Bibliography
| Title: Was There a Roman Charter for the Jews? Pages: 107-123 Type: Generic Year: 1984 Abstract: "There was not, but there was strong diplomatic pressure ""on the part of the Jewish representatives and especially ... Certain members and adherents of the Herodian dynasty, whose other services were of manifest value to Rome"", as appears from the documents in Josephus, AJ XIV, XVI, and XIX. - A. Hilhorst // In the cities of the pre-Christian Roman empire, Jewish groups were generally free to pursue their own religious and social practices: they were not persecuted by the Roman government until Hadrian. In view of the often profound hostility at the local level between Jews on the one hand and Greeks and natives on the other, the fact that the central government was proof against anti-Jewish pressure from below is noteworthy. This situation does not justify the traditional assumption that the Jews were protected by a special legal status, however: There was no Roman charter for the Jews. Such a charter was not required, because the Hellenistic cities accommodated a considerable diversity of population and did not demand conformity. What the Jewish communities needed from Rome was not a permanent special status but repeated public backing: through political pressure and diplomacy they succeeded in gaining it. The evidence for these conclusions is derived from some thirty decrees and letters cited by Josephus in books 14 and 16 in his Antiquities; also of relevance are three Claudian edicts inserted in Antiquities 19. Because of the technical problems posed by these documents, their purpose and significance have not been adequately understood. Whether the Romans perceived the documentary material as having a general application or any validity as precedent beyond the specific context is questionable. Furthermore, all the documents involved an exchange of beneficia, e.g. an acknowledgement of Jewish loyalty, suggesting a degree of potential impermanence or instability. The decrees functioned as part of a political process in which several factors were operative: frequent alienation of Jews from their neighbours and consequent strengthening of ties between Diaspora communities, Jewish dependence on Roman support vis-à-vis hostile Greek authorities, and the tendency of the cities to disregard Roman directives favourable to Jews. They were not valued for their specific content or as exact precedents, but as symbols of respect for the Jews and as encouragement to good treatment. Likewise, in his use of the documents, Josephus shows more concern with the general theme of esteem for the Jews than with the details of Jewsh status. - E.G.B." Keywords: Jewish History: Roman Era |