Megiddo church (Israel)

The Megiddo Junction bus bombing was the suicide bombing of an Egged bus at Megiddo Junction in northern Israel on June 5, 2002. 17 people were killed and 43 wounded, the majority of them IDF soldiers. The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Megiddo Junction (Hebrew: צומת מגידו, romanized: Tzomet Megido) is an intersection of Highways 65 and 66 in northern Israel, at the exit from the mountain pass coming up through Wadi Ara into the Jezreel Valley. It is named for the nearby ruins of the biblical city of Megiddo, also known as Armageddon, and the sites of several historic battles. Adjacent to the junction is the large Megiddo Prison (formerly a military prison), and less than 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the northwest is kibbutz Megiddo. The 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) stretch of Highway 65 east towards Afula is called Kvish HaSargel, lit. 'the Ruler Road', since it is very flat and straight. This is an important junction for the residents of the northern district of Israel, because it sits at the entrance to the Wadi Ara mountain pass which connects the North to the Trans-Israel Highway (Highway 6) and other highways in Israel's coastal plain and, by that, to the rest of the country. Its importance slightly diminished when Highway 6 was completed all the way to the Ein Tut interchange near Ramot Menashe in 2009. The junction and Highway 66 can now be used as an alternate route for reaching Highway 6 via another mountain pass, Wadi Milek, located northwest of Wadi Ara.

Megiddo (Hebrew: מְגִדּוֹ، Arabic: المجیدو) is a kibbutz in northern Israel, built in 1949. Located in the Jezreel Valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2021, it had a population of 859.The kibbutz is located near Megiddo Junction, the intersection of highways 65, from Hadera to Afula, and 66, running from Haifa south to the West Bank. The junction is the site of a bus terminal and a high-security prison. The kibbutz was built 600 metres north-east of the site of the depopulated Arab village of Lajjun, now known as Einot Kobi. In Christian apocalyptic literature, Mount Megiddo, the hill overlooking the valley where the current kibbutz is located, is identified as the site of the final battle between the forces of good and evil at the end of time, known as Armageddon and mentioned in the New Testament in Revelation 16:16.

Lajjun (Arabic: اللجّون, al-Lajjūn) was a large Palestinian Arab village located 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) northwest of Jenin and 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) south of the remains of the biblical city of Megiddo. The Israeli kibbutz of Megiddo, Israel was built 600 metres north-east of the depopulated village on the hill called Dhahrat ed Dar from 1949. Named after an early Roman legion camp in Syria Palaestina province called "Legio", predating the village at that location, Lajjun's history of habitation spanned some 2,000 years. Under Abbasid rule it was the capital of a subdistrict, during Mamluk rule it served as an important station in the postal route, and during Ottoman rule it was the capital of a district that bore its name. After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire towards the end of World War I, Lajjun and all of Palestine was placed under the administration of the British Mandate. The village was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, when it was captured by Israel. Most of its residents subsequently fled and settled in the nearby town of Umm al-Fahm.

The Megiddo Regional Council (Hebrew: מועצה אזורית מגידו, Mo'atza Azorit Megido) is a regional council in northern Israel encompassing land on the Menashe Plateau, and partly in the Jezreel Valley. The council is bounded by the city of Yokneam Illit to the north, and the Carmel mountain range to the east, and houses about 9600 people on nine kibbutzim, and four moshavim located in its municipal territory. The council is named after the ancient city of Megiddo, with the remains of this ancient city being located in the proximity of kibbutz Megiddo, in the territory of the council. The Head of the Regional Council is Hanan Erez, a member of kibbutz Hazorea who was elected to office in 2004.

This Battle of Megiddo is recorded as having taken place in 609 BC when Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt led his army to Carchemish (northern Syria) to join with his allies, the fading Neo-Assyrian Empire, against the surging Neo-Babylonian Empire. This required passing through territory controlled by the Kingdom of Judah. The Judaean king Josiah refused to let the Egyptians pass. The Judaean forces battled the Egyptians at Megiddo, resulting in Josiah's death and his kingdom becoming a vassal state of Egypt. The battle is recorded in the Hebrew Bible, the Greek 1 Esdras, and the writings of Josephus. While Necho II gained control of the Kingdom of Judah, the Assyrian forces lost to the Babylonians & Medes at the Fall of Harran, after which Assyria largely ceased to exist as an independent state.

According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (; Ancient Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών Harmagedṓn; Late Latin: Armagedōn; from Hebrew: הַר מְגִדּוֹ‎ Har Məgīddō) is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, which is variously interpreted as either a literal or a symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end-of-the-world scenario. In Islamic theology, Armageddon is also mentioned in Hadith as the Greatest Armageddon or Al-Malhama Al-Kubra (the great battle).The "mount" of Megiddo in northern Israel is not actually a mountain, but a tell (a mound or hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding at the same spot) on which ancient forts were built to guard the Via Maris, an ancient trade route linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Megiddo was the location of various ancient battles, including one in the 15th century BC and one in 609 BC. The nearby modern Megiddo is a kibbutz in the Kishon River area.

Maximianopolis (Ancient Greek: Μαξιμιανόπολις) was an ancient city in Palaestina Secunda, within the Byzantine Empire. The name Maximianopolis (City of Maximian) was given to it by Diocletian, in honour of his co-emperor Maximian. It was located 17 M.P. from Caesarea and 10 M.P. from Jezreel. The town earlier bore the names Legio and Caporcotani.Its site is near Lejjun, Israel.

Tel Megiddo (Hebrew: תל מגידו; Arabic: مجیدو, Tell el-Mutesellim, lit. "Mound of the Governor"; Greek: Μεγιδδώ, Megiddo) is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo, the remains of which form a tell (archaeological mound), situated in northern Israel near Kibbutz Megiddo, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east of Haifa, at the western edge of Jezreel Valley. Megiddo is known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon. During the Bronze Age, Megiddo was an important Canaanite city-state. During the Iron Age, it was a royal city in the Kingdom of Israel. Megiddo drew much of its importance from its strategic location at the northern end of the Wadi Ara defile, which acts as a pass through the Carmel Ridge, and from its position overlooking the rich Jezreel Valley from the west. Excavations have unearthed 20 strata of ruins since the Neolithic phase, indicating a long period of settlement. The site is protected as Megiddo National Park and is a World Heritage Site.

The Battle of Megiddo (fought 15th century BC) was fought between Egyptian forces under the command of Pharaoh Thutmose III and a large rebellious coalition of Canaanite vassal states led by the king of Kadesh. It is the first battle to have been recorded in what is accepted as relatively reliable detail. Megiddo is also the first recorded use of the composite bow and the first body count. All details of the battle come from Egyptian sources—primarily the hieroglyphic writings on the Hall of Annals in the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, Thebes (now Luxor), by the military scribe Tjaneni. The ancient Egyptian account gives the date of the battle as the 21st day of the first month of the third season, of Year 23 of the reign of Thutmose III. It has been claimed that this was April 16, 1457 BC, according to the Middle Chronology, although other publications place the battle in 1482 BC or 1479 BC. The Egyptians routed the Canaanite forces, which fled to safety in the city of Megiddo. Their action resulted in the lengthy siege of Megiddo. By reestablishing Egyptian dominance in the Levant, Thutmose III began a reign in which the Egyptian Empire reached its greatest expanse.

Giv'at Oz (Hebrew: גִּבְעַת עֹז, lit. 'Hill of Strength') is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley between Umm al-Fahm and Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2021 it had a population of 475. The kibbutz lies north to Zalafa and Salem and Highway 66 runs near it.

Legio was a Roman military camp south of Tel Megiddo in the Roman province of Galilee.