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A Walk Through the Ancient WorldThe events that took place in the Levant in the first century AD did not happen in a vacuum. What follows is a brief explanation of events leading up to the first century AD in the Middle East. Egypt's Disastrous Bout With MonotheismIn approximately 1,350 BC, a narcissistic ruler named Amenhotep IV assumed the throne of Egypt. Upon assuming the throne, he changed his name to Akhenaten. Akhenaten ruled over Egypt for a period of approximately seventeen years, during which time he went about destroying the traditional religion of Egypt, replacing it with his own cult called Atonism. Atenism demanded the worship of the Sun as the one supreme, monotheistic deity, whom he called Ate. As part of Akhenaten's campaign to ruin the traditional religion of Egypt, he ordered the destruction of all traditional temples and places of worship and reverence of the previous deities of Egypt, the murder of all priests and priestesses of such deities, and the erasure of all references to all previous Egyptian deities as well. It was his intent that by doing so, he could wipe out all other noble families as well, as it was predominantly the nobility whom served as priests and priestesses in ancient Egypt. The traditional religion of Egypt was somewhat restored after Akhenaten's death approximately 17 years later, but by then the damage that he had done to both the traditional religion as well as to Egypt itself was nearly insurmountable. Egyptian sovereignty passed into the hands of the house that would later become known as the Ramses Dynasty not long after the death of Akhenaten's son and heir Tutankhamen. Upon the onset of the Ramses Dynasty, Akhenaten and his lineage were rightfully discredited as heretics, with Akhenaten himself being referred to as both "The enemy of Egypt" and "That criminal" in official Egyptian records. Ramses and the Exodus - See This Also and ThisThe Ramses Dynasty began in 1,279 BC with the reign of Ramses II. It was sometime during Ramses II's 66-year reign that Moses and Aaron left Egypt with their uniquely monotheistic spiritual viewpoints which were most likely borrowed from Akhenaten's reign, which many of their followers did not understand, even reverting back to the worship of multiple deities on many occasions. By Old Testament accounts, the Jews were slaves in Egypt during the reigns of Akhenaten and Tutankhamen, and were freed during the reign of Ramses II. 312-63 BC: The Seleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was established in the Middle East as part of the Greek Empire during the Hellenistic period. It lasted nearly 250 years before being annexed into the Roman Republic under Pompey in 63 BC. During this time, the Seleucids attempted to Hellenize Israel, but were defeated in their attempts by the Jewish people under the direction of Judas Maccabeus and his four brothers. 167 BC: The Maccabee Revolt and the Hasmonean DynastyIn 167 BC the Rebel Jewish Maccabees succeeded in removing the Greek yolk from Judea, ushering in the Hasmonean Dynasty which reigned from 167 BC until 37 BC, standing as a sovereign kingdom from 104 - 63 BC with the intent of removing Hellenic influence from their faith and culture. It was during this time that the Maccabees founded the Hasmonean dynasty. The Hasmonean Dynasty was at odds with the corrupt and polytheist nature of their neighbors, and sought to uphold - and in some cases to impose - Jewish beliefs and systems through their High Priests. At the onset of the Maccabee revolt, with the death of Alexander the Great, Judea found itself pinned in by Ptolemaic (Hellenic) Egypt and Seleucid Syria. Judea was first held under the yolk of Ptolemaic rule, until around 200 BC when it had fallen to the Seleucids. During the former rule, traditional Judaism had become increasingly compromised by Hellenic influence. While this was typically embraced by the urban Jewish upper class, it was largely rejected by rural, working class and traditionalist Jews. Urban Jews preferred Hellenization because of the benefits that it brought them, even going so far as shunning the Covenant of Moses. Seleucid Tyranny and Jewish CorruptionThe Seleucids held ambivalence towards the Jewish priesthood, whereas the Orthodox Jews viewed the priesthood as sacred. During this time the priesthood was corrupted by ''urban'' (Hellenized) Jews. For example, one Hellenized Jew by the name of Jason bought his position as high priest from the Seleucid ruler and then went about wiping out Jewish traditions in favor of Greek ones. Another Hellenic Jew - Menelaus - thereafter bribed the same Seleucid ruler for Jason's position before assassinating the rightful High Priest (Onias). Menelaus also allowed his brother Lysimachus to pillage holy artifacts from the Temple, which led to riots and Lysimachus' death at the hands of a Jewish mob. Once the conflict escalated and the Seleucid appointee to the high priesthood was overthrown, the Seleucids outlawed traditional Judaism in favor of the Hellenized Jews. The Torah was outlawed, all copies of which were burned, and anyone who was found to possess one was killed. Sabbaths and feasts were also outlawed, as was circumcision, under threat of death. Further, the Seleucids demanded that the Jews defile their own temple: a statue of Zeus was erected on the altar of the Temple and Hellenized Jews sacrificed to Greek gods on altars that they had set up. Jews who did so were put to death by other Jews, which led to the Seleucids pillaging Jerusalem and slaughtering most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and banishing any survivors. The Battle for The PriesthoodThe Maccabean Revolt was an uprising in response to the Seleucids' attempt to wipe out traditional Judaism and was launched in part against the Seleucids but especially against urbanized (Hellenized) Jews. The revolt was heavily instigated over whom was to have authority over the office of High Priest. Traditional Jews were outraged by the desecration of their sacred space. Their first and foremost targets were the Hellenized Jews. Just as the Maccabees' name became synonymous with the term hammer in reference to their style of warfare, perhaps the term Sicarii in reference to the daggers they used against their foes, is named such after a form of the root of the term Zechariah. HanukkahThe Maccabees won many battles during their revolution, climaxing with their triumphant entry into Jerusalem, at which time they installed Jonathan Maccabee as the High Priest. The Temple was ritually cleansed and traditional Judaism was reestablished. It is in remembrance of these events that Jews worldwide celebrate Hanukkah to this day. In Hebrew tradition, it was after this victory of the Maccabees that uncorrupted holy oil was sought for the lighting of the Temple Menorah, but only a day's worth was to be found, yet the oil had lasted for eight days, giving the Jews enough time to gather more oil. Perhaps this was why the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth was to be named John (after Jonathan Maccabee). This naming would have raised Herod's alarm since he (Herod) - like the Seleucid leader before him - was actively installing pretenders into the priesthood. The ''oil'' referenced here is most likely an allusion to the revolt's (anointed) leaders and their reinforcements. The Maccabean MartyrsAccording to the Books of the Maccabees, there are seven martyred brothers, along with their mother Solomonia and their teacher Eleazar whom were also murdered. According to the Ethiopian books of Meqabyan, regarding the Maccabee martyrs, the Maccabee patriarch was a Benjamite named Maccabeus, and there were three brothers whom were martyred after being captured while leading a guerrilla campaign against the Seleucids. The Hasmonean Dynasty and Jewish Regional AmbitionsEmboldened by their victories, the Maccabees considered continuing their campaigns on behalf of Jews in foreign lands as well as to convert foreigners into Judaism. This divided their followers and countrymen and over time created a chasm between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Those who chose to continue fighting were led by Judah Maccabee, who was followed in his command by his younger brother Jonathan upon Judah's death in battle in 160 BC. By then Jonathan was already consecrated as a High Priest. Jonathan went about making pacts with other nations and states to the dismay of some of the Jews whom were only interested in internal religious and political sovereignty, not external conquest. It is worth mentioning that Judah and Jonathan were no less heroes to the people of first century Judea, than George Washington is to patriotic 21st century Americans. External Treachery and Internal StrifeJonathan was assassinated in 142 BC by a pretender Seleucid ''nobleman'' named Diodotus Tryphon, at which time Jonathan's brother Simon succeeded him as king. In 140 BC Simon became high priest. Simon inherited an alliance with Rome, but by then his kingdom was considered a province of the Seleucid Empire by the Romans. As such, he was coerced by Rome into supporting Seleucid military operations with his own forces, and to give any land he conquered over