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The Unconquerable City

Michael1926

Michael1926

Member
There is a city that i learned about in Jewish teachings called Luz. This city was unconquerable and every kingdom that tried to conquer them inevitably failed. We learn that this city was given special protection by G-d which is why none could conquer it. Luz is located in what was once the kingdom of the Hitites, north of Syria; by my calculations this is modern-day Turkey. I was wondering if anyone knew of similar stories in other religions or what-not.
 
Viker

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
The closest thing I know of to an unconquerable city would be Damascus, which was established around 1300bce but fell for the first time in 1910ce when the Ottoman Empire invaded.

There's also Constantinople, it took nearly 900 years for it to fall to invaders (the Turks again).
 
Michael1926

Michael1926

Member
Michael1926 said:
There is a city that i learned about in Jewish teachings called Luz. This city was unconquerable and every kingdom that tried to conquer them inevitably failed. We learn that this city was given special protection by G-d which is why none could conquer it. Luz is located in what was once the kingdom of the Hitites, north of Syria; by my calculations this is modern-day Turkey. I was wondering if anyone knew of similar stories in other religions or what-not.
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"G-d rewarded the man... the city that he and his family built was granted special protection. Not even the mighty conquerors were able to conquer it... the city was located in the land of the Hittites, which is north of Syria." (Me'am Loez, Judges, 1:22-26)
 
Harel13

Harel13

Am Yisrael Chai
Staff member
Premium Member
Michael1926 said:
There is a city that i learned about in Jewish teachings called Luz. This city was unconquerable and every kingdom that tried to conquer them inevitably failed. We learn that this city was given special protection by G-d which is why none could conquer it. Luz is located in what was once the kingdom of the Hitites, north of Syria; by my calculations this is modern-day Turkey. I was wondering if anyone knew of similar stories in other religions or what-not.
Click to expand...
Me'am Loez is usually based on older sources the author had, so it's always worth trying to locate the original sources. In this case, there are a few Talmudic sources that attest both realistic and legendary qualities to a city in the Province of Syria named Luz. See BT Sotah 46b, BT Sanhedrin 12a. Jastrow brought a suggestion that Luz is to be identified with Lizan/Leezan, a village in Kurdistan, northeast of Mosul (some sources: 1, 2). According to the Encyclopedia Mikra'it (Hebrew Biblical Encylcopedia), some have suggested that it should be identified with Luwayza in Lebanon or Khirbet al-Luwayza. However, the author of the entry himself found both suggestions unlikely.
On the legendary qualities of this city, see Marc Bregman's article. Bregman thought the city was like a Jewish Shangri-La, so that's relevant to what you're looking for.
 
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