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78-703: Sebastia (also Sebastea, Sebasteia ; Greek Σεβαστεία) may refer to: Sebastia, Nablus , a Palestinian village in the West Bank Sivas (Latin: Sebasteia ), an Ancient Roman city, now Sivas in Turkey Sebasteia (theme) , a Byzantine province named after the city Malatia-Sebastia District , in Yerevan, Armenia Sebastia (moth) , a moth genus See also [ edit ] Sant Sebastià Sebastian (disambiguation) Topics referred to by

156-667: A Canaanite language known as Biblical Hebrew . The language's modern descendant is today the only surviving dialect of the Canaanite languages . Gary Rendsburg argues that some archaic biblical traditions and other circumstantial evidence point to the Israelites emerging from the Shasu and other seminomadic peoples from the desert regions south of the Levant , later settling in the highlands of Canaan. Several theories exist for

234-454: A common ancestry of Samaritan and Jewish patrilineages. Most of the former may be traced back to a common ancestor in what is today identified as the paternally inherited Israelite high priesthood ( Cohanim ), with a common ancestor projected to the time of the Assyrian conquest of the kingdom of Israel ." A 2020 study (by Agranat-Tamr et al.) stated that there was genetic continuity between

312-677: A connection with the biblical Land of Israel . Other groups claim continuity with the Israelites, including Pashtuns , British , Black Hebrew Israelites , Igbos Mormons , and evangelical Christians that subscribe to covenant theology . Some argue that some Palestinians descend from Israelites who were not exiled by the Romans. As of 2024, only one study has directly examined ancient Israelite genetic material. The analysis examined First Temple -era skeletal remains excavated in Abu Ghosh , and showed one male individual belonging to

390-491: A genealogical basis. Other scholars argue that the distinction is based on religion. For example, Troy W. Martin argues that biblical Jewishness is based on adherence to 'covenantal circumcision', regardless of ancestry ( Genesis 17:9–14 ). In Judaism , "Israelite", broadly speaking, refers to a lay member of the Jewish ethnoreligious group, as opposed to the priestly orders of Kohanim and Levites . In legal texts, such as

468-604: A golden age, which was again the case under King Herod (r. 37-4 BCE). On the tell (archaeological mound), archaeologists uncovered various larger structures and smaller finds such as pottery sherds , from the first settlement, dating to the Early Bronze Age , from the Israelite Iron Age city, and the Hellenistic , Roman , and Byzantine periods. At the modern village site of Sebastiyeh near

546-631: A period of nominal independence for the Jewish people under the Hasmonean dynasty (140–37 BCE). Initially operating semi-autonomously within the Seleucid sphere, the Hasmoneans gradually asserted full independence through military conquest and diplomacy, establishing themselves as the final sovereign Jewish rulers before a prolonged hiatus in Jewish sovereignty in the region. Some scholars argue that Jews also engaged in active missionary efforts in

624-579: A royal Israelite palace dating from the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. 500 pieces of carved ivory were found there, which led some scholars to identify the structure with the "palace adorned with ivory" mentioned in the Bible ( 1 Kings 22:39 ). The Samaria Ostraca , a collection of 102 ostraca written in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet were unearthed by George Andrew Reisner of the Harvard Museum of

702-592: A series of inscriptions mention the " House of David ". They came from Israel's neighbors. Compared to the United Monarchy, the historicity of the Kingdom of Israel and Judah is widely accepted by historians and archaeologists. Their destruction by the Assyrians and Babylonians respectively is also confirmed by archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources. Christian Frevel argues that Yahwism

780-455: A total of 5,500 akçe . The French explorer Victor Guérin visited the village in 1870 and found it to have less than a thousand inhabitants. In 1870/1871 (1288 AH ), an Ottoman census listed the village in the nahiya (sub-district) of Wadi al-Sha'ir. In 1882, the PEF 's Survey of Western Palestine described Sebastia as "A large and flourishing village, of stone and mud houses, on

858-596: A trial at Berytus , Herod had his sons Alexander and Aristobulus IV transported to Sebastia and executed by being strangled for treason. In late antiquity , the area of Sebastia was predominantly inhabited by Samaritans. Following the Samaritan revolts against the Byzantine Empire , it was settled by Christians. Sebastia was the seat of a bishop in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem . It

