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Via Maris is the modern name for an ancient trade route
Trade route

A trade route is a Logistics identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing Good s to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance Arterial road which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial and non commercial transportation....
, dating from the early Bronze Age
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
, linking Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 with the northern empires of Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
 — modern day Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
, Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Turkey and Syria. Its earlier name was "Way of the Philistines
Philistines

The Philistines were a ethnic group who occupied the southern coast of Canaan, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts....
", a reference to a passageway through the Philistine Plain.






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Via Maris is the modern name for an ancient trade route
Trade route

A trade route is a Logistics identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing Good s to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance Arterial road which may further be connected to several smaller networks of commercial and non commercial transportation....
, dating from the early Bronze Age
Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is, with respect to a given prehistory, the period in that society when the most advanced metalworking included smelting copper and tin from naturally-occurring outcroppings of copper and tin ores, creating a bronze alloy by melting those metals together, and casting them into bronze artifact s....
, linking Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 with the northern empires of Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
 — modern day Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
, Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Turkey and Syria.
Ancient Levant Routes
Its earlier name was "Way of the Philistines
Philistines

The Philistines were a ethnic group who occupied the southern coast of Canaan, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts....
", a reference to a passageway through the Philistine Plain. At this point the Way branches into two Ways — one along the Mediterranean coast, through Megiddo, and the other following an inland route through the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley

The Jezreel Valley is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the south of the Lower Galilee region of Israel. It is bordered to the south by the Samaria highlands and Mount Gilboa, to the north by the Lower Galilee, to the west by the Mount Carmel range, and to the east by the Jordan Valley....
, the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias , is Israel's largest freshwater lake, being approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide....
 and Dan
Tribe of Dan

According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Dan was one of the twelve Israelites.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....
.

"Via Maris" is Latin and means "the Way of the Sea". The name is based on a passage from the Vulgate
Vulgate

The Vulgate is an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin, and largely the result of the labors of Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of Vetus Latina....
 (the New Testament
New Testament

The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christianity Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
 in Latin translation) from the Gospel according to Matthew ("Secundum Mattheum"), chapter 4 verse 15:

terra Zabulon et terra Nephthalim via maris trans Iordanen Galilaeae gentium


.

There is also a reference to the Via Maris ("the way of the sea") in .

Some consider the name Via Maris a misnomer and instead prefer to call this route the Great Trunk Road.

Together with the King's Highway
King's Highway (ancient)

The King?s Highway was a trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East. It began in Egypt, and stretched across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba....
, the Via Maris was one of the major routes connecting Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 and the Levant
Levant

The Levant describes, traditionally, the Eastern Mediterranean at large, but can be used as a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia formed by the lands bordering the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, roughly bounded on the north by the Taurus Mountains, on the south by the Arabian Desert, and on the west by the M...
 with Anatolia
Anatolia

Anatolia or Asia Minor is a region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. It is a geographic region bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Iranian plateau to the east and southeast....
 and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is the area of the Tigris-Euphrates river system, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern Iraq, as well as some parts of northeastern Syria, some parts of southeastern Turkey, and some parts of the Khuzestan Province of southwestern Iran....
. The Via Maris was crossed by other trading routes, so that one could travel from Africa to Europe or from Asia to Africa. It began in al-Qantara and went east to Pelusium
Pelusium

Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per -Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Sey?n , and Tell el-Farama ....
, following the northern coast of Sinai
Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt. It lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, forming a land bridge between Africa and Southwest Asia....
 through el-Arish and Rafah
Rafah

File:Location Rhafa.pngRafah is a Palestinian people city in the southern Gaza Strip, but also extends into the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,000 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees....
. From there it followed the coast of Canaan
Canaan

Canaan is an ancient term for a region encompassing modern-day Israel and Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, plus adjoining coastal lands and parts of Jordan, Syria and northeastern Egypt....
 through Gaza
Gaza

Gaza is a Palestinian people city in the Gaza Strip, approximately southwest of Jerusalem, with a population of 410,000, making it the largest city under the control of the Palestinian National Authority....
, Ashkelon
Ashkelon

Ashkelon or Ashqelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Bronze Age. In the course of its history, it has been ruled by the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Babylonians, the Phoenicians, the Ancient Romes, the Muslims and the Crusaders....
, Ashdod
Ashdod

Ashdod , is the List of Israeli cities in Israel, located in the South District of the country, on the Mediterranean Sea Israeli Coastal Plain, with a population of 207,000....
, Joppa, and Dor
Dor

Tel Dor , is an archeological site located on Israel's Mediterranean coast, about 30 km south of Haifa....
 before turning east again through Megiddo
Megiddo

Megiddo is a Hebrew place name that can refer to:* Tel Megiddo, site of an ancient city in northern Israel's Jezreel valley** Megiddo, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel...
 and the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley

The Jezreel Valley is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the south of the Lower Galilee region of Israel. It is bordered to the south by the Samaria highlands and Mount Gilboa, to the north by the Lower Galilee, to the west by the Mount Carmel range, and to the east by the Jordan Valley....
 until it reached Tiberias
Tiberias

Tiberias is a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. It was named in honour of the emperor Tiberius....
 on the Sea of Galilee
Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee, also Sea of Genneseret, Lake Kinneret or Lake Tiberias , is Israel's largest freshwater lake, being approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide....
. Again turning northward along the shore, the Via Maris passed through Migdal, Capernaum
Capernaum

Capernaum was a settlement on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The site is a ruin today, but was inhabited from 150 BC to about AD 750.The town is mentioned in the New Testament: in the Gospel of Luke it was reported to have been the home of the Twelve apostles Saint Peter, Saint Andrew, Saint James the Great and John the Apostle, as well...
, and Hazor
Hazor

Hazor is the name of several places in the biblical and modern Israel:Biblical locations:* Tel Hazor, site of an ancient fortified city in the Upper Galilee, among the most important Caananite towns, and the largest ancient ruin in modern Israel and UNESCO World Heritage Site....
. From Hazor it crossed the northern River Jordan
Jordan River

The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. It is 251 kilometers long....
 at Jacob's Ford then climbed sharply over the Golan Heights
Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a contested, strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The term Golan Heights actually has two separate meanings, one geography and one political:...
 and wound its way northeast into Damascus
Damascus

Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria. It is List of oldest continuously inhabited cities and its current population is estimated at about 4,000,000....
. Here travellers could continue on the King's Highway as far as the Euphrates River or proceed northward into Anatolia.

See also

  • King's Highway (ancient)
    King's Highway (ancient)

    The King?s Highway was a trade route of vital importance to the ancient Middle East. It began in Egypt, and stretched across the Sinai Peninsula to Aqaba....
  • Incense Road
    Incense Road

    The Incense Route or the Incense Road was a series of major ancient trading routes stretching across Egypt to India through Arabia. The incense trade flourished from South Arabia to the Mediterranean between roughly the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE....