Banias

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It has been suggested that Caesarea Phillippi be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

For the city in northwestern Syria, see Baniyas. For the processor formerly codenamed Banias, see Pentium M.

Caesarea Phillippi should not be confused with Caesarea Maritima, in Israel, or with Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia.

Coordinates: 33°14′55″N 35°41′40″E / 33.24861, 35.69444
Banias
Location	Golan Heights, Israel, Syria
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)

Banias spring with Pan's cave in the background.

Banias (Arabic pronunciation of Panias) is an archaeological site and former city located at the foot of Mt. Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The site is c. 150 km north of Jerusalem and c. 60 km miles southwest from Damascus. The city was also called Caesarea Philippi by the Romans.

The city was built near the Banyas spring, one of the sources of the Jordan River.

[edit] History

Banyas is the site of a spring known as Fanium or Panias, after Pan, the Greek god of the shepherds. In ancient times, it was a giant spring, gushing from a cave in the limestone rock, which is the source of the stream Nahal Senir. The Jordan River arises from this spring and two others at the base of Mount Hermon. The flow of the spring has been greatly reduced in modern time, possibly due to deforestation of Mount Hermon, or realignment of faults in the rock layers from earthquakes. The water no longer gushes from the cave, but seeps from the rocks below it.

Banyas was first settled in the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemaic kings, in the 3rd century BC, built a cult center to counter the Semitic one at Dan to the south.

It does not certainly appear in the Old Testament history, though identifications with Baal-Gad and (less certainly) with Laish (Tel Dan) have been proposed. It was certainly a place of great sanctity from very early times, and when foreign religious influences intruded upon the region, the cult of its local numen gave place to the worship of Pan, to whom was dedicated the cave in which the copious spring feeding the Jordan arises.

The town of Paneas is first mentioned by a Roman historian Polybius as a site of the Battle of Panium in 198 BC between Egyptian Ptolemaic and Syrian (Seleucid) Greeks, led by ruler Antiochus III. The (Seleucid) Greeks captured Banyas and built a pagan temple dedicated to Pan, a goat-footed god of music and goat herds.

Josephus mentioned that the Roman emperor Augustus gave Paneas to king Herod. Herod's son Philip, who ruled the area, expanded the city and called it Ceasarea Philippi (to distinguish it from Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast). In 61 CE the king Agrippa II renamed the place to Neronias in honor of the Roman emperor Nero, but this name held only till 68 CE.

In 20 BC, the region which included Banyas was annexed to the Kingdom of Herod the Great. He erected here a temple in honour of his patron. In the year 2 BC, Herod Philip II founded a pagan city and named it Caesarea Philippi (in honor of Augustus Caesar). It became the capital of his large kingdom which spread across the Golan and the Hauran. Contemporary sources refer to the city as Caesarea Panias; the New Testament as Caesarea Philippi. (Matt. 16:13) Philip was reviled by Jews because of his pagan practices. His image was placed on a coin, which is considered idolatry by them.

During the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 AD, the Romans imprisoned the Jews of Paneas. In 70 AD, after the revolt was suppressed, games were held here to celebrate the victory of Titus, and many Jewish captives were killed, but, the Jewish community in Paneas survived.

Banyas was mentioned in the Talmud as a place inhabited by distinguished and learned Jews.

Here Saint Peter made his confession of Jesus as the Messiah, and Christ in turn gave a charge to Peter. (Matt. xvi. 13). Many Greek inscriptions have been found here, some referring to the shrine. Agrippa II changed the name to Neronias, but this name endured but a short while. Titus here exhibited gladiatonal shows to celebrate the capture of Jerusalem.

In the 12th century Banias was the centre of a lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem within the Lordship of Beirut, until it was captured by Nur ad-Din in 1164.

In 1920, the water resources of Banyas Spring created a conflict for the committee deciding the border between the British Mandate and the French Mandate; the French prevailed, but there is still some dispute between Lebanon and Syria concerning the Shebaa Farms area, the adjacent watershed to the northwest. In 1941, Australian forces won Banyas from Vichy-controlled Syria.

In the 1960s, the Syrians planned national development of the water resources of Banyas for irrigation along the slopes of the Golan toward the Yarmuk River. If this diversion had been total, it would have deprived Israel of what it considers one of its essential water sources, even though riparian rights would give the majority of water rights to the Syrians. This led to retaliation from Israel, and nearly caused a new war.

On June 10th, 1967, the last day of the Six Day War, Golani Brigade forces quickly conquered the village of Banyas where a Syrian fort stood. This action has allowed Israel to utilize all water resources for the agricultural development of the Hula Valley.