Yavne ( he, יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh . During Greco-Roman times, it was known as Jamnia ( grc, Ἰαμνία ''Iamníā''; la, Iamnia); to the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

as Ibelin; and before 1948, as

Yibna Yibna ( ar, يبنى; ''Jabneh'' or ''Jabneel'' in Biblical times; ''Jamnia'' in Roman times; '' Ibelin'' to the Crusaders), or Tel Yavne is an archaeological site and depopulated Palestinian town. The ruins are located immediately southeast of ...

( ar, يبنى).

History

Yavne was one of the major ancient cities in the southern

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

, situated south of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

, north of

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

, and east of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

.Moshe Fischer, Itamar Taxel and David Amit
Rural Settlement in the Vicinity of Yavneh in the Byzantine Period: A Religio-Archaeological Perspective
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 350 (May, 2008), pp. 7-35. Excavations were carried out on the ancient tell (mound created by accumulation of archaeological remains) known as ''Tel Yavne'' (Hebrew), which developed on a natural kurkar hill. The tell was inhabited, possibly continuously, from either the Bronze or Iron Age until the British Mandate period. During some periods, especially the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period, the settlement expanded to cover part of the plain and hills surrounding the tell. Yavne is mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' tell and the adjacent "Temple Hill" throughout the ages. Yavne is considered the most significant site for post-biblical Jewish history after

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. It was here that modern Judaism was born after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE and the loss of the

Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...

, until then the centre of religious identity for the Jews. The process started in Yavne after 70 CE was essential for adapting Judaism to a new situation where there was no central Temple, in terms of laws, calendar, and liturgy, becoming the basis for Jewish religious practice throughout the world. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai moved the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as " rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temp ...

to Yavne. Some scholars believe the so-called Council of Yavne met there. The

left Yavne for Usha in 80 CE and returned in 116 CE.

Bronze and Iron Age

Tel Yavne

Salvage excavations carried out in 2001 by the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

uncovered several burials at the northern foot of the original tell. Most of the burials are dated to the later

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

. One burial points to a late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

occupation. A large

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

''favissa'' (deposit of cultic artifacts) was discovered on Temple Hill.Raz Kletter, Irit Ziffer, Wolfgang Zwickel. "Yavneh I: The Excavation of the 'Temple Hill' Repository Pit and the Cult Stands." Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, Series Archaeologica (OBOSA), Book 30. Academic Press Fribourg, Switzerland () and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen (). 2010. Pages 2-1

/ref> Two excavation seasons in the 2000s led by Professor

Dan Bahat Dan Bahat ( he, דן בהט, born 1938) is an Israeli archaeologist especially known for his excavations in Jerusalem , particularly at the Western Wall tunnels. Biography Dan Bahat was born in Poland to parents who were citizens of Mandatory Pal ...

revealed some Iron Age remains. Pottery sherds of the Iron Age and Persian period were discovered at the surface of the tell.

Yavne Yam

The ancient harbour of Yavne has been identified on the coast at ''Minet Rubin'' (Arabic) or '' Yavne-Yam'' (Hebrew), where excavations have revealed fortification going back to the

Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...

. It was in use from the Middle Bronze Age until the 12th century CE, when it was abandoned. refers to the burning of the harbour and its fleet on the direction of

Judas Maccabeus Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabeus, also spelled Machabeus, or Maccabæus, Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, ''Yehudah HaMakabi'') was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleuc ...

Roman period with Herodians

In Roman times, the city was known as Iamnia, also spelled Jamnia. It was bequeathed by King Herod upon his death to his sister

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...

. Upon her death it passed to Emperor Augustus, who managed it as a private

imperial estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

, a status it was to maintain for at least a century. After Salome's death, Iamnia came into the property of

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the ...

, the future Roman empress, and then to her son

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. During the

First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...

, when the Roman army had quelled the insurrection in

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...

, the army then marched upon Iamnia and Azotus, taking both towns and stationing garrisons within them. According to rabbinic tradition, Rabbi

Yohanan ben Zakkai :''See Yohanan for more rabbis by this name''. Yohanan ben Zakkai ( he, יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, ''Yōḥānān ben Zakkaʾy''; 1st century CE), sometimes abbreviated as Ribaz () for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was one of the Tan ...

and his disciples were permitted to settle in Iamnia during the outbreak of the war, after Zakkai, realizing that

was about to fall, sneaked out of the city and asked

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

, the commander of the besieging Roman forces, for the right to settle in Yavne and teach his disciples. Upon the fall of Jerusalem, his school functioned as a re-establishment of the

Talmudic traditions

When disputes were rampant in Israel regarding basic ''halakhic'' norms, it was in Yavne, according to the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

(''Berakhot'' 1:4), that a Divine voice (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ''bat ḳol'') was heard declaring that, while both schools of thought espoused to the words of the Living God, the

Halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

, in practical matters, is in accordance with the School of Hillel. To counter a perceived threat to the emerging rabbinical authority posed by heterogeneous groups of Jews who embraced ideas that were thought to be unacceptable by the assembly, Talmudic tradition has it that it was in Yavne where Samuel the Less, during the days of Rabban Gamliel II, enacted the " twelfth benediction" in the

daily prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

, known as the benediction against apostates and

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

(

: ''minim'').

