Beit She'an בֵּית שְׁאָן | |
|---|---|
| Hebrew transcription(s) | |
| • ISO 259 | Beit Šˀan |
| • Translit. | Bet Šəʼan |
| • Also spelled | Bet She'an (official) Beth Shean (unofficial) |
 Beit She'an | |
 | |
  Beit She'an  Beit She'an | |
| Coordinates:32°30′N35°30′E / 32.500°N 35.500°E /32.500; 35.500 | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Northern |
| Founded | 6th–5th millennia BCE(Earliest settlement) Bronze Age(Canaanite town) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Noam Juma'a |
| Area | |
• Total | 7,330 dunams (7.33 km2 or 2.83 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[1] | |
• Total | 19,073 |
| • Density | 2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi) |
| Name meaning | House of Tranquillity[2] |
| Website | http://www.bet-shean.org.il |
._Beisan_mound_LOC_matpc.17062.jpg)
Beit She'an (Hebrew:בֵּית שְׁאָןBēṯ Šəʾānⓘ), also known asBeisan (Arabic:بيسانBisānⓘ),[2] orBeth-shean, is a town in theNorthern District ofIsrael. The town lies at theBeit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level.
Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the region. It has played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of theJordan River Valley and theJezreel Valley. Beth She'an's ancienttell contains remains beginning in theChalcolithic period. WhenCanaan came underImperial Egyptian rule in theLate Bronze Age, Beth She'an served as a major Egyptian administrative center.[3] The city came underIsraelite rule in the monarchic period. It probably fell underPhilistine control during the time ofSaul, when, according to theBible, his body was displayed there along with his sons.[4]
During theHellenistic period, the settlement was known asScythopolis (Ancient Greek:Σκυθόπολις). After the region came underRoman rule, Scythopolis gained imperial free status and was the leading city of theDecapolis. A multi-cultural metropolis underByzantine rule, it served as the capital of the province ofPalaestina Secunda, and had a mixed population ofChristians,pagans,Jews andSamaritans. After theArab conquest of the Levant, and following a series of devastating earthquakes (most notably in749), the city lost its prominence, and became a medium-sized country town.[3][5]
The population of the town was completely changed from 1948 to 1950. It had been entirelyMuslim and Christian, designated to be part of the Jewish state in the 1947United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, and was captured by theHaganah in May 1948. The battle over the town duringOperation Gideon caused most of its inhabitants to flee, and the remainder were expelled.[6] The town was then resettled by Jewish immigrants.[6] Today, Beit She'an serves as a regional centre for the towns in the Beit She'an Valley. The ancient city ruins are now protected within theBeit She'an National Park. The town is located near theJordan River Crossing, one of three crossing points between Israel andJordan.
Beit She'an's location has always been strategically significant, due to its position at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and theJezreel Valley, essentially controlling access fromJordan and the inland to the coast, as well as fromJerusalem andJericho to theGalilee.
Beit She'an is situated onHighway 90, the north–south road which runs the length of the eastern edge of Israel and the West Bank. The city stretches over an area of 7 square kilometers with a substantial national park in the north of the city. Beit She'an has a population of 20,000.[7]
Today the town is under the administration of theEmek HaMa'ayanot Regional Council.
Beit She'an has a hotsemi-arid climate, with mild, rainy winters and very hot, dry summers. Beit She'an is one of the hottest cities in Israel, due to its location inBeit She'an valley, which is part of theJordan Valley. The annual precipitation is 305 mm, which make it the driest city in Northern Israel. The cause of the relative aridity is the location in the rain shadow of theSamaria mountains andMount Gilboa, which blocks some of the rain from reaching the area.
