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Aspects of the Jewish Revolt in A.D. 115–117*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2012

Alexander Fuks
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Extract

Our knowledge of the Jewish Revolt in A.D. 115–117, derived formerly from scanty literary sources only, has been considerably enriched during the last few decades by new evidence, papyrological, epigraphical, and archaeological and the course of the events in the countries of the Jewish Diaspora can now be ascertained in fuller detail than was possible before.

The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the general aspects of the revolt.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Roman Studies , Volume 51 , Issue 1-2 , November 1961 , pp. 98 - 104
Copyright
Copyright © Alexander Fuks 1961. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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Footnotes

*

I owe thanks to Mr. P. M. Fraser (All Souls, Oxford), to Dr. S. Applebaum (Jerusalem), and to Prof. Ch. Wirszubski (The Hebrew University, Jerusalem) for their advice and criticism.

References

1 Papyrological evidence is collected in the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (= CP Jud.) 11, nos. 435–450, cf. also nos. 158a, 158b. For inscriptional sources see JRS XL, 1950, 87–90; cf. ibid. 77 ff. For an account of the archaeological evidence, cf. Applebaum, , Journ. Jew. Stud. II, 1951, 177 ff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar; id. Zion XIX, 1954, 23 ff. (in Hebrew).

2 For the events in Egypt, see Tcherikover, , The Jews in Egypt in the Hellenistic-Roman Age, 1945, 206 ff.Google Scholar (in Hebrew); id. CP Jud. 1, 86 ff.; Fuks, , Aegyptus XXXIII, 1953, 131 ff.Google Scholar; id. Zion XXII, 1957, 1 ff. (in Hebrew); on the course of events in Cyrenaica see Applebaum, , Journ. Jew. Stud. II, 1951, 177 ff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar; id. Zion XIX, 1954, 23 ff. (in Hebrew); on the revolt in Cyprus, see Alon, , A history of the Jews in Palestine in the Period of the Mishnah and the Talmud2, 1954, 241Google Scholar (in Hebrew); for Mesopotamia see ibid. 250 ff.; cf. also Motta, , Aegyptus XXXII, 1952, 479 ff.Google Scholar For some repercussions of the revolt in Judaea, cf. Alon, o.c. 255 ff.

3 Oros. VII, 12, 6; see also: ‘totam et Cyrenem’ in para. 7; cf. Syncellus 349 b, who mentions a colony sent by Hadrian εἰς Λιβύην ἐρημωθεῖσαν.

4 SEG IX, 136; on Hadrian's measures for the restoration of normal life in Cyrene cf. Fraser, , JRS XL, 1950, 84 ff.Google Scholar

5 SEG IX, 189; cf. Ferri, , Contributi di Cirene, etc., 1923, 5.Google Scholar

6 SEG IX, 190.

7 Applebaum, , JRS XL, 1950, 89Google Scholar, no. D.3, and 89–90, no. E.

8 Afr. Ital. I, 321.

9 SEG IX, 168.

10 SEG IX, 171.

11 SEG IX, 252; Applebaum, o.c. p. 89, no. D. 4; Afr. Ital. I, 318.

12 For a survey of archaeological evidence, up to about 1950, see Applebaum, , Journ. Jew. Stud. II, 1951, 177–181CrossRefGoogle Scholar, nos. 1–21, cf. also map on p. 186.

13 Türk Tarth Bellet. XI, 1947, 101–4, no. 19; cf. Robert, , Rev. Ét. Gr. LXI, 1948, 201.Google Scholar

14 It is perhaps worth noting that a veteran, probably of XV Apollinaris, is mentioned in an inscription from Teucheira, CIL III, 1, 6. For rebuilding there in the late second century, cf. Applebaum, , Journ. Jew. Stud. II, 1951, 182.Google Scholar

15 cf. Applebaum, ibid. 181. In IG 112, 3306, close in time to the revolt, Hadrian is called οἰκιστὴς καὶ εὐεργέτης by the Apolloniates; though the title might be conventional, it may perhaps refer to real work of rehabilitation in Apollonia.

16 Applebaum, o.c. 183.

17 JEA XVII, 1931, 81 ff.

18 cf. also Alon, o.c. (n. 2) 239 ff.

19 Tcherikover-Fuks, CP Jud. II, no. 435; cf. also nos. 158a and 158b.

20 cf. Appian. II, 90; J. Sukkah 5, 55b.

21 For dating see below, p. 100.

22 cf. Euseb., Chron. II, 164; cf. Hier., ad Chron. Euseb.; Euseb., Versio Armenica II, 164; Syncell. 348d, 349b; cf. also SHA, Hadr. 5, 2. See Aegyptus XXXIII, 1953. 152 f.

23 Appian, fr. 19: an account of Appian's flight from Egypt via Pelousion and his narrow escape from the hands of the Jews who seized the waterways there.

24 CP Jud. no. 448.

25 ibid. no. 438, II. 15 ff., and no. 439.

26 ibid. no. 449.

27 ibid. no. 445.

28 ibid. nos. 445, 447, 450.

29 ibid. no. 445.