Byzantine period

Byzantine period finds from excavations include an aqueduct east of the tell, and a kiln. The world's largest wine factory from the Byzantine period has been uncovered by Israeli archaeologists, after a two-year excavation process; the importance of its wine was exemplified by its use by emperor Justin II in 566 at his table during his coronation feast.

Early Islamic period

The

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic historian

al-Baladhuri ʾAḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Jābir al-Balādhurī ( ar, أحمد بن يحيى بن جابر البلاذري) was a 9th-century Muslim historian. One of the eminent Middle Eastern historians of his age, he spent most of his life in Baghdad and e ...

(died 892 CE) mentioned Yibna as one of ten towns in

Jund Filastin Jund Filasṭīn ( ar, جُنْد فِلَسْطِيْن, "the military district of Palestine") was one of the military districts of the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Bilad al-Sham (Levant), organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Lev ...

conquered by the

Rashidun army The Rashidun army () was the core of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century. The army is reported to have maintained a high level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization, granti ...

led by

'Amr ibn al-'As ( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned import ...

in the early 7th century. In 2007, remains ranging from the Early Islamic period until the British Mandate period were uncovered. An additional kiln, and part of a commercial/industrial area were uncovered at the west of the tell in 2009.

Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk Periods

The

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

rs called the city Ibelin and built its castle there in 1141. An excavation led by Professor

in 2005Archaeological Excavations in Israel 2006
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accessed Sep 2021. revealed the main gate. Its namesake noble family, the House of Ibelin, was important in the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

and later in the

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Ana ...

. Salvage excavations at the west of the tell unearthed a stash of 53 Crusader coins of the 12th and 13th centuries.

Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...

(1130–1173) identified Jamnia (''Jabneh'') of classical writers with the ''Ibelin'' of the Crusades. He places the ancient city of Jamnia at three parasangs from

and two from

(''Azotus''). Ibelin was first sacked by

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt an ...

before his army was comprehensively routed at the

Battle of Montgisard The Battle of Montgisard was fought between the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Ayyubids on 25 November 1177 at Montgisard, in the Levant between Ramla and Yibna. The 16-year-old Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, seriously afflicted by leprosy, led an o ...

in late 1177. In August 1187, Yavne was retaken and burnt to the ground, and ceased for some time to form part of the Crusaders' kingdom. Ibelin's parish church was transformed into a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, to which a minaret was added during the Mamluk period in 1337. The minaret survives until today, while the mosque (the former Crusader church) was blown up by the IDF in 1950. The Mausoleum of Abu Huraira, known in Arabic as Maqam Abu Hurayra, described as "one of the finest domed mausoleums in Palestine", is located in Yavne. Since the 12th century, it has been known as the tomb of

Abu Hurairah Abu Hurayra ( ar, أبو هريرة, translit=Abū Hurayra; –681) was one of the companions of Islamic prophet Muhammad and, according to Sunni Islam, the most prolific narrator of hadith. He was known by the ''kunyah'' Abu Hurayrah "Fath ...

, a companion (

sahaba The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

) of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

. Abu Hurairah however is buried in

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

, but he was also venerated in various places in Palestine, namely in

Ramle Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations. The city was f ...

and Yavne. After 1948 the shrine has been adopted by Jews who came primarily from Arab countries and believe that the tomb is the burial place of Rabbi Gamaliel of Yavne. Mayer et al., (1950:22) Cited in The Jewish claimants to the site say that it was originally a Jewish sacred burial place and was Islamized later, but there is no record of Jewish pilgrimage there in the decades before 1948.

