Beersheba

Beersheba (Offeecially Be'er Sheva; , ; ; , ; ) is the lairgest ceety in the Negev desert o soothren Israel. Aften referred tae as the "Caipital o the Negev", it is the seivent-lairgest ceety in Israel wi a population o .

Beersheba grew in importance in the 19t century, when the Ottoman Turks biggit a regional polis station thare. The Battle o Beersheba wis pairt o a wider Breetish offensive in Warld War I aimed at breakin the Turkish defensive line frae Gaza tae Beersheba. In 1947, Bir Seb'a (), as it wis kent, wis envisioned as pairt o the Arab state in the Unitit Naitions Partition Plan for Palestine. When the Arabs rejectit the Unitit Naitions resolution declarin Israel an independent state, the Egyptian airmy amassed its forces in Beersheba as a strategic an logistical base. In October 1948, the ceety wis conquered bi the Israel Defense Forces.Guide to Israel, Zev Vilnay, Hamakor Press, Jerusalem, 1972, pp.309-14

Beersheba haes grown considerably syne then. A lairge portion o the population is made up o Jews who immigratit frae Arab kintras efter 1948, an haes been significantly boostit syne 1990 bi immigrants frae Ethiopie an the umwhile Soviet Union. Wi the influx o Roushie immigrants, chess became a major sport in Beersheba. The ceety is nou Israel's naitional chess center, hame tae mair chess grandmaisters than ony ceety in the warld.

 Etymology 
Thare are several etymologies for the oreegin o the name "Beersheba":
 The oath o Abraham an Abimelech (well o the oath)
 The seiven wells dug bi Isaac (seiven wells), tho anerlie three or fower hae been identified
 The oath o Isaac an Abimelech (well o the oath)
 The seiven ewes that sealed Abraham an Abimelech's oath (well o the seiven).

Be'er is the Hebrew wird for well; sheva coud mean "seiven" or "oath" (frae the Hebrew wird shvu'a).

 Twin touns — Sister ceeties 

The follaein are ceeties an towns wi which Beersheba haes a toun twinnin agreement: 
  Adana, Turkey (syne 2001)
  Addis Ababa, Ethiopie (syne 2004)
  Cebu Ceety, Philippines
  Cluj-Napoca, Romanie
  La Plata, Argentinae
  Lyon, Fraunce (syne 1977)
  Montreal, Canadae   Niš, Serbie
  Oni, Georgie (syne 2000)
  Parramatta, Australie
  Rosenheim, Germany
  Seattle, Unitit States
  Winnipeg, Canadae (syne 1983)
  Wuppertal, Germany(syne 1977)

 References 


Category:Ceeties in Soothren Destrict (Israel)
Beersheba
Category:Chess in Israel
Category:Ebreu Bible ceeties
Category:Torah ceeties
Category:Establishments in the Kinrick o Israel (unitit monarchy)
Category:1900s establishments in Ottoman Sirie