Sepphoris 2.81

Sepphoris or Zippori, also called Diocaesaraea and, during the Crusades, Sephory, is a village and an archeological site located in the central Galilee region of Israel, 6km north-northwest of Nazareth. It lies 286 m above sea level and overlooks the Beit Netofa Valley. The site holds a rich and diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes Hellenistic, Jewish, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Arabic and Ottoman influences. In Late Antiquity, it was believed to be the birthplace of Mary, mother of Jesus, and the village where Saints Anna and Joachim are often said to have resided, where today a 5th-century basilica is excavated at the site honoring the birth of Mary.Notable structures at the site include a Roman theater, two early Christian churches, a Crusader fort renovated by Zahir al-Umar in the 18th century, and over sixty different mosaics dating from the third to the sixth century CE.