View source for Beit She'an

{{Short description|Neolithic settlement; town in Israel}}
{{Redirect|Beisan|the Ancient Egyptian steles discovered in this locality|Beisan steles}}
{{Redirect|Bissan|the data scientist|Bissan Al-Lazikani}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = Beit She'an
| native_name              = {{Lang|he|{{Script/Hebrew|בֵּית שְׁאָן}}|rtl=yes}}
| settlement_type          = [[List of cities in Israel|town]]
| translit_lang1           = Hebrew
| translit_lang1_type1     = [[ISO 259]]
| translit_lang1_info1     = Beit Šˀan
| translit_lang1_type2     = Translit.
| translit_lang1_info2     = Bet Šəʼan
| translit_lang1_type3     = Also spelled
| translit_lang1_info3     = {{br separated entries|Bet She'an (official)| Beth Shean (unofficial) }}
| image_skyline            = Beit shean.jpg
| image_caption            = Beit She'an
| image_blank_emblem       = Bet Shean COA.png
| pushpin_map_alt          = 
| pushpin_map              = Israel jezreel#Israel
| pushpin_mapsize          = 
| pushpin_label_position   = bottom
| pushpin_map_caption      = 
| coordinates              = {{Coord|32|30|N|35|30|E|region:IL-Z_city(19,000)|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = {{flag|Israel}}
| subdivision_type1        = 
| subdivision_name1        = 
| subdivision_type2        = [[Districts of Israel|District]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern]]
| established_title        = Founded
| established_date         = 6th–5th millennia BCE <small>(Earliest settlement)</small><br />Bronze Age <small>([[Canaan]]ite town)</small>
| leader_title             = Mayor
| leader_name              = [[Noam Juma'a]]
| unit_pref                = dunam
| area_total_dunam         = {{formatnum:7330|R}}
| population_footnotes     = {{Israel populations|reference}}
| population_total         = {{Israel populations|Bet She'an}}
| population_as_of         = {{Israel populations|Year}}
| population_density_km2   = auto
| blank_name_sec1          = Name meaning
| blank_info_sec1          = House of Tranquillity<ref name="Shahin">{{cite book |last= Shahin |first= Mariam |title= Palestine: A Guide |year= 2005 |publisher= Interlink Books |isbn= 978-1-56656-557-8 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/palestine00mari/page/159 159–165] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/palestine00mari/page/159 }}</ref>
| website                  = http://www.bet-shean.org.il
}}
[[File:Air films (1937). Beisan mound LOC matpc.17062.jpg|thumb|Archaeological excavation at Tell Beth Shean in 1937. The town is seen at the top half of the picture]]

'''Beit She'an''' ({{langx|he|בֵּית שְׁאָן}} ''{{Audio|He-Bet_Shean.ogg|Bēṯ Šəʾān}}''), also known as '''Beisan''' ({{langx|ar|بيسان}} ''{{Audio|Ar-Bisan.ogg|Bisān}}''),<ref name="Shahin"/> or '''Beth-shean''', is a town in the [[Northern District (Israel)|Northern District]] of [[Israel]]. The town lies at the [[Beit She'an Valley]] about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level.

Beit She'an is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the region. It has played an important role in history due to its geographical location at the junction of the [[Jordan River|Jordan River Valley]] and the [[Jezreel Valley]]. Beth She'an's ancient [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]] contains remains beginning in the [[Chalcolithic|Chalcolithic period]]. When [[Canaan]] came under [[New Kingdom of Egypt|Imperial Egyptian rule]] in the [[Late Bronze Age collapse|Late Bronze Age]], Beth She'an served as a major Egyptian administrative center.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Bet Sheʾan {{!}} Israel {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bet-Shean |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> The city came under [[Israelites|Israelite]] rule in the monarchic period. It probably fell under [[Philistines|Philistine]] control during the time of [[Saul]], when, according to the [[Bible]], his body was displayed there along with his sons.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Lemche |first=Niels Peter |title=Historical dictionary of ancient Israel |date=2004 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-4848-1 |series=Historical dictionaries of ancient civilizations and historical eras |location=Lanham, Md. |pages=84–85 |quote=}}</ref>

During the [[Hellenistic period]], the settlement was known as '''Scythopolis''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: ''Σκυθόπολις''). After the region came under [[Roman Empire|Roman]] rule, Scythopolis gained imperial free status and was the leading city of the [[Decapolis]]. A multi-cultural metropolis under [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] rule, it served as the capital of the province of [[Palaestina Secunda]], and had a mixed population of [[Christians]], [[Paganism|pagans]], [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]]. After the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Arab conquest of the Levant]], and following a series of devastating earthquakes (most notably in [[749 Galilee earthquake|749]]), the city lost its prominence, and became a medium-sized country town.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=אבני |first=גדעון |date=2014 |title=התעצמות ודעיכה: תהליכי שינוי בערי ארץ ישראל בתקופה המוסלמית הקדומה |trans-title=Intensification and abatement: processes of change in the cities of Palestine during the early Muslim period |journal=קתדרה |language=Hebrew |issue=153 |pages=42–43}}</ref>

The population of the town was completely changed from 1948 to 1950. It had been entirely [[Muslims|Muslim]] and Christian, designated to be part of the Jewish state in the 1947 [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine]], and was captured by the [[Haganah]] in May 1948. The battle over the town during [[Operation Gideon]] caused most of its inhabitants to flee, and the remainder were expelled.<ref name="Golan" /> The town was then resettled by Jewish immigrants.<ref name="Golan">Arnon Golan (2002) Jewish Settlement of Former Arab Towns and Their Incorporation into the Israeli Urban System (1948-50), Israel Affairs, 9:1-2, 149–164, {{doi|10.1080/714003467}} "The former Arab town of Beisan... Jewish troops took over the town and its environs in fighting in April and May 1948. Most of the Arab population fled at that time, while the handful of remaining residents were expelled following the town's surrender on 13 May, after which it was placed under military government. As early as June 1948 the Israeli authorities initiated a new settlement  venture in the Beit Shean valley, which established three new kibbutzim by March 1949. To block any possible return of former Arab residents, the local military government  began  the  demolition  of  the  town's  built-up  area;  this  was halted  only  by  the  intervention  of  the  Israeli  agriculture  minister, Aaron Ziesling, who opposed the demolition policy on ideological grounds... The government decided to build 1,000 new apartments in Beisan and to restore 600 former Arab dwelling units for immigrants. In April 1950 the Jewish population of Beisan, renamed in Hebrew "Beit Shean", numbered 2,000, all of them newly arrived immigrants."</ref> Today, Beit She'an serves as a regional centre for the towns in the Beit She'an Valley. The ancient city ruins are now protected within the [[National parks and nature reserves of Israel|Beit She'an National Park]]. The town is located near the [[Jordan River Crossing]], one of three crossing points between Israel and [[Jordan]].

==Geography==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 2382 Geography of Israel בית שאן.JPG|thumb|Ancient ruins of Beit She'an]]
Beit She'an's location has always been strategically significant, due to its position at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the [[Jezreel Valley]], essentially controlling access from [[Jordan]] and the inland to the coast, as well as from [[Jerusalem]] and [[Jericho]] to the [[Galilee]].

Beit She'an is situated on [[Highway 90 (Israel–Palestine)|Highway 90]], the north–south road which runs the length of the eastern edge of Israel and the West Bank. The city stretches over an area of 7 square kilometers with a substantial national park in the north of the city. Beit She'an has a population of 20,000.<ref>[http://www.nbn.org.il/aliyahpedia/community-housing-aliyahpedia/community-profiles/beit-shean/ Nefesh B'Nefesh Profiles: Beit She'an]</ref>

Today the town is under the administration of the [[Emek HaMaayanot Regional Council|Emek HaMa'ayanot Regional Council]].