Ottoman and Mandate periods

For the Arab village of Yibna during the Ottoman and Mandate periods (to 1948), see

. File:יבנה - בנין הישיבה הגדולה "כרם ביבנה"-JNF040332.jpeg, The "Kerem B'Yavneh"

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

, phot. by Jakob Rosner, January 1945 File:Yibna 1945.jpg, Yibna 1945

1948 war

In mid-March 1948, a contingent of Iraqi soldiers moved into the village. In a Haganah reprisal on 30 March, two dozen villagers were killed. On April 21, the Iraqi village commander was arrested in

for drunkenly shooting two Arabs. During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, residents of Zarnuqa sought refuge in Yibna, but left after the villagers accused them of being traitors. On 27 May, following the fall of Al-Qubayba and Zarnuqa, most of the population of Yibna fled to

Isdud Isdud ( ar, اسدود) is a former Palestinian village and the site of the ancient and classical-era Levantine metropolis of Ashdod. The Arab village, which had a population of 4,910 in 1945, was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. T ...

, but armed males were refused entry. On 5 June, when Israeli troops arrived, they found the village almost deserted apart from a few old people who were ordered to leave.

State of Israel after 1948 war

After 1948, a number of Israeli villages were founded on Yibna land:

Kfar HaNagid Kfar HaNagid ( he, כְּפַר הַנָּגִיד, ''lit.'' Village of the Prince), is a moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain around 20 km south of Tel Aviv and north of Yavne, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gan Raveh ...

and Beit Gamliel in 1949,

Ben Zakai Ben Zakai ( he, בֶּן זַכַּאי) is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Yavne Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The moshav was established in 1950 ...

in 1950, Kfar Aviv (originally: "Kfar HaYeor") in 1951, Tzofiyya in 1955. According to

Walid Khalidi Walid Khalidi ( ar, وليد خالدي, born 1925 in Jerusalem) is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is a co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, establish ...

, a railroad crosses the village. The old mosque and

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

, together with a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

can still be seen, and some of the old houses are inhabited by Jewish and Arab families. Yavne was established in October 1948 as a transition camp for Jews from Arab countries, Iran and Europe. The first built neighbourhood was established in early 1949. In the early years, Yavne was a poor town, with the inhabitants subsisting on small-scale trade, as farm and industry laborers, and on agriculture in their yards. The town had a population of 1,600 in 1953. The town gradually developed. In the 1960s, several enterprises moved from Tel Aviv to Yavne, and industries in the city came to include leather, textiles, and metallurgy. The population had grown to 10,100 in 1970. The 1980 edition of a popular guidebook published in Jerusalem describes Yavne as having Israel's first atomic reactor. An image of which appeared on a 0.50 Shekel stamp. Yavne was a stagnant backwater city until the mid-1970s, when Mayor

Meir Sheetrit Meir Sheetrit ( he, מאיר שטרית, born 10 October 1948) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset in two spells for Likud between 1981 and 1988, and again from 1992 until 2005, when he joined Kadima. He remained a Kne ...

, who assumed office in 1974, began to develop the city as a low-density suburban satellite of Tel Aviv by building homes targeted at middle-class families who could commute to Tel Aviv while living in Yavne and improving the school system. Yavne rapidly developed as a result and was granted city status in 1986. By the mid-1990s, the population had risen to 25,600.

Archaeology

Tel Yavne was first excavated in 2005 in a dig headed by

, who unearthed the gate room of the Crusader castle of Ibelin, as well as a vault destroyed with gunpowder by the

Mamluks Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

and deeply embedded Crusader walls east of it, all at or around the top of the tell. In December 2019, a large number of pottery kilns and 1,200-year-old gold coins which may have been a local potter's "

piggy bank Piggy bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin container normally used by children. The piggy bank is known to collectors as a "still bank" as opposed to the " mechanical banks" popular in the early 20th centur ...

" were unearthed in a juglet by the

Israeli Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

. According to archaeologist Robert Kool, the coins date back to the early

Abbasid period The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

, about 9th century CE. One of the seven coins was minted by Caliph

Harun al-Rashid Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar , أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...

(786–809 CE). "These are gold dinars issued by the Aghlabid dynasty that ruled in North Africa. Without a doubt this is a wonderful

Hanukkah or English translation: 'Establishing' or 'Dedication' (of the Temple in Jerusalem) , nickname = , observedby = Jews , begins = 25 Kislev , ends = 2 Tevet or 3 Tevet , celebrations = Lighting candles each nig ...

present for us," said Kool. In August 2020, Israeli archaeologists discovered 425 complete gold coins, most dating to the Abbasid period around 1,100 years ago. In April 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 1,600-year-old multicolored

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

dated back to the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in an industrial area. According to IAA archaeologist Elie Haddad, it was the first time that excavators revealed a colored mosaic floor in Yavne. In 2022, a sling bullet was discovered with the Greek inscription "Victory of Heracles and Hauronas", the two gods were the patrons of the city during the

Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

Demography

According to the

Israel Central Bureau of Statistics The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics ( he, הלשכה המרכזית לסטטיסטיקה, ''HaLishka HaMerkazit LiStatistika''; ar, دائرة الإحصاء المركزية الإسرائيلية), abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government ...

