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Susya

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This article is about the archaeological site. For the modern Israeli settlement in the Har Hebron area, see Susya, Har Hebron. For the Palestinian encampment in the Hebron area, see Khirbet Susya.
Susya

سوسية Arabic
סוּסְיָא Hebrew
Village
RegionWest Bank
DistrictJudea and Samaria Area
Government
 • CouncilHar Hebron
Time zoneUTC+2 (IST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (IDT)

Susya (Template:Lang-ar, Template:Lang-he-n) is an archaeological site in the southern Judaean Mountains of the West Bank that bears the archaeological remains both of a 5th-8th century CE synagogue and of a mosque that replaced it.[1]

History

Susya, whether it refers to the site of the synagogue or the ruins of the contiguous ancient and large settlement of some 60 dunams (60,000 m2), is not mentioned in any ancient text, and Jewish literature did not register an ancient Jewish town on that site.[2] It is thought by some to correspond to the Biblical Carmel (Josh 15.5), a proposal made by Avraham Negev.[3][4] Others argue that, in the wake of the Second Revolt (AD 132-5), when the Romans garrisoned Khirbet el-Karmil, identified as the biblical Carmel, religious Jews uncomfortable with pagan symbols moved 2 km south-west to the present Susya, which they perhaps already farmed, and that, while they still regarded their new community as Carmel, the name was lost when the village's fortunes declined in the early Arab period, perhaps because the new Muslim overlords would not have tolerated its economy, which was based on wine.[5][6]

View of the synagogue

The site, in Arabic Khirbet Susiya/Susiyeh, "Ruin of the Liquorice Plant" was first described by V. Guérin in 1869, who first recognized its importance.[7][8] The spelling Susya represents the Hebrew name, as determined by the Israeli Naming committee.[9] In the Survey of Western Palestine, based on an observation in 1875 on the area of the southeastern slope of a hill west of Susya, Charles Warren and Claude Conder labeled Susya as an 'Important public structure'. German accounts later stated that it was a remnant of an ancient church.[10] In 1937, the building to the north was identified by L. A. Meyer and A. Reifenberg as the site of a synagogue.[8]

Ancient synagogue

The site was examined by Shemarya Gutman in 1969, who uncovered it during a trial dig the narthex of a synagogue. He, together with Ze'ev Yeivin and Ehud Netzer, then conducted the Israeli excavations at Khirbet Suseya, (subsequently named by a Hebrew calque as Horvat Susya) over 1971-1972,[8][11][12] by the Palestinian village of Susiya Al-Qadime.

Roller Stone in the synagogue of Susya

No excavations have uncovered undisputed evidence for synagogues before the 2nd century CE in Judea, when Rabbinic Judaism became ascendant due to the destruction of the Second Temple. The excavated synagogue in Susya dates from the 4th to the 7th century CE and was in continuous use until the 9th century CE.[13][14] It is one of four of an architecturally unique group in the Southern Judean Hills,[15] of the six synagogues identified in Judea as a whole, the lower number probably reflecting a shift in the Jewish population from Judah to Galilee in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The other three of this distinctive group are those of Eshtemoa, Horvat Maon, and 'Anim.[15] Three outstanding characteristics of the Susya-Eshtemoa group, group are their width, entrances at the short eastern wall, and the absence of columns to support the roof [16]

According to David Amit, the architectural design, particularly the eastern entrance and axis of prayer, which differ from the majority of Galilean synagogues, exhibits the ramifications of the earliest halakhic law conserved in southern Judea for generations after the destruction of the Temple. This was forgotten in Galilee, but in Judea there was a closer adherence to older traditions reflecting closer proximity to Jerusalem.[17] The eastern orientation may be also related to the idea of dissuading heretics and Christians in the same area, who bowed to the east, in the belief that the Shekinah lay in that direction.[18]

Interior of the synagogue

The synagogue was built as a broadhouse, rather than along basilica lines,[19][20] measuring 9 by 16 metres (27 by 48 feet)[21] built in well-wrought ashlar construction, with triple doorway façade in an eastward orientation, and the bema and niche at the centre of the northern wall. There was a secondary bema in the eastern section. Unlike other synagogues in Judea this had a gallery, made while reinforcing the western wall. East of the synagogue was an open courtyard surrounded on three sides by a roofed portico. The western side opened to the synagogue’s narthex, and floor of narthex composed of coloured mosaics set in an interlaced pattern. This model was of short duration, yielding in the late Byzantine phase (6th/7th) to the basilica form, already elsewhere dominant in synagogue architecture.[22]

