Home > Sites > Lower Galilee> Yodfat (Jotapata)

 

Contents: Background Location History General view Visit Biblical References Historical Refs

Background:

 Yodfat (Jotapata) is the ruins of an ancient fortified village, the site where the famous siege at the time of the great revolt against the Romans.  Josephus Flavius, then the northern commander of the revolting Israelites, stood up against the mighty forces under the command of Vespesian. After days of siege all the defenders committed suicide, but Josephus surrended himself to Vespesian and later became a writer of the Roman and Jewish history, and provided the details of the tragic story.

 

Location:

  The site is located on a remote hillside at the edge of the Yodfat valley, which is 4 kilometers away from Khirbet Cana and the Netufa Valley. It can be approached with a SUV from the Netufa valley, or easier - from the modern community Yodfat which is just a kilometer away. The center of the ancient city lies on top of a steep hill which is dotted by caves,  ancient cisterns and the remains of ancient buildings.

 

History of the place:

  The village, now in ruins, was populated at the Persian and Greek periods. It was fortified by Josephus Flavius at the time of the great revolt against the Romans (see references). Its fame came from the siege laid by Vespesian at 67 AD, in the beginning of the Roman campaign to crush the Jewish revolt. The roman legions managed to enter the fortified city after 47 days, and captured the last remaining person - the commander Josephus himself, while the rest of the defenders died or committed suicide. 

 

   After it was totally destroyed by the Romans, the site was allowed to be rebuilt, but on the facing unprotected hillside, since the Romans did not want this stronghold to be used again as a rebel fort. It was repopulated by Jewish refugees from Jerusalem, and flourished for another 300 years, and destroyed again. It was then left in ruins for yet another 1600 years, until it became a national park.  In recent years the site was excavated, and its fortifications, ramp and some of the buildings were dug out of the rubble.  Dozens of arrows and ballista stones were found, proving at least some of Josephus accounts of the siege and fall of the city.

 

General View:

The photo below shows the view of the site from the west. On the top of the hill a set of caves can be seen, and just beneath it the walls of the fortress. In the center right the Romans built the ramp in order to crush the walls.

 

   

 

Modern Nazareth can be seen in the background. Behind the hill - a valley passes through Khirbet Cana, 4 KM away.

 

Visit at the site:

   

To reach the site you can drive close to the entrance of the Modern Yodfat, then walk down to the site. The above photo is captured from that point, so the walk can take about 20 minutes. Alternatively, you can drive from the junction of Yodfat and the road to Misgav, following signs that direct you around the Modern Yodfat.

 

The easiest approach is on the west side (as in the photo above), up through the ramp, to the top of the hill. Then, walk around and view the ancient walls and the caves.

 

Biblical References:

 

The site may be referred in the Bible as "Yotvah"/"Jotbah"  (Kings 2, Chapter 21, 19):

 

" Amon was twenty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah".

 

Historical  References:

 

(a) Josephus Flavius

 

The historian Josephus Flavius was the commander of the revolt, and fortified the site. He later wrote about it in his book, "War of the Jews".

 

• Fortification of Yodfat -Jotapata ( Book 2, Chapter 20, 6):

 

   " Josephus also, when he had settled these rules for determining causes by the law, with regard to the people's dealings one with another, betook himself to make provisions for their safety against external violence; and as he knew the Romans would fall upon Galilee, he built walls in proper places about Jotapata, and Bersabee, and Selamis"
 

• Description of the site (Book 3, Chapter 7, 7):

 

"Now Jotapata is almost all of it built on a precipice, having on all the other sides of it every way valleys immensely deep and steep, insomuch that those who would look down would have their sight fail them before it reaches to the bottom. It is only to be come at on the north side, where the utmost part of the city is built on the mountain, as it ends obliquely at a plain. This mountain Josephus had encompassed with a wall when he fortified the city, that its top might not be capable of being seized upon by the enemies. The city is covered all round with other mountains, and can no way be seen till a man comes just upon it. And this was the strong situation of Jotapata".

 

• The initial failed attempt to seize the fortress by a commander of Vespesian's army (Book 3, Chapter 6, 1):

 

"But when Placidus, who had overrun Galilee, ... he marched furiously against Jotapata, which was of them all the strongest, as supposing he should easily take it by a sudden surprise..."

 

• The Siege starts (Book 3, Chapter 6, 8):

   

"Vespasian, therefore, in order to try how he might overcome the natural strength of the place, as well as the bold defense of the Jews, made a resolution to prosecute the siege with vigor...."

 

"...Vespasian then set the engines for throwing stones and darts round about the city...."

