The term 'Ancient Palestinian' refers to the people and culture of Palestine during ancient times. The Essenes were a Jewish sect that lived in Palestine from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE. Yasser ARAFAT was a Palestinian leader who served as the President of the Palestinian National Authority from 1996 to 2004. Mahmoud Abbas is the current President of the Palestinian National Authority, having been elected in 2005. Herod was a Roman-appointed King of Judea from 37 BCE to 4 BCE. The ARAB people are an ethnic group native to the Middle East, including Palestine.