Editing Names of the Levant (section)

== Antiquity ==

=== Retjenu ===
[[Ancient Egypt]]ian texts (c. 14th century BC) called the entire coastal area along the [[Mediterranean Sea]] between modern Egypt and Turkey ''rṯnw'' (conventionally ''[[Retjenu|Reṯenu]]''). In the [[Amarna letters]], written in [[Akkadian cuneiform]], Reṯenu is subdivided into five regions:

* ''kꜣnꜥnꜥ'' (''Kanana''), i.e. [[Canaan]] proper ([[Idumea]], [[Judea]], [[Samaria]]);
**''pꜣ-kꜣnꜥnꜥ'' (''pa-Kanana''), city of [[Gaza City|Gaza]]; name used in reference to being the administrative centre of [[Canaan]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tammuz|first=Oded|title=Canaan - A Land Without Limits, Ugarit Forschungen 33: 510.|url=https://www.academia.edu/3843535|language=en}}</ref>
* ''[[Djahy|Ḏahy]]'' (''ḏꜣhy'';''Ṯahi'', ''Ḏahi''), roughly [[Galilee]] and coastal plain to [[Ashkelon]] dominated by [[Tel Hazor|Hazor]];
* ''Rmnn'', coast of [[Lebanon]];
* ''Amurru'', (the [[Amurru kingdom]] of the [[Amorites]]); 
* ''Kharu'' (''ḥꜣrw''), the chief city of which was [[Ugarit]].<ref>Sir [[Alan Gardiner]], ''Egypt of the Pharaohs'', Clarendon Press, Oxford (1961) 1964 pp.131, 199, 285, n.1.</ref>

=== Canaan ===
* [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: 𒆳𒆠𒈾𒄴𒈾 (''[[Canaan|Kinaḫnu]])''
* {{langx|ar|کَنْعَان}} {{IPA|ar|kanʕaːn|}}
* [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]]: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 (''Knʿn'')
* {{langx|el|Χαναάν}} or Χνᾶ (''Khanaán'' or ''Khna'')
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|כנען}} {{IPA|he|ˈkna.an|}}
:* [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]] {{langx|he|כְּנַעַן}} {{IPA|he|kʰaˈnaːʕaːn|}}
* {{langx|la|Canaan}}
* {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|کنعان}}}} (''Kænaan'')
* {{Langx|uga|𐎋𐎐𐎓𐎐}} (''Knʿn'')<ref>[[Keilalphabetische Texte aus Ugarit|KTU]]<sup>2</sup> 4.96</ref>
* {{langx|tr|Kenan}}

Prior to (and for some time after) the formation of the [[Israelites|Israelite]]/[[Jews|Hebrew]] identity and polities in the region, the land was referred to natively as [[Canaan]] (first attested in [[Akkadian language|Assyrian Akkadian]] as ''Kinaḫnu''). Though it was once thought that the Hebrews were foreign settlers in Canaan, the modern consensus of most scholars is that Hebrew identity developed ''in situ'' as a direct indigenous evolution of earlier Canaanite tribes; the continuity from [[Bronze Age Levant|Bronze Age Canaanite]] civilization to [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Iron Age Israelite/Judean]] civilization is indeed so seamless that many scholars stress that any dichotomy between the two is essentially arbitrary—with culture, language, etc., being indistinguishable during the transition from Bronze Age to Iron Age.<ref>{{Cite book|title=No other gods : emergent monotheism in Israel|author=Gnuse, Robert Karl|date=1997|publisher=Sheffield Academic Press|isbn=9780567374158|location=Sheffield, England|pages=54|oclc=276784070}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The early history of God : Yahweh and the other deities in ancient Israel|author=Smith, Mark S.|date=2002|publisher=William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co|isbn=9780802839725|edition=2nd|location=Grand Rapids, Mich.|pages=19–24|oclc=49493240}}</ref> The [[Phoenicians]]—also descended from the Bronze Age Canaanites, and close relatives and neighbors of the Israelites—likewise continued to speak a [[Canaanite language]] and practice [[Ancient Canaanite religion|Canaanite religion]] at their [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] ports, and referred to themselves natively as "Canaanites", and their land as "Canaan".

