The Events at Gamla

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Gamla, located northeast of the Sea of Galilee, is a site famous for a single event in Jewish history. It was the site of a battle recorded by the historian Josephus in the Roman quash of the Jewish revolt. The site has only been occupied one time as near as excavation can tell. The valleys surrounding the remains of this city are now a nature preserve where vultures can be seen circling overhead and ibex can be seen dancing along the trail.

It is not certain if Josephus was an eye witness to the events that transpired at Gamla, but he was certainly a contemporary of the events and would have been able to speak with people that were there. It is a fact that Josephus had personally overseen the fortification of Gamla before his capture by the Romans. The account that follows is entirely based on his record of the events and any extrapolation we can make therefrom.

In the revolt of the Jews they had fortified many of their key cities, some of this work done by Josephus as just mentioned. In hindsight this method of defense turned out to be flawed. The Romans proved quite capable in the art of siege warfare and didn't have much problem in taking these cities. The people would huddle up in their cities and wait for the attack and thus remove themselves from the opportunity of coming to the aide of those of the surrounding communities. Perhaps if they had chosen a better strategy of defense they might have proved better opponents for the Romans. As it was Gamla fell. Unlike many of the other cities which fell to the Romans the people of Gamla were able to repel the Roman invasion on the first wave but then fell at the second attack. Let us examine the story in order.

The Romans laid siege to the city of Gamla in 67AD and we ha...

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...stem to unite their defenses, but chose to remain alone, and die alone, relying on their own strength. Much like the spiritual warfare of today, we cannot rely on our own strength. We must, as Moroni showed, be unified to win. The forces of good cannot lose if all parties to the cause are united. If an entire nation is under attack, the entire nation must come to the defense. Isolated cities cannot do it alone. Without unity there is no victory.

Much to D's chagrin, there were no arrowheads left in the walls. He wanted to become famous like Conor and find something sweet that would be put in a museum with his name by it. But alas, it was not to be so. What he did find, however, was the remains of a city with a simple, yet metaphoric history. Though conquered, Gamla stands today as a testimony to the importance of watchfulness, foundations, and harmony.

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