Kipindi cha Ukristo cha Palestina ya Kibyzantium (ambayo inarejelea eneo hili la kijiografia kati ya Bahari ya Mediterania na Mto Yordani na ardhi mbalimbali zilizo karibu nao huko Transyordani, Nabatea na Provincia Arabia ya zamani), chenye mji mkuu wa pwani na jiji kuu la Kaisarea-Palestina, kilikuwa wakati wa ajabu wa kustawi kwa utamaduni na upanuzi mkubwa na ustawi katika Zama za Marehemu za Kale. Maeneo mapya yalilimwa, maendeleo ya miji yaliongezeka, na miji ya Palestina kubwa zaidi, ikiwemo Gaza, Neapolis (Nablus ya leo), Yerusalemu, Skythopolis (Beisan ya leo)

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)

na Kaisarea Maritima ilikua kwa kiasi kikubwa kwa idadi ya watu, na idadi ya watu mbalimbali wa Palestina kubwa huenda ilifikia milioni moja na nusu.8 Pia, nyumba za watawa zilienea kote nchini. Kwa hakika, nyumba za watawa za kwanza za Ukristo nje ya Misri zilijengwa Palestina wakati wa enzi ya Byzantine, hasa ile ya Monasteri ya Mtakatifu Hilarion, mojawapo ya makaburi ya kale zaidi ya Kikristo ya Palestina, leo iko katika Ukanda wa Gaza.9 Katikati ya Palestina kubwa kulikuwa na mkoa wa Palaestina Prima. Kaisarea Maritima ilikuwa makao makuu ya utawala wa Palaestina Prima na Palestina kubwa. Nchi ilijumuisha idadi ya watu wenye kuzungumza Kigiriki na Kiaramaiki, wachache wa Wasamaria, Waarabu Wakristo, Waghassani, ambao walikuwa kundi kubwa miongoni mwa Wamonofisiti ambao waliamini fundisho la asili moja ya Yesu, na Wamiafisiti10

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

Waarabu (angalia pia hapa chini), Wayahudi na Waarabu wa Nabataea pia walikuwepo.

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

Katika karne ya sita yote na hadi ushindi wa Waarabu Waislamu mwaka 638

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

Mnamo mwaka wa 600 BK, Waarabu wa Ghassaniyya kwa kweli walitawala Palaestina Secunda (ambayo ilijumuisha sehemu za Galilaya) na Palaestina Tertia (ambayo ilijumuisha Naqab/Negev) na, pamoja na askari wa Byzantine, walilinda na kuvilinda maeneo matakatifu katika Palestina (Shahid 2009, Juzuu ya II, sehemu ya 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).

Jumba la makumbusho la Louvre jijini Paris linaonyesha bakuli la shaba la kazi bora lililotengenezwa karne ya 4 BK kuadhimisha kuanzishwa kwa Caesarea-Palaestina. Likiwa bandari ya Mediterania yenye shughuli nyingi na baadaye jiji kuu la Palaestina Prima, bandari ya jiji hilo ilishindana na Piraeus ya Athens (Barnes 1981: 81). Nafasi ya kijamii ya mijini ya Caesarea ina umuhimu wa pekee. Kufikia karne ya 3, Caesarea, ambayo rasmi bado ilikuwa ya kipagani, ilikuwa imekuwa jiji kuu la kimataifa lenye utamaduni na jamii mseto, na jiji kubwa na lililoendelea zaidi katika Palestina ya Kiroma; jiji hilo lilikuwa na wakazi wapatao 100,000 wa asili mbalimbali za kikabila na kidini (Barnes 1981: 82). Caesarea Maritima pia ikawa makazi ya Baba Waanzilishi wa Kanisa na ya wasomi wakuu wa Kikristo, wamisionari na mashahidi. Chini ya Waroma, na kwa uwazi zaidi chini ya Wabyzantine, Caesarea ikawa si tu jiji lenye nguvu zaidi katika Palestina nzima, bali pia makazi ya wasomi wa kimetropoli wa kitamaduni wa nchi hiyo, waliozungumza zaidi Kigiriki. Kama kitovu kikuu cha elimu na usomi katika Mashariki ya Mediterania, likawa makazi ya wanazuoni bora na wanatheolojia, na baadhi ya wanahistoria na wanafalsafa bora wa Zama za Marehemu za Kale. Wasomi hao wa kimetropoli walijumuisha Eusebius wa Caesarea Maritima na Prokopios wa Caesarea Maritima (takriban 500–takriban 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), katika Palaestina Prima. Mji huo pia ulikuwa, kwa miaka mingi, makao ya Baba wa Kanisa Origen (185–254 AD) na wanatheolojia wengine wakuu wa Kikristo wa Palestina, ambao pia walitafuta kuunda utambulisho tofauti wa Kikristo wa Palestina kwa kutegemea nafasi ya kipekee ya Palestina. Mwanahistoria maarufu Prokopios wa Kaisaria, mzaliwa wa Palaestina, aliandika haya mwaka 560 AD kuhusu mzalendo mwenzake mwingine wa Palestina:

