Beth-Shean (בֵּית־שְׁאָן, beith-she'an). Also spelled Beth Shan (בֵּית שָׁן, beith shan). Later called Scythopolis (Σκυθῶν πόλις, Skythōn polis). City at the junction of the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys. One of the cities of the Decapolis. Occupied from the fifth millennium bc to the present.

Beth-Shean is located about five miles northeast of Mt. Gilboa along the Harod Brook, where the Jezreel Valley meets the Jordan Valley.

Beth-Shean guards two of the most important routes through the Levant (or the countries bordering on the East Mediterranean). The Jordan Valley route was known in ancient times as “the King’s Highway,” used by armies of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. As an important trade route, the valley connected the ports of the Red Sea with the commercial centers of the Fertile Crescent. The Jezreel Valley represents the only easy route from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean Sea. At Beth-Shean, the “King’s Highway” connected to the “Via Maris”—the major route from Damascus, through Galilee, and along the Mediterranean coast through the Levant to Egypt.

The original settlement was on top of a large mound (or tel), overlooking the surrounding area. During the Hellenistic period, the city spread out around the tel, eventually encompassing 400 acres. The modern Arabic name of the archaeological site is Tell El-Husn.