Caesarea was about sixty kilometres north of Joppa. Originally known as Strato’s Tower, it was given to Herod the Great in 30 BC, and he expanded it and renamed it to honour the Roman Caesar.1 At the time of Peter’s visit it was a large port city, the capital of the Roman province, Judea and the official seat of the Roman procurator.2 The city also had a large Gentile population.
1 Il y avait à Césarée un homme nommé Corneille, centenier dans la cohorte dite italienne.