Mount Gilboa (; ''Jabal Jalbūʿ'' or ''Jabal Fuqqāʿa''), sometimes referred to as the Mountains of Gilboa, is the name for a mountain range in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. It overlooks the Harod Valley (the eastern part of the larger Jezreel Valley) to the north, and the Jordan Valley and Hills to the southeast and to the west, respectively.

Etymology

Gilboa

The meaning of the Hebrew name "Gilboa" is unknown. It is possible that it originates from a former, non-Semitic toponym, where ''gil'' referred to "mountain," the second part consisting of an unknown element.

In the Bible

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

, Israel's first

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

, led a charge against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (). The battle ends with the king falling on his own sword and Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchishua being killed in battle (). King David, who hears about the tragedy after the battle, curses the mountain: :''Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of choice fruits; for there the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil'' ().

History

A minor

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

between the army of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and Sultan Saladin took place at the foot of Mount Gilboa in 1183. The 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut was fought at the foot of Mount Gilboa. The success of the Muslim Mamluks against the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

marked the end of the westward push of the Asian empire and ensured the survival of Muslim

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Geography

The formation has the shape of a boomerang, extending north from the highlands of

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

on the

and turning northwest at about half its length, thus separating the southeastern end of the Jezreel Valley to the west, from the Beit She'an and Ein Harod valleys to the east. The range's highest peak rises 496 meters above sea level.

Flora and fauna

In 1976 and 1977, Mount Gilboa was counted to have about 170 plant species, including '' Pinus halepensis'' (on the rocky slopes) and '' Pistacia lentiscus'' (the shrub layer).G. M. Woodwell Every year from late February until late March the purple Hayne's Iris, the national flower of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, known in Arabic as the Fukkua Iris, and in Hebrew as the Gilboa Iris, blooms on the mountain. Two

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s have been declared on the ridge: the Gilboa Iris nature reserve in 1970, covering , and the eastern Gilboa reserve in 2005, covering . It also has a very diverse animal species range, with 14 reptile, 7 rodent, 31 bird and 13 isopod species.Zev Nave

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilboa Nature reserves in Israel Mountain ranges of Israel Hebrew Bible mountains Ridges of Asia Saul Jezreel Valley