CAESAREA By Jim Pitts M ARITIMA CAESAREA BY THE SEA is located 30 miles north of Jaffa and 70 miles northwest of Jerusalem and was established by Herod the Great (37-4 BC) on the site of an ancient marina known as Strato s Tower. Named in honor of his patron, Caesar Augustus, it was an important city during the time of Christ and the early church. The aqueduct brought water from Mount Carmel to Caesarea.
Caesarea was the home of Cornelius, the first Gentile convert (Acts 10:1) and of Philip the evangelist (Acts 8:40). Herod Agrippa was smitten by an angel of the Lord at Caesarea (Acts 12:21-23) and the apostle Paul visited the city on many occasions (Acts 9:30; 23:23-35). A Phoenician city, Strato s Tower existed as a port centuries earlier. Between 22 and 9 BC, Herod the Great built the city and a great harbor. The city featured magnificent palaces and public buildings, a large marble temple to Augustus, an amphitheater, hippodrome (seating 20,000 spectators), a theater facing the sea, along with water and sewage systems. A Roman theater seating thousands is still in use today for concerts and shows. Josephus described the construction of the harbor and accompanying city in grand detail. The city was Hellenistic in design and style. In addition to the many buildings a platform was raised near the harbor upon which a temple was built for Caesar. When Caesarea was completed 12 years later, only Jerusalem surpassed its splendor. The city covered several hundred acres with a population larger than Jerusalem.
Among the rubble and ruin are statues and capitals from the Roman period. Herod spared nothing in his elaborate designs for the port facilities. The harbor, which he named Sebastos (Latin, Augustus), was a magnificently engineered project. The southern breakwater was built of huge mortared stones placed in a semicircle about 2000 feet long, and the northern one is of similar construction almost 900 feet long. Great statues of Augustus and Roma were erected at the entrance. An inner harbor appears to have been dug into the land where mooring berths and vaulted warehouses were constructed. There are no natural sources of fresh water at Caesarea and the demand for drinking water during the Roman occupation was considerable. The Roman legions built an aqueduct to bring water from the foothills of Mt. Carmel, about eight miles away. A channel four miles long was cut through natural rock and for the remaining four miles water was piped into an aqueduct.
The splendor of the city and harbor, constructed in marble and limestone, featured mosaic sidewalks with long rows of columns, leading from the city to the theater. Thousands of columns, made from marble and pink granite imported from Italy and Egypt, stood in parallel rows along the main streets forming majestic promenades throughout the city. Maritime trade was extensive. Large warehouses, filled with wine, olive oil, fruit syrups, and nails, faced the harbor. The presence of Chinese porcelain confirmed the geographical reach of Herod s commercial activities. Main gateway to the Crusader Citadel When Judea was ruled by the Romans, the governors resided in Caesarea. The Romans annexed Judaea in 6 BC, and made Caesarea the headquarters for the provincial governor and his administration. One of these governors was Pontius Pilate. A discovery in 1961 of the Pilate Stone is the only archaeological item that mentions the Roman Prefect, by whose order Jesus was crucified. Most likely Pontius Pilate used Caesarea as a base, and only went to Jerusalem when needed.
An archway leads from the beach into an ancient fortress. The Jews and Greek-speaking population repeatedly clashed, with hostilities exploding in the Jewish revolt of 66 AD leading to a massacre of most of the Jewish population. The first Jewish rebellion was squelched by Vespasian and it was in this city that the Roman legions proclaimed him emperor in 69 AD. A year later Vespasian s son, Titus, captured and destroyed Jerusalem. After 70 AD, Caesarea became a Roman colony and the local Roman capital of Palestine for nearly 600 years. Later Caesarea became an important center of religious study and training. The great early Christian scholar and apologist, Origen, visited Caesarea in 231 AD and turned the city into a center of Christian learning. Origen built a huge library that became a magnet for scholarly study. When the Emperor Diocletian unleashed the Great Persecution (303-313 AD), Caesarea became the site for the death of a number of Christian martyrs, whose fates are described in the work of Eusebius, On the Martyrs of Palestine.