Battle of Gadara

Battle of Gadara

Alexander Jannaeus minted on a coin.
Date93 BC
Location32°39′00″N 35°41′00″E / 32.650000°N 35.683333°E / 32.650000; 35.683333
Result Nabataean victory
Territorial
changes
Loss of territories in Transjordan previously gained by the Hasmoneans to the Nabataeans
Belligerents
Hasmonean dynasty Nabataean Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Jannaeus Obodas I
Battle of Gadara is located in Jordan
Battle of Gadara
Location within Jordan

Battle of Gadara was fought between the Judaean Hasmoneans and the Arab Nabataeans around 93 BC in Gadara in modern-day Jordan.[1]

The battle came after the Nabataeans felt threatened by the Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus's territorial acquisitions of Gaza and several towns north of Nabataea in Transjordan, along the road to Damascus where the Greek Seleucids were stationed (the Seleucids were in terminal decline at the time).[2]

Jannaeus was "lucky to escape alive" back to Jerusalem after the Nabataean king Obodas I managed to ambush his forces on a steep hill, thought to be the hills surrounding the Yarmouk River. Jannaeus returned to fierce Jewish opposition in Jerusalem after his defeat, and had to cede the acquired territories to the Nabataeans so that he could dissuade them from supporting his opponents in Judea.[3]

  1. ^ Javier Teixidor (8 March 2015). The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East. Princeton University Press. p. 78. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference namter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference lost kingdom was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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