Hippos was given to Herod the Great in 37 BCE[6] and returned to the Province of Syria at his death in 4 BCE. According to Josephus, during this time Hippos, a pagan city, was the "sworn enemy" of the new Jewish city across the lake, Tiberias. Jews had resided in Tiberias when it was still known by its previous name, Rakkat.[7] Rakkat was later given the name Tiberias some 25 years after Herod's death by his son, Herod Antipas, in honor of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, in AD 20.