Virtual-Countries.com: Tiberias

Explore the interesting historical city of Tiberias

Situated on the western shore of the Sea of Galiliee, Israel, Tiberias is an ancient city with an interesting past. Today as you walk the city streets in the older parts of town, you will likely feel somewhat immersed in history, the dusty streets and rough walls leaving you with a very tangible idea of what life must have been like all those years ago. Yet Tiberias has also grown and developed over the years and is now more than just a historical town.

Tiberias was built in roughly 20 AD by Herod Antipas as the capital of his new realm in Galilee. Named in honor of Emperor Tiberius, it's proximity to a cemetery made it a distasteful place to live in the eyes of the Jews who were forcibly moved here. In time this fact was soon overlooked and Tiberias become one of the four Holy Cities of Israel as well as a center of Jewish learning and arts. It was also the final meeting place for the Jewish high court or Sanhedrin before this judiciary structure was disbanded. Tiberias saw a major increase in population when Jews expelled from Jerusalem made their way to Tiberias and nearby Sepphoris. This served to further cement it's role in Jewish culture. Unfortunately the city suffered somewhat during the Byzantine era when it fell under Arab rule. This decline continued during the Middle Ages when it suffered from a number of earthquakes. However this did not stop the scholars still living in Tiberias and they slowly created a written form of the vocalization of ancient Hebrew which is still used by various cultures all over the world today.

In the 16th century Tiberias was returned to the Jews and the city continued to flourish. Despite a few devastating setbacks over the years, Tiberias has emerged today as one of the county's most popular holiday resorts. Besides offering great weather and stunning surrounds, Tiberias has also has a great archaeological site which continually undergoes excavation under the leadership of the University of Jerusalem. Visitors are invited to join in the efforts and are shown how to go about this. Even if this doesn't quite interest you, you can be sure that you will enjoy Tiberias as a holiday resort just as many other visitors do each year.