The modern city of Jericho is located in Jordan on the West Bank of the Jordan River. When the British captured the area in 1918, the city of Jericho was given to Jordan in the British-mandated division of Palestine. When Israel occupied Jericho after the 1967 Six-Day War, the state of Israel maintained control of the city until 1994 when the town was relinquished to the Palestinian Authority.
Despite having impressively high walls, Jericho is actually over 800 feet below sea level, geographically the lowest city in the world. Its location is near the Dead Sea in Jordan and Israel, the lowest point in the world, over 1400 feet below sea level. It is known for the springs that feed the Dead Sea and provide natural irrigation to the surrounding area, allowing its early inhabitants to farm the land. Its location in the Wadi Qelt makes it a natural oasis.
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Known in the Bible as the 'City of Palm-trees,' Jericho was famous for its walls which were thirteen feet high with watchtowers rising 28 feet, the first use of a wall for military defense in history. The walls also protected the city's water supply.
The city is also known for its springs. About 23 layers of settlements have been unearthed by archeologists giving the current city of Jericho its height. Like other cities of the Middle East, Jericho was rebuilt many times on the site of older foundations.
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In fact, Jericho has been inhabited on and off for millennia. An early gap in its history of habitation is recorded in the Hebrew Bible. The book of Joshua describes a battle between the Hebrews and the city of Jericho. In Joshua's account (Joshua 6), the Hebrews marched around the city for a week. On the final day, the Hebrew priests blew trumpets, and Yahweh, rather than any Hebrew military prowess, brought Jericho's massive walls crashing down. Thereafter, the city lay in ruins until a Bethelite named Hiel was built on the ancient foundations. The account of its rebuilding is described in I Kings 16.
Archaeological excavations of the area have revealed the ruins of Khirbat al-Mafjar, the remains of the first Muslim dynasty, Umayyad, of the eighth century. Although many of the structures were destroyed in an earthquake, a remarkable mosaic panel survived. The mosaic has been connected to Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, though scholars debate the mosaic's exact provenance.
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How Old is Jericho?
Jericho history dates to prehistoric times, an indication of just how old Jericho is. The city claims to be one of the oldest continually-inhabited cities of the ancient world. First settled by Mesolithic hunters about 11,000 years ago, Jericho eventually grew into an organized agricultural center with over 2500 inhabitants. Near what has been called the Spring of Elisha, Tell es Sultan, the archeological site of the original settlement, is visible in NASA satellite imagery.
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Jericho today is on the West Bank in the Palestinian Authority, the State of Palestine. In 1996, the city was part of the Palestinian Authority's presidential election. At the time, Hamas, The Islamic Resistance Movement, boycotted the elections, an indication of the area's volatile politics.
The modern city has about 14,000 residents, 43 percent of which are refugees. The majority of its citizens are Muslim, with some Jews and Christians as well. Black Palestinians also make up a good part of the population.
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Lesson Summary
Jericho is one of the oldest continually occupied cities in the world and is now a modern city on the West Bank in the Jordan River Valley. Jericho appears in the Hebrew Bible in the book of Joshua (Joshua 6), a passage about the Battle of Jericho. Scholars believe the name Jericho may be the Hebrew word for moon or month, 'yareakh,' an ancient moon cult, or possibly from the Canaanite word for moon god, 'Yarikh.' Other scholars believe the word is the Arabic word 'Ariha.'
The British captured the area around Jericho in 1918 and gave it to Jordan in the British-mandated division of Palestine. Israel occupied Jericho in 1967 after the Six-Day War and relinquished it to the Palestinian authority in 1994.
Jericho geography gives the city its distinction. It lies over 800 feet below sea level, near the Dead Sea, the lowest point in the world. Its many springs drew early inhabitants who farmed the land, some of the earliest known farmers in history.
Ancient Jericho was called the 'City of Palm-trees' in the Bible. Its famous walls were thirteen feet high, its watchtowers 28 feet high, affording the city's military defense. Abundant springs of water drew many inhabitants to the area, each new settlement adding to the 23 layers unearthed in modern days by archeologists. Jericho, like other cities in the Middle East, was rebuilt many times on the site of older foundations, a reason for its current height.
