Viewing entries tagged
Bethshean
We have recently mentioned Bethshean from the perspective of Mt. Gilboa. This is a view from ground level just below the tel, from the Roman Cardo Maximus. Once an Egyptian governor’s seat during the Middle Bronze Age, Beth Shean would change hands often, eventually moving from the main tel to the fully Romanized city below—due mainly to its strategic location in the Jordan Valley.
From atop Mount Gilboa, one is afforded a stunning view of the Jezreel Valley as it intersects with the Jordan Valley. At the center of this major junction is the ancient city of Beit She’an (Bethshean), where it guarded the crossing point from Pella in Jordan to the Jezreel—which would then lead on past Megiddo to the trade opportunities of International Trunk Route (sometimes called the Via Maris). This bottleneck of commerce underscores the value of Bethshean, beginning with Egyptians, Israelites, Philistines, and eventually even the empires of Alexander and Rome.