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936-631: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Sebastia, Nablus Sebastia is believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the West Bank . In the 9th century BCE, it was known as Samaria , and served as the capital city of the northern Kingdom of Israel until it was destroyed by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE . It became an administrative center under Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian rule. During

1014-604: Is home to a number of important archaeological sites . In ancient times, Sebastia was known as Shomron ( Hebrew : שומרון , romanized :  Šomron ) which translates into "watch" or "watchman" in English. The city bearing the ancient Hebrew name of Shomron later gave its name to the central region of the Land of Israel , surrounding the city of Shechem (modern-day Nablus). In Greek, Shomron became known as Samaria . According to first-century historian Josephus , Herod

1092-620: Is mentioned in the writings of Yaqut al-Hamawi (1179–1229), the Syrian geographer, who situates it as part of the military district of Filastin in the province of Syria , located two days from that city, in the Nablus District. He also writes, "There are here the tombs of Zakariyyah and Yahya , his son, and of many other prophets and holy men." Saladin came to Sebastia during his expedition to central Palestine in 1184. Sebastia's bishop then released eighty Muslim captives to ensure

1170-457: Is tenuously identified with Yahweh. However, modern scholarship interprets El as the subject, "El rules/struggles", from sarar ( שָׂרַר ) 'to rule' (cognate with sar ( שַׂר ) 'ruler', Akkadian šarru 'ruler, king' ), which is likely cognate with the similar root sara ( שׂרה ) "fought, strove, contended". Afterwards, Israel referred to the direct descendants of Jacob and gentiles (i.e. resident aliens ) who assimilated in

1248-745: The First Temple , marking the kingdom's demise. Subsequently, a segment of the Judahite populace was exiled to Babylon in several waves. Judeans were progenitors of the Jews, who practiced Second Temple Judaism during the Second Temple period . With the fall of Babylon to the rising Achaemenid Persian Empire , king Cyrus the Great issued a proclamation known as the Edict of Cyrus , encouraging

1326-603: The Greco-Roman world , which led to conversions. Several scholars, such as Scot McKnight and Martin Goodman , reject this view while holding that conversions occasionally occurred. A similar diaspora existed for Samaritans but their existence is poorly documented. In 63 BCE, the Roman Republic conquered the kingdom. In 37 BCE, the Romans appointed Herod the Great as king of a vassal Judea . In 6 CE, Judea

1404-650: The Hebrew language , which was a regional variety of the Canaanite languages , known today as Biblical Hebrew . In the Iron Age , the kingdoms of Israel and Judah emerged. The Kingdom of Israel , with its capital at Samaria , fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE; while the Kingdom of Judah , with its capital at Jerusalem , was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. Some of

1482-834: The J2 Y-DNA haplogroup, a set of closely-related DNA sequences thought to have originated in the Caucasus or Eastern Anatolia, as well as the T1a and H87 mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, the former of which has also been detected among Canaanites, and the latter in Basques, Tunisian Arabs, and Iraqis, suggesting a Mediterranean, Near Eastern, or perhaps Arabian origin. A 2004 study (by Shen et al.) comparing Samaritans to several Jewish populations (including Ashkenazi Jews , Iraqi Jews , Libyan Jews , Moroccan Jews , and Yemenite Jews ) found that "the principal components analysis suggested

1560-605: The Mishnah and Gemara , ישראלי ( Yisraeli ), or Israelite, is used to describe Jews instead of יהודי ( Yehudi ), or Jew. In Samaritanism , Samaritans are not Jews יהודים ( Yehudim ). Instead, they are Israelites, which includes their Jewish brethren, or Israelite Samaritans. The history of the Israelite people can be divided into these categories, according to the Hebrew Bible : Efforts to confirm

1638-583: The Nabi Yahya Mosque , stands within the remains of a Crusader cathedral that is believed to be built upon the tombs of the prophets Elisha , Obediah and John the Baptist beside the public square. There are also Roman royal tombs, and a few medieval and many Ottoman era buildings which survive in a good state of preservation. Jordanian archaeologists had also restored the Roman theater near

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1716-690: The Nineteenth Dynasty (i.e. reign of Ramesses II ) or the Eighteenth Dynasty , but this reading remains controversial. In the Hebrew Bible, Israel first appears in Genesis 32:29 , where an angel gives the name to Jacob after the latter fought with him . The folk etymology given in the text derives Israel from yisra , "to prevail over" or "to struggle with", and El , a Canaanite- Mesopotamian creator god that

