9 facts you didn’t know about Tiberias

When you visit Israel and spend time near the Kinneret to enjoy the view and tranquility of this amazing place, you might not know the historical past of the land you are standing on. Tiberias is an amazing place with thousands of years of history. When on holiday in this part of the world, your experience will be enhanced when you come to understand what this part of Israel means to Jewish people.

Located in northern Israel, Tiberias offers its visitors a variety of possibilities and a historical background that is indeed very hard to compare to almost any other city in Israel, besides Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed.

In this article, we’d like to share with you eight astonishing facts about Tiberias that you might not have known before. Read on to discover some amazing historical facts and information about how Tiberias is today and how its people live their daily lives.

Just like we did when we shared with you some cool data about Mitzpe Ramon, and when we discovered some unknown facts of Ramat Gan, today we decided to give the crown to a city that truly deserves it: Tiberias. Are you ready to learn more about this ancient city? Here we go!

Cool and historical facts about Tiberias you have to know!

Tiberias is a fantastic ancient city that has influenced the history of the Jewish people greatly. Take into consideration that this tourist attraction was, at one point, one of the most important places in history for the Jewish population and for Byzantines, Romans, and Herodians.

Ready to go over these 9 cool facts about Tiberias? Let’s begin!

1. Tiberias was established around 20 CE. And it was named Tiberias in honor of the second emperor of the Roman Empire, Tiberius.

2. Since the 16th century Tiberias has been considered one of the four holy cities for Jewish people. The other three are Safed (Tzfat), Hebron and, of course, Jerusalem.

3. Tiberias wasn’t always called Tiberias! According to the Jewish tradition, Tiberias was built on the site of the ancient Israelite village of Rakkath. This village was first mentioned in the Book of Joshua, in the Torah. Even in Talmudic times, the Jews still referred to Tiberias by its original name: Rakkath.

4. During the First Crusade, Tiberias was occupied by the Franks right after the capture of Jerusalem.

5. A significant number of both Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews settled in the city of Tiberias, following the Jewish exodus from Arab countries in the late 1940s and the early 1950s.

6. Ancient and medieval Tiberias was completely destroyed by several devastating earthquakes. A lot of what was built after a huge earthquake that took place in 1837 was either destroyed or highly damaged in the massive flood that happened in the year 1934.

7. In 2004, archaeological researches in Tiberias led by the Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a structure from the third century CE that may have been the seat of the Sanhedrin (assemblies of either twenty-three or seventy-one elders, who were appointed to sit as a tribunal in every city in the ancient Land of Israel.)

8. The Tiberias Marathon is an annual road race held around the Sea of Galilee. It receives around 1000 competitors per year.

9. Nowadays, it has a population of 44,770 and receives thousands of tourists from all over the globe every single year.

Come visit Israel. Learn some Hebrew!

Feel tempted to visit Tiberias already? Well, we can guarantee that you’ll have a much better experience on the coast of the Sea of Galilee if you just learn some Hebrew. That’s a promise!

If you are looking for a fun, nice way to learn Hebrew take a look at the live and online courses offered by the Rosen School of Hebrew and begin to master the language of our matriarchs right away.

Hebrew is not only in Tiberias. Hebrew can be in your own place, at your own pace, in your own time. Start learning Hebrew today. You won’t regret it!