palaestina Secunda] and with it the tetrarchies already mentioned, and the whole of the wide expanse of Palestine [Palaestina]. (Pliny 1991: Book V)

Aikin Pomponius Mela, "Chorographia" (Bayanin Duniya), duk da cewa bai kai ma'auni na ayyukan Strabo da Pliny Dattijo ba, haka kuma bai kai ma'aunin fasahar zamani ba, an yi ta yadawa sosai a lokacin Babban Zamanin Binciken Turai daga ƙarshen karni na 15 zuwa karni na 18, kuma an fassara shi zuwa Turanci. Ya ci gaba da kasancewa mai tasiri sosai a duk zamanin zamani. An buga shi a shekara ta 44 Miladiyya, a lokacin ƙololuwar Daular Roma, aikin Mela na ɗaya daga cikin farkon ayyukan bayanin ƙasashe da al'ummomin duniya, kuma shi ne aikin ilimin ƙasa na farko da ya tsira a harshen Latin (Romer 1998). Wannan aiki ya samu tasiri daga majiyoyin Girkanci na dā, kuma, kamar Herodotus, Mela ya bayyana Falasdinu a faɗin ma'anarta: daga Finikiya a arewa zuwa Masar a kudu. Sai dai, ba kamar Herodotus ba, Mela ya ambaci Yahudiya, amma ya fahimci daidai cewa ƙaramin yanki ne na ƙasar da ya kira Palaestina. A shekara ta 43 Miladiyya Mela ya yi magana game da "Larabawan Falasdinu" (Hic Palaestine est qua tangit Arabas), kuma ya bayyana Siriya da Palaestina kamar haka:

The work of Pomponius Mela, A Description of the World (Chorographia), although inferior by the standard of the works of Strabo and Pliny the Elder as well as by modern technical standards, was circulated widely in the course of Europe’s Great Age of Exploration from the end of the 15th century to the 18th century, and was translated into English. It remained highly influential throughout the modern period. Published in 44 CE, at the height of the Roman Empire, Mela’s work was one of the world’s earliest geo-ethnographies and is the earliest surviving geographical work in Latin (Romer 1998). This work was influenced by classical Greek sources and, like Herodotus, Mela describes Palestine in the wider sense: from Phoenicia in the north to Egypt in the south. Unlike Herodotus, however, Mela mentions Judaea but he correctly views it as a small part of the country he calls Palaestina. In 43 AD Mela spoke of ‘the Arabs of Palestine’ (Hic Palaestine est qua tangit Arabas) and describes Syria and Palaestina as follows:

Siriya tana da wani fadin gabar teku, da kuma filaye masu fadi da suka shimfida zuwa cikin kasa, kuma ana kiran ta da sunaye daban-daban a wurare daban-daban. Misali, ana kiranta Coele, Mesopotamia, Judea, Commagene, da Sophene.

[Syria holds a broad expanse of the littoral, as well as lands that extend rather broadly into the interior, and it is designated by different names in different places. For example, it is called Coele, Mesopotamia, Judea, Commagene, and Sophene.

Falasdinu ita ce a wurin da Siriya ke makwabtaka da Larabawa, sannan Finikiya, sannan – inda ya kai Cilicia – Antiochia, wadda ta kasance mai iko tun fil azal kuma na dogon lokaci, amma ta fi kowane lokaci iko sosai a lokacin da Semiramis ta mallake ta da ikonta na sarauta. Ayyukanta suna da halaye na musamman da yawa. Biyu daga cikinsu sun fi fice: an gina Babila a matsayin birni mai girma abin mamaki, kuma an karkatar da Kogin Furat da Dijla zuwa yankunan da a baya suka bushe.6

It is Palestine at the point where Syria abuts the Arabs, then Phoenicia, and then – where it reaches Cilicia – Antiochia, which was powerful long ago and for a long time, but which was most powerful by far when Semiramis held it under her royal sway. Her works certainly have many distinctive characteristics. Two in particular stand out: Babylon was built as a city of amazing size, and the Euphrates and Tigris were diverted into once dry regions.6

Yana da ban sha'awa kuma abin da Mela ya faɗa game da Gaza da sauran manyan birane na ƙasar da ya kira Palaestina. A harsunan Semitic, sunan Gaza yana nufin ‘mai ƙarfi’ ko ‘mai tsanani’ (Ibrananci: עַזהָּ , ‘mai ƙarfi’). Ta fuskar asali, sunan Girka da na Latin: Γάζα da Gaza, mai yiwuwa fassarar Syriac ne: ܐܙܓ (ganzā, gazzā), wanda ya samo asali daga Farisanci ganj (‘dukiya’, ‘ajiya’, ‘rumbun hatsi’). Tsoffin Masarawa sun kira ta Azzati, ‘birnin daraja’ (Shahin 2005: 414; Katzenstein 1982). Mela ya ci gaba da bayyana biranen Palestine na Gaza, Ascalon da Jaffa, kuma ya ambaci ma'anonin sunan Gaza na Semitic da na Farisanci:

It is also fascinating what Mela had to say about Gaza and other important cities of the country he calls Palaestina. In Semitic languages, the name Gaza means ‘strong’ or ‘fierce’ (Hebrew: עַזהָּ , ‘strong’). Etymologically the Greek and Latin name: Γάζα and Gaza, were probably a rendition of the Syriac: ܐܙܓ (ganzā, gazzā) which originated from Persian ganj (‘treasure’, ‘store’, ‘granary’). The ancient Egyptians called it Azzati, the ‘prized city’ (Shahin 2005: 414; Katzenstein 1982). Mela goes on to describe the Palestine cities of Gaza, Ascalon and Jaffa and refers to both Semitic and Persian connotations of the name Gaza:

A Falasdinu kuwa, akwai Gaza, wani birni mai ƙarfi kuma mai katangu sosai.

In Palestine, however, is Gaza, a mighty and very well fortified city.

Ga dalilin haka Farisawa ke kiran wannan wuri da ajiyarsu: lokacin da Cambyses ya nufi Masar da runduna, ya kawo nan dukiya da kuɗin yaƙi. Askelon ba ta da muhimmanci ƙasa da wannan birni. An kafa Iope [Yafa], kamar yadda suke bayyanawa, kafin ambaliyar ruwa. Iope ne inda mutanen wurin ke da'awar cewa Cepheus ne sarki, bisa hujjar cewa wasu tsoffin bagadai na musamman, bagadai masu tsananin tabo, har yanzu suna ɗauke da rubutu na wannan mutum da ɗan'uwansa Phineus. Haka kuma, suna ma nuna manyan ƙasusuwan dabbar teku a matsayin bayyananniyar tunatarwa game da abin da aka yi waƙa da labari a kansa, da kuma bayyananniyar tunatarwa game da Andromeda, wadda Perseus ya ceto. (Pomponius Mela, a cikin Romer 1998: 52‒53)7

This is why the Persians call it their treasury: when Cambyses headed for Egypt under arms, he had brought here both riches and the money for war. Ascalon is no less important a city. Iope [Jaffa] was founded, as they tell it, before the flood. Iope is where the locals claim that Cepheus was king, based on the proof that particular old altars–altars with the greatest taboo–continue to bear an inscription of that man and his brother Phineus. What is more, they even point out the huge bones of the sea-monster as a clear reminder of the event celebrated in song and legend, and as a clear reminder of Andromeda, who was saved by Perseus. (Pomponius Mela, in Romer 1998: 52‒53)7