Zamanin Kiristanci na Falasdinu ta Bizantine (wanda ke nufin wannan yanki na kasa tsakanin Tekun Bahar Rum da Kogin Urdun da wasu kasashe makwabta a Transjordan, Nabatea da tsohuwar Provincia Arabia), tare da babban birninsa na bakin teku da birnin metropolitan na Caesarea-Palaestina, lokaci ne na ban mamaki na bunkasar al'adu da babban fadada da wadata a zamanin Late Antiquity. An mayar da sabbin yankuna karkashin noma, ci gaban birane ya karu, kuma biranen Falasdinu mafi girma, ciki har da Gaza, Neapolis (Nablus ta yau), Jerusalem, Scythopolis (Beisan ta yau)

The Christian era of Byzantine Palestine (which refers to this geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and various adjoining lands in Transjordan, Nabataea and former Provincia Arabia), with its coastal capital and metropolitan city of Caesarea-Palaestina, was an extraordinary time of cultural flourishing and of great expansion and prosperity in Late Antiquity. New areas were brought under cultivation, urban development increased and the cities of greater Palestine including Gaza, Neapolis (modern Nablus), Jerusalem, Scythopolis (modern Beisan)

da Kaisariya Maritima suka yi girma sosai a yawan jama'a, kuma yawan al'ummar babbar Falasdinu daban-daban na iya kaiwa kusan miliyan daya da rabi.8 Haka kuma, gidajen ibada na zuhudu sun yawaita a fadin kasar. A gaskiya, gidajen zuhudu na farko a Kiristanci a wajen Masar an gina su ne a Falasdinu a zamanin Byzantine, musamman gidan zuhudu na St Hilarion, daya daga cikin tsoffin abubuwan tarihin Kiristoci a Falasdinu, wanda a yau yana cikin Zirin Gaza.9 A zuciyar babbar Falasdinu akwai lardin Palaestina Prima. Kaisariya Maritima ita ce babban birnin gudanarwa na Palaestina Prima da kuma babbar Falasdinu baki daya. Kasar ta kunshi al'ummar da ke magana da harshen Girkanci da Aramaic, kanana kabilu na Samariyawa, Larabawa Kiristoci, Ghassanids, wadanda su ne rinjaye a cikin Monophysites, wadanda suka yi imani da koyarwar yanayi guda daya ta Yesu, da kuma Miaphysite10

and Caesarea Maritima grew considerably in population and the diverse population of greater Palestine may have reached as many as one and a half million.8 Also, monasteries proliferated throughout the country. In fact, the earliest monasteries in Christianity outside of Egypt were built in Palestine during the Byzantine era, notably that of the St Hilarion Monastery, one of Palestine’s oldest Christian monuments, today located in the Gaza Strip.9 At the heart of greater Palestine was the province of Palaestina Prima. Caesarea Maritima was the administrative capital of both Palaestina Prima and greater Palestine. The country consisted of a mixed Greek and Aramaic-speaking population, minorities of Samaritans, Christian Arabs, the Ghassanids, who were the dominant group among the Monophysites and who believed in the single-nature doctrine of Jesus, and Miaphysite10

Larabawa (duba kuma ƙasa), Yahudawa da Larabawan Nabatiyawa su ma suna nan.

Arabs (see also below), Jews and Nabataean Arabs were present as well.

A cikin dukkan karni na shida da kuma har zuwa mamayar Larabawa Musulmi ta 638

Throughout the 6th century and until the Arab Muslim conquest of 638

A.D., Gassanawa Larabawa sun kusan mulki Palaestina Secunda (wanda ya hada da wasu sassan Galili) da Palaestina Tertia (wanda ya hada da Naqab/Negev) kuma, tare da sojojin Bizantiyawa, suka kare tare da tsare wuraren tsarki a Falasdinu (Shahid 2009, Vol. II, part II: 63‒64).

AD, the Ghassanid Arabs practically ruled Palaestina Secunda (which included parts of the Galilee) and Palaestina Tertia (which included the Naqab/Negev) and, together with Byzantine soldiers, defended and protected the holy sites in Palestine (Shahid 2009, Vol. II, part II: 63‒64).

