Spread in an area of 400 acres, this 7000 old city is part of modern Bet Shean National Park. Today it is one of the best archaeological sites to visit in Israel. Bet Shean in Hebrew means 'the House of Rest'. The soil of the land was so fertile that the Jewish sages used to say, "If the Garden of Eden is in the land of Israel, then its gate is Beth Shean."
In Bible, Beth-shean first appears as a Canaanite town which was assigned to the tribe of Manasseh, but fearing the iron chariots of the Canaanite inhabitants, the Israelites failed to drive the Canaanites out of Beth-shean (Joshua 17:11-16). There were at least two Canaanite temples there during the time of Saul and David: the temple of Ashtaroth and the temple of Dagon (2 Samuel 31:10; 1 Chronicles 10:10). Interestingly, archaeologists have recovered ruins of at least 5 Canaanite temples from this area. It was on Bet Shean's walls that Philistines after killing Saul and his three sons hung their decapitated bodies to humiliate the Israelites (1 Samuel 31). Finally, King Solomon reconquered Bet Shean (1 Kings 4:12).
During Greek period (3rd-2nd cent BC), the city was known as Scythopolis. At the end of 2nd cent BC, it became under Hasmonean rule and remained Jewish until Romans arrived. In 64 BC it was taken by the Romans, and made the capital of the Decapolis. The city flourished under Romans and magnificent buildings were erected. During the 4th-7th cent AD Byzantine period, Beit Shean became a predominant Christian center. After the Arab conquest (634 AD), Bet Shean declined in prominence and was renamed as Beisan. The city was drastically devastated in the severe earthquake of 749 AD. Although Beisan remained active during later periods (Abbassid, Medieval, Crusader, Ottoman and British), it never regained its previous glory.
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