What Is Palestine?

History's first mention of Palestine is found in Herodotus, who called it "Syria Palaestina." He placed it roughly where Israel is today. It was, in his era, a minor province of Syria, apparently peopled by Phoenicians, Philistines, Arabs, Egyptians and a scattering of others, among whom were Jews.  

The name "Palestine"  has been around, then, for at least 2,500 years. The area, constantly shifting in size, administration and ethnic composition, was populated by Jews, Arabs, Greeks, Christians, pagans and eventually by Muslims. Major cultures that built the civilization in the region include the Sumerians, the Assyrians, the Hellenistic Greeks, the Persians, the Romans, the Byzantines and the Arabs, Jews, Turks and British. 

The area was first peopled by a mix of Neanderthals and modern humans traveling north from Africa. Scientists are unable to point to a contemporary tribe (like the Hopi in the American Southwest) and say, "They are descendents of  the original settlers."