a.d. 1796.—Arabs destroyed Gaza during a civil war.
a.d. 1799.—Napoleon Bonaparte took Gaza in February, having crossed the desert with about 13,000 men.
"Napoleon has emphasised the indispensableness of Gaza, whether in the invasion or the defence of the Nile valley."—G. A. Smith.
a.d. 1831.—Mohammed Ali, a native of Roumelia, attacked Gaza in November, without being resisted.
a.d. 1839.—A great plague broke out in Gaza, and carried off large numbers of its inhabitants.
a.d. 1878.—The Church Missionary Society commenced work at Gaza.
FOOTNOTES:
[10] Some of these events in the first section are not referred to either in the Old Testament or the Books of the Maccabees.
[11] Perhaps the earliest notice of Gaza is contained in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets in a letter from a local Governor, who then held it for Egypt.
[12] Ant., XIV. iv. 4; Bell. Jud., I. vii. 7.