08-05-2011
Caesarea is believed to be the site of initial religious tensions that sparked riots that eventually led to the First Jewish–Roman War (AD 66 to 70), in which the Jews rose up against – and were crushed by – the Romans (and expelled from Jerusalem). Thousands of captives were executed in Caesarea’s amphitheater. In 31 BCE, after winning the Battle of Actium, Augustus Caesar gifted the town, along with the entire shoreline of Eretz Israel, to Herod. Herod, for his part, named the town for Augustus. He built the city between 22 – 10 BCE, constructing a major port, numerous recreational facilities, bathhouses and temples. The port was built in Ceasarea because of its location in the center of the country, in close proximity to agricultural lands and convenient access routes.
The Amphitheater is the oldest surviving Roman Theater in the eastern Mediterranean. 100 meters in diameter and designed to seat 4000, the theater is located adjacent to the sea in the southern section of the city. It served Caesarea residents for 500 years. Initially, classic Greek and Roman plays were performed. The aqueduct was apparently built during the Byzantine period, with an increasing population that needed a larger water supply. The aqueduct channeled spring water from the Maagan Michael region north of Caesarea. Since the level of the springs was lower than the level of Caesarea, dams were built through which water was stored in lakes whose level was sufficiently raised to channel the water to Caesarea. Near Caesarea, the channel passed under the arches of the high aqueduct, running parallel to that one until the city.
