Tiberias

Tiberias, city, northeastern Israel, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee; one of the four holy cities of Judaism (Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, Ẕefat [Safed]).

Tiberias was founded by Herod Antipas (ruled 4 bce–39 ce), tetrarch of Galilee under the Romans, in 18 ce, and named for the reigning emperor Tiberius. Some traditions hold that it is built on the site of the biblical Rakkath, mentioned in Joshua 19. After the destruction of the Temple and the despoliation of Judaea by the Romans, Galilee became the chief Jewish centre of Palestine, and Tiberias, its principal city, grew in importance. The Sanhedrin, or supreme rabbinical tribunal, moved there, as did the important yeshivot (academies of Jewish scholarship). Much of the compilation of the Mishna was done there (3rd century); the Palestine, or Jerusalem, version of the Gemara was edited in Tiberias about 200 years later. Both are parts of the Talmud.

The city later came under Byzantine rule and, in 636, was taken by the Arabs. The Jewish community continued to flourish. The presently accepted system of vocalization of the Hebrew language, the proper cantillation of the Scriptures for public reading, and the application of the above to preserve the text of the Hebrew Bible in substantially the form known today were all developed in Tiberias in the 8th and 9th centuries. (See Masoretic text.)

After the Battle of Ḥaṭṭīn (1187), when Saladin put an end to Crusader power in Palestine, Tiberias declined in importance as the Arabs made Ẕefat their capital of Galilee. In 1560 the sultan Süleyman the Magnificent granted Tiberias and its surroundings to Joseph Nasi, duke of Naxos, Jewish statesman and financier (1520–79). Nasi’s attempts to promote settlement in the area, based on silkworm cultivation and sheepherding, failed. Tiberias was damaged by an earthquake in 1837; rebuilt, it grew steadily after the beginning of Jewish agricultural settlement in Galilee (1882). At the inception of the British Mandate (1922), the city already had a Jewish majority.

Early in 1948, before Israel became independent, the Arabs of Tiberias cut the main road linking the Jewish settlements of Upper Galilee with those of the Jordan Valley and besieged the ancient Jewish quarter on the lakeshore within the walled city. Accordingly, the Haganah (Jewish defense forces) launched a successful attack on the Arab section, which was taken on April 18, 1948. The Arab population was evacuated by British troops at its own request. Tiberias was the first mixed (Arab-Jewish) city to be taken by the Haganah. In the years after the Arab-Israeli War, Tiberias absorbed many new immigrants to Israel.

Among interesting sites are the tomb of Maimonides—renowned philosopher, codifier of Jewish law, and physician, who died in Egypt in 1204—and those of the Talmudic sages Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and Akiba ben Joseph. Just south of the city are the hot springs of Tiberias (Hebrew H̱ammat or H̱amei Teverya; from ḥam, “hot”), known for over 2,000 years for their supposed medicinal qualities, and the adjacent tomb of Rabbi Meir, 2nd-century Talmudic authority, known as Rabbi Meir Baʿal ha-Nes (Rabbi Meir the Miracle-Worker). The combination of warm winter climate, thermal baths, and scenic views of lake and mountains make Tiberias Israel’s most popular resort city. Hotels are found both along the lakeshore and on the slopes of Qiryat Shemuel (City of Samuel), the upper residential quarter of Tiberias, laid out after 1920 and named for Sir Herbert (later Viscount) Samuel, the first British high commissioner for Palestine. There are textile industries and flour milling; fishing remains important.

At the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias is about 689 feet (210 meters) below sea level; it is one of the lowest-lying cities of its size in the world. During archaeological excavations of 1975–76, the southern gate of the city built by Agrippa II and a network of sewerage and drainage pipes built in traditional Roman fashion were uncovered. Pop. (2004 est.) 39,900.