Holy Wars: 3000 Years of Battles in the Holy Land

by Gary L. Rashba

Overview

Today's Arab-Israeli conflict, ever-present in the news, is merely the latest iteration of an unending history of violence in the Holy Land—a region that is unsurpassed as witness to a kaleidoscopic military history involving forces from across the world and throughout the millennia.

Holy Wars describes 3,000 years of war in the Holy Land with the unique approach of focusing on pivotal battles or campaigns, beginning with the Israelites' capture of Jericho and ending with Israel’s last full-fledged assault against Lebanon. Its 17 chapters stop along the way to examine key battles fought by the Philistines, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, and Mamluks, the latter clash, at Ayn Jalut, comprising the first time the Mongols suffered a decisive defeat.

The modern era saw the rise of the Ottomans, and an incursion by Napoleon who only found bloody stalemate outside the walls of Akko (Acre). The Holy Land became a battlefield again in World War I when the British fought the Turks. The nation of Israel was forged in conflict during its 1948 War of Independence, and subsequently found itself in desperate combat, often against great odds, in 1956 and 1967, and then it was surprised by a massive two-pronged assault in 1973.

By focusing on the climax of each conflict, while carefully setting each stage, Holy Wars allows the reader to examine an extraordinary breadth of military history, glimpsing in one volume the evolution of warfare over the centuries as well as the enduring status of the Holy Land as a battleground.

GARY L. RASHBA , the author of more than 30 articles on defense, aerospace and international topics, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 and currently lives in Israel with his wife and two children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612001531
Publisher:	Casemate Publishers
Publication date:	02/13/2013
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	300,157
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Gary Rashba is the author of more than 30 articles on defense, aerospace and international topics. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990 with a degree focusing on the Middle East, he began what became a long-term relationship with Israel's defense industries. Three years later, he moved to Israel, where he continues to reside with his wife and two children.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Acknowledgments 11

Introduction 13

1 Latch of the Land of Israel: Israelite Conquest of the Promised Land, 1400 BCE 15

2 Times of Trouble: Battles of the Judges, 1200 BCE 27

3 Two Peoples, One Land: Philistines and Israelites, 1000 BCE 39

4 Sennacherib's Crowning Achievement: Assyrians at Lachish, 701 BCE 51

5 Pushed Too Far: The Maccabean War, 175 BCE 61

6 Ivdaea Capta: The Rage of Rome, 67 CE 79

7 The Koran, The Tribute, Or The Sword!: Islam's Conquest of the Middle East, 634 CE 93

8 Impaled at the Horns of Hattin: Twilight for the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1187 105

9 Wa Islamah! Wa Islamah!: Mamluks Stop the Mongol Horde, 1260 119

10 Outgunned: Mamluk Cavalry Scorn Ottoman Firearms, 1516 129

11 Plagued by Delays, and Delayed by Plague: Napoleon's Holy Land Campaign, 1799 145

12 By Way of Deception: World War I in Palestine, 1917-18 157

13 Israel's "Maginot Line": 1948 War of Independence 179

14 Attacked, Captured and Abandoned: 1956 Sinai Campaign 191

15 How the Hell Did Anyone Get Up There?: 1967 Six Day War 207

16 Sacrificial Stand in the Golan Heights: 1973 Yom Kippur War 221

17 Turkey Shoot Over the Bekaa Valley: 1982 Lebanon War 233

Epilogue 245

Bibliography 253

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

…Beginning with the Israelites' capture of Jericho and concluding with the most recent conflicts fought by modern Israel, HOLY WARS describes 3000 years of war in the Holy Land, uniquely focusing on pivotal battles or campaigns to tell the story of each historical period. HOLY WARS brings these conflicts to life in a readable work meant for the layman.

Jewish Magazine

…selection of battles and campaigns is good and comprehensive…. is one of the best surveys of the Holy Land I have ever run across and I am certainly glad I did. This book should be on the shelf of anyone who seeks to understand the history behind the hatreds evidenced in modern Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank

Battles and Book Reviews

…lively and easily readable (not always the case with military historians!)

Military Modelcraft International

very readable not only for military history buffs but for those who have a keen interest in the ongoing Arab-Israel conflict

Kansas City Jewish Chronicle

…selection of battles and campaigns is good and comprehensive…. is one of the best surveys of the Holy Land I have ever run across and I am certainly glad I did. This book should be on the shelf of anyone who seeks to understand the history behind the hatreds evidenced in modern Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank

Battles and Book Reviews Military History-us.com

…offers a unique and valuable account of centuries of history since the Israelites conquered the land until the 1982 invasion of Lebanon…well researched…

Toronto Jewish Chronicle

...focuses the scene on a particularly intense battle. The episodic treatment works, giving the author the opportunity to tell the history of an entire war without stepping too far away from the action. His use of the language of military strategy strengthens his effort to bring verisimilitude to what, in many chapters, such as the struggle of David with Goliath, are events so shrouded by time that the facts have to be invented or embellished. One of the advantages of Rashba’s broad scope is to watch the technology and tactics of war change. From slingshot to Russian MiG, from long, slow sieges to ultra rapid attacks, from Saladin to Allenby, one thing is clear - the Holy Land is no stranger to war.

Jewish Book Council

…sharply honed narrative…excellent, well-researched…By including all major battles and conflicts from the biblical era to the present situation, Rashba has provided scholars and journalists as well as general readers with a convenient narrative of the centuries of conflict in the land whose inhabitants continue to pray for peace in a highly readable and accessible volume.

St Louis Jewish Light

…so much information in such a pleasant lucid read; should be a must for every journalist or diplomat stationed in the region.

Jerusalem Post

…a handy little volume that will be of interest to both experts on the region and to those approaching its history for the first time.

Miniature Wargames

…effectively traces the military history of the Holy Land and examines the tactics, motivations, and capabilities of the armies that through the millennia have warred for dominion over the sacred and all too often blood soaked region.

Military History