Hekima za kawaida mara nyingi hutamkwa na watu wenye madaraka makubwa; si mara zote zinatokana na ukweli. Hekima ya kawaida inasema kwamba Palestina haikuwahi kujitawala katika historia yake, achilia mbali kujitegemea kisiasa au kiutamaduni, achilia mbali mamlaka halisi au uhuru wa kuwa taifa kamili. Lakini hakuna kitu kilicho mbali zaidi na ukweli kuliko hilo. Kama tutakavyoonyesha kwa kina katika kazi hii, kwa zaidi ya milenia tatu, kuanzia mwishoni mwa Enzi ya Shaba hadi kuanzishwa kwa dola ya Israeli mnamo mwaka 1948, Palestina ilifurahia uhuru mkubwa wa kijamii, kisiasa na kiuchumi, na pia ilipitia hali ya kuwa taifa kupitia njia sita tofauti, ingawa zisizotengana kabisa; njia ambazo zilikuwa na athari kubwa katika mageuzi ya mawazo kuhusu Palestina katika karne zote.

Conventional wisdoms are often articulated by powerful elites; they are not always based on facts. The conventional wisdom is that Palestine never in its history experienced self-government, political or cultural autonomy, not to mention practical sovereignty and actual statehood. Nothing is further from the truth. As we shall amply demonstrate in this work, over three millennia from the late Bronze Age and until the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948, Palestine enjoyed a great deal of social, political and economic autonomy and also experienced statehood through six distinct, though not mutually exclusive, ways – ways which had a profound impact on the evolution of the ideas of Palestine across the millennia:

• Mifumo huru ya kiuchumi na kifedha, na utoaji wa sarafu ya Kipalestina: kuanzishwa kwa sera huru za kifedha na utengenezaji wa sarafu tofauti ya Kipalestina vilidhihirika katika mifano ya sarafu za Filisteo au Filisto-Kiarabu za karne ya 6 hadi 4 KK (zilizojadiliwa katika sura ya kwanza), na katika utengenezaji wa sarafu za Kiarabu "huko Filastin" katika kipindi chote cha mwanzo wa Uislamu (zilizojadiliwa katika sura ya sita).

• Autonomous economic and monetary systems and the issuing of Palestinian currency: the institution of independent monetary policies and the minting of distinct Palestinian currency were evident in the cases of the coinage of Philistia or Philisto-Arabian in the 6th‒4th centuries BC (discussed in chapter one) and the minting of Arab currency ‘in Filastin’ throughout early Islam (discussed in chapter six).

• Mifumo ya kifalme ya mlezi na mlindwa: ujenzi wa mifumo ya mlezi na mteja na kuibuka kwa wasomi wa kienyeji na wa kujitegemea wa mikoa na miji nchini Palestina, kama ilivyokuwa kwa ‘wakuu wa mijini’ wa Palestina ya Kiothmani.

• Imperial patron‒protégé systems: the construction of patron‒client systems and the rise of local and autonomous regional and urban elites in Palestine, as was in the case of the ‘urban notables’ of Ottoman Palestine.

Lakini hatimaye, kama tutakavyoona katika sura ya nane, wasomi hawa wa mijini wa Dola ya Ottoman huko Palestina walikuwa wafuasi wa kanuni zilizowekwa na wengine, si watunga kanuni wala wavunjaji wa kanuni.

But ultimately, as we shall see in chapter eight, these Ottoman urban elites in Palestine were rule-takers not rule-makers and rule-breakers.

Uhuru wa kiutawala, wa kimkoa na wa kijeshi: hili linaonekana waziwazi katika kipindi chote cha Warumi na Wabyzantine katika kile kilichojulikana sana kama Provincia Palaestina au Dux Palaestinae, ‘kamanda wa kijeshi wa Palestina’ (kilichojadiliwa katika sura ya nne), Mutawalli Harb Filastin (“ متولي حرب فلسطين ”, Gavana wa Kijeshi wa Palestina) (kilichojadiliwa katika sura ya sita), na katika kipindi cha marehemu cha Ottoman Palestina kwa kuanzishwa kwa Mutasarrifate huru ya kiutawala ya Jerusalem kama mkoa mkuu wa Palestina (kilichojadiliwa katika sura ya tisa).

• Administrative, provincial and military autonomy: this is evident throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods in what became widely known as Provincia Palaestina or the Dux Palaestinae, the ‘military commander of Palestine’ (discussed in chapter four), Mutawalli Harb Filastin (“ متولي حرب فلسطين ”, Military Governor of Palestine) (discussed in chapter six) and in late Ottoman period Palestine with the creation of the autonomous administrative Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem as the key province of Palestine (discussed in chapter nine).

• Mataifa tegemezi ya Kipalestina: kuibuka na kuundwa kwa mataifa kadhaa tegemezi ya Kipalestina, kwa kiasi fulani yakijengwa juu ya mahusiano yaleyale ya mlezi na mteja.

• Palestinian client states: the emergence and creation of several Palestinian client states, partly based on the same patron‒client relationships.

