Daughters of Jacob Bridge
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 The modern concrete bridge in 2016 | |
| Coordinates | 33°0′37.02″N35°37′41.83″E / 33.0102833°N 35.6282861°E /33.0102833; 35.6282861 |
| Crosses | Jordan River |
| Locale | |
| Named for | Jacob |
| History | |
| Opened | 2007 (2007) |
| Location | |
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TheDaughters of Jacob Bridge (Hebrew:גשר בנות יעקב,romanized: Gesher Bnot Ya'akov,Arabic:جسر بنات يعقوب,romanized: Jisr Benat Ya'kub)[1] is a bridge that spans the last naturalford of theJordan River between theKorazim Plateau in northernIsrael and theGolan Heights.
The area has been used as a crossing point for thousands of years; it was part of the recently dubbedVia Maris, and was strategically important to theAncient Egyptians,Assyrians,Hittites,Jews,Saracens (early Muslims),Crusaders,Ayyubids,Mamluks,Ottomans, and to modern inhabitants and armies who crossed the river at this place.
The site was namedJacob's Ford (Latin:Vadum Iacob) by Europeans during theCrusades. A stone bridge was built by the Mamluks sometime in the 13th century, who called itJisr Ya'kub (lit. 'Jacob's Bridge'). The medieval bridge was replaced in 1934 by a modern bridge further south during the draining ofLake Hula.[2] The bridge currently in civilian use was built in 2007.
Within the vicinity of the ford is the location of a well knownPaleolithic archaeological site withAcheulean artifacts dated to around 780,000 years ago.
Located southwest of the medieval bridge are the remains of a crusader castle known asChastelet and east of the bridge are the remains of aMamluk khan (caravanserai). The old arched stone bridge marked the northernmost limit ofNapoleon'scampaign in Syria,[3][4] and was the site of theBattle of Jisr Benat Yakub duringWorld War I.
The bridge is now part of the IsraeliHighway 91 and straddles the border between the Galilee and theGolan Heights. It is of strategic military significance as it is one of the few fixed crossing points over the upper Jordan River that enable access from the Golan Heights to theUpper Galilee.
The place was first associated with thebiblical forefather of the Jews,Jacob, due to a confusion. The Crusader-eranunnery of Saint James (Saint Jacques in French), from the nearbycastellany of Sephet (modern-daySafed), received part of the customs paid at the ford, and sinceJacques is derived fromJacob, this led to the name Jacob's Ford.[5]
 | It has been suggested that this subsection besplit out into another article titledGesher Benot Ya'aqov (archaeological site). (Discuss)(May 2024) |
Archaeological excavations at theprehistoric Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site have revealed evidence of human habitation in the area, from as early as 750,000 years ago.[6] Archaeologists from theHebrew University of Jerusalem claim that the site provides evidence of "advanced human behavior" half a million years earlier than has previously been estimated as possible. Their report describes a layer at the site belonging to theAcheulian (a culture dating to theLower Palaeolithic, at the very beginning of theStone Age), where numerous stone tools, animal bones and plant remains have been found,[7] including those of the large elephantPalaeoloxodon recki[8] which is associated with stone tools, including ahandaxe, and shows cut and fracture marks indicating that it was butchered byarchaic humans.[9] According to the archaeologistsPaul Pettitt and Mark White, the site has produced the earliest widely accepted evidence for theuse of fire, dated approximately 790,000 years ago.[10][11][12] ATel-Aviv University study found remains of a hugecarp fish cooked with the use of fire at the site 780,000 years ago.[13]
Jacob's Ford was a key river crossing point and major trade route betweenAcre andDamascus.[14] It was utilized by ChristianPalestine andSeljuk Syria as a major intersection between the two civilizations, making it strategically important. WhenHumphrey II of Toron was besieged in the city ofBanyas in 1157, KingBaldwin III of Jerusalem was able to break the siege, only to be ambushed at Jacob's Ford in June of that year.[15]
Later in the twelfth century,Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Saladin continually contested the area around Jacob's Ford. Baldwin allowed theTemplars to buildChastelet castle overlooking Jacob's Ford known to the Arabs asQasr al-'Ata[16] commanding the road fromQuneitra toTiberias.[17] On 23 August 1179, Saladin successfully conducted thesiege of Jacob's Ford, destroying the unfinished fortification, known as the castle of Vadum Iacob or Chastellet.
