Tiberias

Tiberias was founded around 20 CE by Herod Antipas and was named after Roman emperor Tiberius. It became a major political and religious hub of the Jews in the Land of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of Judea during the Jewish–Roman wars. From the time of the second through the tenth centuries CE, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in Galilee, and much of the Mishna and the Jerusalem Talmud were compiled there. Tiberias flourished during the Early Muslim period, when it served as the capital of Jund al-Urdunn and became a multi-cultural trading center. The city's importance declined in some periods due to earthquake damage and foreign incursions. After the Galilee earthquake of 1837, the city was rebuilt and grew steadily following the First Jewish Aliyah in the 1880s.

During the Ottoman period, Tiberias had a predominantly Muslim population in the early centuries, while from the late Ottoman period, the city became increasingly mixed and at times, had a Jewish majority or plurality.