Galilee

{{Short description|Large region mainly located in northern Israel}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-protect|small=yes}}
[[File:Lower Galilee map.svg|thumb|300px|Map of the Galilee region]]
'''Galilee''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|æ|l|ɪ|l|iː}};<ref>[http://www.dictionary.com/browse/galilee "Galilee"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{lang-he|הַגָּלִיל|hagGālīl}}; {{lang-la|Galilaea}};<ref>[[Charlton T. Lewis]] and Charles Short, ''[[A Latin Dictionary]]'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1879), ''s.v. Galilaea''.</ref> {{lang-ar|الجليل|al-jalīl}}) is a region located in northern [[Israel]] and southern [[Lebanon]]. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into [[Upper Galilee]] ({{lang|he|הגליל העליון}}, {{transliteration|he|ha-galil ha-elyon}}; {{lang|ar|الجليل الأعلى}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-jalīl al-aʾlā}}) and [[Lower Galilee]] ({{lang|he|גליל תחתון}}, {{transliteration|he|galil tahton}}; {{lang|ar|الجليل الأسفل}}, {{transliteration|ar|al-jalīl al-asfal}}).

''Galilee'' refers to all of the area north of the [[Mount Carmel]]-[[Mount Gilboa]] ridge and south of the east–west section of the [[Litani River]]. It extends from the [[Israeli coastal plain]] and the shores of the [[Mediterranean Sea]] with [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] in the west, to the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Rift Valley]] to the east; and from the Litani in the north plus a piece bordering on the [[Golan Heights]] all the way to [[Dan (biblical city)|Dan]] at the base of [[Mount Hermon]] in the northeast, to Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south. This definition includes the plains of the [[Jezreel Valley]] north of [[Jenin]] and the [[Beth Shean]] Valley, the valley containing the [[Sea of Galilee]], and the [[Hula Valley]], although it usually does not include [[Haifa]]'s immediate northern suburbs. By this definition it overlaps with much of the administrative [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]] of Israel and with [[Southern Lebanon]].

==Etymology==
The region's Hebrew name is {{lang|he|גָּלִיל|translit=gālíl}}, meaning 'district' or 'circle'.<ref name=Placenames>{{cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |author-link=Adrian Room |title= Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites |page=138 |year=2006 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |edition=2nd, revised |isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C&pg=PA138 |access-date= 21 February 2011}}</ref> The Hebrew form used in [[Book of Isaiah]] {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|9:1|1000|9:1}} (or 8:23 in different Biblical versions) is in the [[construct state]], leading to {{lang|he|גְּלִיל הַגּוֹיִם|translit=gəlil haggóyim}} "Galilee of the nations", which refers to [[gentile]]s who settled there at the time that the book was written, either by their own volition or as a result of the [[resettlement policy of the Neo-Assyrian Empire]].<ref name=Placenames/>

==Borders and geography==
[[File:Lemon Orchard in the Galilee by David Shankbone.jpg|250px|thumb|An [[orchard]] in [[Upper Galilee]]]]
The borders of Galilee, split into [[Upper Galilee]] and [[Lower Galilee]], were described by [[Josephus]] in his ''[[The Jewish War]]'':<ref name=Zange>{{cite book|author1=Jürgen Zangenberg|author2=Harold W. Attridge|author3=Dale B. Martin|title=Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_N56Rnsm1DUC&pg=PA84|year=2007|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-149044-6|pages=84–}}</ref>
<blockquote>Now Phoenicia and Syria encompass about the Galilees, which are two, and called the Upper Galilee and the Lower. They are bounded toward the sun-setting, with the borders of the territory belonging to Ptolemais, and by Carmel; which mountain had formerly belonged to the Galileans, but now belonged to the Tyrians; to which mountain adjoins Gaba, which is called the City of Horsemen, because those horsemen that were dismissed by Herod the king dwelt therein; they are bounded on the south with Samaria and Scythopolis, as far as the river Jordan; on the east with Hippeae and Gadaris, and also with Ganlonitis, and the borders of the kingdom of Agrippa; its northern parts are bounded by Tyre, and the country of the Tyrians. As for that Galilee which is called the Lower, it extends in length from Tiberias to Zabulon, and of the maritime places Ptolemais is its neighbor; its breadth is from the village called Xaloth, which lies in the great plain, as far as Bersabe, from which beginning also is taken the breadth of the Upper Galilee, as far as the village Baca, which divides the land of the Tyrians from it; its length is also from Meloth to Thella, a village near to Jordan.<ref>Josephus, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0526.tlg004.perseus-eng1:3.35 J. BJ 3.35]</ref>
</blockquote>
[[File:Rainbow Cave Israel.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Keshet Cave]] (Rainbow Cave or Cave of the Arch), a [[natural arch]] on the ridge north of [[Nahal Betzet]], Galilee]]
Most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700&nbsp;m. Several high mountains are in the region, including [[Mount Tabor]] and [[Mount Meron]], which have relatively low temperatures and high rainfall. As a result of this climate, [[flora]] and [[fauna]] thrive in the region, while many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the [[Hula Valley|Hula]]–Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colourful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of [[biblical]] importance, make the region a popular [[Tourism in Israel|tourist destination]].

Due to its high rainfall {{convert|900|–|1200|mm|in}}, mild temperatures and high mountains (Mount Meron's elevation is 1,000–1,208&nbsp;m), the upper Galilee region contains some distinctive flora and fauna: prickly juniper (''[[Juniperus oxycedrus]]''), Lebanese cedar (''[[Cedrus libani]]''), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, [[cyclamen]]s, [[Peony|paeonias]], and ''[[Rhododendron ponticum]]'' which sometimes appears on Meron.

