Temir davrining ko'p qismida (miloddan avvalgi taxminan 1200–600 yillar) Filistiya strategik xalqaro savdo aloqalariga tayanib gullab-yashnadi va, quyida ko'rib chiqqanimizdek, miloddan avvalgi VI asr oxiri – V asr boshlarida Falastinda birinchi pul tizimini yaratdi. Quruqlikdagi qazishmalar va Filistiya kemalar halokatining suv ostidagi arxeologik tadqiqotlari filistlarning yuqori darajada madaniyatli xalq bo'lganini ko'rsatdi.

Throughout much of the Iron Age (c. 1200‒600 BC) Philistia flourished on strong international trade links and, as we shall see below, developed the first monetary system of Palestine in the late 6th‒early 5th century BC. Terrestrial excavations and underwater archaeology of shipwrecks of Philistia have revealed that the Philistines were a highly civilised people.

Ular nafis dengizchilar hamda juda mohir me'morlar va shahar rejalashtiruvchilar, juda san'atkor kulolar, to'quvchilar, fil suyagi va metall ustalari edi (Dothan 1992). Finikiyaliklar singari, filistlar ham ilg'or dengiz texnologiyasini rivojlantirdilar, bu ularning dengizchi xalq sifatidagi shuhratini, ehtimol, yanada oshirgan. Ularning kelib chiqishi (Egey dengizi yoki Yaqin Sharq) olimlar orasida jiddiy bahs-munozara mavzusi bo'lib kelgan bo'lsa-da (Berlin 1997), eng so'nggi tadqiqotlar ular Levant hududining mahalliy xalqi bo'lganligini taxmin qilmoqda (Evian 2017). Shunga qaramay, Falastindagi ilg'or filist shahar-davlatlarining rivojlanishi, bir darajada, qadimgi yunon polisining rivojlanishiga o'xshagan deb hisoblash uchun asoslar mavjud. Vaqt o'tishi bilan, ayniqsa Ellinistik va Rim davrlarida, Falastindagi bir qancha shaharlar, xususan janubdagi Ashkelon va shimoldagi Ptolemais (Akko), tipik yunon poleislariga aylandi. Yunoncha polis (ko'plik shakli poleis), ya'ni "shahar-davlat" atamasi qadimgi davr mobaynida rivojlanishda davom etib, shahar, davlat va oxir-oqibat fuqarolik tushunchalarining ajdodi bo'ldi. Yunoncha polis (arabcha madinah) atamasi Ellinistik, Rim va Vizantiya davrlarida saqlanib qoldi va Rim va yunon tilida so'zlashuvchi Vizantiya Falastinida shaharlarni nomlashda keng tarqaldi. U zamonaviy Falastinda ham, Falastinning Nablus shahri nomida (asli Neapolis) moslashtirilgan shaklda uchraydi.

They were sophisticated seafarers and highly accomplished architects and urban planners, highly artistic potters and weavers and ivory and metalworkers (Dothan 1992). Like the Phoenicians, the Philistines developed advanced naval technology which probably enhanced their reputation as seafaring people. Although their origin (Aegean or Near Eastern) has been seriously disputed among scholars (Berlin 1997) – with the most recent research suggesting they were an indigenous people of the Levant (Evian 2017) – there are good reasons to assume that the evolution of the highly advanced Philistine city-states in Palestine resembled, to some extent, the evolution of the sophisticated ancient Greek polis. In time, and more noticeably during the Hellenic and Roman periods, several cities in Palestine, especially Ascalon in the south and Ptolemais (Acre) in the north, would evolve into typical Greek poleis. The Greek term polis (plural poleis), ‘city-state’, continued to evolve in the course of the ancient period as the ancestor of city, state and eventually citizenship; the Greek term polis (Arabic madinah) persisted into the Hellenic, Roman and Byzantine periods and became common to the naming of cities in Roman- and Greek-speaking Byzantine Palestine; it is also found in modern Palestine in the adapted name of the Palestinian city of Nablus (originally Neapolis).

Biroq, Nablus ("yangi shahar") va Iliya/al-Quds/Quddus shaharlarining Falastindagi asosiy arab-islom madinalariga aylanish tarixiy jarayoni yunon-rim-vizantiya poleis shaharlaridan unchalik farq qiladigan shaharlarga olib kelmadi.

However, the historical evolution of Nablus (‘new city’) and Iliya/al-Quds/ Jerusalem into the key Arab Islamic madinas in Palestine did not result in cities very different from the earlier Greco-Roman-Byzantine poleis.

