23 Mar 2018201820182018
Armageddon - this name came from the Bible and it is well known to almost everyone, since the book of Revelation describes the events that precede the end of the world. According to the author of John the Divine, nowhere else but in this valley will the last decisive battle be fought between the forces of Evil and Good.
But the question of the origin of this name remains controversial to this day. If one starts from the way it takes place in Hebrew, then it can be correlated with "Har-Megiddo". Here, Har is the designation of a mountain, a hill, a mound or a hill, and Megiddo is comparable to the location of the ancient city of Megiddo.
The place is 30 km away. in the southeast direction from the city of Haifa and occupies a strategically important point at the exit in the eastern hills of Carmel / Manasseh. There where in this location lies the famous ancient trade route Via Maris.
Regarding this tract is also not available, no matter what a certain unified opinion.
Via Maris is a Latin version, which the translators assigned to the designation "The Way of the Sea", found in the Book of Isaiah. Such words of the prophet, most likely, concerned the road between Dan and the sea in Tire. This route was marked along the northern border of Israel at the time when the Assyrians conquered.
The scholars of the Middle Ages were convinced that the "Path of the Sea" was a road through the lower Galilee linking Damascus to the Akko harbor, which was then of great importance. Hence the logical conclusion was to be called "The Way of the Sea" and the route between Damascus and Egypt as a whole.
It was believed that the "Way of the Sea" was a trade route one of the trinity of the most important in ancient Israel. Starting from Galilee, it ran along the valley of Jezreel, extending southward to Samaria. Reaching the Philistine plain, the path branched out in two. One branch led away to the coast, and the opposite to it along the Jezreel valley deepened to the Sea of Galilee and Dan. Further merging of these two extended, separated sites occurred no earlier than in Megiddo.
Such peculiarities of the mutual localization of this city with Via Maris make it clear about its great importance for trade and travels in Israel of that ancient era.
The "Way of the Sea" acted as an important link between the Red Sea and Mesopotamia (Egypt and the territory of modern Iran with Iraq, Turkey and Syria). The road ran as the main road from north to south, along the plain that is off the coast, along Jezreel Valley, through Beit Sheine, to Damascus.
Where Megiddo is located in the modern world, there was once a place of the ancient city, which in the Old Testament lines is spoken of as a strong and important one, who made a considerable contribution to the Israeli history of biblical times.
Regarding the reason why this field is given preference in choosing the battlefield of the forces of Good with the forces of Evil, a number of the following points deserve attention.
Neighborhoods Megiddo with the mountains of Carmel / Manasseh has always been in the circle of interests of both the Kingdoms of the South (Egypt) and the North (Akkadian, Assyria, Babylon). These border territories between them repeatedly became a line of disagreements and large-scale military actions.
About Megiddo's connection with the meaning that presupposes indispensable use as a battlefield, another version of the origin of such a name can speak. This is assuming that the word is based on GDD or Gdud, that is - the battalion (and here was the location of the great army). Or, relying on the assumption that it originates from the root, which means the embankment (as the city occupied an impressive hill).
This high 60-meter-high mound has now undergone a strong excavation and archaeologists have been able to identify at least two dozen cities each built on top of the previous destroyed. The reasons for the destruction became very diverse, but each time a new restructuring took place and this place remained almost uninterrupted, beginning from about 6 thousand years BC. e. and to the middle of the first millennium before the birth of Jesus Christ.
On a plot of land with an area of 6 hectares, towering above the desert desert surrounding it, there was a place for luxurious palaces, massive fortifications, private houses.
There was also a granary in the form of a huge circular bunker for 7 meters dug into the ground and 11 meters across. The capacity was such that it allowed him to put 1 thousand tons of grain. Inside down you can get on a pair of stairs, located on both sides, and covered with a dome-shaped roof. The time of creation dates back to the 7th century BC. e.
In ancient Megiddo, there was also a well-designed water supply system. What is most likely to impress the imagination of visitors is its underground structures. To ensure the flow of water from the source, which was at the foot of the south-western slope, a vertical shaft was dug 25 meters down. And after that they stretched 70 meters of the tunnel under a slope to the source. Work was carried out, starting from opposite ends, however, only a minor amendment was required to allow the two groups of workers to meet. Then, at the place of the external entrance of the source, a massive stone wall was installed, thereby sealing it. And they hid the earth, so that the besieging enemy could not find it.
The creation of such an architectural structure took place, obviously, during the period when King Ahab reigned. That is, a hundred and fifty years earlier than the water tunnel of King Hezekiah appeared in Jerusalem.
Modern visitors, with sufficient endurance to step 187 steps down and 77 steps up, can view this engineering miracle of the ancient world from its inner side. Visit the ancient city of Megiddo during the excursion Day of bread and circuses Beit Shean-Hamat-Gader
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