Western Galilee ({{lang-he|גליל מערבי|Galil Ma'aravi}}) is a modern term referring to the western part of the Upper Galilee and its shore, and usually also the northwestern part of the Lower Galilee, mostly overlapping with Acre sub-district. [[Galilee Panhandle]] is a common term referring to the "panhandle" in the east that extends to the north, where Lebanon is to the west, and includes [[Hula Valley]] and [[Naftali Mountains|Ramot Naftali mountains]] of the Upper Galilee.

==History==
{{Further|History of Palestine}}

===Iron Age and Hebrew Bible===
[[File:Ancient Galilee.jpg|thumb|170px|Map of Galilee, c. {{nowrap|50 CE}}]]

According to the [[Bible]], Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the tribal region of Naphthali and Dan, at times overlapping the [[Tribe of Asher]]'s land.<ref name=JVL>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/tribemap.html|title=Map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel &#124; Jewish Virtual Library|publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org|access-date=2015-05-18}}</ref> Normally,{{when|date=August 2014}} Galilee is just referred to as Naphthali.

Chapter 9 of [[1 Kings]] states that [[Solomon]] rewarded his [[Phoenicia]]n ally, [[King Hiram I]] of [[Sidon]], with twenty cities in the land of Galilee, which would then have been either settled by foreigners during and after the reign of Hiram, or by those who had been forcibly deported there by later conquerors such as the [[Assyria]]ns. Hiram, to reciprocate previous gifts given to [[David]], accepted the upland plain among the Naftali Mountains and renamed it "the land of [[Cabul]]" for a time.<ref name=Phoenicia>Rawlinson, George (1889). "Phoenicia under the hegemony of Tyre (B.C. 1252–877)". ''History of Phoenicia''.</ref>

=== Hellenistic period ===
Up until the end of the [[Hellenistic period]] and before the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] conquest, the Galilee was sparsely populated, with the majority of its inhabitants concentrated in large fortified centers on the edges of the western and central valleys. Based on archeological evidence from [[Tel Anafa]], [[Kedesh]], and ash-Shuhara, the Upper Galilee was then home to a pagan population with close ties to the [[Phoenicia|Phoenician]] coast.<ref name="Leibner2009" />

Yardenna Alexandre discovered minor short-lived Israelite settlements in the Naḥal Ẓippori basin, which were built by survivors of the Assyrian conquest. Elsewhere, Galilee was depopulated.<ref name="Atiqot98">{{cite journal |author=Yardenna Alexandre |year=2020 |title=The Settlement History of Nazareth in the Iron Age and Early Roman Period |url=http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 |url-status=live |journal='Atiqot |volume=98 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526102938/http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref> But there is evidence of Assyrian presence, based on artefacts in [[Cana]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skinner |first=Andrew C. |date=1996–1997 |title=A Historical Sketch of Galilee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43044121 |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=113–125 |jstor=43044121 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> and [[Konrad Schmid (theologian)|Konrad Schmid]] and Jens Schroter believe it was likely that Assyrians settled in the region.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmid |first=Konrad |title=The Making of the Bible: From the First Fragments to Sacred Scripture |last2=Schroter |first2=Jens |publisher=Belknap Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0674248380}}</ref>

===Hasmonean period===
During the expansion of the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean kingdom of Judea]], much of the Galilee region was conquered and annexed by the first Hasmonean king [[Aristobulus I]] (104–103 BCE). Following the Hasmonean conquest, there was a significant Jewish influx into the area. Sites including [[Yodfat]], [[Meiron]], [[Sepphoris]], [[Shikhin]], [[Kafr Kanna|Qana]], [[Bersabe]], [[Selamin|Zalmon]], Mimlah, [[Magdala|Migdal]], [[Arbel]], Kefar Hittaya, and Beth Ma'on have archeological-chronological evidence for this settlement wave.<ref name="Leibner2009" /> 
[[File:Almog_IL5_Yodfat.jpg|thumb|The hill where ancient [[Yodfat]] stood]]
[[Josephus]], who based his account on [[Timagenes|Timagenes of Alexandria]], claimed that Aristobulus I had forcibly converted the [[Iturea|Itureans]] to Judaism while annexing a portion of their territory. Schürer believed this information to be accurate and came to the conclusion that the "Jewish" Galilee of Jesus' day was actually inhabited by the offspring of those same Iturean converts. Other scholars have suggested that the Itureans underwent a voluntary conversion to Judaism in the Upper Galilee, or at the very least in the Eastern Upper Galilee. However, archeological information does not support either proposal, as Iturean material culture has been identified clearly in the northern Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, and not in the Galilee, and it is clear that this area remained outside Hasmonean borders.<ref name="Leibner2009" />

