Zoara
One of a cluster of five biblical cities / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Zoara, called Zoar/Tzoar[1][lower-alpha 1] or Bela[lower-alpha 2] in the Hebrew Bible,[2] Segor[lower-alpha 3] in the Septuagint, and Zughar[lower-alpha 4] by medieval Arabs,[3] was an ancient city located in the Dead Sea basin in the Transjordan.[4]
Biblical Zoar is described in Genesis as one of the five "cities of the plain"[5] – a pentapolis at the time of Abram/Abraham (see Patriarchal age), situated in a highly fertile valley mentioned in the Book of Genesis, apparently stretching along the lower Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea plain. The biblical narrative shows the city being spared the "brimstone and fire" which destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in order to provide a refuge for Lot and his daughters.[6]
The town of Zoara, located at modern-day Ghor es-Safi in Jordan, is mentioned in the 1st-5th centuries CE by various geographers and historians. The Catholic Encyclopedia, writing about the time preceding the Crusades, called it "a flourishing oasis where the balsam, indigo, and date trees bloom luxuriantly".[7] Arab authors of the 10th century mention its indigo production and praise its dates.[3]