Banias Banias 2004 in Switzerland Category="Archaeological sites in Israel"Category="Archaeological sites in Syria"Category="Crusades"

The remains of the city of Banias (Arabic pronunciation of Panias) are located at the foot of Mt. Hermon in the disputed Golan Heights (claimed by Israel and Syria). The site is 95 miles north of Jerusalem and 35 miles southwest from Damascus. The city was also called Caesarea Philippi by the Romans.

The city was built near the Banyas spring, one of the sources of the River Jordan.

History

Banyas is the site of a spring known as Fanium or Panias. In ancient times, it was a giant spring, gushing from a cave in the limestone rock, which is the source of the stream Nahal Senir. The Jordan River arises from this spring and two others at the base of Mount Hermon. The flow of the spring has been greatly reduced in modern time, possibly due to deforestation of Mount Hermon, or realignment of faults in the rock layers from earthquakes. The water no longer gushes from the cave, but seeps from the rocks below it.

It does not certainly appear in the Old Testament history, though identifications with Baal-Gad and (less certainly) with Laish (Dan) have been proposed. It was certainly a place of great sanctity from very early times, and when foreign religious influences intruded upon the region, the cult of its local numen gave place to the worship of Pan, to whom was dedicated the cave in which the copious spring feeding the Jordan arises. In 200 BC, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III defeated the Ptolemaic army in this region and captured Banyas.

In 20 BC, the region which included Banyas was annexed to the Kingdom of Herod the Great. He erected here a temple in honour of his patron. In the year 2 BC, Herod Philip founded a pagan city and named it Caesarea Philippi (in honor of Augustus Caesar). It became the capital of his large kingdom which spread across the Golan and the Hauran. Contemporary sources refer to the city as Caesarea Panias; the New Testament as Caesarea Philippi. (Matt. 16:13) Philip was reviled by Jews because of his pagan practices. His image was placed on a coin, which is considered idolatry by them.

Here Peter made his confession of Jesus as the Messiah, and Christ in turn gave his charge to Peter. (Matt. xvi. 13). Many Greek inscriptions have been found here, some referring to the shrine. Agrippa II changed the name to Neronias, but this name endured but a short while. Titus here exhibited gladiatonal shows to celebrate the capture of Jerusalem.

In the 12th century Banias was the centre of a lordship in the Kingdom of Jerusalem within the Lordship of Beirut, until it was captured by Nur ad-Din in 1164.

Caesarea Philippi should not be confounded with Caesarea Maritima, in Israel, or with Caesarea Mazaca in Cappadocia Banyas was first settled in the Hellenistic period. The Ptolemaic kings, in the 3rd century BC, built a cult center to counter the Semitic one at Dan to the south.