Gidan tarihi na Louvre da ke birnin Paris yana baje kolin wani babban aikin fasaha na tagulla, wani kwano da aka yi a karni na 4 miladiyya domin tunawa da kafuwar Caesarea-Palaestina.11 Wani tashar jiragen ruwa mai bunƙasa a bakin Bahar Rum, kuma daga baya babban birnin Palaestina Prima, tashar jiragen ruwan birnin ta yi gogayya da Piraeus na Athens (Barnes 1981: 81). Yanayin zamantakewar birnin Caesarea yana da matuƙar ban sha'awa. Zuwa karni na 3, Caesarea, wadda har yanzu a hukumance tana bin addinin arna, ta zama babban birni mai al'adu da zamantakewa iri-iri, kuma shi ne birni mafi girma da ci gaba a Palastinu ta Romawa; birnin yana da mazauna har zuwa 100,000 na kabilu da addinai daban-daban (Barnes 1981: 82). Caesarea Maritima12 ta kuma zama mazaunin Uban Kafuwar Coci da kuma fitattun masana Kiristoci, mishan-mishan da shahidai. A ƙarƙashin Romawa, kuma a fili sosai a ƙarƙashin Bizantiyawa, Caesarea ta zama ba kawai birni mafi ƙarfi a cikin babbar Palastinu ba, har ma mazaunin manyan masu al'adu na birni, galibinsu masu magana da harshen Girka, na ƙasar. A matsayin babbar cibiyar ilimi da karatu a Gabashin Bahar Rum, ta zama mazaunin fitattun malamai da masana tauhidi da wasu daga cikin manyan masana tarihi da masana falsafa na Late Antiquity. Cikin wannan manyan al'adu na birni akwai Eusebius na Caesarea Maritima da Prokopios na Caesarea Maritima (c. 500–c. 554

The Louvre Museum in Paris exhibits a masterpiece bronze bowl created in the 4th century AD to commemorate the founding of Caesarea-Palaestina.11 A flourishing Mediterranean seaport and later the metropolitan city of Palaestina Prima, the city’s harbour rivalled the Piraeus of Athens (Barnes 1981: 81). The urban social space of Caesarea is of particular interest. By the 3rd century Caesarea, officially still pagan, had become a cosmopolitan, culturally and socially diverse metropolis, and the largest and most developed city in Roman Palestine; the city contained as many as 100,000 inhabitants of many ethnic and religious backgrounds (Barnes 1981: 82). Caesarea Maritima12 also became the home of the Founding Fathers of the Church and of prominent Christian intellectuals, missionaries and martyrs. Under the Romans, and more visibly under the Byzantines, Caesarea became not only the most powerful city in greater Palestine but also home to the metropolitan, predominantly Greekspeaking, cultural elite of the country. As a major centre of learning and scholarship in the Eastern Mediterranean, it became home to outstanding scholars and theologians and some of the best historians and philosophers of Late Antiquity. This metropolitan cultural elite included Eusebius of Caesarea Maritima and Prokopios of Caesarea Maritima (c. 500–c. 554

AD), a Palaestina Prima. Birnin ya kuma zama gida na shekaru masu yawa ga Uban Coci Origen (185–254 AD) da kuma wasu manyan masana tauhidin Kiristan Falasdine waɗanda suma suka nemi kafa wata shaidar Kiristanci ta musamman ta Falasdine bisa matsayinta na musamman. Shahararren masanin tarihi Prokopios na Kaisariya, ɗan asalin Palaestina, ya rubuta wannan a shekara ta 560 AD game da wani ɗan ƙasarsa Bafalasdine:

AD), in Palaestina Prima. The city also became for many years the home of the Church Father Origen (185–254 AD) and several leading Palestinian Christian theologians who also sought to forge a distinct Palestinian Christian identity based on the unique position of Palestine. Prominent historian Prokopios of Caesarea, a native of Palaestina, had this to write in 560 AD about another compatriot Palestinian:

Isa, Ɗan Allah, yana cikin jiki yana tafiya a tsakanin mutanen Falasdinu, yana nuna a fili ta hanyar cewa bai taɓa yin zunubi ba ko kaɗan, da kuma ta hanyar yin abubuwan da ba zai yiwu ba, cewa shi Ɗan Allah ne da gaske; gama ya kira matattu ya tashe su kamar daga barci, ya buɗe idanun mutanen da aka haife su makafi, ya tsarkake waɗanda dukan jikinsu ya lulluɓe da kuturta, ya 'yantar da waɗanda ƙafafunsu suka lalace, kuma ya warkar da sauran cututtuka duka waɗanda likitoci ke kira marasa magani.

