Syrian and Palestinian religion

Nature and significance

Internally, the landscape of Syria and Palestine is broken into many different regions. In consequence, the population was generally divided among many polities, each of which had its own official religion. Externally, Syria-Palestine formed a land bridge between the great civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt and faced westward across the Mediterranean Sea toward the cultures of the Aegean. Syria and Palestine were subject to influences from these cultures and in turn contributed to them. As a result, the official religions of the area were often syncretistic and sometimes cosmopolitan. Particular cults and myths were carried westward and adopted by the Egyptians of the New Kingdom (1539–1075 bce), by the Greeks, and later by the Romans. Despite their many different outer forms, and the individual stamp given them by the various political powers, the religions of Syria and Palestine appear to have been typologically similar. Out of them, however, emerged the ultimately quite distinctive religion of Israel, from which in turn Judaism, Christianity, and, less directly, Islam were formed.

The evidence available is primarily the product of the small, wealthy, ruling elites of these societies. It bears witness primarily to their religion, giving ... (200 of 5,487 words)