Alexandrium
 Hasmonean wall at Alexandrium | |
  Shown within State of Palestine | |
| Alternative name | Alexandrion, Sartaba |
|---|---|
| Location | Jericho Governorate, West Bank |
| Region | Judea |
| Type | Fortification |
| History | |
| Builder | Probably Alexander Jannaeus |
| Founded | 1st century BC |
| Abandoned | About 70 AD |
| Periods | Hellenistic to Roman Empire |
Alexandrion or Alexandrium, sometimes referred to as Sartaba, was a fortress constructed by the Hasmoneans[1] between Scythopolis and Jerusalem on a pointy barren hill towering over the Jordan Valley from the west.[2] It was likely named after Hasmonean king Alexander Jannæus (104-77 BCE).
Name
The fortress called Alexandreion in Greek, simplified to Alexandrion and latinised to Alexandrium, is mentioned by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews. It was mentioned in the Mishna and Talmud as Sartaba, and is now called Qarn Sartabe (lit. "Horn of Sartabe") in Arabic.[3]
History
Alexandrium was constructed by the Hasmoneans near the border with Samaria to accommodate a military garrison, as well as to guard political prisoners.[4] It is later mentioned during Pompey the Great's conquest of Judea as a stronghold of Aristobulus II: "When, in the year 64, Pompey marched past Pella and Scythopolis to Coreæ, on the northern boundary of Judea, Aristobulus II fell back on Alexandrium."[5]
The Alexandreion was restored by Herod the Great, a task he assigned to his brother Pheroras. Herod gave it the character of a palatial desert fortress, similar to those he built or rebuilt at Masada, Herodion and Machaerus. Herod used the fortress as a prison for his political opponents, holding his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexandra there in 30 BCE. It was also the burial site of Alexander and Aristobulus, two of his sons Herod had executed at Sebaste in 7 BCE.[2]
Alexandrium was finally razed by Vespasian or Titus during the Great Revolt.[6]
References
Notes
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13:417
- ^ a b Rocca 2008, pp. 30-32
- ^ Abraham Schalit, König Herodes. Der Mann und sein Werk. Walter de Gruyter Inc., Studia Judaica, 2001, p. 12, footnote 40. German: "Josephus, AJ, XIV, 3, 4 (Par. 49). Alexandreion ist das Sartaba der Mischnah und des Talmud, heute Qarn Sartabe, etwa drei Meilen südwestlich von der Mündung des Jabboq in den Jordan." English translation: "Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XIV, 3, 4 (par. 49). Alexandreion is the Sartaba of the Mishnah and Talmud, today's Qarn Sartabe, about three miles southwest of the confluence of the Jabboq with the Jordan." [1]
- ^ Rocca 2008, p. 12
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:48
- ^ Krauss, Samuel. "ALEXANDRIUM". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
Bibliography
- Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator (1895). The Works of Flavius Josephus. Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- Rocca, Samuel (2008). The Forts of Judaea 168 BC – AD 73. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-171-7.
External links
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