Rafah was a border point between ancient Egypt and Palestine overlooking the sea. Only the first letter of its name appears on the map of Madaba (. (P
A battle took place nearby in 720 BC.M between Pharaonic Egypt and Assyria during the reign of Pharaoh Osorkon IV, and a battle also took place in 217 BC.Between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire.