Hyrcania (fortress)
Hyrcania (Ancient Greek: Ὑρκανία; Arabic: خربة المرد "Khirbet el-Mird"; Hebrew: הורקניה Horcania) was an ancient fortress in the Judean Desert. It was built by Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus or his son Alexander Jannaeus in the 2nd or 1st century BCE (in the Hellenistic part of the Second Temple period). The fortress was rebuilt and greatly expanded by King Herod (r. 37-4 BCE; Roman period). After Herod's death Hyrcania was abandoned, only to be resettled during the Byzantine period, when a late-5th century monastery named Kastellion was established on the ruined fortress, which remained active until the early 9th century. There was a short-lived attempt by monks to rebuild in the 1920s-30s. The ancient ruins can still be seen today.
Ὑρκανία | |
The ruins of the fortress at the acropolis of Hyrcania | |
Shown within State of Palestine | |
| Location | Bethlehem Governorate, West Bank |
|---|---|
| Region | Judea |
| Coordinates | 31°43′11″N 35°21′56″E |
| Type | Fortification |
| History | |
| Builder | John Hyrcanus or Alexander Jannaeus |
| Founded | 2nd or 1st century BC |
| Abandoned | 14th century CE |
| Periods | Hellenistic to Late Middle Ages |
| Cultures | Hellenistic-Jewish, Byzantine |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Oren Gutfeld and Michal Haber (2023, HUJI) |
The site is located on an isolated hill about 200 m above the Hyrcania valley, on its western edge. It is about 5 km west of Qumran, and 16 km east of Jerusalem. Until the start of a 2023 archaeological campaign, the site had not yet been thoroughly excavated. Until then, knowledge about the ruins of the site was based on a limited number of test pits.