Alexandrium

Alexandrium

Hasmonean wall at Alexandrium
Shown within the Palestinian territories
Alternate name	Alexandrion, Sartaba
Location	Jericho Governorate, West Bank
Region	Judea
Coordinates	32°5′45″N 35°27′41″E / 32.09583°N 35.46139°E / 32.09583; 35.46139Coordinates: 32°5′45″N 35°27′41″E / 32.09583°N 35.46139°E / 32.09583; 35.46139
Type	Fortification
History
Builder	Probably Alexander Jannaeus
Founded	1st century BC
Abandoned	About 70 AD
Periods	Hellenistic to Roman Empire

Alexandrion or Alexandrium, sometimes referred to as Sartaba, was a fort constructed by the Hasmoneans^[1] on a mountain between Scythopolis and Jerusalem, near the Jordan Valley.^[2] It was likely named after Hasmonean king Alexander Jannæus (104-77 BCE).

History

Alexandrium was constructed by the Hasmoneans near the border with Samaria to accommodate a military garrison, as well as to guard political prisoners.^[3] It is later mentioned during Pompey the Great's conquest of Judea as a stronghold of Aristobulus II: "When, in the year 64, Pompey marched past Pella and Scythopolis to Coreæ, on the northern boundary of Judea, Aristobulus II fell back on Alexandrium."^[4]

The fort was restored by Herod the Great, a task he assigned to his brother Pheroras. Herod used the fort as a prison for his political opponents, holding his wife Mariamne and mother Alexandra there in 30 BCE. It was also the burial site of Alexander and Aristobulus, the two sons Herod had executed at Sebaste in 7 BCE.^[2]

Alexandrium was finally razed by Vespasian or Titus during the Great Revolt.^[5]

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator (1895). The Works of Flavius Josephus. Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
• Rocca, Samuel (2008). The Forts of Judaea 168 BC – AD 73. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-171-7. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sartaba.

• Pictures of Alexandrium-Sartaba