Betar (ancient city)

Betar (Hebrew: בֵּיתַּר, romanized: Bēttar) was an ancient Jewish town in the Judaean Mountains, continuously inhabited since the Iron Age and up until the 2nd century CE. It is most famously known as the final stronghold of the Bar Kokhba revolt. It was besieged and destroyed by the Romans in 135 CE.

Betar appears in various ancient sources, including the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds, as well as in midrashic literature and Patristic writings. These accounts depict the siege as a prolonged and devastating campaign, culminating in the large-scale massacre of its inhabitants. According to Jewish tradition, tens of thousands were killed, and their bodies were left unburied until the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, when burial was finally permitted. The fall of Betar is observed on the fast day of Tisha B'Av, alongside other national calamities such as the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

The archaeological site of ancient Betar, also known as Tel Betar (Hebrew: תל ביתר, lit. 'Tell of Betar') or Khirbet al-Yahud (Arabic: خربة اليهود, lit. 'Ruin of the Jews'), is located near the modern Palestinian village of Battir, which preserves the ancient name. Although it has never been systematically excavated, limited archaeological work has revealed remains associated with the Roman siege and destruction, such as hurriedly-built defensive walls, slingstones and arrowheads. Additional information about the siege comes from a nearby Latin inscription that names detached troops from Legio V Macedonica and Legio XI Claudia, while the remains of surrounding Roman camps suggest a siege force numbering up to 10,000–12,000 soldiers.

Betar's legacy endures into the modern era. In 1923, the name Betar was adopted by the Revisionist Zionist youth movement, invoking the town's fall as a symbol of Jewish heroism and national resilience. In 1950, the moshav Mevo Beitar was founded near the site of the ancient city by members of the Betar movement. Four decades later, in 1990, the settlement of Beitar Illit was established just one kilometer from the ruins, likewise named in memory of ancient Betar.