Palestine

Palestine is a region in western Asia. Politically split between Israel and Jordan since 1948, it borders Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Iraq to the east, Egypt to the southwest and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

Over the years it has been inhabited and variously ruled by Philistines, Canaanites, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Crusaders, British etc.

The term was first used by the Romans in the mid 2nd century (as Palestina, derived from the long-gone people, the Philistines), replacing the previous terms of Judaea, Samaria and Transjordania. It was part of an attempt to "de-Judaise" the area following the second Jewish War. Later, the League of Nations established the Mandate of Palestine covering the whole of what is now Israel and Jordan.