1794-653: The Palestinian Authority described as an execution, and residence described as an act of terrorism. In August, the Israeli military briefly seized the village, an act described as a routine occurrence by residents. Some of Sebastia's residents trace their origins to Azzun Atma and the vicinity of Jerusalem . The Archdiocese of Sebastia is part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem . Theodosios (Hanna) has been

1872-539: The Philistines , who were of Mycenaean Greek origin. As a result, intermarriage with other Semites was common. But what distinguished Israelite circumcision from non-Israelite circumcision was its emphasis on 'correct' timing. Israelite circumcision also served as a mnemonic sign for the circumcised, where their 'unnatural' erect circumcised penis would remind them to behave differently in sexual matters. Yom-Tov Lipmann-Muhlhausen suggests that Israelite identity

1950-641: The Sea Peoples , particularly the Dan(an)u . Nonetheless, they intermingled with the former nomads, due to socioeconomic and military factors. Their interest in Yahwism and its concern for the underprivileged was another factor. Possible allusions to this historical reality in the Hebrew Bible include the aforementioned tribes, except for Issachar and Zebulun, descending from Bilhah and Zilpah , who were viewed as "secondary additions" to Israel. El worship

2028-427: The Second Temple period , "Israel" included the members of the united monarchy, the northern kingdom, and eschatological Israel. " Jew " (or " Judean ") was another popular ethnonym but it might refer to a geographically restricted sub-group or to the inhabitants of the southern kingdom of Judah. In addition, works such as Ezra-Nehemiah pioneered the idea of an "impermeable" distinction between Israel and gentiles, on

2106-489: The Second Temple period . This event marked a cataclysmic moment in Jewish history, prompting a reconfiguration of Jewish identity and practice to ensure continuity. The cessation of Temple worship and disappearance of Temple-based sects facilitated the rise of Rabbinic Judaism , which stemmed from the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism, emphasizing communal synagogue worship and Torah study , eventually becoming

2184-631: The Tribe of Levi . Josephus quoting Manetho identifies them with the Hyksos . Other scholars believe that the Exodus narrative was a " collective memory " of several events from the Bronze Age. In addition, it is unlikely that the Israelites overtook the southern Levant by force, according to archaeological evidence. Instead, they branched out of indigenous Canaanite peoples that long inhabited

2262-403: The death penalty was legislated for these 'secret crimes', they functioned as a warning, where offenders would confess out of fear and make appropriate reparations. The historicity of the United Monarchy is heavily debated among archaeologists and biblical scholars: biblical maximalists and centrists ( Kenneth Kitchen , William G. Dever , Amihai Mazar , Baruch Halpern and others) argue that

2340-521: The "complexities of the Jewish soul". Names were significant in Israelite culture and indicated one's destiny and inherent character. Thus, a name change indicated a 'divine transformation' in one's 'destines, characters and natures'. These beliefs aligned with the Near Eastern cultural milieu, where names were 'intimately bound up with the very essence of being and inextricably intertwined with personality'. In terms of appearance, rabbis described

2418-462: The "general Southland" (i.e. modern Sinai and the southern parts of Israel and Jordan ), who abandoned their pastoral-nomadic ways. Canaanites who lived outside the central hill country were tenuously identified as Danites, Asherites, Zebulunites, Issacharites, Naphtalites and Gadites. These inhabitants do not have a significant history of migration besides the Danites, who allegedly originate from

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2496-551: The Ancient Near East . Samaria was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, and was destroyed again by Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus in 108 BCE. After Pompey rebuilt the town in the year 63 BCE, Hellenized Samaritans and the descendants of Macedonian soldiers inhabited the city. In 27 BCE, Samaria was rebuilt by Herod the Great , king of Judea . The new city was renamed "Sebastia" in honour of Roman emperor Augustus . Herod built two temples in

2574-494: The Biblical Jews as being "midway between black and white" and having the "color of the boxwood tree". Assuming Yurco 's debated claim that the Israelites are depicted in reliefs from Merneptah 's temple at Karnak is correct, the early Israelites may have wore the same attire and hairstyles as non-Israelite Canaanites. Dissenting from this, Anson Rainey argued that the Israelites in the reliefs looked more similar to

