The city of Tiberias, named after the Roman Emperor Tiberius, was founded in the reign of Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, in 20 CE, with the intention of replacing Sepphoris as capital of the Galilee. Following the Roman urban tradition, Tiberias was a planned city from its inception. As in every Roman city in Eretz-Israel, public buildings were built, both for governmental, administrative, and religious purposes, and as centers for culture and entertainment. Tiberias was inhabited during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and became a Jewish city to which the institutions of the Jewish leadership were transfered to from Sepphoris. After the Moslem conquest the city became the capital of Jund Urdun (Jordan District) and the city became an important administrative center. The city was also inhabited during the Ayyubid, Mameluk and Othman periods.
Excavated by: G. Foerster on behalf of the IAA, HU and IES; B. Rabani, A. Druks, F. Vitto, A. Harif, A. Berman and Y. Hirschfeld on bealf of the IAA.