TheUniversity of Pennsylvania carried out excavations of ancient Beit She'an in 1921–1933. Relics from theEgyptian period were discovered, most of them now exhibited in theRockefeller Museum inJerusalem. Some are in theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum inPhiladelphia.[8] Excavations at the site were resumed by theHebrew University of Jerusalem in 1983 and then again from 1989 to 1996 under the direction ofAmihai Mazar.[9] The excavations have revealed no less than 18 successive ancient towns.[10][11]
In 1933, archaeologist G.M. FitzGerald, under the auspices of theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum, carried out a "deep cut" on Tell el-Hisn ("castle hill"), the largetell, or mound, of Beth She'an, in order to determine the earliest occupation of the site. His results suggest that settlement began in theLate Neolithic orEarly Chalcolithic periods (sixth to fifth millennia BC.)[12] Occupation continued intermittently throughout the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, with a likely gap during the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000–3300 BC).[13]
Settlement seems to have resumed at the beginning of theEarly Bronze Age I (3200–3000) and continues throughout this period, is then missing during the Early Bronze Age II, and then resumes in the Early Bronze Age III.[13]
A large cemetery on the northern mound was in use from the Bronze Age toByzantine times.[14]Canaanite graves dating from 2000 to 1600 BC were discovered there in 1926.[15]
After theconquest of Beit She'an by Pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15th century BCE, as recorded in an inscription atKarnak,[16] the small town on the summit of the mound became the center of the Egyptian administration of the region.[17] The Egyptian newcomers changed the organization of the town and left a great deal of material culture behind. A large Canaanite temple (39 m (128 ft) in length) excavated by theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum (Penn Museum) may date from about the same period asThutmose III's conquest, though the Hebrew University excavations suggest that it dates to a later period.[18] Artifacts of potential cultic significance were found around the temple. Based onan Egyptian stele found at the place, the temple was dedicated to the god Mekal.[19] TheHebrew University excavations determined that this temple was built on the site of an earlier one.[20]
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One of the most important finds near the temple is the Lion and Lioness (or a dog[21]) stela, currently in theIsrael Museum in Jerusalem, which depicts the two playing.[22]
During the three hundred years of rule by theNew Kingdom of Egypt, the population of Beit She'an appears to have been primarily Egyptian administrative officials and military personnel. The town was completely rebuilt, following a new layout, during the19th dynasty.[23] The Penn Museum excavations uncoveredtwo important stelae from the period ofSeti I and a monument ofRamesses II.[24] One of those steles is particularly interesting because, according toWilliam F. Albright,[25] it testifies to the presence of a Hebrew population: theHabiru, which Seti I protected from an Asiatic tribe. Pottery was produced locally, but some was made to mimic Egyptian forms.[26] Other Canaanite goods existed alongside Egyptian imports, or locally made Egyptian-style objects.[27] The20th Dynasty saw the construction of large administrative buildings in Beit She'an, including "Building 1500", a small palace for the Egyptian governor.[28] During the 20th Dynasty, invasions of the "Sea Peoples" upset Egypt's control over theEastern Mediterranean. Though the exact circumstances are unclear, the entire site of Beit She'an was destroyed by fire around 1150 BC. The Egyptians did not attempt to rebuild their administrative center and finally lost control of the region.
Over 50 clay anthropoid coffins were found at the site mainly from the 13th and 12thcenturies BC. Most are in the typical Egyptian style but some are of a "grotesque" type linked to the Aegean which caused earlier archaeologists to suggest they were of the "sea peoples" which pharaoh Ramses III claimed to have resettled in the region.[29]
AnIron Age I (1200–1000 BC) Canaanite city was constructed on the site of the Egyptian center shortly after its destruction.[30] According to theHebrew Bible, around 1000 BC the town became part of thelarger Israelite kingdom.1 Kings (1 Kings 4:12) refers to Beit She'an as part of the kingdom ofSolomon, though the historical accuracy of this list is debated.[31] Nevertheless, recent archaeomagnetic dates suggest that the first Israelite urban settlement was established either during the Solomonic period or in the pre-Omride phase of the earlykingdom of Israel at the latest, and that it was probably destroyed around 935–900 BC.[32]
TheAssyrian conquest of thenorthern kingdom of Israel underTiglath-Pileser III (732 BC) brought about the destruction of Beit She'an by fire.[26]
Minimal reoccupation occurred until theHellenistic period.[26]
TheHebrew Bible identifies Beit She'an as where the bodies ofKing Saul and three of his sons were hung by thePhilistines after theBattle of Gilboa.[33][34][35] According to the biblical narrative, the battle was fought atMount Gilboa, around the year 1010 BC. The Philistines prevailed and Saul died in battle together with three of his sons,Jonathan,Abinadab andMalchishua, (1 Samuel and1 Chronicles,1 Samuel 31; 1 Chronicles 10).1 Samuel 31:10 states that "the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of Beit She'an". Later, the people ofJabesh-Gilead took the remnants, carried them into their city, and burned them. No archeological evidence was found of a Philistine occupation of Beit She'an, but it is possible the force only passed there.[21]
TheHellenistic period saw the reoccupation of the site of Beit She'an under the new name "Scythopolis" (Ancient Greek: Σκυθόπολις),[36] meaning "City of the Scythians", possibly named after theScythian mercenaries who settled there as veterans.[37]
Little is known about the Hellenistic city, but during the 3rd century BCE a large temple was constructed on the tell.[38] It is unknown which deity was worshipped there, but the temple continued to be used during Roman times. Graves dating from the Hellenistic period are simple, singularrock-cut tombs.[39] From 301 to 198 BCE the area was under the control of thePtolemies, and Beit She'an is mentioned in 3rd–2nd century BCE written sources describing theSyrian Wars between the Ptolemaic andSeleucid dynasties. In 198 BCE the Seleucids finally conquered the region.
