Palestine Association

Last updated
First minutes of the Palestine Association or Syrian Society (1805), referencing Deuteronomy 26:5 First minutes of the Palestine Association or Syrian Society (1805).png
First minutes of the Palestine Association or Syrian Society (1805), referencing Deuteronomy 26:5

The Palestine Association, formerly the Syrian Society, was formed in 1805 by William Richard Hamilton to promote the study of the geography, natural history, antiquities and anthropology of Palestine and the surrounding areas, "with a view to the illustration of the Holy Writings.

Contents

The society appears to have been active for only the first five years of its existence. Scholars have suggested that the founding was ahead of its time, given that the country was at the early stages of opening to world influence, [1] and that the timing was inopportune in the midst of the ongoing Napoleonic Wars. [2] Scholarly work in the region began in earnest around the time of the Oriental Crisis of 1840, with the travels of Edward Robinson, the appointment of the first British consul to Jerusalem and the establishment of the Anglican-German Bishopric in Jerusalem. [3] In 1834, the Palestine Association was formally disbanded and incorporated into the Royal Geographical Society. [4] [5]

The Palestine Association was the forerunner of the Palestine Exploration Fund, established 60 years later, in 1865. [5]

Formation

The society was founded on 31 March 1805, with its first meeting of 13 members taking place on 24 April 1805, at which it was decided with no further explanation that the Syrian Society "shall henceforth be denominated The Palestine Association" [5]

The society was formed on the basis of the 1788 African Association, and the inquiries of the Society were directed to ascertaining: [6] [5]

British interest in Palestine had been stoked by the 1798-1801 French campaign in Egypt and Syria. [5] Scholars have debated whether the founding of the society was driven primarily by religious and spiritual motives, or rather "reconstituted, redeployed, redistributed" in a secular orientalist framework. [7]

Publication

Front cover and map of the society's 1810 publication A Brief Account of the Countries Adjoining the Lake of Tiberias, the Jordan and the Dead Sea.png
Front cover and map of the society's 1810 publication

In 1810, the association published the account of the travels of Ulrich Jasper Seetzen, [5] entitled "A Brief Account of the Countries Adjoining the Lake of Tiberias, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea" [8] In the preface to the publication, the editors noted that "We use the word Palestine not in its confined sense of a province or part of Judea, but in its most extended sense as comprehending all the countries on either side of the river Jordan, inhabited by the Tribes of Israel" [9]

Notable members

Founding members

Other notable members

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiberias</span> City in northern Israel

Tiberias is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron, and Safed. In 2022, it had a population of 48,472.

This is a partial timeline of Zionism in the modern era, since the start of the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdala</span> Ancient Hebrew city

Magdala was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 5 km north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya, and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea. It is believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene. Until the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Arab village of al-Majdal stood at the site of ancient Magdala. The Israeli municipality of Migdal now extends into the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulrich Jasper Seetzen</span> German explorer

Ulrich Jasper Seetzen also known as Musa Al-Hakim was a German explorer of Arabia and Palestine from Jever, German Frisia. An alternative spelling of his name, Ulrich Iospar Sentzen, is sometimes seen in scientific publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographic history of Jerusalem</span>

Jerusalem's population size and composition has shifted many times over its 5,000 year history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine Exploration Fund</span> British society founded in 1865

The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization in the world created specifically for the study of the Levant region, also known as Palestine. Often simply known as the PEF, its initial objective was to carry out surveys of the topography and ethnography of Ottoman Palestine – producing the PEF Survey of Palestine. Its remit was considered to fall between an expeditionary survey and military intelligence gathering. There was also strong religious interest from Christians; William Thomson, Archbishop of York, was the first President of the PEF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Robinson (scholar)</span> American biblical scholar (1794-1863)

Edward Robinson was an American biblical scholar known for his magnum opus, Biblical Researches in Palestine, the first major work in Biblical Geography and Biblical Archaeology, which earned him the epithets "Father of Biblical Geography" and "Founder of Modern Palestinology."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samakh, Tiberias</span> Place in Tiberias, Mandatory Palestine

Samakh was a Palestinian Arab village at the south end of Lake Tiberias in Ottoman Galilee and later Mandatory Palestine. It was the site of battle in 1918 during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Tor</span> Neighborhood in Jerusalem

Abu Tor, also Abu Thor or ath-Thori, is a mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, built on a prominence south of the Old City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Kark</span> Israeli historical geographer and professor

Ruth Kark is an Israeli historical geographer and professor of geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Professor Kark is a well-known researcher and expert in the field of the historical geography of Palestine and Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allar, Jerusalem</span> Place in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine

Allar or 'Allar el-Fawqa, also known as 'Allar el Busl, was a Palestinian Arab village located southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem near Wadi Surar, along Wadi Tannur. The name was shared by the twin village of Allar al-Sifla or Khirbat al-Tannur, with official imperial ledgers often listing them both under the single entry of Allar.

