Betar (ancient village)

Betar

בֵּיתַּר
Walls of the Betar fortress.
Shown within the West Bank
Location	Battir, West Bank
Region	Judean Mountains
Coordinates	31°43′48″N 35°08′08″E / 31.73°N 35.135556°E / 31.73; 35.135556
Grid position	163/126 PAL
Type	settlement
Part of	Roman Judea

Part of a series on the
Bar Kokhba revolt
Participants Jews of Judaea Simon bar Kokhba Yeshua ben Galgula Rabbi Akiva Eleazar of Modi'im Ten Martyrs Roman Empire Hadrian Quintus Tineius Rufus Sextus Julius Severus Gaius Quinctius Certus Poblicius Marcellus
Events Aelia Capitolina Siege of Betar
Sites Bar Kokhba hiding complexes Bar Kokhba refuge caves Cave of Horror Cave of Letters Wadi Murabba'at El-Jai cave Te'omim Cave Destroyed sites Horvat 'Ethri Horvat Bad Issa Herodium Betar
Findings Bar Kokhba revolt coinage Bar Kokhba weights Archive of Babatha
Literary sources Cassius Dio Rabbinic literature Babylonian Talmud Jerusalem Talmud Rabbinic stance on Bar Kokhba revolt
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Betar (Biblical Hebrew: בֵּיתַּר, romanized: Bēttar), also spelled Beitar, Bethar or Bether, was an ancient Jewish town in the Judaean Mountains. Continuously inhabited since the Iron Age,^[1] it was the last standing stronghold of the Bar Kokhba revolt, and was destroyed by the Imperial Roman Army under Hadrian in 135 CE.^[2][3][4]

Ancient Betar's ruins can be found at the archeological site of Khirbet al-Yahud (Arabic: خربة اليهود, lit. 'Ruin of the Jews'^[5]), located about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) southwest of Jerusalem. It is located in the modern Palestinian village of Battir, which preserves Betar's ancient name.^[6] Excavations at the site have uncovered evidence of the Roman siege and destruction, such as defensive walls and arrowheads.

The Israeli settlement and city Beitar Illit, named after the ancient city, is also located nearby.