=== Roman period ===
Following the Roman conquest of Judaea, a second, more significant wave of Jewish settlement arrived in the Galilee. Large and significant towns were established at the end of the first century BCE or the start of the first century CE, including [[Kafr 'Inan|Kefar Hananya]], [[Farradiyya|Parod]], [[Ravid]], Mashkaneh, Sabban, and [[Tiberias]].<ref name="Leibner2009" /> Josephus describes the Jewish settlers of Galilee as being nationalist and hostile to Jewish city-dwellers, making them the first target for the Romans during the [[Jewish–Roman wars|Jewish-Roman wars]]. [[Bargil Pixner]] believes they descended from a [[Davidic line|Davidic]] Jewish clan from [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Babylon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skinner |first=Andrew C. |date=1996–1997 |title=A Historical Sketch of Galilee |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43044121 |journal=Brigham Young University Studies |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=113–125 |jstor=43044121 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> 
In the first century CE, the Galilee was dotted with small towns and villages. Josephus claims that there were 204 small towns in Galilee, but modern scholars believe this estimate to be an exaggeration. Many of these towns were located around the Sea of Galilee, which contained many edible fish and which was surrounded by fertile land. Salted, dried, and pickled fish were an important [[export good]]. In 4 BCE, a rebel named Judah plundered Galilee's largest city, [[Sepphoris]]. According to Josephus, the Syrian governor [[Publius Quinctilius Varus]] responded by sacking Sepphoris and selling the population into slavery, but the region's archaeology lacks evidence of such destruction.<ref name="Meyers1999">Eric M. Meyers,'Sepphoris on the Eve of the Great Revolt (67–68 C.E.): Archaeology and Josephus,' in Eric M. Meyers,''Galilee Through the Centuries: Confluence of Cultures,'' Eisenbrauns, 1999 pp.109ff., p. 114:(Josephus, Ant. 17.271-87; War 2.56–69).</ref><ref name="Casey2010">{{cite book|last=Casey|first=Maurice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXK0auknD0YC&q=The+area+surrounding+Nazareth+was+fertile&pg=PA194|title=Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching|date=2010|publisher=T & T Clark|isbn=978-0-567-64517-3|location=New York City, New York and London, England|pages=164–169|author-link=Maurice Casey}}</ref>[[File:Herod Antipas.jpg|thumb|right|As a Roman [[client state|client ruler]], [[Herod Antipas]], the [[Herodian Tetrarchy|tetrarch of Galilee]] from 4 BCE–39 CE, was permitted to mint his own coinage (''shown above'').<ref name=Sanders1993>{{cite book|last=Sanders|first=E. P.|title=The Historical Figure of Jesus|date=1993|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-014499-4|location=London, England, New York City, New York, Ringwood, Australia, Toronto, Ontario, and Auckland, New Zealand|pages=20–22|author-link=E. P. Sanders}}</ref>]]

After the death of [[Herod the Great]] that same year, his son [[Herod Antipas]] was appointed as [[Herodian Tetrarchy|tetrarch of Galilee]] by the Roman emperor [[Augustus]]. Galilee remained a Roman [[client state]] and Antipas paid tribute to the [[Roman Empire]] in exchange for Roman protection. The Romans did not station troops in Galilee, but threatened to retaliate against anyone who attacked it. As long as he continued to pay tribute, Antipas was permitted to govern however he wished<ref name=Sanders1993/> and was permitted to mint his own coinage. Antipas was relatively observant of Jewish laws and customs. Although his palace was decorated with animal carvings, which many Jews regarded as a transgression against the law prohibiting idols, his coins bore only agricultural designs, which his subjects deemed acceptable.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In general, Antipas was a capable ruler; Josephus does not record any instance of his use of force to put down an uprising and he had a long, prosperous reign. However, many Jews probably resented him as not sufficiently devout.<ref name="Sanders1993" /> Antipas rebuilt the city of Sepphoris<ref name="Casey2010" /> and, in either 18 CE or 19 CE, he founded the new city of [[Tiberias]]. These two cities became Galilee's largest cultural centers.<ref name="Sanders1993" /> They were the main centers of Greco-Roman influence, but were still predominantly Jewish. A massive gap existed between the rich and poor,<ref name="Casey2010" /> but lack of uprisings suggest that taxes were not exorbitantly high and that most Galileans did not feel their livelihoods were being threatened.<ref name="Sanders1993" />

Late in his reign, Antipas married his half-niece [[Herodias]], who was already married to one of her other uncles. His wife, whom he divorced, fled to her father [[Aretas IV Philopatris|Aretas]], an Arab king, who invaded Galilee and defeated Antipas's troops before withdrawing. Both Josephus and the [[Gospel of Mark]]<ref>''Bible'', {{bibleverse|Mark|6:17–29|9}}</ref> record that the itinerate preacher [[John the Baptist]] criticized Antipas over his marriage and Antipas consequently had him imprisoned and then [[Beheading of John the Baptist|beheaded]].<ref name="Sanders1993" /> In around 39 CE, at the urging of [[Herodias]], Antipas went to Rome to request that he be elevated from the status of tetrarch to the status of king. The Romans found him guilty of storing arms, so he was removed from power and exiled, ending his forty-three-year reign. During the [[First Jewish–Roman War|Great Revolt]] (66–73 CE), a Jewish mob destroyed Herod Antipas's palace.<ref name="Sanders1993" />

[[File:Petri Fischzug Raffael.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Jesus and the [[miraculous catch of fish]], in the Sea of Galilee. Many people in Roman-era Galilee were fishermen.<ref name=Casey2010/>]]

=== Late Roman period ===
Judaism reached its political and cultural zenith in the Galilee during the late second and early third century CE. According to rabbinic sources, [[Judah ha-Nasi]]'s political leadership was at its strongest in relation to the Jewish community in [[Syria Palaestina]], the Diaspora, and the Roman Authorities during this time. Judah's redaction of the [[Mishnah]] at this time period represented the peak of intense cultural activity. Archaeological surveys in the Galilee have revealed that the region experienced its height of thriving settlement during this time.<ref name="Leibner2009">{{Cite book |last=Leibner |first=Uzi |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/43969 |title=Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of the Eastern Galilee |date=2009 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-151460-9 |pages=321-324; 362-371; 396-400; 414-416 |language=English}}</ref>

According to medieval Hebrew legend, [[Shimon bar Yochai]], one of the most famed of all the [[tannaim]], wrote the ''[[Zohar]]'' while living in Galilee.<ref>{{cite book |author=Scharfstein, S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFuBCOzObf0C |title=Jewish History and You |date=2004 |publisher=Ktav Pub. Inc. |isbn=978-0-88125-806-6 |page=24 |access-date=2015-05-18}}</ref>

