Caesarea Maritima

The harbor at Caesarea Caesarea Maritima (Greek: παράλιος Καισάρεια), called Caesarea Palaestina from 133 AD onwards, was a city and harbor built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BC. Today, its ruins lie on the Mediterranean coast of Israel about halfway between the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa , on the site of Pyrgos Stratonos ("Strato" or "Straton's Tower", in Latin Turris Stratonis ). Caesarea Maritima as with Caesarea Philippi in the Golan Heights and Caesarea Mazaca in Anatolian Cappadocia was named to flatter the Caesar. The city was described in detail by the 1st century Roman Jewish historian Josephus ( Jewish Antiquities XV.331ff; Jewish War I.408ff). The city became the seat of the Roman praefecti soon after its foundation. The emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a colonia . After the destruction of Jerusalem, in A.D. 70, Caesarea was established as the provincial capital of Iudaea Province before the change of name to Syria Palaestina in CE 134 shortly before the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt . According to historian H.H. Ben-Sasson, Caesarea was the "administrative capital" beginning in 6. Caesarea remained the capital until the early 8th century, when the Umayyad caliph Suleiman transferred the seat of the government of the Jund Filastin to the newly built city of Ramla . Ben-Sasson editor, 1976, page 247: "When Judea was converted into a Roman province [in 6 CE, page 246], Jerusalem ceased to be the administrative capital of the country. The Romans moved the governmental residence and military headquarters to Caesarea. The centre of government was thus removed from Jerusalem, and the administration became increasingly based on inhabitants of the hellenistic cities (Sebaste, Caesarea and others)."

Caesarea Maritima ( Greek : Parálios Kaisáreia , Παράλιος Καισάρεια) is a national park on the Israeli coastline, near the town of Caesarea . The ancient Caesarea Maritima (or Caesarea Palestinae ) city and harbor was built by Herod the Great about 25–13 BC. The city had been populated through the late Roman and Byzantine era. Its ruins lie on the Mediterranean coast of Israel , about halfway between the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa , on the site of Pyrgos Stratonos ("Straton's Tower"). The national park has a developed promenade with restaurants and coffee shops. The access to the Caesarea Maritima national park is via the coastal road. Caesarea Maritima was named in honor of Augustus Caesar . The city was described in detail by the 1st-century Roman Jewish historian Josephus . The city became the seat of the Roman prefect soon after its foundation. Caesarea was the "administrative capital" beginning in 6 AD. This city is the location of the 1961 discovery of the Pilate Stone , the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate , by whose order Jesus was crucified. The emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a colonia . After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Caesarea was the provincial capital of the Judaea Province , before the change of name to Syria Palaestina in 134 AD, shortly before the Bar Kokhba revolt . In Byzantine times, Caesarea remained the capital, with brief interruption of Persian and Jewish conquest between 614 and 625. In the 630s, Arab Muslim armies had taken control of the region, keeping Caesarea as its administrative center. In the early 8th century, the Umayyad caliph Suleiman transferred the seat of government of the Jund Filastin from Caesarea to Ramla . Ben-Sasson editor, 1976, page 247: "When Judea was converted into a Roman province [in 6 CE, page 246], the Romans moved the governmental residence and military headquarters from Jerusalem to Caesarea.

Caesarea Maritima ( / ˌ s ɛ s ə ˈ r iː ə m ə ˈ r ɪ t ɪ m ə / ; Greek : Παράλιος Καισάρεια Parálios Kaisáreia ), formerly Strato's Tower , also known as Caesarea Palestinae , was an ancient city in the Sharon Plain on the coast of the Mediterranean , now in ruins and included in an Israeli national park . The city and harbour were built under Herod the Great during c. 22–10 or 9 BCE near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos (Στράτωνος πύργος, "Straton's Tower"), probably named after the 4th century BCE king of Sidon , Strato I . It later became the provincial capital of Roman Judea , Roman Syria Palaestina and Byzantine Palaestina Prima provinces. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries AD and became an important early centre of Christianity during the Byzantine period, but destroyed during the Muslim conquest of 640, after which it lost its importance. After being re-fortified by the Muslims 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. The name Caesarea (Καισάρεια) was adopted into Arabic as Qaysaria قيسارية . The location was all but abandoned in 1800. It was re-developed into a fishing village by Bosniak Muslim immigrants after 1884, and into a modern town after 1940, incorporated in 1977 as the municipality of Caesarea ( Hebrew Kesariya קיסריה ) within Israel 's Haifa District , about halfway between the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa . The ruins of the ancient city, on the coast about 2 km south of modern Caesarea , were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s and the site was incorporated into the new Caesarea National Park in 2011. This small harbor was situated on the N part of the site. Herod dedicated the new town and its port ( limen Sebastos ) to Caesar Augustus . During the Early Roman period Caesarea was the seat of the Roman procurators of the province of Judea. Vespasian, proclaimed emperor at Caesarea, raised it to the rank of Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta, and later Alexander Severus raised it to the rank of Metropolis Provinciae Syriae Palestinae." A. (eds.), The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (1976).