==Climate==
Beit She'an has a hot [[semi-arid climate]], with mild, rainy winters and very hot, dry summers. Beit She'an is one of the hottest cities in Israel, due to its location in [[Beit She'an Valley|Beit She'an valley]], which is part of the [[Jordan Valley]]. The annual precipitation is 305&nbsp;mm, which make it the driest city in Northern Israel. The cause of the relative aridity is the location in the rain shadow of the [[Samaria|Samaria mountains]] and [[Mount Gilboa]], which blocks some of the rain from reaching the area.

==History of archaeological exploration==
The [[University of Pennsylvania]] carried out excavations of ancient Beit She'an in 1921–1933. Relics from the [[Canaanites#Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC)|Egyptian period]] were discovered, most of them now exhibited in the [[Rockefeller Museum]] in [[Jerusalem]]. Some are in the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum]] in [[Philadelphia]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ousterhout |first1=Robert |last2=Boomer |first2=Megan |last3=Chalmers |first3=Matthew |last4=Fleck |first4=Victoria |last5=Kopta |first5=Joseph R. |last6=Shackelford |first6=James |last7=Vandewalle |first7=Rebecca |last8=Winnik |first8=Arielle |title=Beth Shean After Antiquity |url= http://beth-shean.org |website=Beth Shean After Antiquity}}</ref> Excavations at the site were resumed by the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] in 1983 and then again from 1989 to 1996 under the direction of [[Amihai Mazar]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.archaeowiki.org/Tel_Beth_Shean |title= Archaeowiki.org |website= www.archaeowiki.org |access-date= 15 March 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180316151757/http://www.archaeowiki.org/Tel_Beth_Shean |archive-date= 16 March 2018 |url-status= dead}}</ref> The excavations have revealed no less than 18 successive ancient towns.<ref name= Upenn>{{cite web |url= http://www.sas.upenn.edu/aamw/resources/fieldwork/#Beth%20Shean%20(Israel) |title=Beth Shean (Israel) |work= University of Pennsylvania |access-date=2009-02-04}}</ref><ref name= Stanford>{{Cite web |last=Heiser |first=Lauren |date=2000-03-10 |url= http://srb.stanford.edu/nur/GP50/laurenh.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041228114001/http://srb.stanford.edu/nur/GP50/laurenh.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-12-28 |access-date=2009-02-04 |title=Beth Shean }}</ref>

==History==
===Prehistory (Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods)===
In 1933, archaeologist G.M. FitzGerald, under the auspices of the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum]], carried out a "deep cut" on Tell el-Hisn ("castle hill"), the large [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]], or mound, of Beth She'an, in order to determine the earliest occupation of the site. His results suggest that settlement began in the [[Late Neolithic]] or [[Early Chalcolithic]] periods (sixth to fifth millennia BC.)<ref>Braun, Eliot. ''Early Beth Shean (Strata XIX–XIII): G.M. FitzGerald's Deep Cut on the Tell'', p. 28</ref> Occupation continued intermittently throughout the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, with a likely gap during the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 4000–3300 BC).<ref name="Braun, p.61-64">Braun, pp. 61–64</ref>

===Early Bronze Age===
[[File:BetShe'an - an ancient house of Egyptian governor.jpg|thumbnail|House of the Egyptian governor on Tell el-Husn]]

Settlement seems to have resumed at the beginning of the [[Early Bronze Age]] I (3200–3000) and continues throughout this period, is then missing during the Early Bronze Age II, and then resumes in the Early Bronze Age III.<ref name="Braun, p.61-64"/>

===Middle Bronze Age===
A large cemetery on the northern mound was in use from the Bronze Age to [[Byzantine]] times.<ref>Rowe, Alan. ''The Topography and History of Beth Shean''. Philadelphia: 1930, p. v</ref> [[Canaan]]ite graves dating from 2000 to 1600 BC were discovered there in 1926.<ref>Rowe, p. 2</ref>

===Late Bronze Age===
====Egyptian period====
After the [[Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC)|conquest of Beit She'an by Pharaoh Thutmose III]] in the 15th century BCE, as recorded in an inscription at [[Karnak]],<ref>No. 110: bt š'ir. Mazar, Amihai. "Tel Beth-Shean: History and Archaeology." In ''One God, One Cult, One Nation''. Ed. R.G. Kratz and H. Spieckermann. New York: 2010, p. 239</ref> the small town on the summit of the mound became the center of the Egyptian administration of the region.<ref>Mazar 242</ref> The Egyptian newcomers changed the organization of the town and left a great deal of material culture behind. A large Canaanite temple ({{convert|39|m|abbr=on}} in length) excavated by the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum]] (Penn Museum) may date from about the same period as [[Thutmose III]]'s conquest, though the Hebrew University excavations suggest that it dates to a later period.<ref>Rowe, 10; http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206130240/http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm |date=2012-02-06 }}</ref> Artifacts of potential cultic significance were found around the temple. Based on [[Beisan steles|an Egyptian stele]] found at the place, the temple was dedicated to the god Mekal.<ref>Rowe 11</ref> The [[Hebrew University]] excavations determined that this temple was built on the site of an earlier one.<ref>Mazar 247</ref>

[[File:The Egyptian governor's house, 12th century BC, Scythopolis (Beit She'an), Israel (25860307202).jpg|thumbnail|Lion and Lioness, 14th century BC]]
One of the most important finds near the temple is the Lion and Lioness (or a dog<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm |title= Tel Beth Shean: An Account of the Hebrew University Excavations|website=www.rehov.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206130240/http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm |archive-date=2012-02-06}}</ref>) stela, currently in the [[Israel Museum]] in Jerusalem, which depicts the two playing.<ref>[https://www.imj.org.il/he/collections/393802 Lion and Lioness playing], Israel Museum</ref>

During the three hundred years of rule by the [[New Kingdom of Egypt]], the population of Beit She'an appears to have been primarily Egyptian administrative officials and military personnel. The town was completely rebuilt, following a new layout, during the [[19th dynasty]].<ref>Mazar 250</ref> The Penn Museum excavations uncovered [[Beisan steles|two important stelae]] from the period of [[Seti I]] and a monument of [[Ramesses II]].<ref>Rowe 23–32</ref> One of those steles is particularly interesting because, according to [[William F. Albright]],<ref>Albright W. "The smaller Beth-Shean stele of Sethos I (1309–1290 B.C.)", ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'', Feb 1952, pp. 24–32.</ref> it testifies to the presence of a Hebrew population: the [[Habiru]], which Seti I protected from an Asiatic tribe. Pottery was produced locally, but some was made to mimic Egyptian forms.<ref name="rehov.org">{{cite web |url= http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm |title= Tel Beth Shean: An Account of the Hebrew University's Excavations |publisher= Rehov.org |access-date= 2012-03-04 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120206130240/http://www.rehov.org/project/tel_beth_shean.htm |archive-date= 2012-02-06 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Other Canaanite goods existed alongside Egyptian imports, or locally made Egyptian-style objects.<ref>Mazar 256</ref> The [[20th Dynasty]] saw the construction of large administrative buildings in Beit She'an, including "Building 1500", a small palace for the Egyptian governor.<ref>Mazar 253</ref> During the 20th Dynasty, invasions of the "[[Sea Peoples]]" upset Egypt's control over the [[Eastern Mediterranean]]. Though the exact circumstances are unclear, the entire site of Beit She'an was destroyed by fire around 1150 BC. The Egyptians did not attempt to rebuild their administrative center and finally lost control of the region.

