Wikipedia
Sepphoris or Zippori ( Ancient Greek: Σέπφωρις Sépphōris; Tzipori; Saffuriya), also called Diocaesaraea ( Ancient Greek: Διοκαισάρεια) and, during the Crusades, Sephory , is a village and an archeological site located in the central Galilee region of Israel, 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. 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.
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135, Sepphoris was one of the centers in Galilee where rabbinical families from Judea relocated. Remains of a synagogue dated to the first half of the fifth century were discovered on the northern side of town. In the 7th century, the town was conquered by the Arab caliphates like much of the rest of Palestine. Successive Arab and Islamic imperial authorities ruled the area until the end of the first World War I, with a brief interruption during the Crusades.
Until its depopulation during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Saffuriya was a Palestinian Arab village. Moshav Tzippori was established adjacent to the site in 1949. It falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council, and in 2006 had a population of 616. The area occupied by the former Arab village was designated a national park in 1992