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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-327).

L’impôt joue un rôle important dans les relations de pouvoir en Judée aux époques hellénistiques et romaines, non seulement par son poids économique, mais aussi et surtout par ses aspects idéologiques. Car imposer une population revient à s’en prétendre maître. Or, en Judée, une première lecture des sources laisse croire que beaucoup voyaient d’un mauvais œil le tribut étranger, alors que le temple de Jérusalem prélevait déjà des impôts censés revenir à Dieu, seul véritable maître d’Israël. Un examen plus attentif montre l’aspect polémique de cette déclaration : cette opposition dialectique entre les prélèvements du temple et ceux revenant aux étrangers est une construction idéologique, dont le but est de fournir une légitimation de l’opposition politique. Apparue à l’époque des Maccabées et participant à l’argumentation théologique de leur soulèvement, cette rhétorique se repère, avec quelques variations, dans chaque mouvement contestataire jusqu’à Bar Kokhba. Mais les sources dissimulent quelques indications qui montrent que tous ne partagent pas cette vue, et que dans les faits, l’offrande n’est pas plus joyeusement payée que le tribut. L’objet de cette thèse est de mettre en avant cette construction représentationnelle en la confrontant aux données brutes, et d’en souligner les implications sociales, économiques, financières et politiques, depuis la conquête de la Judée par Antiochos III jusqu’à la disparition de la province de Judée en 135 apr. J. C. / Taxes are important matters for understanding relations of power in Hellenistic and Roman Judaea, not only because of its economic burden, but above all because of its ideological sides: to tax a population means to pretend being its master. In Judaea, a first look to the sources let believe that many saw with a bad eye the foreign tribute, while the temple of Jerusalem exacted some revenues supposed to return to God, the sole proper master of Israel. However, a close examination proves the polemical sides of such a declaration: this dialectical opposition between the revenues of the shrine and the ones returning to foreigners is an ideological construction, whose purpose is to furnish a legitimation to the political opposition. Appeared at the time of the Maccabean uprising and used for theologically founding the war, this rhetorical instrument is visible, with some variations, in each protest movement until Bar Kokhba. But the sources hide some indications that let see that not everyone shared this view, and that, in the facts, the “offering” is not more cheerfully paid that the “tribute”. The purpose of the present dissertation is to underline the social, economical, financial and political implications of this representational construction, since the conquest of Judaea by Antiochos III, until the disappearance of the Judaea in 135 C.E.

To describe a unified Jewish identity in the Mediterranean in the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE is incorrect, since each Jewish community approached its identity in unique ways. These varied on the basis of time, place, and how the non-Jewish population reacted to the Jews and interpreted Judaism. This thesis examines the three major centres of Jewish life in the ancient world - Rome, Alexandria in Egypt, and Judaea - demonstrate that Jewish identity was remarkably and surprisingly fluid. By examining the available Jewish, Roman, and Greek literary and archaeological sources, one can learn how Jewish identity evolved in the Greco-Roman world. The Jews interacted with non-Jews daily, and adapted their neighbours’ practices while retaining what they considered a distinctive Jewish identity. / October 2016

Thesis advisor: Kendra Eshleman / This paper reads Josephus' 'Bellum Judaicum' within the Greco-Roman historiographic tradition and argues that this work must be read within this context. Josephus adheres to the conventions of this tradition and an examination of this shows that specific objections raised by scholars who consider Josephus unreliable are better explained as him following these conventions. Josephus chooses to write in this tradition because it allows him to address a tripartite audience of Jews, Romans, and the Greek-speaking east in order to instruct all sides on the best ways to manage affairs between Rome and her subject nations. It further concludes that Josephus should be considered a reliable historian. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Classics Honors Program. / Discipline: Classical Studies.

The thesis seeks to more accurately understand Judaean political organisation during the reign of King Alexander Jannaeus (104-76 BCE). I suggest that the balance of evidence does not support an understanding of Hasmonaean Judaea as a militaristic patrimony. That is, I dispute a view of Judaean social order as dominated by the centralised leadership of the Hasmonaean king and of Judaean political structures as overwhelmingly militaristic. To be sure, militarism and kingship are important to understanding the social arrangement of Judaea at the turn of the first century BCE. However, political research based on a literal reading of textual sources tends to overemphasise these factors. Instead, I here advocate using economic activity, of which bronze monetary exchange is reasonably well attested for Hasmonaean Judaea, to infer probable features of Judaean socio-political organisation. I note that the system of monetary exchange in Judaea is among the least complex of Hellenistic kingdoms at Jannaeus’s time. I propose that the most likely conclusion is that Jannaeus had a more limited political influence over societal organisation than is commonly ascribed. The relatively underdeveloped monetary system in Judaea indicates that monetary exchange likely existed in combination with local transactional frameworks, including local arbitration, payment in kind, and the manipulation of labour by regional strongmen than we might suggest for Pontus under Mithridates VI or Parthia under the early years of Mithridates II. In extrapolating to the wider issue of Judaean political organisation, this casts doubt on the ability of the Hasmonaean monarchy to forcefully Judaise, effect change in local power hierarchies, or play a defining role in Phoenician military struggles. Rather than a militaristic patrimony ordered by the diktats of a tyrannical Jannaeus, Judaean political organisation was more likely a cooperative network of local power brokers, regional administrative frameworks, and independent cultural and economic systems.

