Iraq al-Amir

The Palace of the Tobiads

• SCHOLARLY AND FICTIONAL WORKS: see Category:Iraq al-Amir (subject)

Iraq al-Amir (now a village and rural area in Jordan) was the estate of the Tobiads in Transjordan.

Overview

The narrow fertile valley of Wadi Essair was the estate of the powerful Israelite family of the Tobiads since the Persian time.

At the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, during the reign of Seleucus IV Philopator, the Tobiad Hyrcanus built at Iraq al Amir a monumental palace, which is known as Qasr al-Abd (Palace of the Slave). The palace, which has a northern and southern entrance, is of two level and is adorned with protruding statues of eagles and lions. The ground level was used as storage and quarters for guards, however the top level was never completed. According to Josephus, Hyrcanus fortified himself inside his castle, fearing to be caught by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and ended his life having slew himself with his own sword in 175 BCE (Ant. 12:4:11). During the early Byzantine period the building was again occupied, perhaps as a monastic settlement, and substantial modifications were carried out. The palace was then devastated by the great earthquake of 362 CE.

Near the palace is the burial place of the Tobiads (Iraq El-Amir, or Cave of the Prince). It is a complex of eleven caves carved into the cliff face.

Iraq al-Amir in Scholarship

Excavations and restorations at Iraq al-Amir has been made in different times by P. Lapp (1963), E. Will, F. Larché, F. Zayadine e F. Villeneuve (1975-1986).

Related categories

• Tobiads

References

• Araq el-Amir / Oren Gutfeld / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), dictionary, 364-365

External links

• Wikipedia (Iraq al-Amir) / Wikipedia (Qasr al-Abd)

Pictures from the Web

• [1] <Wikimedia>

• [2] <Wikimedia>