Jesus, the Son of God, was in the body and moving among the men of Palestine, showing manifestly by the fact that he never sinned at all, and also by his performing even things impossible, that he was the Son of God in very truth; for he called the dead and raised them up as if from sleep, and opened the eyes of men who had been born blind, and cleansed those whose whole bodies were covered with leprosy, and released those whose feet were maimed, and he cured all the other diseases which are called by the physicians incurable. (Prokopios 2005)

Amma babban masanin tauhidi na Kaisariyya Maritima shi ne Origen. An haife shi a Alexandria, daga baya aka kira Origen zuwa lardin Arabiya, don ya koyar da gwamnan wannan yanki. Bayan haka, saboda babbar hargitsi da ta tashi a Alexandria, ya bar Masar ya tafi Kaisariyya Maritima.

But the greatest theologian of Caesarea Maritima was Origen. Born in Alexandria, Origen was later summoned to Provincia Arabia, to give instruction to the governor of that region. Afterward, on account of a great tumult in Alexandria, he left Egypt and went to Caesarea Maritima.

Saint Jerome ya ce Origen ya je Achaia a ƙasar Girka saboda bidi'o'i waɗanda suke damun majami'un can. Kalmominsa su ne: ‘Et propter ecclesias Achaiæ, quæ pluribus hæresibus vexabantur, sub testimonio ecclesiasticæ epistolæ Athenas per Palæstinam pergeret’ (Kuma saboda majami'un Achaia, waɗanda bidi'o'i da yawa suka tasho a cikinsu ta ko'ina a Falasdin, a ƙarƙashin shugabancin ecclesiastical). Ya ratsa Falasdin a hanyarsa zuwa Girka, kuma a wannan lokaci ne bishops na Falasdin suka naɗa shi a matsayin presbyter.

St Jerome says that Origen went to Achaia in Greece on account of heresies which were worrying the churches there. His words are: ‘Et propter ecclesias Achaiæ, quæ pluribus hæresibus vexabantur, sub testimonio ecclesiasticæ epistolæ Athenas per Palæstinam pergeret’ (And for the churches of Achaia, with which many heresies grew throughout Palestine under the ecclesiastical head). He passed through Palestine on his way to Greece, and it was at this time that he was ordained a presbyter by Palestinian bishops.

Origen, mai tara littattafai, ya taimaka wajen kafa Laburaren Kaisariya, kuma ya ba Kaisariya Maritima wasu daga cikin kwarjinin duniya da karfin ilimi irin na manyan birane kamar Alkahira da Antakiya. Kaisariya ta zama gidansa na dindindin a shekara ta 232 AD. Ya kuma zama sanadin bunkasar ban mamaki ta wani gungun masu ilimi na Girka masu magana da Girkanci da suka zama Falasdinawa – wani gungun da ya sa Kaisariya-Palaestina ta zama daya daga cikin muhimman birane a zamanin tsohuwar duniya. Origen Bafalasdine ya zama marubucin Kiristanci mai yawan rubuce-rubuce, masanin falsafar tarihi, kuma Uban Wa'azi. Ya kafa makarantar ilimi ta Kiristoci a Kaisariya, wacce ta hada da Laburaren Kaisariya-Palaestina, wani laburare na coci da tarihi mai littattafai 30,000

An avid collector of books, Origen helped create the Library of Caesarea and provided Caesarea Maritima with some of the cosmopolitan charisma and intellectual vigour of large cities such as Alexandria and Antioch. Caesarea became his fixed abode in 232 AD. He also became a catalyst for the phenomenal rise of a Palestinised Greek-speaking cultural elite – an elite which made Caesarea-Palaestina one of the most important cities of classical Antiquity. Palestinised Origen became a prolific Christian author, a philosopher of history and the Father of the Homily. He founded a Christian academy in Caesarea, which included the Library of Caesarea-Palaestina, an ecclesiastical and historical library of 30,000

manuscripts (Carriker 2003; Murphy-O’Connor 2008: 241) kuma na biyu bayan Laburaren Alexandria a zamanin ɗaukakarsa. Origen kuma ya shahara wajen rubuta muhimman ayyuka kan Neo-Platonism na Kirista, ciki har da shahararren littafinsa On First Principles (1966), wanda ya yi tasiri sosai a tunanin Kirista da kuma a ilimin ɗan Adam na zamanin Renaissance. Origen ya rubuta Hexapla (‘sau shida’)13 da sauran ayyukan tafsiri da na tiyoloji yayin da yake zaune a Kaisariya.

manuscripts (Carriker 2003; Murphy-O’Connor 2008: 241) and second only to the Library of Alexandria in its heyday. Origen also became known for composing seminal works on Christian Neo-Platonism, including his famous treatise On First Principles (1966), a work which had a huge influence on Christian thought and modern Renaissance humanism. Origen wrote Hexapla (‘sixfold’)13 and other exegetical and theological works while living in Caesarea.

