Galilee

=== Late Roman period ===
Judaism reached its political and cultural zenith in the Galilee during the late second and early third century CE. According to rabbinic sources, [[Judah ha-Nasi]]'s political leadership was at its strongest in relation to the Jewish community in [[Syria Palaestina]], the Diaspora, and the Roman Authorities during this time. Judah's redaction of the [[Mishnah]] at this time period represented the peak of intense cultural activity. Archaeological surveys in the Galilee have revealed that the region experienced its height of thriving settlement during this time.<ref name="Leibner2009">{{Cite book |last=Leibner |first=Uzi |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/43969 |title=Settlement and History in Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Galilee: An Archaeological Survey of the Eastern Galilee |date=2009 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=978-3-16-151460-9 |pages=321-324; 362-371; 396-400; 414-416 |language=English}}</ref>

According to medieval Hebrew legend, [[Shimon bar Yochai]], one of the most famed of all the [[tannaim]], wrote the ''[[Zohar]]'' while living in Galilee.<ref>{{cite book |author=Scharfstein, S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uFuBCOzObf0C |title=Jewish History and You |date=2004 |publisher=Ktav Pub. Inc. |isbn=978-0-88125-806-6 |page=24 |access-date=2015-05-18}}</ref>