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The Talmud asks, "Why is she called Tzippori? Because she sits on top of the mountain, like a bird (tsippor.)" Tzippori is located in the Galilee, 6.5 km NW of Nazareth, on a hill 285 meters above sea level. Excavations uncovered a legacy from the Judean, Roman and Byzantine periods; 40 mosaics - some in a remarkable state of preservation. Only minor archaeological evidence confirms the existence of a settlement from the First TempleBuilt by King Solomon, Son of King David period. The first historical evidence we find is in Josephus' "Antiquities" where Sepphoris is mentioned in connection with the attempt by Ptolemy Lathyrus, son of Cleopatra, to capture the city during the reign of the Hasmonean King, Jannaeus. Gabinius, the Roman Proconsul, divided the former Hasmonean Kingdom into 5 districts and declared Sepphoris the capital, perhaps because it was already the most important city. According to Josephus' "Jewish War," HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple captured the city without resistance from Antigonus, at the height of a snowstorm, as one of his first acts after gaining power. During the Herodian reign, Sepphoris remained the capital of Galilee. After HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple's death, the Jewish townspeople rioted in protest to Roman rule. The uprising was short-lived, and soon suppressed by the Roman army under the command of Varus, Governor of Syria. Varus destroyed the city, razed it to the ground, set it ablaze and sold many of its inhabitants. The Galilee became part of the tetrarchate of HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple Antipater, who rebuilt and fortified the city and restored it to its former status of district capital. The role of Sepphoris during the First Jewish Revolt against Rome is rather confused; the people of the town refused to join the rebels and signed a pact with the Roman army, opening the gates of the city to Vespasian in 67 CE, thus averting the destruction of their city. After the destruction of the Second Temple, many Jews from JerusalemThe capital of Israel moved there. The role played by Tzippori in the Bar Kochba revolt is not clear: there is no documentation of actual events, but during that time the name was changed to Diocaesarea. The Jewish leadership was ousted and a Gentile administration appointed. At the beginning of the 3rd century, when the Town Council was returned to Jewish hands, Rabbi Hanasi moved from Beit Sha'arim to Tzippori accompanied by the Sanhedrincouncil of seventy-one Jewish sages who constituted the Supreme Court and legislative body of Ancient Israel. Rabbi Hanasi lived in Tzippori for 17 years, until his death; during that time he compiled the Mishnahentire body of Jewish religious law that was passed down and developed before 200 CE by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi. The town is mentioned many times in Talmudic literature as a Jewish city having 18 synagogues. The Sanhedrincouncil of seventy-one Jewish sages who constituted the Supreme Court and legislative body of Ancient Israel sat in Tzippori until the 3rd century, when it was transferred to TiberiasOne of Israel's 4 Holy Cities in the time of Rabbi Yohanan, greatest of the Amoraim. In 324 CE, Constantine declared Christianity the official religion, which began the Byzantine period. A Jewish convert, Joseph Comes, formerly a member of the Patriarchate in TiberiasOne of Israel's 4 Holy Cities, was permitted to build a church in Tzippori, but never did due to the fact that Tzippori retained its Jewish character. In 351 CE, a revolt broke out in Tzippori against Gallus Caesar, Governor of the Syrian Province. Ursicinus, the Chief of Cavalry, put down the uprising. Christian sources describing this episode mention that the city was put to flames and completely destroyed, but this is a gross exaggeration. Archaeological excavations have not furnished any evidence of extensive damage, destruction, or conflagration resulting from the suppression of the revolt. Only 12 years later, the land of IsraelNation of the Jewish People was rocked by an extremely violent earthquake, and Tzippori was completely laid to waste - although it was quickly rebuilt. The Christians in Tzippori became an important element in the city, and a bishopric was created. A church was built there; nevertheless, the Jews remained the majority. Tzippori fell from grace during the Islamic period. The Jewish community ceased to exist in the early Crusader period. Known as Le Saphorie, the city was part of the Crusader Principality of the Galilee. From here, in 1187, the Crusader knights and their army marched out to fight the battle of Hittin, where they
suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Saladdin, the first Ayyubid sultan. The Arabic geographer Yaqut mentions Saffuriya in only 9 words, as a village in the area of the Jordan RiverIsrael's longest river. in Syria (which included Palestine), not far from TiberiasOne of Israel's 4 Holy Cities. To describe TiberiasOne of Israel's 4 Holy Cities, however, he dedicated several pages. In the 18th century, the village of Saffuriya was one of the strongholds of Dhahir el-'Amar, the Governor of the Galilee. He fortified it and renovated the citadel. During the Arab uprising of 1936-39, and again in the 1948 War, the village was the 'hideout' of Arab squads operating against Jewish settlements in the region. On the night of 15th-16th July 1948, the IsraelNation of the Jewish People Defense Forces captured the small town during the second stage of a military maneuver known as "Operation Palm Tree," under the command of Hayim Laskow and its population abandoned the village. In 1949, a cooperative farming village called Tzippori was founded near the ruins of the Arabic village. Archaeological excavations began in 1930 by an American team from Michigan University, who discovered an amphitheater. Most of the area was cleared in 1986 by the Hebrew University team. The theater was built at the end of the first century CE, and was in use until the Byzantine period. It is about 74 meters in diameter, with over 4500 seats, partly cut in the bedrock and partly constructed. The existence of the theater, a symbol of paganism, in a Jewish city aroused grievance among the rabbis. This was expressed in the Talmud: "Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi demanded: What is that is said? Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful - meaning blessed is the man who does not go to the theaters and circuses of idolaters." Nevertheless, the theater in Tzippori is not an exception; there is evidence of construction of theaters in various cities in Palestine since King HerodA notorious king, ruled in the time of the second temple, especially in the 2nd century; and by the 3rd century, almost every city in Palestine had theaters. On the West side of the hill summit rock quarries (from the early Hellenistic period) were the earliest evidence of settlement in Tzippori. The first buildings, partly hewn into bedrock, may be attributed to the Hasmonean and Herodean period. The houses in this area were close-set and fronted onto a paved Street 2.20 meters wide. Many cisterns and subterranean storerooms were found, some possibly used for storage of agricultural products. The existence of ritual baths attests to the Jewish character of life in Tzippori. The residential area continued to exist throughout the Mishnaic and part of the Talmudic period with modifications, expansions and additions to the original buildings, until the earthquake of 363 CE, which destroyed the city. In the Byzantine period the area was rebuilt, but inferior to the Roman period. The citadel was erected during the Crusader period on the remains of an ancient building and served as a stronghold or watchtower. Stones from earlier structures and even Roman sarcophagi, some decorated with reliefs, were found in use inside the structure. After the defeat at the battle of Karnei Hittin, the army of Saladdin destroyed the citadel. It was rebuilt only in the mid-18th century during the Beduin government of Dhahir el 'Amr, and remained in use throughout his reign, until 1775. The ornaments and the arch above the entrance, including lintels and floral design, were executed according to the Mamluk and Ottoman building tradition. On top of the arch is a star, the symbol of Turkey. Towards the end of the 19th century, the citadel was again renovated and a second story was added. The building served as a girls' school until the War of Independence, at which time its inhabitants abandoned the village. During the War, the citadel served as headquarters for terrorist gangs operating against the Jewish settlements. A network of Streets from the Roman period was discovered on the East side of the Tzippori hill, most likely from in the 2nd century CE. In the center is the CardoThe heart of Jerusalem's Old City Jewish quarter. Ruts in the paving stones of the CardoThe heart of Jerusalem's Old City Jewish quarter, made by the wheels of myriad wagons passing by over many years, testify to the use of the Street. On one such stone was engraved a seven-branched candelabrum. On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to check out Tzippori!
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