Ingawa aina za majimbo tegemezi huko Palestina na kiwango cha utegemezi wake kwa dola za kifalme au zenye nguvu zilitofautiana sana, wafalme wa Filistia katika sehemu kubwa ya Enzi ya Chuma, Mfalme Herode Mkuu, mfalme tegemezi chini ya Warumi katika karne ya 1 BK (alijadiliwa katika sura ya nne), wafalme wa Ghassani, wa kabila la Waarabu washirika (phylarchs wakuu) wa Palaestina Secunda, Palaestina Prima na Palaestina Tertia katika karne ya 6 na mwanzoni mwa karne ya 7 (walijadiliwa katika sura ya tano), na kwa kiasi kidogo utawala huru wa Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar katika karne ya 18, vilikuwa mifano ya wazi ya jambo hili.

Although the types of client states in Palestine and the degree of their subordination to imperial or powerful states varied significantly, the kings of Philistia throughout much of the Iron Age, the client King Herod the Great under the Romans in the 1st century AD (discussed in chapter four), the Ghassanid tribal Arab federate kings (supreme phylarchs) of Palaestina Secunda, Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Tertia in the 6th and early 7th centuries (discussed in chapter five) and to a lesser extent the autonomous regime of Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar in the 18th century were cases in point.

• Utawala halisi wa Kipalestina na dola huru: haya yalipatikana kupitia Daher al-‘Umar baada ya uasi wake uliofanikiwa dhidi ya utawala wa Waothmani katikati ya karne ya 18 (imejadiliwa katika sura ya nane).

• Palestinian practical sovereignty and statehood: this was achieved by Daher al-‘Umar following his successful rebellion against Ottoman rule in the middle of the 18th century (discussed in chapter eight).

• Uhuru wa kikanisa na kujitegemea kikamilifu (autocephaly): hili lilipatikana na Kanisa la Aelia Capitolina na Provincia Palaestina kuanzia katikati ya karne ya tano baada ya Baraza la Chalcedon (lililojadiliwa katika sura ya nne).

• Ecclesiastical independence and autocephaly: this was achieved by the Church of Aelia Capitolina and Provincia Palaestina from the mid-5th century following the Council of Chalcedon (discussed in chapter four).

Mbali na hoja zote na tofauti zilizotolewa tayari, mambo kumi na saba ni ya msingi katika hoja za kazi hii kuhusu mabadiliko ya dhana ya Palestina kwa kupita kwa muda:

In addition to all the above arguments and distinctions already made, seventeen points are central to the argumentation of this work on the evolution of the conception of Palestine across time:

1. Kabla ya kipindi cha Enzi ya Shaba ya Mwisho (kabla ya mwaka 1300 KK) tunapata majina ya miji, lakini hakuna jina la eneo lote la Palestina kwa ujumla, ingawa jina 'Kana'ani' (ka-na-na, kinahhu) linapatikana mapema zaidi, katika maandishi ya Enzi ya Shaba ya Mwisho ya Ufalme Mpya (karne ya 1400 KK) na katika vidonge vya kikabari vinavyojulikana kama Barua za Amarna. Hizi zilikuwa hasa mawasiliano ya kidiplomasia yaliyoenea kwa miaka thelathini kati ya utawala wa Misri na wawakilishi wake katika 'Kana'ani' na Amuru (kaskazini-magharibi mwa Syria na kaskazini mwa Lebanoni) wakati wa Ufalme Mpya wa Misri.

1. Before the Late Bronze period (before 1300 BC) we have names of towns, but none for the particular (Palestine) region as a whole, although the name ‘Cana’an’ (ka-na-na, kinahhu) does occur earlier, in the Late Bronze Age in New Kingdom inscriptions (1400s BC) and in the cuneiform tablets known as the Amarna Letters. The latter primarily consisted of diplomatic correspondence spanning thirty years between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in ‘Cana’an’ and Amuru (north-western Syria and north Lebanon) during the New Kingdom of Egypt.

2. Miaka ya 1350 hadi 1330 KK: katika maandishi ya kipindi hiki, jina Kana'ani linarejelea hasa maeneo ya pwani ya kaskazini ya Lebanon, kama linavyotumika katika maandishi ya Kigiriki ya karne ya 5 na baadaye. Katika Enzi ya Shaba ya Mwisho, jina la kawaida kwa eneo la Palestina katika maandishi ya Kimisri si Kana'ani, bali Djahi, ambalo lilitumika kuashiria sehemu ya kusini ya eneo kubwa zaidi la Tehenu.

2. 1350s‒1330s BC: in the inscriptions of this period the name Cana’an refers primarily to the northern coastal regions of Lebanon, much as it is used in 5th century Greek texts and later. In the Late Bronze age, the normal name for the region of Palestine in Egyptian texts is not Cana’an, but Djahi, which is used to designate the southern part of the greater region of Tehenu.

3. Ni kweli kwamba jina Peleset linaonekana kwa mara ya kwanza katika karne ya 13 KK na halionekani katika chanzo chochote cha kihistoria cha awali. Kwa hiyo, ingekuwa si sahihi kihistoria kutumia jina Palestina kwa eneo hilo kabla ya karne ya 13. Hata hivyo, ili kuwa sahihi kihistoria, inapaswa kusisitizwa kwamba jina la eneo la Palestina kabla ya Enzi ya Marehemu ya Bronzi halijulikani kabisa.

