Caesarea - Clickable Map of the Roman Empire - First Century AD

Caesarea
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Ancient Caesarea (Maritima in Israel)): Modern name is Qeisariyeh [Qelsari]. Caesarea was a city founded by Herod the Great who built a city and harbor on the site of the former coastal station called Strato's Tower, about 23 miles south of mount Carmel. Caesarea contained a harbour, amphitheatre, and much more; it was a port and administrative centre throughout the Roman period. Caesarea is mentioned in the Bible for example: Acts 8:40; Acts 10:1; Acts 23:23, Acts 23:33; 25:6, Acts 25:13.

Acts 8:40 - But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

Acts 10:1 - There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian [band],

Acts 23:23 - And he called unto [him] two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;

Acts 23:33 - Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.

Acts 25:6 - And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.

Acts 25:13 - And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Caesarea to salute Festus.

Caesarea (Καισάρεια). Caesarea ad Argaeum, the capital of Cappadocia, called by this name in the reign of Tiberius, previously Mazaca. It was situate at the foot of Mount Argaeus, as its name indicates, and was a place of great antiquity, its foundation having even been ascribed by some writers to Mesech, the son of Japhet (Ioseph. Ant. Iud. i. 6). The modern name is Kaisarieh.  - Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York. Harper and Brothers.

Caesarea Maritima (Greek: παράλιος Καισάρεια), called Caesarea Palaestina from 133 AD onwards,[1] was a city and harbor built by Herod the Great about 25�13 BC. Today, its ruins lie on the Mediterranean coast of Israel about halfway between the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa, on the site of Pyrgos Stratonos ("Strato" or "Straton's Tower", in Latin Turris Stratonis).[2] Caesarea Maritima as with Caesarea Philippi in the Golan Heights and Caesarea Mazaca in Anatolian Cappadocia was named to flatter the Caesar. The city was described in detail by the 1st century Roman Jewish historian Josephus.[3] The city became the seat of the Roman praefecti soon after its foundation. The emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a colonia. After the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 A.D., Caesarea was established as the provincial capital of Iudaea Province before the change of name to Syria Palaestina in 134 A.D. shortly before the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt.[4] According to historian H.H. Ben-Sasson, Caesarea was the "administrative capital" beginning in 6 A.D.[5] Caesarea remained the capital until the early 8th century, when the Umayyad caliph Suleiman transferred the seat of the government of the Jund Filastin to the newly built city of Ramla. - Wikipedia

Caesarea (Ka�sariyeh), a city of the district Cilicia in Cappadocia, at the base of the mountain Argaeus. It was originally called Mazaca, afterwards Eusebeia. (Steph. s. v. Καισάρεια, quoting Strab. p. 537.) The site in the volcanic country at the foot of Argaeus exposed the people to many inconveniences. It was, however, the residence of the kings of Cappadocia. Tigranes, the ally of Mithridates the Great, took the town (Strab. p. 539; Appian, App. Mith. ch. 67), and carried off the people with other Cappadocians to his new town Tigranocerta; but some of them returned after the Romans took Tigranocerta. Strabo has a story that the people of Mazaca used the code of Charondas and kept a law-man (νομωδός) to explain the law; his functions corresponded to those of a Roman jurisconsultus (νομικός). The Roman emperor Tiberius, after the death of Archelaus, made Cappadocia a Roman province, and changed the name of Mazaca to Caesareia (Eutrop. 7.11; Suidas, s. v. Τιβέριος). The change of name was made after Strabo wrote his description of Cappadocia. The first writer who mentions Mazaca under the name of Caesareia is Pliny (6.3): the name Caesareia also occurs in Ptolemy. It was an important place under the later empire. In the reign of Valerian it was taken by Sapor, who put to death many thousands of the citizens; at this time it was said to have a population of 400,000 (Zonar. xii. p. 630). Justinian afterwards repaired the walls of Caesareia (Procop. Aed. 5.4). Caesareia was the metropolis of Cappadocia from the time of Tiberius; and in the later division of Cappadocia into Prima and Secunda, it was the metropolis of Cappadocia Prima. It was the birth-place of Basilius the Great, who became bishop of Caesareia, A.D. 370.

There are many ruins, and much rubbish of ancient constructions about Kaisaryeh. No coins with the epigraph Mazaca are known, but there are numerous medals with the epigraph Εὐσεβεια, and Καισαρεια, and Καις. προς Ἀργαιω.

Strabo, who is very particular in his description of the position of Mazaca, places it about 800 stadia from the Pontus, which must mean the province Pontus; somewhat less than twice this distance from the Euphrates, and six days' journey from the Pylae Ciliciae. He mentions a river Melas, about 40 stadia from the city, which flows into the Euphrates, which is manifestly a mistake [MELAS].  - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, William Smith, LLD, Ed.

Strabo