In contrast to most Galilean synagogues with their façade and Torah shrine on the same Jerusalem-oriented wall, the Judean synagogue at Susya, (as well as Esthtemoa and Maon) has the niche on the northern Jerusalem-oriented wall and entrances on the east side wall.[23] The synagogue floor of white tesserae has three mosaic panels, the eastern one a Torah Shrine, two menorahs, one on a screen relief showing two lamps [24] suspended from a bar between the menorah’s upper branches,[25] perhaps, since the Torah shrine flanked by lampstands, symbolizing both a connection between the synagogue and the Temple[26] for spotlighting the bema and giving light for scriptural readings, were by the reverse mirroring of the menorah pattern in the mosaics, heightened the central significance of the Torah shrine in the hall[27] a lulav, and an etrog with columns on each side. Next to the columns is a landscape with deers ands rams. The central panel composed of geometric and floral patterns. A spoke-wheel design before the central bema, has led Gutman to believed it is the remnant of a zodiac wheel. Zodiac mosaics are important witness to the time, since they were systematically suppressed by the Church, and, their frequent construction in Palestinian synagogue floors may be an index of 'the "inculturation" of non-Jewish imagery and its resulting Judaization'.[28] The fragmentary state of the wheel mosaic is due to its replacement by a much cruder geometric pavement pattern, indicative of a desire to erase what later came to be thought of as objectionable imagery.[29][30]

A motif that probably represented Daniel in the lion's den, as in the mosaics discovered at Naaran near Jericho and Ein Samsam in the Golan[31][32] was also tesselated, surviving only most fragmentarily. The figure, in an orans stance, flanked by lions, was scrubbed from the mosaics in line with later trends, in what Fine calls a ‘new aesthetic’ at Khirbet Susiya, one that refurbished the designs to suppress iconographic forms thought by later generations to be objectionable. We can only reconstruct the allusion to Daniel from the remaining final Hebrew letters remaining, namely -el, Template:Rtl-lang.[33]

Another unique feature is number of inscriptions. Four were laid in mosaics: two in Hebrew, attesting perhaps to its conservation as a spoken language in this region[34] and two in Aramaic. Nineteen fragmentary inscriptions, some of which were in Greek,[35] were etched into the marble of the building. From these dedicatory inscriptions the impression is given that the synagogue was run by donors [36] rather than by priests (kōhen).[37]

The abandoned synagogue, or its atrium or courtyard, was converted into a mosque around the 10th century.[8] A niche on the northern wall used as a mihrab/mahrab dates to Saladin's time,[38] according to local tradition.[39] In the 12th–13th centuries Crusaders garrisoned at nearby Chermala and Eshtemoa, and, in their wake, a few families, moved into the ruins to exploit the rich agricultural land.[7]

The settlement on the hill contiguous to the synagogue seems to have once had a thriving economy. A fine store has been excavated from its ruins.[40] It seems to have undergone a decline in the second half of the 4th century, and again in the 6th century. Some speak of abandonment though the evidence from the synagogue suggests continuity into the medieval period.[41] After the Islamic conquest, the archaeological evidence appears to suggest that a new Muslim population immigrated to the South Hebron hills and settled next to the Jewish population.[42]

Ottoman era

The French explorer Victor Guérin noted "I see before me extend considerable ruins called Khirbet Sousieh. They are those of a city important bearing whose homes were generally well built, like attested by the vestiges that still remain, and possessed several buildings built in stone."[43]

In 1883, the Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine says "This ruin has also been at one time a place of importance...".[44]

Modern era

In Khirbet Susya, a Palestinian community of shepherds had lived in caves in and around the site during grazing time[45] until 1986, when the site was declared an archaeological site by Israel Civil Administration, and the Israeli army expelled the inhabitants.[46]

A religious Israeli settlement, Susya, was established nearby in 1983.

