The Deir Aziz synagogue is an
ancient synagogue dating from the
Mishnaic
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
and
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
ic periods, located at the archeological site of
Deir Aziz, in the southern
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
.
History
The synagogue is located near the ruins of Deir Aziz, the site of an ancient
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
settlement, on which the Syrian village later existed. The remains of this synagogue, one of two public buildings found at the site, were initially uncovered by
Lawrence Oliphant in the late 19th century. Following the
1967 Six-Day War
The Six-Day War, also known as the June war, 1967 Arab–Israeli war or third Arab–Israeli war, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967.
Military hostilities broke ...
, the site was included in a survey conducted on the Golan Heights. In the 21st century, the synagogue underwent excavation and subsequent restoration efforts.
Archeology
In 1998, an excavation expedition was organized on behalf of the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archeology at
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...
and
Kinneret College
The Kinneret Academic College on the Sea of Galilee (Hebrew language, Hebrew: המכללה האקדמית כנרת בעמק הירדן), also known as Kinneret College and Academic Kinneret (As part of rebranding in February 2019), is a michlala, ...
led by Haim Ben David, Zvi Uri Maoz and Oren Zingboim. Excavations were carried out at the site until 2004.
The excavations revealed a rectangular hall (
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
) measuring , with a pile of
ashlar
Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones.
Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...
stones, which may originate from the synagogue that was destroyed in the
749 CE earthquake.
Under the floor of the hall, hundreds of coins were found, the latest of which date from the time of
Justinian I
Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
, emperor of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
(second quarter of the 6th century AD).
In the southern wall of the hall there is a prominent niche for the
Torah ark
A Torah ark (also known as the ''hekhal'', , or ''aron qodesh'', ) is an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls.
History
The ark is also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' () or ''aron ha-Kod ...
.
Further more a
Menorah and an Atarah (Hebrew word meaning "crown") were found engraved on a stone.
One of the synagogue's windows bears a Greek inscription, ΑΖΙΖΟ, suggesting a connection between the Arab name of the ruin, Deir Aziz, and the original name of the ancient Talmudic village.
Gallery
Ancient Jewish synagogue.jpg, View of the synagogue
AZIZO דיר עזיז.jpg, Greek inscription of the name: ΑΖΙΖΟ, possibly indicating "Aziz", related to the original name of the Talmudic settlement
See also
*
History of the Jews in Syria
The history of the Jews in Syria goes back to ancient times. They were joined by Sephardim who fled after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in 1492 CE. There were large Jewish communities in Aleppo, Damascus, and Qamishli for ce ...
*
List of synagogues in Syria
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khirbat Deir 'Azziz Ancient synagogue
Ancient Jewish settlements of the Golan Heights
Ancient synagogues in the Land of Israel
Archaeological sites on the Golan Heights
Former synagogues in Syria