Via Maris was an ancient trade route , dating from the early Bronze Age , linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria , Anatolia and Mesopotamia – along the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Egypt , Israel , Turkey and Syria . In Latin , Via Maris means "way of the sea", a translation of the Greek ὁδὸν θαλάσσης found in Isaiah 9:1 of the Septuagint , itself a translation of the Hebrew דֶּ֤רֶךְ הַיָּם֙. It is a historic road that runs in part along the Israeli Mediterranean coast. It was the most important route from Egypt to Syria (the Fertile Crescent ) which followed the coastal plain before crossing over into the plain of Jezreel and the Jordan valley. Other names are "Way of the Philistines ", "International Trunk Road" and "International Coastal Highway."
17-587: Together with the King's Highway , the Via Maris was one of the major trade 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
34-749: A highly scenic if curvy and rather low-speed road. The Highway began in Heliopolis, Egypt and then went eastward to Clysma (modern Suez ), through the Mitla Pass and the Egyptian forts of Nekhl and Themed in the Sinai desert to Eilat and Aqaba . From there the Highway turned northward through the Arabah , past Petra and Ma'an to Udhruh , Sela , and Shaubak . It passed through Kerak and
51-800: The Bible . Another road connected it with Jerusalem passing by Livias and the traditional site of Jesus ' baptism by John the Baptist on the Jordan River near, known today in Arabic as al-Maghtas , and on via Jericho . During Muslim rule from the 7th century, the road was the main Hajj route from Syria to Mecca , until the Ottoman Turks built the Tariq al-Bint in the 16th century. During
68-643: The Crusader period, use of the road was problematic. The road passed through the province of Oultrejordain of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem . During periods of truce, the Hajj caravans were usually left unharmed by the Crusader lords of Oultrejourdain; however, Raynald of Châtillon attacked and plundered the pilgrims twice. His deeds eventually led to his own death at the hands of Saladin , and to
85-713: 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. According to Anson Rainey (1981), "Via Maris" is not the historic name of this road but derives from the Latin translation of Isaiah 9:1 (in the Hebrew Bible , 8:23) – "by the way of the sea". The prophet was probably referring to
102-636: The Ma'an Governorate . The route of Highway 35 is over 5,000 years old. It runs over the ancient King's Highway . This highway was first constructed by the Romans , and was part of the Via Nova Traiana . This highway runs north–south from Irbid down to the Desert Highway in Ma'an Governorate . The interesting hilly highway passes the castle of Kerak and Shobak and passes Wadi Musa ,
119-531: The Muslim conquest of the Fertile Crescent in the 7th century AD and until the 16th century, it was the darb al-hajj or pilgrimage road for Muslims from Syria , Iraq , and beyond heading to the holy city of Mecca . In modern Jordan , Highway 35 and Highway 15 follow this route, connecting Irbid in the north with Aqaba in the south. The southern part crosses several deep wadis , making it
136-785: The Bible (2007), p. 76. Carl G. Rasmussen in the Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010), p. 32, also notes the traditional misnomer and calls the Egypt–Damascus route "the International North-South Route." Rasmussen, in agreement with Langfur and Rainey, suggests that the Via Maris was the road that connected Tyre with Damascus . Beitzel, in contrast, denotes the Via Maris as a road from Ptolemais (Acco / Acre ) to Kedesh (Kedesh-naphtali) in
153-538: The Galilee – also leading west to east, but slightly further south and not reaching so far inland. King%27s Highway (Ancient) The King's Highway was a trade route of vital importance in the ancient Near East , connecting Africa with Mesopotamia . It ran from Egypt across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba , then turned northward across Transjordan , to Damascus and the Euphrates River . After
170-648: The Israelites against the kingdoms of the trans-Jordanian highlands during the period of the Kingdom of Israel (and its sister-kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah ) were probably fought, at least in part, over control of the Highway. Highway 35 (Jordan) Highway 35 , also known as the King's Highway , is a north–south highway in Jordan . It starts in at the Syrian border north of Irbid and leads to Highway 15 in
187-632: The coast of Canaan through Gaza , Ascalon , Isdud , Aphek avoiding the Yarkon River , 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 lake shore, the Via Maris passed through Migdal , Capernaum , and Hazor . From Hazor it crossed the northern River Jordan at what later became known as Jacob's Ford , then climbed sharply over
SECTION 10
#1732772116183204-708: The fall of the Crusader kingdom in 1187 in the Battle of Hattin . With his knowledge of ancient history, it was this route that T. E. Lawrence took (160 miles in 49 hours) to Cairo to inform British Intelligence of the Arab victory at Aqaba in July 1917. The King's Highway ( Derech HaMelech ) is referred to in the Book of Numbers ( Numbers 20:17 , 21:22 ), where it is told that the Israelites in their Exodus journey needed to use
221-437: The land of Moab to Madaba , Rabbah Ammon/Philadelphia (modern Amman ), Gerasa , Bosra , Damascus , and Tadmor , ending at Resafa on the upper Euphrates. Numerous ancient states, including Edom , Moab , Ammon , and various Aramaean polities depended largely on the King's Highway for trade. The Nabataeans used the road as a trade route for luxury goods such as frankincense and spices from southern Arabia . It
238-787: The road from Dan to the sea at Tyre , passing through Abel-beth-maachah , which marked the northern border of Israel at the time of the Assyrian conquest. This Egypt-to-Damascus route is designated by Barry J. Beitzel as the Great Trunk Road in The New Moody Atlas of the Bible (2009), p. 85. John D. Currid and David P. Barrett use this name in the ESV Bible Atlas (2010), p. 41, as do Rainey and Notley in Carta 's New Century Handbook and Atlas of
255-504: The road. They had left from Kadesh and requested right of way from the King of Edom but were refused passage. He vowed he would attack them if they used the road. They even offered to pay for any water their cattle drank. Still the King of Edom refused them passage and advanced against them with a large and heavily armed force. After making a detour and coming to the Transjordan area between River Arnon and River Jabbok , they made
272-403: The same request to Amorite King Sihon . For the second time, on the same road, they were denied passage and King Sihon engaged them in battle at Jahaz, where they won that battle "by the edge of the sword". As a result, they gained control in that land and to the north of it. The tribes of Manasseh (eastern half), Gad , and Reuben subsequently settled those territories. Many of the wars of
289-627: Was possibly the cause of their war with Hasmonean Alexander Jannaeus and with Iturea in the beginning of the 1st century BC. During the Roman period the road was called Via Regia . Emperor Trajan rebuilt and renamed it Via Traiana Nova , under which name it served as a military and trade road along the fortified Limes Arabicus . In the Byzantine period , the road was an important pilgrimage route for Christians , as it passed next to Mount Nebo , Moses ' death and burial site according to
#182817