| Mount Arbel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 181 m (594 ft)[1] |
| Listing | World Heritage Sites in Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°49′28″N35°30′00″E / 32.82455°N 35.49994°E /32.82455; 35.49994[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Arbel  Mount Arbel | |
| Country | Israel |
Mount Arbel (Hebrew:הר ארבל,Har Arbel) is a mountain in theLower Galilee nearTiberias inIsrael, with high cliffs, views of Mount Hermon and theGolan Heights, a cave-fortress, and ruins of an ancient synagogue. The mountain was formed by geological processes leading to the creation of theJordan Rift Valley. Mount Arbel sits across fromMount Nitai.
Mount Arbel overlooks four villages:Kfar Zeitim,Arbel,Kfar Hittim, andMitzpa. The peak, at 181 metres above sea level (380 metres above the surrounding area), dominates the surroundings (much of the area is belowsea level), and from the lookout atop the mountain, almost all of theGalilee is visible includingSafed, as well asTiberias and most of theSea of Galilee, and the slopes of theGolan Heights on the other side of the Sea.
Dug into the mountain are a number of documentedJewish cliff dwellings, expanded from natural caves, dating back to theSecond Temple period. The inhabitants built ritual baths and water cisterns. At different times, the caves were fortified and connected by an internal staircase. Some Jews also lived in houses built on top of the mountain.[2][3]
In 161 BCE "Arbela" was the site of a battle between the supporters of theMaccabees andSeleucid generalBacchides, who defeated and killed his opponents (1 Macc. 9:2).[4]Josephus mentions in hisAntiquities that the Greek general captured the many people who had taken refuge in the caves at Arbela.[5]
In38 BCE, we are told byJosephus, partisans ofAntigonus fighting againstHerod who was conquering the land withRoman support, were either killed in their cave hideouts or committed suicide.[4][6][7]
It is also Josephus who, writing about himself in the third person, tells us how he fortified the caves and used them as storage base at the beginning of theFirst Jewish–Roman War in the year 66 CE, when he was in charge of the defense of Galilee:
.jpg)
Nearby are the ruins of an ancientJewish settlement with asynagogue, built in the 4th, rebuilt in the 6th and kept in use until the 8th century CE.
The cave system was finally refortified into acave castle by Ali Beg, the son of17th-centuryDruze ruler,emirFakhr ad-Din al-Maani.[6][3] Because Ali Beg belonged to theMaan dynasty, his castle was called Qal'at Ibn Maan, the "fortress of the son of Ma'an" by locals.[6]
The area was declared a nature reserve in 1967, covering 1400dunams.[9] The national park (8509 dunams) includes most of Nahal Arbel, that begins nearEilabun and empties into theSea of Galilee nearMigdal. The reserve covers the immediate area around the cliff.[10]
On the south side of the cliff, there is a gradual prolonged climb through agricultural and pasture land and from the peak there is a steep 400 meters drop. From here there are metal handholds driven into the rock to aid those who want to make the climb down to the valley below. Below that are a series of switchbacks that eventually lead to theBedouin village ofHamaam.
Mount Arbel, with its 110-metre vertical drop, is the only known mountain in Israel to serve as abase jumping site.[11] A hike to the top of Mount Arbel from the south is included in theIsrael National Trail, and an approach from the west is part of theJesus Trail; the trails converge temporarily at the peak.
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)Demetrius ... sent Bacchides again with an army into Judea. Who ... came into Judea; and pitched his camp at Arbela, a city of Galilee: and having besieged and taken those that were there in caves; (for many of the people had fled into such places;) he removed, and made all the haste he could to Jerusalem.
He also went thence, and resolved to destroy those robbers that dwelt in the caves, and did much mischief in the countrey. ... They were very near to a village calledArbela. And on the fortieth day after he came himself, with his whole army. (etc.)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