to the Seleucids. Roman Intervention and Herodian ForeshadowingSimon was murdered by his son-in-law Ptolemy in 134 BC, at which time Simon's son John Hyrcanus I assumed the role of high priest and king. In 129 BC Judea gained its independence, which lasted until the Romans intervened in the Hasmonean Civil War of Succession in 63 BC, which turned Judea into a client of Rome. In 37 BC the Edomite (Arabian) Herod the Great became king of Israel and was designated as ''king of the Jews'' by the Roman Senate. This event ended the Hasmonean Dynasty and ushered in the vassal Arabic Herodian dynasty. The Herodian kingdomRome created the province of Syria and annexed Judea in 63 BC after interceding in the Hasmonean Civil War of Succession that was waged between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II after their mother Salome Alexandra died. Hyrcanus II besieged his brother Aristobulus II in Jerusalem, leading Aristobulus II to seek assistance from the Roman general Pompey through a representative of Pompey by the name of Marcus Scaurus. Aristobulus II later accused Scaurus of extorting him, which didn't set well with Pompey because Scaurus happened to be Pompey's brother-in-law and protege. As a result, Pompey sacked Jerusalem and appointed Hyrcanus II as both prince and High Priest. Pompey was later defeated by Julius Caesar, at which time Hyrcanus II was replaced by his own courtier as the first Roman Procurator of Judea. The treacherous courtier in question was known as Antipater the Idumaean (Edomite), the father of Herod the Great. Julius Caesar (More Here) In its earliest form, Christianity may very well have been adopted from the passion of Julius Caesar, whom founded the imperial cult of Roman emperor worship. Throughout his lifetime, Julius Caesar supported reforms such as land redistribution, wider access to citizenship and better pay for soldiers and the working class in general, which made him very popular with the majority of the Roman public, but likewise placed him at odds with the majority of the senate who were determined to maintain the status-quo. During Julius Caesar’s trip in Egypt in the latter half of the fourth decade of the first century BC, Caesar was enthralled by the adoration of the Egyptians towards Cleopatra, who was revered not only as their leader, but was also worshiped as an embodiment of the Egyptian deity Isis, similar to the deification of Alexander the Great by the Greeks. As the High Priest of the College of Pontiffs in Rome for a period of some twenty years, Caesar was already viewed as a Roman religious leader in his own right, but under such circumstances as he had witnessed in Egypt, it is by logical deduction that Caesar would decide to likewise deify himself to his subjects (the Roman masses), which he did. As the ''savior and liberator of the Empire'', a temple in his honor was constructed in Rome and Caesar's statuary was installed in the Roman Circus to set alongside those of the Roman gods. After his murder in 44 BC, his great-nephew and adopted son Octavian (later known as Emperor Augustus) and his chief priest Mark Anthony expanded upon the Imperial Cult. At their behest, Julius Caesar was posthumously deified by the Senate in 42 BC, affording his stepson Octavian the title of ''Son of God'' (Divi Filius) and Mark Antony the ''High Priest of the Divine Caesar'' (Flamine Divus). It was obviously to their benefit to expand upon the Imperial Cult, and as such Octavian and Mark Anthony went about constructing temples to Julius Caesar throughout the empire at great cost to the Roman taxpayers. The locations of these temples, curiously enough, were the same locations (Rome, Caesarea, Alexandria, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Phillipi, Thessalonica and Smyrna) that were later attributed to the earliest Christian churches - most likely within the same buildings. The author of the book Jesus was Caesar, Francesco Carotta claims that a key ceremony of the Imperial Cult of Caesar would have been the re-enactment of Caesar’s funeral and Mark Anthony’s passion eulogy of Caesar. As the Roman historians Suetonius and Appianus recorded, the cornerstone of Caesar's memorial service was the modification of a tropaeum - that is, a pole with horizontal arms used to display war trophies - which was used during Julius Caesar's memorial service to display an effigy of Caesar cloaked in his blood-stained robe, which would have thus given the appearance that Caesar was hung from a cross and pierced. The cloth draped upon the cross later became a major symbol within Christianity. There is also a phonetic connection