Megiddo (place)

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**Biblical Tells – **Megiddo**, Hazor, Beer Sheba**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	Israel
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iii, iv, vi
Identification	#1108
Region²	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	2005 29th WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1108
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

Megiddo (Hebrew: מגידו‎) is a hill in Israel near the modern settlement of Megiddo, known for theological, historical and geographical reasons. In ancient times Megiddo was an important city state. It is also known alternatively as Tel Megiddo (Hebrew) and Tell al-Mutesellim (Arabic). According to some interpretations of the Christian Bible, this place will be the venue for Armageddon or the final battle between the forces of light led by Jesus Christ and the forces of darkness led by Satan or the Anti-Christ after the End of Days.

Megiddo is a tel (hill) made of 26 layers of the ruins of ancient cities in a strategic location at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the west.

1 History
2 Ancient church discovered under prison
3 The Megiddo Stables
4 References in popular culture
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

Megiddo was a site of great importance in the ancient world, as it guarded the western branch of a narrow pass and an ancient trade route which connected the lands of Egypt and Assyria. Because of its strategic location at the crossroads of several major routes, Megiddo and its environs have witnessed several major battles throughout history. The site was inhabited from 7000 BC to 500 BC.

Megiddo is mentioned in Ancient Egyptian writings because one of Egypt's mighty kings, Thutmose III, waged war upon the city in 1478 BC. The battle is described in detail in the hieroglyphics found on the walls of his temple in Upper Egypt. Named in the Bible Derekh HaYam (Hebrew: דרך הים), or "Way of the Sea," it became an important military artery of the Roman Empire and was known as the Via Maris.

Modern Megiddo is nearby. The neighboring Mount Megiddo (Hebrew: הר מגידו, Har-Megiddo), gave its name to the Armageddon of the Christian Bible.

Today, Megiddo is an important junction on the main road connecting the center of Israel with lower Galilee and the northern region.

Megiddo has been the site of numerous battles throughout history, with the site changing hands many times. Three of the more famous battles include:

Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC): fought between the armies of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition led by the rulers of Megiddo and Kadesh;
Battle of Megiddo (609 BC): fought between Egypt and the Kingdom of Judah, in which King Josiah was supposed to have fallen.
Battle of Megiddo (1918): fought during World War I between Allied troops, led by General Edmund Allenby, and the defending Ottoman army.

The second-last military showdown in world history, taking place at or near Megiddo, is prophesied in the New Testament Book of Revelation: Armageddon, an encounter between the forces of good and evil that has become a byword for the end of the world. However, the final battle described by the Book of Revelation is actually Gog and Magog.

Megiddo has been excavated three times. The first excavations were carried out between 1903 and 1905 by Gottlieb Schumacher for the German Society for Oriental Research. In 1925, digging was resumed by Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, financed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. until the outbreak of the Second World War. During these excavation it was discovered that there were twenty levels of habitation, and many of the uncovered remains are preserved at the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem and the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Yigael Yadin conducted a few small excavations in the 1960s. Megiddo has most recently (since 1994) been the subject of biannual excavation campaigns conducted by The Megiddo Expedition of Tel Aviv University, directed by Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin, together with a consortium of international universities.

[edit] Ancient church discovered under prison

In 2005, Israeli archeologist Yotam Tepper of Tel-Aviv University discovered the remains of a church, believed to be from the third century, a time when Christians were still persecuted by the Roman Empire. Among the finds is an approx. 54 square metre large mosaic with a Greek inscription stating that the church is consecrated to "the god Jesus Christ." The mosaic is very well preserved and features geometrical figures and images of fish, an early Christian symbol. It is speculated that this may be the oldest remains of a church in the Holy Land.[1] The remains were found within the grounds of a military prison, and Israeli authorities are currently speculating about moving the prison.

An inscription in the Megiddo church calls for a Roman officer, "Gaianus," who donated "his own money" to have a mosaic made. Some have questioned whether a Roman officer would risk his career or even his life to build a church. On the other hand, persecution of Christians was sporadic in the Roman Empire during the early third century.

[edit] The Megiddo Stables

At Megiddo two stable complexes were excavated from Stratum IVA, one in the north and one in the south. The southern complex contained five structures built around a lime paved courtyard. The buildings themselves were divided into three sections. Two long stone paved aisles were built adjacent to a main corridor paved with lime. The buildings were about twenty-one meters long by eleven meters wide. Separating the main corridor from outside aisles was a series of stone pillars. Holes were bored into many of these pillars so that horses could be tied to them. Also, the remains of stone mangers were found in the buildings. These mangers were placed between the pillars to feed the horses. It is suggested that each side could hold fifteen horses, giving each building an overall capacity of thirty horses. The buildings on the northern side of the city were similar in their construction. However, there was no central courtyard. The capacity of the northern buildings was about three hundred horses altogether. Both complexes could hold from 450-480 horses combined.

The buildings were found during excavations between 1927 and 1934 at Megiddo. Head excavator, P.L.O. Guy, originally interpreted the buildings as stables. Since then his conclusions have been challenged by scholars such as James Pritchard, Ze’ev Herzog, and Yohanan Aharoni. They suggest that the buildings should be interpreted as either storehouses, marketplaces or barracks. Other Tripartite Buildings have been found at other sites such as Hazor and Beer-Sheba. The evidence at these other sites is not absolutely conclusive.

[edit] References in popular culture

Megiddo was also the name of a 1985 board game, loosely based on the historic battleground. The game was published by a small company called Global Games from Spokane, Washington. Originally sold in a tube (like the more popular game "Pente"), Megiddo revolved around two to six players who battled for ultimate control of the circular board (or "hill"). Placing jewel-like beads on the six radii of the playing board, players struggled to overcome their opponents by placing six beads of the same color in a row, circle, or spiral around the board. Global Games has since gone out of business. Copies of the game, particularly in its original tube, are rare. A boxed version (said by some to be inferior in quality) was also released.

Megiddo is also featured in the Game Boy Advance game, Golden Sun: The Lost Age as a special move useable when the Sol Blade is equipped.

In the Square-Enix game Final Fantasy VIII, the most powerful monster in the game (Omega WEAPON) casts a spell called Megiddo Flame, which deals 9,998 points of damage to all three party members regardless of defense and resistances. Unless the characters are at max health (9,999 Hit Points), they will die.

In the Square-Enix game Final Fantasy X, there are creatures named Chimaera who cast a spell also called Megiddo Flame, which is a ball of flame dealing damage to one character.

The evangelical Christian motion picture Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 is an apocalyptic thriller released theatrically in 2001.

In the film The Omen, daggers capable of killing the Anti-Christ were buried at Megiddo. In the film, Robert Thorn acquired the daggers by way of an old sage and archaeologist.

Known for its references to various religions and mythologies, the RPG game series Megami Tensei also features a spell called Megido, dealing damage regardless of any elemental resistances.

The Meggido Cannon is the second most powerful gun in the popular strategy RPG Disgaea 2.

There is also a song from Japanese band Pierrot called "Megido no oka" (The Hill of Megido - メギドの丘).

The Swiss avant-garde metal band Celtic Frost recorded a song called "Dawn of Megiddo" on their album To Mega Therion.

The Polish black metal band Behemoth recorded a song called "Fields of Haar-Megiddo" on their demo album ...From the Pagan Vastlands. In this version of the story, the forces of God lose the battle.

In the one shot story Spriggan: First Mission by Ryoji Minagawa and Hiroshi Takashige, archaelogists have uncovered an artifact in the Middle East called the Megiddo Flame.