Overview

Bibliography

Gamla is famous for its rebellion under the command of Josephus against the Romans during the first Judean revolt. The city was conquered by Vespasian and his legions in 67 CE, and the events were described by Josephus in both his Life and his Jewish Wars. Gamla had been identified with Tell el-Husn and Tell ed-Dara', but in 1970 Shmaryahu Gutman confirmed that it should be identified with a village on the southern slope of a camel shaped hill between the Nahal Daliyyot and the Nahal Gamla. He then began excavating the site in 1976 for the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums.

Evidence from the excavations indicate that Gamla was settled during the Early Bronze period, though that settlement was little explored. The city of the Josephus and the rebellion was founded during the late Hellenistic period. Josephus first mentions the city in connection with Alexander Jannaeus' campaign to conquer Gilead and the Golan. By the time of the first Judean revolt, Gamla was part of the kingdom of Agrippa II, and initially remained loyal to the Romans. But soon Gamla joined the rebellion and Josephus, who commanded the Judean militia in the area, fortified the city with a wall along its eastern side. Agrippa attempted to suppress the rebellion, but was unsuccessful after a seven month siege. Vespasian, however, brought an end to the city and captured Josephus, who became his client. The archaeological excavations have largely confirmed Josephus' account (in Jewish Wars IV.1-83) of the city's defense and destruction.