2652-674: The Bronze Age and Iron Age southern Levantines, which included the Israelites and Judahites. They could be "modeled as a mixture of local earlier Neolithic populations and populations from the northeastern part of the Near East (e.g. Zagros Mountains , Caucasians / Armenians and possibly, Hurrians )". Reasons for the continuity include resilience from the Bronze Age collapse , which was mostly true for inland cities such as Tel Megiddo and Tel Abel Beth Maacah . Elsewhere, European -related and East African -related components were added to

2730-623: The Department of Antiquities of Jordan. In the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , and after the 1949 Armistice Agreements , Sebastia came under Jordanian rule . In 1961, the population was 1,345. Since the Six-Day War in 1967, Sebastia has been held under Israeli military occupation , while the Palestinian Authority is the civil authority of the area. In modern-day Sebastia, the village's main mosque , known as

2808-466: The Exodus narrative. Israel's demographics were similar to the demographics of Ammon , Edom , Moab and Phoenicia . Besides their focus on Yahweh worship, Israelite cultural markers were defined by body, food, and time, including male circumcision , avoidance of pork consumption and marking time based on the Exodus, the reigns of Israelite kings , and Sabbath observance . The first two markers were observed by neighboring west Semites besides

2886-627: The Great renamed the city Sebastia in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus . The Greek sebastos , "venerable", is a translation of the Latin epithet augustus . The modern village name preserves the Roman-period name of Sebaste. Between 880-723/22 BCE, Samaria was the capital of the northern Israelite kingdom of Israel , also known as Samaria after its long-time capital. Under the four centuries long Mesopotamian rule (723/22-322 BCE), it reached

2964-461: The Israelite community. Hebrew is a similar ethnonym but it is usually applied whenever Israelites are economically disadvantaged or migrants. It might also refer to their descent from Eber , the grandson of Noah . During the period of the divided monarchy, "Israelites" referred to the inhabitants of the northern Kingdom of Israel , but eventually, included the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah in post-exilic usage. In literature of

3042-585: The Israelites . Canaan State of Israel (1948–present) The first reference to Israel in non-biblical sources is found in the Merneptah Stele in c.  1209 BCE . The inscription is very brief and says: "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not". The inscription refers to a people , not an individual or nation state , who are located in central Palestine or the highlands of Samaria . Some Egyptologists suggest that Israel appeared in earlier topographical reliefs, dating to

3120-780: The Judean population was exiled to Babylon , but returned to Israel after Cyrus the Great conquered the region. According to the Bible , the Israelites are the descendants of Jacob , a patriarch who was later renamed as Israel. Following a severe drought in Canaan , Jacob and his twelve sons fled to Egypt, where they eventually formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel . The Israelites were later led out of slavery in Egypt by Moses and conquered Canaan under Joshua 's leadership, who

3198-674: The Samaritans identify as "Israel", "B'nai Israel" or "Shamerim/Shomerim" (i.e. "Guardians/Keepers/Watchers"). Towards the end of the same century, the Neo-Babylonian Empire emerged victorious over the Assyrians, leading to Judah's subjugation as a vassal state . In the early 6th century BC, a series of revolts in Judah prompted the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II to lay siege to and destroy Jerusalem along with

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3276-657: The Shasu. Based on biblical literature, it is implied that the Israelites distinguished themselves from peoples like the Babylonians and Egyptians by not having long beards and chin tufts. However, these fashion practices were upper class customs. In the 12th century BCE, many Israelite settlements appeared in the central hill country of Canaan, which was formerly an open terrain. These settlements lacked evidence of pork consumption, compared to Philistine settlements, had four-room houses and lived by an egalitarian ethos , which

3354-707: The assistance of architect C.S. Fisher and D.G. Lyon. In the 1922 census of Palestine , conducted by the British Mandate authorities , Sabastia had a population of 572; 10 Christians and 562 Muslim. This had increased in the 1931 census to 753; 2 Jews, 20 Christians and 731 Muslim, in a total of 191 houses. In the 1945 statistics Sebastia had a population of 1,020; 980 Muslims and 40 Christians, with 5,066 dunams of land, according to an official land and population survey. Of this, 1,284 dunams were plantations and irrigable land, 3,493 used for cereals, while 90 dunams were built-up land. The second expedition