Caesarea-Palaestina ta kasance ɗaya daga cikin yankunan da aka fi tono ƙasa a cikinsu a Falasɗinu na Byzantine (Avni 2014: 42). Falasɗinu na karni na 3 zuwa na 6 Miladiyya ya ta'allaka ne kan Kaisariya, babban birni mafi girma a dukan ƙasar:

Caesarea-Palaestina has been one of most extensively excavated areas of Byzantine Palestine (Avni 2014: 42). Palestine of the 3rd‒6th centuries AD centred on Caesarea, the largest metropolitan city in the whole country:

A cikin karni na shida birnin ya ƙara fadada, har bayan katangarsa, inda aka gina unguwanni a waje da birnin masu gidajen alfarma masu ban mamaki. Wani babban yanki mai arziki na noma ya faɗaɗa har bayan iyakokin birnin Kaisariya. Wannan fadada birnin ya nuna karuwar yawan jama'ar birnin a koyaushe, wanda ya sa Kaisariya ta zama birni mafi girma a Falasdinu.

In the sixth century the city expanded further, beyond its walls, creating extramural quarters with spectacular residences. A large and wealthy agricultural hinterland expanded beyond the urban limits of Caesarea. This urban expansion reflects the constant growth of the urban population, which made Caesarea the largest city in Palestine.

(Avni 2014: 42)

(Avni 2014: 42)

Tun a karni na 3 AD, Lardin Falasdinu (Provincia Palaestina) ya kasance an gina shi ne a kan babban birninsa mai arziki, mafi yawan mutanensa suna da ilimi sosai kuma suna da ci gaba sosai, wato Caesarea Maritima, birnin tashar ruwa na Bahar Rum. Haka kuma, a rubuce-rubucen manyan mutanen birane masu ilimi, ana kallon Falasdinu a matsayin ƙasa daban. Daga birnin Caesarea Maritima, Origen ya yi musayar wasiƙu da Sarkin Roma Philip (Marcus Julius Philippus, ko Marcus Iulius Philippus Augustus, wanda ya yi mulki daga shekara ta 244 zuwa 249 AD), wanda kuma aka fi sani da laƙabinsa na Latin, ‘Philippus Arabs’.

Already in the 3rd century AD Provincia Palaestina was centred on its wealthy, largely well-educated and highly developed Mediterranean capital city, Caesarea Maritima. Palaestina was also treated as a distinct country in the writings of its educated urban elites. From the capital Caesarea Maritima, Origen corresponded with the Roman Emperor Philip (Marcus Julius Philippus, or Marcus Iulius Philippus Augustus, who reigned from 244 to 249 AD), also known by his Latin nickname ‘Philippus Arabs’.

An haife shi a arewacin lardin Arabiya na Roman, wato Arabia Petraea. Yankin Hauran, wanda mutane daban-daban da Larabawa da yawa ke zaune a cikinsa, daga baya ya zama wani ɓangare na Palaestina Secunda, kuma a zahiri Sarakunan Larabawa Kiristoci na Ghassaniyawa ne ke mulkinsa a ƙarƙashin ikon Byzantine na suna. ‘Philip Balarabe’ da kansa ya zama babban mutum a Daular Roman (Bowersock 1994: 122). A cikin malaman tarihin Kiristoci na farko, ‘Philip Balarabe’ yana da suna na nuna tausayi ga addinin Kirista. Wasu al'adun Kiristoci na baya, waɗanda Eusebius, wanda ya fito daga Caesarea-Palaestina, ya fara ambata a cikin Tarihin Ikklesiya nasa, sun yi iƙirarin cewa Philip shi ne Sarkin Roman Kirista na farko (Eusebius 2011: VI.xxxiv). Masu suka, duk da haka, suna jayayya cewa ‘Philip Balarabe’ ya samu karɓuwa a wajen masana tarihin coci saboda haƙurinsa na addini da kuma halinsa gabaɗaya na tausayawa Kiristoci (Shahid 1984: 76‒77).

He was born in the northern part of Provincia Arabia, the Roman Arabia Petraea. Inhabited by a mixed population and many Arabs, this region of the Hauran would later become part of Palaestina Secunda and would be in effect ruled by Ghassanid Christian client Arab kings under nominal Byzantine control. ‘Philip the Arab’ himself went on to become a major figure in the Roman Empire (Bowersock 1994: 122). Among early Christian historians ‘Philip the Arab’ had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. Some later Christian traditions, first mentioned by Eusebius, who was from Caesarea-Palaestina, in his Ecclesiastical History, claimed that Philip was the first Christian Roman Emperor (Eusebius 2011: VI.xxxiv). Critics, however, argue that ‘Philip the Arab’ fared well with ecclesiastical historians because of his religious tolerance and overall sympathetic attitude towards Christians (Shahid 1984: 76‒77).

