Tiberias

TIBE´RIAS (Τιβεριάς, J. AJ, B. J. 2.8, 3.16; Steph. B. s. v.;Ptol. 8.20.16), the principal town of Galilaea, on the SW. bank of the sea of Tiberias or Gennesareth. It was situated in the most beautiful and fruitful part of that state (J. AJ), and was adorned with a royal palace and stadium. (Joseph. Vit 12, 13, 64.) It was built by the tetrarch Hërodes Antipas, in honour of the Roman emperor Tiberius, from whom it derived its name. (Joseph. l. c.) It is stated to have been 30 stadia from Hippo, 60 from Gadara, and 120 from Scythopolis (J. Vit.); distances which are not much at variance with that of Joliffe, who states that it is 20 miles English from Nazareth and 90 from Jerusalem. (Travels, p. 40.)

From the time of Herodes Antipas to that of the reign of Agrippa II., Tiberias was probably the capital of police (J. Vit.), and it was one of the four cities which Nero added to the kingdom of Agrippa. (J. AJ.) In the last Jewish War, Tiberias, from its great strength, played an important part (Joseph. B. J. 2.20); as, after Sepphoris, it was held to be the largest place in Galilaea (Joseph, Vit. 65), and was very strongly fortified. (B. J. 3.10.1.) The inhabitants derived their sustenance in great measure from their fisheries in the adjoining sea. (J. Vit..) On the destruction of Jerusalem, and for several centuries subsequently, Tiberias was famous for its academy of learned Jews. (Lightfoot. Hor. Hebr. p. 140.)

In the immediate neighborhood of Tiberias were the celebrated hot springs of Emmaus (Joseph. B. J. 2.21, Ant. 18.2.) [EMMAUS] It is not certain whether Tiberias occupied the site of Chinnereth, though Hieronymus thinks so (Onom. s. v. Chinnereth); it seems more likely that this place belonged to the tribe of Naphthali. (Josh. 19.35; Reland, Palaest. p. 161.) Nor is there any better reason for identifying it, as some have done, with Chammath (Joseph. 19.35) or Rakkah, which was the Rabbinical notion. (Cf. Hieron. Megil. fol. 701; Lightfoot, Chorograph. Cent. cap. 72--74.) The modern name of Tiberias is Tabaríeh: it is not, however, built actually on the site of the old town, though close to its ruins. When Joliffe was there, it had a population of 11,000 (Travels, pp. 48--58.) It was nearly destroyed by an earthquake on New Year's Day, 1837, since which time it has never been completely rebuilt. (Russegger, 3. p. 132; Strauss, p. 356; Robinson, 3. p. 500.)

(Τιβεριάς). (1) A city of Galilee, on the southwestern shore of the Lake of Tiberias, and built by Herod Antipas in honour of the emperor Tibèrius.

(2) Or Gennesăret, also the Sea of Galilee, in the Old Test. Chinnereth, now Bahr Tubariyeh, the second of the three lakes in Palestine formed by the course of the Jordan. (See Iordanes.) Its length is eleven or twelve geographical miles, and its breadth from five to six. It lies deep among fertile hills, has very clear and sweet water, and is full of excellent fish.

A city on the W shores of the Sea of Galilee, founded ca. A.D. 18 by Herod Antipas, who named the city after the reigning emperor. According to Josephus the city was established on the site of an ancient necropolis, an act contrary to Jewish law, which considers such a site ritually unclean (AJ 18.36-38; BJ 2.168). According to the same authority (Vit. 69.134,278,296; BJ 2.641), it had the status of a polis, and had an archon, a Council of Ten, and a Senate of Six Hundred. It soon developed into the most important city of its district. After Herod Antipas' death Tiberias became part of the domain of King Agrippa I, and later of Agrippa II, who held it until his death. After crushing of the Revolt of A.D. 66, the Romans made Tiberias autonomous and conferred on it the right of minting coins. On its coins appears the title Tiberias Claudiopolis Syriae Palaestinae. According to Jewish sources and others, Herod Antipas built a fortress at Tiberias and a wall was later built around it. Within the city were a stadium, a Hadrianeum, a forum, and numerous synagogues. An aqueduct conveyed water to the city from springs 15 km away. A bridge connected Tiberias with its S suburb Hamtha, or Hammath, where there were hot springs (Plin. HN 5.45). The Romans built a temple dedicated to Hygieia, and the Jews built a synagogue there. Tiberias was still a famous city in the 4th c. (Eus. Onom. 16.1). The city is frequently mentioned by writers in the Byzantine period.

Tiberias was never abandoned, and for this reason the remains of the earlier period lie deeply buried. Surface survey has shown that the city of the Roman period occupied an area of ca. 80 ha as against the 14 ha of the mediaeval town. The perimeter of the walls was 4 km and some remains of the wall and of one gate are still seen today. Excavation of the S gate (1973-74) has not yet been published.

During the last two decades excavations have uncovered remains of a Roman basilica, a bath, and buildings of the Byzantine period. Between 1961 and 1963 the synagogue of Hammath, close to the hot springs, was excavated. The earliest remains found in that area were of a building of the Hellenistic period, of which little remained. Above this were remains of a large Early Roman building, possibly a palaestra, or a gymnasium. The earliest remains of a Jewish prayer house date from the first half of the 3d c. A.D., when a basilican building was constructed. In the early 4th c. this was replaced by a basilica of four aisles, still with no apse. The floors of the side aisles were decorated with mosaics of geometric pattern, while the floor of the second aisle from the W was divided into three mosaic panels, in which were depicted two lions standing at either side of several dedicatory inscriptions, a zodiacal circle with Helios riding the celestial carriage in its center, and a Torah Shrine flanked by two seven-branched candlesticks and other Jewish symbols. The workmanship of this mosaic pavement is by far the best in synagogual art. The synagogue was rebuilt in the Byzantine period and again in the Ommayad period.

M. Avi-Yonah, “The Foundation of Tiberias,” Israel Exploration Journal 1 (1950-51) 160-69; id., The Holy Land from the Persian to the Arab Conquests (536 B.C. to A.D. 640). A Historical Geography (1966); M. Dothan, “Hammath-Tiberias,” Israel Exploration Journal 12 (1962) 153-54.

• Paus. 5.7.4