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74-724: The fortress called "Alexandreion" in Greek, simplified to "Alexandrion" (and Latinised as "Alexandrium"), is mentioned by Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews . It was mentioned in the Mishna and Talmud as "Sartaba" and is now called "Qarn Sartabe" (lit. "Horn of Sartabe") in Arabic . Alexandrium was constructed by the Hasmoneans near the border with Samaria to accommodate a military garrison, as well as to guard political prisoners. It

148-655: A Greek Jewish woman from Crete , who was a member of a distinguished family. They had two sons, Flavius Justus and Flavius Simonides Agrippa. Josephus's life story remains ambiguous. He was described by Harris in 1985 as a law-observant Jew who believed in the compatibility of Judaism and Graeco-Roman thought, commonly referred to as Hellenistic Judaism . Josippon , the Hebrew version of Josephus, contains changes. His critics were never satisfied as to why he failed to commit suicide in Galilee, and after his capture, accepted

222-604: A brief visit to Rome in the early 60s ( Life 13–17). In the wake of the suppression of the Jewish revolt, Josephus would have witnessed the marches of Titus 's triumphant legions leading their Jewish captives, and carrying treasures from the despoiled Temple in Jerusalem . It was against this background that Josephus wrote his War . He blames the Jewish War on what he calls "unrepresentative and over-zealous fanatics" among

296-609: A detailed examination of all the available manuscripts, mainly from France and Spain. Henry St. John Thackeray and successors such as Ralph Marcus used Niese's version for the Loeb Classical Library edition widely used today. On the Jewish side, Josephus was far more obscure, as he was perceived as a traitor. Rabbinical writings for a millennium after his death (e.g. the Mishnah ) almost never call out Josephus by name, although they sometimes tell parallel tales of

370-480: A divine revelation that later led to his speech predicting Vespasian would become emperor. After the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. Josephus wrote that his revelation had taught him three things: that God, the creator of the Jewish people, had decided to "punish" them; that "fortune" had been given to the Romans; and that God had chosen him "to announce

444-667: A good deal of valuable, sometimes unique, historical material. This applies, for example, to the history of the Hellenistic states, Parthia , Armenia , the Nabatean kingdom , and the Roman Empire . In the Middle Ages and up to modern times the book was considered one of the most important sources in ancient Roman history, along with the works of Titus Livius , Tacitus , Suetonius , and Jerome . Because of this, Josephus

518-547: A man also named Joseph(us) and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman—distant relatives of each other. Josephus's family was wealthy. He descended through his father from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib , which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the Temple in Jerusalem . Josephus calls himself a fourth-generation descendant of " High Priest Jonathan", referring to either Jonathan Apphus or Alexander Jannaeus . He

592-556: A method of collective suicide; they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, and Josephus happened to be one of two men that were left who surrendered to the Roman forces and became prisoners. In 69 AD, Josephus was released. According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, during which time his parents were held as hostages by Simon bar Giora . While being confined at Yodfat (Jotapata), Josephus claimed to have experienced

666-670: A person of great experience in everything belonging to his own nation, he attained to that remarkable familiarity with his country in every part, which his antiquarian researches so abundantly evince. But he was controlled by political motives: his great purpose was to bring his people, the despised Jewish race, into honour with the Greeks and Romans; and this purpose underlay every sentence, and filled his history with distortions and exaggerations. Josephus mentions that in his day there were 240 towns and villages scattered across Upper and Lower Galilee , some of which he names. Josephus's works are

740-972: A significant, extra-Biblical account of the post-Exilic period of the Maccabees , the Hasmonean dynasty, and the rise of Herod the Great . He also describes the Sadducees , the Pharisees and Essenes , the Herodian Temple, Quirinius 's census and the Zealots , and such figures as Pontius Pilate , Herod the Great , Agrippa I and Agrippa II , John the Baptist , James the brother of Jesus , and Jesus . Josephus represents an important source for studies of immediate post-Temple Judaism and

814-524: A systematic order, proceeding topically and logically" and included all relevant material for their subject. Antiquarians moved beyond political history to include institutions and religious and private life. Josephus does offer this wider perspective in Antiquities . The works of Josephus are major sources of our understanding of Jewish life and history during the first century. His first work in Rome

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888-543: A tyrant. The extant copies of this work contain two passages about Jesus and James the Just . The long one has come to be known as the Testimonium Flavianum . Scholars usually agree on the authenticity of the second passage, while the first one is considered to be authentic, but to have been subjected to Christian interpolation . The earliest Greek manuscript of Books 11–20 of the Antiquities dates from

