Caesarea

Known also as Caesarea Maritima, was a city built by Herod the Great in the years 25 - 13 BC.  Located on the coast of Israel halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of the former port town  “Straton‘s Tower”. The city was described in detail by 1st century Jewish historian Josephus (Jewish Antiquities XV.331ff; Jewish War I.408ff). The massacre of Jews there led to the great  Jewish revolt against Rome. Herod's palace at Caesarea  was built on a promontory that jutted out into the sea, with a decorative pool surrounded by stoas. Civilian life in the new city began in 13 BC, when the port city of Caesarea was declared the civil and military capital of Judaea with the official residence of the Roman procurators and governors such as Pontius Pilatus. Later Caesarea reached a population of about 70,000 but rapidly declined after the Arab conquest 0f the 7th century.  Impressive remains were unearthed from the Roman and Crusader periods.
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