Bayan mutuwar Origen, Origenanci na Falasdinu ya ci gaba da yaduwa a ko'ina cikin Gabas ta Kusa – har zuwa lokacin da aka yi Allah-wadai da tsananta wa Origenanci baki ɗaya a tsakiyar karni na 6 – kuma ɗakin karatu na tiyoloji na Kaisariya ya samu kulawa da faɗaɗawa daga Saint Pamphilus na Kaisariya (rabin na biyu na karni na 3 zuwa 309), wanda shi ne shugaban masana Littafi Mai Tsarki a zamaninsa, kuma abokin kuma malamin masanin tarihin coci, kuma Bishop na Kaisariya, Eusebius (263–339 AD). Eusebius (‘Uban Tarihin Coci’) da kansa an haife shi a Kaisariya kuma ya zauna mafi yawan rayuwarsa ta girma a birnin. Pamphilus ya sadaukar da rayuwarsa wajen nemo da samun tsoffin rubutu don ɗakin karatu, wanda ya zama ɗaya daga cikin shahararru kuma mafi arziki a zamanin da. Ya jawo hankalin masana tarihin coci da masana tiyoloji daga ko'ina cikin Daular Roma: Saint Basil Mai Girma (329–379), Gregory na Nazianzus, Babban Bishop na Constantinople a karni na 4, da Saint Jerome (kimanin 347–420).

After Origen’s death, Palestinian Origenism continued to spread throughout the Near East – until the general condemnation and persecution of Origenism in the mid-6th century – and the theological Library of Caesarea was managed and expanded by St Pamphilus of Caesarea (latter half of the 3rd century–309), who was chief among biblical scholars of his generation and a friend and teacher of the church historian, and Bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius (263–339 AD). Eusebius (the ‘Father of Church History’) was himself born in Caesarea and lived most of his adult life in the city. Pamphilus devoted his life to searching out and obtaining ancient texts for the library, which became one of the most famous and richest in Antiquity. It attracted church historians and theologians from all over the Roman Empire: St Basil the Great (329–379), Gregory of Nazianzus, a 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople and St Jerome (c. 347–420

ya kasance wani ‘Uba na Coci’ wanda aka fi sani da fassararsa ta Baibul zuwa harshen Latin. Dukkan waɗannan malamai sanannu sun zo karatu a Caesarea-Palaestina. Haka kuma, a yau masana sun amince sosai cewa rubutun Caesarea na ɗaya daga cikin nau'o'in karatun Linjila huɗu mafi farko (Streeter 1926).

AD). The latter was a ‘Father of the Church’ who is best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin. All these famous scholars came to study in Caesarea-Palaestina. Moreover, today the Caesarea text-type is widely recognised by scholars as one of the earliest types for reading the four Gospels (Streeter 1926).

Duk da cewa Kiristanci ya ci gaba da taka muhimmiyar rawa – ba koyaushe mai kyau ba, kamar yadda aka ambata a sama, misali kawai shi ne tsanantawar Origen da mabiyansa masu ilimi – a tarihin ƙasar da mutanenta, shi ne wannan lokaci na yaduwarsa mai girma da ya fi muhimmanci ga sabon addinin a Falasdinu, inda ya haifar da rubuce-rubuce da abubuwa masu muhimmanci da yawa na al'adu, kuma ya sa Falasdinu ta zama wataƙila ƙasar da aka fi sani a duniya a lokacin, saboda bayanai, kayayyakin tarihi, ayyukan adabi, addini da tarihi da yawa waɗanda suka sa ta zama sunan da kowa ya sani a cikin Kiristanci da bayansa. Wasu daga cikin rubuce-rubuce masu muhimmanci game da ƙasar Eusebius na Kaisariya ne, "Uban Tarihin Coci", wanda ya yi alfahari da ƙasarsa ta haihuwa ta Palaestina; ya yi amfani da sunan Palaestina a cikin ayyukansa akai-akai, wanda daga baya ya rinjayi tsararraki na marubutan Kirista a duniya. De Martyribus Palaestina14 na Eusebius (1861) yana ba mu alamar fili ta ƙarfafa ra'ayin Palaestina a matsayin ƙasa a lokacin farkon zamanin Byzantine. Shahidan Falasdinu sun shafi tsanantawar Kiristoci na farko a babban birnin ƙasar, Kaisariya-Palaestina, da ƙasar baki ɗaya a farkon ƙarni na 4 miladiyya. Wannan labari wataƙila an rubuta shi ne asali cikin Aramaic ta Falasdinu, harshen Yesu na Nazarat. Ibrananci a zamanin Yesu ya kusan zama harshen da ya ɓace, inda Yahudawan Falasdinu ke magana da Aramaic, kuma Ibrananci ya takaita ga amfanin liturgy. Harshen Aramaic na Falasdinu, wanda yake kusa da Larabci, harshe ne da Eusebius ya saba da shi sosai. A lokacin, Aramaic ita ce babbar harshen magana ta ƙasar kuma ana magana da ita a babban birnin, Kaisariya-Palaestina.15 Aramaic kuma za ta yi tasiri a kan juyin harshen Larabci na yaren gida na Falasdinu.

