The Malhata Fortress on the Roman-Judaean Negev Frontier: Associated with a Roman Road, the Frankincense Trail, and a Princely Fugitive

When Agrippa I, an adventurous Roman-Judean prince, was forced to flee Rome as a political fugitive, he sought sanctuary in Malatha, an abandoned fortress deep in the desolate Negev desert. Malhata is one of a group of fortresses on the Roman-Judaean frontier with Nabataea (roughly equivalent to modern Jordan). This fortress, located on a tel in the southern portion of the group, is associated with the remains of a Roman road and occupied a strategically central position on an important crossroads between southern Roman Palestine and central Judaea, and between the Dead and Mediterranean seas. It was also on the Roman sector of the Frankincense Trail caravan trade route with the Arabian Peninsula. As well, it is believed to have been 'Malatha', mentioned by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus as the location where the fugitive Herodian prince, Agrippa I, hid when forced to flee his privileged life in Rome among the Julio-Claudians. An archaeological excavation report and GIS spatial analysis of Malhata reveal information on the fortress' purpose, and support its being the location where Agrippa hid. Thus, it draws on archaeological findings, GIS mapping, and narrative reconstruction to explore the mysterious fortress of Malatha and Agrippa I's exile through new eyes. Note: First published in British Roman Roads Itinera, 2023, this publication is very similar to book, Fugitive Prince: The Negev Hideout of Agrippa I at Malhata, which is Book #3 of my series, "Roman Provincial Shadows: Agrippa I, Intrigue, and Power", making it unnecessary to purchase both. This work was recommended for publication in R.R. Itinera by noted Roman historian Anthony Barrett, author of Caligula: The Corruption of Power.