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:

Yesu, Mwana wa Mungu, alikuwa katika mwili na alikuwa akitembea miongoni mwa watu wa Palestina, akionyesha waziwazi kwa jambo kwamba hakuwahi kutenda dhambi hata kidogo, na pia kwa kufanya hata mambo yasiyowezekana, kwamba yeye ni Mwana wa Mungu kwa kweli; kwani aliwaita wafu na kuwafufua kama kutoka usingizini, akawafumbua macho watu waliozaliwa vipofu, akawatakasa wale ambao miili yao yote ilifunikwa na ukoma, akawaachilia wale ambao miguu yao ilikuwa imeharibika, na aliponya magonjwa mengine yote ambayo madaktari huyaita yasiyoweza kutibika.

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)

Lakini mwanatheolojia mkuu wa Kaisarea Maritima alikuwa Origen. Origen alizaliwa Alexandria, na baadaye aliitwa hadi Provincia Arabia, ili atoe mafundisho kwa gavana wa eneo hilo. Baadaye, kwa sababu ya ghasia kubwa huko Alexandria, aliondoka Misri na kwenda Kaisarea 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.

Mtakatifu Jerome anasema kwamba Origen alienda Achaia nchini Ugiriki kwa sababu ya uzushi uliokuwa ukiyasumbua makanisa huko. Maneno yake ni: ‘Et propter ecclesias Achaiæ, quæ pluribus hæresibus vexabantur, sub testimonio ecclesiasticæ epistolæ Athenas per Palæstinam pergeret’ (Na kwa ajili ya makanisa ya Achaia, ambamo uzushi mwingi ulikua kote Palestina chini ya kiongozi wa kanisa). Alipitia Palestina njiani kwenda Ugiriki, na ilikuwa wakati huu ambapo aliwekwa wakfu kuwa mzee (presbyter) na maaskofu wa Palestina.

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.

Mkusanyaji mwenye shauku wa vitabu, Origen alisaidia kuanzisha Maktaba ya Kaisaria, na aliipa Kaisaria Maritima baadhi ya haiba ya kimataifa na nguvu ya kiakili ya miji mikubwa kama Aleksandria na Antiokia. Kaisaria ikawa makazi yake ya kudumu mwaka 232 BK. Pia alikuwa kichocheo cha kupanda kwa ajabu kwa wasomi wa kitamaduni wa Kigiriki waliokuwa wakizungumza lugha hiyo na kuathiriwa na utamaduni wa Kipalestina – wasomi ambao waliifanya Kaisaria-Palaestina kuwa mojawapo ya miji muhimu zaidi ya zama za kale za kitambo. Origen aliyekuwa Mpalestina alikuwa mwandishi mzalishaji wa Kikristo, mwanafalsafa wa historia na Baba wa Mahubiri. Alianzisha chuo cha Kikristo huko Kaisaria, ambacho kilijumuisha Maktaba ya Kaisaria-Palaestina, maktaba ya kikanisa na kihistoria yenye vitabu 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

maandiko (Carriker 2003; Murphy-O’Connor 2008: 241) na ilikuwa ya pili baada ya Maktaba ya Alexandria wakati wa umaarufu wake. Origen pia alijulikana kwa kuandika kazi muhimu juu ya Uplatonist wa Kikristo, ikiwemo risala yake maarufu On First Principles (1966), kazi iliyokuwa na athari kubwa katika fikra za Kikristo na katika Renaissance ya kibinadamu ya kisasa. Origen aliandika Hexapla (‘mara sita’)13 na kazi nyingine za tafsiri na za kitheolojia alipokuwa akiishi Kaisaria.

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 imekuwa mojawapo ya maeneo yaliyochimbuliwa kwa kina zaidi katika Palestina ya Kibyzantini (Avni 2014: 42). Palestina ya karne ya 3 hadi ya 6 BK ilikuwa na kitovu chake huko Caesarea, jiji kubwa zaidi la mji mkuu katika nchi nzima.