=== Byzantine period ===
After the completion of the Mishnah, which marked the conclusion of the [[Tannaim|tannaitic]] era, came the period of the ''[[amoraim]]''. The [[Jerusalem Talmud]], the principal work of the amoraim in Palestine, is primarily discussions and interpretations of the Mishnah, and according to academic research, most of it was edited in [[Tiberias]]. The vast majority of the ''amoraim'' named there, as well as the majority of the settlements or place names referenced, were Galileans.<ref name="Leibner2009" /> By the middle of the fourth century, the Jerusalem Talmud's compilation and editing processes abruptly came to a halt, as Talmudic scholar Yaacov Sussmann put it: "The development of the Jerusalem Talmud seems to have abruptly ceased, as if severed by a sharp and sudden blade".<ref>Sussmann 1990: 67–103</ref><ref name="Leibner2009" />

Demographically, during the fourth century the entire region witnessed a significant population decrease, resulting in the abandonment of several notable settlements.<ref name="Leibner2009" /> In approximately 320 CE, Christian bishop [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]] reported that all the major cities and villages in Galilee were entirely Jewish.<ref>Epiphanius'', Panarion'' 30.11.9–10</ref> During the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period, however, Galilee's Jewish population experienced a decline, while Christian settlement grew. Archaeological data indicates that in the third and fourth centuries, several Jewish sites were abandoned, and some Christian villages were established on or near these deserted locations. Certain settlements, such as [[Rameh|Rama]], [[Magdala]], [[Kafr Kanna]], [[Daburiyya]], and [[Iksal]], which were materially Jewish during the Roman period, were now predominantly inhabited by Christians or had a significant Christian population. Safrai and Liebner argue that the decline of the Jewish population and the expansion of the Christian population in the region were separate events that happened at different times. Throughout this period, religious segregation between Christian and Jewish villages endured, with few exceptions like [[Capernaum]] and perhaps [[Nazareth]], due to their sanctity in Christian tradition.<ref name="Leibner2009" />

Leibner has proposed tying the end of the Palestinian Amoraic period, the impact of historical occurrences like the [[Historiography of Christianization of the Roman Empire|Christianization of the Roman Empire]] and of Palestine, the apparent cessation of activities of at least some of the [[Beth midrash|''batei midrash'']] and the transformation of the Galilee from a densely populated Jewish area to a collection of communities surrounded by non-Jewish areas to this demographic crisis. He assumed that Christian population in Galilee was not composed of Jews who converted to Christianity. This is supported by the fact that trustworthy historical records, which mention Jewish conversion to Christianity in Byzantine Palestine, refer to individual cases rather than entire villages, unlike the records from the western part of the empire.<ref name="Leibner2009" /> Eastern Galilee retained a Jewish majority until at least the seventh century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Leibner|first=Uzi|title=Settlement and Demography in Late Roman and Byzantine Eastern Galilee|url=https://www.academia.edu/7438063|language=en}}</ref>

===Early Muslim and Crusader periods===
After the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant]] in the 630s, the Galilee formed part of [[Jund al-Urdunn]] (the military district of Jordan), itself part of [[Bilad al-Sham]] (Islamic Syria). Its major towns were Tiberias the capital of the district, [[Qadas]], [[Beisan]], [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Saffuriya]], and [[Kabul, Israel|Kabul]].<ref name=LeStrange>Le Strange, Guy. (1890) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ENANAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA493 Palestine Under the Moslems]'' pp. 30–32.</ref> During the early Islamic period, Galilee underwent a process of [[Arabization]] and [[Spread of Islam|Islamization]], similar to other areas in the region. Under [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] rule, Islamic rule was gradually consolidated in newly conquered territories, and some Muslims settled in the villages, establishing residency there.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Silver |first=M. M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1260170710 |title=The history of Galilee, 47 BCE to 1260 CE : from Josephus and Jesus to the crusades |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-7936-4945-4 |location=Lanham, Maryland |pages=214 |oclc=1260170710}}</ref> Later, under [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abassid]] rule, geographer [[al-Ya'qubi]] (d. 891), who referred to the region as ''<nowiki/>'Jabal al-Jalil''', noted that its inhabitants were Arabs from the [[Amila]] tribe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Strange, le |first1=G. |url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft |title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500 |publisher=Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]] |year=1890 |page=77 |author-link1=Guy Le Strange}}</ref> Michael Ehrlich suggests that during the Early Islamic period, the majority of people in the Western Galilee and Lower Galilee likely converted to Islam, while in the Eastern Galilee, the Islamization process continued for a more extended period, lasting until the [[Mamluk]] period.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Ehrlich |first=Michael |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1302180905 |title=The Islamization of the Holy Land, 634-1800 |publisher=Arc Humanities Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-64189-222-3 |location=Leeds, UK |pages=59–75 |oclc=1302180905 |quote=}}</ref> 

According to Moshe Gil, Jews in rural Galilean areas frequently succeeded in upholding community life during and for decades after the Umayyad period. He comes to the conclusion that several Galilean Jewish communities "retained their ancient character".<ref name=":1" />  

The [[Shia Islam|Shia]] [[Fatimid]]s conquered the region in the 10th century; a breakaway sect, venerating the Fatimid caliph [[Hakim (title)|al-Hakim]], formed the [[Druze]] religion, centered in [[Mount Lebanon]] and partially in the Galilee. During the [[Crusade]]s, Galilee was organized into the [[Principality of Galilee]], one of the most important Crusader seigneuries.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} According to Moshe Gil, during the periods of [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]] and [[Crusades|Crusader]] rule, the rural Jewish population of Galilee experienced a gradual decline and flight. He supports his argument by referring to 11th-century [[Cairo Geniza]] documents related to transactions in [[Ramla]] and other areas in central Palestine, where Jews claimed to have ancestral ties to places like [[Jish|Gush Halav]], [[Dalton, Israel|Dalton]], or [[Ammuqa|'Amuqa]], suggesting that Jewish flight from Galilee occurred during that time.<ref name=":1" />