While Christianity continued to play crucial role – not always positive, as cited above only the one case of the persecution of Origen and intellectual followers – in the history of the country and its people, it is this period of its great spread which was the most important for the new religion in Palestine, creating many iconic cultural texts and objects and making Palestine probably the best known country in the world at the time, due to the many descriptions, artefacts, literary, religious and historical works which made it a household name within Christianity and beyond. Some of the iconic texts about the country were produced by the ‘Father of Church History’, Eusebius of Caesarea, who took pride in in his native country of Palaestina; he repeatedly used the name Palaestina in his works, which later influenced generations of Christian writers worldwide. De Martyribus Palaestina14 by Eusebius (1861) gives us a clear indication of the consolidation of the concept of Palaestina as a country during the early Byzantine period. The Martyrs of Palestine relates to the persecution of early Christians in the capital of the country, Caesarea-Palaestina, and the country at large in the early 4th century AD. This account may have originally been composed in Palestinian Aramaic, the language of Jesus of Nazareth. Hebrew at the time of Jesus was largely an extinct language, with the Jews of Palestine speaking Aramaic, and Hebrew being confined to liturgical uses. Closely related to Arabic, Palestinian Aramaic was a language with which Eusebius was well acquainted. At the time, Aramaic was the main vernacular speech of the country and was spoken in the capital, Caesarea-Palaestina.15 Aramaic would also influence the evolution of Palestinian vernacular Arabic.

Daular Byzantine ta Falasɗinu ta kuma haifi babban masanin tarihi na ƙarni na 6 a duniya, Prokopios na Caesarea Maritima, wani fitaccen malami daga Palaestina Prima, babban masanin tarihin Daular Byzantine ta ƙarni na 6 da kuma na zamanin Sarki Justinian. Prokopios ya yi tafiye-tafiye masu yawa a yankin Bahar Rum da Gabas ta Tsakiya, ya kuma yi tafiya tare da janar na Byzantine Belisarius a matsayin sakatarensa a yaƙe-yaƙen Justinian, kuma ya yi sharhi sosai game da sarakunan Larabawa na kabilar Ghassaniyawa (manyan phylarchs).

Byzantine Palestine also gave birth to the 6th century world’s most important historian, Prokopios of Caesarea Maritima, an illustrious scholar from Palaestina Prima, the principal historian of the 6th century Byzantine Empire and of the reign of Emperor Justinian. Prokopios travelled extensively throughout the Mediterranean region and the Near East, accompanied the Byzantine general Belisarius as secretary in the wars of Justinian and commented extensively on the Ghassanid tribal Arab kings (top phylarchs)

na Palaestina Secunda, Palaestina Prima da Palaestina Salutaris. A cikin littafinsa mai juzu'o'i da yawa, Yaƙe-yaƙen Justinian (kimanin 560), Prokopios ya rubuta:

of Palaestina Secunda, Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Salutaris. In his multi-volume work, The Wars of Justinian (c. 560), Prokopios wrote:

Iyakar Falasdinu ta miƙe zuwa gabas har zuwa tekun da ake kira Tekun Ja. Yanzu wannan teku, tun daga Indiya, yana ƙarewa a wannan wuri a cikin yankin Romawa. Kuma akwai wani birni mai suna Aelas [wanda yanzu ake kira ‘Aqabah] a gabar tekun, inda teku ya ƙare, kamar yadda na faɗa, ya zama kogi mai matuƙar kunkuntar.

