Sepphoris (Greek Σέπφωρις; Hebrew צִפּוֹרִי: important city in Roman Galilee and one of the main centers of early Rabbinical Judaism, modern Tzipori.
History
Synagogue
Sepphoris means "bird town", perhaps because it was situated on the summit of a hill, like a bird sitting on a perch. The town is not mentioned in the Bible but Iron Age ceramics prove that it was occupied during the kingdom of Israel. It must have been a small village. The first known architectural remains date back to the fourth century BCE.
Between Akko (Ptolemais) and the Lake of Galilee; fortified in the age of Alexander Jannaeus
Since 37 BCE part of the kingdom of Herod the Great (r.40-c.5 BCE)
In the crisis years after Herod's death, the city was attacked by Judas, son of Hezekia, who seized an arsenalnote[Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 17.271-272.] and invoked the wrath of the Syrian governor Varus. Sepphoris was sacked and rebuilt by Herod's son Herod Antipas as a Roman city, which explains why the town sided with Rome in the great Jewish War of 66-70.
20 CE: As royal residence replaced by Tiberias, but still an important city.
66-70: Pro-Roman
In the second century renamed Diocaesarea ("city of Zeus and the emperor")
132-136: Revolt of Bar Kochba. Refugees from Judaea settle in Galilee.
c.200: The Sanhedrin moves its seat to Sepphoris.
Early third century CE: House of the Dionysus Mosaic (perhaps the home of Yehuda ha-Nasi, the compiler of the Mishnah)
Important center of rabbinical learning, although the Sanhedrin will eventually move to Tiberias
