Diaspora Judaism in Turmoil, 116 17 Ce: Ancient Sources and Modern Insights (Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion, 6)

Interdisciplinary Studies in Ancient Culture and Religion 6

DIASPORA JUDAISM IN TURMOIL, 116/117 CE: ANCIENT SOURCES AND MODERN INSIGHTS

BY MIRIAM PUCCI B E N ZEEV

PEETERS Leuven - Dudley, MA 2005

Diaspora Judaism in Turmoil^ 116/117 Ancient Sources and Modern...

CE:

Library of Congress Record LC Control No.: 2004060194 LCCN Permalink: http://lccn.loc.gov/2004060194 Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.) Personal Name: Pucci Ben Zeev, Miriam, 1948Main Title: Diaspora Judaism in turmoil, 116/117 CE ancient sources and modem insights / by Miriam Pucci Ben Ze'ev. Published/Created: Leuven ; Dudley, MA : Peeters, 2005. Description: xi, 302 p. ; 24 cm. I S B N : 9042916052 (alk. paper) CALL NLIMBER: DS122.9 .P815 2005

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements Abbreviations

VII XIII

PARTI

ANCIENT SOURCES 1. Inscriptions

3

2. Papyri

15

3. Literary Sources

77

T h e Pagan Tradition Christian Evidence Rabbinic Sources

77 82 99 PART II

MODERN INSIGHTS 4. Background 5. T h e Chronological Framework Introduction T h e Literary Testimony Appian DioCassius Eusebius: the Chronicon Eusebius: the Historia Ecclesiastica T h e Ostraca from Egypt T h e E n d o f the Uprising in Egypt . 6. T h e Question o f Eusebius' Sources D i o Cassius Arrian Ariston o f Pella

123

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

143 143 144 144 144 146 149 152 .153 157 .158 161 163

X

CONTENTS

Bruttius Appian 7. Egypt: N e w Dates, N e w Readings and N e w Interpretations N e w Dates for Undated Papyri Eudaimonis' Fears T h e Participation o f "RutiUus" in the Fighting . . . T h e MiHtary Aspect Confiscation o f Jewish Property after the Revolt . .

164 164 167 167 171 174 176 186

8. Mesopotamia T h e Testimony o f the Christian Sources T h e Evidence o f Dio/XiphiUnus on the revolt o f "the territories previously conquered" Malalas T h e Identity o f the Rebels Looking for the Sources Used by D i o and Eusebius . T h e Revolt o f "the C o n q u e r e d Districts": W o r k i n g Hypotheses T h e Background o f Jewish Participation T h e Chronological Aspect

191 191

207 209 212

9. Judaea Introduction Lusius Quietus' Mission to Judaea Appointment Military Forces T h e E n d o f His Mission T h e Testimony o f the Sources Archaeology Coins Hippolytus T h e Scriptores Historiae Augustae Rabbinic Sources T h e Epitaph o f Tettius Crescens Oriental Sources (V-XIII Centuries) Judaea's C h a n g e o f Status Conclusions

219 219 220 220 222 224 227 227 227 231 232 234 244 247 250 256

194 197 202 203

CONTENTS

XI

10. T h e Order, Possible Interrelations, and Achievements o f the Uprisings Bibliography Indexes

259 267

Sources

291

Sources C i t e d Inscriptions Papyri Literary Sources Sources Discussed Inscriptions Papyri Literary Sources Geographical N a m e s Personal N a m e s Emperors R o m a n MiUtary Forces Selected Topics

291 291 291 293 295 295 295 296 297 299 299 301 301

ABBREVIATIONS

For the abbreviations used throughout this book, see MAnnee Philologique O T H E R ABBREVIATIONS AAJR AI AJSL B&O BSAA CHJ CSCA EAug EJ GLAJJ GSAJ HUCA lASH IVSLA lEJ JH JJS JQR JSJT JSNT MGWJ MUB PAAJR SH SVT ZWT

Proceedings o f the American Academy for Jewish Research Africa Itaiiana American Journal o f Semitic Languages and Literature Bibbia e Oriente Bulletin de la societe royale d'archeologie d'Alexandrie C a m b r i d g e History o f J u d a i s m California Studies in Classical Antiquity Revue des fitudes Augustiniennes Encyclopaedia Judaica Greek and Latin Authors on Jews and Judaism Giornale della Societa Asiatica Itaiiana Hebrew U n i o n College Annual T h e Israel Academy o f Sciences a n d Humanities Proceedings Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti Israel Exploration Journal Jewish History Journal o f Jewish Studies Jewish Quarterly Review Jerusalem Studies in Jewish T h o u g h t Journal for the Study o f the N e w Testament Monatsschrift fiir Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums Melanges de I'Universite Saint-Joseph, Beyrouth Proceedings o f the American Academy for Jewish Research Scripta Hierosolymitana Supplementum to Vetus Testamentum Zeitschrift fiir Wissenschaftliche Theologie

