Jezreel Valley It is Israel's largest valley and one of its most fertile regions. Roughly triangular plain oriented northwest to southeast. Separating the hills of Galilee to the north from those of Samaria to the south. Its southwestern side, formed by Mount Carmel, is about 15 miles long. Its north side, formed by the Nazareth Ridge, is about 12 miles long. Its south side, formed by the Hills of Samaria, is about 18 miles. * Jezreel was allotted to the tribe of Issachar {Josh 19:18} * Saul and his army camped near Jezreel in preparation for their battle with the Philistines, who had stationed themselves across the Harod Valley near Shunem {1 Sam 28} Saul and three of his sons died on Mount Gilboa, on the western slope to the south. *The king coveted that vineyard, craving it for his vegetable garden. {1 Kings 21} *Elijah’s prophecy of God’s judgment on the royal pair was fulfilled. dogs licking the king’s blood from his battle chariot and crunching the bones of the queen {1 Kgs 22:37-38; 2 Kgs 9:30-37} Jezreel Valley a major travel route from north to south and from east to west. Through the valley run the main highway linking Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia.  Although originally the valley floor was marshy, it has always been of great stratigic importance, having been rightfully called the "battlefield of Palestine." The principal north-south route of the ancient world, called by the Romans Via Maris ("Way of the Sea") It was an obvious route for trade--and invasion. This accounts for the long list of battles fought there, right up to modern times, from the days of Nebuchadnezzar until the disastrous march of Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt into Syria. Warriors of every nation under heaven--Jews, Gentiles, Saracens, Crusaders, Frenchmen, Egyptians, Persians, Turks and Arabs--have pitched their tents in the plain. It was the epic battleground where the Israelite Judge, Gideon, with only 300 men, defeated the Midianites and the Amalekites who were "thick as locusts. *Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore." {Judges 7:12} Here, too, Deborah and Barak defeated the Canaanite general Sisera, *Saul's army was defeated by the Philistines {1 Samuel 31:1-13} *and king Josiah of Judah was slain while battling Pharaoh Neco of Egypt {2 Chronicles 35:19-25} After their conquest of Palestine in 1517, the sultans declared it Turkish crownland. By the beginning of the 20th century, large areas had passed to absentee Arab landlords. The first Jewish settlement on the plain was Merhavya in 1911. In 1920 the British lifted the land restrictions and large tracts were purchase by Jews for reclamation and settlement. September 1921 Kibbutz Ein Harod was established near the Spring of Harod--the second Jewish settlement in the area. Since then the swamps have been drained, and dozens of settlements, combining intensive agriculture with light industry, have been set up. Today, the principal urban center is the city of Afula, midway on the valley's east side. In Hebrew , Jezreel Valley,  " God will sow," In Greek form, Esdraelon,  " May God make fruitful." The Arabs call it, Marj Ibn Amer,  " the meadow of the son of Amer." Today it is often simply referred to as Ha 'Emeq " The Valley."   RETURN