=== Phoenicia ===
{{Main|Phoenicia}}
* {{langx|ar|فِيْنِيْقِيَّة}} {{IPA|ar|fiːniːqjaː|}}
* {{langx|el|Φοινίκη}} (''Phoiníkē'')
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|פיניקיה}} (''Feniqiyah'' or ''Finiqiyah'')
* {{langx|la|Phœnicia}}
* {{langx|tr|Fenike}}

In ancient times, the [[Greeks]] called the whole of Canaan ''[[Phoenicia|Phoiníkē]]'', literally "[land] of the [[Tyrian purple|purple[-producing]] [[Murex|shell]]]". Today, general consensus associates the Phoenician homeland proper with modern-day [[Lebanon]], centered at Phoenician cities such as [[Ugarit]], [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]], [[Sidon]], and [[Byblos]]. Also, there is a modern town in [[Turkey]] called ''[[Finike]]'' which is thought to have derived by the Lycians who traded with Phoenicians in ancient times.

=== Israel and Judea ===
{{see also|Israel (name)|Judah (son of Jacob)}}
Israel:
[[File:Merneptah Steli (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|The [[Merneptah Stele]] (13th century BCE). The majority of [[Biblical Archeology|biblical archeologists]] translate a set of hieroglyphs as ''Israel'', the first instance of the name in the record.]]
*[[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]: ''ysrỉꜣr'' ({{IPA|/iːsriɑr/}})<hiero>i-i-z:Z1s*Z1s:r-i-A-r:Z1*T14-A1*B1:Z2</hiero>
* {{langx|ar|إِِِسْرَائِيْل}} {{IPA|ar|ʔisraːʔiːl|}}
* [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]: 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 (''yšrʾl'')
* [[Ugaritic]]: 𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎛𐎍 (''yšrỉl''<!-- This word appears in Ugarit as a personal name, not the name of a land, even though the etymology is identical -->)
* {{langx|el|Ισραήλ}} (''Israḗl'')
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|ישראל}} (''Yisrael'')
:* [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]] {{langx|he|יִשְׂרָאֵל}} {{IPA|he|jisrɔˈʔeːl|}}
:* [[Biblical Hebrew]]: 𐤉𐤔𐤓𐤀𐤋 {{IPA|he|jɪɬɾaːˈʔeːl|}}
* {{langx|la|Israël}}
* {{langx|tr|İsrail}}
* [[Middle Persian]]: ''Adēr'' / ''Adēl''
* {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|اسراییل}}}} (''Esrajil'')

Judea<!-- Judea is a region in the Levant, and never refers to a major part of it... -->:
* {{langx|ar|یَهُوْدَا}} {{IPA|ar|jahuːdaː|}}
* [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]: 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 (ia-u<sub>2</sub>-da-a-a)
* {{langx|el|Ἰουδαία}} (''Ioudaía'')
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|יהודה}} (''Yehuda'')
:* [[Tiberian Hebrew]]: ''Yəhūḏā''
* {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|یهودیه}}}} (''Jæhudije'' / ''Jæhudija'')
* {{langx|tr|Yahudi}}
* {{langx|la|Judæa}}

The kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] were [[Iron Age]] [[Semitic people|Semitic]] nations spanning from [[Edom]] to [[Assyria]]. Today, the modern [[Israel|State of Israel]] controls much of the former territory of the ancient Israelite/Judean kingdoms. According to the [[Deuteronomic History|Deuteronomic history]] in the [[Bible]], the polities of Israel and Judah originally split off from an earlier, united [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]], ruled by illustrious kings such as [[David]] and [[Solomon]]; though [[modern archaeology]], [[Biblical studies|biblical scholarship]], and historians are generally somewhat skeptical of the historicity of the alleged united monarchy of Israel, suggesting instead that the two kingdoms developed separately, with the southern kingdom of Judah probably dependent on the northern kingdom of Israel as a satellite state at first.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Bible unearthed : archaeology's new vision of ancient Israel and the origin of its sacred texts|last=Israel.|first=Finkelstein|date=2001|publisher=Free Press|others=Silberman, Neil Asher, 1950-|isbn=9780684869124|location=New York|oclc=44509358}}</ref>

The term ''[[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]]'' is used by historians to refer to the [[Roman province]] that extended over parts of the former regions of the [[Hasmonean]] and [[Herodian Dynasty|Herodian]] kingdoms. It was named after [[Herod Archelaus]]'s ethnarchy of Judea of which it was an expansion, the name being derived from the earlier provincial designations [[Yehud Medinata]] ([[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]]) and [[Yehud (Babylonian province)|Yehud]] ([[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian]]): all ultimately referring to the former [[Jews|Hebrew]] kingdom of Judah.

=== Assyria and Syria ===
{{Main|Name of Syria}}

During [[Persian Empire|Persian]] rule of the Near East, the [[Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] came to call the region "[[Syria (region)|Syria]]", believed to have been named after [[Assyria]] and the [[Aramaic language]] they spread over the entire region. However, [[Herodotus]] used the combined name "Syria Palaistinē". "[[Greater Syria]]" refers to a larger area that is supported by some nationalists.