3. It is true that the name Peleset first occurs in the 13th century BC and is not witnessed in any earlier historical source. So it would be historically inaccurate to use the name Palestine for the region before the 13th century. However, to be historically accurate one should point out that the name of the region of Palestine prior to the Late Bronze Age is simply unknown.

4. Kuanzia Enzi ya Shaba ya Marehemu na kuendelea, majina yaliyotumika kwa eneo la Levant ya Kusini, kama vile Djahi na Retenu au Cana’an, yote yalitoa nafasi kwa jina Palestina, jina ambalo tangu hapo ndilo linalotumika zaidi katika historia ya kale yote na Zama za Kale za Kigiriki na Kirumi,9 pamoja na katika kipindi cha Ukristo wa Kibyzantini.

4. From the Late Bronze Age onwards, the names used for the region of the southern Levant, such as Djahi and Retenu or Cana’an, all gave way to the name Palestine, the name which thereafter is the most commonly used throughout ancient history and Classical Antiquity,9 as well as in the period of Byzantine Christianity.

5. Hakuna jina lingine la mahali la mapema kutoka Enzi ya Shaba ya Marehemu, kama (a)

5. No other early toponym from the Late Bronze Age, such as (a)

Retenu (karne ya 1500–1200 KK); (b) Djahi (karne ya 1500–1200 KK); au (c) Kanaani (karne ya 1400–1300), hutumika kama jina la eneo katika Enzi ya Chuma I (takriban

Retenu (1500s‒1200s BC); (b) Djahi (1500s‒1200s BC); or (c) Cana’an (1400s‒1300s), is used as the name of the region in the Iron Age I (c.

1200‒1000 KK) na baadaye. Aina moja au nyingine ya jina Palestina imetumika kuanzia karne ya 12 KK hadi kipindi cha Warumi. Hili pia ndilo jina lililozoeleka zaidi kwa eneo hili kuanzia mwishoni mwa karne ya 18 BK hadi leo, ikiwemo kipindi cha Utawala wa Uingereza, ambapo Palestina ilikuwa jina linalotambulika kimataifa la nchi hiyo.

1200‒1000 BC) and later. One or other form of the name Palestine is used from the 12th century BC through the Roman period. This is also the most common name for this region from the end of the 18th century AD to the present, which includes the British Mandate period, when Palestine was the internationally recognised name of the country.

Hakuna jina lingine la mahali linalojulikana kihistoria linalotumika. Mtu pia anapaswa kutaja jina rasmi la kiutawala la Provincia Palaestina, ambalo lilidumishwa katika kipindi cha Kale ya Kati na Kale ya Marehemu, na kufufuliwa rasmi katika kipindi cha kisasa.

No other historically known toponym is used. One perhaps should also point out the ‘official’ administrative toponym of Provincia Palaestina, which was consolidated in Classical and Late Antiquity and revived officially in the modern period.

6. Matumizi ya kijiografia ya jina Yuda yalianza karne ya 8, na jina hilo lilirejelea eneo la nyanda za juu za kusini, vilima vya chini na ardhi ya nyika iliyo karibu, lakini kwa muda fulani tu katika kipindi kilichoanzia karne ya 8 hadi mwanzo wa karne ya 6 KK. Vivyo hivyo, jina Israeli lilianza kutumika kwanza katika karne ya 9 KK, na lilitumika hadi robo ya nne ya karne ya 8 KK, wakati jina hilo lilipoanza kupisha nafasi kwa jina la mkoa wa Kiashuri wa Samerina.

6. The toponymic use of the name Judah dates from the 8th century and refers to the region of the southern highlands, foothills and adjacent steppe lands only at some stage in the course of 8th‒early 6th century BC. Similarly, the name Israel exists first in the 9th century BC and is used until the 4th quarter of the 8th century BC, when this name gives way to the name of the Assyrian province of Samerina.

7. Dhana ya kisasa ya Palestina kama kitengo cha kijiografia-kisiasa na nchi tofauti ina mizizi mirefu katika historia ya kale, utamaduni, na urithi wa nyenzo na wa kiakili wa ardhi hiyo. Tayari katika kipindi cha Enzi ya Chuma (kuanzia 1200 hadi ushindi wa Waashuri mwaka 712 KK), Filistia ilikua si tu jiografia tofauti ya kisiasa, bali pia huluki tofauti ya kijiografia-kisiasa. Ukweli huu ungekuwa na athari ya muda mrefu katika mageuzi ya taswira za kale, za zama za kati, na za kisasa za Palestina.

7. The modern conception of Palestine as a geo-political unit and a distinct country is deeply rooted in the ancient history, culture and material and intellectual heritage of the land. Already in the course of the Iron Age (1200 to the Assyrian conquest of 712 BC) Philistia evolved not only into a distinct political geography but also as a separate geo-political entity. This fact would have a long-term impact on the evolution of the ancient, medieval and modern representations of Palestine.

