Caesarea, Israel, Part I PDF Print E-mail
    During the Persian rule the Phoenicians built a settlement on the part of one of the bays of Mediaterranean Sea. Settlement,  relates to Dor and prospered. For the first time it is mentioned in the Zenon papyri, dating to 259 BC, called the Tower of Strato.

Dor and Strato Tower had been captured in 103 BC and connected to Judea, but 40 years later the land conquered by     Rome.
In the 30th BC Strato Tower was donated King Herod. Herod   built the city and named it Caesarea in honor of his friend and patron — the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus.

Caesarea was designed as a traditional Roman city with a system of parallel and intersecting streets, temples, an amphitheater, and residential quarters. Construction of the town lasted 12 years and was completed in 9-10 years BC

The city population was mixed, composed of Jews and Gentiles, and conflicts between them were one of the major causes of the uprising     of the Jews that erupted in 66 AD Caesarea     was a stronghold for the Roman legionaries, suppressing a riot, and it Vespasian was proclaimed emperor. The     city received the status of the colony and, after the destruction of Jerusalem, Caesarea became the largest city in Judea and the seat of     the Roman procurator. During     the Byzantine period the city flourished. At the end of the second century fortress wall was built and Caesarea     became the largest fortified city in the country.


After     the city took over the Arabs, Caesarea has lost political and     economic status. Most of the population has left the city and Caesarea became a small port town. Only     in the 9th century, the development of maritime trade and the revival of cities and the coast, Caesarea was again     strengthened.

In 1101 Caesarea was conquered by the Crusaders and became the possession of the Knights of Beit faces. In     1265, Caesarea was captured by the Mamluks headed by Bibersom,     destroyed and abandoned.

The     city remained in ruins until the end of XIX century, when Turkish     authorities have settled here, the refugees from Bosnia.
Ruined     Crusader fortress was restored and became the administrative center,     and the ruins of the Crusaders, a new residential settlement.
Last Updated on Saturday, 23 April 2011 19:35