Beth-haram

Beth-haram ("house of the mountain") was one of the fortified towns the tribe of Gad rebuilt in the Jordan Valley after Moses granted them their inheritance east of the river (Numbers 32:36, Joshua 13:27). It lay in the lush flood plain northeast of the Dead Sea opposite Jericho. Centuries later it became the Hellenistic-Roman city of Livias (renamed by Herod Antipas for the empress Livia), one of the principal cities of Perea where Jewish settlers and Roman administration coexisted. The site is identified with Tell er-Rama or nearby Tell Iktanu near the modern Jordanian town of South Shuneh. The territory of Beth-haram was famous for its date palms and the rich agricultural produce of the Jordan Valley's warm climate.