Banyas

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Banyas
Waterfall in the nature reserve

Waterfall in the nature reserve

Data
location Syria , occupied by Israel
River system Jordan
Drain over Jordan  → Dead Sea
source in the Golan Heights
33 ° 14 ′ 54 ″  N , 35 ° 41 ′ 40 ″  E
confluence with the Dan to the Jordan Coordinates: 33 ° 11 '12 "  N , 35 ° 37' 9"  E 33 ° 11 '12 "  N , 35 ° 37' 9"  E

Catchment area 150 km²

Banyas , also Banjas or Banias ( Hebrew בניאס; Arabic بانياس, DMG Bāniyās ), is the name of the easternmost of the three source rivers of the Jordan (also called Hermon River or Nahal Hermon ) and the name of a village near the source of the river, the ancient Caesarea Philippi . Banyas is also the name of a nature reserve that includes the spring, the ancient archaeological sites and half the river.

General Information

Banyas is located at the foot of the Hermon Mountains at the northern end of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights . The border with the Israeli heartland runs not far from Banyas. The next major Israeli city is Kirjat Shmona about 15 kilometers to the west.

etymology

The name "Banyas" goes back to the Greek Paneas . Originally the entire area bore this name, which later changed to banyas in Arabic . The name "Paneas" indicates that an important sanctuary of Pan has been located on the site of the ancient site since Hellenistic times , which had replaced an earlier place of worship of Baal .

history

Hellenistic period

With the conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BC The area came under Greek influence. In the immediate vicinity of the source, a panaeon consecrated to Pan was built and the place of worship was called Paneas. At the source of the river you can still see the niches in which the statues of God stood. The first mention of Paneas is found in Xenon of Rhodes, who defeated the Battle of Paneas in 200 BC. Chr. Described. The Ptolemies and the Seleucids fought for supremacy in Palestine . In the Battle of Paneas an Egyptian army under the general Skopas was defeated by the Seleucids under Antiochus III. Megas . This defeat represents a turning point in the Fifth Syrian War and brought about the transition of the Levant to the Seleucid Empire. The sanctuary of Pan led to the settlement of the place, Banyas gradually replaced the nearby Dan as the regional center.

Caesarea Philippi

Towards the end of the first century BC The region was annexed by the Roman Empire . Emperor Augustus gave the area to Herod , who around 20 BC. In the area of ​​the sanctuary built a temple for Augustus and the goddess Roma .

After Herod's death, his kingdom was divided among his three sons . The northern part and the Golan went to Philip , who made Paneas his capital, expanded the city on the plateau in front of the cult area south of the spring pools and renamed it Caesarea Philippi. One trade route connected them with Tire , another with Damascus . Like some other places (e.g. Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast) the settlement was named in honor of the Roman emperor "Caesarea"; to distinguish the place was given the addition of "Philippi". In everyday use, however, the previous popular place name Paneas remained in use.

Even under Herod Agrippa II in the second half of the first century, Paneas remained the capital, and was expanded greatly and luxuriously. Two more temples were built east of the cave, one dedicated to Pan and the nymphs , and another to Zeus Heliopolitanus . An aqueduct was built to supply water to the higher parts of the city . Agrippa renamed the city in honor of the emperor Nero in Neronias , which was reversed after his death ( Damnatio memoriae ).

In the Bible , Caesarea Philippi is mentioned in connection with the ministry of Jesus as the place where Peter announced Jesus as the Messiah ( Matthew 16 : 13ff. And parallel passages). Jesus then names Peter the rock on which he wants to build his church and to which he hands the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The Catholic papacy has its origin with Peter in Banyas.

The church fathers also localized the healing of the woman with blood ( Mark 5:25 and parallel passages) in Caesarea Philippi. Out of gratitude, the woman is said to have set up a statue of Jesus in front of her house, which, according to tradition, was the very first statue of Jesus.

Byzantine to Syrian era

With the rise of Christianity in Byzantine times, the pan cult ended and the sanctuaries gradually fell into disrepair. The city continued to grow and became a bishopric; the titular diocese of Paneade goes back to this. Various Roman buildings were put to a different use. So was z. B. the palace of Agrippa II. To a bath house. After the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, the importance and size of the city decreased drastically, and Banyas became an insignificant village. Only in the 10th century did the population increase again due to Muslim and Jewish immigration. The religious community of Karaites had an important center here.

When the Crusaders under Tankred of Taranto conquered Galilee as part of the First Crusade in 1099, Banyas formed the natural border with the Muslim area. The Muslim rulers fortified the city of Banyas and the fortress of Nimrod, 2 km to the east . When the Muslims were weakened by internal disputes, they first lost banyas to the Crusaders in 1129. These made banyas an independent rule in the Kingdom of Jerusalem . In the period that followed, ownership of the city changed more frequently between the Crusaders and Syrian Muslims. The city was last conquered by Syrian Muslims under Nur ad-Din in 1164, and the Crusaders took it back in 1176. After Saladin's victory over the Crusaders in 1187, he also occupied Banyas, which was no longer on the border and lost its strategic importance. In the 1250s, the crusaders tried to recapture banyas for the last time and without success. The Mamluks later gave up the fortress and the city, which was then taken over by warlike Bedouin princes. The city dwindled back into an insignificant village, which it remained until the Israeli conquest in the 1967 Six Day War .

