Time passed and people united into communities, founded villages, “villages”, then - cities, creating their own hierarchy of power, dividing into layers of the population. Cities grew larger and richer, and their influence grew. This article will focus on the oldest of the cities on Earth - Jericho. The opinion of scientists is that the first buildings and traces of human life on the territory of this ancient city can be attributed to the Early Neolithic - VIII millennium BC. Thus, the date of construction of the city can be attributed to 8000 BC, which automatically makes it the oldest city on Earth.
The city was founded on the site of a nearby trade route, which allowed its residents to quickly get rich and think about safety, because values must be protected. The city was surrounded by a 5-meter wall with a thickness of 1.5 meters, and a tower was also discovered by archaeologists, which in ancient times had a height of 9 meters. The oldest houses of the inhabitants were round in shape, but then became rectangular. Since the moon was worshiped in the city, it was considered a lunar city. Over time, the city was strengthened more and more. During the Canaanite period, the walls were partially dismantled. Two walls in the form of rings were erected to protect the city, and since the nomads often staged raids, they were especially fortified on the east side.
Reconstruction - View of Jericho in the Canaanite Period.
Of course, as a city with an ancient culture, over time it absorbed the features of Babylon, Canaan, Israel, Phenicia and then the Hittites. It was Canaan, on whose territory he was located, that he was especially influenced. Around the middle of the 15th century BC. Israelite forces attacked Canaan and the city of Jericho was also destroyed and possibly set on fire. Despite this, the city continued to exist. From that moment on, the Israeli period in the history of the city began. By the end of the VIII - the beginning of the VII century BC. the kingdom of Israel was destroyed and Jericho was destroyed, and the walls were collapsed almost to the ground. What is usually characteristic of Mesopotamia, Babylonia and some other Semitic peoples, in order to destroy the city, lower the self-esteem and pride of the people, and deprive them of the slightest protection as a result, they, in addition to pogroms, destroyed the city wall to the ground.
Ruins of the tower.
Further, the Jewish Jericho no longer had massive walls. Soon the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II, again destroyed the city. With the rise of the Persian state, the city was captured. Under Artaxerxes III, a series of uprisings took place and the city was again destroyed and the entire population was taken prisoner. In 334 BC. Alexander the Great invades Persia and by 330 Achaemenid Persia had fallen; Jericho rose again in the Roman period. Towards the end of the existence of the Roman Empire and, Jericho fell into decay. This is where the history of Ancient Jericho ends … the city existed for some time, but as a result of battles between Muslims and crusaders it was destroyed and fell into desolation. The city lay in ruins until the 19th century. Now this city is the capital of the province of Jericho and is located in Palestine.