Over 50 clay anthropoid coffins were found at the site mainly from the 13th and 12th
centuries BC. Most are in the typical Egyptian style but some are of a "grotesque" type linked to the Aegean which caused earlier archaeologists to suggest they were of the "sea peoples" which pharaoh Ramses III claimed to have resettled in the region.<ref>Emanuel, Jeffrey P. “‘SEA PEOPLES’ IN EGYPTIAN GARRISONS IN LIGHT OF BETH-SHEAN, (RE-)RECONSIDERED.” Mediterranean Archaeology, vol. 28/29, 2015, pp. 1–22</ref>

===Iron Age===
[[File:Terracotta sarcophagus Beth Shean northern cemetery tomb 202A Iron IA 1200-1150 BCE Penn Museum 02.jpg|thumb|Terracotta sarcophagus Beth Shean northern cemetery tomb 202A Iron IA 1200–1150 BCE Penn Museum 02]]

An [[Iron Age]] I (1200–1000 BC) Canaanite city was constructed on the site of the Egyptian center shortly after its destruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rehov.org/project/index.htm |title=The Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project |publisher=Rehov.org |access-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204204829/http://www.rehov.org/project/index.htm |archive-date=2012-02-04 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], around 1000 BC the town became part of the [[Kingdom of Israel (United Monarchy)|larger Israelite kingdom]]. [[1 Kings]] ({{bibleverse|1 Kings|4:12}}) refers to Beit She'an as part of the kingdom of [[Solomon]], though the historical accuracy of this list is debated.<ref>Mazar 263</ref> Nevertheless, recent archaeomagnetic dates suggest that the first Israelite urban settlement was established either during the Solomonic period or in the pre-Omride phase of the early [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|kingdom of Israel]] at the latest, and that it was probably destroyed around 935–900 BC.<ref>{{cite book |title="And in Length of Days Understanding" (Job 12:12): Essays on Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean and Beyond in Honor of Thomas E. Levy |last1=Vaknin |first1=Yoav |publisher=Springer Nature |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-27330-8 |last2=Mazar |first2=Amihai |last3=Shaar |first3=Ron  |last4=Ben-Yosef |first4=Erez |pages=787–810 |editor-last=Ben-Yosef |editor-first=Erez |chapter=Tel Beth-Shean in the Tenth–Ninth Centuries BCE: A Chronological Query and Its Possible Archaeomagnetic Resolution |editor-last2=Jones |editor-first2=Ian W. N. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcPOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA787}}</ref>

The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] conquest of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|northern kingdom of Israel]] under [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] (732 BC) brought about the destruction of Beit She'an by fire.<ref name="rehov.org" />

Minimal reoccupation occurred until the [[Hellenistic period]].<ref name="rehov.org" />

====Biblical narrative====
The [[Hebrew Bible]] identifies Beit She'an as where the bodies of [[King Saul]] and three of his sons were hung by the [[Philistines]] after the [[Saul|Battle of Gilboa]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Samuel|31:10–12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/38/2/2|title=Was King Saul Impaled on the Wall of Beth Shean?|date=August 31, 2015|website=The BAS Library}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishmag.co.il/39mag/shean/shean.htm|title=Beit She'an, Archaeology in Israel|website=www.jewishmag.co.il}}</ref> According to the biblical narrative, the battle was fought at [[Mount Gilboa]], around the year 1010 BC. The Philistines prevailed and Saul died in battle together with three of his sons, [[Jonathan (1 Samuel)|Jonathan]], [[Abinadab]] and [[Malchishua]],  ([[1 Samuel]] and [[1 Chronicles]], {{bibleverse|1 Samuel 31; 1 Chronicles 10|multi=yes}}). {{bibleverse|1 Samuel|31:10}} states that "the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of Beit She'an". Later, the people of [[Jabesh-Gilead]] took the remnants, carried them into their city, and burned them. No archeological evidence was found of a Philistine occupation of Beit She'an, but it is possible the force only passed there.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Hellenistic period===
[[File:Thedecapolis.png|upright|thumb|Map of the [[Decapolis]] showing the location of Beit She'an, here called by its Greek name, Scythopolis]]

The [[Hellenistic period]] saw the reoccupation of the site of Beit She'an under the new name "Scythopolis" ([[Ancient Greek]]: Σκυθόπολις),<ref>Meyers & Chancey 13</ref> meaning "City of the Scythians", possibly named after the [[Scythians|Scythian]] mercenaries who settled there as veterans.<ref name="Avi-Yonah 1962 pp. 123–134">{{cite journal | last=Avi-Yonah | first=M. | title=Scythopolis | journal=Israel Exploration Journal | publisher=Israel Exploration Society | volume=12 | issue=2 | year=1962 | issn=0021-2059 | jstor=27924894 | pages=123–134 | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/27924894 | access-date=2023-04-15}}</ref>

Little is known about the Hellenistic city, but during the 3rd century BCE a large temple was constructed on the tell.<ref>Rowe 44</ref> It is unknown which deity was worshipped there, but the temple continued to be used during Roman times. Graves dating from the Hellenistic period are simple, singular [[rock-cut tomb]]s.<ref name="Rowe 49">Rowe 49</ref> From 301 to 198 BCE the area was under the control of the [[Ptolemies]], and Beit She'an is mentioned in 3rd–2nd century BCE written sources describing the [[Syrian Wars]] between the Ptolemaic and [[Seleucid]] dynasties. In 198 BCE the Seleucids finally conquered the region.

===Roman period===
In 63 BCE, [[Pompey]] made [[Judea]] a part of the [[Roman Republic]]. Beit She'an was refounded and rebuilt by [[Aulus Gabinius|Gabinius]].<ref name="Rowe 46">Rowe 46</ref> The town center shifted from the summit of the mound, or tell, to its slopes. Scythopolis prospered and became the leading city of the [[Decapolis]], the only one west of the Jordan River.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en-humanities.tau.ac.il/Archaeology-institute|title=Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology|website=en-humanities.tau.ac.il}}</ref>

The city flourished under the "[[Pax Romana]]", as evidenced by high-level [[urban planning]] and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theatre of ancient [[Samaria]], as well as a [[hippodrome]], a [[cardo]] and other trademarks of the Roman influence. [[Mount Gilboa]], {{convert|7|km|0|abbr=on}} away, provided dark [[basalt]] blocks, as well as water (via an aqueduct) to the town. Beit She'an is said to have sided with the Romans during the early phase of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] in 66 CE.<ref name="Rowe 46"/> Excavations have focused less on the Roman period ruins, so not much is known about this period.{{dubious|Not so! Apparently copied from Penn U. dig publication from the 1930s, almost a century ago: far from being up to date!|date= June 2022}} The Penn. University Museum excavation of the northern cemetery, however, did uncover significant finds. The Roman period tombs are of the ''[[Loculus (architecture)|loculus]]'' type: a rectangular rock-cut spacious chamber with smaller chambers (''loculi'') cut into its side.<ref name="Rowe 49"/> Bodies were placed directly in the ''loculi'', or inside sarcophagi which were placed in the ''loculi''. A [[sarcophagus]] with an inscription identifying its occupant in Greek as "Antiochus, the son of Phallion", may have held the cousin of [[Herod the Great]].<ref name="Rowe 49"/> One of the most interesting Roman grave finds was a [http://www.penn.museum/collections/object/297803 bronze incense shovel] with the handle in the form of an animal leg, or hoof, now in the [[University of Pennsylvania Museum]].<ref>Rowe 53</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:ROMAN THEATER BEIT SHE'AN.JPG|The Roman theatre
Image:Roman street in Bet She'an National Park, Israel.jpg|Roman cardo
File:Bet She'an hypocaust.jpg|Roman baths
</gallery>

===Byzantine period===
[[File:Beit Shean Mosaic.jpg|thumb|Mosaic from 5th–7th century synagogue in northern Beit Shean, possibly Samaritan, [[Israel Museum]]<ref>[https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/536017?itemNum=536017 Synagogue floor]: Beth Shean synagogue, ay IMJ website, accessed 16 July 2019</ref>]]

Copious archaeological remains were found dating to the [[Byzantine Empire]] (330–636) and were excavated by the [[Penn Museum]] from 1921 to 1923. A rotunda church was constructed on top of the [[tell (archaeology)|tell]], and a wall enclosed the entire city.<ref name="Rowe 50">Rowe 50</ref> Textual sources mention several other churches in the town.<ref name="Rowe 50" /> Scythopolis was primarily Christian, as attested to by many churches, but evidence of Jewish habitation and a [[Samaritanism|Samaritan synagogue]] indicate established communities of these minorities. The pagan temples in the city center went out of use, but the [[nymphaeum]] and the [[thermae]] were restored, and a Sigma-shaped complex was added.<ref>https://dannythedigger.com/beit-shean-sigma/</ref> Many of the buildings of Scythopolis were damaged in the [[363 Galilee earthquake]]. In 409, [[Syria Palaestina]] was divided and Scythopolis became the capital of the northern region of [[Palaestina Secunda]].<ref name="Rowe 45">Rowe 45</ref> and the [[Scythopolis (see)|See of Scythopolis]] was the [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan archdiocese]].

