GAZA

kingdom established in the highlands of the middle Sabi River in Mozambique in the 1830s by Soshangane, the Ndwandwe general who fled from Zululand after his defeat at the hands of Shaka during the Zulu-Nguni wars known as the Mfecane. Soshangane extended his control over the area between the Komati (Incomati) and the Zambezi rivers, incorporating the local Tsonga and Shona peoples into his Zulu-type state and reducing the Portuguese to tributary status. The kingdom lasted until 1897, when, weakened by internal tensions, it was overthrown by the Portuguese. Arabic Ghazzah, Hebrew 'azza, largest city of the Gaza Strip, in southwestern Palestine. Gaza was the administrative headquarters for the Israeli military forces occupying the Gaza Strip from 1967 to 1994, at which time the Israelis began a phased withdrawal under the terms of the Israel-PLO accords. Records exist of its continuous habitation for more than 3,000 years; the earliest is a reference by Pharaoh Thutmose III (18th dynasty; 15th century BC). It is also mentioned in the Tell el-Amarna tablets, the diplomatic and administrative records of ancient Egypt. After 300 years of Egyptian occupation, one of the Sea Peoples, the Peleset (Philistines) settled the city and surrounding area. Gaza became an important centre of the Philistine Pentapolis (league of five cities). There the biblical hero Samson perished while toppling the temple of the god Dagon. Because of its strategic position on the Via Maris, the ancient coastal road linking Egypt with Palestine and the lands beyond, Gaza knew little peace in antiquity; it fell, successively, to the Israelite king David and to the Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians. Alexander the Great met stiff resistance there; he sold its inhabitants into slavery. Throughout its history it was a prosperous trade centre; in Hellenistic and Roman times, the harbour, about 3 miles (5 km) from the city proper, was called Neapolis (Greek: New City). In AD 635 the Arabs took Gaza, and it became a Muslim city. Gaza has long been an important centre of Islamic tradition and is the reputed site of the burial place of Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf, great-grandfather of the Prophet Muhammad, and the birthplace of ash-Shafi'i (767820), founder of the Sh afi'ite school of Muslim legal interpretation. The city declined during the Crusades and never regained its former importance. After Saladin (Salah ad-Din) defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Hattin (1187), Gaza reverted to Muslim control, passing to the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. In World War I it was stoutly defended by the Turks and was not taken by British forces until November 1917. After the war Gaza became part of mandated Palestine; a small coastal port (fishing, lighterage) was operated on the coast. When the Palestine partition plan was promulgated by the United Nations (1947), Gaza was assigned to the Arab state. This state, however, was not set up, and Gaza was occupied in 1948 by Egyptians. At the time of the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian armistice (February 1949), Egypt held Gaza and its environs, a situation that resulted in creation of the Gaza Strip. Egypt did not annex the city and territory but administered it through a military governor. Gaza and its surroundings continue to be greatly overpopulated by Arab refugees from Palestine. During the Sinai Campaign of November 1956, Gaza and environs were taken by Israeli troops, but international pressure soon forced Israel to withdraw. Reoccupied in the Six-Day War (June 1967), the city was under Israeli military administration until 1994, when a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Palestinians got under way. Long a prosperous citrus centre, Gaza also has extensive truck farms within the city limits. Dark pottery, food products, and finished textiles are manufactured, and the city has a long-standing textile industry. Sites of interest include a mosaic floor at the harbour (6th century AD; Byzantine period), evidently of an early synagogue, showing King David playing the harp and dressed as the Greek hero Orpheus. Pop. (1988 est.) 57,000.