962-468: Is damaged in some places. In the Life , Niese follows mainly manuscript P, but refers also to AMW and R. Henry St. John Thackeray for the Loeb Classical Library has a Greek text also mainly dependent on P. André Pelletier edited a new Greek text for his translation of Life . The ongoing Münsteraner Josephus-Ausgabe of Münster University will provide a new critical apparatus. Late Old Slavonic translations of

1036-403: Is later mentioned during Pompey the Great 's conquest of Judea as a stronghold of Aristobulus II : "...as he passed by Pella and Scythopolis , he came to Corem, which is the first entrance into Judea when one passes over the midland countries, where he came to a most beautiful fortress that was built on the top of a mountain called Alexandrium, whither Aristobulus had fled/" The Alexandreion

1110-423: Is repentance: in later life he felt so bad about the traitorous War that he needed to demonstrate … his loyalty to Jewish history, law and culture." However, Josephus's "countless incidental remarks explaining basic Judean language, customs and laws … assume a Gentile audience. He does not expect his first hearers to know anything about the laws or Judean origins." The issue of who would read this multi-volume work

1184-539: Is sometimes called the "Titus Livius of the Greeks". The Jewish Encyclopedia speculates that much of Josephus's writings on Herod the Great and his sons draw from the work of Nicolaus of Damascus , a personal friend of Herod's, whose writings remain largely missing; once Nicolaus's narrative on Herod Archelaus ends, Josephus's narrative becomes less detailed. Josephus admitted being familiar with Nicolaus's work but also rebuked Nicolaus for exaggerating Herod's royal claims and benevolence, where Josephus treated Herod as

1258-487: Is unresolved. Other possible motives for writing Antiquities could be to dispel the misrepresentation of Jewish origins or as an apologetic to Greek cities of the Diaspora in order to protect Jews and to Roman authorities to garner their support for the Jews facing persecution. Josephus was a very popular writer with Christians in the 4th century and beyond as an independent source to the events before, during, and after

1332-612: The Haskalah ("Jewish Enlightenment") in the 19th century, when sufficiently "neutral" vernacular language translations were made. Kalman Schulman finally created a Hebrew translation of the Greek text of Josephus in 1863, although many rabbis continued to prefer the Yosippon version. By the 20th century, Jewish attitudes toward Josephus had softened, as he gave the Jews a respectable place in classical history. Various parts of his work were reinterpreted as more inspiring and favorable to

1406-411: The nomen Flavius from his patrons, as was the custom amongst freedmen . Vespasian arranged for Josephus to marry a captured Jewish woman, whom he later divorced. Around the year 71, Josephus married an Alexandrian Jewish woman as his third wife. They had three sons, of whom only Flavius Hyrcanus survived childhood. Josephus later divorced his third wife. Around 75, he married his fourth wife,

1480-489: The Antiquities and the Wars . This volume amounted to over 800 pages. The first printed edition of Antiquities of the Jews in Greek appeared in 1544. Other publications followed—1553 ( Antwerp ), 1611 and 1634 ( Cologne ), 1687 ( Oxford ), 1691 ( Leipzig ), 1700 (Oxford), 1726 ( Leiden ), and so on. Already in the 15th–16th centuries, Jewish Antiquities was translated into Dutch, French, Italian, German and Spanish. The book

1554-599: The Egyptians , who, in turn, taught the Greeks . Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which, like that of Rome, resisted monarchy . The great figures of the Tanakh are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders. He includes an autobiographical appendix defending his conduct at the end of the war when he cooperated with the Roman forces. Louis H. Feldman outlines the difference between calling this work Antiquities of

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1628-484: The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE). This work, along with Josephus's other major work, The Jewish War ( De Bello Iudaico ), provides valuable background material for historians wishing to understand 1st-century CE Judaism and the early Christian period . Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews is a vital source for the history of the intertestamental period and the Jewish war against Rome. Antiquities of

1702-632: The Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor . In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter . After Vespasian became emperor in AD ;69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the Emperor's family name of Flavius . Flavius Josephus fully defected to

1776-460: The 13th year of the reign of Roman emperor Domitian , which was 94 CE . The book contains an account of the history of the Jewish people for Josephus's gentile patrons. In the first ten volumes, Josephus follows the events of the Hebrew Bible beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve . The second ten volumes continues the history of the Jewish people beyond the biblical text and up to

