Hyrcania
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Hyrcania (see Places)
Overview
Hyrcania was a Hasmonean and Herodian fortress.
The fortress was probably built by Alexander Jannaeus and named after his father John Hyrcanus.
Pompey destroyed the fortress in 63 BCE. It was later rebuilt by Alexander of Judea, son of Aristobulus II, during his fight against the Romans (57 BCE), and destroyed by Gabinius (Wars 1 8 5).
Once again, Herod the Great fortified and enlarged Hyrkania. He used the fortress mainly as a prison and place of execution of his enemies, including his son Antipater II.
The fortress was destroyed by the Romans during the Jewish War, and remained abandoned.
In Byzantine time, the stones of the ruined fortress were reused to build a monastery. Christian hermits resided int the area until the 14th century.
References
- Fortresses and Palaces: Hyrcania / Adam Marshak and Daniel C. Harlow / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), edited volume, 648-649