Hebron
Details
- Alternate Name
- Al-khalil
- Names
Hebron
Al-khalil
- Place Type
- political; historical
- Description
- Hebron is one of the oldest cities in this region of Palestine, located 20 miles SSW from Jerusalem, at an altitude of 3,000 ft, at an important crossroads, in an agricultural region where grapes, cereal grains, and vegetables are produced. It is sacred to Jews, Muslims, and Christians because of its associations with the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and with King David. The Bible first mentions Hebron in connection with Abraham; the cave of Machpelah (also called the Cave of the Patriarchs; now enclosed by the Mosque of Ibrahim) is the traditional burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. In the Biblical story, David ruled the Hebrews from Hebron for seven years before moving his capital to Jerusalem. The city has been involved in many wars in Palestine; it was taken by Judas Maccabeus in the 2nd century BCE, destroyed by the Romans, conquered by Arabs in 636 CE, taken by Crusaders in 1099, taken by Saladin in 1187, later was part of the Ottoman Empire.
- Source
- Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)
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