Ancient Levantine city and depopulated village site For the modern town, see Caesarea, Israel . Caesarea ( / ˌ s ɛ s ə ˈ r iː ə / ; Greek : Καισάρεια Kaisáreia , Keisaria , Qisarya ), also Caesarea Maritima , Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis , was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean , and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Roman Judaea , Syria Palaestina and Palaestina Prima , successively, for a period of c. 650 years, and a major intellectual hub of the Mediterranean, from the time of Herod I until the Muslim conquest of the Levant . Today, the site is part of the Caesarea National Park , on the western edge of the Sharon plain in Israel . 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 . 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. 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 . During the early Roman period, Caesarea became the seat of the Roman procurators in the region. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early centre of Christianity during the Byzantine period. Its importance may have waned following the Muslim conquest of 640 when the city, then known in Arabic as Qisarya ( قيسارية ), lost its status as provincial capital. 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. Qisarya was a small fishing village in the early modern period. In February 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war , some of its population fled following an attack on a bus by the Zionist militant group Lehi , and the remainder were expelled by the Palmach , who subsequently demolished its houses. The ruins of the ancient city beneath the depopulated village were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s for archaeological purposes. Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui / Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui. As the city was the capital first of all Palestine , then of Palaestina Prima , the άpxov and his officium resided there Prawer, J.; Ben-Shammai, H. The History of Jerusalem: The Early Muslim Period (638-1099) . Denying any further administrative status to Caesarea, the Muslims transferred the center of provincial administration first to Lod and then to Ramla… Evans, Craig A. The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus . This small harbor was situated on the N part of the site. Herod dedicated the new town and its port ( limen Sebastos ) to Caesar Augustus . During the Early Roman period, Caesarea was the seat of the Roman procurators of the province of Judea. Vespasian , proclaimed emperor at Caesarea, raised it to the rank of Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta , and later Alexander Severus raised it to the rank of Metropolis Provinciae Syriae Palestinae ." A. (eds.), The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (1976). But there were one or two local, unauthorised initiatives… And there was one authorised expulsion. The inhabitants of Qisarya, south of Haifa, lived and cultivated Jewish ( PICA ) and Greek Orthodox church lands. One leading family evacuated the village on 10 January. Most of the population left – apparently for neighbouring Tantura – immediately after the 31 January LHI ambush of a bus that had just pulled out of Qisarya in which two Arabs died and eight were injured (one of the dead and several injured were from the village). The Haganah decided to occupy the site because the land was PICA -owned. But after moving in, the Haganah feared that the British might eject them. The commanders asked headquarters for permission to level the village. Yitzhak Rabin , the Palmah ’s head of operations, opposed the destruction – but he was overruled. On 19–20 February, the Palmah’s Fourth Battalion demolished the houses. The 20-odd inhabitants who were found at the site were moved to safety and some of the troops looted the abandoned homes. A month later, the Arabs were still complaining to local Jewish mukhtars that their stolen money and valuables had not been returned. The Qisarya Arabs, according to Aharon Cohen, had ‘done all in their power to keep the peace . . . The villagers had supplied agricultural produce to Jewish Haifa and Hadera . . .

Ancient Levantine city For the modern town, see Caesarea (modern town) . Caesarea ( / ˌ s ɛ z ə ˈ r iː ə , ˌ s ɛ s -, ˌ s iː z -/ ) also Caesarea Maritima , Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis , was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean , and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Roman Judaea , Syria Palaestina and Palaestina Prima , successively, for a period of c. 650 years and a major intellectual hub of the Mediterranean. Today, the site is part of the Caesarea National Park, on the western edge of the Sharon plain in Israel . 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 . 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. It was then significantly enlarged in the Roman period by the Judaean client King Herod the Great , who established a harbour and dedicated the town and its port to Caesar Augustus as Caesarea . During the early Roman period, Caesarea became the seat of the Roman procurators in the region. The city was populated throughout the 1st to 6th centuries CE and became an important early centre of Christianity during the Byzantine period . Its importance may have waned following the Muslim conquest of 640 when the city, then known in Arabic as Qisarya ( قيسارية ), lost its status as provincial capital. 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, which was finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265. Qisarya was a small fishing village in the early modern period. In February 1948, during the 1948 Palestine war and Nakba , some of its population fled following an attack on a bus by the Zionist militant group Lehi , and the remainder were expelled by the Palmach , who subsequently demolished its houses. The ruins of the ancient city beneath the depopulated village were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s for archaeological purposes. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ). Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui / Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui. As the city was the capital first of all Palestine, then of Palaestina Prima, the άpxov and his officium resided there Prawer, J.; Ben-Shammai, H. The History of Jerusalem: The Early Muslim Period (638-1099) . Denying any further administrative status to Caesarea, the Muslims transferred the center of provincial administration first to Lod and then to Ramla… Evans, Craig A. The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Historical Jesus . This small harbor was situated on the N part of the site. Herod dedicated the new town and its port ( limen Sebastos ) to Caesar Augustus . During the Early Roman period, Caesarea was the seat of the Roman procurators of the province of Judea. Vespasian , proclaimed emperor at Caesarea, raised it to the rank of Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta , and later Alexander Severus raised it to the rank of Metropolis Provinciae Syriae Palestinae ." A. (eds.), The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites (1976). But there were one or two local, unauthorised initiatives… And there was one authorised expulsion. The inhabitants of Qisarya, south of Haifa, lived and cultivated Jewish ( PICA ) and Greek Orthodox church lands. One leading family evacuated the village on 10 January. Most of the population left – apparently for neighbouring Tantura – immediately after the 31 January LHI ambush of a bus that had just pulled out of Qisarya in which two Arabs died and eight were injured (one of the dead and several injured were from the village). The Haganah decided to occupy the site because the land was PICA -owned. But after moving in, the Haganah feared that the British might eject them. The commanders asked headquarters for permission to level the village. Yitzhak Rabin , the Palmah ’s head of operations, opposed the destruction – but he was overruled. On 19–20 February, the Palmah’s Fourth Battalion demolished the houses. The 20-odd inhabitants who were found at the site were moved to safety and some of the troops looted the abandoned homes. A month later, the Arabs were still complaining to local Jewish mukhtars that their stolen money and valuables had not been returned. The Qisarya Arabs, according to Aharon Cohen, had ‘done all in their power to keep the peace . . . The villagers had supplied agricultural produce to Jewish Haifa and Hadera . . .