Golan

Golan (Hebrew: גּוֹלָן, romanized: Gōlān; Arabic: جولان, romanized: Jawlān) is the name of a biblical town, later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (Onomasticon, early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village east of Wadi ar-Ruqqad in the Daraa Governorate, where early Byzantine ruins were found. Israeli historical geographer, Zev Vilnay, tentatively identified the town of Golan with the Goblana (Gaulan) of the Talmud which he thought to be the ruin ej-Jelêbîne on the Wâdy Dabûra, near the Lake of Huleh, by way of a corruption of the site's original name.

In the Bible, Golan is mentioned as a city of refuge in the Bashan (Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 20:8 and 1 Chronicles 6:71). The name derives from the Semitic root g-w-l "to move in circle" with the suffix -ān commonly used to form toponyms, with the sense "surrounded".

The shift in the meaning of Golan, from a town to a broader district or territory, is first attested by the Jewish historian Josephus. His account likely reflects Roman administrative changes implemented after the Great Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). The name Golan Heights was not used before the 19th century.

The Greek name for the region is Gaulanîtis (Γαυλανῖτις). In the Grecized form Gaulanitis (Ancient Greek: Γαυλανῖτις, romanized: Gaulanîtis), it is the name of the region apparently named for the town of Golan. During much of the Hellenistic period, the region was part of the Seleucid Empire. In Roman times it was shared between the Roman provinces of Judaea and Phoenice.

In the Mishnah the name is Gablān similar to Aramaic language names for the region: Gawlāna, Guwlana and Gublānā. The Arabic name is Jawlān, sometimes romanized as Djolan, which is an Arabized version of the Canaanite and Hebrew name. Arab cartographers of the Byzantine period referred to the area as a mountain, though the region is a plateau. According to Vilnay, the village took its name from the district Gaulanitis (Golan). The ruin is not far from the Daughters of Jacob Bridge. The traces of the town were described by G. Schumacher in the late 19th-century as being "a desert ruin", having "no visible remains of importance, but [having] the appearance of great antiquity."

The area is referred to in the Hebrew Bible as the territory of Manasseh in the conquered territory of Bashan: Golan was the most northerly of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River (Deuteronomy 4:43). Manasseh gave this Levitical city to the Gershonite Levites (Joshua 21:27; 1 Chronicles 6:71). According to the Bible, the Israelites conquered Golan, taking it from the Amorites.

During the Persian period (c. 539–332 BCE) the Golan region, together with the Bashan, formed the satrapy of Karnaim.

Now named Gaulanitis, the area formed a district all by itself during the early Hellenistic period. Once the Seleucid Empire started its gradual collapse, the Golan became a target for Iturean and other Arab tribes. At the same time it was enveloped by the regional wars fought by Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (r. 103-76 BCE) against the Nabatean kings Obodas I and Aretas III between ca. 93–80 BCE, leading to the conquest of the Golan by Jannaeus.