Language:
English
Year of publication:
2005
Titel der Quelle:
Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome
Angaben zur Quelle:
(2005) 129-144
Keywords:
Josephus, Flavius.
;
Flavian family
;
Tacitus, Cornelius.
;
Temple of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel) Sources Destruction and pillage
;
Rome History Flavians, 69-96
;
Eretz Israel History 1st century
Abstract:
Comparing Josephus' and Tacitus' (lost) account of the sack of the Temple in Jerusalem from Histories Book 5, this chapter underlines the importance of the Jewish War as a central defining event (or even a 'foundation myth') for the Flavian dynasty. There was not one, but in fact three successive versions of this foundation myth; the first, developed in the 70s, glorified Vespasian, the second gave much greater prominence to Titus, while the third integrated Domitian into the story. Josephus may well have used as a source the (lost) histories of Pliny the Elder, which probably ended by describing the triumphal procession of 71. As a result, there is some evidence for Josephus using a Latin historian and, more generally, for his conscious reworking of such material to suit the particular situation in which he found himself while writing the Jewish War.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
Permalink