Seleucid Nysa-Scythopolis in the Framework of Hellenistic Foundations in the Levant

The region of the southern Levant and the period have special relevance for Hellenistic foundations because they incorporate the framework in which early Judaism had crystalized and from which Christianity also emerged. The impact of Hellenism on Judaism is regarded as a crucial encounter in influencing later developments and a differentiated understanding of this period and region is needed. To date, a systematic analysis of the material culture of the Hellenistic southern Levant, and particularly, the most visible agent of Hellenization – the foundation of cities – is lacking. This volume seeks to close this research gap. The Seleucid foundation Nysa-Scythopolis is taken as a starting point for the investigation. The Seleucid city was founded on a mound near biblical Beth She’an, which was occupied under Ptolemaic rule. However, the 2nd century BCE Seleucid settlement was not founded on the Ptolemaic occupied site, but rather on a neighboring hill, known today as Tell Iẓṭabba. With its foundation under Antiochos IV the settlement became home to a Seleucid community until 107 BCE when the city was destroyed by the expanding Hasmonean state and never to be rebuilt at the same site. The Early Roman city was reestablished in the 1st century BCE at a different location, closer to the biblical mound, encompassing the area of its southern foothills. Subsequently Tell Iẓṭabba was not rebuilt until the Byzantine period, when the tell was crossed by the Byzantine city walls and parts of it were covered by intra and extra mural ecclesiastical structures. This situation made Tell Iẓṭabba and Seleucid Nysa-Scythopolis the ideal place to zoom into a newly founded Seleucid city in the southern Levant. Many of the other Seleucid foundations in the region such as Gadara, Gerasa or Hippos were massively covered by later Roman and late antique (Byzantine and Early Islamic) phases. Therefore, Nysa-Scythopolis plays a crucial role in understanding Seleucid settlement dynamics in the Levant. The current body of work illuminates new dimensions of the site and its urban form, sociopolitical dynamics, religious expressions, and regional networks situating the town more firmly within both the cosmopolitical Hellenistic world and the traditional ancient Near East. The present volume is conceived as an investigation into the phenomenon of royal city foundations in the southern Levant, with particular attention to the case of Nysa-Scythopolis. Structured thematically and methodologically across a series of interconnected sections, the book moves from broad contextual considerations to focused analyses of material, social, and cultural life, before widening the lens again to contrast Seleucid strategies with those of local dynasts and concludes with theoretical reflections on the Hellenistic world. This structure allows readers to grasp both the local specificity of Nysa-Scythopolis and the broader patterns of Hellenistic urbanization, kingship, and cultural interaction in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The region of the southern Levant and the period have special relevance for Hellenistic foundations because they incorporate the framework in which early Judaism had crystalized and from which Christianity also emerged. The impact of Hellenism on Judaism is regarded as a crucial encounter in influencing later developments and a differentiated understanding of this period and region is needed. To date, a systematic analysis of the material culture of the Hellenistic southern Levant, and particularly, the most visible agent of Hellenization – the foundation of cities – is lacking. This volume seeks to close this research gap. The Seleucid foundation Nysa-Scythopolis is taken as a starting point for the investigation. The Seleucid city was founded on a mound near biblical Beth She’an, which was occupied under Ptolemaic rule. However, the 2nd century BCE Seleucid settlement was not founded on the Ptolemaic occupied site, but rather on a neighboring hill, known today as Tell Iẓṭabba. With its foundation under Antiochos IV the settlement became home to a Seleucid community until 107 BCE when the city was destroyed by the expanding Hasmonean state and never to be rebuilt at the same site. The Early Roman city was reestablished in the 1st century BCE at a different location, closer to the biblical mound, encompassing the area of its southern foothills. Subsequently Tell Iẓṭabba was not rebuilt until the Byzantine period, when the tell was crossed by the Byzantine city walls and parts of it were covered by intra and extra mural ecclesiastical structures. This situation made Tell Iẓṭabba and Seleucid Nysa-Scythopolis the ideal place to zoom into a newly founded Seleucid city in the southern Levant. Many of the other Seleucid foundations in the region such as Gadara, Gerasa or Hippos were massively covered by later Roman and late antique (Byzantine and Early Islamic) phases. Therefore, Nysa-Scythopolis plays a crucial role in understanding Seleucid settlement dynamics in the Levant. The current body of work illuminates new dimensions of the site and its urban form, sociopolitical dynamics, religious expressions, and regional networks situating the town more firmly within both the cosmopolitical Hellenistic world and the traditional ancient Near East. The present volume is conceived as an investigation into the phenomenon of royal city foundations in the southern Levant, with particular attention to the case of Nysa-Scythopolis. Structured thematically and methodologically across a series of interconnected sections, the book moves from broad contextual considerations to focused analyses of material, social, and cultural life, before widening the lens again to contrast Seleucid strategies with those of local dynasts and concludes with theoretical reflections on the Hellenistic world. This structure allows readers to grasp both the local specificity of Nysa-Scythopolis and the broader patterns of Hellenistic urbanization, kingship, and cultural interaction in the Eastern Mediterranean.