3432-404: The biblical account is more or less accurate, while biblical minimalists ( Israel Finkelstein , Ze'ev Herzog , Thomas L. Thompson and others) argue that Israel and Judah never split from a singular state. The debate has not been resolved, but recent archaeological discoveries by Eilat Mazar and Yosef Garfinkel show some support for the existence of the United Monarchy. From 850 BCE onwards,

3510-422: The biblical ethnogenesis of Israel through archaeology have largely been abandoned as unproductive. Many scholars see the traditional narratives as national myths with little historical value, but some posit that a small group of exiled Egyptians contributed to the Exodus narrative. William G. Dever cautiously identifies this group with the Tribe of Joseph , while Richard Elliott Friedman identifies it with

3588-464: The city. This would imply the existence of a considerable Aramean population, who called it Shamerain. In 720 BCE, Samaria fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire following a three-year siege, bringing an end to the Kingdom of Israel. After the fall of the kingdom, Samaria became an administrative center under Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian , and Achaemenid (Persian) rule. Many important archeological discoveries were made at Ancient Samaria. These included

3666-507: The city: one, dedicated to Augustus, was constructed on an elevated platform in the city's acropolis ; it was probably influenced by the Forum of Caesar in Rome . The second temple was dedicated to Kore . A large stadium was also built at the city, which was settled with 6000 veteran colonists, probably non-Jews who fought alongside Herod and helped him secure the throne. Later, in 7 BCE and after

3744-430: The disappearance of Israelite tribes from Galilee and Transjordan, it's plausible that many Israelites from Samaria survived and remained in the region. These survivors, contrary to Jewish tradition, are believed to have become the ancestors of the Samaritans, who followed Samaritanism . Research indicates that only a portion of this population intermarried with Mesopotamians settlers. In their native Samaritan Hebrew ,

3822-587: The earliest reference to a settlement at this location may be the town of Shamir, which according to the Hebrew Bible was the home of the judge Tola in the 12th century BC ( Judges 10:1–2 ). Omri is thought to have granted the Arameans the right to "make streets in Samaria" as a sign of submission ( 1 Kings 20:34 ). This probably meant permission was granted to the Aramean merchants to carry on their trade in

3900-418: The early Roman period, the city was expanded and fortified by Herod the Great , who renamed it Sebastia in honor of emperor Augustus . Since the middle of the 4th century , the town has been identified by Christians and Muslims as the burial site of John the Baptist , whose purported grave is today part of Nabi Yahya Mosque . Conquered by Muslims in the 7th century , the present-day village of Sebastia

3978-459: The exiles to return to their homeland after the Persians raised it as an autonomous Jewish-governed province named Yehud . Under the Persians ( c.  539–332 BCE ), the returned Jewish population restored the city and rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem. The Cyrus Cylinder is controversially cited as evidence for Cyrus allowing the Judeans to return. The returnees showed a "heightened sense" of their ethnic identity and shunned exogamy , which

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4056-416: The hill of the ancient Samaria. The position is a very fine one; the hill rises some 400 to 500 feet above the open valley on the north, and is isolated on all sides but the east, where a narrow saddle exists some 200 feet lower than the top of the hill. There is a flat plateau on the top, on the east end of which the village stands, the plateau extending westwards for over half a mile. A higher knoll rises from

4134-399: The hill. In 2024, the Israeli military occupied the site, wounding villagers and illegally seizing land at the summit of the tell and the town square in the process. According to residents, the Israeli military has increased incursions, arrests, and violent seizure of land at the site since October 7. In July, 19-year-old Fawzi Makhalfeh was killed by Israeli soldiers at the village, to what

4212-461: The latter is disputed. Jews and Samaritans both trace their ancestry to the ancient Israelites. Jews trace their ancestry to tribes that inhabited the Kingdom of Judah, including Judah , Benjamin and partially Levi , while the Samaritans claim their lineage from the remaining members of Ephraim , Manasseh , and Levi who were not deported in the Assyrian captivity after the fall of Israel. Other groups have also claimed affiliation with

4290-530: The majority of the inhabitants are Moslems, but some are Greek Christians ." Between 1915 and 1938, Sebastia was served by two stations on the Afula–Nablus–Tulkarm branch line of the Jezreel Valley railway : Mas'udiya station at the three-way junction, around 1.5 km to the west of the village, and Sabastiya station, around 1.5 km to the south. The site was first excavated by the Harvard Expedition, initially directed by Gottlieb Schumacher in 1908 and then by George Andrew Reisner in 1909 and 1910; with

