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CAESAREA
The original Phoenician settlement of the 3rd century B.C. was called Strato's Tower, in honor of one of their kings. The Hasmoneans captured the small port and so did the Roman general Pompey. Shortly before Jesus was born (22-10 B.C.), Caesarea had been carefully designed and constructed. It was to be a new city; a grand monument to Roman values. In some ways, it was the crowning achievement of its builder. This was a seaport city built by Herod the Great about 25 miles northwest of Samaria in honor of Augustus Caesar. Like Herod, Caesarea had no significant roots in the Hebrew past. Like the evil old king, it rose through Roman ingenu- ity and sheer force of will to dominate a hostile landscape ill-suited to its existence. And, like Herod the Great, it was Jewish only in geography--but its spirit yearned for Rome! It became the Roman capital of Palestine. The Roman prefects, including Pontius Pilate, normally resided comfortably there, travelling down to Jerusalem only to keep the peace at festival times. It was the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion (Ac.10v; Ac.11v), who became the first non-Jewish convert to Jesus Christ. Peter was summoned there by a divine call. It was the home of Philip the Evangelist (Ac.8v40; Ac.21v8). Paul was imprisoned there for two years before Felix, the Roman governor (see Ac.23v31-26v32). After that time, Porcius Festus succeeded him (Ac.24v27). There Paul gave testimony of his personal conversion story to King Herod Agrippa II, Bernice, Drusilla (all incestuous siblings), and Governor Festus. His appeal to Caesar was finally granted and he embarked from there be- fore the harrowing experience of the shipwreck (Ac.27v). It is now called Kaysariyeh. |