Tarixiy va geografik bilim bilan kuch o‘zaro ajralmas bog‘liqdir, Rim imperiyasining kengayishi va mustahkamlanishi ensiklopedik ko‘p jildli asarlarning paydo bo‘lishiga olib keldi. Miloddan avvalgi I asrda Falastin haqida uchta mashhur geografik ma'lumot mavjud: (a) yunon-rim geografi va tarixchisi Strabon (miloddan avvalgi 64–63 – miloddan keyingi taxminan 24), o‘zining ko‘p jildli "Geografika" asarida (Strabon 1917) — bu ensiklopedik bilim O‘rta er dengizi mintaqasi va Yaqin Sharq bo‘ylab keng sayohatlariga asoslangan edi; (b) Pliniy Katta (miloddan keyingi 23–79) o‘zining "Naturalis Historia" asarida (taxminan miloddan keyingi 78); (c) Pomponiy Mela, birinchi rimlik geograf bo‘lib, klassik lotin tilida yozilgan yagona qadimgi geografik risolani — "De Situ Orbis" ("Dunyo tavsifi") asarini taxminan miloddan keyingi 43 yilda yozgan. Strabon, Pliniy Katta va Melaning asarlarida Falastin mamlakati keng ma'noda, xuddi klassik yunon yozuvchilari butun mamlakatga nisbatan qo‘llagan nom kabi tilga olinadi.

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

Plinius, Strabon va Mela Falastin haqidagi ma'lumotlarning ayrim qismini ilgari yunon-rim davridagi (gellenistik) manbalardan olgan bo'lishlari mumkin. Plinyning "Tabiiy tarix" (Naturalis Historia, mil. av. 78 yil atrofida) asari tabiat haqidagi ensiklopedik kitob bo'lib, uni rimlik muallif, dengiz qo'mondoni va Imperator Vespasianning yaqin doirasiga kirgan shaxs yozgan. "Tabiiy tarix" kitobining V kitobi, 13 va 14-boblarida qo'llangan geografik-ma'muriy atama Palaestina zamondagi o'zgarib borayotgan joy nomlarini hamda Vespasian tomonidan kiritilgan o'zgarishlarni ham aks ettiradi.

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

Geografik jihatdan Pliniy "Palaestina" nomini ikki xil ma'noda ishlatadi: qadimgi Palaestina, ya'ni qadimgi Filistiya, va hozirgi Livan va Suriyagacha cho'zilgan keng hududlarga ega yangi Palaestina.

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

Sohil bo'yidagi navbatdagi davlat Suriya bo'lib, u ilgari eng buyuk yurtlardan biri edi.

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

U coʻplab bordi, uning Arabistonga tutash qismi ilgari Falastin [Palaestina, yoki qadimgi Filistiya], Yahudiya, Botiq Suriya deb atalgan, keyin Finikiya va ichkaridagi qismi Damaskena, yana janubda esa Bobil, shuningdek Furot bilan Dajla oʻrtasidagi Mesopotamiya ... Sidonning orqasida Livan togʻi boshlanadi, u Botiq Suriya [Coele-Syria] deb ataladigan tumandagi Zimiragacha choʻzilgan zanjir boʻlib, masofasi qariyb 190 ni tashkil etadi.

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

milya. Livan [Finikiya] ro'parasida, ular orasida vodiy bo'lib, xuddi shunday uzun Qarshi-Livan tizmasi cho'zilgan; bu tizma ilgari devor bilan Livan bilan tutashgan edi. Qarshi-Livan ortida quruqlikka tomon o'n shahar viloyati [Rim viloyati Suriya-Falastinda hamda keyinroq Vizantiya Falastina Secunda'sidagi Dekapol] va u bilan birga avval zikr etilgan tetrarxiyalar, shuningdek Falastinning [Palaestina] keng butun hududi joylashgan. (Pliny 1991: Book V)

