Judea: Did you mean...?

Caesarea Maritima, the city Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) built for Rome on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean served as the Roman Empire's powerbase of operations both commercially and militarily. With Rome's ultimate goal of adding...

The nativity of Jesus of Nazareth is told in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. In Christian theology, the existence of two nativity stories by two different writers provided a prooftext for the historicity of the event. However, the two versions...

The Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE) was the vast political entity established by Seleucus I Nicator ("Victor" or "Unconquered", l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE), one of the generals of Alexander the Great who claimed a part of his empire after...

The Acts of the Apostles is the story of how the movement that became Christianity began in Jerusalem and spread throughout the Eastern Mediterranean cities of the Roman Empire. It was written by the same author as the third gospel, assigned...

The story of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ is reenacted every year by Christians all over the world in the Easter liturgy. The story has become an essential article of faith and is rarely questioned by New Testament scholars and...

No other Roman emperor travelled as much as Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). The 'restless' emperor spent more time travelling than in Rome, devoting half of his 21-year reign to the inspection of the provinces. His travels provided him with the...

This map illustrates the geopolitical situation in the Levant after the death of Herod the Great (ruled 37–4 BCE), the ambitious client king of Judea appointed by the Roman Senate. His death marked the breakup of his kingdom into the Herodian...

Pontius Pilate was the fifth magistrate to serve in the Roman province of Judea, created in 6 CE by Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BCE to 14 CE). His term of office was during the subsequent reign of Tiberius from 26-36 CE. He became famous...

John the Baptist (d. c. 30 CE) was a 1st-century CE itinerant preacher in Judea. We do not know his full name, but he is recognized by his activity. 'Baptizer' (Greek: baptizo) was translated directly into English and meant 'to immerse' or...

Masada (“fortress” in Hebrew) is a mountain complex in Israel in the Judean desert that overlooks the Dead Sea. It is famous for the last stand of the Zealots (and Sicarii) in the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE). Masada is a UNESCO...