=== Ayyubid and Mamluk periods ===
Sunni Muslims began to immigrate to [[Safed]] and its surroundings starting in the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] period, and in particular during the [[Mamluk]] period. These immigrants included [[Sufism|Sufi preachers]] who were crucial in converting the locals to Islam in Safed's rural area. Jewish immigrants did, however, come to the area in waves, during the period of the destruction of Tyre and Acre in 1291 and particularly after the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Jewish expulsion from Spain]] in 1492. These immigrants, who included scholars and other urban elites, turned the Jewish community from a rural community into an urban hub which exerted its influence well beyond the regional boundaries of Upper Galilee.<ref name=":5" />

===Ottoman era===
[[File:Safed view 02.JPG|right|thumb|200px|Safed]]
During Early Ottoman era, the Galilee was governed as the [[Safad Sanjak]], initially part of the larger administrative unit of [[Damascus Eyalet]] (1549–1660) and later as part of [[Sidon Eyalet]] (1660–1864). During the 18th century, the administrative division of Galilee was renamed to [[Acre Sanjak]], and the Eyalet itself became centered in Acre, factually becoming the Acre Eyalet between 1775 and 1841.

The Jewish population of Galilee increased significantly following [[Alhambra Decree|their expulsion from Spain]] and welcome from the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The community for a time made [[Safed]] an international center of cloth weaving and manufacturing, as well as a key site for Jewish learning.<ref name=jafi>{{cite web |title=The Jewish Agency for Israel |publisher=jafi.org.il |url= http://www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/sites/tsfat.htm |access-date=2015-05-18 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091222181345/http://www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/sites/tsfat.htm |archive-date= 2009-12-22 }}</ref> Today it remains one of Judaism's [[Four Holy Cities|four holy cities]] and a center for [[kabbalah]].

In the mid-17th century Galilee and Mount Lebanon became the scene of the [[Druze power struggle (1658–67)|Druze power struggle]], which came in parallel with much destruction in the region and decline of major cities.

In the mid-18th century, Galilee was caught up in a struggle between the [[Arab]] leader [[Zahir al-Umar]] and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] authorities who were centred in [[Damascus]]. Zahir ruled Galilee for 25 years until Ottoman loyalist [[Jezzar Pasha]] conquered the region in 1775.

In 1831, the Galilee, a part of [[Ottoman Syria]], switched hands from Ottomans to [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] until 1840. During this period, aggressive social and politic policies were introduced, which led to a violent [[Syrian Peasant Revolt (1834–35)|1834 Arab revolt]]. In the process of this revolt the Jewish community of [[Safed]] was greatly reduced, in the event of [[Safed Plunder]] by the rebels. The Arab rebels were subsequently defeated by the Egyptian troops, though in 1838, the Druze of Galilee led another [[1838 Druze rebellion|uprising]]. In 1834 and [[Galilee earthquake of 1837|1837]], major earthquakes leveled most of the towns, resulting in great loss of life.

Following the 1864 Tanszimat reforms in the Ottoman Empire, the Galilee remained within [[Acre Sanjak]], but was transferred from [[Sidon Eyalet]] to the newly formed [[Syria Vilayet]] and shortly, from 1888, became administered from [[Beirut Vilayet]].

In 1866, Galilee's first hospital, [[the Nazareth Hospital]], was founded under the leadership of American-Armenian missionary Dr. [[Kaloost Vartan]], assisted by German missionary [[John Zeller]].

[[File:Beirut Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (1900).svg|thumb|The territory of the Ottoman [[Beirut Vilayet]], encompassing the Galilee]]

In the early 20th century, Galilee remained part of [[Acre Sanjak]] of Ottoman Syria. It was administered as the southernmost territory of the [[Beirut Vilayet]].

===British administration===
Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in [[World War I]], and the [[Armistice of Mudros]], it came under British rule, as part of the [[Occupied Enemy Territory Administration]]. Shortly after, in 1920, the region was included in the British Mandate territory, officially a part of Mandatory Palestine from 1923.

===Modern Israeli period===
After the [[1948 Arab–Israeli war]], nearly the whole of Galilee came under Israel's control. A large portion of the population fled or was forced to leave, leaving dozens of entire villages empty; however, a large [[Arab citizens of Israel|Israeli Arab]] community remained based in and near the cities of Nazareth, [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Tamra]], [[Sakhnin]], and [[Shefa-'Amr]], due to some extent to a successful rapprochement with the Druze. The [[kibbutz]]im around the [[Sea of Galilee]] were sometimes shelled by the [[Syrian army]]'s artillery until Israel seized Western [[Golan Heights]] in the 1967 [[Six-Day War]].

During the 1970s and the early 1980s, the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) [[Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon|launched multiple attacks]] on towns and villages of the Upper and Western Galilee from [[Lebanon]]. This came in parallel to the general destabilization of [[Southern Lebanon]], which became a scene of fierce sectarian fighting which deteriorated into the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. On the course of the war, Israel initiated [[Operation Litani]] (1979) and [[Operation Peace For Galilee]] (1982) with the stated objectives of destroying the PLO infrastructure in Lebanon, protecting the citizens of the Galilee and supporting allied Christian Lebanese militias. Israel took over much of southern Lebanon in support of Christian Lebanese militias until 1985, when it withdrew to a [[Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon|narrow security buffer zone]].

