Names
Transliterated Name |
Source |
Name |
Aqaba |
Arabic |
العقبة |
al-ʿAqaba |
Arabic variant |
|
al-ʿAgaba |
Arabic variant |
|
ʿaqabat Aylah |
12th century Arabic |
عقبة آيلة |
Ayla |
Arabic |
آيلا |
Aela |
Latin |
|
Aila |
Latin |
|
Ailana |
Latin |
|
Haila |
Latin |
|
Aila |
Byzantine Greek |
Άιλα |
Berenice |
Ancient Greek |
Βερενίκη |
Elath |
Ancient Semitic |
|
Ailath |
Ancient Semitic |
|
Ezion-Geber |
Hebrew |
עֶצְיֹן גֶּבֶר |
Transliterated Name |
Source |
Name |
Eilat |
Hebrew |
אֵילַת |
Ilat |
Arabic |
إِيلَات |
Umm al-Rashrāsh |
Arabic |
أم الرشراش |
Introduction
Aqaba, located at the northern terminus of the
Gulf of Aqaba has a long history of habitation
punctuated by episodes of abandonment and decline. It's strategic location as the nearest port town to the copper mines
of the Araba Valley made it a regional hub for copper production (smelting) and trade as evidenced at the
Chalcolithic sites of
Tall Hujayrat Al-Ghuzlan and
Tall Al-Magass
(
Klimscha, 2011). The Hebrew Bible
(e.g.
1 Kings 9:26-28 and
2 Chronicles 8:17-18)
mentions nearby Elath and Ezion Geber as ports of departure for Solomon's merchant fleet to
Ophir
(
S. Thomas Parker and Donald S. Whitcomb in Meyers et al, 1997). According to the same Hebrew Bible, Eilat was later
conquered by the Edomites in the late eighth century
BCE (
2 Kings 16:6).
Nelson Glueck excavated the site of
Tell el-Kheleifeh thinking
it was
Solomon's port city but subsequent work on the site suggests that this is not the case. Before the Roman annexation in 106 CE,
Aqaba was a Nabatean port. In Roman and Byzantine times, the port was known as Aila. The town surrendered to the Muslims during the
Muslim conquest of the Levant,
and eventually a new Muslim town (Ayla) was built just outside the city walls of Byzantine Aila (aka Ailana)
(
Whitcomb, 1994).
The modern Israeli city of
Eilat, named for ancient
Elath, lies across the border from the Jordanian city of Aqaba.
Maps and Plans
-
Map showing location of various sites around Aqaba
including older sites from Allison (2013)
-
Map showing location of Islamic Ayla and Byzantine Aila (aka Ailana)
from Whitcomb (1988)