References

  1. ^ Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of the Early Islamic Settlement in Palestine, Eisenbrauns 2003 Vol.1 pp.99-104.
  2. ^ Zeev Safrai, The Missing Century: Palestine in the fifth century:growth and decline, Peeters Publishers 1998 p. 101
  3. ^ Günter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century, tr. Ruth Tuschling, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000 p. 151
  4. ^ Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson, Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, rev. ed. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005 p.484
  5. ^ 1 Samuel:25
  6. ^ Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land: an Oxford archaeological guide from earliest times to 1700,5th ed. Oxford University Press US, 2008 pp.351-354, p.351
  7. ^ a b Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, The Holy Land: an Oxford archaeological guide from earliest times to 1700, 5th ed. Oxford University Press US, 2008 p. 351
  8. ^ a b c d Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, ibid. p. 482
  9. ^ 'A unique case is Susya. The existence of the ancient Jewish town was unknown in Jewish sources, but was discovered in archaeological excavations . . . the settlers are not free to decide on the names chosen: the National Naming Committee at the Prime Minister's Office has that responsibility and considers various factors. The settlers, however, being well acquainted with the territory and its history, play a significant role in the decision.' Michael Feige, Settling in the Hearts: Fundamentalism, Time, and Space in Judea and Samaria, Wayne State University Press, 2009, pp. 75–76
  10. ^ Vilnai, Ze'ev (1978). "Susiya—Judea". Ariel Encyclopedia (in Hebrew). Vol. Volume 6. Tel Aviv, Israel: Am Oved. pp. 5352–5353. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  11. ^ David Amit, 'Architectural plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah'.' In Dan Urman, Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher, Ancient Synagogues: historical analysis and archaeological discovery, Brill, 1998 pp. 129–156 p.132.
  12. ^ David Milson, Art and architecture of the synagogue in late antique Palestine: in the shadow of the church,Brill, 2007 p.56
  13. ^ Post-byzantine according to the language of an inscription. See Zeev Safrai, The Missing Century: Palestine in the fifth century : growth and decline, Peeters Publishers 1998 p.149
  14. ^ ‘The synagogue is tentatively dated to the end of the 4th-beginning of the 7th.century AD, and was used as a Jewish prayer house until the 9th century.’ Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, ibid. p.482
  15. ^ a b David Amit, 'Architectural plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah'.' ibid p. 129.
  16. ^ David Amit, 'Architectural plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah'.' Ibid. p. 138
  17. ^ David Amit, ibid pp. 148–155, pp. 148, 152
  18. ^ p. 146
  19. ^ ‘Uniquely Jewish adaptations of Christian architecture did occur. The synagogues at Khirbet Shema, in the Upper Galilee, Horvat Rimmon 1 in the southern Shephelah, at Eshtemoa, and Khirbet Susiya were built as broadhouses and not as longhouse basilicas. In these buildings, the basilica form is turned on its side, and the focal point of the synagogue is the wide wall of the hall. Benches were built round the interior walls of these synagogues, focusing attention on the centre of the room. This architecture is a continuation of the house-synagogues that literary sources suggests existed from the second and third centuries.’ Steven Fine, Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman world: toward a new Jewish archaeology, Cambridge University Press, 2005 p.88
  20. ^ Eric M. Meyers, Galilee through the centuries: cultures in conflict, Eisenbrauns 1999 p.233
  21. ^ Avraham Negev, Shimon Gibson,Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, ibid.p.482
  22. ^ David Amit, ‘Architectural plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the ‘Halakah’.’ p.156
  23. ^ Rachel Hachlili, ‘Jewish Art and Iconography in the Land of Israel,’ in Suzanne Richard (ed.), Near Eastern Archeology: A Reader, Eisenbrauns, 2003 pp.445-454 p.449
  24. ^ or incense censers. See Steven Fine, ibid. p.195
  25. ^ Rachel Hachlili, The menorah, the ancient seven-armed candelabrum: origin, form, and significance, Brill 2001, pp.67,228. For its reconstruction see p.53.
  26. ^ Steven Fine, p.195