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:

Katika karne ya sita mji ulipanuka zaidi, zaidi ya kuta zake, na kuunda vitongoji vya nje vyenye makazi ya kuvutia. Eneo kubwa na tajiri la kilimo lilipanuka nje ya mipaka ya mji wa Kaisaria. Upanuzi huu wa mji unaakisi ongezeko endelevu la idadi ya watu mijini, jambo lililoifanya Kaisaria kuwa mji mkubwa zaidi katika Palestina.

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)

Tayari katika karne ya 3 BK, Mkoa wa Palaestina ulikuwa umejikita katika mji mkuu wake tajiri wa Mediterania, Caesarea Maritima, ambao kwa kiasi kikubwa ulikuwa na watu waliosoma vizuri na wenye maendeleo makubwa. Palaestina pia ilichukuliwa kama nchi tofauti katika maandishi ya wasomi wa miji hiyo. Kutoka mji mkuu wa Caesarea Maritima, Origen alikuwa akiwasiliana kwa barua na Mfalme wa Kirumi Philip (Marcus Julius Philippus, au Marcus Iulius Philippus Augustus, aliyetawala kuanzia mwaka 244 hadi 249 BK), anayejulikana pia kwa jina lake la utani la Kilatini ‘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’.

Alizaliwa katika sehemu ya kaskazini ya Provincia Arabia, yaani Arabia Petraea ya Kiroma. Eneo hili la Hauran, lililokaliwa na watu wa asili mchanganyiko na Waarabu wengi, baadaye lilikuja kuwa sehemu ya Palaestina Secunda na kwa vitendo lilitawaliwa na wafalme Waarabu Wakristo wa Ghassan, waliokuwa washirika wa Byzantium chini ya utawala wa kawaida wa Byzantine. ‘Philip the Arab’ mwenyewe baadaye alikuja kuwa mtu mashuhuri katika Dola ya Kiroma (Bowersock 1994: 122). Miongoni mwa wanahistoria wa mwanzo wa Kikristo, ‘Philip the Arab’ alikuwa na sifa ya kuwa mwenye huruma kwa imani ya Kikristo. Baadhi ya mapokeo ya baadaye ya Kikristo, yaliyotajwa kwa mara ya kwanza na Eusebius, aliyekuwa kutoka Caesarea-Palaestina, katika Historia yake ya Kanisa, yalidai kwamba Philip alikuwa Mtawala wa kwanza wa Kiroma kuwa Mkristo (Eusebius 2011: VI.xxxiv). Wakosoaji, hata hivyo, wanasema kwamba ‘Philip the Arab’ alipata sifa njema kwa wanahistoria wa kanisa kutokana na uvumilivu wake wa kidini na mtazamo wake wa jumla wa huruma kwa Wakristo (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).

Baada ya kifo cha Origen, Origenism wa Palestina uliendelea kuenea kote Mashariki ya Karibu – hadi lilipolaaniwa kwa jumla na kukandamizwa kwa Origenism katikati ya karne ya 6 – na Maktaba ya kitheolojia ya Kaisaria ilisimamiwa na kupanuliwa na Mtakatifu Pamphilus wa Kaisaria (nusu ya pili ya karne ya 3–309), ambaye alikuwa mkuu miongoni mwa wanazuoni wa Biblia wa kizazi chake, na rafiki na mwalimu wa mwanahistoria wa kanisa, pia Askofu wa Kaisaria, Eusebius (263–339 BK). Eusebius (“Baba wa Historia ya Kanisa”) mwenyewe alizaliwa Kaisaria na aliishi sehemu kubwa ya maisha yake ya utu uzima katika mji huo. Pamphilus alijitolea maisha yake kutafuta na kupata maandishi ya kale kwa ajili ya maktaba hiyo, ambayo ikawa mojawapo ya maktaba maarufu na tajiri zaidi katika Zama za Kale. Ilivutia wanahistoria wa kanisa na wanatheolojia kutoka kote Dola la Kirumi: Mtakatifu Basil Mkuu (329–379), Gregory wa Nazianzus, Askofu Mkuu wa Konstantinopoli wa karne ya 4, na Mtakatifu Jerome (karibu 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

Hilo la mwisho lilikuwa ni mmoja wa "Mababa wa Kanisa" ambaye anajulikana zaidi kwa tafsiri yake ya Biblia kwenda Kilatini. Wasomi hawa wote maarufu walikuja kusoma huko Kaisaria-Palestina. Zaidi ya hayo, leo aina ya maandishi ya Kaisaria inatambuliwa sana na wasomi kama mojawapo ya aina za mwanzo kabisa za kusoma Injili nne (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).

