Editing History of the ancient Levant (section)

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The [[Levant]] is the area in [[Southwest Asia]], south of the [[Taurus Mountains]], bounded by the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in the west, the [[Arabian Desert]] in the south, and [[Mesopotamia]] in the east. It stretches roughly {{convert|400|mi|abbr=on}} north to south, from the [[Taurus Mountains]] to the [[Sinai desert]] and [[Hejaz]],<ref>''A History of Ancient Israel and Judah'' by Miller, James Maxwell, and Hayes, John Haralson (Westminster John Knox, 1986) {{ISBN|0-664-21262-X}}. p.36</ref> and east to west between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the [[Khabur (Euphrates)|Khabur river]].<ref name="Porter"/> The term is often used to refer to the following regions or modern states: [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], and [[Jordan]]. The term sometimes include [[Cilicia]], [[Cyprus]] and the [[Sinai Peninsula]].

The Levant is one of the earliest centers of [[sedentism]] and [[agriculture]] throughout history, and some of the earliest agrarian cultures, [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]], developed in the region.<ref name="DT">[[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License] {{Cite journal |last1=Turbón |first1=Daniel |last2=Arroyo-Pardo |first2=Eduardo |date=5 June 2014 |title=Ancient DNA Analysis of 8000 B.C. Near Eastern Farmers Supports an Early Neolithic Pioneer Maritime Colonization of Mainland Europe through Cyprus and the Aegean Islands |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=e1004401 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004401 |issn=1553-7404 |pmc=4046922 |pmid=24901650 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shukurov |first1=Anvar |last2=Sarson |first2=Graeme R. |last3=Gangal |first3=Kavita |date=7 May 2014 |title=The Near-Eastern Roots of the Neolithic in South Asia |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=e95714 |bibcode=2014PLoSO...995714G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0095714 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4012948 |pmid=24806472 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Alan |date=9 November 2010 |title=Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities |journal=PLOS Biology |language=en |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=e1000536 |doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000536 |issn=1545-7885 |pmc=2976717 |pmid=21085689 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Previously regarded as a peripheral region in the [[ancient Near East]], modern academia largely considers the Levant as a center of civilization on its own, independent of [[Mesopotamia]] and [[Egypt]].<ref>{{cite book |title= The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies ({{circa|16,000-300}}&nbsp;{{sc|BC}}) |first1=Peter M.M.G. |last1=Akkermans |first2=Glenn M. |last2=Schwartz |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year= 2003 |isbn=978-0-521-79666-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Baffi|first1=Francesca |last2=Peyronel |first2=Luca |editor1-last=Matthiae |editor1-first= Paolo |editor2-last=Marchetti |editor2-first=Nicolò |title=Ebla and its Landscape: Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East |chapter=Trends in Village Life. The Early Bronze Age Phases at Tell Tuqan |year=2013 |publisher=Left Coast Press |isbn=978-1-61132-228-6}}</ref> Throughout the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age|Iron]] ages, the Levant was home to many [[ancient Semitic-speaking peoples]] and kingdoms, and is considered by many to be the urheimat of [[Semitic languages]].

{{History of the Levant}}