Palestina kama nchi (balad au bilad) yenye historia yake ya kipekee, jiografia ya kimaumbile na ya kiutamaduni, mipaka iliyobadilika kwa nyakati, na miji mikuu iliyobadilika (al-Quds/Aelia Capitolina/Iliya/Jerusalem, Caesarea-Palaestina, al-Ramla-Filastin), pamoja na miji mikuu ya kikanda (Gaza, Tiberias, Scythopolis/Beisan, Safad, Acre, Nablus), vimekuwepo kwa maelfu ya miaka. Nchi inaweza kuwa dola huru au isiwe. Palestina kama nchi (kama vile Scotland, Wales, Catalonia, Andalus/Andalusia, Kurdistan, eneo la Basque, Chechnya au Kashmir) haipaswi kuchanganywa moja kwa moja wala kulinganishwa na utaifa wa kisasa wa Kipalestina au uwakilishi wowote wa kisasa wa 'dola ya Palestina'.

Palestine as a country (balad or bilad) with a distinct history, physical and cultural geography, evolving boundaries, shifting capital cities (al-Quds/Aelia Capitolina/Iliya/Jerusalem, Caesarea-Palaestina, al-Ramla-Filastin), regional capitals (Gaza, Tiberias, Scythopolis/ Beisan, Safad, Acre, Nablus) existed for millennia; a country may or may not be a sovereign state; Palestine as a country (like Scotland, Wales, Catalonia, Andalus/Andalusia, Kurdistan, the Basque region, Chechnya or Kashmir) should not be automatically conflated or equated with modern Palestinian nationalism or any modern national representations of the ‘nation-state of Palestine’.

8. Ushahidi wa kiakiolojia unaonyesha kwamba ustawi wa miji (urbanisation) na miji mingi ya Palestina inayojulikana katika nyakati za kihistoria ilikuwepo katika kipindi chote cha Enzi ya Shaba ya Mapema (Early Bronze Age) katika milenia ya 3.10 Zaidi ya hayo, ingawa fasihi ya kale na mabaki ya kimwili ya miji katika Kipindi cha Marehemu cha Kale (Late Antiquity) vinashuhudia nguvu ambayo tamaduni za kimjini zilikuwa nayo juu ya maisha ya wakazi wake pamoja na jamii za vijijini ambamo watu wengi waliishi, uchimbaji wa kiakiolojia unaonyesha utegemezi wa pande zote unaoendelea kati ya vituo vya mijini na mazingira ya vijijini.

8. Archaeological evidence shows that urbanisation and most of the Palestine towns and cities that are known in historic times existed throughout the Early Bronze Age in the 3rd millennium.10 Moreover, while ancient literature and the physical remains of cities in Late Antiquity attest to the power that urban cultures held over the lives of their inhabitants as well as over the rural communities in which the majority of people lived, archaeological excavations demonstrate the continuing interdependence of urban centres and rural contexts.

9. Ushahidi wa kihistoria unaonyesha kwamba miji ya Palestina iliyopewa majina ya Kigiriki katika zama za Byzantine: Caesarea Maritima (kwa Kiarabu:

9. Historical evidence indicates that the toponymically Hellenised Palestinian cities of the Byzantine era: Caesarea Maritima (Arabic:

Qaysariah), Aelia Capitolina (Yerusalemu; Kiarabu: Iliyā, al-Quds), Lydda (Kigiriki: Diospolis/Georgiopolis), Beisan (Kigiriki: Scythopolis), Gaza, Tiberias, Nablus (Kigiriki: Neapolis), Jaffa, Arsuf (Kigiriki: Apollonia)

Qaysariah), Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem; Arabic: liya, al-Quds) Lydda (Greek: Diospolis/Georgiopolis), Beisan (Greek: Scythopolis), Gaza, Tiberias, Nablus (Greek: Neapolis), Jaffa, Arsuf (Greek: Apollonia)

ʿAmwas (Emmuas), Rafah, Beit Jibrin (Kigiriki: Eleutheropolis), Akka (Kigiriki: Ptolemais), Ashkelon (Kiarabu: ʿAsqalan), Aelas (Kiarabu: Aylah, leo ʿAqabah)ziliendelea kufanya kazi kama miji mikuu chini ya Uislamu, na baadhi yake zilihifadhi majina yao ya kale ya kijiografia. Kitabu cha Andrew Petersen *The Towns of Palestine under Muslim rule: AD 600‒1600* (2005), ambacho kinalenga maeneo ya kimji kuanzia zama za Byzantine hadi za mwanzo za Ottoman, kinatoa ushahidi muhimu wa kiakiolojia kuhusu mwendelezo na utumiaji upya wa vitu vya kimaumbile na aina za sanaa katika ufufuaji na uendelezaji wa miji. Utafiti wa Petersen pia unajumuisha uchunguzi wa kina wa al-Ramla, ambayo ilianzishwa na Umayyad ndani ya karne ya kwanza ya utawala wa Kiislamu, na unataja ugunduzi wa kiakiolojia wa mosaiki na mapambo ya mtindo wa Byzantine katika mji huo. Pia zinavutia ni aina za usanifu wa Palestina ya mwanzo ya Kiislamu ya mijini: huko Jerusalem, Jericho (Jumba la Hisham, Khirbat al-Mafjar), al-Ramla na Khirbet al-Minyar, karibu na Tiberias; yote haya yanaonyesha mwendelezo na mchanganyiko mzuri wa mitindo ya Kiislamu na ya Kigiriki/Kirumi/Byzantine pamoja na njia za mpangilio. Kuchukuliwa kwa mawazo na aina za sanaa kutoka Palaestina ya Mwishoni mwa Zama za Kale kuliendelea chini ya Uislamu katika kipindi chote cha Zama za Kati, na hili lilichanganywa na aina mpya za usanifu wa Kiislamu, hivyo kuunda mchanganyiko wa mitindo ya Kiislamu na ya Kigiriki/Kirumi/Byzantine. Utumiaji upya wa mawazo, vitu vya kimaumbile na aina za sanaa za Palestina ya kale uliendelea hadi kipindi cha kisasa. Kwa mfano, baadhi ya vifaa vya ujenzi, yaani sehemu za marumaru na granite za Msikiti Mweupe wa kuvutia wa Akka, unaojulikana sana kama Msikiti wa al-Jazzar – uliojengwa mwaka 1781, pamoja na tata ambalo lilijumuisha chuo cha elimu ya theolojia ya Kiislamu chenye malazi ya wanafunzi, mahakama ya Kiislamu na maktaba ya umma – vilichukuliwa kutoka magofu ya kale ya Akka ya zama za kati, Kaisaria-Palestina ya Mwisho wa Zama za Kale, na Castello Pelegrino (ngome ya Atlit), kusini mwa Haifa, mojawapo ya ngome kubwa zaidi zilizojengwa nchini Palestina na Wanajeshi wa Msalaba wa Kilatini mwaka 1218 na mojawapo ya mifano bora zaidi ya usanifu wa kijeshi wa Wanajeshi wa Msalaba. Ukiigwa kwa mfano wa misikiti mikubwa ya Istanbul, Msikiti wa al-Jazzar (unaojulikana pia kama ‘Msikiti Mweupe’)

