Caesarea Maritima
Harbour city built by Herod the Great on the coast and named for Caesar Augustus. It was the seat of the Roman governors of Judea. In Acts, Peter baptises Cornelius here and Paul is held prisoner for two years.
Josephus describes how Herod the Great rebuilt the coastal town of Strato’s Tower in white stone, gave it an artificial harbour with a great mole, a theatre, an amphitheatre and a temple with statues of Rome and of the emperor, and named it Caesarea. The work took twelve years (Josephus, Antiquities 15.331–341). The Roman governors who ruled Judea from AD 6 resided there: Josephus shows Pontius Pilate holding court there (Josephus, Antiquities 18.55–59), and Tacitus calls it the capital of Judea (Tacitus, Histories 2.78); see Judea Comes under Direct Roman Rule.
In Acts the city is the home of the centurion Cornelius, whom Peter has baptised with his household (Acts 10:1, 44–48), and of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 21:8). Acts and Josephus both set the death of Herod Agrippa I there (Acts 12:19–23) (Josephus, Antiquities 19.343–350). Paul was brought to the governor at Caesarea and kept for two years in Herod’s palace (Acts 23:33–35) (Acts 24:27). It is called Maritima, “by the sea”, to distinguish it from Caesarea Philippi.
What happened here
- AD 6, firm dateJudea Comes under Direct Roman Rule
Augustus banishes Archelaus and puts Judea, Samaria and Idumea under a Roman governor. Quirinius, legate of Syria, registers property for taxation, and Judas the Galilean calls for resistance.
- about AD 40, estimated dateThe Baptism of the Gentile Cornelius
Acts tells how Peter, after a vision at Joppa, enters the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius at Caesarea, preaches there, and has him and his household baptised without circumcision, and how the church in Jerusalem accepts what he has done.
- AD 44, firm dateHerod Agrippa Kills James and Dies at Caesarea
Acts says that King Herod Agrippa I had the apostle James, son of Zebedee, put to death and imprisoned Peter, who escaped. The king died suddenly at Caesarea. Acts and Josephus both describe his death, and the figures Josephus gives put it in AD 44.
- about AD 57 to AD 59, estimated datePaul’s Arrest and Imprisonment at Caesarea
A riot in the temple puts Paul into Roman custody. He is held for two years at Caesarea under the governor Felix, defends himself before Festus and King Agrippa, and appeals to the emperor.
- about AD 203 to AD 254, estimated dateOrigen and the School of Alexandria
Origen takes charge of Christian teaching at Alexandria as a young man and spends fifty years on the text and meaning of Scripture, first there and then at Caesarea. He compiles the Hexapla, writes a systematic account of Christian teaching, and dies after torture under Decius.
Primary sources
Jewish Antiquities
- Josephus, Antiquities 15.331–341lexundria.com
- Josephus, Antiquities 18.55–59lexundria.com
- Josephus, Antiquities 19.343–350lexundria.com
Histories
- Tacitus, Histories 2.78penelope.uchicago.edu