One gap in Jericho's history of habitation is accounted for in the Hebrew Bible. The book of Joshua records how Yahweh brought Jericho's massive walls crashing down. Thereafter, the city lay in ruins until a Bethelite named Hiel built on the ancient foundations, according to I Kings 16.
Archaeological excavations of the area have revealed the ruins of Khirbat al-Mafjar, the remains of the first Muslim dynasty, Umayyad, of the eighth century. An especially remarkable mosaic panel of the time survived a devastating earthquake. The mosaic has been connected to Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik.
Jericho dates to prehistoric times, about 11,000 years ago. Eventually, it grew into an agricultural center with over 2500 inhabitants. Tell es Sultan, the archeological site of Jericho's original settlement, is visible in NASA satellite imagery.
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Video Transcript
The City of Jericho
Anyone who ever went to Sunday school, and even many who didn't, has heard the story of Jericho. Originally settled as far back as 10,000 years ago, Jericho was one of the most powerful cities in the land of Canaan, located in the Middle East, which is where modern-day Palestine and Israel are located now. According to Jewish tradition, the Israeli leader Joshua ended his people's 40-year journey through the desert by invading the mighty city, defeating it when a blow from the priests' ceremonial horns tumbled the great walls.
So you know what you'll find if you head out to the legendary city of Jericho today? People. What'd you expect? Jericho is still an inhabited city today, making it one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Turns out, Jericho is such a great place to live that you simply can't stop someone from staying there. Not even when it's walls come a 'tumbling down.
Water, Mounds, and Walls
So let's take a look at the ancient city of Jericho. This site has been the focus of substantial archaeological research, so we've got a pretty good idea about what it looked like.
The city itself had three defining features. First, its land was extremely fertile. Water from the mountains in the region travels through an underground spring called Elisha's Fountain and creates a beautiful oasis with palm trees galore. In a region characterized by harsh desert, this oasis was likely the reason the city was founded, and throughout antiquity, Jericho was famous for its iconic palm trees that popped up out of the desert.
The next thing to define Jericho was its height. The famous city of Jericho was built atop a 70-foot mound, but where did this mound come from? In the ancient Middle East, the custom was to build a city and when that one needed repair, the people would simply cover it up and build a new city on top of it. Jericho may have started 10,000 years ago as a small settlement, but thanks to the fertile land that allowed for agriculture, it grew and grew in population. Over time, each old city was buried and a new one built on top, until eventually the famed city of biblical stories was constructed on this massive artificial hill.
To protect the city and its wealth, massive walls were built around Jericho. So how'd they get the walls so large? In the same way as the city: by burying the old wall and building a new one on top of the old. You can see how this practice could become an imposing structure relatively quickly, and the descriptions of Jericho's walls appear throughout ancient texts. The excavations of Jericho are ongoing, but ancient accounts of both the height of the city and its walls are consistent with archaeological findings.
Importance to the Ancient World
If your city is going to be on a 70-foot mound surrounded by impenetrable walls, you probably have some stuff worth guarding inside. Jericho wasn't only a nice place to live with fertile soil and fresh water, it was also situated in the center of ancient Middle Eastern trade routes. The Jordan River, which was a major trading route, flows nearby, and the most important ancient roads through the Jordan Valley pass directly through Jericho.
Simply put, if you wanted to trade with practically anybody in the ancient Middle East, you had to go through Jericho. As a result, Jericho was extremely rich, extremely powerful, and in an extremely coveted location. Now you can see why they needed those walls.
Lesson Summary
All right, let's take a moment or two to review. With evidence of continual occupation over the last 10,000 years, the city of Jericho is a city amongst the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the world. It largely owes its success to underwater springs that create abundantly fertile soil in an otherwise barren desert. Its location at the intersection of major trade routes made it one of the most prosperous cities in the ancient world.
It was recognized for its palm trees (as a result of the fertile soil), its height (from the continual building of new cities atop the old ones), and its massive walls. Archeological excavations at Jericho have confirmed its size and importance to the ancient world as a major trade center. It did have walls, and those walls did tumble down, but for thousands of years, Jericho was one of the most important cities in the world. Just ask the people who still live there today.
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