Dedicatory inscriptions indicate a preference for donations to religious buildings. Many colourful [[mosaic]]s were preserved, such as that featuring the [[zodiac]] in the Lady Mary's Monastery, or the one with a [[temple menorah]] and the phrase ''shalom'' in the House of Leontius [[synagogue]]. The Samaritan synagogue's mosaic was unique in its [[aniconic]] abstention from human or animal images, instead using floral and geometrical motifs. Elaborate decorations were also found in the settlement's many luxurious villas, and in the 6th century especially, the city reached its maximum size of 40,000 and spread beyond its period city walls.<ref name="Rowe 45" />

The Byzantine-era portion of the northern cemetery was excavated in 1926. The tombs from this period consisted of small rock-cut halls with vaulted graves on three sides.<ref name="Rowe 52">Rowe 52</ref> A great variety of objects were found in the tombs, including [[terracotta]] figurines possibly depicting the [[Virgin and Child]], many terracotta lamps, glass mirrors, bells, tools, knives, finger rings, iron keys, glass beads, bone hairpins, and many other items.<ref name="Rowe 52" />

Influential Christian personalities who lived or passed through Scythopolis are [[Procopius of Scythopolis]] (died July 7, 303), [[Cyril of Scythopolis]] (ca. 525–559), [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] (c. 310/320–403) and [[Joseph of Tiberias]] (c. 285 – c. 356) who met there around the year 355.

===Early Muslim period===
{{main|Jund al-Urdunn}}
In 634, Byzantine forces were defeated by the [[Rashidun army]] under the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashid caliph]] [[Umar]], and the city reverted to its Semitic name, being named Baysan in Arabic. The day of victory came to be known in Arabic as ''Yawm Baysan'' "day of Baysan."<ref name="Shahin"/> The city was not damaged; newly arrived Muslims lived alongside the Christian population until the 8th century. The town formed one of the districts of [[Jund al-Urdunn]], itself a part of the [[Bilad al-Sham]], until the Crusades.<ref>le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/30/mode/1up  30]</ref>

The city declined; structures were built in the streets, narrowing them to mere [[alley]]s, and makeshift shops were opened among the colonnades. The city reached a low point in the 8th century, witnessed by the removal of [[marble]] for producing [[calcium oxide|lime]], the blocking off of the main street, and the conversion of a main plaza into a cemetery.<ref name=JVL>{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/Beitshean.html |title= Beit She'an |encyclopedia= [[Jewish Virtual Library]] }}</ref>

However, some recently discovered counter-evidence may be offered to this picture of decline. In common with state-directed building work carried out in other towns and cities in the region during the 720s,<ref>A. Walmsley, "Economic Developments and the Nature of Settlement in the Towns and Countryside of Syria-Palestine, ca. 565–800", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 61 (2007), especially pp. 344–345.</ref> Baysan's commercial infrastructure was refurbished: its main colonnaded market street, once thought to date to the sixth century, is now known—based on a mosaic inscription—to be a redesign dating from the time of the Umayyad caliph [[Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik]] (r. 724–43).<ref>E. Khamis, "Two wall mosaic inscriptions from the Umayyad market place in Bet Shean/Baysan", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'' 64 (2001), pp. 159–176.</ref> [[Al-Bakri]] of [[al-Andalus]] noted that the wine produced there was delicious.<ref name="Shahin"/>

On January 18, 749, Umayyad Baysan was devastated by a [[749 Galilee earthquake|catastrophic earthquake]]. A few residential neighborhoods grew among the ruins, probably established by the survivors, but the city never recovered its magnificence. The city center moved to the southern hill, where the [[Crusaders]] later built a castle.<ref name="Death">{{cite web |url= http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=328&id=662#as |title= Israel Antiquities Authority, Death of a City |publisher= Antiquities.org.il |access-date= 2012-12-30 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130915130321/http://antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=17&sub_subj_id=328&id=662#as |archive-date= 2013-09-15 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

Jerusalemite historian [[al-Muqaddasi]] visited Baysan in 985, during the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] and wrote that it was "on the river, with plentiful palm trees, and water, though somewhat heavy (brackish.)" He further noted that Baysan was notable for its [[indigo]], [[rice]], [[date palm|dates]], and grape syrup known as ''dibs''.<ref>le Strange, 1890, pp. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/18/mode/1up  18]–19.</ref> Its principal [[mosque]] was situated in the center of its marketplace.<ref>le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/411/mode/1up  411]</ref>

===Crusader period===
[[File:Beyt-Shean-old-city-706.jpg|thumb|right|Crusader castle with moat and inner tower.]]

In the [[Crusades|Crusader period]], the Lordship of Bessan was occupied by [[Tancred, Prince of Galilee]] in 1099; it was never part of the [[Principality of Galilee]], despite its location, but became a royal domain of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] in 1101, probably until around 1120. According to the [[Lignages d'Outremer]], the first Crusader lord of Bessan once it became part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem was Adam, a younger son of Robert III de Béthune, [[County of Flanders|peer of Flanders]] and head of the [[House of Béthune]]. His descendants were known by the family name ''de Bessan''.

It occasionally passed back under royal control until new lords were created. The town became part of the [[Belvoir Castle (Israel)|Belvoir]] [[Crusader states|fiefdom]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~30~~269867317~Card1~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=133421493 |script-title=he:גן לאומי בית שאן |publisher= Israel National Parks Authority |language= he |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120425124945/http://parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~30~~269867317~Card1~&ru=&SiteName=parks&Clt=&Bur=133421493 |archive-date=2012-04-25 }}</ref>

A small Crusader fortress surrounded by a moat was built in the area southeast of the Roman theatre, where the diminished town had relocated after the 749 earthquake.<ref name="Death"/> The fortress was destroyed by [[Saladin]] in 1183.<ref name= Negev>{{Cite encyclopedia |last= Negev |first= Avraham |author-link1= Avraham Negev |last2= Gibson |first2= Shimon |author-link2= Shimon Gibson |title=Beth Shean (city); Scythopolis |year= 2001 |encyclopedia= Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land |location= New York and London |publisher= Continuum |page= 86 |isbn=978-0-8264-1316-1}}</ref>

During the 1260 [[Battle of Ain Jalut]], retreating Mongol forces passed near the town, but did not enter it.

===Mamluk period===
[[File:Plan of Beisan-Scythopolis from the 1871-77 Palestine Exploration Fund Survey of Palestine.jpg|thumb|Plan of Beisan-Scythopolis from the 1871–1877 [[PEF Survey of Palestine]]]]

Under [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] rule, Beit She'an was the principal town in the district of [[Damascus]] and a relay station for the [[barid|postal service]] between [[Damascus]] and [[Cairo]]. It was also the capital of [[sugar cane]] processing for the region. Jisr al-Maqtu'a, "the truncated/cut-off bridge", a bridge consisting of a single arch spanning {{convert|25|ft|abbr=on}} and hung {{convert|50|ft|abbr=on}} above a stream, was built during that period.<ref name=Shahin164>Shahin, 2005, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ZTtAAAAMAAJ&q=Jisr  164]</ref>

===Ottoman period===
[[File:12בית שאן.jpg|thumb|left|Ottoman Saraya]]

During this period, the inhabitants of Baysan were mainly Muslim, but there were some [[Jews]]. The 14th century [[topographer]] [[Ishtori Haparchi]] settled there and completed his work "[[Bulb]] and Flower" ({{langx|he|כפתור ופרח|Kaftor vaFeraḥ}}) in 1322, the first Hebrew book on the geography of the [[Land of Israel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=כפתור ופרח – אשתורי, הפרחי (p.1 of 363) |url=https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=44451&pgnum=1 |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=hebrewbooks.org}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9078948/Bet-Shean|title=Bet She'an|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=2008-10-20}}</ref>

