Bibliography
| Title: The Near East under Roman Rule: Selected Papers Secondary Title: Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava. Supplementum 177 Pages: XVII, 481 Type: Book Year: 1998 Abstract: 122-158, 'Bandits in Judaea and Arabia'.
159-181, 'The Babatha Archive' -- much on courts and policing in Judaea and Arabia.
112-121, 'Judaea after A.D. 70' -- on the status of the land: Josephus does not claim (as most think) that Vespasian held the land as private property, no 'crown land' here; rather he gave instructions to dispose of all conquered land.
-- 116: 'Josephus means to emphasize that Vespasian did not introduce foreigners into any newly-founded Flavian city, intended to replace Jerusalem. He stressed therefore that only a limited number of veterans was established at the modest settlement of Emmaus'.
-- by not founding a city (a veteran colony), V. made it possible for Jews to buy land; Josephus is emphasizing V's moderation here.
-- corresponds with the facts otherwise known: the Talmud and Eusebius (e.g., re: family of Jesus in Domitian's time) make it clear that Jews owned land in Judaea after 70.
-- Status of Jews? Mommsen (HZ 64 [1890]): the Jews ceased to exist legally as a nation, permanently remained peregrini dediticii, now NOT accepted. Yet they were punished -- Jerusalem in ruins; fiscus iudaicus.
-- 117-118: aside from that, however, no evidence that they suffered any liability (those who were not insurgents), and surely Josephus or someone would have mentioned it if that were not the case. -- didn't become an inferior class.
388-402 -- hierarchy in the Roman army: basic unit was the century: no intermediate officers up to legate and legionary officers; no smaller units with officers: therefore, a force with limited tactical options.
403-426 -- 'An Open Frontier' -- includes pointed remarks on Roman-Parthian relations.
-- 422: 'The conflict between Rome and Parthia/Persia . . . [was] kept alive, not by the ambition of Persia to expel Rome from the Near East, but by Rome's refusal to tolerate the existence of a rival empire. The regular campaigns to southern Babylonia cannot be rationalized in terms of a rational strategy. They can only be explained as stemming from a conviction that any form of damage to the heartland of the enemy is desirable and worthwhile in itself, even if it does not bring about the far more desirable outcome, the decisive annihilation of the rival empire'. Keywords: Middle East, History To 622. West Bank, History. Rome, History, Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D. Rome, Army. |