4368-405: The norm. In addition, royal inscriptions were scarce, along with imported and decorated pottery. The Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE . The records of Sargon II of Assyria indicate that he deported part of the population to Assyria. This deportation became the basis for the Jewish idea of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel . Some Israelites migrated to

4446-436: The origins of historical Israelites. Some believe they descended from raiding groups, itinerant nomads such as Habiru and Shasu or impoverished Canaanites, who were forced to leave wealthy urban areas and live in the highlands. The prevailing academic opinion is that the Israelites were a mixture of peoples predominately indigenous to Canaan, with additional input from an Egyptian matrix of peoples, which most likely inspired

4524-435: The plateau, west of the village, from which a fine view is obtained as far as the Mediterranean Sea. The whole hill consists of soft soil, and is terraced to the very top. On the north it is bare and white, with steep slopes, and a few olives ; a sort of recess exists on this side, which is all plough-land, in which stand the lower columns . On the south a beautiful olive-grove, rising in terrace above terrace, completely covers

4602-424: The predominant expression of Judaism. Concurrently, Christianity began to diverge from Judaism, evolving into a predominantly Gentile religion. Decades later, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE) further diminished the Jewish presence in Judea , leading to a geographical shift of Jewish life to Galilee and Babylonia , with smaller communities scattered across the Mediterranean . Jews and Samaritans share

4680-434: The present plough-land. There is a large cemetery of rock-cut tombs to the north, on the other side of the valley. The neighbourhood of Samaria is well supplied with water. In the months of July and August a stream was found (in 1872) in the valley south of the hill, coming from the spring (Ain Harun), which has a good supply of drinkable water, and a conduit leading from it to a small ruined mill . Vegetable gardens exist below

4758-410: The region, which included Syria , ancient Israel , and the Transjordan region . Their culture was monolatristic , with a primary focus on Yahweh (or El) worship, but after the Babylonian exile, it became monotheistic , with partial influence from Zoroastrianism . The latter decisively separated the Israelites from other Canaanites. The Israelites used the Canaanite script and communicated in

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4836-497: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Sebastia . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sebastia&oldid=1255059554 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Latin-language text Short description

4914-460: The see's archbishop since 2005. Israelite The Israelites were a Hebrew -speaking ethnoreligious group consisting of tribes that inhabited much of Canaan during the Iron Age . The name of Israel first appears in the Merneptah Stele of ancient Egypt , dated to about 1200 BCE. Modern scholarship considers that the Israelites emerged from groups of indigenous Canaanites and other peoples. They spoke an archaic form of

4992-414: The sides of the hill, and a small extent of open terraced-land, for growing barley , exists towards the west and at the top. The village itself is ill-built, and modern, with ruins of a Crusading church of Neby Yahyah (St. John the Baptist), towards the northwest. A sarcophagus lies by the road on the north-east, but no rock-cut tombs have as yet been noticed on the hill, though possibly hidden beneath

5070-426: The southern kingdom of Judah, while those Israelites that remained in Samaria, concentrated mainly around Mount Gerizim , came to be known as Samaritans . Foreign groups were also settled by the Assyrians in the territories of the conquered kingdom. The exiled Israelites from non-Judean regions faced assimilation into the Assyrian population, unlike their counterparts from Judea. While historical records indicate

5148-411: The spring. To the east is a second spring called 'Ain Kefr Ruma, and the valley here also flows with water during part of the year, other springs existing further up it. The threshing-floors of the village are on the plateau north-west of the houses. The inhabitants are somewhat turbulent in character, and appear to be rich, possessing very good lands. There is a Greek Bishop, who is, however, non-resident;

5226-610: The tell, pottery findings were dated to the Late Roman and Byzantine periods, but also to the Early Muslim , medieval ( Crusader , Ayyubid , etc.), Ottoman and modern periods. In the 9th and the 8th centuries BCE, Samaria was capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel . According to the Hebrew Bible , Omri , the sixth king of Israel (ruled 880s–870s BCE), purchased a hill owned by an individual (or clan) named Shemer for two talents of silver, and built its new capital on its broad summit, replacing Tirzah , Israel's second capital ( 1 Kings 16:24 ). According to some biblical scholars,