From 1985 to 2000, [[Hezbollah]], and earlier [[Amal Movement|Amal]], [[South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)|engaged]] the [[South Lebanon Army]] supported by the [[Israel Defense Forces]], sometimes shelling [[Upper Galilee]] communities with [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha]] rockets. In May 2000, [[Prime Minister of Israel|Israeli prime minister]] [[Ehud Barak]] unilaterally withdrew IDF troops from southern Lebanon, maintaining a security force on the [[Blue Line (Lebanon)|Israeli side of the international border]] recognized by the [[United Nations]]. The move brought a collapse to the [[South Lebanon Army]] and takeover of Southern Lebanon by Hezbollah. However, despite Israeli withdrawal, clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued along the border, and UN observers condemned both for their attacks.

The [[2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]] was characterized by round-the-clock Katyusha rocket attacks (with a greatly extended range) by Hezbollah on the whole of Galilee, with long-range, ground-launched missiles hitting as far south as the [[Sharon Plain]], [[Jezreel Valley]], and [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]] below the Sea of Galilee.

==Demography==
[[File:Kinneret-moshava.jpg|thumb|250px|Sea of Galilee as seen from the [[Moshava]] [[Kinneret, Israel|Kinneret]]]]
[[File:GalilSchoolSign.jpg|thumb|200px|Sign in front of the [[Galil Jewish–Arab School]], a joint Arab-Jewish [[Primary education|primary school]] in the Galilee]]
{{Further|Demographics of Israel}}

{{As of|2006}}, there were 1.2&nbsp;million residents in Galilee, of whom 47% were Jewish.<ref name=OferP>{{cite news |url= http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3481768,00.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20121209081201/http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3481768,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date= December 9, 2012 |access-date= 2008-02-01 |date= December 12, 2007 |title= Jewish population in Galilee declining |author= Ofer Petersburg |work=[[Ynet]] }}</ref> The [[Jewish Agency]] has attempted to [[Judaization of the Galilee|increase the Jewish population]] in this area,<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/20778/edition_id/426/format/html/displaystory.html |title= 30 settlements planned for Negev and Galilee |access-date= 2008-01-19 |date= 2003-08-08}}</ref> but the non-Jewish population also has a high growth rate.<ref name=OferP/>

The largest cities in the region are Acre, Nahariya, Nazareth, Safed, [[Karmiel]], [[Shaghur, Israel|Shaghur]], [[Shefa-'Amr]], [[Afula]], and Tiberias.<ref>{{cite web|title=Places To Visit In Israel|url=http://www.govisitisrael.com/haifa/150/|publisher=govisitisrae|access-date=2013-07-25|archive-date=2013-07-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704231322/http://www.govisitisrael.com/haifa/150|url-status=dead}}</ref> The port city of [[Haifa]] serves as a commercial center for the whole region.

Because of its hilly terrain, most of the people in the Galilee live in small villages connected by relatively few roads.<ref>{{cite web|title=Galilee in Jesus' Time Was a Center of Change|url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/biblearchaeology/a/041511-CW-Galilee-In-Jesus-Time-Was-A-Center-Of-Change.htm|publisher=Ancient History|access-date=2013-07-25|archive-date=2013-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615082639/http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/biblearchaeology/a/041511-CW-Galilee-In-Jesus-Time-Was-A-Center-Of-Change.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> A railroad runs south from [[Nahariya]] along the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean coast]], and a [[Jezreel Valley railway|fork to the east]] was opened in 2016. The main sources of livelihood throughout the area are agriculture and tourism. [[Industrial park]]s are being developed, bringing further employment opportunities to the local population which includes many recent immigrants. The Israeli government is contributing funding to the private initiative, the Galilee Finance Facility, organised by the [[Milken Institute]] and [[Koret Economic Development Fund]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127516602&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |title=Gov't expected to join financing of huge northern development project |author=Matthew Krieger |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=November 19, 2007 |access-date=2007-11-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813151910/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127516602&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=August 13, 2011 }}</ref>

The Galilee is home to a large [[Arab citizens of Israel|Arab]] population,<ref>{{cite report |author= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |author-link= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |chapter-url= http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_17.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930183616/http://cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_17.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-30 |url-status=live |title= Statistical Abstract of Israel |date= 2013 |chapter= Localities and Population, by Group, District, Sub-district and Natural Region |access-date= 2014-06-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= In Galilee, Israeli Arabs finding greener grass in Jewish areas |url= http://www.jta.org/2008/11/03/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/in-galilee-israeli-arabs-finding-greener-grass-in-jewish-areas |access-date= 2013-07-25 |newspaper=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |date= Nov 3, 2008}}</ref> comprising a Muslim majority and two smaller populations, of [[Israeli Druze|Druze]] and [[Arab Christians]], of comparable sizes. Both Israeli Druze and Christians have their majorities in the Galilee.<ref>{{cite report |author= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |author-link= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |chapter-url= http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_13.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021023753/http://cbs.gov.il/shnaton64/st02_13.pdf |archive-date=2013-10-21 |url-status=live |title= Statistical Abstract of Israel |date= 2013 |chapter= Sources of Population Growth, by District, Population Group and Religion |access-date= 2014-06-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |author= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |author-link= Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |url= http://www.cbs.gov.il/statistical/arabju.pdf |title= The Arab Population in Israel |date= 2002 |at= sec. 23 |series= Statistilite |volume= 27 |access-date= 2014-06-15 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923225719/http://www.cbs.gov.il/statistical/arabju.pdf |archive-date= 2015-09-23 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Other notable minorities are the Bedouin, the [[Maronites in Israel|Maronites]] and the [[Circassians in Israel|Circassians]].