The boundaries of Palestine extend toward the east to the sea which is called the Red Sea. Now this sea, beginning at India, comes to an end at this point in the Roman domain. And there is a city called Aelas [present-day ‘Aqabah] on its shore, where the sea comes to an end, as I have said, and becomes a very narrow gulf. (Prokopios 2014)

Prokopios (Girkanci: Prokopios ho Kaisareus; Latin: Procopius Caesariensis) ya kara da cewa Chosroes (Khosrow I, 501–579), Shahanshah (Sarkin Sarakuna) na Daular Sasaniyawa ta Farisa daga 531 zuwa 579, yana da matukar sha'awar ya mai da kansa sarkin Palaestina saboda yalwar ƙasarta, arzikinta da yawan mutanenta (wanda Gibbon 1838, Juz'i 1: 40 ya ambata; haka kuma Prokopios 2014). Yana sharhi kan kallon Prokopios game da yalwar ƙasar, masanin tarihin Ingila Edward Gibbon, a cikin babban aikinsa, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wanda aka buga a juzu'i takwas tsakanin 1776 da 1788, ya rubuta cewa masanin tarihin Roma Tacitus ya bayyana Falasdinu kamar haka: ‘mazauna suna da lafiya da ƙarfi; ruwan sama yana matsakaici; ƙasa tana da albarka’ (Gibbon 1838, Juz'i 1: 40). Gibbon ya ƙara da cewa: ‘Falasdinu, da dukiyar Urushalima mai tsarki, su ne ... abubuwan da suka jawo hankalin burin Chosroes [I], ko kuma haɗama’ (Gibbon 1840, Juz'i 5: 173). Ya ƙara da cewa Larabawan Musulmi ‘sun yi tunani iri ɗaya, kuma suna tsoron cewa Omar, idan ya je Urushalima, sai ya ji daɗin yalwar ƙasar da tsaftar iska, ba zai taɓa komawa Madina ba’ (Gibbon 1838, Juz'i 1: 40).

Prokopios (Greek: Prokopios ho Kaisareus; Latin: Procopius Caesariensis) added that Chosroes (Khosrow I, 501–579), the Shahanshah (King of Kings) of the Sasanian Empire of Persia from 531 to 579, had a great desire to make himself ruler of Palaestina on account of its extraordinary fertility, its wealth and the great number of its inhabitants (cited in Gibbon 1838, Vol. 1: 40; also Prokopios 2014). Commenting on Prokopios’ observation about the fertility of the country, the English historian Edward Gibbon, in his most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published in eight volumes between 1776 and 1788, wrote that the Roman historian Tacitus described Palestine as follows: ‘the inhabitants are healthy and robust; the rains moderate; the soil fertile’ (Gibbon 1838, Vol. 1: 40). Gibbon added: ‘Palestine, and the holy wealth of Jerusalem, were the ... objects that attracted the ambitions, or rather the avarice, of Chosroes [I]’ (Gibbon 1840, Vol. 5: 173). He further added that the Muslim Arabs ‘thought the same, and were afraid that Omar, when he went to Jerusalem, and charmed with the fertility of the soil and purity of the air, would never return to Medina’ (Gibbon 1838, Vol. 1: 40).

A lokacin farkon zamanin Kiristanci, musamman daga karni na 4 zuwa gaba, Ƙasar Alkawari – wuri mai duhu, na tunani kawai, kuma kamar tatsuniya – aka mayar da ita ƙasa ta gaske mai suna Palaestina, mai birane masu bunƙasa, tashoshin jiragen ruwa, majami'u masu kyau, da gidajen ibada da yawa, da shahararrun makarantun falsafa da ɗakunan karatu, da hanyoyi masu yawa, da ƙauyuka da kuma jama'a masu yawa, masu aiki a fannin kasuwanci da al'adu, abin da ya ƙara jawo hankalin Turawan Yamma (masu magana da Latin). Ya kasance a cikin wannan farkon zamanin Kiristanci ne kalmar Latin Terrae Sanctae ta zama daidai da kalmar Palaestina a rubuce-rubucen Kiristoci, wadda mahajjatan Kiristoci da masana tarihin yankin suka yi amfani da ita sosai. Game da Shahidan Falasɗinu (311 AD)

