Caesarea Maritima (
Greek:
Parálios Kaisáreia, Παράλιος Καισάρεια) was one of four Roman colonies for veterans in the Syria-Phoenicia region created by the
Roman Empire. The ancient Caesarea Maritima (or
Caesarea Palestinae) city and
harbor was built by
Herod the Great about 25–13 BC. The city had been populated through the late Roman and Byzantine era. Its ruins lie on the
Mediterranean coast of
Israel, about halfway between the cities of
Tel Aviv and
Haifa, on the site of Pyrgos Stratonos ("Straton's Tower").