The north-central portion of the Galilee is also known as Central Galilee, stretching from the border with [[Lebanon]] to the northern edge of the Jezreel Valley, including the cities of Nazareth and Sakhnin, has an Arab majority of 75% with most of the Jewish population living in hilltop cities like [[Upper Nazareth]]. The northern half of the central Lower Galilee, surrounding [[Karmiel]] and [[Sakhnin]] is known as the "Heart of the Galilee". The eastern Galilee is nearly 100% Jewish. This part includes the [[Finger of the Galilee]], the Jordan River Valley, and the shores the Sea of Galilee, and contains two of Judaism's [[Four Holy Cities]]. The southern part of the Galilee, including Jezreel Valley, and the [[Mount Gilboa|Gilboa]] region are also nearly 100% Jewish, with a few small Arab villages near the [[West Bank]] border. About 80% of the population of the Western Galilee is Jewish, all the way up to the Lebanese border. Jews also form a small majority in the mountainous [[Upper Galilee]] with a significant minority Arab population (mainly Druze and Christians).

As of 2011, the Galilee is attracting significant internal migration of [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi Jews]], who are increasingly moving to the Galilee and Negev as an answer to rising housing prices in central Israel.<ref name=ynet>{{cite news |url= http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4031115,00.html |title= Haredim 'taking over' |newspaper= Ynetnews |publisher= Israel Business, ynetnews.com |date= 23 February 2011 |access-date= 2015-05-18|last1= Peteresburg |first1= Ofer }}</ref>

==Tourism==
{{Further|Tourism in Israel}}
Galilee is a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists who enjoy its scenic, recreational, and gastronomic offerings. The Galilee attracts many [[Christian pilgrimage|Christian pilgrims]], as many of the [[miracles of Jesus]] occurred, according to the [[New Testament]], on the shores of the Sea of Galilee—including [[Jesus walks on water|his walking on water]], [[calming the storm]], and [[feeding the multitude|feeding five thousand people]] in [[Tabgha]]. In addition, numerous sites of [[biblical]] importance are located in the Galilee, such as [[Tel Megiddo|Megiddo]], Jezreel Valley, Mount Tabor, [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]], [[Horns of Hattin]], and more.

A popular hiking trail known as the ''yam leyam'', or sea-to-sea, starts hikers at the Mediterranean. They then hike through the Galilee mountains, Tabor, Neria, and Meron, until their final destination, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

In April 2011, Israel unveiled the "[[Jesus Trail]]", a 40-mile (60-km) [[hiking trail]] in the Galilee for Christian pilgrims. The trail includes a network of footpaths, roads, and bicycle paths linking sites central to the lives of Jesus and his disciples, including [[Tabgha]], the traditional site of Jesus's miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the [[Mount of Beatitudes]], where he delivered his Sermon on the Mount. It ends at [[Capernaum]] on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus espoused his teachings.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-unveils-hiking-trail-galilee-christian-pilgrims-20110415-093756-814.html |access-date=2011-05-16 |date=April 15, 2011 |title=Israel unveils hiking trail in Galilee for Christian pilgrims |author=Daniel Estrin, Canadian Press |work=[[Yahoo! News]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313005012/http://ca.news.yahoo.com/israel-unveils-hiking-trail-galilee-christian-pilgrims-20110415-093756-814.html |archive-date=2013-03-13 }}</ref>
[[File:Berg Tabor BW 2.JPG|thumb|The [[Church of the Transfiguration]] on [[Mount Tabor]]]]

Many kibbutzim and [[moshav]] families operate ''Zimmerim'' (from the Yiddish word for 'room', צימער, from 'Zimmer' in German, with the Hebrew ending for plural, -im; the local term for a [[Bed and breakfast]]). Numerous festivals are held throughout the year, especially in the autumn and spring holiday seasons. These include the Acre (Acco) Festival of Alternative Theater,<ref name=accofestival>{{cite web |url=http://www.accofestival.co.il/home_eng.html |title=Acco Festival |publisher=accofestival.co.il |access-date=2015-05-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702144740/http://www.accofestival.co.il/home_eng.html |archive-date=2015-07-02 }}</ref> the olive harvest festival, music festivals featuring Anglo-American folk, [[klezmer]], Renaissance, and [[chamber music]], and [[Karmiel Dance Festival]].

==Cuisine==
The cuisine of the Galilee is very diverse. The meals are lighter than in the central and southern regions. Dairy products are heavily consumed (especially the Safed cheese that originated in the mountains of the [[Upper Galilee]]). Herbs like thyme, mint, parsley, basil, and rosemary are very common with everything including dips, meat, fish, stews and cheese. In the eastern part of the Galilee, there is freshwater fish as much as meat (especially the [[Tilapia]] that lives in the Sea of Galilee, Jordan river, and other streams in the region), including fish filled with thyme and grilled with rosemary to flavor, or stuffed with oregano leaves, then topped with parsley and served with lemon to squash. This technique exists in other parts of the country including the coasts of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. A specialty of the region is a baked Tilapia flavored with celery, mint and a lot of lemon juice. Baked fish with tahini is also common in Tiberias while the coastal Galileans prefer to replace the tahini with yogurt and add sumac on top.

The Galilee is famous for its olives, pomegranates, wine and especially its [[Labneh]] w'[[Za'atar]] which is served with pita bread, meat stews with wine, pomegranates and herbs such as akub, parsley, [[Malva|khalmit]], mint, fennel, etc. are common. Galilean [[kibbeh|kubba]] is usually flavored with cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, concentrated [[pomegranate juice]], onion, parsley and pine nuts and served as meze with tahini dip. Kebabs are also made almost in the same way with sumac replacing cardamom and with carob sometimes replacing the pomegranate juice. Because of its climate, beef has become more popular than lamb, although both are still eaten there. Dates are popular in the tropical climate of the Eastern Galilee.