Benjamin of Tiberias was a man of immense wealth, who enlisted and armed many soldiers during the Jewish revolt against Heraclius in the 7th century Palaestina province of the Byzantine Empire. The Persian force was joined by Benjamin of Tiberias, who enlisted and armed Jewish soldiers from Tiberias, Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee. Together they marched on Jerusalem. Later, they were joined by the Jews of the southern parts of the country; and supported by a band of Arabs, the united forces took Jerusalem in 614 CE. Benjamin was one of the leaders of the revolt, actively participating in the Persian siege and capture of Jerusalem in 614. It is thought that the second leader Nehemiah ben Hushiel was appointed as ruler of Jerusalem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khirbet Ghazaleh</span> Town in Daraa, Syria

Khirbet Ghazaleh is a town in the Daraa Governorate, roughly 17 kilometers northeast of Daraa adjacent to Da'el in the west and near Izra' to the north. It is situated on the main highway between Damascus and Amman. In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics Khirbet Ghazaleh had a population of 16,240. Its inhabitants are predominantly Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travelogues of Palestine</span> Descriptions of the region of Palestine by travellers

Travelogues of Palestine are the written descriptions of the region of Palestine by travellers, particularly prior to the 20th century. The works are important sources in the study of the history of Palestine and of Israel. Surveys of the geographical literature on Palestine were published by Edward Robinson in 1841, Titus Tobler in 1867 and subsequently by Reinhold Röhricht in 1890. Röhricht catalogued 177 works between 333 – 1300 CE, 19 works in the 14th century, 279 works in the 15th century, 333 works in the 16th century, 390 works in the 17th century, 318 works in the 18th century and 1,915 works in the 19th century.

Tarichaea is the Greek place name for a historic site of disputed location. It was situated along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and mentioned in the writings of Josephus. Tarichaea was one of the first villages in Galilee to have sustained an attack by Rome, during the First Jewish-Roman War. The village (κώμη) attracted to it the seditious from the outlying regions east of Galilee, who mixed with the local townsfolk and who relied upon some 230 boats on the Sea of Galilee for protection in the event of an assault upon the village. When the village was eventually overrun by the Roman army, the population surrendered.

The cartography of the region of Palestine, also known as cartography of the Holy Land and cartography of the Land of Israel, is the creation, editing, processing and printing of maps of the region of Palestine from ancient times until the rise of modern surveying techniques. For several centuries during the Middle Ages it was the most prominent subject in all of cartography, and it has been described as an "obsessive subject of map art".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1858 Van de Velde maps of Palestine and Jerusalem</span>

The Van de Velde maps of Palestine and Jerusalem were an important scientific mapping of the region of Palestine and mapping of Jerusalem, published in 1858 by Dutch cartographer Charles William Meredith van de Velde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PEF Survey of Palestine</span> 1872–1877 and 1880 map surveys

The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The survey was carried out after the success of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by the newly-founded PEF, with support from the War Office. Twenty-six sheets were produced for "Western Palestine" and one sheet for "Eastern Palestine". It was the first fully scientific mapping of Palestine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1840–41 Royal Engineers maps of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria</span>

The 1840–41 Royal Engineers maps of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria was an early scientific mapping of Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiepert maps of Palestine and Jerusalem</span>

The Kiepert maps of Palestine and Jerusalem were important scientific mappings of the region of Palestine and mappings of Jerusalem, initially published in 1841 by German cartographer Heinrich Kiepert as the maps accompanying Biblical Researches in Palestine, the magnum opus of the "Father of Biblical Geography", Edward Robinson.

References

  1. Kark, p.272: "The timing appears to have been premature for a systematic field study of scriptural geography, with no organisational or institutional support in position on the ground."
  2. Kark, p.272: "The failure of the PA is even more conspicuous when compared to the AA... There was also a difference in the period in which the two organisations were established and initially operated. Between 1802 and 1810, the years of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, there had also been a significant setback in the recruiting of the AA... The vagaries of war may have made such intellectual pursuits as meetings of a new and small scientific society seem trivial."
  3. Kark, p.272: "This would wait forabout another 30 years to find its real beginning with the studies of the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson, and more active British political and religious involvement in Palestine marked by the opening the first British consulate in Jerusalem in 1838, and the establishment of the British–Prussian Protestant Bishopric there in 1840."
  4. W. R. Hamilton (1834). "[disbandment meetings]". Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. 4: i–ii.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Ruth Kark & Haim Goren (2011). "Pioneering British exploration and scriptural geography: The Syrian Society/The Palestine Association". The Geographical Journal. 177 (3): 264–274. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4959.2011.00404.x.
  6. Sokolow, Nahum (1919). History of Zionism, 1600-1918. London: Longmans, Green and Co. pp.  61. palestine association.
  7. A New Imperial History: Culture, Identity and Modernity in Britain, edited by Kathleen Wilson, p.158
  8. Seetzen, Ulrich Jasper (1810). A Brief Account of the Countries Adjoining the Lake of Tiberias, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea. London: Palestine Association. also and {{cite book}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  9. Seetzen, p.IV, footnote