:: wikimiki.org ::
| White Dwarf |
TzipporiTzippori, also known by several other names & spellings including "Sepphoris," is one of the oldest Jewish community to be uncovered by archaeologists, and one of the richest in what has been found there. It is located in the central Galilee, and features not only Jewish homes and one of the oldest synagogues in the country, but also a Roman theater and a Crusader fortress.
The site is designated a national park, and is a popular destination among Jewish tourist groups. Today's modern town of Tzippori sits a few miles from the archaeological site.
History
The city was established sometime around the year 100 BC, on a hill, giving it some degree of strategic advantage over the Hasmonean tribes which had taken over much of the region. The founder is said to be Alexander Jannaeus, and it was named after the Hebrew word for 'bird,' tsippor, perhaps because of the birds'-eye-view the hilltop provides.
In the year 37 BCE, the city was taken by the Romans, when, according to contemporary historians, the inhabitants fled during a snowstorm. The inhabitants of Tzippori organized a revolt and fought back, but were ultimately defeated and sold into slavery. Sepphoris, as the Romans now called the city, became the capital of the Galilee, of which Herod's son Herod Antipas was made Tetrarch, or governor. The Jews of Sepphoris did not join in the revolts of 66 CE, instead surrendering peacefully to the Roman general Vespasian. They were rewarded by having their city, like Tiberias, spared from the destruction that many other Jewish cities, including Jerusalem suffered.
Tzippori grew in the next few centuries, both in terms of size and importance. Following the Bar Kokhba's revolt in 132–135, many Jewish refugees moved to Tzippori, making it the center of religious and spiritual life in Israel. Within the next few centuries, Tzippori also saw Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, one of the writers of the Mishnah, a commentary on the Torah, join its community, and the moving, temporarily, of the Sanhedrin, the chief Jewish religious court, there. Jewish academies became based there, and Sepphoris, now called 'Diocaeserea' in honor of Zeus and the Roman Emperor, became not only a center of spiritual and religious study, but also a busy trade route town.
In 363, Tzippori was destroyed by an earthquake, but rebuilt soon afterwards, retaining its importance in the greater Jewish community of the Galilee, both socially and spiritually. Jews and pagan Romans lived peacefully alongside one another during the Byzantine period, and the city soon gained a number of Christians, as well. It was only after the Arab conquest in the late 7th century that the city declined.
The early 12th century brought the Crusaders to Israel. They built a fortress and watchtower atop the hill, overlooking Tzippori, and dedicated it to Anne and Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary. This became one of their local bases, and in 1187, the Crusaders were dispatched from Sepphoris to fight the Battle of Hattin, against Saladin. They were defeated at Hattin, and the Third Crusade ultimately failed as a whole. The fortress in Tzippori therefore, presumably, went unused from then on.
Under Saladin's rule, and the various Arab empires that would follow, including that of the Ottomans, Tzippori declined, losing its centrality and importance, and probably nearly all of its Jewish population. The Jewish and Roman buildings gradually became covered in dirt and rubble, lost and forgotten, as Arabs established a small village a short distance away, calling it Saffuriyya. They converted parts of the Crusader fortress into a girls' school, but left the remainder of the Jewish and Roman town unused.
Tzippori, and the nearby Arab village of Saffuriyya came under Israeli control once more following the Israel War of Independence in 1948. Archaeological research began in force there in 1990, and much of the town has now been excavated.
Archaeological Sights and Finds
The Crusader fortress sits high atop the hill, overlooking both the Roman theater and the majority of the Jewish city. It was built in the 12th century, using Roman elements, and was rebuilt by the Ottomans in the 18th century, and then converted into a girls' school, and used for this purpose until 1948. Today the fortress houses a small museum, and provides a beautiful view of the surrounding area from its rooftop.
1948
Much of the town itself has been excavated, revealing Jewish homes along a main cobblestone street. Several images have been found carved into the stones of the street, including that of a menorah, and another image that resembles some ancient game reminiscent of tic-tac-toe. Mikva'ot (pl. of Mikvah ), or Jewish ritual baths, have been found as well, identified by the steps leading to the bottom, carved out of the earth along with the rest of the bath.
The Roman theater sits on the northern slope of the hill, and is about 45 m in diameter, seating 4500. Most of it is carved into the hillside, but some parts are supported by separate stone pillars. The theater shows evidence of ancient damage, probably from the earthquake in 363, but also quite possibly from the Arab conquest.
363
The remains of a 6th century synagogue have been uncovered in the lower section of the city, evidence of an interesting fusion of Jewish and pagan beliefs. In the center of the floor is a mosaic depicting the zodiac wheel. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot, and each zodiac is matched with a Jewish month. Along the sides of the mosaic are strips depicting Biblical scenes, such as the binding of Isaac, as well as traditional rituals, including a burnt sacrifice and the offering of fruits and grains.
Isaac
A modern structure stands to one side of the excavations, protecting the remains of a 5th century public building, with a large and intricate mosaic floor. Some believe the room was used for festival rituals involving a celebration of water, and possibly covering the floor in water. Drainage channels have been found in the floor, and the majority of the mosaic seems devoted to measuring the floods of the Nile, and celebrations of those floods.
Finally, a Roman villa is arguably the centerpiece of the discoveries, containing one of the most famous mosaics in all of Israel. It was built around the year 200, and destroyed in the earthquake in 363. The villa is in the traditional form of a triclinium; seats would have been arranged in a U-shape around the mosaic, triclinium and people would have reclined while dining and drinking, talking and contemplating the mosaic images. The mosaic, for the most part, is devoted to Dionysus, god of wine, and of socializing. He is seen along with Pan and Hercules in several of the 15 panels.
The centerpiece of the mosaic floor, however, at least for the archaeologists, is an image of a young lady, possibly meant to be Venus, which the researchers have dubbed "The Mona Lisa of the Galilee." Smaller mosaic pieces, called tesserae, were used to allow for greater detail and a more life-like result. The image is certainly more life-like, and more detailed (as in the shading and blush of her cheeks) than most expect mosaics to be.
References
- "[http://cms.hillel.org/Hillel/Israel/Trips+and+Opportunities/BRI+site/About+Israel/Zippori.htm Zippori]." Hillel International. (Accessed 12 Jan 2005).
- "[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/history/early+history+-+archaeology/archaeological+sites+in+israel+-+zippori.htm Zippori]." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Accessed 9 February 2005)
- "[http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/archaeology/Zippori/index.htm Zippori]." Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (Accessed 9 February 2005)
- "[http://www.jafi.org.il/education/noar/sites/Tzipor.htm Tzippori]." Jewish Agency for Israel/Education Dept. (Accessed 9 February 2005)
External Links
- http://netfinity2.palestineremembered.com/Nazareth/Saffuriyya/index.html
Category:Ancient Israel and Judah
Category:Archaeological sites
Category:Geography of Israel
Category:Jewish history
Category:Crusader castles
samsung true tone darmowe mp3 cukrzyca kalorie wegetarianizm
|
|
|
|