between the two - Julius Caesar and Jesus Christ - that beyond the first two initials of each's name is not at first apparent. Julius overtly refers to his family -the gens Julia. The Ju prefix in Julius is synonymous with the Egyptian IU (''ever manifesting'') from which the term ''Jew'' is derived. Lius (may be a bastardized form of the Latin Luis, which means ''Renowned Warrior''), and could easily have been changed to Sius (Latin, ''embodiment of''), then morphed into the term Jesus in order to assimilate with Hebrew tradition. It was recorded that Caesar ''was especially admired by the Jews, who regarded him as an ally in their struggle for religious freedom and self-determination.'' This was not the case, however, with Caesar's chief priest Mark Anthony, who must've held contempt towards Judaism in favor of the Roman Imperial Cult which he was creating at the time following the death of Caesar. As for the term Caesar becoming assimilated with the term Christ... that is a bit more expansive due to the multitude of similarities regarding the two. Whether it be written as Caesar (as in Julius Caesar), Czar/Tsar (as in Ivan), Carl (Germanic/Scandinavian Kings), Char (Frankish kings, as in Charlemagne), Cur/Su Cur (Hunnic Chieftains), Sahkar (Sumerian as in Sargon I's epithet), IUSA KRST (Ptolemaic Egyptian epithet for Horus, meaning ''ever-manifesting (IU) Son (Sa) of Ptah (KRST)'') and so-forth, all indicative of ruler-ship. Likewise, keeping in mind that the -ist on Christ is a suffix, the root of the term Christ (Chr) likewise indicates ruler-ship. Christ breaks down to Chr and Ist - the anointer/anointed king, which is synonymous with Messiah in that the root of Christ (Chr) lends itself to the anointing oil (Charis) in Greek just as the term Messiah is derived from the Egyptian term Messeh, a reference to the anointing oil used to anoint pharaohs. It is from the Egyptian term Messeh that the Hebrew terms Moshe/Moses and Messiah are derived, and from the same tradition that the Greek term Charis is the basis of the term Christ - ''anointed king''. Thus, Julius Caesar is the embodiment of the ''Ever manifesting (JU) renowned warrior (Lius) and anointer king (Caesar)'' just as Jesus Christ is the ''Ever manifesting (Je) son (Sus) anointed king (Christ)''. In his book Et Tu Judas? Then Fall Jesus, Gary Courtney explains that the new Testament passion story is comprised of many irrational scenarios and contradictions that are easily explained by the realization that the Gospel story of the passion sequence of Jesus is based upon the dramatization of Julius Caesar's murder, funeral and deification. According to Courtney;
Time has proven that the five core bases of the ceremonies of the Imperial Cult evolved into the five core bases of the Christian passion, and all the witch trials and inquisitions that were utilized by the Christian church to occult such fact has proven itself to be in vain. It is without a doubt that as Roman influence spread throughout the Middle East, that the Romanized rulers in the Levant would have become privy to the inner workings of the Imperial Cult and all of its formalities and both overt (public) and covert (private) rituals. One of these private rituals was the ''Funeral of Julius Caesar'', which had at its core basis the Romanization of the Hellenistic mystery religion. the ancients were obsessed with being remembered, and although a man's influence may wane in the flesh aspect, his memory might live on in the spiritual aspect through the reenacting of ritual(s) created for the sake of his remembrance. Over time, the emphasis on the individual may give way to the repetition of the ritual, yet through the ritual the individual is yet immortalized. Keep in mind that this was all happening in the fourth decade of the first century BC - a time of great upheaval in the Levant which saw the end of direct Jewish (Hasmonean) rule over Judea and the installment of the Arab Herod the great by the Roman Senate. The Herodians knew that, not truly being Jewish, they would never be legitimate rulers of the Jews: they could never legitimately become the Jewish High Priests, for example, nor could they truly capture the hearts of the Jews. Herod the Great was so unpopular among the Jews, that his ally Mark Anthony was forced into coercing the Roman senate to appoint Herod as the ''King of the Jews''. Mark anthony himself held no interest in Judaic theology, which is attested to in the fact that at the time Herod was made ''king of the Jews'', Mark Anthony was creating the Imperial Cult which deified his beloved, recently murdered Caesar. The Herodians and