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Historical Discovery: The Hashmonaim Also Ruled in the Negev
On the eve of Chanukah, fascinating new details have come to light about the Hashmonai kingdom that ruled not only in Jerusalem, but also in Gaza and in the Negev.
Researchers with the Israel Antiquities Authority have been studying artifacts discovered in the sites excavated by Dr. Rudolph Cohen along "Derech Habesamim" ("Incense Road") in the Negev. It was along this road that the Nabataeans transported valuable merchandise, such as myrrh and frankincense to the Mediterranean Sea and Egypt. One of the sites excavated was the ruins of "Ma'agura", which is located 3.4 kilometers west of Sde Boqer, on a ridge top. The site is situated at a strategic point that overlooks Nachal Bsor, along the "Incense Road".
According to Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who is the scientific editor of the excavation, “We are talking about a revolutionary discovery that will redraw the maps of the region which describe that era and greatly increase the territory governed by the Hashmonaim into the heart of the Negev Highlands as we know it. This is an important discovery from an archaeological and historical standpoint. Despite the evidence of the historian Josephus, according to which King Alexander conquered the southern coast of the Land of Israel and the harbor in Gaza (which was of paramount importance to the Nabataeans) and even further south, no clear archaeological proof of this has been found in the field. And it was because of this lack of proof that historians were inclined to dismiss the possibility that the Hashmonaim did indeed control the Negev”.
According to Dr. Erickson-Gini, it is now clear that the Hashmonaim occupied a fortress on the Nabataeans' main trade route until the year 66 BCE, and were thus able to prevent the movement of enemies along the route between Halutza and the Northern Sinai desert. This strategic act cut off the trade route between Petra and the ports and in fact commerce in the region received a fatal blow that halted trade through the Negev for several decades.
The discovery also reinforces the claim that another Nabataean site – Nitzana, where a large casche of coins of Alexander Yanai were discovered, was ruled by him. “Another interesting fact”, says Dr. Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “is that the army that Alexander Yanai engaged was for the most part a mercenary force that was composed of non-Jewish soldiers. We were able to confirm this based on the imported vessels that were found alongside the Jewish vessels there, and from the wine that was brought there from abroad."