Down the Centuries in Bet-She'an

Down the Centuries in Bet-She'an. . The history of Bet-She'an begins in the fifth millennium B.C.E. with the first settlers who arrived on the banks of Nahal Harod. Over time, many rulers and inhabitants built and rebuilt settlements on the site, and the hill grew into a tell. Ancient Bet-She'an is mentioned in the book of Samuel as a city on whose walls the corpses of King Saul and his sons were displayed. The city was destroyed by the Assyrian army in 732 B.C.E. and left in ruins for centuries. In the Hellenistic period Bet-She'an extended beyond Nahal Harod. The city was named Nyssa Scythopolis, Nyssa after the nurse of the god Dionysos. , In the Roman period it was the most important of the Ten Cities, the Decapolis, and the only one on the west bank of the Jordan River. , Roman customs and fashion prevailed in the flourishing city, which continued to grow as Christianity spread among its population. In the seventh century C.E., Bet-She'an was ruled by the Muslim Umayyads. During their decline, in 749, an earthquake shook the city and destroyed it to its very foundations. On its ruins the modest Arab settlement of Beisan arose. In the Middle Ages and the Ottoman period the town center moved to the site where modern Bet-She'an stands teday. Excavations in Bet-She'an have opened a door to its vibrant past., (Hebrew text not transcribed)