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

Pomponiy Melaning "Dunyo tavsifi" (Chorographia) asari Strabon va Pliniy Katta asarlari mezonlari bo‘yicha va zamonaviy texnik talablar bo‘yicha past darajada bo‘lsa-da, XV asr oxiridan XVIII asrgacha bo‘lgan Yevropaning Buyuk kashfiyotlar davrida keng tarqalgan va ingliz tiliga tarjima qilingan. U zamonaviy davrda ham katta ta’sirini saqlab qoldi. Rim imperiyasi gullagan davrda, miloddan avvalgi 44-yilda nashr etilgan bu asar dunyodagi eng qadimgi geo-etnografik asarlardan biri bo‘lib, lotin tilidagi saqlanib qolgan eng qadimgi geografik asardir (Romer 1998). Bu asar klassik yunon manbalari ta’sirida yozilgan bo‘lib, Herodot singari Mela ham Falastinni kengroq ma’noda tasvirlaydi: shimolda Finikiyadan janubda Misrgacha. Biroq Herodotdan farqli o‘laroq, Mela Yahudiyani eslatib o‘tadi, lekin uni to‘g‘ri ravishda u Palaestina deb atagan mamlakatning kichik bir qismi sifatida ko‘rsatadi. Miloddan avvalgi 43-yilda Mela "Falastinning arablari" (Hic Palaestine est qua tangit Arabas) haqida gapirgan va Suriya hamda Palaestinani quyidagicha tasvirlagan:

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

Suriya dengiz bo‘yidagi keng hududni, shuningdek ichki tomonga ancha uzoqqa cho‘zilgan yerlarni egallaydi va turli joylarda turlicha nomlar bilan ataladi. Masalan, uni Coele, Mesopotamiya, Yahudiya, Commagene va Sophene deb ham atashadi.

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

Bu Suriya Arablar bilan chegaradosh joyda Falastin, so'ngra Finikiya, va u Kilikiyaga yetgan joyda — Antiochiya. Bu shahar uzoq zamonlar oldin va uzoq muddat davomida kuchli bo'lgan, ammo eng kuchli bo'lgan davri Semiramida uning shohona hukmronligi ostida turgan paytdir. Uning ishlari, albatta, ko'plab o'ziga xos xususiyatlarga ega. Ikkitasi alohida ajralib turadi: Bobil ajoyib katta shahar sifatida qurilgan va Furot va Dajla daryolari ilgari quruq bo'lgan hududlarga yo'naltirilgan.6

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

Mela Gaza va Palaestina deb atagan mamlakatning boshqa muhim shaharlari haqida ham qiziqarli fikrlar bildirgan. Semit tillarida Gaza nomi "kuchli" yoki "qattiq" degan ma'noni anglatadi (ibroniycha: עַזהָּ, "kuchli"). Etimologik jihatdan yunoncha va lotincha Γάζα va Gaza nomlari, ehtimol, suriyacha ܐܙܓ (ganzā, gazzā) shaklining tarjimasi bo'lgan, u esa forscha ganj ("xazina", "omborxona", "don ombori") so'zidan kelib chiqqan. Qadimgi misrliklar uni "qadrli shahar" ma'nosidagi Azzati deb atashgan (Shahin 2005: 414; Katzenstein 1982). Mela davom etib, Falastin shaharlari Gaza, Ashkelon va Yoffani tasvirlaydi hamda Gaza nomining ham semit, ham fors ma'nolariga ishora qiladi.

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

Lekin Falastinda G'azo joylashgan, u qudratli va juda mustahkam qal'alangan shahar.

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

Shuning uchun forslar buni o‘zlarining xazinasi deb atashadi: Kambiz Misrga qurol bilan yurish qilganda, u yerga ham boyliklarni, ham urush uchun pulni olib kelgan edi. Ashkelon shahri ham kam ahamiyatli emas. Yoppa [Yoffa] go‘yo tufondan oldin asos solingan. Mahalliy aholining da’vosiga ko‘ra, Yoppada Kefey shoh bo‘lgan; buning isboti sifatida ular o‘sha qadimiy qurbongohlarni ko‘rsatadilar — eng katta taqiqqa ega bo‘lgan qurbongohlarda shu odam va uning ukasi Finey nomi yozilgan yozuv hanuz saqlanib qolgan. Bundan tashqari, ular dengiz hayvonining ulkan suyaklarini ham ko‘rsatadilar — bu qo‘shiq va afsonalarda nishonlanadigan voqeaning, shuningdek, Persey tomonidan qutqarilgan Andromedaning aniq xotirasi sifatida. (Pomponius Mela, Romer 1998: 52‒53)7

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