Gamla (), also Gamala, was an ancient Jewish town on the Golan Heights. Believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars, it transitioned into a predominantly Jewish settlement that came under Hasmonean rule in 81 BCE.

Gamla served as a key rebel stronghold during the Great Jewish Revolt against Rome. In the summer of 67 CE, after an extended siege and battle, Roman forces under Vespasian ultimately captured the town and massacred its inhabitants. The Jewish historian Josephus, who accompanied the Roman army, provides detailed accounts of these events in his work, The Jewish War.

The remains of Gamla were discovered in the 1968 survey of the Golan, Located approximately 10 kilometers inland from the Sea of Galilee,

In Rabbinic literature, Gamla is listed among the "walled towns from the time of Joshua." This inclusion could have been influenced by the remains of the Early Bronze Age wall, which were still visible during the Second Temple period.

Hellenistic and Hasmonean periods

thumb|upright|Gamla under the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean Kingdom]]

The site became host to a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars (3rd century BCE), according to Josephus, in The Jewish War after Alexander Jannaeus captured it from the Seleucid ruler Demetrius Eucaerus.

Scholarly consensus places Jewish settlement in the Golan region, including Gamla, as a consequence of Jannaeus' conquests. The town's name, "Gamla" (Hebrew: גמלא), with a final aleph, may suggest Aramaic-speaking Jewish inhabitants, possibly post-exilic returnees from Babylonian captivity. However, an alternative spelling used in the Jerusalem Talmud (Hebrew: גמלה) with a final he, may contradict this. The town grew as it became a haven for refugees fleeing the Roman advance in Galilee. Archaeological evidence, such as hearths and storage jars, confirms the presence of a large population. During the revolt, the town minted its own coins, likely more as propaganda than currency. These coins, bearing the inscription "For the redemption of Jerusalem the H(oly)" in a mixture of paleo-Hebrew (biblical) and Aramaic, have been found in only six instances. Josephus gives a very detailed topographical description of the city, which he also referred to as Gamala, and the steep ravines which precluded the need to build a wall around it. Only along the northern saddle, at the town's eastern extremity, was a 350 meter-long wall built. It was constructed by blocking gaps between existing houses and destroying houses that lay in its way. The inhabitants of the city, including armed rebels, were, according to Josephus, only 9,000 people. Kenneth Atkinson calls this number clearly exaggerated. Nevertheless, Danny Syon writes that before the siege Gamla became a refuge city to which both insurgents from all over the Galilee and residents of the surrounding villages flocked. There were not enough places in the city, and even the Gamla Synagogue was adapted to accommodate refugees. Although Josephus, who led the consolidation of the defense of Gamla, describes it as a fortress, archaeological findings show that in fact the walls were constructed in fragments, filling in the gaps between buildings to create a continuous line of fortifications.

Josephus also provides a detailed description of the Roman siege and conquest of Gamla in 67 CE by components of legions X Fretensis, XV Apollinaris and V Macedonica. The Romans first attempted to take the city by means of a siege ramp, but were repulsed by the defenders. Only on the second attempt did the Romans succeed in breaching the walls at three different locations and invading the city. They then engaged the Jewish defenders in hand-to-hand combat up the steep hill. Fighting in the cramped streets from an inferior position, the Roman soldiers attempted to defend themselves from the roofs. These collapsed under the heavy weight, killing many soldiers In previous years, the site had been identified with Tell ed-Drāʿ, a place ca. east of the Sea of Galilee in the Ruqqad river-bed, based on Konrad Furrer's identification of the site in 1889. It was only properly identified in 1968 by Itzhaki Gal, after the Israeli conquest of the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War. Additional excavations were carried out on the site in 2008 and 2010, by Haim Ben David and David Adan-Bayewitz on behalf of Bar-Ilan University's Land of Israel Studies Department, and by Danny Syon on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

With the destruction of the town by the Roman army, Gamla was abandoned, never to be rebuilt. Archaeological excavations there have revealed widespread evidence for the battle that took place at the site. About 100 catapult bolts have been uncovered, as well as 1,600 arrowheads and 2,000 ballista stones, the latter all made from local basalt. This is a quantity unsurpassed anywhere in the Roman Empire.

Synagogue

thumb|[[Gamla Synagogue]]One of the world's earliest known synagogues was discovered in Gamla, and is believed to date back to the late 1st century BCE.

Present-day Gamla

thumb|[[Israeli Druze visiting Gamla]]

In Israel there is a phrase "Gamla will not fall again," meaning that control of the Golan Heights is strategically important for Israel's security. Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud party and the Israeli Prime Minister, said in 2009 that the Golan cannot return to Syria for this reason.

<gallery widths="150px" heights="150px" perrow="4">

File:Gamla ruin.jpg|The breach in the wall of Gamla

File:Gamla Eagles 06.jpg|The Gamla vulture look-out

File:Gamla Synagogue (5).JPG|Ancient Gamla synagogue

File:GAMLA D AERIAL.JPG|Gamla in springtime

File:Black-basalt stones used in house construction - Gamla.jpg|House made of basalt stones in Gamla

File:Wall of Gamla (2).jpg|Defensive wall in Gamla

File:Basalt stone olive press at Gamla (Byzantine period.jpg|Olive-oil press from Byzantine era at Gamla

File:Gamla – Hashmonean Quarter (5).JPG|Mikveh remnant in the Hasmonean quarter of Gamla

</gallery>

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • <cite id=JosephusA> Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator (1895). The Works of Flavius Josephus – Antiquities of the Jews. Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 16 October 2010.</cite>
  • <cite id=JosephusB> Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator (1895). The Works of Flavius Josephus – The Wars of the Jews. Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 16 October 2010.</cite>
  • <cite id=Rocca2008></cite>
  • <cite id=Syon2014></cite>