30 ibid. nos. 436, 438, 442, 443, 446.

31 Oros. VII, 12, 7; Eus., Chron. 11, 164; Vers. Arm. 11, 164; cf. Hieron. ad Chron. Euseb.; Syncell. 347d.

32 CP Jud. nos. 444, 436.

33 Euseb., Chron. 11, 164; cf. Vers. Arm.; Oros. VII, 12, 8; Syncell. 348a.

34 LXVIII, 32.

35 cf. Alon, o.c. (n. 2) 241.

38 See below, p. 103, n. 69.

37 Euseb., HE IV, 2, 4: ὁ δὲ (scil. Turbo) πολλαῖς μάχαις οὐκ ὀλίγῳ τε χρόνῳ τὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαπονήσας πόλεμον πολλὰς μυριάδασ᾿ Ιουδαίων, οὐ μόνον τῶν ἀπὸ Κυρήνης, ἀλλὰ καἱ τῶν ἀπ᾿ Αἰγύπτου συναιρουμένων Λουκούᾳ τῷ βασιλεῖ αὐτῶν, ἀναιρεῖ.

38 On the political attitudes of the Jewish population in Alexandria, cf. V. Tcherikover, CP Jud. 1, 59 ff., who stresses the moderate policies of the upper class.

39 ibid. no. 435, an edict of the prefect of Egypt, Rutilius Lupus; cf. Aegyptus XXXIII, 1953, 135 ff.

40 CP Jud. nos. 438, 439; Euseb., HE IV, 2, 3–4.

41 cf. above, notes 33–4.

42 HE IV, 2, 1–3.

43 ibid, IV, 2, 1, with Hieron., ad Chron. Euseb. 11, 165; cf. Longden, , JRS XXI, 1931, 6–7Google Scholar; Wilcken, , Hermes, XXVII, 1892, 472Google Scholar; Premerstein, , Hermes LVII, 1928, 306.Google Scholar

44 CP Jud. no. 435; for dating and recent works on this papyrus see Introduction and bibliographical list given there.

45 See below, n. 52.

46 HE IV, 2, 3–4; cf. SHA, Hadr. 5, 8.

47 SHA, Hadr. 5, 8.

48 Compt. rend. 1945, 144 ff. = Ann. épigr. 1946,113.

49 Stein, Die Präfekten Ägyptens 59 ff.

50 HE IV, 2, 4.

51 For the evidence and discussion of its dating, cf. Aegyptus XXXILL, 1953, 150 ff.

52 Euseb., Chron. 11, 164 (since in HE IV, 2, 1 ff., Eusebius deals with Egypt only, his καὶ προσέτι κατὰ Κυρήνην is no indication of sequence of outbreaks); Hieron., ad chron. Euseb. 11, 165; Euseb., Vers. Arm. 11, 164; Syncell. 347d; Dio Cass. LXVIII, 32 (we should not be misled by the fact that in cap. 29 Dio starts telling the story of revolt in the East before he tells the general story of the revolt, in cap. 32).

53 Euseb., HE IV, 2, 3 ff.: τῆς δὲ παρὰ τούτων (i.e. Alexanderian Jews) συμμαχίας ἀποτυχόντεςοἱ κατὰ Κυρήνην, τὴν χώραν τῆς Αἰγύπτου λεηλατοῦντες καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ νομοὺς φθείροντες διετέλουν, ἡγουμένου αὐτῶν Λουκούα ἐφ᾿ οῦς ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἔπεμψε Μάρκιον Τούρβωνα σὺν δυνάμει πεζῇ καὶ ναυτικῇ ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἱππικῇ ὁ δὲ πολλαῖς μάχαις οὐκ ὀλίγῳ τε χρόνῳ τὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαπονήσας πόλεμον πολλὰς μυριάδας Ἰουδαίων, οὐ μόνον ἀπὸ Κυρήνης, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀπ᾿ Αἰγύπτου συναιρουμένων Λουκούᾳ τῷ βασιλεῖ αὐτῶν, ἀναιρεῖ.

54 Turbo's expeditionary force included a fleet (cf. preceding note); the Jews commanded, at a certain stage in the revolt, the water-ways of Pelousion (cf. Appian, fr. 19), which would seem to show that the Jews were in possession of vessels (a vessel captured by them is specifically mentioned by Appian). Contact with Cyprus is a possibility. For Mesopotamia, see n. 69 below.

55 Dio Cassius LXVIII, 32.

56 cf. Wilcken, Hermes XXVII, 1892, 479; id. Die Bremer Papyri p. 14, with n. 4.

57 VII, 12, 6, also ‘cruentae seditionesr’ in para, 7; cf. Euseb., Chron. II, 164, also Versio Arm.; HE IV, 2, 3; Syncell. 347d.

58 CP Jud. no. 437; cf. Aegyptus XXXIII 1953, 142.

59 cf. Wilcken, Die Bremer Papyri 15, n. 5.

60 cf. above, nn. 4–18.