Yunon‒Rim‒Vizantiya shaharsozligi islom davrida gullagan va bugungi kunda ham Quddusning Arab-Islom o‘rta asrlar eski shahrida yaqqol namoyon bo‘ladi; bu shahar dunyoda eng yaxshi saqlanib qolgan o‘rta asr shaharlaridan biridir. G‘azo, Caesarea Maritima va Falastindagi boshqa poleis/madinalar kabi Nablus, G‘azo, ‘Asqalan, Akka (Acre) va o‘rta asrlardagi Islom Quddusi shahri Falastinning boy shahar landshaftida ham tarixiy uzluksizlik, ham doimiy moslashuv va o‘zgarish jarayonlari mavjudligining klassik misollaridir. Bundan tashqari, kichik shahar ijtimoiy elitalari hukmronlik qilgan yunon-rim poleislari shahardagi boshqaruv markazining rivojlanishi bilan, ya’ni “davlat”ni anglatadigan holda, atrofidagi qishloqlarni ham o‘z ichiga olgan holda evolyutsiya qilib o‘zgardi, va boshqaruvning bu shakli (atrofidagi qishloqlar bilan birga shahar) Vizantiya va Islom davridagi Falastinda ham yaqqol ko‘zga tashlanadi.

Greek‒Roman‒Byzantine urban planning flourished under Islam and is still much in evidence today in the Arab Islamic medieval Old City of Jerusalem, one of the best preserved medieval cities in the world. Like Gaza, Caesarea Maritima and other poleis/madinas in Palestine, Nablus, Gaza, ‘Asqalan, Akka (Acre) and the medieval Islamic City of Jerusalem are classic examples which exhibit both historical continuities and continuous processes of adaption and transformation of the rich urban landscape of Palestine. Furthermore, the Greco-Roman poleis, dominated by small urban social elites, evolved and changed with the development of the centre of governance in the city to signify ‘state’, which included its surrounding villages, and this form of governance (the city with its surrounding villages) is also evident in Byzantine and Islamic Palestine.

Shuni ta'kidlash kerakki, yunon poleislari Sidon va Tir kabi Yaqin Sharqdagi qadimgi birlamchi shahar-davlatlaridan farq qilgan. Ular podsho yoki kichik oligarxiya tomonidan emas, balki o'z fuqarolari jamoasi tomonidan boshqariladigan siyosiy birliklar edi.

However, it should be pointed out that the Greek poleis were unlike other primordial ancient city-states in the Near East like Sidon and Tyre, which were ruled by a king or a small oligarchy, but rather were political entities ruled by their bodies of citizens.

Filistiyaning ushbu davrdagi kuchli savdo an'analari va texnologik yangiliklari, shuningdek, Filistiy tsivilizatsiyasining tabiati – yuqori rivojlangan va ta'sirchan O'rta er dengizi madaniyati va siyosiy tuzilmasi – so'nggi arxeologik qazishmalar bilan tasdiqlangan. Filistiya arxeologiyasi shuni ko'rsatdiki, Filistiy shahar-davlatlari juda murakkab madaniyatga ega bo'lgan, shaharsozlik va texnologik rivojlanish (temirdan tortib sopolgacha) jihatidan Falastinning boshqa zamondosh hududlaridan ancha ustun bo'lgan. Filistiya qirg'og'ining bu yuqori darajadagi rivojlanganligiga oid isroilliklar tomonidan qazib olingan arxeologik dalillar hozirgi Tel-Aviv shahrining (1909 yilda Sharqiy Yevropadan kelgan yahudiy ko'chmanchilar tomonidan asos solingan va 1948 yilgacha Falastindagi sionistik Yishuv ko'chmanchi koloniyasining amalda poytaxti bo'lgan Isroil metropoliyasi – "ona shahar") shimoliy chegarasi tashqarisida topildi. Bu yerda Tel-Qasile – miloddan avvalgi XII–X asrlarda gullab-yashnagan portli shahar bo'lgan Filistiy shahri qoldiqlari aniqlandi. Bu arxeologik topilmalar Tel-Aviv universiteti kampusidagi "Eretz Isroil muzeyi"da saqlanmoqda – bu Tel-Avivning Ramat-Aviv mahallasida joylashgan tarixiy va arxeologik muzey. Tel-Aviv universitetining kampusi o'zi qadimgi Filistiy shahri va zamonaviy falastinlik al-Shaykh Muvannis qishlog'i xarobalari ustiga qurilgan bo'lib, bu qishloq 1948 yil martida Haganah tomonidan aholisi ko'chirilgan holda vayron qilingan.

