The Golan Heights: A Historic Past, An Unpredictable FutureLocated just north of Lake Kinneret, overlooking the Huleh Valley in Israel and the Al Raquad Valley in Syria , lies a plateau that rises between 700 and 1,400 feet above sea level and is perhaps the most strategic piece of land in the Middle East, depending on your perspective. (Jewish Virtual Library, 2001) Antiquities left by the Romans, Turks, Greeks, and Mongols, to name just a few of the empires that conquered this area, date back several centuries. This relatively small area of ​​land, about the size of Queens, New York, is about 40 to 45 miles long and 15.5 miles wide at its widest point, and controls Kinneret, Israel's only lake and the main water resource. (Bard, 2002) This hotly contested piece of land is called the Golan Heights. The Israeli History of the Golan Heights Israel's claim to the Golan Heights dates back centuries, to biblical times when Abraham promised the region of Bashan, the biblical name for the Golan Heights, to the people of Israel. Israeli citizens, however, did not settle in the Golan until the First Temple period, which began in 953 BC. Half of the Israeli tribe of Menasseh settled in Transjordan and later named the area after another biblical city with the same name, Golan. (Web Golan) During this era, the city served as a haven for criminals awaiting trial, which may also explain the city's name, as the word “golah” means exile. In 732 BC, the Israelis were exiled from the Golan by an Assyrian emperor, Tiglath-pileser II, and did not return to Bashan until after 586 BC, which marked the beginning of the Second Temple Period. From 732 BC to 586 BC, the Assyrian emperor populated the entire region with citizens from various parts of his empire. When the Israelis returned to their homes, however, they lived peacefully alongside the non-Jewish inhabitants. (Camera Media Report, 1995) The Golan Heights changed hands several more times and was influenced by various cultures during the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Talmudic periods from 65 BC to 636 AD 636 to 1516 during the Islamic conquest, also known as the Mamluk period, most of the Jewish settlements of the previous periods disappeared completely and the Druze were the main inhabitants of the Golan. The Druze remain in some areas of the Golan to this day. (Israeli Government...... half of document ......see September 10, 2002. "Israeli Response to Arab League to Divert Jordan." Jewish Virtual Library. From a speech by Levi Eshkil given January 21 , 1964. Retrieved September 10, 2002. Kortenoeven, W. “What Makes the Golan so Vital for Israel?”. Christians for Israel Today Canada: 2000. Nyrip, R. Syria: A Country Study, Washington DC: American University,. 1979. Orvedahl, J. The Middle East, 9th ed. Washington, DC: CQPress, 2000. “Peace Talkers Study Key Paper,” BBC, 9 January 2000. Retrieved 11 September 2002. Rabin, Yitzhak of the Golan Heights, June 10, 1992. (As cited from http://www.golan.org.il/vip.html). "Brief historical overview of the Golan Heights." Web Golan 11, 2002. .Wiesenhofer, H Library of Nations: Israel London: Time-Life Books, 1986.