  27. ^ Eric M. Meyers Galilee through the centuries: confluence of cultures, Eisenbrauns, 1999 p.231
  28. ^ Steven Fine, Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman world, pp.196-7
  29. ^ Steven Fine, ibid.p.95
  30. ^ John Brian Harley, David Woodward, The History of Cartography: Cartography in prehistoric, ancient, and medieval Europe and the Mediterranean, Humana Press, 1987 p.266. ‘since mosaics were disapproved of by the Jews as graven images, they were both removed. In other mosaics of the Byzantine period from the Holy Land, the zodiac is represented only by the names of its signs rather than by their graphic representations’.
  31. ^ Steven Fine, ‘Archeology and the Interpretation of Rabbinic Literature: Some Thoughts’ in Matthew Kraus (ed.) How should rabbinic literature be read in the modern world? , Gorgias Press LLC, 2006 pp.199-217 p.214
  32. ^ Eric Meyers, Galilee through the centuries, ibid.p.232
  33. ^ Steven Fine, ibid.p.96. Fine speculates whether reluctance to erase these letters reflects a religious reluctance among iconoclasts to delete letters that spell out the Divine name El, for, again highlighting the distinctiveness of the synagogue, 'in no instance does an explicit Divine name appear in any Jewish synagogue inscription.'
  34. ^ David Amit, ibid.pp.152-3
  35. ^ The Israel yearbook, Zionist Organization of America, Jewish Agency for Israel. Economic Dept. Israel Yearbook Publications, 1981 p.120
  36. ^ in Aramaicbenei qartah, in Hebrew benei ha’ir (sons of the town), especially of residents of a small agrarian village. See Stuart S. Miller, 'Sages and commoners in late antique ʼEreẓ Israel: a philological inquiry into local traditions' in Peter Schäfer, Catherine Hezser (eds.), The Talmud Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman culture, Mohr Siebeck, 1998 p.65
  37. ^ Meyers, Galilee throughout the centuries, ibid.p.265. The ‘rabbi’ in these epigraphs appears to be an honorific for ‘master’, and the role of such rabbis in the synagogue seems to have been that of being donors. For an early dating based on the rare ‘qedushat’ (to his holiness’) address used in amora’im correspondence (qedushat mari rabbi Issi ha-cohen ha-mehubad berabi) see Aharon Oppenheimer, ‘The Attempt of Hananiah, Son of Rabbi Joshua’s Brother, to Intercalate the Year in Babylonia’ in Peter Schäfer, Catherine Hezser (eds.), The Talmud Yerushalmi and Graeco-Roman culture, ibid. pp.255-264 p.260; A'haron Oppenheimer, Nili Oppenheimer, Between Rome and Babylon: studies in Jewish leadership and society, Mohr Siebeck, 2005 p.389, sets it in the amoraic period.
  38. ^ Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. 2nd ed. Rough Guides, 1998 p. 414
  39. ^ David Amit, 'Architectural plans of Synagogues in the Southern Judean Hills and the 'Halakah'.' p. 132
  40. ^ See the drawing of the reconstruction and groundplan in Zeev Safrai, The economy of Roman Palestine, Routledge, 1994 p.127
  41. ^ Zeev Safrai, The Missing Century,ibid. p.149
  42. ^ Gideon Avni (2014) The Byzantine-Islamic Transition in Palestine: An Archaeological Approach, OUP, p225
  43. ^ Guérin, 1869, pp. 172-173
  44. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1883, SWP III, p. 414
  45. ^ Havakook, Yaakov (1985). Live in the caves of Mount Hebron. p. 56. The fate and rule (לחם חוקם) for shepherds' they have to migrate with their herds following the grass and water... The large amount of natural caves met the requirements of the shepherds: they provided pretection from the cold, rain, wind and other natural elements... Whoever travel in South Mount Hebron even today, when this book is written, in early 1984, in Khirbats like... Khirbet Susya (landmark 159090) and the alike will discover, the every year, during grazing time, regular fixed families of shepherds visit the caves in these ruins, as every shepherd family returns and live in the same cave in which it lived in the prior season. Grazing season - it is important to clarify - is parallel to the winter season, and usually starts in October-November, with the first rain, and continue until April end and beginning of May. At the end of the winter once again the families abandon the caves which they used during the grazing months, and uproot to the main village or other grazing areas, more promising.
  46. ^ "Civil Administration threatens to demolish most of Susiya village". B'tselem. Susiya residents have lived in this region on a seasonal basis since at least the 19th century

Bibliography

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