 

• The defenders build the walls higher (Book 3, Chapter 6, 10):

 

"...And when the bank was now raised, and brought nearer than ever to the battlements that belonged to the walls, Josephus thought it would be entirely wrong in him if he could make no contrivances in opposition to theirs, and that might be for the city's preservation; so he got together his workmen, and ordered them to build the wall higher..."

 

• The fortress lacks water (Book 3, Chapter 6, 12):

 

"Now the besieged had plenty of corn within the city, and indeed of all necessaries, but they wanted water, because there was no fountain in the city, the people being there usually satisfied with rain water; yet is it a rare thing in that country to have rain in summer, and at this season, during the siege, they were in great distress for some contrivance to satisfy their thirst; and they were very sad at this time particularly, as if they were already in want of water entirely, for Josephus seeing that the city abounded with other necessaries, and that the men were of good courage, and being desirous to protract the siege to the Romans longer than they expected, ordered their drink to be given them by measure; but this scanty distribution of water by measure was deemed by them as a thing more hard upon them than the want of it; and their not being able to drink as much as they would made them more desirous of drinking than they otherwise had been; nay, they were as much disheartened hereby as if they were come to the last degree of thirst."

 

• Knocking down the walls with the battering Ram (Book 3, Chapter 6, 19):

 

"When, therefore, Vespasian looked upon himself as in a manner besieged by these sallies of the Jews, and when his banks were now not far from the walls, he determined to make use of his battering ram. This battering ram is a vast beam of wood like the mast of a ship, its forepart is armed with a thick piece of iron at the head of it, which is so carved as to be like the head of a ram, whence its name is taken. This ram is slung in the air by ropes passing over its middle, and is hung like the balance in a pair of scales from another beam, and braced by strong beams that pass on both sides of it, in the nature of a cross. When this ram is pulled backward by a great number of men with united force, and then thrust forward by the same men, with a mighty noise, it batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent. Nor is there any tower so strong, or walls so broad, that can resist any more than its first batteries, but all are forced to yield to it at last. This was the experiment which the Roman general betook himself to, when he was eagerly bent upon taking the city; but found lying in the field so long to be to his disadvantage, because the Jews would never let him be quiet. So these Romans brought the several engines for galling an enemy nearer to the walls, that they might reach such as were upon the wall, and endeavored to frustrate their attempts; these threw stones and javelins at them; in the like manner did the archers and slingers come both together closer to the wall. This brought matters to such a pass that none of the Jews durst mount the walls, and then it was that the other Romans brought the battering ram that was cased with hurdles all over, and in the tipper part was secured by skins that covered it, and this both for the security of themselves and of the engine. Now, at the very first stroke of this engine, the wall was shaken, and a terrible clamor was raised by the people within the city, as if they were already taken".

 

• The City is taken after 47 days of siege (Book 3, Chapter 6, 33):

 

"...But as the people of Jotapata still held out manfully, and bore up tinder their miseries beyond all that could be hoped for, on the forty-seventh day [of the siege] the banks cast up by the Romans were become higher than the wall; on which day a certain deserter went to Vespasian, and told him how few were left in the city, and how weak they were..."

 

"...and it was Titus himself that first got upon it, with one of his tribunes, Domitius Sabinus, and had a few of the fifteenth legion along with him. So they cut the throats of the watch, and entered the city very quietly. After these came Cerealis the tribune, and Placidus, and led on those that were tinder them. Now when the citadel was taken, and the enemy were in the very midst of the city, and when it was already day, yet was not the taking of the city known by those that held it; for a great many of them were fast asleep, and a great mist, which then by chance fell upon the city, hindered those that got up from distinctly seeing the case they were in, till the whole Roman army was gotten in, and they were raised up only to find the miseries they were under; and as they were slaying, they perceived the city was taken.

 

• The fate of the defenders and the city  (Book 3, Chapter 6, 36):

 

"And on this day it was that the Romans slew all the multitude that appeared openly; but on the following days they searched the hiding-places, and fell upon those that were under ground, and in the caverns, and went thus through every age, excepting the infants and the women, and of these there were gathered together as captives twelve hundred; and as for those that were slain at the taking of the city, and in the former fights, they were numbered to be forty thousand. So Vespasian gave order that the city should be entirely demolished, and all the fortifications burnt down. And thus was Jotapata taken, in the thirteenth year of the reign of Nero, on the first day of the month Panemus [Tamuz]".

 

• The Sequel (Chapter 8)

 

Josephus and 40 of his men hide in one of the caves for 3 days, but a woman reveals this to the Romans. All his men commit suicide, but Josephus alone is taken prison and is spared by Vespesian. He later accompanies the Roman army in its conquest of Israel, and writes about it in his books.

 

 

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