PART

I

ANCIENT SOURCES

CHAPTER ONE

INSCRIPTIONS

Inscriptions are also included when they provide information on the situation at the time o f the Jewish revolt even if they d o not mention it explicitly. Abbreviations Applebaum, "A N o t e on the Work o f H a d r i a n . " Applebaum, Shimon. "A N o t e on the Work o f Hadrian at Cyrene." JRSAO ( 1 9 5 0 ) : 8 7 - 9 0 . Gasperini, " L e iscrizioni del Cesareo." Gasperini, Lidio. " L e iscrizioni del Cesareo e della Basilica di Cirene." Quademi di archeologia della Libia 6 ( 1 9 7 1 ) : 3-22. Luderitz, Corpus jUdischer Zeugnisse, Luderitz, Gert. Corpus judischer Zeugnisse aus der Cyrenaika, baden: Reichert. 1 9 8 3 .

Wies-

Oliverio, " C a m p a g n a di scavi." Gaspare Oliverio, " C a m p a g n a di scavi a Cirene nell'estate 1926, II: i principali documenti epigrafici," AI 1 ( 1 9 2 7 / 1 9 2 8 ) : 2 9 6 - 3 3 6 . Reynolds, " T h e Inscriptions." Reynolds, Joyce M . "A N o t e on the Inscriptions o f the Caesareum." In J o h n Bryan Ward-Perkins and M . H . Balance, " T h e Caesareum at Gyrene and the Basilica at C r e m n a . " PBSR 16 ( 1 9 5 8 ) : 137-94. Smallwood, Documents, Smallwood, E . Mary. Documents Illustrating the Principates ofNerva, Trajan and Hadrian, C a m b r i d g e : C a m b r i d g e University Press. 1966.

4

DIASPORA JUDAISM IN TURMOIL, 116/117 C E

INSCRIPTIONS RELEVANT TO JUDAEA

No. 1 Epitaph from CagHari, Sardinia, m i d - 2 n d century. Bibli.: Antonio Taramelli, "Cagliari: iscrizioni funerarie di eta romana rinvenute nelle necropolis caralitane," Notizie degli scavi di antichith (1929): 103; AE 1929, 167; Giovanna Sotgiu, "Uepigrafia latina della Sardegna dopo il C / . Z . X e P E.E, VIII," ANRWW, 11, 1 (1988): A 57 (ph.), p. 560. L. Tettius Crescens, domo Roma, vix(it) ann(is) {vacat)\ expeditionib(us) interfui(t) 5

Daciae bis, Armeniae, Parthiae et ludaeae; se vivo sibi fec(it).

Translation Lucius Tettius Crescens, from R o m e , lived for — years, took part in the military expeditions to Dacia twice, to Armenia, to Parthia and to Judaea. H e m a d e (this tomb) for himself during his lifetime. No. 2 Dedicatory inscription, perhaps o f an altar, found in secondary use in the Turkish wall east o f Z i o n Gate, Jerusalem, now lost. D a t e d between summer 116 and summer 117. Bibl.: Karl Zangemeister, "Sarapis-Inschrift in Jerusalem aus der Zeir Trajans," Mittheilungen

und

Nachrichten

des Deutschen

Palaestina-

Vereins 1 (1895): 21-24 (ph. p. 22); CIL III, 13587; 7 1 5 I I , 1, 4393; Smallwood, Documents, 154, p. 6 5 ; Benjamin Isaac, "Inscriptions from Jerusalem after the First Revolt," (Hebr.) in The History of Jerusalem. The Roman-Byzantine Period (ed. Y. Tsafrir and S. Safrai: Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1999): II, pp. 169-70.

INSCRIPTIONS

5

[I]ovi O ( p t i m o ) M ( a x i m o ) Sarapidi pro salute et victoria imp(eratoris) Nervae Traiani Caesaris O p t u m i Aug(usti) Germanici Dacici 5

Parthici et populi R o m a n i vexill(atio) leg(ionis) III Cyr(enaicae) fecit.

Translation To Jupiter O p t i m u s M a x i m u s Sarapis, for the welfare and victory o f the Emperor Nerva Trajan Caesar, most excellent Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus Parthicus, and (for the welfare) o f the R o m a n people, a detachment o f the T h i r d Legion Cyrenaica erected (this). INSCRIPTIONS RELEVANT T O CYPRUS

No. 3 Honorary inscription on a slab, found in secondary use in Beirut, containing the career o f a R o m a n knight in ascending order. First half o f the 2 n d century. B i b l : Louis Jalabert, "Une inscription in^dit de Beryte," CRAI(1912): 248-56 (ph.); /Z5III, 9 4 9 1 ; Smallwood, Documents, 284, p. 98. C(aio) Valerio T(iti) f(ilio) (tribu) Fab(ia) Rufo honor(ibus) decurionalib(us) orn(ato) dec(reto) dec(urionum), praef(ecto) coh(ortis) V I praetor (iae), tr(ibuno) mil(itum) leg(ionis) V I I Cl(audiae) P(iae) F(idelis), misso c u m vexillo ab 5

imp(eratore) Nerva Traiano O p t u m o Aug(usto) Ger(manico) Dacico Parth(ico) C y p r u m in expeditionem, praef(ecto) alae Gaetulor(um), praef(ecto) imp(eratoris) Caesaris Trani Hadriani Aug(usti) p(atris) p(atriae), II virali potestat(e) f(uncto),