the Jews held bitter contempt towards each other. The Jews detested being the subjects of Herod, and Herod held bitter contempt towards the Jews - especially towards the Jewish priesthood which viewed his being titled ''king of the Jews'' as an abomination. In such an environment, it is easy to realize that the Herodians would have turned to Rome for spiritual guidance at a time which coincided with the newly revised religion of Rome - the Imperial Cult. It can even be surmised that, as a pre-condition for Mark Anthony aligning himself with Herod, he would have insisted that Herod first align himself with the Imperial Cult and the Passion of Caesar. Reconquering The LevantIn 40 BC a Roman republican general named Quintus Labienus allied with the Parthians (Iraqis akin to the Maccabees) whom were reconquering Roman territories with the assistance of Mark Anthony, ultimately taking control of the Phoenician coast including Israel. The Jews, hopeful that the Maccabean Parthians would banish Herod the Great and his kin, joined the campaign, but to their dismay they were betrayed. In a cruel twist, Antigonus - the Parthian ruler - maligned the ears of Hyrcanus II in order to invalidate him from high priesthood, and held him as a prisoner for four years. For good measure, Antigonus also murdered the Herodian governor of Jerusalem named Phasael. Antigonus ruled as both king and high priest for only three years before the exiled Herod the Great, whom with the assistance of Mark Anthony, was made king of the Jews by the Roman Senate. The Parthians were defeated by Rome, and in 37 BC Herod the Great defeated Antigonus, marking the end of the Hasmonean Dynasty. It was at this point that the Romans no longer allowed the Hasmoneans to appoint their own High Priests: after the revolt of 37 BC, the Romans allowed Herod the Great and his successors to appoint the high priests from among their cronies. Mark Anthony himself was an autocrat - that is, he put forth the notion that Rome should be ruled by a dictatorial system of governance in which the ruler has supreme power. He played a critical role in transforming Rome from a constitutional republic into a fascist dictatorship. After Julius Caesar's murder, Anthony, alongside Octavian and the Caesar loyalist Lepidus, put down the murderers of Caesar and formed a three-man dictatorship over the empire. From the onset there was strife between Octavius and Anthony, leading to a civil war in 31 BC which culminated in Anthony's suicide alongside Cleopatra. In 27 BC Octavius became the Emperor Augustus. Meanwhile in Judea, Herod the Great was consolidating his power by murdering off anyone whom he viewed as a threat. The End of the Hasmonean DynastyOf the remaining Hasmoneans, Aristobulus III briefly became high priest until he was executed in 36 BC. Herod the Great was married to Aristobulus III's sister Mariamne until he (Herod) had her murdered out of fear of being assassinated by her. Herod and Mariamne had two sons, whom Herod likewise murdered out of fear of them conspiring against him. Of their two sons, one by the name of Aristobulus IV had a daughter named Herodias prior to his being assassinated by his father. In 36 BC Hyrcanus II - the last remaining male heir of Hasmonean descent - was invited to Jerusalem by Herod the Great. Herod was fearful that Hyrcanus II might entice the Parthians to help him regain the kingdom from Herod, and as such, felt it best to keep him close while waiting for a chance to have him executed, which ultimately took place in 30 BC. Aristobulus I's daughter Herodias had a daughter named Salome. Herodias was married to Herod Antipas, both later being banished to Gaul (Spain) after Herod was accused of conspiracy against the Roman emperor Caligula by Herod's own nephew Agrippa I who himself was of Hasmonean stock, but not on his paternal side. The Death and Aftermath of Herod the GreatWhen Herod the Great died in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided up to be ruled over by his sister Salome I and his three sons (Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip). Of these, Herod Antipas (not to be confused with his grandfather Antipas, better known as Antipater the Idumaean) ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD. Herod Archelaus was deposed in 6 AD and his territories were turned into a province of Rome. The same fate befell Salome I's territories when she passed away in 10 AD. The Herodian Philip's territory was incorporated into the province of Syria in 39 AD, and in 44 AD Judea was restored as a Roman province upon the death of Herod Agrippa I. When Herod Agrippa II