Eleutheropolis ("city of the free") was the Greek name of a Roman city in Palestine, some 53 kms southwest of Jerusalem whose remains still straddle the ancient road to Gaza. Though no secure identification can be made with a site in the Hebrew Bible, the site already rendered as Baitogabra in Ptolemy was called Beit Guvrin and Bet Gubrin in the Talmud [1] (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=173&letter=E). The History of Palestine is the account of events in Palestine from ancient times to the present. ... Jerusalem (Modern Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim, Biblical and trad. ... The city of Gaza is the principal city in the Gaza Strip. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum Hebrew Bible refers to the common portions of the Jewish and Christian canons. ... Claudius Ptolemaeus, given contemporary German styling, in a 16th century engraved book frontispiece Claudius Ptolemaeus (Greek: Κλαύδιος Πτολεμαίος; c. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ...

In the Jewish War (AD 68), Vespasian— still a general— slaughtered or enslaved the inhabitants of Betaris, according to Josephus: Jewish War is a book written by the historian Josephus as a description of Jewish history up to the events of the Destruction of Jerusalem. ... Emperor Vespasian Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (November 18, CE 9 – June 23, 79), originally known as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and best known as Vespasian, was the emperor of Rome from 69 to 79. ... Josephus, also known as Flavius Josephus (c. ...

when he had seized upon two villages, which were in the very midst of Idumea, Betaris, and Caphartobas, he slew above ten thousand of the people, and carried into captivity above a thousand, and drove away the rest of the multitude, and placed no small part of his own forces in them, who overran and laid waste the whole mountainous country. —De Bell. Jud., IV.viii.1 (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/sources/sources084.html)). The settlement was demolished again in the Bar-Kochva Revolt, AD 132 –135.

In A.D. 200 Septimius Severus, on his Syrian journey changed its name to Eleutheropolis, and the refounded city, marking its founding era as January 1, 200 on its coins and inscriptions [2] (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05380a.htm) soon became one of the most important of Roman Palestine. Seven routes met at Eleutheropolis [3] (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/KlonerEleutheropolis.html), and Eusebius in his Onomasticon adopted the Roman milestones that employed Eleutheropolis as a central point from which the distances of other towns were measured [4] (http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/ECG_EMS/ELEUTHEROPOLIS_Gr_EXEvOiparats.html). Its special era, which figures on its coins and in many inscriptions, began 1 January, A.D. 200 . Emperor Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus, (April 11, 146 - February 4, 211) was Roman emperor from April 9, 193 to 211. ... The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. ... Eusebius of Caesarea (~275 – May 30, 339) (often called Eusebius Pamphili, Eusebius [the friend of] Pamphilus) was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine and is often referred to as the father of church history because of his work in recording the history of the early Christian church. ...

The city was a "City of Excellence" in the 4th century (Kloner) and a Christian bishopric with the largest territory in Palestine: its first known bishop is Macrinus, who attended the Council of Nicaea in 325. Marcus Opellius Macrinus (born about 165 AD - 218) was Roman emperor for 14 months in 217 and 218. ... Council of Nicaea can refer to: First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Events May 20 - First Council of Nicaea _ first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church: The Nicene Creed is formulated, the date of Easter is discussed. ...

Epiphanius, the bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, was born at Eleutheropolis; at Ad nearby he established a monastery which is often mentioned in the polemics of Jerome with Rufinus and John, Bishop of Jerusalem. Epiphanius (clearly manifested) was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics: Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, died 410, author of Panarion Epiphanius of Constantinople, died 535, Patriarch of Constantinople 520—535 Epiphanius Scholasticus, known only as the assistant of Cassiodorus who compiled the Historiae Ecclesiasticae... For other uses see: Jerome (disambiguation) Jerome (about 340 - September 30, 420), (full name Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. ...

At Eleutheropolis, according to the hagiographies fifty soldiers of the garrison of Gaza who had refused to deny Christ were beheaded in 638: later a church was built in their honor.[5] (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05380a.htm). In 796 the city was again destroyed in civil warfare. Hagiography is the study of saints. ...

In 1134, under Fulco of Anjou, the Knights of St John, to whose care it was committed, restored the Byzantine church nearby at Sandahanna, the ancient Maresha. The citadel was taken in 1187 by Saladin, recaptured in 1191 by Richard Lion Heart, destroyed in 1264 by Sultan Bibars, and rebuilt in 1551 by the Ottoman Turks. The Knights Hospitaller (the or Knights of Malta or Knights of Rhodes) is a tradition which began as a Benedictine nursing Order founded in the 11th century based in the Holy Land, but soon became a militant Christian Chivalric Order under its own charter, and was charged with the care... Saladin, king of Egypt from a 15th century illuminated manuscript; the globus in his left hand is a European symbol of kingly power. ... Richard I (September 8, 1157 – April 6, 1199) was King of England from 1189 to 1199. ... The Ottoman Turks were the ethnic subdivision of the Turkic people who dominated the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire. ...

In the early 20th century the medieval fortress still stood, with remains of the walls, ruins of a cloister, and of a medieval church. The site has been excavated including the remarkable grottoes that astonished Jerome [6] (http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Bet_Guvrin_Morasha.html).

Eleutheropolis remains a titular see in the Roman Catholic Church [7] (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2e22.html). When first appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii, Joseph Anthony Ferrario became a titular bishop of the titular see of the ancient Egyptian city of Cusae. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination of Christianity with over one billion members. ...

External links

• Amos Kloner, "The City of Eleutheropolis" (http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/mad/articles/KlonerEleutheropolis.html): in the late Roman and Byzantine period
• World: (http://www.archaeology-classic.com/Israel_E/Beth_Guvrin.htmlArchaeological) Eleutheropolis
• Encyclopædia Brittanica 1911: (http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/ECG_EMS/ELEUTHEROPOLIS_Gr_EXEvOiparats.html) Eleutheropolis
• Catholic Encyclopedia: (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05380a.htm) Eleutheropolis
• Jewish Encyclopedia: (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=173&letter=E) Eleutheropolis