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[German Version] I. Pre-Christian Period – II. Christian Archaeology I. Pre-Christian Period Bozrah (or Bostra; Arab. Bushra ash-Sham), in the southeast of the Hauran, is a crossroads of many long-distance routes. It is mentioned in Egyptian texts from the 2nd millennium. First settled in the Early Bronze Age, it was captured by Judas Maccabeus (Maccabees) (1 Macc 5:28). In the 1st century bce and the 1st century ce, it was on the edge of the Nabatean territory in southern Auranitis and was the site of an important …

[German Version] The thesis of a Decapolis founded by Pompey in 63 bce as a Hellenistic bastion against the Arabs in the East is outmoded. A self-concept as Decapolis (Gk “ten cities”) arose only in the middle of the 1st century ce when a few cities of Coelesyria attempted to escape new Herodian sovereignty by proclaiming their autonomy in the Provincia Syria (cf. the beginning of minting municipal coins with the city Tyche: Canatha 38/39, Skythopolis 39/40 [Beth-Shean], Gerasa and Hippos 67/68 ce; only Gadara, rebuilt by Pompey, minted coins from 63 bce on). In the …

[German Version] (Σοβατα, Isr. Ḥorvat Šivṭā, Arab. As-Subēta), Byzantine city in the Negeb. It was a Nabatean settlement in the late 1st century ce (pottery, a Nabatean inscription); architecture in the form of houses and stables appears in the 4th/5th centuries. It was an agricultural city (wine presses) and a pilgrimage center, with three churches. In the center is the…

[German Version] The first historical witness to the Nabateans in 311 bce (Diodorus Siculus Geographia 2.48f.; 19.94–100) describes them as a nomadic tribe responsible for trade along the Frankincense Road from Dedan in northern Arabia to Gaza. Their origin remains obscure (see Knauf). In the late 3rd century at the earliest, a process began that turned major trading posts into permanent tent settlements, with domestic architecture beginning in the early Roman period (Petra). Possibly it is wrong to speak of a Nabatean kingdom until the late 2nd century bce, when some of the Nabateans became settled and possessed a center (Petra). The term kingdom or empire suggests mis…

[German Version] (῞Ιππος, Jewish Aramaic סוסיתה/“mare,” Israeli Susita, in Arabic Qalʾat el Ḥiṣn) is a city 2 km from the eastern bank of the Sea of Galilee,…

[German Version] (Arab. el-Ḫalaṣa, Isr. Ḥalūṣā) near the Besor in the Negeb, founded by the Nabateans along the Araba-Oboda-Gaza branch of the incense road in the 3rd century bce. The oldest Nabatean inscription, found in Elusa, mentions a king Aretas (identity with 2 Macc. 5:8, 169 …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Archaeology – III. Old Testament – IV. Judaism – V. Christianity – VI. Missiology – VII. Funerary Art I. Religious Studies A burial manifests and represents the culture-bound nature of personality and religious traditions that shape community; consequently, it is also a key to the metaphysics of cultural and civil religion. The history of research in religious studies is associated on many levels with the problem of burial. Studies examine agreements and differences …

[German Version] (Νεσ[σ]άνα, modern Heb. Nizzana, Arab. Ḥafir el-ʿAugā), city in the Negev, 52 km southwest of Beer-Sheba, on the old route to Egypt; excavations were conducted by the Colt Expedition (1935–1937) and by Dan Urman (1987–1991). Nessana was founded by the Nabateans in the late Hellenistic period. Ruins …

[German Version] (Gk Πέτρα/ Pétra, “Rock,” Nab. Ramqu, “Shining”). According to the information given by Diodorus Siculus about what the Greeks took when they looted Petra in 311 bce, Petra should be identified with Khirbat as-Selaʿ, not the modern Petra, inhabited by Edomites (Edom) from the 7th to the 5th century bce. Around the mid-2nd century bce, Petra became the tribal center of the nomadic Nabateans. Until the Augustan period, Petra remained a tent city; then houses were built. There were also some 700 cliff dwellings. The densely settled city…

[German Version] (Μάμψις, Isr. Mamshit, Arab. Kurnub) town in the Negev on the road from Beer-Sheva (Beer-Sheba) to Araba, mentioned in sources of the 2nd–6th centuries; excavated by Shimon Applebaum (1956), Avraham Negev (1965–1967, 1971–1972, 1990), and Talli Erickson-Gini (1993–1994). Founded by the Nabateans c. 70 ce as an open settlement, it survived till the time of Hadrian. Important for knowledge of Nabatean dwellings built of local limestone, since timber was lacking; even roofs and shelves were made of stone. Distinctive features …

[English Version] . Bei der ersten hist. Bezeugung 311 v.Chr. (Diodorus Siculus, Geographia 2,48f.; 19,94–100) werden die Nabatäer als nomadischer Stamm beschrieben, dem der Handel auf der Weihrauchstraße von Dedan in Nordarabien nach Gaza oblag. Ihre Herkunft bleibt unklar (vgl. Knauf). Frühestens ab dem späten 3.Jh. v.Chr. setzt ein Prozeß ein, bei dem sich wichtige Handelsposten zu p…

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[English Version] (Σοβατα, isr. Ḥorvat Šivt…

[English Version] (Νεσ[σ]α´n̆α, Ivrith Nizzana, arab.…