Obodas I

Who is Obodas I?

Obodas I was King of the Nabateans from 96 BC to 85 BC. He was the successor of Aretas II, from whom he inherited the war with the Hasmonean kingdom. He defeated them around 93 BC on the Golan Heights.

Then he ambushed Alexander Jannaeus near Gadara, just east of the Sea of Galilee. Using camel cavalry, he forced Jannaeus into a valley where he completed the ambush thereby getting revenge for the Nabateans' loss of Gaza.

Moab and Gilead, two mountains east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan, were returned.

Around 86 BC the Seleucid ruler, Antiochus XII Dionysus invaded Nabatea. Both Antiochus and Obodas were killed but the invaders were defeated. The Nabataean Empire, however, was saved.

Obodas was buried in the Negev, at a place that was renamed in honor, Avdat. After his death Obodas was worshiped as a deity. He was succeeded by his brother Aretas III.

This article draws heavily on the nl:Obodas I article in the Dutch-language Wikipedia, which was accessed in the version of September 15, 2008.