Page 67 - A Walk to Caesarea / Joseph Patrich

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective 53

Fig. 58 (previous page, above)
Fatimid jewelry hoard. 11th century. Discovered in 1960 in one of the vaults of the Herodian temple
platform, beneath the Fatimid mosque

Fig. 59 (previous page, below)
Hoard of metal vessels from the Fatimid period that was hidden in a well next to a staircase descending
from the temple platform on the east

to repair the fortifications of the coastal cities, to station soldiers in them, and to Fig. 60
institute means of alarm and communication by use of burning torches. In 686, at
the beginning of the rule of cAbd-al-Malik, there was a naval raid by the Byzantine Muslim map by al-Is.t.akhr¯ı,
emperor Justinian II (known by his nickname Rhinotmetus) against Caesarea “Book of Roads and
and Ascalon. The Byzantines destroyed these maritime cities and exiled their Countries,” 952 CE, showing
inhabitants. cAbd-al-Malik, who reconquered Caesarea in 690, rebuilt the cities the coastal cities of Palestine
and their mosques, settled garrison forces there, and distributed land to them. This and Phoenicia, from south to
restoration by cAbd-al-Malik began a new chapter in the history of Caesarea, one north, including Caesarea
that continued uninterruptedly until the Crusader conquest.
In this new era, the majority of the population was already
Muslim, coming after an interim period of abandonment and
waning that went on for a few decades: from the end of the
Muslim conquest until the Byzantine recapture in 686.

Under cAbbasid rule, which moved its capital from Damascus
to Baghdad, Caesarea, like all of Syria, underwent a process of
decline in settlement and economics. Little is known about
this period. Prosperity began later, during the dynasties of the
Egyptian rulers: the Tulunids (878–905), the Ikhshidids (941–
969 CE), and the Fatimids (969–1070 CE, 1089–1101 CE,
after a short interim period of Seljuq rule), who considered
Caesarea an important coastal foothold. The turning point
began during the time of Ah. mad ibn Tulun (868–883 CE),
who fortified the coastal settlements of Palestine. As early as
884 CE, Ibn Khordadbeh lists Caesarea as a Palestine port
town, alongside Acre and Dor to the north and Arsuf and
Jaffa to the south (Fig. 60). In 975 CE, as part of a general
attack against Muslim territories, Caesarea was taken by the Byzantine emperor
John I Tzimisces, exploiting the tension between the Egyptian Fatimids and the
cAbbasids. The reinstated Byzantine rule, however, was brief, and the country
soon returned to the control of the Egyptian Fatimids, lasting until 1070. The
Fatimids dominated the Via Maris, and they had trade agreements with merchants
of Amalfi and Venice. In this period, the alarm system consisting of smoke and fire
was reorganized, from the coastal towns – riba¯.ta¯.t – to Ramle, the capital. Their
inhabitants were mercenaries, either non-Arab functionaries who were paid by the
government, or military settlers who had been awarded plots of land and received
tax discounts on them. The alarm signs were transmitted through towers scattered
along the roads so as to warn of a Byzantine assault from the sea or to inform of a