1850-617: The 17th century. The 1544 Greek edition formed the basis of the 1732 English translation by William Whiston , which achieved enormous popularity in the English-speaking world. It was often the book—after the Bible—that Christians most frequently owned. Whiston claimed that certain works by Josephus had a similar style to the Epistles of St. Paul . Later editions of the Greek text include that of Benedikt Niese , who made

1924-465: The Galileans and by the Romans; he was guilty of shocking duplicity at Jotapata, saving himself by sacrifice of his companions; he was too naive to see how he stood condemned out of his own mouth for his conduct, and yet no words were too harsh when he was blackening his opponents; and after landing, however involuntarily, in the Roman camp, he turned his captivity to his own advantage, and benefited for

1998-432: The Great , John the Baptist , James, brother of Jesus , and Jesus of Nazareth . Josephus was born into one of Jerusalem's elite families. He was the second-born son of Matthias, a Jewish priest . His older full-blooded brother was also, like his father, called Matthias. Their mother was an aristocratic woman who was descended from the royal and formerly ruling Hasmonean dynasty . Josephus's paternal grandparents were

2072-519: The Greek also exist, but these contain a large number of Christian interpolations. Author Joseph Raymond calls Josephus "the Jewish Benedict Arnold " for betraying his own troops at Jotapata, while historian Mary Smallwood , in the introduction to the translation of The Jewish War by G. A. Williamson , writes: [Josephus] was conceited, not only about his own learning, but also about the opinions held of him as commander both by

2146-548: The Jewish history more palatable to his Greco-Roman audience, the great figures of the biblical stories are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders . In another example, apparently due to his concern with pagan antisemitism, Josephus omitted the entire episode of the golden calf from his account of the Israelites at Mount Sinai. It has been suggested that he was afraid that the biblical account might be employed by Alexandrian antisemites to lend credence to their allegation that

2220-582: The Jews ( c.  94). The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Greek and Roman audience. These works provide insight into first-century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity . Josephus's works are the chief source next to the Bible for the history and antiquity of ancient Israel , and provide an independent extra-biblical account of such figures as Pontius Pilate , Herod

2294-461: The Jews (cf. Life 430) – where the author for the most part re-visits the events of the War and his tenure in Galilee as governor and commander, apparently in response to allegations made against him by Justus of Tiberias (cf. Life 336). Josephus's Against Apion is a two-volume defence of Judaism as classical religion and philosophy , stressing its antiquity, as opposed to what Josephus claimed

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2368-488: The Jews , completed during the last year of the reign of the Emperor Flavius Domitian , around 93 or 94 AD. In expounding Jewish history, law and custom, he is entering into many philosophical debates current in Rome at that time. Again he offers an apologia for the antiquity and universal significance of the Jewish people. Josephus claims to be writing this history because he "saw that others perverted

2442-517: The Jews instead of History of the Jews . Although Josephus says that he describes the events contained in Antiquities "in the order of time that belongs to them," Feldman argues that Josephus "aimed to organize [his] material systematically rather than chronologically" and had a scope that "ranged far beyond mere political history to political institutions, religious and private life." An autobiographical text written by Josephus in approximately 94–99 CE – possibly as an appendix to his Antiquities of

2516-527: The Jews is separated into twenty volumes: In the preface of Antiquities of the Jews , Josephus provides his motivation for composing such a large work. He writes: Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks worthy of their study; for it will contain all our antiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures. Josephan scholar Louis Feldman highlights several of

2590-542: The Jews than the Renaissance translations by Christians had been. Notably, the last stand at Masada (described in The Jewish War ), which past generations had deemed insane and fanatical, received a more positive reinterpretation as an inspiring call to action in this period. The standard editio maior of the various Greek manuscripts is that of Benedictus Niese , published 1885–95. The text of Antiquities

2664-658: The Jews worshiped an ass's head in the Temple (cf. Apion 2:80, 114, 120; Tacitus, Histories 5:4). He also stated that the Ancient Egyptians forced the Jewish slaves to build the pyramids, writing "They [the Egyptian taskmasters] set them also to build pyramids." Josephus also adds a short account of his personal life, Vita , as an appendix to the Judean Antiquities . Antiquities of the Jews contains

2738-719: The Jews" circulated widely, mainly in Latin translation (e.g Antiquities of the Jews from 1466 in the National Library of Poland ). This work of Joseph Flavius was translated into Old Bulgarian at the Preslav Literary School in the beginning of the 10th century during the time of Simeon the Great . In the 9th–10th centuries, the so-called " Josippon ", written in Hebrew , appeared in Italy. It described

