Deir Qeruh church: the nave with the door at its western end Deir Qeruh ( ar, دير قروح "

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

of Qeruḥ") is a ruined

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

-period village in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

, located within an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i national park, the

Gamla nature reserve Gamla nature reserve is a nature reserve and archaeological site located in the center of the Golan Heights, about 20 km south to the Israeli settlement of Katzrin. It adjoins the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve. The nature reserve stretch ...

. Gamla Nature Reserve
at the

Israel Nature and Parks Authority The Israel Nature and Parks Authority ( he, רשות הטבע והגנים ''Rashut Hateva Vehaganim''; ar, سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, ...

site. Accessed July 12, 21018. The village was located near

Gamla Gamla, alt. sp. Gamala ( he, גַּמְלָא, The Camel) was an ancient Jewish city on the Golan Heights. It is believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars which was turned into a city under Hasmonean rule in 81 B ...

, a much older fortified town. Deir Qeruh was founded in the 4th century CE, and a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

and monastery were built there in the 6th century. Deir Qeruḥ
at Creighton University website. Accessed July 2018. The village was abandoned in the mid-7th century following the

Arab conquest The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territorie ...

, and inhabited again during the 13th and 14th centuries, in the Mamluk period. A modern Syrian village rose at the site in the 20th century, and was again abandoned after the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

, when it came under Israeli control. Explanatory sign
of the

Monastery and Church of Saint George

The north-eastern part of the village is the best preserved, and includes a monastery centered around a church, founded in the 6th century and dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...

, who is mentioned on the lintel at the church entrance. The church has a square apse - a feature known from ancient Syria and Jordan, but not present in churches west of the Jordan River. After the abandonment of Deir Qeruh in the seventh century and the later resettlement of the site, the monastic complex was used for other purposes. Deir Qeruh, remains of a house

External links

Deir Qeruḥ
at Creighton University website: 360° photos with 3D option (taken in 2006), interactive plan of the monastery, short explanatory text. Accessed July 2018.
Photos of village ruins
*Photo of the church interior

from south aisle

Bibliography

* Ma'oz, Zvi Uri: ''Deir Qeruh'', 1983, in "Hadashot Arkheologiyot - Excavations and Surveys in Israel" 2: 23–25,

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

. Bibliographies for Theology
Kripke Center at

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

. Accessed 12 July 2018 * Ma'oz, Zvi Uri: ''Deir Qeruh'', 1993, pp. 348–49 in "The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land", 4 volumes,

Ephraim Stern Ephraim Stern ('','' January 15, 1934 – March 23, 2018) was an Israeli archaeologist and professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He specialized in the archaeology of ancient Israel and Judah and Phoenicia,

(ed.), New York: Simon & Schuster; Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society & Carta.

References

{{reflist Golan Heights