Bet Guvrin

Bet Guvrin
Basic data
hebrew :	בית גוברין
State :	Israel
District :	south
Founded :	1949
Coordinates :	31 ° 37 ' N , 34 ° 54' E Coordinates: 31 ° 36 '47 " N , 34 ° 53' 54" E
Height :	267 m
Residents :	426 (as of: 2018)
Community code :	0619
Time zone :	UTC + 2
	Bet Guvrin
	Bet Guvrin

Bet Guvrin ( Hebrew בית גוברין) is a kibbutz in what is now southern Israel near the border with the West Bank on the old road from Askalon to Jerusalem . The settlement had 426 inhabitants in 2018 and is located in the immediate vicinity of the ancient city of Eleutheropolis . Other variants of the name are Bethogabris , Baitogabra (Greek Βαιτογαβρά ), derived from Bet-Jibrin and, rarely, Beth Gebrin .

The ancient settlement goes back to the 6th century BC. At that time Bet Guvrin was a neighboring city of the Edomite capital Marescha . Both cities were lost to the Maccabees about 400 years later . The place became important with the beginning of Roman rule. It flourished mainly as a result of the privileges bestowed on it by Emperor Septimius Severus in 202. At the same time the city was named Eleutheropolis ( Greek : "free city"). In the centuries that followed, Eleutheropolis was the administrative seat of the largest Roman district in Palestine .

The crusader castle Gibelin , built in the 12th century on the site of the old city, was conquered by Saladin in 1187 .

In later centuries there was an Arab village. Excavations have taken place since 1921 and various mosaics were found.

Today's kibbutz was founded in 1949 by Palmach veterans on the site of an Arab village. The previous residents left the area after an attack by Israeli forces during the Israeli War of Independence in 1948 . An important economic area of the settlement is tourism.

Personalities

Epiphanius von Salamis , Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus , born around 315 in Besanduk near Eleutheropolis
Rab Jonatan from Bet Guvrin, second generation Palestinian Amora