2812-475: The Jews, who led the masses away from their traditional aristocratic leaders (like himself), with disastrous results. For example, Josephus writes that " Simon [bar Giora] was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves." Josephus also blames some of the Roman governors of Judea , representing them as corrupt and incompetent administrators. The next work by Josephus is his 21-volume Antiquities of

2886-470: The Roman empire, Josephus, set out to provide a Hellenized version of the Jewish history. Such a work is often called an " apologia ," as it pleads the case of a group of people or set of beliefs to a larger audience. In order to accomplish this goal, Josephus omitted certain accounts in the Jewish narrative and even added a Hellenistic "glaze" to his work. For example, the " Song of the Sea " sung by Moses and

2960-657: The Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship . He became an advisor and close associate of Vespasian's son Titus , serving as his translator during Titus's protracted siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, which resulted in the near-total razing of the city and the destruction of the Second Temple . Josephus recorded the Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70), including the siege of Masada . His most important works were The Jewish War ( c.  75 ) and Antiquities of

3034-475: The Romans; the people of Sepphoris enlisted the help of the Roman army to protect their city, while the people of Tiberias appealed to King Agrippa 's forces to protect them from the insurgents. Josephus trained 65,000 troops in the region. Josephus also contended with John of Gischala who had also set his sight over the control of Galilee. Like Josephus, John had amassed to himself a large band of supporters from Gischala (Gush Halab) and Gabara , including

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3108-460: The actions of both parties with accuracy." Josephus confesses he will be unable to contain his sadness in transcribing these events; to illustrate this will have little effect on his historiography, Josephus suggests, "But if any one be inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only." His preface to Antiquities offers his opinion early on, saying, "Upon

3182-459: The ancient geography of the region: Outside of the Scriptures, Josephus holds the first and the only place among the native authors of Judaea; for Philo of Alexandria, the later Talmud, and other authorities, are of little service in understanding the geography of the country. Josephus is, however, to be used with great care. As a Jewish scholar, as an officer of Galilee, as a military man, and

3256-685: The context of early Christianity . A careful reading of Josephus's writings and years of excavation allowed Ehud Netzer , an archaeologist from Hebrew University , to discover what he considered to be the location of Herod's Tomb , after searching for 35 years. It was above aqueducts and pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to the Herodium , 12 km south of Jerusalem—as described in Josephus's writings. In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas challenged

3330-474: The difference between history and philosophy by saying, "[T]hose that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that my discourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy." In both works, Josephus emphasizes that accuracy is crucial to historiography. Louis H. Feldman notes that in Wars , Josephus commits himself to critical historiography, but in Antiquities , Josephus shifts to rhetorical historiography, which

3404-618: The eleventh century, the Ambrosianus 370 (F 128); preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan . However, the manuscript tradition is complex and many manuscripts are incomplete. The works of Josephus Flavius were popular in late antiquity. Then appeared the translation of "Antiquities of the Jews" into Latin . It is attributed to either Jerome or his contemporary Tyrannius Rufinus . In medieval Europe, "Antiquities of

3478-587: The events of world and Jewish history from the time of the construction of the Tower of Babel to the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. Essentially, this chronicle was an abbreviated translation of Jewish Antiquities and The Jewish War , but Joseph ben Gorion was named the author. Josippon gained no less popularity than Antiquities of the Jews. With the advent of printing, it was published even before this major work of Josephus Flavius in 1476. In 1602, Thomas Lodge published an English translation of both

3552-488: The fall of Jerusalem , and the subsequent fall of the fortresses of Herodion, Macharont and Masada and the Roman victory celebrations in Rome, the mopping-up operations, Roman military operations elsewhere in the empire and the uprising in Cyrene . Together with the account in his Life of some of the same events, it also provides the reader with an overview of Josephus's own part in the events since his return to Jerusalem from

3626-514: The founder of the Arabs , the connection of "Semites", "Hamites" and "Japhetites" to the classical nations of the world , and the story of the siege of Masada . Scholars debate about Josephus's intended audience. For example, Antiquities of the Jews could be written for Jews—"a few scholars from Laqueur onward have suggested that Josephus must have written primarily for fellow Jews (if also secondarily for Gentiles). The most common motive suggested