In 63 BCE,Pompey madeJudea a part of theRoman Republic. Beit She'an was refounded and rebuilt byGabinius.[40] The town center shifted from the summit of the mound, or tell, to its slopes. Scythopolis prospered and became the leading city of theDecapolis, the only one west of the Jordan River.[41]
The city flourished under the "Pax Romana", as evidenced by high-levelurban planning and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theatre of ancientSamaria, as well as ahippodrome, acardo and other trademarks of the Roman influence.Mount Gilboa, 7 km (4 mi) away, provided darkbasalt blocks, as well as water (via an aqueduct) to the town. Beit She'an is said to have sided with the Romans during the early phase of theFirst Jewish–Roman War in 66 CE.[40] Excavations have focused less on the Roman period ruins, so not much is known about this period.[dubious –discuss] The Penn. University Museum excavation of the northern cemetery, however, did uncover significant finds. The Roman period tombs are of theloculus type: a rectangular rock-cut spacious chamber with smaller chambers (loculi) cut into its side.[39] Bodies were placed directly in theloculi, or inside sarcophagi which were placed in theloculi. Asarcophagus with an inscription identifying its occupant in Greek as "Antiochus, the son of Phallion", may have held the cousin ofHerod the Great.[39] One of the most interesting Roman grave finds was abronze incense shovel with the handle in the form of an animal leg, or hoof, now in theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum.[42]
Copious archaeological remains were found dating to theByzantine Empire (330–636) and were excavated by thePenn Museum from 1921 to 1923. A rotunda church was constructed on top of thetell, and a wall enclosed the entire city.[44] Textual sources mention several other churches in the town.[44] Scythopolis was primarily Christian, as attested to by many churches, but evidence of Jewish habitation and aSamaritan synagogue indicate established communities of these minorities. The pagan temples in the city center went out of use, but thenymphaeum and thethermae were restored, and a Sigma-shaped complex was added.[45] Many of the buildings of Scythopolis were damaged in the363 Galilee earthquake. In 409,Syria Palaestina was divided and Scythopolis became the capital of the northern region ofPalaestina Secunda.[46] and theSee of Scythopolis was theMetropolitan archdiocese.
Dedicatory inscriptions indicate a preference for donations to religious buildings. Many colourfulmosaics were preserved, such as that featuring thezodiac in the Lady Mary's Monastery, or the one with atemple menorah and the phraseshalom in the House of Leontiussynagogue. The Samaritan synagogue's mosaic was unique in itsaniconic abstention from human or animal images, instead using floral and geometrical motifs. Elaborate decorations were also found in the settlement's many luxurious villas, and in the 6th century especially, the city reached its maximum size of 40,000 and spread beyond its period city walls.[46]
The Byzantine-era portion of the northern cemetery was excavated in 1926. The tombs from this period consisted of small rock-cut halls with vaulted graves on three sides.[47] A great variety of objects were found in the tombs, includingterracotta figurines possibly depicting theVirgin and Child, many terracotta lamps, glass mirrors, bells, tools, knives, finger rings, iron keys, glass beads, bone hairpins, and many other items.[47]
Influential Christian personalities who lived or passed through Scythopolis areProcopius of Scythopolis (died July 7, 303),Cyril of Scythopolis (ca. 525–559),Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/320–403) andJoseph of Tiberias (c. 285 – c. 356) who met there around the year 355.