Israeli time

Excavations have been taking place in the area of ​​the sanctuary since 1988. A temple in front of the entrance to the cult cave was brought to light , which is possibly identical to the temple of Herod mentioned by Josephus , but in terms of size and material does not correspond to the description there.

To the west of the cave, archaeological investigations from 1988 onwards revealed building remains from so-called Opus reticulatum , which may be a Herod's palace, as this construction technique is otherwise only found in Herod's buildings in Palestine.

During excavations in the old city center, the main axis ( cardo ) and a monumental building, possibly a nymphaeum from the 1st century, were found. West of the Cardo, a palace-like building with elaborate arches, exedra and basins was found, probably from the time of Agrippas II . A Roman reservoir ( Granarium or Horreum ) was also found near this building .

The source of the banyas with the Pan grotto in the background.

Nature reserve

The spring pools and the upper part of the banyas are now designated as a nature reserve (subject to entry). The ancient sites, the lush green vegetation along the river, even in summer, as well as memorials to the Six Day War are accessible via three circular routes . With picnic areas at both entrances to the reserve and souvenir shops, there is a good infrastructure for tourism.

flow

The river Banyas - in Hebrew Nachal Hermon (Hermonbach) - rises in today's nature reserve at the foot of a rock face in a strong spring and drains an area of ​​about 150 square kilometers . The average annual discharge from the banyas spring is around 100 million cubic meters. Three other tributaries of the banya are the not year-round water-bearing rivers Si'on , Sa'ar and Guveta , which together add another 25 million cubic meters annually. The banyas with its three tributaries supplies about a quarter of the total water of the Jordan. Of the three source rivers of the Jordan, it is the smallest. It's also short; After about nine kilometers, the banyas unite with the Dan at the Kibbutz Sde Nehemia in the northern Hule plain with the Dan to the Jordan.

Despite the short stretch of the river, the river was heavily used for hydropower. Just a few hundred meters after the source pools there is a small power plant for generating electricity. Directly behind it, at the confluence of the Guveta, is a flour mill that was in commercial operation until the 1980s and is now run as a small museum. Several mill ruins can also be discovered further downstream; some of the hiking trails run through the dried-out water channels of the mills.

The river has a steep gradient and tumbles over numerous steps and waterfalls. The highest waterfall is located in the southern part of the reserve and with its 10 m drop is one of the main attractions. Thus, the riverbed falls faster than the surrounding terrain, so the Banyas off the waterfall at Kibbutz Senir an ever deeper gorge in places vertical cliffs dug from which he at Moshav She'ar Yashuv in the Hulaebene emerges.

In the Six Day War Israel conquered the to Syria belonging Golan and with it the area around present-day Banyas. Extensive minefields , which are still located around the nature reserve today and are marked by numerous warning signs, are evidence of this time . At the southern exit of the reserve near Kibbutz Senir is the wreck of an off-road vehicle from the Six Day War. A little outside of the reserve, in a steep, impassable section of the Banyas gorge, lies the wreck of a Syrian tank in the river. In June 1967 he was involved in the attack on Kibbutz Dan , lost his way in retreating from the IDF and fell into the ravine. The two vehicle wrecks are being preserved and cared for as “memorials”.

flora

Due to the year-round abundance of water, lush vegetation can develop, which is noticeable as a green band in the landscape even in dry summers. An extensive tree population thrives along the banya , mainly oak ( Kermes and Tabor oak), terebinths , storax and real laurel , as well as oriental plane trees , Syrian ash and European hackberry , white poplar and willow . The plane trees reach a height of 15 m here. Because of its fast and straight growth, the white poplar is planted in the reserve, the timber harvest is mainly used as construction timber in the surrounding areas. Often the trees are overgrown with wild grapevines . The vines and fruit trees such as fig , walnut , date or mulberry , which can be found in various places in the reserve, are remnants of former plantations .

Shaggy willowherb , common water dost , blue water speedwell , common loosestrife , yellow loosestrife and branchy hedgehog thrive around the spring pools . In the spring, to be held here from January to April, blooming Hyacinth Blue Star , Blue Lupine , various fireweed types, and cyclamen . The rocks around the Pan Temple are then covered with the flowers of the Egyptian silver leaf . Spreaded glassweed , spleen fern and scale fern also thrive in steep rocky areas . In autumn, after the first rains, funnel daffodils , timeless and crocuses bloom .

fauna

The animal world at the banyas is also very species-rich, some of which are difficult to discover. One of the best known and meistbeobachteten animals is the hyrax . Of the nocturnal animals, the eastern rock mouse , the golden jackal , the stone marten and the wild boar are native to the banyas, as well as a number of small rodents . Bats live in the caves and crevices of the rock face and nest rock pigeons , kestrels and the blue roe . The bank vegetation offers the wren , the prinie , the velvet warbler and the silkworm an ideal habitat.

A variety of fish live in the water such as B. the Haffaf ( Capoeta damascina ), the Jordan loam and various barbels , and water snails . Some of them are found worldwide only in the Jordan river system .

literature

Web links

Commons : Banias  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Josephus, Jüd. War, 2.168
  2. ↑ Josephus, Jüd. War, 1,404
  3. ↑ Hermon Stream (Banias) Nature Reserve