GAZA, ga'zs, Syria, an ancient town, capi tal of the district of the same name, about three miles from the mouth of the river Gaza, 50 miles from Jerusalem, on the highroad between Egypt and Damascus. The bazaar and markets are of considerable importance. Gaza is a depot for barley and has many potteries. The district of Gaza occupies the southwest corner of Syria, having the Mediterranean on the west, the valley of the Jordan and of the Dead Sea on the east and Arabia Petra on the south. It was a city of importance 1,000 years before the Christian era and figures frequently in the history of Babylon, Egypt, the Pilisti and the Persians. I& was taken by Alexander after a short siege. In Roman times it was known as Constantia and regained much of its former prominence. It became a centre of Hellenic culture and rivaled Antioch, Alexandria and Athens in this respect. Proclus, Olympianus and Isidor were among its most celebrated teachers. Christianity found learned defenders
amongst its citizens, notably Procopius, Chori cius, and Joannes. The city was taken by Omar in 634, and it fell into decay. It was in ruins the time of the Crusades. A citadel was built by Baldwin II in 1149; Saladin sacked it in 1170 and captured the citadel from the Templars in 1187. Napoleon took the city in 1799. On 7 Nov. 1917 it was taken by the British in their advance on Palestine. Sec WAR IN EUROPE : Turkish Campaign, and consult Clermont-Gan neau, 'Archaeological Researches in Palestine) (London 1896) ; Gatt, in Zeitschrift des detaschen Pakistina Vereins, Vol. I (1888); Meyer, M. A., 'A History of Gaza) (New York 1907) ; Schiirer, 'Geschichte des judischen Volkes' (4th ed., Leipzig 1907) ; Smith, 'His torical Geography of the Holy Land) (London 1895) ; Stark, 'Gaza and die philistaische Kuste) (Jena 1852).