Alexandrium

Sartaba, an ancient Hasmonean fort

For the genus, see Alexandrium (dinoflagellate).

Alexandrium

Wall at Alexandrium

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Alexandrium (the West Bank)

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Alternative name| Alexandreion, Sartaba
Location| Jericho Governorate, West Bank
Region| Judea
Coordinates| 32°5′45″N 35°27′41″E﻿ / ﻿32.09583°N 35.46139°E﻿ / 32.09583; 35.46139
Type| Fortification
History
Builder| Probably Alexander Jannaeus
Founded| 1st century BCE
Abandoned| About 70 CE
Periods| Hellenistic to Roman Empire
Mount Sartaba, once topped by Alexandrium fortress

Alexandreion[1] (Greek), or Alexandrium (Latin), called Sartaba in the Mishna and Talmud and Qarn Sartaba in Arabic, was an ancient hilltop fortress constructed by the Hasmoneans[2] between Scythopolis and Jerusalem on a pointy barren hill towering over the Jordan Valley from the west.[3] It was likely named after Hasmonean king Alexander Jannæus (104–77 BCE).

## Name

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The fortress called "Alexandreion" in Greek, simplified to "Alexandrion" (and Latinised as "Alexandrium"), is mentioned by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews. It was mentioned in the Mishna and Talmud as "Sartaba" and is now called "Qarn Sartabe" (lit. "Horn of Sartabe") in Arabic.[4]

## History

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Khan Sartabeh aqueduct from the 1871-77 PEF Survey of Palestine A huge rock-cut water reservoir typical of Hasmonean fortresses rock-cut heart shaped stone from the Hasmonean period

Alexandrium was constructed by the Hasmoneans near the border with Samaria to accommodate a military garrison, as well as to guard political prisoners.[5] It is later mentioned during Pompey the Great's conquest of Judea as a stronghold of Aristobulus II: "...as he passed by Pella and Scythopolis, he came to Corem, which is the first entrance into Judea when one passes over the midland countries, where he came to a most beautiful fortress that was built on the top of a mountain called Alexandrium, whither Aristobulus had fled/"[6]

The Alexandreion was restored by Herod the Great, a task he assigned to his brother Pheroras. Herod gave it the character of a palatial desert fortress, similar to those he built or rebuilt at Masada, Herodion and Machaerus. Herod used the fortress as a prison for his political opponents, holding his 2nd wife, Mariamne and her mother, Alexandra there in 30 BCE. It was also the burial site of Alexander, son of Herod, and Aristobulus, two of his sons whom Herod had executed at Sebaste in 7 BCE.[3]

Alexandrium was finally razed by Vespasian or Titus during the Great Revolt.[7]

## Archaeology

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Excavations conducted in the site in the 1980s by archaeologist Yoram Tsafrir uncovered remains from the Hasmonean period, including parts of columns and capitals. In excavations conducted in 2025, led by archaeologist Dvir Raviv, five construction phases were identified on the eastern slope. The first two date to the Hasmonean period, and include a building whose walls and floor were plastered in white, a ritual bath (Mikveh), and parts of a columned structure decorated in the Doric style. In the third and fourth phases, dating to the time of Herod the Great, the Hasmonean palace was dismantled and a peristyle was built that included a columned structure paved with mosaics, the columns and walls of which were decorated with fresco and stucco, as well as a cistern and a stepped pool. The fifth and final phase included squatter walls, a tabun, and a destruction layer from the first century AD - these likely represent the activities of refugees and the Roman army during the Great Jewish Revolt.[8]

## See also

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Hasmonean desert fortresses

* Cypros (fortress) [de]
* Dok (Dagon) on the Mount of Temptation
* Hyrcania (fortress)
* Machaerus

## References

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### Notes

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1. ^ Peter Richardson, Amy Marie Fisher (2018). Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans (2 ed.). Routledge. p. 392\. ISBN 978-1-138-80392-3. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
2. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13:417
3. ^ a b Rocca 2008, pp. 30-32
4. ^ Abraham Schalit, König Herodes. Der Mann und sein Werk. Walter de Gruyter Inc., Studia Judaica, 2001, p. 12, footnote 40. German: "Josephus, AJ, XIV, 3, 4 (Par. 49). Alexandreion ist das Sartaba der Mischnah und des Talmud, heute Qarn Sartabe, etwa drei Meilen südwestlich von der Mündung des Jabboq in den Jordan." English translation: "Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XIV, 3, 4 (par. 49). Alexandreion is the Sartaba of the Mishnah and Talmud, today's Qarn Sartabe, about three miles southwest of the confluence of the Jabboq with the Jordan." [1]
5. ^ Rocca 2008, p. 12
6. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:48
7. ^ Krauss, Samuel. "ALEXANDRIUM". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
8. ^ "Summary of the first excavation season at Alexandrion". Facebook (in Hebrew and English). 17 March 2025.

### Bibliography

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* Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator (1895). The Works of Flavius Josephus. Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
* Rocca, Samuel (2008). The Forts of Judaea 168 BC – AD 73. Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-171-7.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sartaba.

* Pictures of Alexandrium-Sartaba
* The Sartaba-Alexandrion Excavation Project, Facebook

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