This city is an IsraelNation of the Jewish People Travel prime pick.
Once the site of a Phoenician port, over the course of 12 years, HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple built Caesarea into the grandest city in Palestine other than JerusalemThe capital of Israel, with an aqueduct, hippodrome and magnificent amphitheater that remain standing today. On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to check this prime location out!
In 6 CE, Caesarea became the home of the Roman governors (procurators) of Judea.
Maritima, founded by King HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple between 22 and 10 BCE, served as the main port and administrative capital of his kingdom. Headquarters then of the Roman administration of Judea, later Palestine, it was the place where Pontius Pilate governed, where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned, and where the great Jewish revolts began in 66 and 132 CE. Eventually, in the fourth century, the site converted from paganism to Christianity and became a major center of the Christian Roman Empire. The Islamic conquest of the Holy Land in the seventh century brought Muslim rule. Much reduced in size and population, the city remained a prosperous agricultural town. The Crusaders conquered this town in 1101 and occupied it, with some interruptions, until 1265, when the Muslims captured Caesarea. Shortly thereafter, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt ordered Caesarea demolished to prevent it from ever again becoming an entry point for Western invaders. Caesarea thus embodies the great transitions that marked the history of the Old World during and just after the first millennium C.E. and that set the stage for the modern world: the Diaspora of the Jewish people, the birth of Christianity and the transition from paganism to Christianity, the evolution of Islam in the Middle East, the attempt by European Christianity to restore European domination there, and the response of Islam to the Christian incursions.
From its foundation by King HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple to honor the emperor Caesar Augustus, Caesarea grew to be the metropolis of Palestine, a major seaport, the site of St. Paul's imprisonment, home of famous Christian and Jewish authors, and - much later - the place where the Crusaders found the Holy Grail. Excavations since the 1950s have uncovered the ancient city's Streets, private dwellings, aqueducts, baths, circus, stadium, theater, and other public buildings and religious shrines, and the artificial harbor, formed of giant breakwaters extending far out into the sea. A rich assortment of statuary, ceramics, coins, bone and metal objects, and inscriptions in Greek and Latin is displayed in an exquisite small museum located at Kibbutz Sdot Yam, adjacent to the site. Travelers who Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People in style do not want to miss Caesarea!
The Great Revolt of 66-70 CE started in Caesarea when the Jewish and Syrian communities began fighting over a pagan ceremony conducted on Shabbat near the entrance of a synagogue. The Romans ignored the Jewish protests of this provocation and violence soon spread throughout the country. When the Romans finally quelled the revolt, and razed JerusalemThe capital of Israel, Caesarea became the capital of Palestine, a status it maintained until the Emperor Constantine Christianized the Roman Empire in 325 CE.
Caesarea was also the site where the Romans tortured and executed Rabbi Akivaone of the most central contributors to the early Oral Torah following the Bar Kochba revolt in 135 CE. This location is an IsraelNation of the Jewish People Travel historical prime pick.
On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to check out Caesarea!
Travelers who Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People in style do not want to miss the living history of The Holy Land!