Difference between revisions of "Category:Sepphoris (subject)"

Sepphoris (or Tzippori) was a city in central Galilee.

History

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Although the date of the city's establishment is a point of some dispute, it is at least as old as the 7th century BCE, when it was fortified by the ancient Assyrians, and subsequently served as an administrative center in the region under Babylonian, Hellenistic and Persian rule. Throughout this time period, the city was known as Sepphoris.

In 104 BCE, the Hasmoneans settled there under the leadership of either Alexander Jannaeus or Aristobulus I.[3] The city was called Tzippori and may have derived from the Hebrew word for 'bird,' tsippor, perhaps because of the bird's-eye view the hilltop provides.

The Hasmonean Kingdom was divided into five districts by the Roman pro-consul Gabinius and Sepphoris came under the direct rule of the Romans in the year 37 BCE, when Herod the Great captured the city from Mattathaias Antigonus reportedly at the height of a snowstorm.[4] The Galilee in late antiquity

Tzippori of the time of Jesus was a large, Roman-influenced city and hotbed of political activism. Archaeological evidence supports the idea that Jesus, while living in Nazareth, did most of his business in Tzippori.[5]

After Herod's death in 4 BCE, the Jewish inhabitants of Tzippori rebelled against Roman rule and the Roman army moved in under the command of the Roman Governor in Syria, Varus. Completely destroying the city, the Roman army then sold many of its inhabitants into slavery.[4]

Herod's son, Herod Antipas was made Tetrarch, or governor, in 1 CE, and proclaimed the city's new name to be Autocratis, or the "Ornament of the Galilee."[6] A ancient route linking Tzippori to Legio, and further to the south to Sebaste-Samaria, is believed to have been paved by the Romans around this time.[7]

The inhabitants of Autocratis did not join the resistance against Roman rule in the First Jewish Revolt of 66 CE Rather, they signed a pact with the Roman army and opened the gates of the city to the Roman general Vespasian upon his arrival in 67 CE[4] They were then rewarded for this allegiance by having their city spared from the destruction suffered by many other Jewish cities, including Jerusalem.

Coins minted in the city at the time of the First Revolt carried the inscription Neronias and Eirenopolis, "City of Peace." After the revolt, symbolism used on the coins was little different from other surrounding pagan city coins with depictions of laurel wreaths, palm trees, caduceus', and ears of barley.[6]

Just prior to the Bar Kokhba revolt, the city's name was changed yet again to Diocaesarea.

In the aftermath of the revolt, many Jewish refugees settled there, turning it into the center of religious and spiritual life in the Galilee. According to Rabbinic tradition, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, one of the compilers of the Mishnah, moved to Tzippori, along with the Sanhedrin, before moving to Tiberias by 150 CE.

Sepphoris in ancient sources

Josephus, Jewish War

Josephus, Jewish Antiquities

Sepphoris in Scholarship

Sepphoris was first excavated by L. Waterman of the Univeristy of Michigan in 1931. In 1983, J. F. Strange of the University of South Florida began a survey of buildings, cisterns, and burial systems. A joint team from Duke University, NC, and the Hebrew University began work in 1985.

Sepphoris in Fiction

Related categories

• Herod Antipas (subject) / Herod Agrippa (subject) / Herod Agrippa II (subject)
• Roman Governors (subject)

External links

• Wikipedia

Pictures from the web

• Roman Cardo <BiblePlaces.com>

Major articles

• Sepphoris / The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (1973-1987 Schurer / Vermes), book / 2 (1979) 172-176