Palestine 101 — Palaestina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata

“Palaestina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata” is a historical and archaeological work written by Hadriani Relandi, a Dutch scholar, and published in 1714. The book is a comprehensive study of ancient Palestine, focusing on its geography, history, and culture. Relandi conducted extensive research and utilized a wide range of ancient sources, including biblical texts, classical literature, and inscriptions, to shed light on the region’s past.

Paletina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata, Hadriani Relandi, Latin 1714

The author was a geographer, cartographer, traveller and philologer. He was fluent in a number of European languages, Arabic, ancient Greek, Hebrew and Latin.

In the book Relandi describes the 1695 status of what is considered modern day Palestine. Hw surveyed almost 2500 villages mentioned in the Bible or the Talmud (ancient Hebrew oral way, תַּלְמוּד). The research was conducted as following:

• He created the first Palestine map, then he documented every village mentioned in the Bible or the Talmud by its original name.
• If the source was Jewish, it was t=decribed by the name “verse” (i.e. the source is in the holy scripts that mentioned this name).
• If the source was Roman or Greek it was described as Latin.
• He followed by conducting a census by villages.

Main methodology from “Palaestina ex Monumentis Veteribus Illustrata”:

• Geographical Overview: Relandi provides a detailed description of the geographical features of Palestine, including its topography, rivers, and cities. He also explores the regions mentioned in ancient texts.
• Historical Analysis: The book delves into the historical aspects of Palestine, tracing its history from antiquity to Relandi’s contemporary period. It discusses various civilizations that inhabited the region, such as the Israelites, Phoenicians, and Romans.
• Archaeological Insights: Relandi incorporates archaeological findings and inscriptions to support his historical narrative. He meticulously examines monuments, ruins, and artifacts, providing readers with a glimpse into the material culture of ancient Palestine.
• Linguistic Exploration: A notable aspect of the book is Relandi’s linguistic analysis. He examines the names of places in Palestine, drawing connections between ancient and contemporary toponyms, and explores linguistic changes over time.
• Biblical References: Given the significance of the Bible in understanding the history of Palestine, Relandi includes numerous references to biblical texts and correlates them with archaeological evidence.
• Cultural and Religious Aspects: The book explores the cultural and religious practices of the people of Palestine, shedding light on their rituals, beliefs, and societal structures.
• Cartography: Relandi includes maps and cartographic representations of the region, providing visual aids to complement his written descriptions.

Main facts and conclusions

• The country is mostly deserted and thin in population. Most of the population reside in Jerusalem, Acre, Sefad, Jaffa, Tiberius and Gazza.
• Most of the popultion comprised of Jews, with most of the rest as Christians. There are not many Muslims — mostly Beduins travelling all over the Levant, except the city of Nablus (Neopolis) that holds 120 members of the Muslim family of Natcha and about 70 Sameritans.
• In Nazeret, the capitol of the Galilee lives about 700 people — all Christians.
• In Jerusalem lives about 5000 people — mostly Jews and a few Christians.
• In the year 1695 every one knew the origin of the country is Jewish.
• There isn’t a single Palestine village with a name that has Arabic origin.
• Most village’s names had Jewish origins and in some cases Katin Greek or Roman.
• Except the city of Ramla there is no Arabic village with an original Arabic name. Jewish, Greek or LAtin names that were changed to Arabic has no meaningful Arabic name. In Arabic there is no meaning to names like: Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Nablus, Gazza or Genin. Names like Ramalla, El-Halil (Hebron), Al-Kuds (Jerusalem) — has no philologue or historical roots. For example: Ramalla was called Beit El (house of god in Hebrew) and the “Cave of the Patriarchs” was called by the Arabs El-Halil (an alias to the name Abraham).
• Relandi mentions Muslims only as nomad Beduins coming to the cities as seasonal agrucultural or building workers.
• In Gazza there were about 550 people — half Jewish and half Christians. Jewish practice successfuly vineyards, olives and wheat while Christians practices commerce and transportation.
• In Tiberius and Sefad there were Jews but their occupation is not mentioned, except for the traditional fishing in the sea of Galilee.
• For example, In the village of Um-El-Phahem there were 10 families — all Christian. The village had a small Maronic church.

The book disproves completely any theories of “Palestinian Heritage” or “Palestinian People” and leave no connection between the land and the Arabs who even stole the Latin name of the country (Palestine).