Tiberias

Tiberias was a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, founded by Herod Antipas around AD 20 and named in honor of the Emperor Tiberius, whose favor Herod sought. It served as Herod's administrative capital in Galilee. The city was built partly over an ancient cemetery, making it ritually unclean for observant Jews initially, though it eventually became an important center of Jewish learning after the destruction of Jerusalem.

The adjacent lake is called "the Sea of Tiberias" in the Gospel of John (6:1; 21:1). Though Jesus conducted extensive ministry around the shores of this lake, no Gospel narrative places him within the city of Tiberias itself. After AD 70, Tiberias became a major center of rabbinic Judaism, where the Jerusalem Talmud was later compiled. Its modern name, Tverya, preserves the ancient name.