3700-449: The identification of the tomb as that of Herod. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features. Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification. Josephus's writings provide the first-known source for many stories considered as Biblical history, despite not being found in the Bible or related material. These include Ishmael as

3774-557: The life of Jesus of Nazareth . Josephus was always accessible in the Greek-reading Eastern Mediterranean. His works were translated into Latin, but often in abbreviated form such as Pseudo-Hegesippus 's 4th century Latin version of The Jewish War ( Bellum Judaicum ). Christian interest in The Jewish War was largely out of interest in the downfall of the Jews and the Second Temple, which

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3848-530: The lunar month of Tammuz , in the thirteenth year of Nero 's reign. After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands; the survivors committed suicide. According to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 AD. The Romans (commanded by Flavius Vespasian and his son Titus, both subsequently Roman emperors ) asked the group to surrender, but they refused. According to Josephus's account, he suggested

3922-415: The misconceptions about the Jewish people that were being circulated in Josephus's time. In particular, the Jews were thought to lack great historical figures and a credible history of their people. They were also accused of harboring hostility toward non-Jews, and were thought to be generally lacking in loyalty, respect for authority, and charity. With these harsh accusations against the Jews fluttering about

3996-466: The patronage of Romans. The works of Josephus provide information about the First Jewish–Roman War and also represent literary source material for understanding the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and late Temple Judaism. Josephan scholarship in the 19th and early 20th centuries took an interest in Josephus's relationship to the sect of the Pharisees . Some portrayed him as a member of

4070-530: The people of Israel after their deliverance at the Red Sea is completely omitted in Josephus's text. He does mention, however, that Moses composed a song to God in hexameter —a rather unusual (and Greek) metrical scheme for an ancient Hebrew. Josephus also writes that Abraham taught science to the Egyptians , who in turn taught the Greeks , and that Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which like Rome resisted monarchy. Thus, in an attempt to make

4144-480: The philosophical school of the Pharisees as a matter of deference, and not by willing association. The works of Josephus include useful material for historians about individuals, groups, customs, and geographical places. However, modern historians have been cautious of taking his writings at face value. For example, Carl Ritter , in his highly influential Erdkunde in the 1840s, wrote in a review of authorities on

4218-431: The primary source for the chain of Jewish high priests during the Second Temple period. A few of the Jewish customs named by him include the practice of hanging a linen curtain at the entrance to one's house, and the Jewish custom to partake of a Sabbath-day 's meal around the sixth-hour of the day (at noon). He notes also that it was permissible for Jewish men to marry many wives ( polygamy ). His writings provide

4292-555: The rest of his days from his change of side. In the Preface to Jewish Wars , Josephus criticizes historians who misrepresent the events of the Jewish–Roman War , writing that "they have a mind to demonstrate the greatness of the Romans, while they still diminish and lessen the actions of the Jews." Josephus states that his intention is to correct this method but that he "will not go to the other extreme ... [and] will prosecute

4366-491: The same events that Josephus narrated. An Italian Jew writing in the 10th century indirectly brought Josephus back to prominence among Jews: he authored the Yosippon , which paraphrases Pseudo-Hegesippus's Latin version of The Jewish War , a Latin version of Antiquities , as well as other works. The epitomist also adds in his own snippets of history at times. Jews generally distrusted Christian translations of Josephus until

4440-466: The sect and as a traitor to the Jewish nation—a view which became known as the classical concept of Josephus. In the mid-20th century, a new generation of scholars challenged this view and formulated the modern concept of Josephus. They consider him a Pharisee but describe him in part as patriot and a historian of some standing. In his 1991 book, Steve Mason argued that Josephus was not a Pharisee but an orthodox Aristocrat-Priest who became associated with

4514-579: The support of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Josephus fortified several towns and villages in Lower Galilee , among which were Tiberias, Bersabe , Selamin , Japha , and Tarichaea , in anticipation of a Roman onslaught. In Upper Galilee , he fortified the towns of Jamnith , Seph , Mero , and Achabare , among other places. Josephus, with the Galileans under his command, managed to bring both Sepphoris and Tiberias into subjection, but

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4588-557: The things that are to come". To many Jews, such claims were simply self-serving. In 71 AD, he went to Rome as part of the entourage of Titus. There, he became a Roman citizen and client of the ruling Flavian dynasty . In addition to Roman citizenship , he was granted accommodation in the conquered Judaea and a pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works. Although he only ever calls himself "Josephus" in his writings, later historians refer to him as "Flavius Josephus", confirming that he adopted

