![]() ![]() At its height, Sebastos was one of the most impressive harbours of its time. The pace of construction was impressive considering the project's size and complexity. King Herod built the two jetties of the harbour between 22 and 15 BCE, and in 10/9 BCE he dedicated the city and harbour to Emperor Augustus ( sebastos is Greek for Augustus). Įvery five years, the city hosted major sports competitions, gladiator games, and theatrical productions in its theatre overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Herod built his palace on a promontory jutting out into the sea, with a decorative pool surrounded by stoas. In 22 BCE, Herod began construction of a deep-sea harbour named Sebastos (see below) and built storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus, and imposing public buildings. Caesarea was known as the administrative, economic, and cultural capital of the Palestinian province from this time. The pagan city underwent vast changes under Herod, who renamed it Caesarea in honour of the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. ![]() The site, along with all of Judea, was awarded by Rome to Herod the Great in 30 BCE. 22-10/9 BCE near the ruins of the small naval station of Straton's Tower. Herodian Caesarea Ĭaesarea was built in Roman-ruled Judea under the Jewish client king Herod the Great during c. Straton's Tower remained a Jewish settlement for two more generations, until the area became dominated by the Romans in 63 BCE, when they declared it an autonomous city. In 90 BCE, Jewish ruler Alexander Jannaeus captured Straton's Tower as part of his policy of developing the shipbuilding industry and enlarging the Hasmonean kingdom. It was first established as a Phoenician colony and trading village. ![]() Stratonos pyrgos (Straton's Tower) was founded by Abdashtart I, or Straton I king of Sidon (r. "Palestina" is the most common term used in ancient sources, but since the creation of Israel in 1948 historians have tended to use the term less frequently. Whilst the name Caesarea was frequently used alone for the subject of this article, various markers were used to differentiate the location from these other locations these include "Palestina" ("of Palestine"), "Maritima" ("by the sea" Greek: Παράλιος Parálios), "Sebaste" and "Stratonis". The Latin name Caesarea referred to a number of cities in the region, notably Caesarea near Mount Hermon and Caesarea the capital of Cappadocia. The ruins of the ancient city beneath the depopulated village were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s for archaelogical purposes, and in 1977, the site was incorporated into the modern municipality of Caesarea. In the 1948 Palestine war its population fled ahead of or were expelled by the Zionist militant group Lehi and its houses demolished. The Latin name Caesarea was adopted into Arabic as Qisarya قيسارية, a small fishing village on the ancient site. After being re-fortified by Muslim rulers in the 11th century, it was conquered by the Crusaders, who strengthened and made it into an important port, and was finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265. Its importance may have waned starting during the Muslim conquest of 640 in the early Middle Ages. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early centre of Christianity during the Byzantine period. It later became the provincial capital of the Roman province of Judaea, Roman Syria Palaestina and Byzantine Palaestina Prima provinces. It was then significantly enlarged in the Roman period by the Judaean client king Herod I, who established a new harbour and dedicated the town and its port to Caesar Augustus as Caesarea.ĭuring the early Roman period, Caesarea became the seat of the Roman procurators in the region. It was enlarged in the 1st century BCE under Hasmonean rule, becoming a Jewish village, and in 63 BCE, when the Roman Republic annexed the region, it was declared an autonomous city. The site was first settled in the 4th century BCE as a Phoenician colony and trading village known as Straton's Tower after the ruler of Sidon. Today, the site is an Israeli national park and its ruins are part of the Caesarea National Park. Today located in Caesarea, Israel, it has also been called Caesarea Palestinae, mostly before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. ![]()
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