Sepphoris, referred to as ‘the ornament of all Galilee’ by Flavius Josephus, is included among the important Classical sites in the State of Israel whose remains have been gradually and continuously exposed since 1985 by  several expeditions from Israel and abroad. The excavations have revealed monumental public buildings, private dwellings, small finds, and over seventy mosaics dating from the second to sixth centuries CE. The fiinds from Sepphoris comprise an important component in understanding the material-cultural world of the city’s population, from the Hellenistic period with the founding of the settlement on the hilltop, in the heyday of the city’s flourish in the Roman and Byzantine periods, up to the Early Islamic era when the settlement dwindled to a small village. They have enabled our appreciation of the human, religious, social, and cultural mosaic of the place while, at the same time, provide a sense of the changes that transpired in the Galilean city in its transition from one era to the next. Basic questions concerning the nature of the Jewish city, which have been discussed only in the last decade or two, have now given way to an in-depth study on a range of subjects relating not only to the physical appearance of Sepphoris and the lifestyle of its inhabitants, but also to urbanism, art, and architecture in ancient Palestine. A tour of the ancient remains of Sepphoris offers an opportunity to touch the past and treat questions of culture and identity, which also have implications for modern times. This volume covers the thousand-year history of this Galilean city and, for the first time, provides a comprehensive and updated picture of its urban plan, buildings, and inhabitants in a period of transition and change. The historical, cultural, and societal discussions contained therein examine the city in light of its archaeological finds, inscriptions, and literary sources. The book incorporates an abundance of illustrations and photographs, plans and reconstructions elucidating the glorious past of Sepphoris—a large and prosperous city, a mosaic of cultures. Zeev Weiss is the Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, specializing in Roman and late antique art and architecture in the southern Levant. His research delves into various aspects of town-planning, architectural design, mosaic art, Roman public entertainment, synagogues, Jewish art, as well as the socio-cultural behavior of Jewish society and its dialogue with Graeco-Roman and Christian cultures. Since 1990 he has been Director of the Sepphoris Excavations on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which is responsible for uncovering most of the remains visible at the site today.