Megiddo (place)
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Image:Megiddo localisation.png Image:Megiddo.jpg Megiddo (Hebrew: מגידו) is a hill in Israel near the modern settlement of Megiddo, known for theological, historical and geographical reasons. In ancient times Meggido was an important city state. It is also known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell al-Mutesellim (Arabic).
Megiddo is a tel, a hill made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities in a strategic location at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the south.
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History
Megiddo was a site of great importance in the ancient world, as it guarded the western branch of a narrow pass and an ancient trade route which connected the lands of Egypt and Assyria. Because of its strategic location at the crossroads of several major routes, Megiddo and its environs have witnessed several major battles throughout history. The site was inhabited from 7000 BCE to 500 BCE.
Megiddo is mentioned in Ancient Egyptian writings because one of Egypt's mighty kings, Thutmose III, waged war upon the city in 1478 BCE. The battle is described in detail in the hieroglyphics found on the walls of his temple in Upper Egypt. Named in the Bible Derekh HaYam (Hebrew: דרך הים), or "Way of the Sea," it became an important military artery of the Roman Empire and was known as the Via Maris.
Modern Megiddo is nearby. The neighboring Mount Megiddo (Har-Megiddo in Hebrew), gave its name to the Armageddon of the Christian Bible.
Today, Megiddo is an important junction on the main road connecting the center of Israel with lower Galilee and the northern region.
Megiddo has been the site of three battles in recorded history:
- Battle of Megiddo (1469 BCE): fought between the armies of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and Kadesh;
- Battle of Megiddo (609 BCE): fought between Egypt and the Kingdom of Judah;
- Battle of Megiddo (1918): fought during World War I between Allied troops, led by General Edmund Allenby, and the defending Ottoman army.
A final military showdown at or near Megiddo is prophesied in the New Testament book of Revelation: Armageddon, an encounter between the forces of good and evil that has become a byword for the end of the world.
Megiddo has been excavated three times. The first excavations were carried out between 1903 and 1905 by Gottlieb Schumacher for the German Society for Oriental Research. In 1925, digging was resumed by Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. until the outbreak of the Second World War. During these excavation it was discovered that there were twenty levels of habitation, and many of the uncovered remains are preserved at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
Yigael Yadin conducted a few small excavations in the 1960s. Megiddo has most recently (since 1994) been the subject of biannual excavation campaigns conducted by The Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University, directed by Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin, together with a consortium of international universities.
Ancient church discovered under prison
In 2005, Israeli archeologist Yotam Tepper of Tel-Aviv University discovered the remains of a church, believed to be from the third century, a time when Christians were still persecuted by the Roman Empire. Among the finds is an approx. 54 square metre large mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to Jesus Christ. The mosaic is very well preserved and features geometrical figures and images of fish, an early Christian symbol. It is speculated that this may be the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land.[1] The remains were found within the grounds of a military prison, and Israeli authorities are currently speculating about moving the prison.
An inscription in the Megiddo church calls for a Roman officer, "Gaianus," who donated "his own money" to have a mosaic made. During the third century of the Common Era, it was highly unlikely that a Roman officer would risk his career at best, or at worst, his life . [2] However, many Roman soldiers practised mystery cults, and though it was unlikely that a Roman officer would risk his career/life, it is not impossible.
The Megiddo Stables
At Megiddo two stable complexes were excavated from Stratum IVA, one in the north and one in the south. The southern complex contained five structures built around a lime paved courtyard. The buildings themselves were divided into three sections. Two long stone paved aisles were built adjacent to a main corridor paved with lime. The buildings were about twenty-one meters long by eleven meters wide. Separating the main corridor from outside aisles was a series of stone pillars. Holes were bored into many of these pillars so that horses could be tied to them. Also, the remains of stone mangers were found in the buildings. These mangers were placed between the pillars to feed the horses. It is suggested that each side could hold fifteen horses, giving each building an overall capacity of thirty horses. The buildings on the northern side of the city were similar in their construction. However, there was no central courtyard. The capacity of the northern buildings was about three hundred horses altogether. Both complexes could hold from 450-480 horses combined.
The buildings were found during excavations between 1927 and 1934 at Megiddo. Head excavator, P.L.O. Guy, originally interpreted the buildings as stables. Since then his conclusions have been challenged by scholars such as James Pritchard, Ze’ev Herzog, and Yohanan Aharoni. They suggest that the buildings should be interpreted as either storehouses, marketplaces or barracks. Other Tripartite Buildings have been found at other sites such as Hazor and Beer-Sheba. The evidence at these other sites is not absolutely conclusive.
References in popular culture
Megiddo was also the name of a 1985 board game, loosely based on the historic battleground. The game was published by a small company called Global Games from Spokane, Washington. Originally sold in a tube (like the more popular game "Pente"), Megiddo revolved around two to six players who battled for ultimate control of the circular board (or "hill"). Placing jewel-like beads on the six radii of the playing board, players struggled to overcome their opponents by placing six beads of the same color in a row, circle, or spiral around the board. Global Games has since gone out of business. Finding copies of the game, particularly in its original tube, is hard to do. A boxed (said by some to be inferior in quality) version was also released.
Megiddo is also featured in the Game Boy Advance game, Golden Sun: The Lost Age as a special move usuable when the Sol Blade is equipped.
The evangelical Christian motion picture Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 is an apocalyptic thriller released theatrically in 2001.
In the film The Omen, daggers capable of killing the Anti-Christ were buried at Megiddo. In the film, Robert Thorn must acquired the daggers by way of an old sage and archeologist.
See also
- Megiddo (disambiguation)
- Battle of Megiddo (disambiguation)
External links
eo:Megiddo fr:Megiddo hr:Megido io:Megiddo (loko) he:תל מגידו pl:Megiddo ru:Мегиддо sv:Megiddo