During the [[Syrian Wars]] between the [[Seleucid dynasty]] and the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] (274-168 BC), the region was known as [[Coele-Syria]] traditionally given the meaning 'hollow' Syria. The later Hellenistic term ''Koile Syria'' that appears first in [[Arrian]]'s [[Anabasis Alexandri]] (2.13.7) in AD 145 and has been much discussed, is usually interpreted as a transcription of [[Aramaic]] ''kul'', "all, the entire", identifying ''all'' of Syria.<ref>M. Sartre, "La Syrie creuse n'existe pas", in G. L. Gatier, ''et al.'' ''Géographie historique au proche-orient'' (1988:15-40), reviving the explanation offered by A. Schalit (1954), is reported by Robin Lane Fox, ''Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer'' (2008, notes p378f): "the crux is solved".</ref>

=== Palestine ===
{{See also|Timeline of the name Palestine|Place names in Palestine|Palestine (region)}}

Palestine:
* {{langx|ar|فِلِسْطِيْن}} {{IPA|ar|filistˤiːn|}}
* {{langx|el|Παλαιστίνη}} (''Palaistinē'') - from {{langx|he|פְּלִשְׁתִּים}} {{IPA|he|pəliːʃˈtiːm|}}; or perhaps Greek παλαιστής (''palaistēs'', "wrestler"), in reference to [[wiktionary:Israel#Etymology|Israel]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/27/3/3|title=When Palestine Meant Israel|date=2015-08-24|work=The BAS Library|access-date=2018-03-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/unholywar00pric/page/133|title=Unholy war|author=Price, Randall|date=2001|publisher=Harvest House Publishers|isbn=9780736908238|location=Eugene, OR|pages=[https://archive.org/details/unholywar00pric/page/133 133]|oclc=47916042|url-access=registration}}</ref>
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|פלשתינה}} (''Palestina'') – from Latin, English etc., or [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|פלסטין}} (''Falastin'') – from Arabic.
* {{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|فلسطین}}}} (''Felestin'')
* {{langx|la|Palæstina}} - same word as ''Philistia''
* {{langx|tr|Filistin}}

An early version of the name ''[[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]'' was first recorded by the [[ancient Egypt]]ians as ''Peleset''. [[Herodotus]] later called the whole area ''Syria Palaistinē'' in his [[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]] (c. 450 BC), and included the entire territory of ancient Israel and Judea (which he noted for the practice of circumcision), not specifically the coastal Philistine territory (whose people notably did not practice circumcision).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Israel's ethnogenesis : settlement, interaction, expansion and resistance|last=Avi|first=Faust|date = April 2016|isbn=9781134942084|location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon|pages=88–91|oclc=945975573}}</ref> The Romans applied the term ''[[Syria Palaestina]]'' to the southern part of the region—beginning in AD 135, following the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]]—to complete the disassociation with the former identity of Judaea. The name continued to be used for the province throughout later [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Islamic]] rule.

[[Standard Hebrew]] has two names for Palestine, both of which are different from the Hebrew name for ancient Philistia. The first name ''Palestina'' was used by Hebrew speakers in the [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate of Palestine]]; it is spelled like the name for Philistia but with three more letters added to the end and a [[Latin]] pronunciation given. The second name ''Falastin'' is a direct loan from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] form, and is used today specifically to refer to the modern [[Palestinians]] and to political aspirations for a [[Palestinian state]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2016}}

=== Philistia ===

Philistia:
* [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]]: 𐤐𐤋𐤔𐤕 (p.l.ʃ.t)
* [[Hebrew]]
:* [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] {{langx|he|פלשת}} (''Pleshet'')
:* [[Tiberian Hebrew|Tiberian]] {{langx|he|פְּלֶשֶׁת}} {{IPA|he|pəˈlɛʃɛθ}}
* {{langx|la|Palæstina}} - from Greek

=== Eber-Nari and Transeuphratia ===
''[[Eber-Nari]]'' was the name of a [[satrapy]] of the [[Achaemenid Empire]] which roughly corresponded with the southern [[Levant]]. It means "Beyond the River" or "Across the River" in both Akkadian and Aramaic (that is, the western side of the [[Euphrates]] from a [[Mesopotamia]]n and [[Ancient Persia|Persian]] viewpoint). It is also sometimes referred to as ''Transeuphratia'' (French ''Transeuphratène'') by modern scholars.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}