Ingawa Ukristo uliendelea kucheza nafasi muhimu – si mara zote chanya, kama ilivyotajwa hapo juu, kwa mfano tu kesi moja ya mateso ya Origen na wafuasi wake wa kiakili – katika historia ya nchi na watu wake, ni kipindi hiki cha kuenea kwake kwa kiwango kikubwa ambacho kilikuwa muhimu zaidi kwa dini mpya huko Palestina. Kipindi hicho kilizaa maandishi mengi ya kitamaduni yenye umaarufu na vitu vya kihistoria, na kuifanya Palestina pengine nchi maarufu zaidi duniani wakati huo, kutokana na maelezo mengi, mabaki ya kale, kazi za kifasihi, za kidini na za kihistoria, ambazo ziliifanya kuwa jina linalojulikana sana ndani ya Ukristo na nje yake. Baadhi ya maandishi maarufu kuhusu nchi hiyo yalitungwa na 'Baba wa Historia ya Kanisa', Eusebius wa Kaisaria, ambaye alijivunia nchi yake ya asili ya Palaestina; alilitumia mara kwa mara jina Palaestina katika kazi zake, jambo ambalo baadaye liliathiri vizazi vya waandishi Wakristo duniani kote. De Martyribus Palaestina14 ya Eusebius (1861) inatupa dalili wazi ya kuimarika kwa dhana ya Palaestina kama nchi wakati wa enzi ya mapema ya Byzantium. Mashahidi wa Palestina inahusu mateso ya Wakristo wa mwanzo katika mji mkuu wa nchi hiyo, Kaisaria-Palaestina, na nchi nzima kwa ujumla mwanzoni mwa karne ya 4 BK. Simulizi hili huenda liliandikwa awali kwa Kiaramu cha Kipalestina, lugha ya Yesu wa Nazareti. Kiebrania wakati wa Yesu kilikuwa lugha iliyokaribia kutoweka, huku Wayahudi wa Palestina wakizungumza Kiaramu, na Kiebrania kikitumika hasa katika matumizi ya kiliturujia. Kikiwa na uhusiano wa karibu na Kiarabu, Kiaramu cha Kipalestina kilikuwa lugha ambayo Eusebius aliifahamu vizuri. Wakati huo, Kiaramu kilikuwa lugha kuu ya mazungumzo ya kila siku nchini na kilizungumzwa katika mji mkuu, Kaisaria-Palaestina.15 Kiaramu pia kingeathiri mabadiliko ya Kiarabu cha kienyeji cha Palestina.

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.

Palestina ya Kibyzantini pia ilizaa, katika karne ya 6, mwanahistoria mkuu zaidi wa dunia, Prokopios wa Kaisaria Maritima, msomi mashuhuri kutoka Palaestina Prima, mwanahistoria mkuu wa Dola ya Kibyzantini ya karne ya 6 na wa utawala wa Mfalme Justinian. Prokopios alisafiri sana katika eneo la Bahari ya Mediterania na Mashariki ya Karibu, alimfuatana jemadari wa Kibyzantini Belisarius kama katibu katika vita vya Justinian, na alieleza kwa kina kuhusu wafalme wa Kiarabu wa kikabila wa Maghassani (phylarchs wakuu).

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)

ya Palaestina Secunda, Palaestina Prima na Palaestina Salutaris. Katika kazi yake ya juzuu nyingi, Vita vya Justinian (karibu mwaka 560), Prokopios aliandika:

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

Mipaka ya Palestina inaenea upande wa mashariki hadi baharini ambayo inaitwa Bahari Nyekundu. Sasa bahari hii, ikianzia India, inafikia mwisho wake hapa katika eneo la Warumi. Na kuna mji unaoitwa Aelas [ambao leo ni ‘Aqabah] kwenye pwani yake, ambapo bahari inafikia mwisho wake, kama nilivyosema, na kuwa ghuba nyembamba sana. (Prokopios 2014)

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 (Kigiriki: Prokopios ho Kaisareus; Kilatini: Procopius Caesariensis) aliongeza kwamba Chosroes (Khosrow I, 501–579), Shahanshah (Mfalme wa Wafalme) wa Milki ya Sasania ya Uajemi kuanzia mwaka 531 hadi 579, alikuwa na hamu kubwa ya kujifanya mtawala wa Palaestina kwa sababu ya rutuba yake ya ajabu, utajiri wake na idadi kubwa ya wakazi wake (alinukuliwa katika Gibbon 1838, Juz. 1: 40; pia Prokopios 2014). Akitoa maoni kuhusu uchunguzi wa Prokopios juu ya rutuba ya nchi hiyo, mwanahistoria wa Kiingereza Edward Gibbon, katika kazi yake muhimu zaidi, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, iliyochapishwa katika juzuu nane kati ya mwaka 1776 na 1788, aliandika kwamba mwanahistoria wa Kiroma Tacitus alielezea Palestina kama ifuatavyo: ‘wakazi ni wenye afya na imara; mvua ni za wastani; udongo una rutuba’ (Gibbon 1838, Juz. 1: 40). Gibbon aliongeza: ‘Palestina, na utajiri mtakatifu wa Yerusalemu, ndivyo vitu vilivyovutia tamaa, au kwa usahihi zaidi uchoyo, wa Chosroes [I]’ (Gibbon 1840, Juz. 5: 173). Aliongeza zaidi kwamba Waarabu Waislamu ‘walifikiri vivyo hivyo, na waliogopa kwamba Omar, atakapoenda Yerusalemu, akivutiwa na rutuba ya udongo na usafi wa hewa, hatarudi tena Madina’ (Gibbon 1838, Juz. 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).

