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Joshua Ben-Nun
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During the
reign of Joshua Ben-Nun, Israel captured the Ayalon Valley
with the aid of the miracle of "sun stand still over
Gibeon. Moon over the valley of Ayalon.
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The Maccabian
Period
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during the
period of the return of Zion, the Ayalon Valley was under
the reign of Judea except Emmaus which was ruled by the
Seleucids. During the period of the Maccabees 168 B.C.,
the Maccabees Managed to capture the valley and to control
the very important crossroad of the Ayalon Valley.
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The Roman
Period
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In 37 B.C.
during The Herodian period Emmaus became the organizational
capital of the Ayalon Valley. After the death of Herod the
valley was ruled by the Jewish Zealots who attacked the
Romans soldiers. Rome sent her army to control the rebellion.
The Roman army burnt Emmaus and the valley became a military
base for the fifth legion of the Roman Empire who conquered
Jerusalem in the year 70 A.C.
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Ayalon
Valley and Christianity
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Christians
belive that Jesus rose from the dead three days after his
crucifixion. In the year 10 A.C Jesus appeared at the home
of one of his disciple Chlyfues at Emmaus. The Church of
Emmaus stands today at this location.
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Period
Of Rebellion of Bar Kochba
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The period
131-132 A.C. the valley was a free Jewish area for a short
period before the Romans closed all the entrances and isolated
Emmaus until its destruction.
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The Nicopolous
Valley
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During the
period 261 A.C. the city of Emmaus is renamed "Nicopolous"-"success"
in Greek.
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Earthquake
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In the year
449 A.C. there was a very large earthquake in the valley
which caused a great deal of destruction, the town of Nicopolous
was completly destroyed. After this earthquake the hot water
springs disappeared.
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The Islamic
Conquerors
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In the year
634 A.C. the islamic armies conquered Israel. Emmaus became
one of the main headquarters for the Islamic army.
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The Great
Plague at Emmaus
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In the year
639 A.C. the great plague broke out in the whole valley
killing 25,000 Muslim soldiers. The residents of the valley
fled to Lod. Sulman Ben Ever el Melech built the city of
Ramla which became the Arab capital of Israel.
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The Crusaders
In The Ayalon Valley
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The Crusaders
conquered the Ayalon Valley in 1099. from there they went
to Jerusalem. They controlled Emmaus and in the year 1100
built the fortress of Emmaus which was later renamed Latrun
de Chevalier-mount of the Gallant. The Crusaders ruled the
valley until 1187. This year Salah A Din- commander of the
Arab armies captured the Ayalon Valley.
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The Mamaluke
Period
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In the year
1263 the Mamalukes conquered the Ayalon Valley. The valley
and Emmaus became agricultural, poor and forsaken area.
Pilgrims to Jerusalem were often attacked and ransacked
by Bedouin robbers.
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The Abu
Osh Clan And The Ayalon Valley
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In the year
1516 the Abu Osh family settled in the area. they controlled
the area and levied heavy taxes on the villages. these taxes
led to rebellion and their massacre. Only one member of
the family survived- Muhammed Abu Osh who fled and settled
at Kiryat El Anav. which eventually became the village of
Abu Gosh.
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The Ayalon
Valley And The British Empire
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In 1917 the
Australian battalion conquered the Ayalon Valley. In 1919
Franciscan monks arrived and they were awarded control of
the religious sites in the valley. In 1926 the Latron Monastery
was built. In 1929 another earthquake destroyed the monastery
and many homes in the area. The monastery was rebuilt. In
1940 the British erected a fortress where many of the Jewish
underground freedom fighters were imprisoned.
