Benjamin Mazar

Benjamin Mazar (Hebrew: בנימין מזר, born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 - September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology of Israel that also attracts considerable international interest due to the region's biblical links. He is known for his excavations at the most significant biblical site in Israel: south and south west of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In 1932, he conducted the first archaeological excavation under Jewish auspicious in Israel at Beit She'arim (the largest catacombs ever found in Israel) and in 1948 was the first archaeologist to receive a permit granted by the new State of Israel (Tell Qasila, 1948). Mazar was trained as an Assyriologist and was an expert on biblical history, authoring more than 100 publications on the subject. He developed the field of historical geography of Israel. For decades he served as the chairman of the Israel Exploration Society and of the Archaeological Council of Israel (which he founded as the authority responsible for all archaeological excavations and surveys in Israel). Between 1951 and 1977, Mazar served as Professor of Biblical History and Archaeology at the Hebrew University in West Jerusalem. In 1952 he became Rector of the University and later its president for eight years commencing in 1953.

He founded the Hebrew University's new campus at Givat Ram and Hadasah Medical School and Hospital at Ein Karem and led the academic development of the university into one of the leading Universities of the World (see Academic Ranking of World Universities). He was regarded by his students as an inspiring teacher and academic leader and many of these students are now considered leading historians and archaeologists in Israel today.

Benjamin Mazar in 1936, at Bet Shearim

Biography

Mazar was born in Ciechanowiec, Poland. He was educated at Berlin and Giessen universities in Germany. At age 23 he emigrated to Palestine (then under the British Mandate) and in 1943 joined the faculty of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem whose original campus at Mount Scopus became isolated in the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

Archaeological career

In 1936 Mazar started the excavations of Beth Shearim, the first archaeological excavation organized by a Jewish institution, and uncovered there the large Jewish catacombs dated to the 2nd-4th centuries AD, known as the burial place of the Jewish leader Rabi Yehuash Hanasi. In 1949 he was the first archaeologist to receive a permit to dig in the new State of Israel, and explored the Philistine town of Tel Qasile in northern Tel Aviv. Later he conducted excavations at Ein Gedi and between 1968 and 1978 directed the excavations south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and near the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount which uncovered extensive remains from the Second Temple period.

Mazar family

Benjamin Mazar's son Ory Mazar, granddaughter Eilat Mazar, grandson Dan Mazar and nephew Amihai Mazar all played an important role in the study of or dissemination of Israeli archaeology and historical knowledge. Eilat Mazar has been a frequent spokesperson for concerns regarding the archaeology of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem while Amihai Mazar was the recipient of the 2009 Israel Prize for Archaeology. Benjamin Mazar is the brother-in-law of Israel's second and only three-term President, Yitzhak Ben Zvi.

Awards

• In 1968, Mazar was awarded the Israel Prize, for Jewish studies.
• Also in 1968, he received the Yakir Yerushalayim (Worthy Citizen of Jerusalem) award.

See also

• Archaeology of Israel
• Biblical archaeology
• List of Israel Prize recipients