 The known history of Gaza spans 4 @,@ 000 years . Gaza was ruled , destroyed and repopulated by various dynasties , empires , and peoples . Originally a Canaanite settlement , it came under the control of the ancient Egyptians for roughly 350 years before being conquered and becoming one of the Philistines ' principal cities . Gaza fell to the Israelites in about 1000 BCE but became part of the Assyrian Empire around 730 BCE . Alexander the Great besieged and captured the city in 332 BCE . Most of the inhabitants were killed during the assault , and the city , which became a center for Hellenistic learning and philosophy , was resettled by nearby Bedouins . The area changed hands regularly between two Greek successor @-@ kingdoms , the Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt , until it was besieged and taken by the <unk> in 96 BCE . 
