Gaza

one of the five chief cities of the ancient Philistines, situated in the S. W. of Palestine, about 3 miles from the sea. It is often mentioned in the history of Samson, and was the scene of constant struggles between the Israeli tes and the Philistines. In 333 B. C. it was taken after a five months’ siege by Alexander the Great, and from that time down to 1799, when the French under Kleber captured it, it witne ed the victories of the Maccabees, the Calif Abubekr, the Tem plots, and the heroic Salad in.