‘Amwas (Emmuas), Rafah, Beit Jibrin (Greek: Eleutheropolis), Acre (Greek: Ptolemais), Ascalon (Arabic: ‘Asqalan), Aelas (Arabic: Aylah modern-day ‘Aqabah) continued to function as major urban centres under Islam and some kept their ancient place names. Andrew Petersen’s The Towns of Palestine under Muslim rule: AD 600‒1600 (2005), which focuses on urban sites from Byzantine to early Ottoman times, provides important archaeological evidence about the continuities and recycling of material objects and art forms in urban regeneration and development. Petersen’s study also includes a detailed investigation of al-Ramla, which was founded by the Umayyads within the first century of Muslim rule, and cites the archaeological discovery of Byzantine-style mosaics and motifs in the city. Interesting also are the architectural forms of early urban Islamic Palestine: in Jerusalem, Jericho Hisham Palace (Khirbat al-Mafjar), al-Ramla and Khirbet al-Minyar, near Tiberias; all exhibit continuities and an exquisite mélange of Islamic and Greco/Roman/Byzantine styles and modes of organisation. The adaption of ideas and art forms from Late Antiquity Palaestina continued under Islam throughout the Middle Ages and this was combined with new Islamic architectural forms, thus creating a mix of Islamic and Greco/Roman/Byzantine styles. The recycling of ideas, material objects and art forms of ancient Palestine persisted into the modern period. For instance, some of the building materials, marble and granite components, for the spectacular White Mosque of Acre, famously known as al-Jazzar Mosque – constructed in 1781, with a complex which included an Islamic theological academy with student lodging, an Islamic court and a public library – were taken from the ancient ruins of medieval Acre, Caesarea-Palaestina of Late Antiquity and Castello Pelegrino (Atlit fortress), to the south of Haifa, one of the largest fortresses built in Palestine by the Latin Crusaders in 1218 and one of the best examples of Crusader military architecture. Modelled on the great mosques of Istanbul, the al-Jazzar Mosque (also known as the ‘White Mosque’)

ni mfano bora wa mchanganyiko wa mitindo, Kiottoman, Kibyzantini, Kipalestina na Kiajemi, ukijumuisha na kutumia tena urithi tajiri sana wa kijeshi na kitamaduni wa Palestina.

is a wonderful example of the mixture of styles, Ottoman, Byzantine Palestinian and Persian, incorporating and recycling the extraordinarily rich martial and cultural heritage of Palestine.

10. Hadi enzi ya kisasa na kuibuka kwa dhana ya Palestina ya Mamlaka (1918‒1948), mtazamo kuhusu mipaka ya mashariki ya Palestina ulikuwa ukibadilika, ingawa katika kipindi cha zamani cha kawaida na chini ya Uislamu, mipaka ya Palestina mara nyingi ilienea hadi maeneo yaliyo mashariki ya Mto Yordani.

10. Until the modern era and the conception of Mandatory Palestine (1918‒1948) the perception of what constituted Palestine’s eastern boundaries was shifting, although in the course of the classical age and under Islam the boundaries of Palestine often extended to areas lying east of the Jordan River.

1. Dhana za kitambo, za baada ya kitambo, za zama za kati (za Waarabu wa Kiislamu) na za kisasa kuhusu Palestina zote zilienda mbali zaidi ya "nchi ya Peleset" ya awali (pi-lis-te, au Pilistu, "kutoka Gaza hadi Tantur") ya Enzi ya Shaba ya Marehemu na Enzi ya Chuma.

