The ancient city of Halasa or Chellous ( gr, Χελλοὺς), Elusa () in the
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, was a city in the
Negev
The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...
near present-day Kibbutz
Mash'abei Sadeh that was once part of the
Nabataean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
Incense Route
The Incense Trade Route was an ancient network of major land and sea trading routes linking the Mediterranean world with eastern and southern sources of incense, spices and other luxury goods, stretching from Mediterranean ports across the Levant ...
. It lay on the route from
Petra
Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
to
Gaza.
[Carta's Official Guide to Israel, 1983.] Today it is known as Haluza ( he, חלוצה), and during periods of Arab habitation it was known as al-Khalūṣ ( ar, الخلوص; Early Muslim period) and
Al-Khalasa
Al-Khalasa ( ar, الخلصة, al-Khalasah; he, אל-ח'אלצה, ''al-Khalatsah''), was a Palestinian village, located 23 kilometers southwest of the town of Beersheba. The village stood at the site of an ancient town from the Nabatean, Roman, By ...
(; 20th century).
In the
5th century
The 5th century is the time period from 401 ( CDI) through 500 ( D) ''Anno Domini'' (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia.
It saw the ...
it was surrounded by
vineyard
A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...
s and was famous for its wines.
[
Due to its historic importance, ]UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
declared Haluza a World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
along with Mamshit
Mampsis (Medieval Greek: Μάμψις) or Memphis (Ancient Greek: Μέμφις), today Mamshit ( he, ממשית), Arabic Kurnub, is a former Nabataean caravan stop and Byzantine city. In the Nabataean period, Mampsis was an important station on th ...
, Avdat
Avdat ( he, עבדת, ar, عبدة, ''Abdah''), also known as Abdah and Ovdat and Obodat, is a site of a ruined Nabataean city in the Negev desert in southern Israel. It was the most important city on the Incense Route after Petra, between the 1 ...
and Shivta
Shivta ( he, שבטה), originally Sobata ( gr, Σόβατα) or Subeita ( ar, شبطا), is an ancient city in the Negev Desert of Israel located 43 kilometers southwest of Beersheba. Shivta was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2005 ...
.
Name in ancient sources
The city is called 'Chellous' (Χελλοὺς) in the Greek text of Judith, i, 9 (se
Jdt 1:9
in NABRE
The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) is an English-language Catholic translation of the Bible, the first major update in 20 years to the New American Bible (NAB), which was translated by members of the Catholic Biblical Association an ...
), a work probably dating to the 1st century BCE. It is also mentioned in the 2nd century CE by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
, Peutinger's Table
' (Latin Language, Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the ''cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire.
The m ...
, Stephanus Byzantius
Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...
(fl. 6th century; as being formerly in the province of Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province ( la, Provincia Arabia; ar, العربية البترائية; grc, Ἐπαρχία Πετραίας Ἀραβίας) or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empi ...
, but "now" in Palaestina Tertia
Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Dioce ...
), Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
(c. 342–47 – 420), the pilgrim Theodosius (early 6th century), the anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza (around 570), and Joannes Moschus (c. 550 – 619). On the 6th-century Madaba Map the town appears as ''ΕΛΟΥϹΑ'', "Elusa".
In Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
's 10th-century Judeo-Arabic
Judeo-Arabic dialects (, ; ; ) are ethnolects formerly spoken by Jews throughout the Arabic-speaking world. Under the ISO 639 international standard for language codes, Judeo-Arabic is classified as a macrolanguage under the code jrb, encomp ...
translation of the Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
, the biblical town of Gerar
Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible.
Identification
According to the Internatio ...
is associated with Haluza, whom he calls ''al-Khalūṣ'' (Judeo-Arabic: ).
History
Nabataean period
The ancient site was founded by the Nabateans
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...
, probably in the late 4th or early 3rd century BCE.[ ]Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
historian Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
(d. c. 150 CE) identifies Elusa as a town in Idumea
Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...
west of the Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
.[
]
Late Roman and Byzantine periods
After the Roman annexation of Nabataea in 106 CE, Elusa grew to become the principal city of the central Negev, at the time part of the western Arabia Petraea
Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province ( la, Provincia Arabia; ar, العربية البترائية; grc, Ἐπαρχία Πετραίας Ἀραβίας) or simply Arabia, was a frontier province of the Roman Empi ...
province.[
Elusa became one of the first ]Negev
The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...
towns to have a large Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
population, and Christians and pagans lived side by side.[ While the bishops of Elusa participated in the church councils 431 and 451 CE, tombstones found in the local cemetery indicate that there were pagans living in Elusa as late as the early 5th century, when the city belonged to ]Palaestina Tertia
Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Dioce ...
.[ It was the birthplace of Zenobius, a prominent 4th-century ]rhetorician
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
in Antioch and a teacher of the influential pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
sophist
A sophist ( el, σοφιστής, sophistes) was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics, and mathematics. They taught ' ...
, Libanius
Libanius ( grc-gre, Λιβάνιος, Libanios; ) was a teacher of rhetoric of the Sophist school in the Eastern Roman Empire. His prolific writings make him one of the best documented teachers of higher education in the ancient world and a criti ...
. Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
mentions in his life of St. Hilarion
Hilarion the Great (291–371) was an anchorite who spent most of his life in the desert according to the example of Anthony the Great (c. 251–356). While St Anthony is considered to have established Christian monasticism in the Egyptian d ...
a great temple of Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
in 4th-century Elusa. Hilarion is supposed to have introduced Christianity to Elusa in the fourth century.