During the 400 years of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman rule]], Baysan lost its regional importance. During the reign of Sultan [[Abdul Hamid II]] when the [[Jezreel Valley railway]], which was part of the [[Haifa]] to [[Damascus]] extension of the [[Hejaz railway]] was constructed, a limited revival took place. The local peasant population was largely impoverished by the Ottoman feudal land system, which leased tracts of land to tenants and collected taxes from them for their use.<ref name="Shahin"/>

The Swiss–German traveler [[Johann Ludwig Burckhardt]] described Beisan in 1812: "The present village of Bysan contains seventy or eighty houses; its inhabitants are in a miserable condition, from being exposed to the depredations of the [[Bedouin]]s of [[Jordan Valley|the Ghor]], to whom they also pay a heavy tribute."<ref name="Burckhardt1822">{{cite book|last=Burckhardt|first=John Lewis|title=Travels in Syria and the Holy Land|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9N70FsNRNYC|year=1822|publisher=J. Murray|isbn=978-1-4142-8338-8|page=343}}</ref>

In 1870/1871, an Ottoman census listed the village in the [[nahiya]] (sub-district) of Shafa al-Shamali.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Grossman |first=David |title=Arab Demography and Early Jewish Settlement in Palestine |publisher=Magnes Press |year=2004 |location=Jerusalem |page=256}}{{ISBN?}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, though still a tiny and obscure village, Beisan was known for its plentiful water supply, fertile soil, and producing olives, grapes, figs, almonds, apricots, and apples.<ref name="Shahin" />

===British Mandate period===
{{multiple image
|image1= Beisan7.jpg
|image2= Beisan8.jpg
|footer=Detailed map of the town in the 1930s from the [[Survey of Palestine]]
}}

Under the Mandate, the city was the center of the [[District of Baysan]]. According to a [[1922 census of Palestine|census]] conducted in 1922 by the [[Mandate for Palestine|British Mandate authorities]], Beit She'an (Baisan) had a population of 1,941, consisting of 1,687 Muslims, 41 Jews and 213 Christians.<ref name=Census1922>Barron, 1923, p. [https://archive.org/stream/PalestineCensus1922/Palestine%20Census%20%281922%29#page/n8/mode/1up 6]</ref>

In 1934, [[Lawrence of Arabia]] noted that "Bisan is now a purely Arab village," where "very fine views of the river can be had from the housetops." He further noted that "many nomad and [[Bedouin]] encampments, distinguished by their black tents, were scattered about the riverine plain, their flocks and herds grazing round them."<ref name="Shahin"/> Beisan was home to a mainly [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi Jew]]ish community of 95 until 1936, when the [[1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine|1936–1939 Arab revolt]] saw Beisan serve as a center of Arab attacks on Jews in Palestine.<ref name=Britannica/><ref name=Haaretz>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/travel/1.4808266|title=The other Beit She'an|author=Ashkenazi, Eli|newspaper=[[Haaretz]]|date=2007-05-11|access-date=2008-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Betshean.html|title=Virtual Israel Experience:Bet She'an|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Virtual Library]]|access-date=2008-10-20}}</ref> In 1938, after learning of the murder of his close friend and Jewish leader Haim Sturmann, [[Orde Wingate]] led his men on an offensive in the Arab section of Baysan, the rebels’ suspected base.<ref name="Azure">{{cite web|title=Orde Wingate: Friend Under Fire|author=Michael B. Oren|publisher=Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation|date=Winter 2001|access-date=2007-05-15|url=http://azure.org.il/article.php?id=279}}</ref>

According to population surveys conducted in [[Mandatory Palestine|British Mandate Palestine]], Beisan consisted of 5,080 Muslim Arabs out of a population of 5,540 (92% of the population), with the remainder being listed as Christians.<ref name="Domino">{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/be931279021bcfb4852563d20078d30b!OpenDocument |title=Settled Population Of Palestine |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=2009-02-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319013844/http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.nsf/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/be931279021bcfb4852563d20078d30b%21OpenDocument |archive-date=March 19, 2009 }}</ref> In 1945, the surrounding [[District of Baysan]] consisted of 16,660 Muslims (67%), 7,590 Jews (30%), and 680 Christians (3%); and Arabs owned 44% of land, Jews owned 34%, and 22% constituted public lands. The [[1947 UN Partition Plan]] allocated Beisan and most of its district to the proposed [[Jewish state]].<ref name="Shahin"/><ref>{{cite book|title=A Survey of Palestine: Prepared in December, 1945 and January, 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry|pages=12–13|volume=1|publisher=Institute for Palestine Studies|year=1991|isbn=978-0-88728-211-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite map|url=http://domino.un.org/maps/m0094.jpg |title=Land Ownership of Palestine—Map prepared by the government of the British Mandate of Palestine on the instructions of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on the Palestine Question |publisher=[[United Nations]] |access-date=2008-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029103953/http://domino.un.org/maps/m0094.jpg |archive-date=29 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:PikiWiki Israel 47183 General view Beit Shean.jpg|Beisan in 1936
File:AN AERIAL PHOTO OF THE SETTLEMENT BEIT SHE'AN. צילום אויר של היישוב בית שאן.D332-054.jpg|Beit She’an 1939
File:PikiWiki Israel 7273 עין הנציquot;ב עולה להתיישבות.jpg|Pioneers of [[Kibbutz]] [[Ein Hanatziv]] settle in Bet She'an, 1946
</gallery>

===1948 Palestine war===
{{Further|1948 Palestine war|1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight}}

Jewish forces and local Bedouins first clashed during the [[1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine]] in February and March 1948, part of [[Operation Gideon]],<ref name="Shahin"/> itself part of [[Plan Dalet]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Plan Dalet: Master Plan for the Conquest of Palestine|author=Khalidi, Walid|author-link=Walid Khalidi|journal=[[Journal of Palestine Studies]]|volume=18| issue = 1|date=Autumn 1988|pages=4–33|jstor=2537591|doi=10.1525/jps.1988.18.1.00p00037}}</ref> [[Joseph Weitz]], a leading [[Yishuv]] figure, wrote in his diary on May 4, 1948, that, "The Beit Shean Valley is the gate for our state in the Galilee...[I]ts clearing is the need of the hour."<ref name="Shahin"/>

Beisan, then an Arab village, fell to the Jewish militias three days before the end of the Mandate. After [[Israel's Declaration of Independence]] in May 1948, during intense shelling by Syrian border units, followed by the recapture of the valley by the [[Haganah]], the Arab inhabitants [[1948 Palestinian exodus|fled]] across the Jordan River.<ref>WPN Tyler, State lands and rural development in mandatory Palestine, 1920–1948, p. 79</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2024}} The property and buildings abandoned after the conflict were then held by the State of Israel.<ref name=Shahin/> Most [[Arab Christian]]s relocated to [[Nazareth]].{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Historian [[Saleh Abdel Jawad]] claims that Beisan experienced a massacre via aerial bombardment by Israeli forces that was "entirely without military justification" and which was used as "a tool of expulsion".{{refn|Saleh Abdel Jawad, 2007, ''Zionist Massacres: the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem in the 1948 War''.}}

===State of Israel===
[[File:War memorial in Bet She'an.JPG|thumb|War monument, [[Al Mansfeld]], 1960]]
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 11131 Neighborhood.jpg|thumb|A neighborhood in Beit She'an]]
A [[Ma'abarot|ma'abarah]] (immigration camp) inhabited mainly by North African Jewish [[olim]] (immigrants) <ref>{{cite book|last1=Maier, J. |title=Piccola enciclopedia dell'ebraismo|date=1985|publisher=Marietti|location=Casale Monferrato (Italy)|isbn=978-88-211-8329-4|page=95}}</ref> was erected in Beit She'an, and it later became a [[development town]].