61 Reading according to the Versio Armenica of the Chron. of Eusebius; Hieron., ad Chron. Euseb. has: ‘Hadrianus Alexandriam a Romanis (Helm, p. 197: 1. Iudaeis) subversam publicis instauravit expensis.’ cf. Tcherikover, The Jews in Egypt 207 and n. 2; Weber, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Kaisers Hadrianus 51, n. 174.

62 CP Jud. nos. 443, 449; see also nos. 444, 446, 447.

63 As the damage done to the Nemesieion certainly was: εἰς τὰς τοῦ πολέμου χρείας … Appian 11, 90.

64 Artemidor. Daldianus, Oneirocritica IV, 24. cf. Zion XXIL, 2–3, 1958, 82–4, where it is suggested that the prefect concerned commanded a detachment of the Egyptian legions.

65 See CP Jud. no. 450, 11. 33 ff., where the in habitants of Oxyrhynchos are said to be τὸν πρὸς Εἰουδαίους πόλεμον συμμαχήσαντες. See in general CP Jud. nos. 436–449.

66 ILS 9491; Mitford, Opuscula Archaeologica VI, 54.

67 CP Jud. no. 438.

68 SEHRE2 p. 348. Bilabel's interpretation of P. Bad. 36, which if correct would point in the same direction, is almost certainly wrong; cf. Aegyptus XXXIII, 1953, 154, n. 1, and CP Jud. no. 440.

69 Main evidence: Dio Cassius LXVIII, 29 ff.; Euseb., HE IV, 2, 5; Suid. s.vv. ἀτάσθαλα, παρείκοι; Oros. VII, 12, 7; Euseb., Chron. 11, 164; Vers. Arm. 164; Hieron., ad chron. Euseb. 11, 165; Syncell. 348a; Nikeph. Callist. PG cxLV, pp. 94o ff.; Pseudo Dionysius (ed. Chabot) 1, 123. For discussion cf. Alon, o.c. 250 ff.; Longden, CAH XI, 858–9, 236–7; id. JRS XXI, 1931, 1 ff.; Groag in P-W XXVI, coll. 1878 ff.; Schürer4 1, 666; Motta, , Aegyptus XXXIL, 1952, 484 ff.Google Scholar; see also Lepper, Trajan's Parthian War (1948).

70 HE IV, 2, 1–2.

71 VII, 12, 6, and VII, 27, 6.

72 Le Messianisme chez les Juifs 1909, 308.

73 Jews in Egypt 225 ff.; CP Jud. 1, pp. 90 ff. For some other views, see Tcherikover's n. 87.

74 HE IV, 2, 4; cf. also 3; cf. Joh. Nikiu 72, 14; he is called ᾿Ανδρέας by Dio LXVIII, 32; possibly his name was Λουκούας ὁ καὶ ᾿Ανδρέας, or vice-versa. cf. Wilcken, , Hermes XXVII, 1892, 472 ff.Google Scholar

75 CP Jud. nos. 158a, 158b.

76 ibid. no. 435, col. 1, 16; cf. Aegyptus XXXIII, 1953. 139

77 Zum alexandrinischen Antisemitismus 815.

78 Hermes L, 1915, 81 f.; ibid, LVII, 1922, 277.

79 cf. CP Jud. 1, 92.

80 ibid. no. 438, 1. 4—the writer, probably one of Apollonios' household, tells of the attack [πρ]ὸς τοὺς ἀνοσίους Ἰουδαίους. In no. 443, col. II, 11. 4–5, Apollonios, the strategos, uses the designation ἀνόσιοι Ἰουδαῖοι in an official communication to the prefect. It would seem that by the end of the revolt it has become almost an official designation. In the Acta Pauli et Antonini the Alexandrians complain that the prefect διέταξ᾿ ἀνοσἰος Ἰουδαἱους προσκατοικεῖν (CP Jud. no. 158a, col. VI, 14). In the Acta Hermaisci (CP Jud. no. 157, col. III, 49–50) the Alexandrians beg Trajan: τοῖς σεαυτοῦ βοηθεῖν καί μὴ τοῖς ἀνοσίοις Ἴουδαίοις συνηγορεῖν. cf. ibid. III, 42–3: λυπούμεθα ὅτι τὸ συνέδριον σου ἐπλήσθη τῶν ἀνοσίων Ἰουδαίων.

81 There is nothing specific or unusual about the use of the term ἀνόσιος. It was not infrequently used within religious groups to denote deviations from the rules and views of certain members of these groups, as well as to designate members of other hostile religious groups. It was used by the Christians (see Bauer's Griech. Deutsch. Wörterb. 5, s.v. ἀνόσιος; cf. also e.g. P. Thead. 21, 15; P. land. 20; P. Fouad 86, 18); according to Josephus, C. Apion. I, 248, ἀνοσίως was used by the Egyptian priest Manetho to denote the way his co-religionists were treated by the Jews; it was often used by the Jews to designate their enemies (e.g. 2 Macc. 7, 34; 8, 32; 4 Macc. 12, 11; Ep. Arist. 289, see also Philo, in Flacc. 104; CP Jud. no. 158a, col. 11, 13). Before A.D. 115–117 the term ἀνόσιοι was never a standing designation of the Jews.