My Life In Ruins Part 1 - Caesarea

On our first day out touring Israel, we left the Dan Caesarea Hotel and went a very short distance to the ruins of Herod the Great's palace/fortress. Caesarea was the Roman capital of Judea at the time of Christ and Paul, located on the coast, 42 miles north of Joppa and 21.6 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Herod the Great built the city between 25 BC and 13 BC, naming it in honor of Caesar Augustus. Caesarea was a busy seaport, a great commercial center and one of the most attractive cities of its day. It was frequently called "Little Rome." In 1256 AD the Sultan of Bibars of Egypt captured the city and destroyed its walls and most of its buildings.

Herod the Great lived from 73 to 4 BC. He was described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." His son, Herod Archelaus took over from 4 BC to 6 AD. Herod Archelaus is the one who ordered the slaughter of all boys 2 years old and under in Bethlehem and its vicinity after wise men from the east had visited him and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

This is the theater that Herod the Great built near his palace.

Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the construction of the port at Caesarea Maritima and building fortresses such as Masada and Herodium. (Wikipedia)

The upper photo shows the various capitals that once topped columns at this site. The lower photo above is of Ronnie, our Israeli tour guide, pointing out all the ancient columns still lying around, possibly from excavations.

The upper photo shows the ruins of the hippodrome, the horse-racing venue of his palace while the lower photo shows ruins of part of Herod's palace complex.

The sign above shows an artist’s drawing of Herod’s palace showing the great views he had of the hippodrome, the harbor and the theater.

Above are shots of the Mediterranean from Herod’s Promontory Palace and below that the ruins of his large rectangular swimming (?) pool.

For many hundreds of years no one had seen any reference to Pontius Pilate except in the Bible, but archaeologists eventually found an inscription in stone with his name on it. Archaeological digs are still going on throughout Israel.

Above: possibly the "place of hearing" where the apostle Paul was brought to defend himself and present his case for his innocence before King Agrippa, Bernice and Festus.

"In 58 AD, the apostle Paul, accused of having caused a riot, was sent to Caesarea to be tried by the governor. Being a Roman citizen, Paul demanded to be heard at the Emperor's court. He sailed to Rome from Caesarea's harbor. There he was tried and a few years later executed. This hall may well be the 'place of hearing' mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles." - on the sign

Ruins and steps leading down to the hippodrome of Herod’s palace complex

The palace baths, a most important part of politicking in Roman times.

Directly opposite the harbor entrance upon a high platform rose the temple of Caesar, remarkable both for its great beauty and for its great size. King Herod built the magnificent temple that Josephus describes, Caesarea’s main religious monument when he founded the city around 22 – 10 BC.

These ruins are believed to include the house of the centurion Cornelius, the first Gentile convert to Christianity. When Peter stepped across Cornelius' threshold, the course of history changed. Christianity was no longer restricted to the Jewish nation...it was available to all people.

In the distance you can see the stone breakwater that Herod had built to protect the harbor.

The photo on the left was a Byzantine-era gate to the city. It was built so that invading armies would have to make a sharp 90 degree turn when they entered through the gate. This both slowed them down and also made their sides vulnerable to arrows as the turned.

Centuries after the Romans ruled Israel, the Byzantine Empire, aka the "Eastern Roman Empire," ruled Israel. These slanted Byzantine fortress walls (right photo) were built this way so that archers at the top of the wall could shoot down enemies trying to climb up the wall.

The round shapes in the walls are recycled columns. Conquerors would use the rubble of past civilizations in building their own walls and fortresses.

This ancient Roman aqueduct was built in two parts. The first part was built by Herod the Great in the 1st century BC; the second part was built in the 2nd century AD by Hadrian and it supplied water for 1200 years.