11. The classical, post-classical, medieval (Arab Islamic) and modern conceptions of Palestine all went far beyond the original ‘land of the Peleset’ (pi-lis-te, or Pilistu, ‘from Gaza to Tantur’) of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age.

12. Usafiri wa baharini na njia za biashara ya kimataifa huko Palestina, pamoja na miji ya pwani yenye ustaarabu wa hali ya juu wa Filistia (ambayo ilijumuisha Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod na Yafa), vilishirikiana kuendeleza kijiografia-kisiasa kusini kama eneo lenye umoja wakati wa Enzi ya Chuma II (takriban 1000–600 KK). Filistia ilikuwa ya kwanza kupata uhuru wa kisiasa na mfumo wa sarafu unaojitegemea huko Palestina, kwa njia ya sarafu za fedha zilizotolewa mwishoni mwa karne ya 6, ya 5 na ya 4 KK. Sarafu hizi za Kipalestina, zinazojulikana kama sarafu za Filistia, zilizunguka sana katika eneo la Filisto-Arabia na zikajulikana kama sarafu za Filisto-Arabia.

12. Seafaring and international trade routes in Palestine and the highly sophisticated urban coastal centres of Philistia (which included Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod and Jaffa) combined to develop geo-politically as an integrated south in the course of Iron Age II (c. 1000‒600 BC) and Philistia was the first to develop political autonomy and an autonomous monetary system in Palestine in the form of silver coins, issued in the late 6th, 5th and 4th centuries BC. This local Palestinian currency, known as the coinage of Philistia, was circulated widely in the Philisto-Arabian region and became known as Philisto-Arabian coins.

13. Ubadilishaji rasmi wa Milki ya Roma ya Mashariki kuwa Ukristo katika karne ya nne, pamoja na kuenea kwa kasi kwa Ukristo katika Mashariki ya Karibu na katika Provincia Arabia ya Kirumi, kulisababisha mabadiliko ya kidini, kijamii, kiakili na kitamaduni katika nchi hiyo, pamoja na kuundwa kwa Palestina Kubwa (Provincia Palaestina). Katika kilele chake cha mwishoni mwa Zama za Kale, Palestina Kubwa chini ya Wabyzantine (kuanzia karne ya nne hadi mwanzoni mwa karne ya saba) iligawanywa katika majimbo matatu: Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda na Palaestina Salutaris. Lakini kama tutakavyoona hapa chini, haya hayakuonekana kuwa majimbo matatu yaliyotengana kabisa. Kisiasa, kijeshi, kitamaduni na kikanisa, yalifikiriwa na kuendelea kubadilika chini ya Wabyzantine kama majimbo ya Palestina ya 'Matatu katika Moja'. Baada ya muda, Provincia Palaestina ya 'Moja katika Matatu' chini ya Wabyzantine ilionekana, na kwa hakika ilijengwa kwa makusudi, kijeshi-kimkakati, kisiasa na kidini, kama mkoa mkuu wa msingi:

13. The official conversion of the Eastern Roman Empire to Christianity in the 4th century and the massive spread of Christianity in the Near East and Roman Provincia Arabia brought about religious, social, intellectual and cultural transformation of the country and the creation of greater Palestine (Provincia Palaestina). At its greatest extent in Late Antiquity, greater Palestine under the Byzantines (from the 4th to the early 7th centuries) was divided into three provinces: Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Salutaris. But as we shall see below, these were not seen as three totally separate provinces. Politically, militarily, culturally and ecclesiastically they were conceived and continued to evolve under the Byzantines as ‘Three in One’ Palestine provinces. With time the (One in Three) Provincial Palaestina under the Byzantines was seen and, indeed, consciously constructed – militarily-strategically, politically and religiously – as a core province:

Palaestina Prima, iliyozungukwa upande wa mashariki na kusini na mikoa miwili ya 'mipaka', Palaestina Secunda na Palaestina Tertia (Palaestina Salutaris).

Palaestina Prima, surrounded to the east and south by two ‘frontier provinces’, Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia (Palaestina Salutaris).

Palaestina Salutaris ilikuwa mkoa wa mpakani ulioundwa kusini mwa Transjordan mwishoni mwa karne ya 4, na kuanzia karne ya 5 ukajulikana pia kama Palaestina Tertia. Majina Palaestina Tertia na Palaestina Salutaris yalibadilishana matumizi, na baadhi ya nyaraka zinautaja Petra kuwa mji mkuu wa ‘Third Palestine Salutaris’ (Ward 2008: 93). Palestina ya Tatu pia ilijumuisha mkoa wa zamani wa Kirumi wa Provincia Arabia. Mikoa mitatu ya Palestina ilijumuisha Naqab (Negev), Beersheba (Bir Sabi’), Nabataea (pamoja na mji wake mkuu Petra) na sehemu kubwa ya Sinai. Palestina hii kubwa pia ilijumuisha sehemu kubwa za Transjordan upande wa mashariki na nyanda za juu za Golan upande wa kaskazini. Huu ulikuwa ni kipindi cha ustawi mkubwa na upanuzi wa miji, huku miji ya Kipalestina kama Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), Gaza, Neapolis (Nablus), Caesarea-Palaestina (pia inajulikana kama Caesarea Maritima; Qaysariah), bandari yenye shughuli nyingi na mji mkuu wa kifalme wa mkoa wa Palaestina Prima, ikijengwa. Vituo vya kijamii na kidini vya miji ya Kipalestina vilipata uhuru mkubwa wa kisiasa na kidini, na vikasambaza athari za kitamaduni za kiklasiki kote katika eneo la Mediterania.