In 634, Byzantine forces were defeated by theRashidun army under theRashid caliphUmar, and the city reverted to its Semitic name, being named Baysan in Arabic. The day of victory came to be known in Arabic asYawm Baysan "day of Baysan."[2] The city was not damaged; newly arrived Muslims lived alongside the Christian population until the 8th century. The town formed one of the districts ofJund al-Urdunn, itself a part of theBilad al-Sham, until the Crusades.[48]
The city declined; structures were built in the streets, narrowing them to merealleys, and makeshift shops were opened among the colonnades. The city reached a low point in the 8th century, witnessed by the removal ofmarble for producinglime, the blocking off of the main street, and the conversion of a main plaza into a cemetery.[49]
However, some recently discovered counter-evidence may be offered to this picture of decline. In common with state-directed building work carried out in other towns and cities in the region during the 720s,[50] Baysan's commercial infrastructure was refurbished: its main colonnaded market street, once thought to date to the sixth century, is now known—based on a mosaic inscription—to be a redesign dating from the time of the Umayyad caliphHisham ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 724–43).[51]Al-Bakri ofal-Andalus noted that the wine produced there was delicious.[2]
On January 18, 749, Umayyad Baysan was devastated by acatastrophic earthquake. A few residential neighborhoods grew among the ruins, probably established by the survivors, but the city never recovered its magnificence. The city center moved to the southern hill, where theCrusaders later built a castle.[52]
Jerusalemite historianal-Muqaddasi visited Baysan in 985, during theAbbasid Caliphate and wrote that it was "on the river, with plentiful palm trees, and water, though somewhat heavy (brackish.)" He further noted that Baysan was notable for itsindigo,rice,dates, and grape syrup known asdibs.[53] Its principalmosque was situated in the center of its marketplace.[54]
In theCrusader period, the Lordship of Bessan was occupied byTancred, Prince of Galilee in 1099; it was never part of thePrincipality of Galilee, despite its location, but became a royal domain of theKingdom of Jerusalem in 1101, probably until around 1120. According to theLignages d'Outremer, the first Crusader lord of Bessan once it became part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was Adam, a younger son of Robert III de Béthune,peer of Flanders and head of theHouse of Béthune. His descendants were known by the family namede Bessan.
It occasionally passed back under royal control until new lords were created. The town became part of theBelvoirfiefdom.[55]
A small Crusader fortress surrounded by a moat was built in the area southeast of the Roman theatre, where the diminished town had relocated after the 749 earthquake.[52] The fortress was destroyed bySaladin in 1183.[56]
During the 1260Battle of Ain Jalut, retreating Mongol forces passed near the town, but did not enter it.
UnderMamluk rule, Beit She'an was the principal town in the district ofDamascus and a relay station for thepostal service betweenDamascus andCairo. It was also the capital ofsugar cane processing for the region. Jisr al-Maqtu'a, "the truncated/cut-off bridge", a bridge consisting of a single arch spanning 25 ft (7.6 m) and hung 50 ft (15 m) above a stream, was built during that period.[57]
During this period, the inhabitants of Baysan were mainly Muslim, but there were someJews. The 14th centurytopographerIshtori Haparchi settled there and completed his work "Bulb and Flower" (Hebrew:כפתור ופרח,romanized: Kaftor vaFeraḥ) in 1322, the first Hebrew book on the geography of theLand of Israel.[58][59]
During the 400 years ofOttoman rule, Baysan lost its regional importance. During the reign of SultanAbdul Hamid II when theJezreel Valley railway, which was part of theHaifa toDamascus extension of theHejaz railway was constructed, a limited revival took place. The local peasant population was largely impoverished by the Ottoman feudal land system, which leased tracts of land to tenants and collected taxes from them for their use.[2]
The Swiss–German travelerJohann Ludwig Burckhardt described Beisan in 1812: "The present village of Bysan contains seventy or eighty houses; its inhabitants are in a miserable condition, from being exposed to the depredations of theBedouins ofthe Ghor, to whom they also pay a heavy tribute."[60]
In 1870/1871, an Ottoman census listed the village in thenahiya (sub-district) of Shafa al-Shamali.[61]
In the early 20th century, though still a tiny and obscure village, Beisan was known for its plentiful water supply, fertile soil, and producing olives, grapes, figs, almonds, apricots, and apples.[2]
Under the Mandate, the city was the center of theDistrict of Baysan. According to acensus conducted in 1922 by theBritish Mandate authorities, Beit She'an (Baisan) had a population of 1,941, consisting of 1,687 Muslims, 41 Jews and 213 Christians.[62]
