Category:Oboda (subject)

Obada (Avdat) was a Nabatean (then Roman and Byzantine) town.

Overview

The city was established by the Nabateans on a mountain ridge in the center of the Negev highlands. Like Elusa, Nessana, Rehovot-in-the-Negev, Sobata, and Mampsis, Oboda was born as a road station for the caravans along the Incense Route connecting Petra with Gaza.

Oboda was named after the Nabatean king Obodas III (30-9 BCE), who was worshiped as a deity and according to tradition, was buried there. The city flourished especially during the reign of Obadas' successor Aretas IV Philopatris (9 BCE - 40 CE), when the acropolis was fortified and a large temple built within it.

By the mid-first century CE however Nabatean trade diminished. Agricultural project were carried out to sustain the population. At the time of Malichus II, the city was razed by Arab tribes. The city was rebuilt by the last Nabatean king, Rabbel II Soter (70–106 CE).

The Roman conquest of 106 CE brought about new periods of prosperity that continued in the Byzantine period, when the city became renowned mainly for the production of wine. The city was destroyed, probably by earthquake, and abandoned in the 7th century.

Oboda in ancient sources

Oboda in scholarship

Modern excavations began in 1958. 1958 M. Avi Yonah and 1959-61 Avraham Negev on behalf of the National Parks Authority and the Hebrew University; 1975-77 Avraham Negev and R. Cohen on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University; 1989 Avraham Negev on behalf of the Hebrew University; 1992-93 G. Tahal, O. Katz and P. Fabian on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority; 1999 renewed excavations by P. Fabian on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The area is now a National Park.

Oboda in fiction

The ruins of Obada were the filming location of Jesus Christ Superstar (1973 Jewison), film.

External links

• Wikipedia]