Beersheba – A Gateway Community in Southern Arabian Long-Distance Trade in the Eighth Century B.C.E.

Singer-Avitz, Lily; Eshet, Yoram

doi:10.1179/033443599788145737

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Archaeological evidence of trade between southern Arabia and the Mediterranean coast has been found as early as the eighth century BCE in Tel Beer Sheva and Arad in Judea and includes the fi rst appearance of alabaster containers and small limestone incense altars (Singer-Avitz 1996, 1999. The containers were a preferred means of storing and transporting raw incense resins, according to the Roman writer Pliny (Bostock 1855 , Book 36, Chapter 60).…”

Section: Spices In Judeamentioning

confidence: 96%

RETRACTED CHAPTER: Apharsemon, Myrrh and Olibanum: Ancient Medical Plants

Ben-Yehoshua

Hanŭs

2014

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World

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Among the most reputed ancient medical plants were the: olibanumfrankincense, derived from Boswellia spp., myrrh, derived from Commiphoras spp., both from southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa, and apharsemon of Judea, derived from Commiphora gileadensis that had its origin also in these territories. The demand for these medical plants that were also important spices was met by scarce and limited sources of supply. The incense trade and trade routes were developed to carry this precious cargo over long distances through many countries to the important foreign markets of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The export of the frankincense and myrrh made Arabia extremely wealthy, so much so that Theophrastus, Strabo, and Pliny all referred to it as Felix (fortunate) Arabia . At present, this export hardly exists, and the spice trade has declined to around 1,500 t, coming mainly from Somalia; both Yemen and Saudi Arabia import rather than export these frankincense and myrrh.Apharsemon, known also as the Judaean balsam, grew only around the Dead Sea Basin in antiquity and achieved fame by its highly reputed aroma and medical properties but has been extinct in this area for many centuries. The resin of this crop was sold, by weight, at a price twice that of gold, the highest price ever paid for an agricultural commodity. This crop was an important source of income for the many rulers of ancient Judea; the farmers' guild that produced the apharsemon survived over 1,000 years. Currently there is interest in a revival based on related plants of similar origin. These three ancient plants now are under investigation in many countries for medicinal uses. Many publications and patents on these three plants appeared in recent years.

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Section: Spices In Judeamentioning

confidence: 96%

RETRACTED CHAPTER: Apharsemon, Myrrh and Olibanum: Ancient Medical Plants

Ben-Yehoshua

Hanŭs

2014

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of the World

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“…Another aspect of Nabataean religious practices is their preference for the use of small, portable altars. This appears to be the continuation of earlier traditions, some of which were influenced by trade with the Arabian sphere, as can be seen in the popularity of portable limestone altars, some etched with camels, in the later Iron Age and Persian periods found along trade routes between Arabia and the Mediterranean (Stern 1973: 52‐54; Singer‐Avitz : 41‐44). The practice is referred to by Strabo, who described altars ‘built’ on top of houses on which libations were poured and incense was burnt ( Geo .…”

Section: Betyls Altars and Figurinesmentioning

confidence: 54%

Piecing Together the Religion of the Nabataeans

Erickson-Gini

2015

Religion Compass

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The legacy of one ancient Arabian people, the Nabataeans, is rich in material remains: the rock-carved monuments of Petra, their delicately crafted pottery vessels, and huge desert cisterns and aqueducts, to name only a few. Unlike their neighbors to the north in ancient Judea, the Nabataeans did not leave a written history of themselves, and what is known about them is mainly derived from non-Nabataean sources: the reports of Greeks and Romans and the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus. Our knowledge of the religion of the Nabataeans must be pieced together from fragmentary historical and epigraphic evidence as well as the mute evidence provided by the archeological record.

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“…The reduction in conflicts between Judah and its neighbours, all subordinate to Assyria, allowed for the creation of long-term economic relations and the growth of large Negev sites, which were located along the important trade route from Transjordan, through the Beersheba Valley, to the southern coast and Egypt (Na'aman 1987, 8-11;Stern 2001, 161). As has been claimed by Singer-Avitz (1999), this route was the chief economic basis and reason for Assyrian interest in the southern fringe of the kingdom. With Assyrian approval, Judah could have already developed the region in the second half of the 8th century.…”

Section: Historical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 81%

The 'Archaeology of the Days of Manasseh' Reconsidered in the Light of Evidence From The Beersheba Valley

Thareani-Sussely¹

2007

Palestine Exploration Quarterly

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Recent scholarship based on typological studies suggests that the dating of the prosperous Beersheba settlement system should be raised from the 7th to the last third of the 8th century BCE. This change in timeframe offers a new understanding of demographics and presents a number of socio-historical implications. It sheds new light on the nature of Assyrian hegemony in the region during the late 8th century and the beginning of the 7th century and affects the understanding of Judean internal affairs, such as aspects of the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, and the archaeology of the reign of Manasseh.The period between the 8th and the beginning of the 6th century bce (Iron Age IIb) in the Beersheba Valley is characterised by an intensive settlement system significantly different from that of previous centuries, both in number of settlements and scope. Traditionally, the sudden growth spurt in the Beersheba Valley has been linked to the Assyrian retreat from Palestine in the 620s bce and the expansion of Josiah's Judean kingdom to the coastal plain (

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Beersheba – A Gateway Community in Southern Arabian Long-Distance Trade in the Eighth Century B.C.E.

Cited by 8 publications

References 27 publications

RETRACTED CHAPTER: Apharsemon, Myrrh and Olibanum: Ancient Medical Plants

RETRACTED CHAPTER: Apharsemon, Myrrh and Olibanum: Ancient Medical Plants

Piecing Together the Religion of the Nabataeans

The 'Archaeology of the Days of Manasseh' Reconsidered in the Light of Evidence From The Beersheba Valley

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