Beit Guvrin replaced Maresha as the seat of power of Rehoboam, who fortified it against Egyptian attack. In 112 BCE, Maresha was conquered by the Hasmonean king, John Hyracanus I. During the Roman and Byzantine periods, it had a large Jewish population. Under Roman rule, it was granted the status of a “city of freeman.” Beit Guvrin thrived until the Bar Kochva revolt in 132-135 CE. According to Josephus Flavius, it was conquered by the Roman general Vespasian
