The area around modern Tiberias contained the fortified
cities of Hammath, Rakkath and Chinnereth during the time of Joshua (Joshua
19:35).
Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, built a city on these
ruins in 18 CE and named it in honour of the emperor Tiberius. It was the capital
of the Galilee but devout Jews stayed away as ancient graves were discovered
while foundations were being laid.
Tiberias surrendered to Vespasian in 67 CE but after the war
many Jews fled here from Jerusalem. In the 2nd century CE the presiding Jewish
nassi and his Sanhedrin resided here. It became a great seat of learning.The
Mishnah and the Jerusalem Talmud were written in Tiberias between 200-400 CE
and the vowel and punctuation system of Hebrew script was conceived here in the
8th century.
The influence of the rabbis was so strong that Roman statues
were destroyed in the public baths. However, a revolt against Roman influence
was quashed in 351 CE.
Christians acknowledged the scholarly status of Tiberias.
Jerome, an early church father, employed a man from Tiberias to help him
translate the Bible from Hebrew into Latin. In the 5th century the Christian
community even had a bishop, but Jews remained on after the Arab conquest when
Tiberias was the capital of the Galilee and a textile and tapestry centre.
After defeating the Crusaders at the nearby Horns of Hittin,
Saladin captured Tiberias in 1187.
Little of note took place until the 16th century, when a pair of former Spanish Marrano Jews, Don Joseph Nassi and Donna Gracia, persuaded Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to let them rebuild the walls and bring in Jewish settlers.
However, the town declined after a century.
A hundred years later, Sheikh Daher el-Omar rebuilt Tiberias
and it again became a seat of learning. Hassidim settled in 1777 and the Egyptian
Ibrahim Pasha constructed walls in 1833.
The great earthquake of 1837 levelled part of Tiberias.
During the 1936-39 disturbances many people lost their lives in the Arab-inspired riots. After the War of Independence many newcomers brought renewed vitality to the town and Tiberias has continued to hold its position as the most important town in the eastern Galilee. Its climate and water sports assure it of continued popularity in the future.