Caesarea was founded by Herod the Great in the Kingdom of Israel, north of Jaffa, as a noteworthy harbor city between around 23 and 13 B.C. Josephus Flavius wrote of the significance of the city to both Herod and Augustus. Initially, the site was home to a stronghold known as Straton's pinnacle, built by the Phoenicians in the Persian era. The site kept on being occupied well into the Crusader Period.