Early in the fifth century, a bishop of Elusa, after redeeming the son of Nilus of Sinai
Saint Nilus the Elder of Sinai (also known as Neilos, Nilus of Sinai, Nilus of Ancyra; born 4th century; died 12 November 430 or 451) was one of the many disciples and stalwart defenders of St. John Chrysostom.
Life
A native of Constantinople, Nil ...
, who had been carried off from Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai ( he , הר סיני ''Har Sinai''; Aramaic: ܛܘܪܐ ܕܣܝܢܝ ''Ṭūrāʾ Dsyny''), traditionally known as Jabal Musa ( ar, جَبَل مُوسَىٰ, translation: Mount Moses), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is ...
by the Arabs, ordained both him and his father. Other bishops known are Theodulus, 431; Aretas, 451; Peter, 518; and Zenobius, 536. The bishopric of Elusa still is included in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
's list of titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
s.
Early Muslim period
The Nessana papyri, dating to the 6th and 7th centuries, are showing that after the Muslim conquest of Palestine, the ''polis
''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...
'' retained its prominence as an administrative center during the Early Muslim period at least until the late 7th century - this in spite of the fact that none of the findings made by archaeologists up until the 1997 campaign could be firmly dated to this period.[ The Nessana papyri are showing that after the Arab conquest, the name of the city took the ]Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
form of al-Khalus.[ Eventually the town declined and the place was abandoned for centuries, becoming a place where mainly Gazans came to loot the ruins of construction stones, an activity which continued into the 20th century (]Mandate Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
).[
]
Western rediscovery, Bedouin resettlement
In 1838, Edward Robinson identified Al-Khalasa as the old Elusa based on its Arabic name.[ In 1905, the Ecole Biblique of Jerusalem studied remains and discovered the cemetery of Elusa, and in 1914 C.L. Woolley and ]T. E. Lawrence
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
(the soon-to-be "Lawrence of Arabia"), during their survey of the Negev, made an attempt of drawing a site plan, but could distinguish little more than traces of a wall and two gates.[
The constant interest of Western archaeologists in the remains of Elusa, encouraged the al-Azizma ]Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
tribe of the Negev to resettle the site. They built their small village, which they called Al-Khalasa, among the ancient ruins and next to the wells, between two ''wadi
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
''s, with houses constructed of mud and stone.[ An elementary school was established in the village in 1941, and there were several shops.][ Most of the inhabitants earned their living through animal husbandry and commerce, and used a well for drinking water.][ Al-Khalasa was taken during the ]1948 Arab-Israeli War
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
by the IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
in October 1948.
Archaeology
The ruins of Halusa are located in a large plain southwest of Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
, 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 ...
. Many inscriptions have been found there.
In 2014, two archaeological survey-excavations were conducted at Haluza on behalf of the University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
in Germany and Haifa University
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
. Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
surveys of the area are partly hampered by the presence of shifting sands. However, Nabataean streets have been found, along with two Byzantine-period churches, a theatre, wine press and tower.[The Incense Route (Israel)]
UNESCO
A Greek inscription bearing the name of the city was discovered at Elusa, tentatively dated to the time of Emperor Diocletian
Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
around 300 CE. The announcement was made in March 2019 by the excavating German–Israeli team.
Pre-Muslim decline
By analysing rubbish removed from the city, it has been determined that it underwent a major decline around the middle of the sixth century, about a century before the Islamic conquest. The excavators propose that their findings call for a reevaluation of the settlement history of the Negev region in the late Byzantine period.[ One possible cause for the crisis is raised as the ]Late Antique Little Ice Age
The Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) was a long-lasting Northern Hemispheric cooling period in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, during the period known as Late Antiquity. The period coincides with three large volcanic eruptions in 535/536, 539/5 ...
, a cold snap believed to have been caused by "volcanic winter".
Biblical association
According to a 1906 article from the ''Revue Biblique
''Revue Biblique'' is an academic journal published by the École Biblique, an institute of a French community of Dominicans based in Jerusalem. The journal was established in 1892 by Pierre Batiffol and Marie-Joseph Lagrange
Marie-Joseph Lagr ...
'' written by , in the vicinity, according to the Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
s, was the desert of Sur with the well at which the angel found Hagar
Hagar, of uncertain origin; ar, هَاجَر, Hājar; grc, Ἁγάρ, Hagár; la, Agar is a biblical woman. According to the Book of Genesis, she was an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to he ...
().
See also
*Archaeology of Israel
The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultu ...
*Tourism in Israel
Tourism in Israel is one of Israel's major sources of income, with a record 4.55 million tourist arrivals in 2019, and, in 2017, contributed NIS 20 billion to the Israeli economy making it an all-time record. Israel offers a plethora of historica ...
References
External links
* From ''The Madaba Mosaic Map centennary (1897-1997)'', a SBF book reproduced online. The page contains the A. Negev encyclopedia entry and a number of scholarly comments and links, as well as historical texts.
Incense Route - Desert Cities in the Negev
UNESCO
*
{{World Heritage Sites in Israel
World Heritage Sites in Israel
Nabataean architecture
Ramat Negev Regional Council
Nabataean sites in Israel
Elusa
Former populated places in Southwest Asia
Buildings and structures in Southern District (Israel)
Archaeological sites in Israel
6th-century disestablishments in the Byzantine Empire