Everything about Via Maris totally explained
Via Maris is the modern name for an ancient
trade route, dating from the early
Bronze Age, linking
Egypt with the northern empires of
Syria,
Anatolia and
Mesopotamia - modern day
Iran,
Iraq, Turkey and Syria.
Its earlier name was "Way of the Philistines", a reference to a passageway through the Philistine Plain. At this point the Way branches into two Ways - one along the
Mediterranean coast, through Megiddo, and the other following an inland route through the
Jezreel Valley, the
Sea of Galilee and
Dan.
"
Via Maris" is Latin and means "the Way of the Sea". The name is based on a passage from the
Vulgate (the
New Testament in Latin translation) from the Gospel according to Matthew ("Secundum Mattheum"), chapter 4 verse 15:
» terra Zabulon et terra Nephthalim via maris trans Iordanen Galilaeae gentium
» (the land of
Zebulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles).
There is also a reference to the
Via Maris ("the way of the sea") in .
Together with the
King's Highway, the
Via Maris was one of the major routes connecting
Egypt and the
Levant with
Anatolia and
Mesopotamia. The
Via Maris was crossed by other trading routes, so that one could travel from Africa to Europe or from Asia to Africa. It began in
al-Qantara and went east to
Pelusium, following the northern coast of
Sinai through
el-Arish and
Rafah. From there it followed the coast of
Canaan through
Gaza,
Ashkelon,
Ashdod,
Joppa, and
Dor before turning east again through
Megiddo and the
Jezreel Valley until it reached
Tiberias on the
Sea of Galilee. Again turning northward along the shore, the
Via Maris passed through
Migdal,
Capernaum, and
Hazor. From Hazor it climbed sharply over the
Golan Heights and wound its way northeast into
Damascus. Here travellers could continue on the King's Highway as far as the
Euphrates River or proceed northward into Anatolia.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Via Maris'.
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