# Jericho

> city in West Bank, Palestine

**Wikidata**: [Q5687](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5687)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/jericho

## Summary
Jericho is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, situated approximately 275 metres below sea level, making it one of the lowest elevated cities on Earth. It serves as the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of 23,220 as of 2016. The city is believed to have been founded circa 960 BCE and is also classified as a tell—an archaeological mound reflecting successive layers of human settlement.

## Key Facts
- **Location**: West Bank, Palestine; coordinates 31.856°N, 35.463°E
- **Elevation**: -275 metres below sea level
- **Area**: 59 square kilometres
- **Population**: 20,416 (2006); 22,006 (2014); 23,220 (2016)
- **Inception**: circa 960 BCE
- **Official Language**: Arabic
- **Native Names**: أريحا (Arabic), יריחו (Hebrew)
- **Timezone**: UTC+02:00
- **Local Dialing Code**: 02
- **Website**: https://jericho-city.ps
- **UN/LOCODE**: PSJRH
- **Classification**: City and tell (archaeological mound)
- **Administrative Role**: Capital of Jericho Governorate
- **Named After**: Yarikh (Canaanite moon deity)

## FAQs

**Where is Jericho located?**
Jericho is located in the West Bank, Palestine, at coordinates 31.856°N latitude and 35.463°E longitude. It lies within the Jericho Governorate, of which it serves as the administrative capital.

**What is Jericho's elevation and why is it significant?**
Jericho sits at -275 metres below sea level, making it one of the lowest cities on Earth. This below-sea-level positioning contributes to its unique climate and geographical character in the Jordan Valley region.

**What is the population of Jericho?**
Jericho's population was recorded as 20,416 in 2006, growing to 22,006 in 2014, and reaching 23,220 in 2016, indicating steady population growth over the decade.

**When was Jericho founded?**
According to available sources, Jericho's inception dates to approximately 960 BCE, though archaeological evidence suggests the site has seen human habitation across multiple millennia.

**What are the alternative names for Jericho?**
Jericho is known by several names including "Moon city," "la ciudad de la luna" (Spanish), "مدينة القمر" (Arabic—City of the Moon), and various transliterations including 耶利哥, 耶律哥, 艾里哈, and 埃里哈 in Chinese variants.

**Which cities is Jericho twinned with?**
Jericho maintains sister city relationships with over a dozen cities worldwide, including Pisa (Italy, since 2000), Campinas (Brazil, since 2001), Iași (Romania, since 2003), Lyon (France), Nantes (France), Alessandria (Italy, since 2004), and several others dating back to the late 1990s.

## Why It Matters
Jericho holds profound significance as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited settlements, with archaeological evidence spanning thousands of years. Its classification as both a modern city and a tell (archaeological mound) reflects this dual identity as a living urban center and a site of immense historical importance. The city's strategic location in the Jordan Valley, combined with its unique below-sea-level elevation, has made it a crossroads of civilizations throughout history. Its extensive documentation across major encyclopedic works—from Brockhaus and Efron to the Catholic Encyclopedia to Pauly-Wissowa—demonstrates its recognized importance in scholarly, religious, and historical contexts. The name "Jericho" itself derives from Yarikh, the Canaanite moon god, connecting the city to ancient Near Eastern religious traditions. Today, it maintains active international relationships through sister city agreements across Europe, South America, and the Middle East.

## Notable For
- Being situated 275 metres below sea level—one of the lowest elevated cities globally
- Dual classification as both a modern city and an archaeological tell
- Name derived from Yarikh, the Canaanite moon deity
- Extensive documentation across major historical encyclopedias and reference works
- Sister city relationships with 14+ international municipalities
- Recognition across 99 Wikipedia language editions
- Presence in major encyclopedia collections including Britannica, Treccani, and Brockhaus

## Body

### Geography and Location
Jericho occupies a land area of 59 square kilometres in the West Bank region of Palestine. The city's precise coordinates are 31.856111111111°N latitude and 35.463055555556°E longitude. Its most distinctive geographical feature is its elevation at -275 metres below sea level, positioning it within the Jordan Rift Valley. The city operates in the UTC+02:00 timezone.

### Demographics
Population records show consistent growth over a decade:
- 2006: 20,416 residents
- 2014: 22,006 residents
- 2016: 23,220 residents (preferred/most recent figure)

### Administrative Structure
Jericho functions as the capital of the Jericho Governorate and is administratively located within this same governorate. The official language is Arabic, and the city maintains a local dialing code of 02. Its official website is hosted at https://jericho-city.ps. The UN/LOCODE for Jericho is PSJRH.

### Etymology and Names
The city's name traces to Yarikh, a Canaanite moon deity, reflected in its epithet "Moon city." Native designations include:
- Arabic: أريحا (Ariha)
- Hebrew: יריחו (Yericho)

Alternative and historical names include "la ciudad de la luna" (Spanish), "مدينة القمر" (Arabic), and Chinese variants including 耶利哥, 耶律哥, 艾里哈, and 埃里哈.