The strong tradition of trading and the technological innovation of Philistia during that period, and the nature of Philistine civilisation – a highly developed and influential Mediterranean culture and polity – have all been confirmed by recent archaeological excavations. The archaeology of Philistia has shown that the Philistine city-states had a highly sophisticated culture, in fact far more advanced in urban and technological development (from iron to pottery) than other contemporary regions of Palestine. Israeli- excavated archaeological evidence for this high level of development of the coast of Philistia was found outside the northern border of the modern city of Tel Aviv (the Israeli metropolis – ‘mother city’ – founded by East European Jewish settlers in 1909 and effectively the capital of the Zionist Yishuv settler colony in Palestine until 1948) in the remains of Tel Qasile, a Philistine town which formed a thriving harbour town through the 12th‒10th centuries BC. These archaeological discoveries were deposited in ‘the Eretz Israel Museum’ on the campus of Tel Aviv University, a historical and archaeological museum in the Ramat Aviv neighbourhood of Tel Aviv. The campus of Tel Aviv University itself was constructed on the ruins of an ancient Philistine town and a modern Palestinian village, al-Shaykh Muwannis, depopulated by the Haganah in March 1948.

Butun temir davri davomida Filistiya, janubiy va shimoliy tabiiy chegaralari bilan, ikki kuchli savdo qo'shnisi — Misr va Finikiya o'rtasida joylashgan alohida siyosiy birlik sifatida shakllandi, shu bilan birga G'arbda Egey mintaqasi va janubda Arabiston bilan gullab-yashnagan xalqaro savdoni rivojlantirdi. Bu qo'shnichilik filistliklar tomonidan ustalik bilan foydalanildi: ular undan xalqaro savdo aloqalarini, iqtisodiyotni va alohida geosiyosiy mintaqa hamda moddiy madaniyatni rivojlantirish uchun foydalanishdi (Ben-Shlomo 2010; Thompson 2016). Filistiyaning savdoga asoslangan iqtisodiyoti ham politeizm va madaniy aralashuv bilan shakllangan mamlakatda muhim birlashtiruvchi omil bo'ldi. Filistliklar boshqa mahalliy aholi bilan qo'shilib ketdi va qirg'oqdagi portli shaharlarda hamda ularning atrofidagi qishloqlarda yashadi. Ularning asosiy shaharlari mustaqil shohlar tomonidan boshqarilar, aholisi aralash bo'lib, Falastinning boshqa mahalliy xalqlari bilan birlashgan edi. Gaza, Yaffa, Ekron, Ashdod, Ashkelon va Gat kabi qadimiy shaharlarda topilgan, uslublashtirilgan qushlar bilan bezatilgan sopol buyumlar qadimgi Falastindagi yuqori darajada rivojlangan filist shaharlari haqida arxeologik dalillar beradi. Misr va Finikiya o'rtasida Sharqiy O'rta yer dengizi qirg'oqlari bo'ylab suzgan kemalar zaxiralarni to'ldirish va bo'ronli ob-havoda panoh topish uchun Filistiya portlaridan (Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Yaffa va Tantur/Dor) foydalanardi. Eng muhimi, Filistiya shaharlari xalqaro savdo yo'li — Via Maris ("Filistliklar yo'li") ustidan nazorat qilar va o'z hududidan o'tadigan savdo karvonlaridan boj olardi (Gallagher 1999: 113).

Throughout the Iron Age Philistia, with its southern and northern natural borders, emerged as a distinct polity nestling between two powerful trading neighbours, Egypt and Phoenicia, but also cultivated flourishing international trade with the Aegean region in the West and Arabia in the south. This neighbourhood was shrewdly exploited by the Philistines, who used it to develop their international trade links, economy and a distinct geo-political region and material culture (Ben-Shlomo 2010; Thompson 2016). The trade-based economy of Philistia was also a major unifying factor in a country which was shaped by polytheism and cultural hybridity. The Philistines integrated with other local populations and lived in coastal port towns and their surrounding villages. Their key cities were ruled by autonomous kings and their populations were mixed and inteThe grated with other indigenous populations of Palestine. Pottery remains excavated in ancient cities such as Gaza, Jaffa, Ekron, Ashdod, Ascalon and Gath, decorated with stylised birds, provide archaeological evidence for highly developed Philistine cities in ancient Palestine. Ships sailing along the Eastern Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Phoenicia used the harbours of Philistia (Gaza, Ascalon, Ashdod, Jaffa and Tantur/Dor) to replenish supplies and take shelter in stormy weather. Crucially, the cities of Philistia controlled the international trade route of the Via Maris (‘Way of the Philistines’) and charged the trade caravans tolls for passing through their region (Gallagher 1999: 113).