A ‘frontier province’, Palaestina Salutaris was created in the southern Transjordan in the late 4th century and from the 5th century also became known as Palaestina Tertia. The names Palaestina Tertia and Palaestina Salutaris became interchanged and some documents refer to Petra as the metropolis of ‘Third Palestine Salutaris’ (Ward 2008: 93). The Third Palestine also encompassed the former Roman Provincia Arabia. The three Palestine provinces included the Naqab (Negev), Beersheba (Bir Sabi’), Nabataea (and its capital Petra) and major parts of Sinai. This greater Palestine also included large parts of Transjordan in the east and the Golan plateau in the north. This was a period of great prosperity and urban expansion, with Palestinian cities such as Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), Gaza, Neapolis (Nablus), Caesarea-Palaestina (also known as Caesarea Maritima; Qaysariah), a thriving seaport and the imperial capital of the province of Palaestina Prima, being built. Palestinian social and religious urban centres acquired a great deal of political and religious autonomy and projected classicising cultural influences throughout the Mediterranean region.

Scythopolis (baadaye Arab Beisan), mji mkuu wa Palaestina Secunda, na Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) zilifikia kilele chao cha idadi ya watu katika kipindi cha Late Antiquity, na wakazi mchanganyiko wa "Palestina Tatu" huenda walifikia hadi milioni moja na nusu.

Scythopolis (later Arab Beisan), the capital of Palaestina Secunda, and Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin) reached their peak in population in the course of Late Antiquity, and the diverse population of the ‘Three Palestines’ may have reached as many as one and a half million.

14. Palestina Kubwa (mikoa mitatu ya Palaestina ya Byzantine) katika karne ya nne hadi mwanzoni mwa karne ya saba BK ilikuwa kitovu kikubwa cha mwamko wa kitamaduni na kiakili, na cha kuiga mtindo wa kale (classicising) katika Late Antiquity. Alama mbili maarufu zaidi za Palaestina iliyoiga mtindo wa kale zilikuwa Shule ya Balagha ya Gaza na Maktaba ya Caesarea Maritima, maktaba kubwa zaidi ya kanisa katika Late Antiquity. Caesarea Maritima na Gaza zilikuwa miji miwili muhimu zaidi ya Palaestina Prima, ambayo kwa kweli ndiyo ilikuwa kitovu kikuu cha kisiasa na kitamaduni cha Palestina Kubwa. Kama tutakavyoona hapa chini, majimbo matatu ya "Palestina Tatu" yalikuwa na uhuru mkubwa wa kidini na kitamaduni, na Kanisa la Palestina Yote la Aelia Capitolina (Yerusalemu) lilipata uhuru kutoka kwa Makanisa ya Antiokia na Constantinople. Eneo hilo halikuwa tu mojawapo ya nchi zenye ustawi mkubwa wa kiuchumi katika eneo la Mediterania, bali pia, pamoja na shule zenye ushawishi mkubwa za Gaza na Caesarea-Palaestina na kazi ya usanifu na upangaji miji ya Julian wa Ascalon, mojawapo ya vituo muhimu zaidi vya elimu na shughuli za kiakili katika Late Antiquity; kwa kweli, Caesarea-Palaestina na Gaza zilichukua nafasi ya Athens na Alexandria kama vituo vikuu vya elimu kwa eneo lote la Mediterania.

14. Greater Palestine (the three provinces of Byzantine Palaestina) of the 4th‒early 7th centuries AD became a major centre of cultural and intellectual renaissance and classicising in Late Antiquity. The two most famous symbols of classicising Palaestina were the Rhetorical School of Gaza and the Library of Caesarea Maritima, the most extensive ecclesiastical library of Late Antiquity. Caesarea Maritima and Gaza were the two most important cities of Palaestina Prima, which was effectively the dominant political and cultural centre of greater Palestine. As we shall see below, the ‘Three Palestine’ provinces had a great deal of religious and cultural autonomy and the All Palestine Church of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem) achieved independence from both Churches of Antioch and Constantinople. It was not only one of the most economically prosperous countries in the Mediterranean region, but also – with the highly influential Mediterranean schools of Gaza and Caesarea-Palaestina and the architectural and urban planning work of Julian of Ascalon – one of the most important centres of learning and intellectual activity in Late Antiquity; in effect, Caesarea-Palaestina and Gaza superseded and replaced both Athens and Alexandria as the premier centres of learning for the whole Mediterranean region.

15. Katika karne ya 3 hadi mapema ya karne ya 7 BK, sehemu kubwa za "Palestina Tatu" zilikaliwa na Waarabu wa Ghassani waliohamia kutoka Arabia; kanisa la Palestina liliwaunganisha Waarabu hawa wa Ghassani, na sehemu kubwa za mikoa hii zilibadilishwa hatua kwa hatua katika karne ya 5 hadi 6 kuwa falme za Waarabu wa Ghassani, yaani "falme za mpakani" (phylarchates), chini ya ulinzi wa Byzantium na udhibiti usio wa moja kwa moja wa kifalme. Ushawishi wa Ghassani juu ya Provincia Palaestina ulidumu kwa karne nyingi, na wafalme wao Wakristo Waarabu (wafalme wakuu, supreme phylarchs) walitawala hadi ushindi wa Kiislamu wa Palestina katika karne ya 7.

