65 B.C.--When Pompey the Great conquered Syria, Gaza obtained her freedom. He arranged that the Roman general, A. Gabinius, Governor of Syria, should divide Judæa into five parts. Gabinius rebuilt Gaza 57 B.C. which was once more securely inhabited, and allowed it to resume its ancient prosperity under the power of Rome.[12] The newly built "maritime" and free city began a "new era" from the time of Pompey. According to some few authorities the ancient city was then forsaken, and the new town built somewhat farther southwards, possibly close to its harbour. 30 B.C.--Augustus, when in Egypt, handed Gaza over to King Herod I, of Philistine origin, who placed over this "maritime city" his brother-in-law, the Idumean Costobar. In favour of his _Ascalon_ descent are certain allusions of Herod I to that city. At the death of Herod the Great, Gaza, still called a "maritime city," was annexed once more by Augustus to the province of Syria.[13] Two of the passes through the Judæan and the Samaritan hills were strongly fortified by Herod I, who also held the tolls at Gaza, for Arabia by Petra and for Egypt. Gaza is the outpost of Africa, and the door of Asia. _Section_ II (A.D. 41-1913) A.D. 41-54.--During the reign of Claudius, Gaza is spoken of as an important city by the Spanish geographer Pomponius Mela, with whom agree Eusebius and St. Jerome. A.D. 66.--During the government of the fourteenth and last Judæan Procurator, Gessius Florus, Gaza was burned by the rebellious Jews. This destruction could have been but temporary, for there exist coins of Gaza, struck in honour of Vespasian and following emperors, which show that the city was still a place of importance soon after the destruction of Jerusalem. The independence of the city is proved by the fact that Gaza had then its own independent kalendar. A.D. 129-130.--Special tokens of favour were bestowed upon Gaza by Hadrian. The twenty-two coins of Gaza (the new era), as described in detail by De Saulcy, _Numismatique de la Palestine_, pp. 215-18, refer to Hadrian's residence within the city. Dr. Coles, of Haifa, possesses a large number of Hadrian's Gaza coins. "In the second and third centuries Gaza became a prosperous centre of Greek commerce and culture. Her schools were good, but her temples were famous, circling round the Marneion.... The schools of Gaza in philosophy and rhetoric grew more and more distinguished. Students, it is said, left Athens to learn the Attic style in Philistia, and even Persia borrowed her teachers." --_G. A. Smith._ _c._ A.D. 300-371.--St. Hilarion, the first hermit of Palestine, was born at Thabatha, five miles from Gaza. (The reader is referred to Chapter IX for the Life of St. Hilarion.) A.D. 307.--Copies of the Holy Scriptures had escaped their general destruction under Diocletian's Edict, and were still in use at Gaza when persecution raged there in this year.