Filistiya-ning buyuk savdo shaharlari qadimgi Falastinga temir qurollar va jang aravalarini kiritgan deb hisoblanibgina qolmay, quyida ko'rib chiqilganidek, miloddan avvalgi V–IV asrlarda Falastinda eng qadimgi pul va tangalar tizimini yaratgan deb ham e'tirof etiladi. Mintaqaviy va uzoq masofali savdo qadimgi Falastin tarixini shakllantirishda hal qiluvchi omil bo'lgan va, shubhasiz, Filistiya tangalarining joriy etilishiga turtki bergan; bu tangalar Filisto-Arab tangalari nomi bilan ham tanilgan va miloddan avvalgi 538‒332 yillar oralig'ida zarb etilgan (quyida qarang). Filistlarning mahalliy aholi bilan [o'zaro] birlashuvi natijasida geografik jihatdan alohida, ammo etnik jihatdan deyarli farqlanmaydigan Filistiya mintaqasi vujudga keldi, u xalqaro savdo yo'llari bilan mahkam bog'langan edi.

The great trading cities of Philistia were not only credited with introducing iron weapons and chariots to ancient Palestine, but, as we shall see below, also with the creation of the earliest monetary and coinage system in Palestine in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Regional and distant trade was a key factor in shaping the history of ancient Palestine and must have contributed to the introduction of the coinage of Philistia, which also became known as Philisto-Arabian coins, struck in the period 538‒332 BC (see below); [The] integration [of the Philistines] with the indigenous population resulted in the geographically, but hardly ethnically, distinctive region of Philistia, which was tightly linked to the international trade routes.

Bular bir tomondan Via Maris bo‘ylab, Yizreel orqali va Shimoliy Mesopotamiya tomon yo‘nalgan, boshqa tomondan esa qirg‘oq bo‘ylab Shimoliy Falastin va Janubiy Livanning finikiyalik dengiz portlarigacha davom etgan. Ossuriya homiyligi ostida Falastinning keng savdo siyosati nafaqat qirg‘oq iqtisodiyotida hukmronlik qildi, balki Temir davri II davomida birlashgan Janubni shakllantirdi.

These followed the Via Maris, on the one hand, through the Jezreel and in the direction of northern Mesopotamia, and, on the other hand, continued along the coast to the Phoenician seaports of northern Palestine and southern Lebanon. Under Assyrian patronage, Palestine’s expansive trading politics not only dominated the coastal economy but, over the course of the Iron II period, created an integrated South.

Arab savdosi Negev shimolidagi va qirg'oq tekisligidagi donni, chorva mollarini va mevalarni qayta ishlashni, Yahudiya tog' oldi va tog'liklaridagi qo'y va jun, zaytun va sharob bilan birga qo'llab-quvvatlar edi. Janubiy qirg'oqning eng muhim shaharlari orasida Yoffo, 'Afek, Ekron, Ashdod, Gimti (Tall as-Safi), Askalon va G'azo bor edi. (Thompson 2016: 165)

Arab trade supported the processing of grains, cattle and fruits from the Northern Negev and coastal plain with the sheep and wool, olives and wines from the Judean foothills and highlands. Among the southern coast’s most important towns were Jaffa, ‘Aphek, Ekron, Ashdod, Gimti (Tall as-Safi), Askelon and Gaza. (Thompson 2016: 165)

712-yilda, Filistin shahri Ashdodning qo'zg'olonidan so'ng, unga Misr tomonidan harbiy yordam berilganidan keyin, Ossuriya shohi Sargon II (hukmronlik qilgan yillari miloddan avvalgi 722–705) —

In 712, after an uprising by the Philistine city of Ashdod, supported militarily by Egypt, the Assyrian King Sargon II (reigned 722–705 BC)

u Pilishtga bostirib kirdi va Ashdod qiroli Iamanini taxtdan ag‘dardi hamda butun hududni o‘ziga qo‘shib oldi; Filistiya bevosita Ossuriya nazoratiga o‘tkazildi va amalda Ossuriya viloyatiga aylandi (Thompson 2016: 165), garchi Ashdod qiroli taxtda qolishiga ruxsat berilgan bo‘lsa-da (Gallagher 1999: 115). Sargon II vafot etgan paytga kelib, u Filistiyada ikkita viloyatga ega edi: Dor (Tantur)

invaded Pilishte to oust the King of Ashdod Iamani and annexed the whole region; Philistia was brought under direct Assyrian control, in effect becoming an Assyrian province (Thompson 2016: 165), although the King of Ashdod was allowed to remain on the throne (Gallagher 1999: 115). By the time Sargon II died, he ‘had two provinces in Philistia: Dor (Tantur)

va Ashdod, G'azodagi ishonchli podsho va Misr bilan aniq belgilangan chegara (Gallagher 1999: 115).

and Ashdod, a reliable king in Gaza and a clearly defined border with Egypt (Gallagher 1999: 115).