Synagogue Menorah from Hammat Tiberias On the Shore of the Sea of Galilee

At the beginning of the third century, Caracalla, son of Emperor Septimus Severus, was murdered, causing a political crisis that weakened Roman power, easing the old bans and allowing Jews to enter Jerusalem again. 

Due to local hardships and ongoing persecution, the oral chain of transmission continued to weaken, and the sages realized that they needed to further elucidate the Mishna. They added aggadata (or stories), and additional discussions and explanations in Hebrew and Aramaic, known as the Gemara. The compilation of the Mishna and the Gemara was called the Talmud.

Ties with the Jews in Babylonia strengthened during this time, and numerous emissaries were sent to Babylon. Sages in both Tiberias and Babylon worked on the Talmudic expoundings. The Talmud written in Tiberias was called Talmud Yerushalmi or the Jerusalem Talmud. Its Babylonian counterpart is called Talmud Bavli, or the Babylonian Talmud.

A 60 cm tall limestone menorah was uncovered in one of the two ancient synagogues in Tiberias, dating back to the time of the writing of the Talmud.

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