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Re: orion khirbet 'esse?



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Grüß G-tt listmembers,

In the context of Alexander^Òs Ammanitis campaign against the Greek city Essa
(Tulul al-Dahab), "where was the best part of Zeno's  treasures" (Zeno
Kotylas, ruler of Philadelphia in the Ammanitis; cf. Ant 13.8.1; 15.3;
Whiston), two other fortified places in that specific area were besieged and
conquered: Rhagaba (T. Murraba) and Amathous (T. Muganni). On the contrary
the Greek city Gerasa ( Antiocheia pros Chrysorrhoai), some 40 km
east-northeast of Essa remained untouched (!) by the Jewish forces on their
raid. See TAVO-map BV16.2 Tuebingen 1987; Moeller, C., Schmitt, G_Siedlungen
nach Flav. Josephus_Wiesbaden 1976.
An interesting  strategic problem occurs, when commander Josephus tells us,
that Alexander seemingly returns to Dion in the Galaaditis, the
starting-point of his Ammanatis campaign, only to start another campaign,
now to the Gaulanitis directly in the neighborhood of Dion, which normally
would have been the logical next military step.
The parallel story in Bell 1.4.8 contains the additional conquer of Pella
(during the retreat after or in an early stage of the Ammanitis campaign or
as single campaign after the Gaulanitis campaign together with Gadara), but
the rest is pure euphemism, an early Apologetic?

However, I propose to reject either Gerasa as the origin behind Essa (but
vice versa!) or ^ÑEssene^Ò origins from the pagan Greeks there, or a relevant
connection to the ^Ñland of Damascus^Ò in the ^Ñland of the North^Ò (CD vi.5;
vii 13) where the ^ÑKings of the North^Ò (1QM i.3) annually played polo with
the heads of the last Seleucids.

Dierk


For private reply, e-mail to "Dierk Vandenberg" <haGalil@gmx.net>
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