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Caesarea

قيسارية

Coastal Caesarea of the Filastin district; first besieged by Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) in year 13 and finally taken by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan in Shawwal year 19 — some say the opening of year 20 — after a siege of near seven years and the guidance of Yusuf the Jew to the water-conduit; al-Waqidi reports it held seven hundred thousand apostates, thirty thousand Samaritans and two hundred thousand Jews, three hundred markets and a hundred thousand guarding its wall each night; in Ibn al-Zubayr's days the Byzantines came upon it and ruined it, demolishing its mosque, and when Abd al-Malik's rule was secure he repaired it, restored its mosque, garrisoned it and rebuilt Tyre and Acre the Outer on its model.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Rashidun Caliphate
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Caesarea is a coastal city in the district (jund) of Palestine, which according to the source belongs administratively to Jerusalem. 1 See The conquest of Caesarea.

The conquest

Al-Baladhuri relates that Amr ibn al-As was the first to besiege it, in the year 13 AH, and that Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan carried out its conquest in Shawwal of the year 19 AH, though some say the beginning of the year 20. This came after a siege of about seven years and the guidance of Yusuf the Jew to the tunnel (sarb). 1

He relays from al-Waqidi large figures for those found in it, the number of its markets, and the guard of its wall. 1 These are figures each of which needs an additional source.

After the conquest

The source mentions that the Byzantines raided it in the days of Ibn al-Zubayr, ravaged it and demolished its mosque. When matters were settled for Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, he restored it, rebuilt its mosque and filled it with men. 1

Al-Muqaddasi's description

Al-Muqaddasi said around the year 375 AH that there is no city on the Roman Sea more glorious or more abundant in goods than it. It has an impregnable fortress, and around it a thriving suburb. Its people drink from wells and cisterns. 2

Connections

Explore the connections

Site of
The Conquest of Caesarea
Part of
Jerusalem

People and things also explored

Masjid Al-Aqsa· al-Haram al-Sharif (the Temple Mount esplanade)· Dome of the Rock· Mosque of Omar· The Western Wall (Buraq Wall)· Arson at al-Aqsa Mosque (1969)· Atsiz ibn Uwaq's campaign against Syria· Buraq Wall disturbances (1929)

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
  2. Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim of al-Muqaddasi , p.142
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Caesarea”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/qaysariyya/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Place

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