- This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain
The public domain is a range of abstract materials—commonly referred to as intellectual property—which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose...
edition of the International Standard Bible EncyclopediaThe International Standard Bible Encyclopedia is a public domain Biblical encyclopedia. This encyclopedia was published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Hailed for its authoritative explanations of every significant word, person, and place in the Bible and Apocrypha, it is a standard by which...
. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
Golan or
Gaulonitis is an ancient city in the
Land of IsraelThe Land of Israel is, according to the Hebrew Bible, the region which was promised by their God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. This land forms part of the Abrahamic, Jacob and Israel covenants...
. It was in the territory of
ManassehManasseh may refer to:*Manasseh, a son of Joseph, according to the Torah*the Tribe of Manasseh, an Israelite tribe*Manasseh of Judah, a king of the kingdom of Judah....
in the area of
BashanBashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
, and it was the most northerly of the three
cities of refugeThe Cities of Refuge were towns in the Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah at which the perpetrators of manslaughter could claim the right of asylum; outside of these cities, blood vengeance against such perpetrators was allowed by law...
east of the
Jordan RiverThe Jordan River or River Jordan is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers...
(Deuteronomy 4:43).
- This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain
The public domain is a range of abstract materials—commonly referred to as intellectual property—which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose...
edition of the International Standard Bible EncyclopediaThe International Standard Bible Encyclopedia is a public domain Biblical encyclopedia. This encyclopedia was published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Hailed for its authoritative explanations of every significant word, person, and place in the Bible and Apocrypha, it is a standard by which...
. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
Golan or
Gaulonitis is an ancient city in the
Land of IsraelThe Land of Israel is, according to the Hebrew Bible, the region which was promised by their God to the descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac and to the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, Abraham's grandson. This land forms part of the Abrahamic, Jacob and Israel covenants...
. It was in the territory of
ManassehManasseh may refer to:*Manasseh, a son of Joseph, according to the Torah*the Tribe of Manasseh, an Israelite tribe*Manasseh of Judah, a king of the kingdom of Judah....
in the area of
BashanBashan or Basan is a biblical place first mentioned in , where it is said that Chedorlaomer and his confederates "smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth," where Og the king of Bashan had his residence. At the time of Israel's entrance into the Promised Land, Og came out against them, but was utterly routed...
, and it was the most northerly of the three
cities of refugeThe Cities of Refuge were towns in the Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah at which the perpetrators of manslaughter could claim the right of asylum; outside of these cities, blood vengeance against such perpetrators was allowed by law...
east of the
Jordan RiverThe Jordan River or River Jordan is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers...
(Deuteronomy 4:43). Manasseh gave this city to the
GershoniteThe Gershonites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in Biblical times. The Bible claims that the Gershonites were all descended from the eponymous Gershon, a son of Levi, although biblical scholars regard this as a postdictional metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness...
Levites (Joshua 21:27). It must have been a great and important city in its day, but the site cannot now be determined with any certainty.
Historical accounts
The city was known to
JosephusJosephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70...
(Ant. 13, 15, 3). Near Golan,
Alexander JannaeusAlexander Jannaeus , king of Judea from , son of John Hyrcanus, inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus, and appears to have married his brother's widow, Shlomtzion or "Shelomit", also known as Salome Alexandra, according to the Biblical law of Yibum , although Josephus is inexplicit on...
was ambushed by Obodas, king of the Arabians, and his army. Crowded together in a narrow and deep valley, Alexander was broken in pieces by the multitude of camels (BJ, 1, 4, 4). This incident is located at Gadara (Ant. 13, 13, 5). However, Golan was later destroyed by Alexander. It had already given its name to a large district, Gaulanitis (BJ, 3, 3, 1, 5; 4, 1, 1). It formed the eastern boundary of
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
. It was part of the
tetrarchyThe term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
of Philip (Ant. 17, 13, 1; 18, 4, 6).
The city was known to Eusebius as "a large village" giving its name to the surrounding country Onomasticon (Greek: Γαυλών, Gaulō̇n). This country must have corresponded roughly with the modern Jaulān in which the ancient name is preserved.
Current status
The boundaries of the province today are Mount Hermon to the north,
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
and the
Sea of GalileeThe Sea of Galilee, also Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret or Sea of Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, being approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide. The lake has a total area of 166 km², and a maximum depth of approximately...
to the west, the
Yarmouk RiverThe Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran Plateau. It is one of three main Tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. To the south, are the Jabbok/Zarqa and the Arnon/Wadi Mujib) rivers...
to the south, and the Allan River to the east. This
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
, which in the north is about high, slopes gradually southward to a height of about . It is made entirely of
igneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types . Igneous rock is formed by magma being cooled and becoming solid. They may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks...
, and there are many cone-like peaks of extinct volcanoes, especially toward the north. It affords good land for
pasturingPasture is land with low-growing vegetation cover used for grazing of livestock as part of a farm, or in ranching or other unenclosed pastoral systems. Prior to the advent of factory farming, pasture was the primary source of food for grazing animals such as cattle and horses...
, and it has long been a favorite summer grazing ground of the nomads. Traces of ancient forests remain, but for the most part today it is treeless. To the east of the
Sea of GalileeThe Sea of Galilee, also Lake of Gennesaret, Lake Kinneret or Sea of Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, being approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide. The lake has a total area of 166 km², and a maximum depth of approximately...
, the soil is deep and rich. Splendid crops of
wheatWheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
are grown here, and olives flourish in the hollows. The country is furrowed by deep valleys that carry the water southwestward into the Sea of Galilee. This region has not yet been subjected to a thorough examination, but many important ruins have been found which tell of a plentiful and prosperous population in ancient times. The best description of these, and of the region generally, will be found in
SchumacherSchumacher or Schuhmacher is an occupational surname...
's
The Jaulan and
Across the Jordan. To him also we owe the excellent maps which carry us eastward to the
provinceA province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Roman provinces:The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province , which comes from the Latin word provincia, which referred to the sphere of activity which a...
of
el-HaurānHauran, also Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of modern-day Jordan. It gets its name from the aramic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...
.
Schumacher inclines to the belief that the ancient Golan may be located in Sahm el-Jaulān (a large village east of Nahr ‛Allān and southeast of Tsīl). The extensive ruins probably date from the early Christian Era. The buildings are of stone, many of them of spacious dimensions, while the streets are wide and straight. The inhabitants are not more than 280. The surrounding soil is rich and well watered, bearing excellent crops. Standing in the open country, it would be seen from afar; and it was easily accessible from all directions.