10 L(ucius) Careius Adiectus Sedatianus ob merita.

6

DIASPORA JUDAISM IN TURMOIL, 116/117 C E

Translation Lucius Careius Adiectus Sedatianus (dedicated this monument) to Caius Valerius Rufus, son o f Titus, o f the tribe Fabia, adorned with decurional honors by a decree o f the decurions, prefect of the Sixth C o h o r t Praetoria, tribune o f the Seventh Legion Claudia Pia Fidelis, (who was) sent by the Emperor Nerva Trajan O p t i m u s Augustus Germanicus Dacicus Parthicus with a detachment o f soldiers on a military expedition to Cyprus, prefect o f a mounted unit o f Gaetuls, prefect o f Emperor Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus, father o f the motherland, who performed the function o f duumvir,^ for his merits. INSCRIPTIONS RELEVANT TO LIBYA

No. 4 Bilingual inscription on blocks from a wall from the Caesareum, in several fragments. 118 C E . Bibl.: Applebaum, "A Note on the Work of Hadrian," 89-90; AE 1951, 123; Reynolds, "The Inscriptions," 161-62; 5 ^ * ^ XVII, 804; Gasperini, "Le iscrizioni del Cesareo," C 5 , p. 10; Richard G. Goodchild, Kyrene und Apollonia (Zurich: Raggi, 1971): 6 9 - 7 5 ; Luderitz, Corpus judischer

1

Zeugnisse,

17, pp. 32-33.

[Imp(erator) Caesar d]ivi Tr[aiani Parthici fil]ius diy[i Nerva] e nepos T[raianus Hadrianus Aug(ustus) pont(ifex) max(imus) trib(unicia) pot(estate) II co(n)s(ul) II]

2

[civitati Cy]renensium [Caesareu]m tumul[tu Iudaic]o dirutum et [exustum restitui iussit]. (vacat)

Translation T h e emperor Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus, son o f the g o d Trajan Parthicus, grandson o f the g o d Nerva, high priest, holding the tribunate for the second time, consul for the second time, ordered that the Caesareum, which had been destroyed and burnt to the ground in the Jewish riot, be restored for the city o f Gyrene. ^ Duumvir = chief magistrate of a Roman colony.

INSCRIPTIONS

3

7

[AuToxpdcTcop] K a i a a p d[zou Tpatavou r[]ap6i.x[oi)

UIOQ],

OSOU

N£pou[a u[(ov6^ Tpaiavo^ ASpiavo^ S e ^ a a T o c ; ap]xt£p£^^ 4

[[xeyiCTTO^;] Syifxapxtx-^^ [s^ouaialc; TO

[uTraxoc; TO

T/J] TTOXSL

TO Kai[(Tap£tov Iv TCOL 'louSaixcoi Tapdcxcoi xaTsaTpafjtfjievov x a ] T a ( i T a 8 ' ^ v a i £X£X£Uaa. Read iGx^aoL. 1. 7. £uxT£o[v]. Read suxraioM. 1. 9. (jtou instead of (xoi. I. 18. £VTtv. Read IGTIV. II. 23-24. xupte 7ua[. Either [sppcoao [xot] xupte 7ra[Tep as in /? Wurzb, 22 = 7? Sarap. 97, 20 or [eppcoaaGai ere £i>x(o(xat)] xupts* Ila[6)v + the day.

Translation Heras to Epaphroditus his lord father, greetings. H a v i n g found with difficulty somebody w h o travels to y o u , I could send y o u m y blessings. I know that this would please you. S o I beg y o u to write m e how is your health a n d that o f m y brother. You would d o well, m y lord, to send for m y mother and m y sister, since a duplicarius came to Xenoboskia a n d told the Archias that Hermoupolis is in extreme danger. Regards to Chresimos and Castor, to Sarapion the thin one, to Hierakion a n d Phibas a n d to . . . our beloved ones. B e well m y lord father. No. 22 Letter of Eudaimonis to Her Son, the Strategos ApoUonios Concerning Disturbances at Hermoupolis P.Giss. Inv. 245 = P. Alex. Giss. 58 = 5 ^ 10, 10652 B ApoUinopolites Heptakomia. 116 or 1 1 7 C E (?)

12 x 13 c m .

Bibl.: Schwartz, P Alex. Giss., p p . 77-79', Peter J . Parsons, review o f J . Schwartz, Papyri Variae Alexandrinae et Gissenses, JEA 5 7 ( 1 9 7 1 ) : 2 3 4 ; Whitehorne, "Religious Expression," p. 2 7 ; Dieter H a g e d o r n , " B e m e r -

28

D I A S P O R A J U D A I S M I N T U R M O I L , 116/117 C E kungen zu U r k u n d e n , " ZPE

136 (2001):

1 4 8 ; Kortus, Briefe des

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