Caesar Augustus, arguably the first Emperor of Rome (scholars disagree over whether to call Julius Caesar the first "Emperor"), was born Gaius Octavius (he took the name "Augustus" after he became the Caesar of Rome). He was adopted as a son by Julius Caesar, who was his maternal great-uncle. He was responsible for great building projects in Rome and is famous for having said, "I found Rome a city of clay and leave it a city of marble." His reign initiated a period of relative peace in the Mediterranean known as the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace).
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel
This photograph shows the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. The stones running through the middle of it are a later wall that was built in such a way as to destroy the mosaic. At the center of the mosaic floor (the section that the wall runs through) is a zodiac with figures corresponding to the 12 months of the year. At the four corners are figural depictions of the four seasons. The arrow points to the figure in the middle of the zodiac, which is the sun god Helios. In the panel above the zodiac there is a depiction of the Temple in Jerusalem and Temple implements. Underneath the zodiac is a Greek inscription flanked by two lions, honoring the donors of the synagogue.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - top panel
This photograph shows the upper panel of the mosaic floor in the center of the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. It is the last panel that a worshipper would see/walk across as he walked toward the standing Torah shrine on the southern wall of the synagogue. In this panel we see the main doors of the Temple in Jerusalem, which may resemble also the ark of the Torah in the synagogue, flanked by two 7-branched menorahs. In the area below each menorah are a lulav (a palm branch bound with myrtle and willow) and an etrog (a citron), both ritual objects important for the festival of Sukkot, as well as a shofar (ram's horn) and an incense shovel.
This photograph shows a close-up of one of the panels of the mosaic floor in the 6th century CE synagogue at Beit Alpha. The panel tells the story of the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19). At the left two servants stand with a beast of burden. At the right the altar blazes up, while Abraham (whose name appears in Hebrew above and to the left of his head) holds the knife in his right hand and Isaac (also labeled in Hebrew) in his left hand. In the center a ram stands tethered to a bush. The Hebrew above its head reads, 'And behold, a ram' (Genesis 22:13). Above the bush the hand of the angel of the Lord emerges from a cloud and the command 'Do not send forth [your hand]' (Genesis 22:12) appears below the hand. Underneath the main panel, between the lion and the ram, is a dual language inscription, in Greek and Aramaic. The first commemorates the artists who made the inscription and the second refers to the donations made toward its costs. The Aramaic inscription dates the event to the days of 'King Justin.' Two emperors by that name reigned in the sixth century.
Hammat Tiberias: the synagogue mosaic floor - central panel close-up
This photograph shows a close-up of the figure at the center of the zodiac that is in the central panel of the mosaic floor in the fourth century synagogue at Hammat Tiberias. This very fine mosaic shows a depiction of the sun god Helios riding his chariot above the sea. His right arm is raised in blessing and in his left arm he holds the orb of the universe, an emblem of his sovereign power.
During the Hellenistic period (332-63 BCE) the city of Beth Shean enjoyed a revival and came to be known as Scythopolis, or 'City of the Scythians', perhaps as a result of a unit of the Scythian cavalry in the army of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. During the 2nd century BCE it was also known as Nyssa, after the nurse of the god Dionysus, as legend says that she was buried here. The city fell into Jewish hands when it was conquered by the Hasmonaean king John Hyrcanus (134-104 BCE) but fell to Rome in 63 BCE. Josephus mentions Scythopolis as the capital of the Decapolis (the league of 10 cities). In this picture you can see the theater, which seated 8,000, the long colonnaded main street, and other public buildings.
Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and author. Over the course of his military career he gained unmatched military power. When the Senate ordered him to lay down his arms and return to Rome, he refused and instead led a legion back to Rome, illegally entering Roman territory under arms. A civil war resulted, from which Caesar emerged as the unrivaled leader. This set a precedent for a sole leader to rule the Roman empire (previous to this Rome had been governed by a republic), and Julius Caesar's reign marks the historical transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. He was famously assassinated on the Ides of March (that is, March 15), 44 BCE.
This is a photograph of the synagogue of the ancient city of Tiberias. Several synagogues were built on this site over the centuries; much of the architecture that you see here dates to the 5th-8th centuries CE. The mosaic floor that you will see in other photographs dates to the 4th century CE.
Edward Gibbon, pictured here, was an English historian and a member of the British Parliament. He wrote a 6-volume work called The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire between 1776-1788. Although he was widely criticized for treating Christianity as a historical phenomenon and being critical of Christianity's negative effects on the Roman Empire, his work was widely praised for its style of prose and its use of primary sources. It was one of the most influential works on ancient Rome for over 100 years.
This portrait—part of a mosaic floor found in the archaeological excavations at Beit-Shean—depicts Tyche (also known as Fortuna), the goddess of fortune. She wears a crown in the shape of the city walls and holds a horn full with fruit and vegetables representing the well-being of the city.