5304-565: The town's safety. Niccolò Poggibonsi, an Italian monk who visited Sebaste in 1347, wrote that the town was in ruins, and that only "some Saracens and a few Samaritans" lived there. Sebastia was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1517 with all of Palestine, and in 1596 it appeared in the tax registers as being in the Nahiya of Jabal Sami, part of Sanjak Nablus . It had a population of 20 households and 3 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, olive trees, occasional revenues, goats and/or beehives;

5382-417: The town. In late 1976, the Israeli settlers movement, Gush Emunim , attempted to establish a settlement at the Ottoman train station. The Israeli government did not approve and the group that was removed from the site would later found the settlement of Elon Moreh adjacent to Nablus . The ancient site of Sebastia is located just above the built-up area of the modern day village on the eastern slope of

5460-417: Was Moses's successor. Most modern scholars agree that the Torah does not provide an authentic account of the Israelites' origins, and instead view it as constituting their national myth . However, it is supposed that there may be a "historical core" to the narrative. The Bible also portrays the kingdoms of Israel and Judah as the successors of an earlier United Kingdom of Israel , though the historicity of

5538-406: Was an independent socio-political entity for most of the 9th century BCE. Avraham Faust argues that there was continued adherence to the 'ethos of egalitarianism and simplicity' in the Iron Age II (10th-6th century BCE). For example, there is minimal evidence of temples and complex tomb burials, despite Israel and Judah being more densely populated than the Late Bronze Age. Four-room houses remained

5616-837: Was based on faith and adherence to sex-appropriate commandments. For men, it was circumcision. For women, it was ritual sacrifice after childbirth ( Leviticus 12:6 ). Genealogy was another ethnic marker. It was a matter of cultural self-identity rather than biological descent. For example, foreign clans could adopt the identity of other clans, which subsequently changed their status from "outsider" to "insider". This applied to Israelites from different tribes and gentiles. Saul Oylan argued that foreigners automatically became Israelite if they lived in their territory, according to Ezekiel 47:21–23 . That said, Israelites used genealogy to engage in narcissism of small differences but also, self-criticism since their ancestors included morally questionable characters such as Jacob. Both these traits represented

5694-605: Was central to early Israelite culture but currently, the number of El worshippers in Israel is unknown. It is more likely that different Israelite locales held different views about El and had 'small-scale' sacred spaces . Himbaza et al. (2012) states that Israelite households were typically ill-equipped to handle conflicts between family members, which may explain the harsh sexual taboos enforced against acts like incest , homosexuality , polygamy etc. in Leviticus 18–20 . Whilst

5772-461: Was exemplified by the absence of elaborate tombs, governor's mansions, certain houses being bigger than others etc. They followed a mixed economy , which prioritized self-sufficiency , cultivation of crops , animal husbandry and small-scale craft production . New technologies such as terraced farming , silos for grain storage and cisterns for rainwater collection were simultaneously introduced. These settlements were built by inhabitants of

5850-673: Was fully incorporated into the Roman Empire as the province of Judaea . During this period, the main areas of Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel were Judea, Galilee and Perea , while the Samaritans had their demographic center in Samaria . Growing dissatisfaction with Roman rule and civil disturbances eventually led to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, which ended

5928-781: Was known as the Joint Expedition, a consortium of 5 institutions directed by John Winter Crowfoot between 1931 and 1935; with the assistance of Kathleen Mary Kenyon , Eliezer Sukenik and G.M. Crowfoot. The leading institutions were the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, the Palestine Exploration Fund , and the Hebrew University . In the 1960s small scale excavations directed by Fawzi Zayadine were carried out on behalf of

6006-464: Was rooted in the culture of the Kingdom of Israel, who introduced it to the Kingdom of Judah via Ahab 's expansions and sociopolitical cooperation, which was prompted by Hazael 's conquests. Frevel has also argued that Judah was a 'vassal-like' state to Israel, under the Omrides . This theory has been rejected by other scholars, who argue that the archaeological evidence seems to indicate that Judah

6084-759: Was treated as a "permissive reality" in Babylon. Circumcision was no longer a significant ethnic marker, with increased emphasis on genealogical descent or faith in Yahweh. In 332 BCE, the Achaemenid Empire fell to Alexander the Great , and the region was later incorporated into the Ptolemaic Kingdom ( c.  301–200 BCE ) and the Seleucid Empire ( c.  200–167 BCE ). The Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule ushered in

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