City Of Jericho Facts: Learn Curious Details On This Oldest City

Jericho, Israel, is an ancient city that defies the widely held idea among researchers and historians that Egypt and Mesopotamia are home to the oldest known civilizations.

Since the Mesolithic Age, excavations have revealed traces of settlement on and off during the last 100 years. Archaeological evidence has dated unearthed remnants between 9,000 and 7,500 B.C., calling Jericho, Israel, the world's oldest city and, perhaps, civilization.

Archaeologists call the ancient Jericho site Tell es-Sultan because it merely comprises about 10 acres, a small area even in history. Its 70ft (31.33 m) area has been stripped down to the bedrock, revealing over 23 levels of an ancient civilization.

The old city was 1 mi (1.6 km) in circumference. The population number of Jericho was estimated to be roughly 2,500 individuals at the time of Joshua's conquest.

A quarter of that people were available for city defense. The Judean Desert, commonly known as the 'wilderness of Jerusalem,' is an arid desert surrounding Jericho and covering 193 sq. mi (500 sq.

km). For ages, bandits, thieves, criminals, and freedom fighters have sought refuge from officials in this bleak terrain.

History Of The City Of Jericho

Jericho, Arabic Ar, is a town in the West Bank. Jericho is among the world's oldest continuous settlements, possibly dating back to 9000 BC.

Archaeological evidence has revealed the long history of Jericho. The city's location is of tremendous archaeological significance since it demonstrates the early formation of permanent communities, hence the first beginnings of civilization.

Traces of Mesolithic hunters' visits, carbon-dated to around 9000 BC, and a long period of residence by their successors have been discovered. By Circa 8000 BC, the residents had developed into a well-organized community capable of erecting a vast stone city wall surrounding the settlement, which was at one point reinforced by a massive stone tower.

The size of this community supports the usage of the title town, implying a population of approximately 2,000–3,000 people. Thus, during the course of 1,000 years, people transitioned from a hunting lifestyle to a full-fledged settlement.

Agriculture's evolution can be extrapolated from this, as grains of cultivated barley and wheat have been discovered. As a result, Jericho is one of the sites where traces of very ancient agriculture may be found.

Irrigation was very certainly invented to offer enough area for cultivation. This early Neolithic civilization of Palestine was entirely indigenous.

These colonists were superseded by a second group around 7000 BC, who brought a Neolithic culture that did not produce pottery and was not local. This occupation most likely implies the introduction of migrants from other Neolithic settlements, maybe in northern Syria, where the Neolithic agricultural lifestyle had been established.

Around 6000 BC, the second Neolithic stone age came to an end.

There is little trace of habitation at Jericho for the next 1,000 years. Jericho did not display the influences of changes happening in the north until around 5000 BC when an increasing number of communities developed, still Neolithic but defined by pottery.

However, compared to their forefathers on the site, the early pottery makers of Jericho were rudimentary, living in tiny homes buried into the earth. The majority of them were likely pastoralists. The occupation was sporadic and may be intermittent for the next 2,000 years.

The First Settlement Of The City Of Jericho

Jericho earlier was just like a popular camping ground for nomadic hunters and gatherers who belonged to the Natufian culture around 10000 BCE.

Year-round living and permanent settlements did not begin in the area until the last Ice Age, or Younger Dryas, ended approximately 9600 BCE when the cold and dryness induced by the last Ice Age came to an end.

The earliest widespread settlement of Jericho is the Sultan's Hill, also called Tell es-Sultan, which is approx. 1.2 mi (2 km) north of Jericho today.

Sultan's hill was a pre-pottery Neolithic Jericho establishment. This site is located on the Ein as-Sultan spring, which provides this area with water. Around 9400 BCE, this location had more than 70 homes.

The homes were circular and 16 ft (4.87 m) in diameter. They were made from straw and clay.

According to many archeological pieces of evidence, this place grew up to 430,000 sq ft (39948.31 sq. m) by 8000 BCE. It had 11 ft (3.35 m) tall and 6 ft (1.82 m) wide stone town walls of Jericho surrounding it.