(CBS), in 2001 the ethnic makeup of the city was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and others, without significant

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

population. As of March 2018 the city numbered 46,705 persons, with a high percentage of young people: 36% of the population was in the 0–21 age group and 64% of the total population was younger than 39. Yavne 736

According to CBS figures for 2001, there were 16 schools and 7,445 students in Yavne (11 elementary schools with 4,037 students and 9 high schools with 3,408 students). 59.6% of 12th graders were entitled to a matriculation certificate that year.

Economy

Major companies based in Yavne include Ormat Industries, Aeronautics Defense Systems, Avisar and Orbotech. In 2019, Merck established an incubator in Yavne with a budget of about €20 million over three years that will invest in startups focusing on semiconductor and display crystal technologies. In 2022 Recipharm established a new facility in Yavne.

Environmental issues

In 2012 a new green neighborhood "Neot Rabin" was inaugurated in the south of the city.

Sports

Maccabi Yavne is the city's major football club. During the 1980s the club played in the top division and in 1985 won the

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League (Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. F ...

. Today they are in

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

. The basketball team, Elitzur Yavne, have also played in the

Liga Leumit (basketball) Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second tier level league of basketball competition in Israel. It is the league level that is below the first tier Israeli Premier League. League system The league contai ...

since 2007. Omri Casspi, the first Israeli to play in the National Basketball Association, grew up in the city and played for some of its teams.

Notable people

Avior Byron Avior Byron ( he, אביאור ביירון) is an Israeli singer songwriter and musicologist. Biography Avior Byron was born in Petah Tikva, Raz Israeli“Against the wind; meet the first religious protest singer” nrg Maariv, July 7, 201 ...

(born 1973), singer, songwriter, and musicologist *

Omri Casspi Omri Moshe Casspi ( he, עומרי משה כספי, born June 22, 1988) is an Israeli former professional basketball player. He mainly played at the small forward position, but could play also at the power forward position. Casspi was drafted 2 ...

(born 1988), Israeli professional NBA basketball player *

Itai Chammah Itai Chammah ( he, איתי צ'מה; born 11 November 1985 in Yavne) is an Israeli swimmer who represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Biography Chammah is Jewish. Chammah competed on behalf of Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beiji ...

(born 1985), Olympic swimmer *

Gil Dor Gil Dor ( he, גיל דור, born December 12, 1952) is an Israeli guitar player mostly known for his long term collaboration as accompanist, arranger, producer and co-composer with international concert and recording artist Achinoam Nini, also ...

, guitar player *

Elishay Kadir Elishay Kadir ( he, אלישי כדיר) (born November 4, 1987) is an Israeli professional basketball player, who plays for Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Premier League. He plays in the power forward position, and is 202 cm (6'8") tall. He w ...

(born 1987), basketball player *

Uri Kokia Uri Kokia ( he, אורי קוקיה; born May 14, 1981) is an Israeli professional basketball coach and a former professional basketball player. He is the current head coach for Ironi Ramat Gan of the Liga Artzit. Kokia played as a center/ powe ...

(born 1981), basketball player and coach * Shlomi Koriat (born 1976), actor and comedian *

Maor Melikson Maor Melikson (or Melicsohn, he, מאור מליקסון; born ) is an Israeli former association footballer who played as a winger for the Israel national team. As a result of injury he announced his retirement on 1 January 2020. Early lif ...

, footballer * Nevo Mizrahi (born 1987), footballer * Mushail Mushailov, artist *

Ido Nehoshtan Aluf Ido Nehoshtan, also Nehushtan ( he, עידו נחושתן; born 1957) is a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces. He replaced Eliezer Shkedi on 4 April 2008 as Air Force Commander until he himself was replaced by Amir Eshel on 10 May ...

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(ret.), former chief of

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defens ...

* Shabak Samech, rap and hip-hop group *

(born 1948), Israeli Minister of the Interior

Sister cities

Yavne is twinned with: *

Le Raincy Le Raincy () is a prestigious commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Le Raincy is a subprefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Le Raincy. Its popu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer lie ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

* Sunrise, Florida,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

References

External links

Municipal website
*
Yavneh Yields Over a Hundred Philistine Cult Stands
Biblical Archaeology Review *
2008 salvage excavation report
Orit Segal at Excavations and Surveys in Israel, 5 July 2011. Accessed 22 Feb 2017. {{Authority control Cities in Central District (Israel) Cities in Israel Development towns Hebrew Bible cities Talmud places Ancient Jewish settlements of Judaea Canaanite cities Tells (archaeology) 1949 establishments in Israel