Elusa (Haluza)

Coordinates: 31°05′49″N 34°39′07″E / 31.097°N 34.652°E / 31.097; 34.652
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Elusa (disambiguation).
Haluza
חלוצה‎ - الخلصة
Elusa (Haluza) is located in Israel
Elusa (Haluza)
Shown within Israel
Alternative nameHalasa
Chellous
al-Khalasa
Elusa
LocationSouthern District, Israel
RegionNegev
Coordinates31°05′49″N 34°39′07″E / 31.097°N 34.652°E / 31.097; 34.652
TypeSettlement
History
CulturesNabataean, Roman
Site notes
ConditionIn ruins
Europe and North America

The ancient city of Halasa or Chellous (

Arabic: الخلوص; Early Muslim period) and Al-Khalasa (الخلصة; 20th century).[2]

In the 5th century it was surrounded by vineyards and was famous for its wines.[1]

Due to its historic importance,

Mamshit, Avdat and Shivta
.

Name in ancient sources

The city is called 'Chellous' (Χελλοὺς) in the

Joannes Moschus (c. 550 – 619).[5] On the 6th-century Madaba Map
the town appears as ΕΛΟΥϹΑ, "Elusa".

In

Pentateuch, the biblical town of Gerar is associated with Haluza, whom he calls al-Khalūṣ (Judeo-Arabic: 'אלכ'לוץ‎).[6]

History

Nabataean period

The ancient site was founded by the

Idumea west of the Jordan River.[2]

Late Roman and Byzantine periods

See also: Gaza wine

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 province.[2]

Elusa became one of the first

St. Hilarion a great temple of Aphrodite in 4th-century Elusa.[8] Hilarion is supposed to have introduced Christianity to Elusa in the fourth century.[9]

Early in the fifth century, a bishop of Elusa, after redeeming the son of Nilus of Sinai, who had been carried off from Mount Sinai by the Arabs, ordained both him and his father.[10] Other bishops known are Theodulus, 431; Aretas, 451; Peter, 518; and Zenobius, 536.[11] The bishopric of Elusa still is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[12]

Early Muslim period

The

Mandate Palestine).[2]

Western rediscovery, Bedouin resettlement

See also: Al-Khalasa

In 1838, Edward Robinson identified Al-Khalasa as the old Elusa based on its Arabic name.[2] 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 (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.[2]

The constant interest of Western archaeologists in the remains of Elusa, encouraged the al-Azizma

IDF in October 1948.[14]

Archaeology

Besor
River

The ruins of Halusa are located in a large plain 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Beersheba, Israel. Many inscriptions have been found there.[15]

In 2014, two archaeological survey-excavations were conducted at Haluza on behalf of the

Haifa University.[16] Archaeological 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.[17]

Isometric view of Elusa Cathedral (East Church), 1980 dig, Mississippi State University & Hebrew University of Jerusalem

A Greek inscription bearing the name of the city was discovered at Elusa, tentatively dated to the time of Emperor Diocletian around 300 CE. The announcement was made in March 2019 by the excavating German–Israeli team.[18]

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.[19] The excavators propose that their findings call for a reevaluation of the settlement history of the Negev region in the late Byzantine period.[19] One possible cause for the crisis is raised as the Late Antique Little Ice Age, a cold snap believed to have been caused by "volcanic winter".[20]

Biblical association

According to a 1906 article from the

Hagar (Genesis 16:7).[21][clarification needed
]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Carta's Official Guide to Israel, 1983.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-8264-1316-1. Retrieved 25 July 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help
    )
  3. ^ V:xv:10
  4. ^ In Isaiam V:xv, 4
  5. ^ Pratum Spirituale, clxiv
  6. ^ Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Judeo-Arabic Translation of the Pentateuch (Tafsir), s.v. Genesis 10:19, Genesis 20:2, Genesis 26:17, 20. On Haluza's proximity to Gerar, see: M. Naor, Gerar — Tell el Far'a, Bulletin of the Israel Exploration Society (1955), pp. 99–102 (Hebrew)
  7. ^ Negev (2001), p. 157. Source mis-names Zenobius as Libanius (a student of Zenobius).
  8. ^ "Vita Sancti Hilarionis", 25, in Patrologia Latina, XXIII, col.41
  9. ^ Jerome, loc.cit.
  10. ^ Patrologia Graeca LXXIX:373-93
  11. Lequien
    , Oriens Christianus III, 735
  12. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 888
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-88728-224-5
    .
  14. ^ Welcome to al-Khalasa at PalestineRemembered.com, Archived 2010-08-20 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2008-05-17
  15. ^ Revue Biblique, 1905, 246-48, 253-55
  16. ^ Israel Antiquities Authority, Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2014, Survey Permits # G-67 and # G-69.
  17. ^ The Incense Route (Israel) UNESCO
  18. ^ "Unique 1,700-year-old Greek inscription unearthed at Incense Route city in Negev". The Times of Israel. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  19. ^
    PMID 30910983.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  20. ^ "Muslim conquest wasn't behind Negev towns' collapse 1,300 years ago. It was something else". Haaretz.com.
  21. ^ Jaussen, Antonin (1906). "Le puits d'Agar" [The Wells of Hagar]. Revue Biblique (in French). 3 (New Series) (4 (October)). Paris (printed in): École Biblique: 595-600 (see 597). Retrieved 25 July 2021.

External links

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