The present report applies Pierre Bourdieu’s social theory to the study of ancient Judaean apocalypticism in its historical, socioeconomic, and political contexts. Its central thesis is that each Judaean apocalyptic discourse is waged against the dominant ideology of its society and its perceived sustainers and beneficiaries. The particular focus in this report is Flavian ideology—the dominant ideology of the Roman Empire in the last three decades of the first century CE—and its subversion by the apocalyptic discourse of the late-first century CE text Fourth Ezra. After the Romans quashed a revolt in the province of Judaea and sacked the Jerusalem temple in 70 CE, the soon-to-be Roman emperor Vespasian, and his sons Titus and Domitian, initiated and maintained an empire-wide discourse proclaiming Iudaea capta (‘Judaea captured’). By means of coins, monuments, statues, literary propaganda, and the institution of a new Judaean tax, the Flavian emperors magnified their successful suppression of this provincial revolt in order to legitimate their dynasty. This discourse, which quickly became misrecognized in society and persisted long after the tenure of the Flavian dynasty, marked all Judaeans throughout the empire as foreign rebels and barbarians. The author of Fourth Ezra challenged Flavian ideology, and the Iudaea capta discourse in particular, by “revealing”—that is, persuading his audience to believe—that Rome’s victory over Judaea is part of the divine plan, the glory of Rome is fleeting, and the righteous ones who keep God’s Law will still have an opportunity for redemption. A focus of the present analysis is the figure of a lamenting woman employed by both discourses. Whereas the Flavian discourse used a dejected Judaean woman to represent Judaea after the Roman victory, Fourth Ezra’s apocalyptic discourse reveals a similar figure of a lamenting Judaean woman to be Mother Zion, and has her transform into the new, eschatological Jerusalem. When these two discourses are viewed together, regardless of direct influence or dependence, it is clear that the apocalyptic discourse subverts Flavian ideology. In the process, the author of Fourth Ezra recycles power by simultaneously delegitimating the Flavian emperors and legitimating his own social circle of sage-leaders. / text

Previous researchers of Jewish history in the Roman Empire have imperfectly employed Greco-Roman sources to describe Roman perceptions of Jews and Judaism by relying on a handful of Greek and Latin written and visual components without attempting to quantify or comprehensively explore this abundant material. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this dissertation analyzes the vast array of Greco-Roman written and visual sources about Jews and Judaism from the first century BCE to the end of the third century CE. While qualitative reviews of Greek and Latin texts help eliminate potential inconsistencies in the data, computational tools like text-mining analysis quantify the information into calculable results. The addition of visual source material into the framework helps further refine the quantified textual material. Reviews of this data reveal the general traits imperial leaders within the Roman Empire knew about the geography and history of Judaea, Jewish religious beliefs and cultural practices, and Jewish communities in general. Further reviews of the data note regional and, more importantly, temporal variations connecting them to changes both in imperial rule and Judaism. This process presents a more detailed and coherent conception of Roman knowledge of Jews and Judaism than scholars have previously recognized. In addition to highlighting imperial knowledge, this dissertation also demonstrates how Roman authorities drew on this information while ruling over Jewish communities. From this analysis, it is clear Roman imperial authorities formed a complex knowledge of ethnic and religious communities like Jews and applied this information to their rule over these populations.

13 Abstract The present thesis aims to answer questions regarding function of many Early Roman fortifications investigated in past decades in the region of Northern Negev, i.e. in the valley of Nahal Beersheva between modern towns of Arad and Beersheva. In past, various interpretations were provided, often conflicting with each other and therefore author sought to look at this topic from different point of view, using GIS based tools to explore spatial relationships between the fortifications and settlements in terms of intervisibility (for military signaling and control) and relation to road-system. Moreover, Early Roman Judaea was unstable region with high prevalence of banditry and thus assumption is that military responded to these threats. The results of viewshed analysis (intervisiblity) and least-cost path (reconstruction of road system) can roughly divide the region in question to the zones. In the first zone, most of the fortifications are intervisible and also exercise control of settlements and roads; while in the second zone forts cannot communicate using signals but are located on important roads providing water, lodging and security to travelers. It leads to conclusion that these forts served as stations of detached military units concerned with policing and administration (in both zones) and...