4662-544: The truth of those actions in their writings", those writings being the history of the Jews. In terms of some of his sources for the project, Josephus says that he drew from and "interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures" and that he was an eyewitness to the wars between the Jews and the Romans, which were earlier recounted in Jewish Wars . He outlines Jewish history beginning with the creation, as passed down through Jewish historical tradition. Abraham taught science to

4736-465: The whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, that all events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the reward of felicity is proposed by God." After inserting this attitude, Josephus contradicts Berossus: "I shall accurately describe what is contained in our records, in the order of time that belongs to them ... without adding any thing to what is therein contained, or taking away any thing therefrom." He notes

4810-717: Was an account of the Jewish War, addressed to certain "upper barbarians"—usually thought to be the Jewish community in Mesopotamia —in his "paternal tongue" ( War I.3), arguably the Western Aramaic language . In AD 78 he finished a seven-volume account in Greek known as the Jewish War ( Latin Bellum Judaicum or De Bello Judaico ). It starts with the period of the Maccabees and concludes with accounts of

4884-422: Was born in Jerusalem —then part of the Roman province of Judea —to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry . He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee , until surrendering in AD 67 to the Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat . Josephus claimed

4958-412: Was eventually forced to relinquish his hold on Sepphoris by the arrival of Roman forces under Placidus the tribune and later by Vespasian himself. Josephus first engaged the Roman army at a village called Garis , where he launched an attack against Sepphoris a second time, before being repulsed. At length, he resisted the Roman army in its siege of Yodfat (Jotapata) until it fell to the Roman army in

5032-411: Was finally razed by Vespasian or Titus during the Great Revolt . Josephus Flavius Josephus ( / dʒ oʊ ˈ s iː f ə s / ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἰώσηπος , Iṓsēpos ; c.  AD 37  – c.  100 ) or Yosef ben Mattityahu ( Hebrew : יוֹסֵף בֵּן מַתִּתְיָהוּ ) was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing The Jewish War , he

5106-491: Was published both in modern languages and in Latin. The first Russian translation of Jewish Antiquities appeared in 1781. First Italian translation dates to 1549 in Venice. One of the best known translations of this work was provided by William Whiston in 1737, which has been in print continuously since then. The Loeb Classical Library published a 1926 translation by Henry St. John Thackeray and Ralph Marcus, normally preferred academically. A cross-reference apparatus for

5180-452: Was raised in Jerusalem and educated alongside his brother. In his mid twenties, he traveled to negotiate with Emperor Nero for the release of some Jewish priests. Upon his return to Jerusalem, at the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War , Josephus was appointed the military governor of Galilee . His arrival in Galilee, however, was fraught with internal division: the inhabitants of Sepphoris and Tiberias opted to maintain peace with

5254-512: Was restored by Herod the Great , a task he assigned to his brother Pheroras . Herod gave it the character of a palatial desert fortress, similar to those he built or rebuilt at Masada , Herodion and Machaerus . Herod used the fortress as a prison for his political opponents, holding his 2nd wife, Mariamne and her mother, Alexandra there in 30 BCE. It was also the burial site of Alexander, son of Herod , and Aristobulus , two of his sons whom Herod had executed at Sebaste in 7 BCE. Alexandrium

5328-520: Was the norm of his time. Feldman notes further that it is significant that Josephus called his later work "Antiquities" (literally, archaeology) rather than history; in the Hellenistic period, archaeology meant either "history from the origins or archaic history." Thus, his title implies a Jewish peoples' history from their origins until the time he wrote. This distinction is significant to Feldman, because "in ancient times, historians were expected to write in chronological order," while "antiquarians wrote in

5402-502: Was the relatively more recent tradition of the Greeks. Some anti-Judaic allegations ascribed by Josephus to the Greek writer Apion and myths accredited to Manetho are also addressed. Antiquities of the Jews Antiquities of the Jews ( Latin : Antiquitates Iudaicae ; Greek : Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία , Ioudaikē archaiologia ) is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek , by historian Josephus in

5476-688: Was widely considered divine punishment for the crime of killing Jesus . Improvements in printing technology (the Gutenberg Press ) led to his works receiving a number of new translations into the vernacular languages of Europe, generally based on the Latin versions. Only in 1544 did a version of the standard Greek text become available in French, edited by the Dutch humanist Arnoldus Arlenius . The first English translation, by Thomas Lodge , appeared in 1602, with subsequent editions appearing throughout

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