died in 100 AD without an heir, all remaining Herodian territories were incorporated into the province of Syria, marking the end of the Herodian Dynasty. Samaritan Occupation of the KingdomThe two children of Herod the Great whom are named Herod - Archelaus and Antipas - were Samaritan by Herod the Great's fourth wife Malthace the Samaritan, and as such were not considered to be true birthright Jews, which alongside the fact that his father was Arab, is why Herod Antipas held bitter contempt for the priesthood. Herod Archelaus faced a revolt by the Pharisees during the beginning of his reign, which he brutally crushed, causing him to be banished to Vienna in 6 AD by emperor Augustus due to his savagery as well as his contempt for Mosaic law. Herod Archelaus' territories were turned into the Roman province of Judea. Philip died in 34 AD and his territories were ceded to the Roman province of Syria for a period of three years before being given to Herod Agrippa I. Agrippa I also took control over Galilee and Perea in 39 AD when Herod Antipas was banished. Agrippa I died in 44 AD. His son Agrippa II took his place and later ruled over the territories previously ruled by Philip. During his reign, Agrippa I participated in the siege and slaughter of the Jewish rebels, which culminated with the massacre at Masada and the Diaspora. Herodian kingship continued until 92 CE, when the last Herodian monarch, Agrippa II, died and Rome assumed full power over the region. Enter The FlaviansThe Flavian Dynasty was founded in 69 AD by the Roman general Vespasian, whose reign lasted ten years (69-79) before being passed upon to his son Titus. Titus ruled for just two years (79-81) before his unexpected death, at which time his brother Domitian assumed the title of emperor. Domitian reigned for fifteen years (81–96 AD) before being assassinated. Titus is remembered principally for his destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD. Domitian was responsible for erecting the Arch of Titus in Rome (82 AD) in commemoration of the capture of Jerusalem. Prior to Vespasian's ascension, in 66, the Jews in Judaea revolted against Roman rule. The pro-Roman king Agrippa II fled from Jerusalem to Galilee. The Roman emperor Nero appointed Vespasian to put down the Jewish rebellion, and with his son Titus and an army of 60,000 soldiers, the Romans quickly swept across Galilee, laying siege to Jerusalem in 68 AD. During the ensuing slaughter, the Second Temple was completely demolished, Jerusalem was pillaged and destroyed, with most of its population either killed or dispersed. During Vespasian's military campaign in Judea, Rome itself was going through an acute period of change. The Roman civil war of succession in 69, which saw four emperors seated within a one year period, had shown that the real power of the empire was to be found in whomever had control over the Roman army. By the end of 69 AD, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor in Rome. Due to his military campaign in Judea, however, Vespasian himself did not embark for Rome until the middle of 70 AD, at which time he began a widespread propaganda campaign in order to consolidate his power and to promote his new dynasty. The most significant military campaign during Vespasian's reign was the Jewish-Roman campaign, which ended in the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by his son Titus while Vespasian was in Rome consolidating his power. Titus became emperor following the death of Vespasian in 79 AD, and continued in his father's efforts to promote the Flavian dynasty. He revived practice of the imperial cult, deified his father, and laid foundations for what would later become the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, which was finished by his brother Domitian. After barely two years in office, Titus died unexpectedly. Domitian was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard the day after Titus' death, commencing a reign which lasted more than fifteen years. Domitian turned out to be a paranoid tyrant and was assassinated by court officials in 96 AD, which marked the end of the Flavian dynasty. Domitian's memory was condemned to oblivion by the Roman Senate and authors such as Tacitus, Pliny the Younger and Suetonius published histories after his death which emphacised Domitian's tyrannical cruelty and paranoia. From the time of the reign of Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD), the Roman rulers of the Julio-Claudian dynasty legitimized their socereignty via adopting lineal descent from Augustus and Julius Caesar. However, when Vespasian ascended to the position