Palestine in the time of Jesus

The key sites that dominated social and political life

Caesarea

Built by Herod as a palace and later a port, named in honour of Caesar Augustus, in Jesus’s time it would have been more prominently known as the seat of power and influence for Pontius Pilate as the Roman prefect of Judea. It was here that the Pilate Stone was discovered in 1961, offering firm evidence of his place and rank in the era.

Herodium

Apparently built on the spot of Herod’s victory over the Parthians, Herodium was believed to be one of Herod’s most ambitious building projects, situated as it was on the edge of a desert and on top of an artificial hill with a series of cisterns for collecting water. Built sometime after 22 BCE, it would stand until the Romans destroyed it in 71 CE.

Masada Jericho

In the time of Herod the Great and his son Herod Archelaus,

Jericho was the centre of power for their rule. Having first leased the city from Cleopatra and later taken full control of the region after her death, the city became a summer retreat for local aristocracy and a hub of activity for the powerful in the region.

Jerusalem

While just as much the heart of religious life at the dawn of the common era as it is today, Jerusalem was not necessarily always the centre of political life with that function performed in other locations around Judea depending on the ruler at the time. That said, sites such as the Temple Mount were as important as ever. Still standing today and one of the Israel’s top tourist destinations, Masada was another example of why Herod the Great was considered to be one of the great builders of the age. Placed on top of a rock overlooking the Dead Sea, Masada was an impressive fortress as well as one of Herod’s many palaces that that would have been frequented well into Jesus’s lifetime.