From 1969, Beit She'an was a target for [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha rockets]] and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] attacks from Jordan.<ref>"Jordanian katusha, bazuka and mortar attack on Beit She'an", [[Maariv]], 22 Jun 1969, scan source: Historical Jewish press</ref> In the [[1974 Beit She'an attack]], militants of the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine#Formation as the PDFLP|Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine]], took over an apartment building and murdered a family of four.<ref name="Haaretz"/>

In 1999, Beit She'an was incorporated as a city.<ref name="7wonders">{{cite web |url=http://www.7wonders.co.il/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A5-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C/%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%99%D7%94+-+%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA+%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9F |script-title=he:הסראיה – בית שאן |work=7wonders.co.il |language=he |access-date=2009-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305101549/http://www.7wonders.co.il/%D7%90%D7%A8%D7%A5-%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%9C/%D7%94%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%99%D7%94%2B-%2B%D7%91%D7%99%D7%AA%2B%D7%A9%D7%90%D7%9F |archive-date=5 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Geographically, it lies in the middle of the [[Emek HaMaayanot Regional Council]], formerly  the Beit She'an Valley Regional Council.<ref name="Foeme">{{cite web|url=http://www.foeme.org/docs/Brochure_Beit_Shean_English.pdf |title=Beit Shean |work=Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) |access-date=2009-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226132524/http://www.foeme.org/docs/Brochure_Beit_Shean_English.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Beit She'an was the hometown and political power base of [[David Levy (Israeli politician)|David Levy]], an Israeli politician.

During the [[Second Intifada]], in the [[2002 Beit She'an attack]], six Israelis were killed and over 30 were injured by two [[Palestinian political violence|Palestinian militants]], who opened fire and threw grenades at a polling station in the center of Bet She'an where party members were voting in the [[Likud]] primary.

==Seismicity==
Beit She'an is located above the [[Dead Sea Transform]] (a [[Fault (geology)|fault]] system that forms the [[transform fault|transform boundary]] between the [[African Plate]] to the west and the [[Arabian Plate]] to the east) and is one of the cities in Israel most at risk to [[earthquake]]s (along with [[Kiryat Shmona]], [[Safed]], [[Tiberias]], and [[Eilat]]).<ref>[http://unitedwithisrael.org/experts-warn-major-earthquake-could-hit-israel-any-time Experts Warn: Major Earthquake Could Hit Israel Any Time] By Rachel Avraham, staff writer for United With Israel
 Date: Oct 22, 2013</ref> Historically, the city was destroyed in the [[Golan earthquake of 749]].

== Demographics ==
According to the [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS), the population of the municipality was {{Israel populations|Bet She'an}} at the end of {{Israel populations|Year}}.{{Israel populations|reference}} In 2005, the ethnic makeup of the city was 99.5% Jewish and other non-Arab (97.3% Jewish), with no significant Arab population. See [[Population groups in Israel]]. The population breakdown by gender was 8,200 males and 8,100 females.<ref name="profile">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications/local_authorities2005/pdf/120_9200.pdf|title=Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 – Municipality Profiles&nbsp;–Beit She'an|publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|access-date=2008-07-05|language=he}}</ref>

The age distribution was as follows:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
!Age!!0–4!!5–9!!10–14!!15–19!!20–29!!30–44!!45–59!!60–64!!65–74!!75+
|-style="text-align:center;"
!Percentage
|9.9||9.4||9.4||9.4||17.6||17.7||16.7||2.7||4.4||2.8
|-style="text-align:center;"
|colspan="11"|<small>Source: [[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]]<ref name="profile" /></small>
|}

== Economy ==
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 11342 Bet Shean Municipality.jpg|thumb|Beit She'an municipality]]
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 2358 Geography of Israel בית שאן.JPG|thumb|right|Beit She'an park]]
[[File:Leumi8815.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bank Leumi]] branch in Beit She'an]]
Beit She'an is a center of cotton-growing, and many of residents are employed in the cotton fields of the surrounding [[kibbutz]]im. Other local industries include a textile mill and clothing factory.<ref name=Britannica/>

===Tourism===
Ancient Beit She'an, one of the most spectacular Roman and Byzantine sites in Israel, is a major tourist attraction.<ref name= Mfa>{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Regional%20Projects/Jordan%20Rift%20Valley-%20Tourism |title=Beit She'an |work=Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs |access-date=2009-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325063422/http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace%20Process/Regional%20Projects/Jordan%20Rift%20Valley-%20Tourism |archive-date=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

When the ancient city of Beit She'an was opened to the public in the 1990s and turned into a national park, tourism became a major sector of the economy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/18/arts/israeli-archeologists-unearthing-treasures-of-a-long-lost-city.html |title=Israeli archaeologists unearthing treasures of a long lost city |work=[[The New York Times]]|date=18 August 1992 |last1=Greenberg |first1=Joel }}</ref>

==Transportation==
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2020}}
[[Image:Beit She'an New Railway Station.jpg|thumb|New railway station, Beit She'an]]

Beit She'an had a railway station that opened in 1904 on the [[Jezreel Valley railway]] which was an extension of the [[Hejaz railway]]. This station closed together with the rest of the Jezreel Valley railway in 1948.

In 2011–2016 the valley railway was rebuilt and the new [[Beit She'an railway station]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gov.il/en/pages/eventrail301212 |title=PM Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Katz Participate in Cornerstone-Laying Ceremony for the Beit Shean Railway Station |date=2012-12-30 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Prime Minister's Office}}</ref> located at the same site as the historical station was opened. Passenger service offered at the station connects the city to Afula, Haifa and destinations in between. In addition to passenger service, the station also includes a freight rail terminal.

==Sports==
The local football club, [[Hapoel Beit She'an F.C.|Hapoel Beit She'an]] spent several seasons in the top division in the 1990s, but folded in 2006 after several relegations. Maccabi Beit She'an currently plays in [[Liga Bet]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

==Notable people==
* [[Naim Ateek]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* [[Ishtori Haparchi]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[David Levy (Israeli politician)|David Levy]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* [[Jackie Levy]]{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}
* [[Orly Levy]], politician (birthplace)<ref name=Mishpacha>{{Cite news|date=April 26, 2018|script-title=he:מפתיעת הסקרים|newspaper=[[Mishpacha]]|language=he|issue=1354|page=24}}</ref>

== Twin towns&nbsp;– sister cities ==
Beit She'an is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Cleveland]], United States <small>''(Since 2019)''</small><ref name="CLEsisters">{{cite web | title =Cleveland Sister City Partnerships | publisher =Encyclopedia of Cleveland History ([[Case Western Reserve University]]) | url =https://case.edu/ech/articles/cleveland-sister-city-partnerships | access-date =2019-05-27}}</ref>

