Identifer: CJF-RFC2015192

Medium
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Description
This medal was issued as part of the Historical Cities of Israel Medals which were issued by the Israel Government Coins & Medals Corporation to commemorate the Historical Cities of Israel.  They were issued from 1965-1966.  They were all issued in Silver and Yellow Bronze ( also known as tombac) with one medal struck in gold.
 
This medal is 45mm with a mintage of 6,626.
 
 
Beit She’an, one of the oldest cities in the world, is mentioned quite often in the Bible.  The Philistines displayed there the body of King Saul who had fallen upon his sword to avoid capture. (Samuel I 31:10).  The city was subsequently recaptured by David.
 
Beit She’an, in the Hellenistic period, was one of the most important and most flourishing cities of the “Legue of Ten Cities”.  In 100 BCE the city was conquered by Yahana Hyrcons, the Hasmonean.  In the days of the Second Commonwealth and during the Mishnaic and Talmudic period, the city was settled by Jews.  The Arabs conquered Beit She’an in 636 CE and destroyed it.  Today Beit She’an is primarily an agricultural community.