Wakati wa kipindi cha mapema cha Ukristo, hasa kuanzia karne ya nne na kuendelea, Nchi Takatifu – mahali pasipo wazi, pasiyo na umbo, na penye hadithi za kiajabu – iligeuzwa kuwa nchi halisi iitwayo Palaestina, yenye miji iliyostawi, bandari, makanisa mazuri, nyumba nyingi za watawa, shule maarufu za falsafa na maktaba, mtandao mpana wa barabara, vijiji, na idadi kubwa ya watu wenye shughuli za kibiashara na kiutamaduni, jambo ambalo liliongeza shauku ya Wazungu (wanaozungumza Kilatini). Ilikuwa katika kipindi hiki cha mapema cha Ukristo ndipo neno la Kilatini Terrae Sanctae likawa sawa na matumizi mengi ya neno Palaestina katika maandiko ya Kikristo, yaliyotumiwa na mahujaji wa Kikristo na wanahistoria wa mahali hapo. Kuhusu Mashahidi wa Palestina (311 BK)

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)

aliandikwa na mwanahistoria wa kanisa na Askofu wa Kaisarea-Palestina, Eusebius (miaka ya 263–339 BK), "Baba wa Historia ya Kanisa", ambaye alitunga kazi yake kubwa Historia Ecclesiastica na Onomasticon yake (Kuhusu Majina ya Mahali katika Maandiko Matakatifu) (1971), utafiti mpana wa kijiografia na kihistoria wa Palestina, katika mji huo: "Eusebius anasema kwamba alitunga Kuhusu Majina ya Mahali katika Maandiko Matakatifu kwa kupitia Biblia kipande kwa kipande" (Barnes 1981: 109). Kazi hii kubwa ya Kibiblia imeelezwa na mwanaklasiki wa Uingereza Timothy David Barnes (1981: 106) kuwa ni "orodha ya mahali ya Kibiblia ambayo bado ni chanzo kikuu cha fasihi kwa jiografia ya kihistoria ya Palestina, kwa nyakati za Biblia na chini ya Dola ya 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’.

Ingawa Onomasticon yake ilitegemea kwa kiasi fulani jiografia ya kimaandiko iliyojengwa kidini na kumbukumbu ya kidini iliyoidhinishwa rasmi, Eusebius anatumia jina Provincia Palaestina mara kwa mara na kulihusisha nchi nzima kuanzia Lebanon upande wa kaskazini hadi Misri upande wa kusini. Matumizi haya ya kiutawala na kirasmi ya Waroma/Wabyzantine yaliathiri vizazi vilivyofuata vya waandishi wa Kikristo na Wazungu. Eusebius, mzaliwa wa Caesarea-Palaestina, ambaye lugha yake ilikuwa Kigiriki, katika Hotuba yake ya Sifa kwa Constantine, anaandika kwa fahari kuhusu uangalizi wa pekee uliotolewa kwa "Provencia Palaestina yetu":

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’:

ظهيْ ختار قصرين للبناء في القسم الشرقي من الإمبراطورية: أحدهما في مقاطعتنا فلسطين (إذ منها تدفق النبع المُحيي كما من ينبوع للبركة لجميع الأمم)، والآخر في تلك المدينة الكبرى في الشرق التي تستمد اسمها من اسم أنطيوخوس؛ وفيها، بصفته رئيس ذلك الجزء من الإمبراطورية، كرّس لخدمة الله كنيسةً ذات حجم وجمال لا مثيل لهما. ويُحيط بالمبنى كله سورٌ واسع المساحة، وفي داخله ترتفع الكنيسة نفسها إلى علوٍّ شاهق، على شكل مثمّن، ومحاطة من كل جانب بحجرات وأفنية كثيرة، ومزيّنة بزخارف من أغلى الأنواع.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