==Historic images==
<gallery widths="200px" heights="160px">
File:PikiWiki Israel 14982 רכבת העמק התחנה בבית שאן.jpg|Historic railway station, 1930s
File:Beit She'an ii.jpg|Beit She'an after conquest, 1948
File:Beit She'an iii.jpg|Ottoman Saray building used by [[Yiftach Brigade]] as company barracks, 1948
File:Beit Shean 2.jpg|Beit Shean ruins
File:Lions Playing Beit Shean, Israel roundabout.jpg|Lions playing sculpture, roundabout in Beit Shean
File:Bet Shean (997009325237605171.jpg|Beit She'an in 1970
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Scythopolis (see)]], the city's former archbishopric, now a Catholic Metropolitan titular see, aka Scitopoli
* [[List of cities of the ancient Near East|Cities of the ancient Near East]]
* [[Jordan River Crossing]]
* [[Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |editor=Barron, J. B. |title= Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 |url= https://archive.org/details/PalestineCensus1922 |publisher= Government of Palestine |year= 1923}}
* {{cite book|last1=Conder|first1=C.R.|author-link1=Claude Reignier Conder|last2=Kitchener|first2=H.H.|author-link2=Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener|year=1882|url=https://archive.org/details/surveyofwesternp02conduoft|title=The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology|location=London|publisher=[[Palestine Exploration Fund|Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund]]|volume=2}} (Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p. [https://archive.org/stream/surveyofwesternp02conduoft#page/83/mode/1up 83])
* {{cite book |last= Dauphin |first = C.|author-link= Claudine Dauphin | title = La Palestine byzantine, Peuplement et Populations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FC1mAAAAMAAJ |volume = III : Catalogue | series = BAR International Series 726 | year = 1998 | publisher = Archeopress | location = Oxford|language =French|isbn= 978-0-86054-905-5}} (p.&nbsp;782)
* {{cite book|title=Village Statistics, April, 1945 |url=http://web.nli.org.il/sites/nli/Hebrew/library/Pages/BookReader.aspx?pid=856390|author=Department of Statistics|year=1945|publisher=Government of Palestine}} (Department of Statistics, 1945, p. [http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/yabber/census/VSpages/VS1945_p06.jpg  6])
* {{cite book|last=Guérin|first=V.|author-link=Victor Guérin|title=Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine|url=https://archive.org/details/descriptionsam01gu|volume=2: Samarie, pt. 1|year=1874|publisher= L'Imprimerie Nationale|location=Paris|language=French}} ([https://archive.org/stream/descriptionsam01gu#page/284/mode/1up  284]- [https://archive.org/stream/descriptionsam01gu#page/298/mode/1up  298])  
* {{cite book|title=Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine|url=http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General-2/Story3150.html|first=S.|last=Hadawi|author-link=Sami Hadawi|year=1970|publisher=Palestine Liberation Organization Research Centre}} (pp. [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20I/Baysan/Page-043.jpg  43], [http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20II/Baysan/Page-084.jpg 84][http://www.palestineremembered.com/download/VillageStatistics/Table%20III/Baysan/Page-134.jpg  134])   
* {{cite book | last1= Hütteroth|first1=W.-D.|author-link1=Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth  |first2=K. | last2=Abdulfattah |author-link2=Kamal Abdulfattah | title = Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wqULAAAAIAAJ  | year = 1977 | publisher = Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft|isbn= 978-3-920405-41-4}} (p.&nbsp;168)
* {{cite book |last= Le Strange|first=G. |author-link1= Guy Le Strange |title= Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500 |url= https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft |year=1890 |publisher= Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
* {{cite book | first1=E. M. | last1=Meyers |author-link1=Eric M. Meyers| first2=Mark A. | last2=Chancey|title=Alexander to Constantine: Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume III|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vw-u7j4JxNYC|year=2012|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-14179-5}}
* {{cite book | editor = Mills, E.  | title = Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas |url=https://archive.org/details/CensusOfPalestine1931.PopulationOfVillagesTownsAndAdministrativeAreas | publisher = Government of Palestine | location = Jerusalem | year = 1932}}
*{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uM_kFX6edX8C |first=B.|last=Morris |author-link=Benny Morris |year=2004 |title=The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited|isbn=978-0-521-00967-6 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
* {{cite book |last= Shahin |first= Mariam |title= Palestine: A Guide |year= 2005 |publisher= Interlink Books |isbn= 978-1-56656-557-8 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/palestine00mari/page/159 159–165] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/palestine00mari/page/159 }}
* {{cite book |last= Sharon |first= M. |author-link1= Moshe Sharon |title= Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, B-C |volume=2 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC |year=1999 |publisher= Brill |isbn=978-90-04-11083-0}} (see [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPFDU8POrXIC&pg=PA195 pp. 195])
* [[Yoram Tsafrir|Tsafrir, Y.]] and Foerster, Gideon: "“Nysa-Scythopolis&nbsp;– A New Inscription and the Titles of the City on its Coins", ''The Israel Numismatic Journal''. Vol. 9, 1986–7, pp.&nbsp;53–58.
* [[Yoram Tsafrir|Tsafrir, Y.]] and Foerster, Gideon: "Bet Shean Excavation Project&nbsp;– 1988/1989", ''Excavations and Surveys in Israel 1989/1990''. Volume 9. Israel Antiquities Authority. Numbers 94–95. Jerusalem 1989/1990, pp.&nbsp;120–128.
* [[Yoram Tsafrir|Tsafrir, Y.]] and Foerster, Gideon: "From Scythopolis to Baisān: Changes in the perception of the city of Bet Shean during the Byzantine and Arab Eras", ''Cathedra''. For the History of Eretz Israel and its Yishuv, 64. Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. Jerusalem, July 1992 (in Hebrew).
* [[Yoram Tsafrir|Tsafrir, Y.]] and Foerster, Gideon: "The Dating of the 'Earthquake of the Sabbatical Year of 749 C. E.' in Palestine", ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies of London''. Vol. LV, Part 2. London 1992, pp.&nbsp;231–235.
* [[Yoram Tsafrir|Tsafrir, Y.]] and Foerster, Gideon: "Urbanism at Scythopolis-Bet Shean in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries", ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers''. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Number Fifty-One, 1997. pp.&nbsp;85–146.

== Further reading ==
* [http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/search_eng.aspx?id=8%2c294%2c1815%2c1816%2c1921%2c2074%2c25157%2c1507%2c1551%2c1232%2c1308%2c1400%2c1410%2c1440%2c731%2c757%2c887%2c1047%2c1191%2c1200&mag_id=108 Bet She’an], Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.

=== University of Pennsylvania excavations ===
* Braun, Eliot [2004], Early Beth Shan (Strata XIX-XIII) – G.M. FitzGerald's Deep Cut on the Tell, [University Museum Monograph 121], Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-931707-62-6}}
* [[Clarence Stanley Fisher|Fisher, C.]] [1923], Beth-Shan Excavations of the University Museum Expedition, 1921–1923", Museum Journal 14 (1923), pp.&nbsp;229–231.
* FitzGerald, G .M. [1931], Beth-shan Excavations 1921–23: the Arab and Byzantine Levels, Beth-shan III, University Museum: Philadelphia, 1931.
* FitzGerald, G. M. [1932], "Excavations at Beth-Shan in 1931", PEFQS 63 (1932), pp.&nbsp;142–145.
* [[Alan Rowe (archaeologist)|Rowe, A.]], [1930], The Topography and History of Beth-Shan, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1930.
* [[Alan Rowe (archaeologist)|Rowe, A.]],  [1940], [https://ia903109.us.archive.org/19/items/Rowe_1940/Rowe%2C%20Alan%20-%20The%20Four%20Canaanite%20temples%20of%20Beth-Shan%20Part%201%20The%20temples%20and%20cult%20objects%20%281940%29%20LR.pdf  The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth-shan], Beth-shan II:1, University Museum: Philadelphia, 1940.
* James, Frances W. & McGovern, Patrick E. [1993], The Late Bronze Egyptian Garrison at Beth Shan: a Study of Levels VII and VIII, 2 volumes, [University Museum Monograph 85], Philadelphia: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania & University of Mississippi, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-924171-27-7}}

=== Hebrew University Jerusalem excavations ===
* Mazar, Amihai [2006], Excavations at Tel Beth Shean 1989–1996, Volume I: From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medieval Period, Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society / Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2006.
* Mazar, A. and Mullins, Robert (eds) [2007], Excavations at Tel Beth Shean 1989–1996, Volume II: The Middle and Late Bronze Age Strata in Area R, Jerusalem: IES / HUJ, 2007.

