To continue understanding parts of the past of ancient Magdala–Taricheae, we must get to know a historical figure who both wrote about it and lived there during the first century A.D.: Flavius Josephus, also known in Hebrew as Yosef ben Matityahu. He was born in Jerusalem into a highly prestigious priestly family. During the Jewish Revolt against the Romans (66–73 A.D.), Josephus was appointed general of the Galilee region. However, after being captured by the Romans in Jotapata, his life changed completely, and he became an ally of the Roman Empire.

Once in Rome, Josephus began to write about his life and the dramatic events he experienced in Galilee during the Revolt. Among the places he describes is Taricheae, the city where he lived before being taken prisoner, while leading the rebels against the Romans. He himself locates it on the shores of the lake known today as the Sea of Galilee, about thirty stadia (approximately five and a half kilometers) from Tiberias, “at the foot of a mountain,” which is probably Mount Arbel.

Josephus recounts that he used to sail from the port of Taricheae to Tiberias, although those journeys were not peaceful: there he faced constant threats from those who accused him regarding matters of the Revolt. In his writings, he also mentions the hippodrome of Taricheae, where on one occasion the crowd gathered to shout against him; the building where he imprisoned powerful men from Tiberias; and the wall he ordered to be built around the city to protect it from the Romans.

Thanks to Josephus’s writings, today we can imagine the greatness of that city that once flourished on the shores of the Sea of Galilee: ancient Magdala – Taricheae.