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The War
Of Independence
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During the Israeli War of Independence in 1948- the Ayalon
Valley again became an important strategic area for control
of the road to Jerusalem. At the beginning of the war
convoys of armored vehicales tried to bring supplies through
to Jerusalem. With the many attacks on these convoys the
Israeli army decided to attack the various strategic spots
on the road to Jerusalem. It was necessary to take the
army post at Castille, Beit Hasiah, the Mazreik, Shaar
Haghai and Latrun. the following missions were taken to
try to break through the roadblocks: Nachshon, Harel,
Ben-Nun 6, Yoram. After three failures to take Latrun
and during battles and alternative way to reach Jerusalem
was considered. In 1948 the Burma road was built as an
alternative route to Jerusalem. With the signing of the
cease fire on 3/4/1949 a large part of the valley became
"No Mans Land". During this period 190 Israeli
soldiers were killed trying to capture the enclave of
Latrun.
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No Mans
Land - Ayalon Valley
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After the war of Independence new Jewish settlements
were established in the Ayalon Valley. Kibbutz Nachshon,
Shalavim, Harel, Mishmar Ayalon and Ben Nun. Nachshon
and these settlements were on the border and the Ayalon
Valley became "No Mans Land" both sides, Israelis
and Jordanians were unable to enter this area. In the
fifties, fedayeen from the accompanying villages raided
these settlements on several occcasions. The Israeli army
retaliated. The Sinai Campaign in 1956 brought peace to
this area. These peaceful times enabled both Jews and
Arabs to work peacefully in the valley. The Jews and the
Arabs singed a contract under the supervision of the United
Nations whereby they were given permission to work the
land. This was arranged by the Latrun Monastery. 30th
October, 1958, the two sides tried to conrol larger areas
in No Mans Land by using a lot of tractors to plough as
much land as they could. At a certain point the tractors
from both sides met and as quoted by Dan Meir, one of
the members of Nachshon:"At a certain point my tractor
and my Arab counterpart's tractor met. We looked at each
other, greeted each other, he gave me one of his tractor
keys for a souvenir and we both then went on our wat to
capture the territory". Two members of the kibbutz
were injured during the period by fire from the Jordanian
soldiers. After these incidents both sides ceased work
in No Mans Land. Today the border is a quiet, peaceful
one.
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Ayalon
Valley During the Six Day War
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During th
Six Day War in 1967 a small group of Jordanian soldiers
defended the area of Latrun. On 5th June 100 Egyptian commandos
arrived in the area. Their aim and mission was to attack
and take the Lod airport. Israeli army forces in the area,
at that time were: Area division 4, Nahal who were stationed
at Givai 314 and Kibbutz Nachshon. In the evening Division
4, whose commander officer Moshe Yut Vat(Moshikie) gave
instructions to take the Latrun area. Tanks were invoved
as well as two armored car units. A diversion was made by
Nachshon, Harel and the Nahal group from the south and the
main force attacked from the north. The Latrun Fortress
was taken after about two hours and at 06:00 hours the next
morning Moshikie reported that the valley had been taken.
The Egyptian commandos in the meanwhile attacked an armored
convoy of the division. An Israeli Officer was killed and
there aws firing on the Kibbutz. The search for the commandos
took 3 days. 6th June, 1967, members of the Arab villages
Emmaus , Beit Nuva, Yalom, Dir Hayub and Latrun were banished
from their homes and sent west in direction of Ramalah.
The Engineer Corp of the Israeli army went into and flattened
these villages in 1976 in areas of Emmaus and Yalum - Park
Canada was erected by the Keren Hakayemet, Israel. Members
of the Kibbutz with an unofficial decision decided "on
principle" not to visit this park in protest.
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Conclusion
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The Ayalon
Valley has a rich history of 3000 years. The hot springs
and the strategic placing of the valley - on the crossroads
from the seashore to the mountains and on the way to Jerusalem
was cause for a lot of dispute in the past probably also
in the future. Today the valley again has changed its appearance
and has developed with agriculture, tourism and real estate.
Main highways cross the plains. We hope that the occupants
of this area will respect and learn how to preserve this
magnificent and unique historical site.
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Written
By Jamey Fuchsbar.
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