### Historical Documentation
Jericho has been extensively catalogued across major reference works and encyclopedias:
- Otto's encyclopedia
- Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
- Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- Small Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
- Bible Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus
- Pauly–Wissowa (classical antiquity reference)
- Russian translation of Lübker's Antiquity Lexicon
- The Nuttall Encyclopædia
- The New Student's Reference Work
- Meyer's Universum, Vierter Band (1837)
- Catholic Encyclopedia (ID: 08339a)
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online (place/Jericho-West-Bank)
- Treccani's Dizionario di Storia (2010)
- Hrvatska Enciklopedija
- Proleksis Enciklopedija
- Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana
- Brockhaus Enzyklopädie Online
- Encyclopædie Universalis
- Great Russian Encyclopedia Portal

### International Sister City Relationships
Jericho maintains formal twinning agreements with:
- **Pisa, Italy** — established September 28, 2000
- **Campinas, Brazil** — established November 28, 2001
- **Kragujevac, Serbia**
- **Ilion, Greece** — established September 8, 1999
- **Calipatria, United States**
- **Iași, Romania** — established July 16, 2003
- **Lærdal Municipality, Norway** — established July 20, 1998
- **Eger, Hungary**
- **San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy** — established October 18, 2003
- **Lyon, France**
- **Alessandria, Italy** — established June 15, 2004
- **Nantes, France**
- **Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Brazil** — established January 15, 1998
- **Osmangazi, Turkey** — established November 11, 2014

### Digital and Catalog Identifiers
Jericho is indexed across numerous international cataloging and knowledge systems:
- **GND (German National Library)**: 4028579-0
- **Library of Congress Authority ID**: n82056739
- **Bibliothèque Nationale de France**: 15299707k
- **National Library of Spain (BNE)**: XX461258
- **National Library of Israel J9U**: 987007564525705171
- **GeoNames**: 284899
- **BabelNet**: 00048129n
- **Freebase**: /m/0438t
- **WordNet 3.1 Synset**: 08947609-n
- **OpenStreetMap**: Node 432335269, Relation 8488590
- **Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire**: 23403
- **Israel Antiquities Authority**: 14
- **BBC Things**: 9144b5e3-ad6c-4676-9042-a37d5c354995
- **Facebook Location**: 114064258604534
- **Quora Topic**: Jericho-biblical-location

### Wikimedia and Open Knowledge Presence
Jericho maintains a robust presence across Wikimedia projects:
- Featured in 99 language editions of Wikipedia
- Commons category: Jericho
- Main Wikipedia article: Jericho
- Associated categories include Category:Jericho, Category:Maps of Jericho, and Category:People from Jericho
- Panorama image available via Wikimedia Commons
- Page banner image available for travel documentation

### Views and Landmarks
Documented view locations associated with Jericho include:
- Views from Monastery of the Temptation Téléphérique
- Views from Monastery of the Temptation
- Views from Tell es-Sultan

### Cultural and Academic Resources
Additional academic and cultural identifiers:
- **Grove Art Online**: T044629
- **Joconde Location (French museum database)**: T84-331
- **Arab Encyclopedia Concept**: 1146
- **Cultureel Woordenboek (Dutch)**: bijbel/jericho
- **Museum Digital Place**: 693
- **Archinform Location**: 5059
- **Kulturenvanteri Monument**: 309056
- **Kulturenvanteri Taxonomy**: 4861

## References

1. archINFORM
2. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=QmY1DQpkZ7a75129Ack5S0nqYeq)
3. [Source](https://www.comune.pisa.it/it/ufficio-scheda/2019/Gerico.html)
4. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=moOaWr9d0ra72276AXNbldh1Koi)
5. [Source](http://www.campinas.sp.gov.br/governo/cooperacao_internacional/irmas/)
6. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=q4FM5T1zCja74178A0be5fIC7Tn)
7. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=W7XvSs6VB8a70374A0k7E2P8tU4)
8. [Source](http://www.primaria-iasi.ro/portal-primaria-municipiului-iasi/orase-infratite/1119/relatii-internationale)
9. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=5qZmeiI7RUa73227AoP4nWRKRFm)
10. [Source](http://www.jericho-city.ps/page.php?id=SFj7cMA9gRa77982AH7al1ubtb5)
11. [Source](https://www.comune.alessandria.it/vivere-la-citta/promozione-della-citta/citta-gemellate)
12. [Source](https://www.osmangazi.bel.tr/tr/osmangazi/kardes-sehirler)
13. Virtual International Authority File
14. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
15. [Source](http://www.pcbs.gov.ps/Portals/_pcbs/populati/pop09.aspx)
16. GeoNames
17. BBC Things
18. [Source](https://service.unece.org/trade/locode/ps.htm)
19. BabelNet
20. Quora
21. [archINFORM](https://www.archinform.net/service/wd_aiort.php)
22. National Library of Israel Names and Subjects Authority File
23. museum-digital