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Herod’s Palace in Caesarea

July 28, 2010 By 5 Comments

Palace and hippodrome from the south

No tour through Caesarea is complete without a visit Herod’s palace. Although completely in ruins enough remains for us to see the enormous size of the largest of all the palaces built by Herod the Great. The partial reconstruction is an invaluable addition to understand what Herod’s palace must have looked like.

Caesarea was an impressive construction. As was Herod’s way he always chose the most impressive and often most difficult place for his own palace. In Caesarea he outdid himself.

The palace is situated on a promontory into the Mediterranean Sea on the south side of Caesarea, lodged between the theater and the hippodrome. In its final form it consisted of two levels, the lower, western level being earlier that the higher eastern level. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ancient Cities Revealed, Caesarea, Nature and National Parks, Recent Articles Tagged With: , ,

Herod The Great – King of Judea

January 20, 2010 By 3 Comments

Rare bust of Herod the Great, 1st C

Herod was born in 73 BCE to an Arab mother and an Edomite father, who some claim had converted to Judaism. He grew up in Hasmonean Judea, where he was raised as a Jew. At this time the Hasmonean kingdom, which had ruled since the Maccabean Revolt in 162 BCE, was being torn apart through a civil war between two princely brothers, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II. This at a time when Rome was the rising superpower of the ancient world.

Around the year 67 BCE Hyrcanus turns to Rome for help, and Rome enters under the conquest of General Pompei. Herod, as his father, had early on seen the benefits of siding with the Romans, and eventually it was the Romans who installed Herod as King of Judea.
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Caesarea

August 21, 2009 By 4 Comments

Brief Guided Tour of Caesarea

portrait-2Caesarea is probably one of the most famous ancient cities of Israel, apart from Jerusalem.
It was founded around the year 22 BCE* by Herod the Great, and named in honor of Caesar Augustus.

Due to the great port built by Herod, the town becomes one of the hubs of the country. It remains one of the main port cities until its final destruction by the Mamelukes in the late 13th century.

From the creation of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority in its various developments, Caesarea has been one of the most visited sites.

Parts of the ancient Roman city have been partly reconstructed, especially the theater, which is used every summer as one of the most spectacular outdoor stages for all the performing arts. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ancient Cities Revealed, Caesarea, Nature and National Parks, Recent Articles Tagged With: , , , ,