=== General ===
* [[Israel Finkelstein|Finkelstein, I.]] [1996], "The Stratigraphy and Chronology of Megiddo and Beth-Shan in the 12th–11th Centuries BCE", TA 23 (1996), pp.&nbsp;170–184.
* Garfinkel, Yosef [1987], "The Early Iron Age Stratigraphy of Beth Shean Reconsidered", IEJ 37 (1987), pp.&nbsp;224–228.
* Geva, Shulamit [1979], "A Reassessment of the Chronology of Beth Shean Strata V and IV", IEJ 29 (1979), pp.&nbsp;6–10.
* Greenberg, Raphael [2003], "Early Bronze Age Megiddo and Beth Shean: Discontinuous Settlement in Sociopolitical Context", JMA 16.1 (2003), pp.&nbsp;17–32.
* Hankey, V. [1966], "Late Mycenaean Pottery at Beth-Shan", AJA 70 (1966), pp.&nbsp;169–171.
* Higginbotham, C. [1999], "The Statue of Ramses III from Beth Shean", TA 26 (1999), pp.&nbsp;225–232.
* Horowitz, Wayne [1994], "Trouble in Canaan: A Letter of the el-Amarna Period on a Clay Cylinder from Beth Shean", Qadmoniot 27 (1994), pp.&nbsp;84–86 (Hebrew).
* Horowitz, Wayne [1996], "An Inscribed Clay Cylinder from Amarna Age Beth Shean", IEJ 46 (1996), pp.&nbsp;208–218.
* McGovern, Patrick E. [1987], “Silicate Industries of Late Bronze-Early Iron Age Palestine: Technological Interaction between New Kingdom Egypt and the Levant", in Bimson, M. & Freestone, LC. (eds), Early Vitreous Materials, [British Museum Occasional Papers 56], London: British Museum Press, 1987, pp.&nbsp;91–114.
* McGovern, Patrick E. [1989], "Cross-Cultural Craft Interaction: the Late Bronze Egyptian Garrison at Beth Shan", in McGovern, P.E. (ed,), Cross-Craft and Cultural Interactions in Ceramics, [Ceramics and Civilisation 4, ed. Kingery, W.D.], Westerville: American Ceramic Society, 1989, pp.&nbsp;147–194.
* McGovern, Patrick E. [1990], "The Ultimate Attire: Jewelry from a Canaanite Temple at Beth Shan", Expedition 32 (1990), pp.&nbsp;16–23.
* McGovern, Patrick E. [1994], "Were the Sea Peoples at Beth Shan?", in Lemche, N.P. & Müller, M. (eds), Fra dybet: Festskrift until John Strange, [Forum for Bibelsk Eksegese 5], Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanus and University of Copenhagen, 1994, pp.&nbsp;144–156.
* Khamis, E., "Two wall mosaic inscriptions from the Umayyad market place in Bet Shean/Baysan", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 64 (2001), pp.&nbsp;159–76.
* McGovern, P.E., Fleming, S.J. & Swann, C.P. [1993], "The Late Bronze Egyptian Garrison at Beth Shan: Glass and Faience Production and Importation in the Late New Kingdom", BASOR 290-91 (1993), pp.&nbsp;1–27.
* Mazar, A., Ziv-Esudri, Adi and Cohen-Weinberger, Anet [2000], "The Early Bronze Age II–III at Tel Beth Shean: Preliminary Observations", in Philip, G. and Baird, D. (eds), Ceramics and Change in the Early Bronze Age of the Southern Levant, [Levantine Archaeology 2], Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, pp.&nbsp;255–278.
* Mazar, Amihai [1990], "The Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean", Eretz-Israel 21 (1990), pp.&nbsp;197–211 (יברית).
* Mazar, Amihai [1992], "Temples of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and the Iron Age", in Kempinski, A. and Reich, R. (eds), The Architecture of Ancient Israel from the Prehistoric to the Persian Periods&nbsp;— in Memory of Immanual (Munya) Dunayevsky, Jerusalem: IES, 1992, pp.&nbsp;161–187.
* Mazar, Amihai [1993a], "The Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean in 1989–1990", in Biran, A. and Aviram, J. (eds), Biblical Archaeology Today, 1990 – Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem, 1990, Jerusalem: IES, 1993, pp.&nbsp;606–619.
* Mazar, Amihai [1993b], "Beth Shean in the Iron Age: Preliminary Report and Conclusions of the 1990–1991 Excavations", IEJ 43.4 (1993), pp.&nbsp;201–229.
* Mazar, Amihai [1994], "Four Thousand Years of History at Tel Beth-Shean", Qadmoniot 27.3–4 (1994), pp.&nbsp;66–83 (יברית).
* [1997a], "Four Thousand Years of History at Tel Beth-Shean{{snd}}An Account of the Renewed Excavations", BA 60.2 (1997), pp.&nbsp;62–76.
* Mazar, Amihai [1997b], "The Excavations at Tel Beth Shean during the Years 1989–94", in Silberman, N.A. and Small, D. (eds), The Archaeology of Israel&nbsp;– Constructing the Past, Interpreting the Present, [JSOT Supplement Series 237], Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997, pp.&nbsp;144–164.
* Mazar, Amihai [2003], "Beth Shean in the Second Millennium BCE: From Canaanite Town to Egyptian Stronghold", in Bietak, M. (ed.), The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the SEcond Millennium BC, II. Proceedings of the SCIEM 2000-EuroConference Haindorf, 2–7 May 2001, Vienna, 2003, pp.&nbsp;323–339.
* Mazar, Amihai [2006], "Tel Beth-Shean and the Fate of Mounds in the Intermediate Bronze Age", in Gitin, S., Wright, J.E. and Dessel, J.P. (eds), Confronting the Past—Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2006, pp.&nbsp;105–118. {{ISBN|978-1-57506-117-7}}
* Mullins, Robert A. [2006], "A Corpus of Eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian-Style Pottery from Tel Beth-Shean", in Maeir, A.M. and Miroschedji, P. de (eds), "I Will Speak the Riddle of Ancient Times"{{snd}}Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar on the Occasion of His Sixtieth Birthday, Vol. 1, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2006, pp.&nbsp;247–262. {{ISBN|978-1-57506-103-0}}
* Oren, Eliezer D. [1973], ''The Northern Cemetery of Beth-Shean'', [Museum Monograph of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania], E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1973.{{ISBN?}}
* Porter, R.M. [1994–1995], "Dating the Beth Shean Temple Sequence", ''Journal of the Ancient Chronology Forum'' 7 (1994–95), pp.&nbsp;52–69.
* Porter, R.M. [1998], "An Egyptian Temple at Tel Beth Shean and Ramesses IV", in Eyre, C. (ed.), Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists, Cambridge, 3–9 September 1995, [Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 82], Uitgeverij Peeters: Leuven, 1998, pp.&nbsp;903–910.
* Sweeney, Deborah [1998], "The Man on the Folding Chair: An Egyptian Relief from Beth Shean", IEJ 48 (1998), pp.&nbsp;38–53.
* {{cite book |last= Thompson |first= T.O. |title= Mekal, the God of Beth Shean |year=1970 |publisher= E.J. Brill |location= Leiden |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=kc0UAAAAIAAJ&q=Mekal&pg=PA125 |isbn= 978-90-04-02268-3}}
* Walmsley, A., 0Economic Developments and the Nature of Settlement in the Towns and Countryside of Syria-Palestine, ca. 565–800", Dumbarton Oaks Papers 61 (2007), pp.&nbsp;319–352.

== External links ==
{{commons category|Bet She'an}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025406/http://www.parks.org.il/parks/ParksAndReserves/Bet%20Shean%20National%20Park/Pages/default.aspx Beit She'an National Park] – official site
* [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0003_0_02880.html BET(H)-SHEAN] Jewish Virtual Library
* Ilan Phahima and Yoram Saad, [http://www.iaa-conservation.org.il/Projects_Item_eng.asp?subject_id=10&site_id=58&id=107 Scythopolis: Conservation of the Roman Bridge], [http://www.antiquities.org.il/home_eng.asp Israel Antiquities Authority Site] – [https://web.archive.org/web/20140626044723/http://iaa-conservation.org.il/index_eng.asp Conservation Department]
* Survey of Western Palestine, 1880 Map of Beit Shean (Beisân), Map 9: [http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=93&type_id=6&id=8371 IAA], [[:commons:File:Survey_of_Western_Palestine_1880.09.jpg|Wikimedia commons]]
* [http://beta.nli.org.il/he/maps/NNL_ALEPH002714101/NLI#$FL10589529 Air photo map of Beisan, 1945.] Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The [[National Library of Israel]].
* [http://primo.nli.org.il/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=NLI&docId=NNL_MAPS_JER002369496 Map of Beisan, 1929.] Survey of Palestine. Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The [[National Library of Israel]].

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[[Category:Beit She'an| ]]
[[Category:1921 archaeological discoveries]]
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