of Emperor, he couldn't do likewise. As such, Vespasian initiated a major propaganda campaign which claimed his rulership was by divine providence, in part by bringing peace to Rome after the war of succession in 69. A large part of Vespasian's propaganda campaign was carried out through literary works by affording himself the power of approving or disapproving all historical writings that were created during his reign, rewarding those who propagated his messaging and severely punishing those who dared criticize him, and in the case of Josephus even going so far as adopting him as his chief propagandist. Adding to the family's propaganda campaigns, after Vespasian's death, his sons Titus and Domitian re-instituted the deification and worship of the imperial family. Domitian's first act as Emperor, for example, was to deify his brother Titus. Domitian likewise erected a mausoleum at his father's former home and completed the shrine known as the Temple of Vespasian and Titus. Domitian also constructed the Templum Divorum and the Templum Fortuna Redux and completed the Arch of Titus as symbols of Flavian military supremacy and restorated the Temple of Jupiter. Due largely to his family's propaganda tactics, Titus's reign is recorded among ancient historians as one of the most outstanding of any emperor. Due to the Falvian policy of rewarding and persecuting historians based on their portrayals of the Flavian emperors, many of the historical records from the reign of the Flavians present a highly favorable view towards the emperors of the Flavian Dynasty. This, of course, contrasted sharply with their oppressive and brutal repression of many non-Romans as well as Romans. Flavius Josephus, Grand PropagandistFlavius Josephus was a Jewish traitor who was hired by the Roman Flavian family in order to manipulate the first century history of Judea into pro-Roman propaganda. Josephus himself even admitted to such, even calling the Flavian patriarch Vespasian his patron and savior. Josephus defected to the Flavian camp during the Jerusalem revolt, and later went about rewriting the events of first century Judea with a heavily pro-Flavian spin in exchange for decades of wealth and status. Josephus betrayed his family, his culture and his friends and their efforts to remove the Roman occupiers' yolk from around their necks. Therefore, it should be asked: why would anyone trust a traitor such as Josephus to tell the supposed history of those whom he betrayed? In fact, we only know the "history" of the "historian" Josephus through his own accounts. Nothing that Josephus stated in his AD writings can be trusted: in fact, his very existence as a historian is questionable. Therefore one must come to realize that most if not all of what was supposedly written by Josephus regarding first century Judea was nothing more than Flavian-centrist propaganda, and that in many if not most if not all cases, the truth was most likely the complete opposite of what the Flavians and their lackey claimed to have happened. List of Herodian rulers (47 BCE – 100 CE) (Courtesy Wikipedia)
Hasmonean and Herodian DynastiesHasmonean dynasty 168–37 BCE The Maccabees founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 168 BCE – 37 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion and expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel by conquest. In the post-Maccabean period the high priest was looked upon as the supreme authority.
Herodian dynasty (37 BCE – 70 CE) - Samaritan Pretenders
After Archelaus and during the intervening period, the Sanhedrin, founded by Ezra, became the sole rulers of the Jewish people in Judea in conjunction with the High Priest. The heads, or nesiim, of the Sanhedrin beginning in 20 BC, were Hillel the Elder, his son Shimon, and his son Gamaliel I whose rule extended into the reign of:
The Flavian Dynasty
SummaryIn the first century Levant, traditional Jews eagerly awaited a Messiah to deliver them from the yoke of foreign influence, occupation and corruption. This Messiah was not to simply be a king or emperor per-say, whom they viewed would only act on behalf of worldly ambitions, thereby compromising the true sovereignty of their convictions. Rather, the first century traditionalist Jews were awaiting a summation of all things on their behalf: a Messiah who would both deliver them from their persecutors as well as re-establish the true faith of their ancestors, devoid of any foreign corruption or compromise. This Messiah would therefore be not simply a mundane ruler, but an arcane High Priest as well. See also:
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