Phasaelis

Fortresses of Herod

Phasaelis is an archaeological site in the Palestinian Authority (Jericho Governorate). The soil monument is located north of the village of el-Faṣajil , in whose name the ancient Phasaelis can still be recognized.

Phasaelis was probably founded by the Jewish King Herod the Great after 30 BC. Founded in the Jordan Valley and was named after Herod in 40 BC. BC deceased brother Phasael . The neighboring, hitherto desert area was opened up to lively commercial activity. As Herod 4 BC Died his sister Salome inherited the city. Salome, who died around 10 AD, bequeathed Phasaelis and the city of Jamnia to her friend, the Empress Livia, in her will . Then Phasaelis passed to Tiberius and subsequently remained in imperial possession.

The city was famous for its nearby date palm forests. It is also recorded on the Byzantine mosaic map of Madaba . Around 600 AD the saintly living monk George of Cappadocia built a church in Phasaelis in honor of Saint Kyriakos . In the 7th century the geographer of Ravenna mentions the village under the name Fasselide .

Excavations have not yet taken place, so the remains of the ancient site found in surveys cannot be interpreted with certainty. Instead of a city, there could also have been a royal estate, perhaps with a palace.

literature

Ernst Honigmann : Phasaelis. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XIX, 2, Stuttgart 1938, column 1874.
Phasaelis. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 9, Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-01479-7 , column 756.
Michael Avi-Yonah : Phasaelis , in: Encyclopaedia Judaica , 2007 ( online at encyclopedia.com)
Günther Harder : Herod's castles and Herod's cities in the Jordan Valley . In: Journal of the German Palestine Association , Vol. 78 (1962), pp. 49–63, here pp. 54–60.
Adam Zertal, Shay Bar: The Manasseh Hill Country Survey , Volume 5: The Middle Jordan Valley from Wadi Fasael to Wadi 'Aujah (2019), Part Two, Chapter Three: Nahal and Fasael Valley - Landscape Unit 31, Khirbet Fusayil (Phasaelis) , pp. 165-174

Remarks

↑ Flavius Josephus ( Jewish antiquities 16, 145; 17, 189; 18; 31; Jewish War 1, 418; 2; 98; 2, 167) gives the name of the city as Stadtασαηλίς . Pliny ( Naturalis historia 13, 44 and 21, 24) among others call them Phaselis .
Jump up ↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 16, 145 and Jüdischer Krieg 1, 418.
^ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 17, 189 and Jüdischer Krieg 2, 98.
^ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 18, 31 and Jüdischer Krieg 2, 167.
↑ Pliny, Naturalis historia 13, 44.
↑ Johannes Moschos , Pratum spirituale 92.
↑ Othmar Keel , Max Küchler : Places and landscapes of the Bible. A handbook and study guide to the Holy Land . Volume 2: The South, Göttingen 1982, SS 562 f.
^ Ehud Netzer : The architecture of Herod, the great builder . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2006, p. 226.

[1] Flavius Josephus ( Jewish antiquities 16, 145; 17, 189; 18; 31; Jewish War 1, 418; 2; 98; 2, 167) gives the name of the city as Stadtασαηλίς . Pliny ( Naturalis historia 13, 44 and 21, 24) among others call them Phaselis .

[2] Jump up ↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 16, 145 and Jüdischer Krieg 1, 418.

[3] Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 17, 189 and Jüdischer Krieg 2, 98.

[4] Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 18, 31 and Jüdischer Krieg 2, 167.

[5] Pliny, Naturalis historia 13, 44.

[6] Johannes Moschos , Pratum spirituale 92.

[7] Othmar Keel , Max Küchler : Places and landscapes of the Bible. A handbook and study guide to the Holy Land . Volume 2: The South, Göttingen 1982, SS 562 f.

[8] Ehud Netzer : The architecture of Herod, the great builder . Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2006, p. 226.