This city wall had stone towers of 28 ft (8.53 m) high and 30 ft (9.14 m) width inside it. This tower had 22 steps staircase inside.

This tower is ancient, but the only tower even older than this has been found at Tell Qaramel, Syria. The people believed that the walls of Jericho would protect them from the floodwaters. This tower also had a religious practice around it.

This proves that the people there were very well organized for their customs. Some scholars say that the tower was built to encourage people to participate in the community; estimates range from 300 to 3000 people.

Barley, wheat, and legumes were domesticated during this period. Irrigation was most likely invented to offer enough acreage to produce these crops. Hunting wild animals boosted their food.

Second Settlement- The original settlement was deserted after a few centuries. Around 7000 BCE, an invading group created a second colony, absorbing the original residents into their culture. It, too, was a Neolithic Pre-Pottery settlement.

The range of cultivated species was increased due to this new settlement. There is evidence that sheep may have been domesticated at this time.

Mudbricks were used to construct rectilinear constructions. Each structure included numerous rooms organized around the main courtyard and featured lime-based terrazzo floors, whereas the courtyard had a clay-based surface. Other innovations include arrowhead flints, burins, scrapers, sickle blades, and axes.

Greenstone hammerstones, grindstones, and axes were also discovered. Soft limestone was used to carve plates and bowls.

This society was unique in that it preserved the heads of departed relatives by cementing the skulls and drawing the person's features on them. The remaining part of the body was buried, but the skulls were preserved at home. It was around 6000 BCE when this village was abandoned.

Significance Of The City Of Jericho In The Bible

It is believed that Jericho is among the oldest cities in the world to exist and was holy land. According to the biblical account, this city is the place where God performed amazing miracles. It was the first city ever conquered by Israel after traversing the Jordan River.

The location of Jericho was crucial to its significance. The city was located in the Jordan Valley, some 10 mi (16.09 km) northwest of the Dead Sea and immediately west of the Jordan River.

It was over 800 ft (243.84 m) below sea level and approximately 3,500 ft (1066.8 m) below Jerusalem, which was just 17 mi (27.4 km) away, on the most significant portion of the Jordan plain. This geographic element explains why the good Samaritan 'traveled down from Jerusalem to Jericho' in Jesus' tale (Luke 10:30).

Jericho prospered as a green, spring-fed oasis in stark contrast to its dry surrounds. Because of its density of palm trees, it was commonly referred to as the 'City of Palms' in the New Testament (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 3:13; 2 Chronicles 28:15).

Ancient Jericho, strategically placed as a border city, controlled vital movement routes between north and south and the east and west. The settlement eventually became part of that community of Benjamin's allotment (Joshua 18:12, 21).

There is the mention of Jericho in the book of Judges, which says Jericho served the post of provincial outpost for the king of Moab, Eglon, under whose tribute Israel was for 18 years.

In 1 Chronicles 19:5, it is mentioned that King David sent a word to his mistreated delegates to be at Jericho until they regrow their beards.

In 2 Kings 2:4–18, Jericho had appeared to be the home of the 'school of prophets.'

Elisha's miraculous purification spring was also mentioned at Jericho (2 Kings 2:19–22).

A group of convicts was saved, clothed, nourished, and looked for at Jericho during Ahaz's reign (2 Chronicles 28:15). The imprisonment of King Zedekiah upon fleeing from the Chaldean army was the last Old Testament account of events in Jericho (2 Kings 25:2–7; Jeremiah 39:5; 52:8).

Current Population And Weather Of The City Of Jericho

The population of Jericho city is 14,808 as of 2020.

The weather of Jericho is mostly sunny. The average temperature remains around 66.2 F (19 C).

Max UV Index: three Moderate, Wind: SSE 7.45 mph (12 kph), Wind Gusts: 13.04 mph (21 kph), Humidity: 29%, Indoor Humidity: 43% (Slightly Dry), Dew Point: 35.6 F (2 C), Pressure: 1012 Mb, Cloud Cover: 19%, Visibility: 9.94 mi (16 km), and Cloud Ceiling: 7.58 mi (12200 m).