During the early Christian period, particularly from the 4th century onwards, the Holy Land – a nebulous, abstract and semi-mythical location – was transformed into a real country called Palaestina, with thriving cities, ports, beautiful churches and numerous monasteries, famous philosophical schools and libraries, an extensive road system, villages and a large, commercially and culturally active population, which added to the interest shown by (Latin-speaking) Europeans. It was in the course of this early Christian period that the Latin term Terrae Sanctae became synonymous in Christian texts with the extensive use of the term Palaestina by Christian pilgrims and local historians. On the Martyrs of Palestine (311 AD)

an Coci Tarihin Ikilisiya kuma Bishop na Kaisariya-Falasdin, Eusebius (AD 263–339), 'Uban Tarihin Ikilisiya', wanda ya rubuta babban aikinsa Historia Ecclesiastica da kuma Onomasticon (Kan Sunayen Wurare a Littafi Mai Tsarki) (1971), wani cikakken nazarin ƙasa da tarihi na Falasdin, a cikin birnin: 'Eusebius ya bayyana cewa ya tattara Kan Sunayen Wurare a Littafi Mai Tsarki ta hanyar karanta Littafi Mai Tsarki sashe-sashe' (Barnes 1981: 109). Masanin harsunan Girka da Latin na Burtaniya, Timothy David Barnes (1981: 106), ya bayyana wannan babban aikin Littafi Mai Tsarki a matsayin 'jerin sunayen wurare na Littafi Mai Tsarki wanda har yanzu shi ne babban tushen adabi na tarihin ƙasa ta Falasdin, duka a zamanin Littafi Mai Tsarki da kuma a ƙarƙashin Daular Roma'.

was written by the church historian and Bishop of Caesarea-Palaestina, Eusebius (AD 263–339), ‘Father of Church History’, who composed his monumental work Historia Ecclesiastica and his Onomasticon (On the Place Names in the Holy Scripture) (1971), a comprehensive geographical-historical study of Palestine, in the city: ‘Eusebius states that he compiled On the Place Names in the Holy Scripture by working through the Bible piecemeal’ (Barnes 1981: 109). This major biblical enterprise has been described by British classicist Timothy David Barnes (1981: 106) as a ‘biblical gazetteer which is still the main literary source for the historic geography of Palestine both in biblical times and under the Roman Empire’.

Duk da cewa Onomasticon nasa an gina shi a wani bangare bisa ilimin kasa na Littafi mai tsarki da ƙwaƙwalwar addini da aka tsara bisa addini kuma hukuma ta amince da ita, Eusebius yana amfani da sunan Provincia Palaestina akai-akai kuma yana nufin dukan ƙasar, tun daga Lebanon a arewa har zuwa Masar a kudu. Wannan amfani na gwamnatin Roman/Byzantine, na mulki da hukuma, ya yi tasiri ga tsararrakin marubuta Kiristoci da Turawa da suka biyo baya. Eusebius, wanda ya fito daga Caesarea-Palaestina kuma harshensa Girkanci ne, a cikin Jawabinsa a Yabon Constantine, ya rubuta cikin alfahari game da kulawa ta musamman da aka ba wa "Provencia Palaestina" namu.

Although his Onomasticon was partly based on religiously constructed and officially sanctioned scriptural geography and religious memory, Eusebius uses the name Provincia Palaestina repeatedly and in application to the whole country from Lebanon in the north to Egypt in the south, and this Roman/Byzantine administrative and official use influenced later generations of Christian and European writers. A native of Caesarea-Palaestina, whose language was Greek, Eusebius, in his Oration in Praise of Constantine, writes proudly about the special attention given to ‘our Provencia Palaestina’:

Ya zaɓi wurare biyu don shirinsa na gina coci-coci a yankin gabas na daular: ɗaya a cikin lardinmu na Falasɗinu (domin daga can ne rafin da ke ba da rai ya gudu kamar daga maɓuɓɓuga don albarkar dukkan al'ummai), ɗayan kuma a cikin babban birnin gabas da ke ɗaukar sunansa daga na Antiochus; a can, a matsayinsa na shugaban wannan sashe na daular, ya keɓe wa bautar Allah wani coci mai girma da kyau wanda ba shi da kamarsa. Dukkan ginin yana kewaye da wata katanga mai faɗi sosai, a cikinta kuma coci kanta tana tashi zuwa tsayi mai girma, tana da siffar octagon (mai gefe takwas), kewaye da ɗakuna da farfajiyoyi da yawa a kowane gefe, kuma an yi mata ado da kayan ado masu tsada iri-iri.16

he [Emperor Constantin] has selected two places [for his churchbuilding programme] in the eastern division of the empire, the one in [‘our province’] Palestine (since from thence the life-giving stream has flowed as from a fountain for the blessing of all nations), the other in that metropolis of the East which derives its name from that of Antiochus; in which, as the head of that portion of the empire, he has consecrated to the service of God a church of unparalleled size and beauty. The entire building is encompassed by an enclosure of great extent, within which the church itself rises to a vast elevation, of an octagonal form, surrounded by many chambers and courts on every side, and decorated with ornaments of the richest kind.16