In the lateMamluk period,Sefad became a principal town andBaibars'postal road from Cairo to Damascus was extended with a branch that went through the north of Palestine. To accomplish this, the bridge was built over the Crusaders' Vadum Jacob (Jacob's ford). The bridge had the Mamluk characteristic dual-slope pathway like theYibna Bridge.[citation needed]Al-Dimashqi (1256–1327) noted that "theJordan traverses the district ofAl Khaitah and comes to theJisr Ya'kub (lit. "Jacob's Bridge"), underKasr Ya'kub (lit. "Jacob's Castle"), and reaching theSea of Tiberias, falls into it."[18][dubious –discuss]
Before 1444, a merchant constructed a khan (caravanserai) on the eastern side of the bridge, one of a series of such khans built at the time.[19]Edward Robinson noted that during the 14th century, travellers crossed the river Jordan below theLake of Tiberias, while the first crossing in the area ofJisr Benat Yakob was noted in 1450 CE. The khan, at the eastern end of the bridge, and the bridge itself, were both probably built before 1450, according to Robinson.[20]
For the year 1555−1556CE (AH 963) thetoll post at the bridge collected 25,000akçe,[19] and in 1577 (985 H) afirman commanded that the place hadpost horses ready.[19]
On June 4th 1771, a combined force ofZahir al Umar's men and mamluk commanderAbu al-Dhahab met the Damascene Pasha in battle, The result was a victory for theZayadina coalition and established control ofIrbid andQuneitra to Zahir al Umar. This also set in motion the later Final Invasion of Damascus Eyalet & Siege of Damascus by Abu al-Dhahab[21]
The bridge was maintained through the Ottoman period, with acaravanserai on one end of the bridge, as shown in the 1799Jacotin map.[22] During theEgyptian campaign of 1799,Napoleon sent his cavalry commander, generalMurat, to defend the bridge, as a measure of preempting reinforcement from Damascus being sent toAkko during thesiege laid by the French.[23] Murat occupied nearbySafed andTiberias, as well as the bridge[24] and, by relying on the superior quality of French troops, managed to defeat Turkish units far outnumbering him.[25] Jacotin's map marks the west side of the bridge with the name of General Murat and the date of 2 April 1799.
In 1881, thePEF'sSurvey of Western Palestine (SWP) also noted aboutJisr Benat Yakub: "The bridge itself appears to be of later date than the Crusader period."[26]
TheBattle of Jisr Benat Yakub was fought there on 27 September 1918 during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign ofWorld War I, at the beginning of the pursuit by theBritish Army of the retreating remnants of the OttomanYildirim Army Group towards Damascus, who destroyed the central arch of the bridge. The bridge was shortly repaired byANZAC sappers, flattening the original dual-slope pathway, making it useful for modern vehicles.[citation needed]
In 1934, during the draining of Lake Hula as part of a Zionistland reclamation project, the old bridge was replaced by a modern one further south.[2][dubious –discuss]
On the "Night of the Bridges" between 16 and 17 June 1946, the bridge[which?] was again destroyed by the JewishHaganah. The Syrians captured the bridge on June 11, 1948, during the1948 Palestine war, but later withdrew as a result of the1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and Syria. After the war, the bridge was in the central demilitarised zone established by the armistice agreement.[citation needed]
In 1953, the site was chosen as the original location for the water intake of theNational Water Carrier of Israel, but after US pressure, the intake was moved downstream to theSea of Galilee at Eshed Kinrot,[27] which later became known as theSapir Pumping Station atTel Kinrot/Tell el-'Oreimeh.[citation needed]
During theSix-Day War, an Israeliparatrooper brigade captured the area, and after the war, theIsraeli Combat Engineering Corps constructed aBailey bridge. In theYom Kippur War, Syrian forces approached the vicinity of the bridge. As a precaution, Israeli sappers placed explosives on the bridge but did not detonate them as the Syrians did not attempt to cross it.[28]
In 2007, one of the two Bailey bridges at the site (one for traffic from east to west and the other handling traffic in the opposite direction) was replaced with a modern concrete span, while the other Bailey bridge was left intact for emergency use.
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