15. In the 3rd‒early 7th centuries AD large parts of the ‘Three Palestines’ were settled by the Ghassanid Arab population that immigrated from Arabia; the Palestine ecclesia integrated these Ghassanid Arabs and large parts of these provinces were gradually transformed in the 5th‒6th centuries into Ghassanid Arab phylarchates, or ‘frontier kingdoms’, under Byzantine patronage and indirect imperial control. Ghassanid influence on Provincia Palaestina lasted for centuries, and their Christian Arab kings (supreme phylarchs) reined until the Islamic conquest of Palestine in the 7th century.

16. Tofauti na nchi sita za kanda na jirani – Misri, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Uturuki na Iran – katika historia yake yote Palestina haikuwahi kuzaa himaya wala miji mikuu ya kifalme yenye nguvu, ingawa historia yake iliathiriwa sana na himaya zenye nguvu. Maaskofu wake wakuu (Patriarchs) katika Kipindi cha Marehemu cha Zamani walijumuishwa katika Pentarchy, yaani Maaskofu wakuu watano waliokuwa wakisimamia makanisa ya Himaya ya Byzantine, hasa kutokana na hadhi ya kipekee ya mji mtakatifu wa Yerusalemu. Kama nchi ya Mediterania, iliyoko kimkakati kati ya Asia, Afrika na Ulaya, na kati ya Bahari ya Mediterania na Bahari Nyekundu, Palestina ilifanikiwa kustawi kiutamaduni na kiuchumi na kupata kiwango fulani cha kujitawala, ikitegemea sana nguvu yake laini: maeneo yake matakatifu, taasisi za elimu na maktaba zake (mifano maarufu ni Shule ya Usemi ya Gaza na Maktaba ya Caesarea-Palaestina).

16. Unlike the six regional and neighbouring countries – Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Turkey and Iran – throughout its history Palestine never produced empires or mighty imperial cities, although its history was hugely shaped by powerful empires. Its Patriarchs in Late Antiquity became part of the Pentarchy, the five major Patriarchs governing the churches of the Byzantine Empire, largely due to the unique status of the holy city of Jerusalem. As a Mediterranean country, strategically located between Asia, Africa and Europe, and between the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea, Palestine managed to flourish culturally and economically and achieve a degree of autonomy by relying largely on its soft power: its holy places, academies and libraries (famous examples are the Rhetorical School of Gaza and the Library of Caesarea-Palaestina).

Uwezo wake wa kuwakaribisha na kuwaunganisha makundi mbalimbali ya kijamii na kitamaduni, pamoja na mafanikio yake katika kuunganisha mila tofauti na mitindo mbalimbali, vilikuwa msingi wa utambulisho wake.

Its ability to accommodate and integrate multiple social and cultural groups and its successful synthesis of diverse traditions and a variety of styles became central to its identity.

17. Tofauti na mradi wa walowezi wa Kizayuni wa Ulaya, wa ukoloni wa walowezi, ambao umejengwa juu ya hadithi za kale na Darwinism mpya ya kijamii – wa "kuta za chuma" na "kuishi kwa mwenye nguvu zaidi", wa kujitwalia na kufuta urithi wa asili wa nchi hiyo (ona sura ya kumi) – Palestina na urithi wake wa kienyeji vimeendelea kuishi katika zaidi ya milenia tatu kupitia kujirekebisha, unyumbulifu na mabadiliko. Mwendelezo, mivunjiko, kujirekebisha, kurekebishwa tena na mabadiliko ya Palestina (kutoka Philistia hadi Palaestina hadi Filastin) yanaonekana pia katika jina la Kiarabu la zama za kati, Philistin (Filastin), ambalo lilihifadhi jina la Kilatini Philistina au Philistinus, linalotokana na Philistia ya kale – ambalo lilizaa jina la kiutawala la Kirumi Provincia Palaestina – kwa upande wake likitokana na jina la kale lililohifadhiwa katika lugha mbalimbali za kale, Kiakadi (Kibabeli)

17. In contrast with the European Zionist settler-colonial project, which is based on old legends and new Social Darwinism – of ‘iron walls’ and ‘survival of the fittest’, of the appropriation and erasure of indigenous heritage of the country (see chapter ten) – Palestine and its local heritage have survived across more than three millennia through adaption, fluidity and transformation. The continuities, ruptures, adaption, re-adaption and metamorphosis of Palestine (from Philistia to Palaestina to Filastin) are also exhibited in the medieval Arabic name Philistin (Filastin), which preserved the Latin Philistina or Philistinus, deriving from ancient Philistia – which gave rise to the Roman administrative name of Provincia Palaestina – in turn based on the ancient name preserved in a variety of ancient languages, the Akkadian (Babylonian)

Palastu na Parusata/Peleset wa Misri

Palastu and Egyptian Parusata/Peleset.