Description: Caesarea Maritima, the capital of the Roman province of Judaea / Palaestina, was founded in 10/9 BCE by Herod the Great to serve as an administrative and economic center. It was named after his Roman patron Caesar Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The book, well illustrated, presents the results of the large scale excavations at the site during the 1990's and early 2000's in their wider historical and cultural context: the architectural evolution and transformation of the thriving city from its foundation to its decline caused by the Arab conquest (640/41 CE), its conversion to a Roman colony in 71 CE, aspects of provincial administration, commerce and economy, entertainment and religious life of its communities - Jews, Pagans, Christians and Samaritans.
Review Quotes: "up-to-date, well-illustrated, extensively-referenced, and covers a diverse range of material aspects of [Caesarea]. ... a detailed, informative account on one of the most extensively studies cities of the Eastern Mediterranean.[...] good and easily accessible overview on current investigations[...] on Roman-Byzantine Caesarea." - Rick Bonnie, in: Journal for the Study of Judaism 44 (2013)
"The book deals, sometimes in meticulous detail, with the civic places where Caesarea's heterogeneous inhabitants--Jews, Christians of various leaning, and polytheists--interacted. Especially interesting are articles analyzing the many transformations of the city's material fabric in the wake of political and religious upheavals. [...] This volume is beyond the reach of most individuals, [...] but serious academic libraries should acquire it." - Felipe Rojas, in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2012.12.21