Yavne
Fortress city overlooking the coastal road on
the northwestern border of Judea,
known in early Israelite times as Jabne'el. The city was captured
by the Greeks and burned
by the early Maccabeans,
but restored by Alexander Jannai.
After Roman armies occupied Judea, Gabinius ordered Jabneh reconstructed
as a Roman city. Augustus
awarded it to Herod after the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra. Herod willed it to his sister Salome, who in turn willed it to Augustus'
widow, Livia. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Hillel's disciple Johanan ben Zakkai located the rabbinic Academy at Jabneh,
where it remained until the end of the Hadrianic war [135 CE]. Rabbi
Aqiba began to record the Mishna there.
Today, the city is known as Yavne and has a population of approximately 33,000.
Sources: Into
His Own |