In 1934,Lawrence of Arabia noted that "Bisan is now a purely Arab village," where "very fine views of the river can be had from the housetops." He further noted that "many nomad andBedouin encampments, distinguished by their black tents, were scattered about the riverine plain, their flocks and herds grazing round them."[2] Beisan was home to a mainlyMizrahi Jewish community of 95 until 1936, when the1936–1939 Arab revolt saw Beisan serve as a center of Arab attacks on Jews in Palestine.[59][63][64] In 1938, after learning of the murder of his close friend and Jewish leader Haim Sturmann,Orde Wingate led his men on an offensive in the Arab section of Baysan, the rebels’ suspected base.[65]
According to population surveys conducted inBritish Mandate Palestine, Beisan consisted of 5,080 Muslim Arabs out of a population of 5,540 (92% of the population), with the remainder being listed as Christians.[66] In 1945, the surroundingDistrict of Baysan consisted of 16,660 Muslims (67%), 7,590 Jews (30%), and 680 Christians (3%); and Arabs owned 44% of land, Jews owned 34%, and 22% constituted public lands. The1947 UN Partition Plan allocated Beisan and most of its district to the proposedJewish state.[2][67][68]
Jewish forces and local Bedouins first clashed during the1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine in February and March 1948, part ofOperation Gideon,[2] itself part ofPlan Dalet.[69]Joseph Weitz, a leadingYishuv figure, wrote in his diary on May 4, 1948, that, "The Beit Shean Valley is the gate for our state in the Galilee...[I]ts clearing is the need of the hour."[2]
Beisan, then an Arab village, fell to the Jewish militias three days before the end of the Mandate. AfterIsrael's Declaration of Independence in May 1948, during intense shelling by Syrian border units, followed by the recapture of the valley by theHaganah, the Arab inhabitantsfled across the Jordan River.[70][better source needed] The property and buildings abandoned after the conflict were then held by the State of Israel.[2] MostArab Christians relocated toNazareth.[citation needed]
HistorianSaleh Abdel Jawad claims that Beisan experienced a massacre via aerial bombardment by Israeli forces that was "entirely without military justification" and which was used as "a tool of expulsion".[71]
Ama'abarah (immigration camp) inhabited mainly by North African Jewisholim (immigrants)[72] was erected in Beit She'an, and it later became adevelopment town.
From 1969, Beit She'an was a target forKatyusha rockets andmortar attacks from Jordan.[73] In the1974 Beit She'an attack, militants of thePopular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, took over an apartment building and murdered a family of four.[63]
In 1999, Beit She'an was incorporated as a city.[74] Geographically, it lies in the middle of theEmek HaMaayanot Regional Council, formerly the Beit She'an Valley Regional Council.[75]
Beit She'an was the hometown and political power base ofDavid Levy, an Israeli politician.
During theSecond Intifada, in the2002 Beit She'an attack, six Israelis were killed and over 30 were injured by twoPalestinian militants, who opened fire and threw grenades at a polling station in the center of Bet She'an where party members were voting in theLikud primary.
Beit She'an is located above theDead Sea Transform (afault system that forms thetransform boundary between theAfrican Plate to the west and theArabian Plate to the east) and is one of the cities in Israel most at risk toearthquakes (along withKiryat Shmona,Safed,Tiberias, andEilat).[76] Historically, the city was destroyed in theGolan earthquake of 749.
According to theIsrael Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of the municipality was 19,073 at the end of 2022.[1] In 2005, the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.5% Jewish and other non-Arab (97.3% Jewish), with no significant Arab population. SeePopulation groups in Israel. The population breakdown by gender was 8,200 males and 8,100 females.[77]
The age distribution was as follows:
| Age | 0–4 | 5–9 | 10–14 | 15–19 | 20–29 | 30–44 | 45–59 | 60–64 | 65–74 | 75+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 9.9 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 17.6 | 17.7 | 16.7 | 2.7 | 4.4 | 2.8 |
| Source:Israel Central Bureau of Statistics[77] | ||||||||||
Beit She'an is a center of cotton-growing, and many of residents are employed in the cotton fields of the surroundingkibbutzim. Other local industries include a textile mill and clothing factory.[59]
Ancient Beit She'an, one of the most spectacular Roman and Byzantine sites in Israel, is a major tourist attraction.[78]
When the ancient city of Beit She'an was opened to the public in the 1990s and turned into a national park, tourism became a major sector of the economy.[79]
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Beit She'an had a railway station that opened in 1904 on theJezreel Valley railway which was an extension of theHejaz railway. This station closed together with the rest of the Jezreel Valley railway in 1948.
In 2011–2016 the valley railway was rebuilt and the newBeit She'an railway station,[80] located at the same site as the historical station was opened. Passenger service offered at the station connects the city to Afula, Haifa and destinations in between. In addition to passenger service, the station also includes a freight rail terminal.
The local football club,Hapoel Beit She'an spent several seasons in the top division in the 1990s, but folded in 2006 after several relegations. Maccabi Beit She'an currently plays inLiga Bet.[citation needed]
Beit She'an istwinned with:
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