==Subregions==
The definition of Galilee varies depending on the period, author, and point of view (geological, geographical, administrative). Ancient Galilee consisted in broad terms of the Upper and Lower Galilee. Today the northwestern part of the Upper Galilee is in Southern Lebanon, with the rest being in Israel. The Israeli Galilee is often divided into these subregions, which often overlap:
* [[Upper Galilee]] extends from the Beit HaKerem Valley northwards into southern Lebanon. Its eastern border is the [[Hula Valley]] and the Sea of Galilee separating it from the Golan Heights. To the west it reaches to the Coastal Plain which separates it from the Mediterranean.
* [[Lower Galilee]] covers the area north of the Valleys ([[Jezreel Valley|Jezreel]], [[Harod Valley|Harod]] and [[Beth Shean Valley]]) and south of the [[Beit HaKerem Valley]]. Its borders to the east on the [[Jordan Rift Valley]]. It contains the Arab city of [[Nazareth]] and the village of [[Cana]].
* The "[[Galilee Panhandle]]" ({{lang-he|אצבע הגליל}}, ''Etzba HaGalil'', lit. "Finger of Galilee") is a [[Salient (geography)|panhandle]] along the [[Hulah Valley]], squeezed between the Lebanese border and the Golan Heights; it contains the towns of [[Metulla]] and [[Qiryat Shemona]], the [[Dan River (Israel)|Dan]] and part of the [[Nahal Hermon|Banias]] rivers.

The following subregions are sometimes regarded, from different points of view, as distinct from the Galilee, for instance the entire Jordan Valley including the Sea of Galilee and its continuation to the south as one geological and geographical unit, and the Jezreel, Harod, and Beit She'an valleys as "the northern valleys".
* The [[Hula Valley]]
* The [[Korazim Plateau]]
* The [[Sea of Galilee]] and its valley
* The [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley]] from the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee down to Beit She'an
* The [[Jezreel Valley]], including in its eastern part, the Harod Valley, which stretches between [[Afula]] and the Beit She'an Valley
* The [[Beit She'an Valley]] at the junction of the Jordan Valley and the extended Jezreel Valley
* [[Mount Gilboa]]
* The '''Western Galilee''' is a modern Israeli term, which in its minimal definition refers to the coastal plain just west of the Upper Galilee, also known as Plain of Asher or Plain of the Galilee, which stretches from north of Acre to [[Rosh HaNikra (kibbutz)|Rosh HaNikra]] on the [[Blue Line (Lebanon)|Israel-Lebanon border]], and in the common broad definition adds the western part of Upper Galilee, and usually the northwestern part of Lower Galilee as well, corresponding more or less to Acre sub-district or the [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]].

==Gallery==
[[File:Har Ari panorama.jpg|center|thumb|800px|Panorama from [[Har HaAri|Ari Mountain]] in the [[Upper Galilee]]]]
[[File:Gilboa 123PAN.jpg|center|thumb|800px|Panorama of the [[Harod Valley]], the eastern extension of the Jezreel Valley]]

==See also==
* [[Galilean]]
* [[Northern District (Israel)]]
* [[Koenig Memorandum]]
* [[Ahuzat Naftali]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{Eastons|wstitle=Galilee}}

==Further reading==
* Aviam, M., "Galilee: The Hellenistic to Byzantine Periods," in ''The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land'', vol. 2 (4 vols) (Jerusalem: IES / Carta), 1993, 452–58.
* Meyers, Eric M. (ed), ''Galilee through the Centuries: Confluence of Cultures'' (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999) (Duke Judaic Studies 1).
* Chancey, A.M., ''Myth of a Gentile Galilee: The Population of Galilee and New Testament Studies'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) (Society of New Testament Monograph Series 118).
* Aviam, M., "First-century Jewish Galilee: An archaeological perspective," in Edwards, D.R. (ed.), ''Religion and Society in Roman Palestine: Old Questions, New Approaches'' (New York / London: Routledge, 2004), 7–27.
* Aviam, M., ''Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Galilee'' (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 2004) (Land of Galilee 1).
* Chancey, Mark A., ''Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, 134).
* Freyne, Sean, "Galilee and Judea in the First Century," in Margaret M. Mitchell and Frances M. Young (eds), ''Cambridge History of Christianity. Vol. 1. Origins to Constantine'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006) (Cambridge History of Christianity), 163–94.
* Zangenberg, Jürgen, Harold W. Attridge and Dale B. Martin (eds), ''Religion, Ethnicity and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition'' (Tübingen, Mohr Siebeck, 2007) (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 210).
* Fiensy, David A., "Population, Architecture, and Economy in Lower Galilean Villages and Towns in the First Century AD: A Brief Survey," in John D. Wineland, Mark Ziese, James Riley Estep Jr. (eds), ''My Father's World: Celebrating the Life of Reuben G. Bullard'' (Eugene (OR), Wipf & Stock, 2011), 101–19.
* Safrai, Shmuel, "The Jewish Cultural Nature of Galilee in the First Century" The New Testament and Christian–Jewish Dialogue: Studies in Honor of David Flusser, Immanuel 24/25 (1990): 147–86; electronically published on jerusalemperspective.com.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage|Galilee}}
*[https://www.haaretz.com/misc/tags/TAG-galilee-1.5599068 Galilee] (definition of) on Haaretz.com

{{Northern District (Israel)}}

{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Galilee| ]]
[[Category:Land of Israel]]
[[Category:Regions of Israel]]
[[Category:New Testament regions]]
[[Category:Jesus and history]]
[[Category:Geography of Northern District (Israel)]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:Historical regions]]