A Rural Jewish Community in Late Roman Mesopotamia, and the Question of a “Split” Jewish Diaspora

2011 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fergus Millar
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Jewish Diaspora ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Late Roman

AbstractThis paper emphasises the significance of Syriac evidence for the history of the Jewish Diaspora, and then focuses on an episode in the Syriac Lives of the Eastern Saints by John of Ephesus, which records the demolition by the local Christians of the synagogue of a Jewish community established in a village in the territory of Amida. The significance of this story is explored in two inter-related ways. Firstly, there is the relevance of Syriac-speaking Christianity which, like Judaism, was practised on both sides of the Roman-Sasanid border. Secondly, the article suggests that the presence of Jewish communities in those areas of the Roman empire where Syriac or other dialects of Aramaic were spoken complicates the recently-proposed conception of a “split” Jewish Diaspora, of which a large part was unable to receive rabbinic writings because it knew only Greek. But for Jews living in areas where Aramaic or Syriac was spoken, there should have been no major linguistic barrier to the reception of the rabbinic learning of either Palestine or Babylonia.

Caligula, the Church of Antioch and the Gentile Mission

2000 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Nicholas H Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Church

AbstractThis study examines such data as are available regarding the impact of the crisis which confronted Jewish communities in many parts of the Roman Empire during the reign ofGaius Caligula (3 7-41 CE). Particular attention is given to Antioch on the Orontes, and to the Christian community which emerged there and was to become a major force both in the spread of Christianity and in the conversion of Gentiles to a hitherto Jewish movement. It is argued that the crisis was a major catalyst in changing the character of the Christian church in Antioch, so that it acquired an identity distinct from that of the Jewish community. The reappraisal of eschatological expectations occasioned by the crisis led to the conviction that Gentiles must be included in the Church before the parousia of Christ.

History of a Failure

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaacob Dweck
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Community ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mediterranean

This epilogue argues that the failure of Ari Nohem was manifold. Modena failed to convince his immediate audience, and by extension the Jewish community of Venice, and by further extension Jewish communities throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, to abandon their embrace of a new Jewish theology that masqueraded under the guise of tradition. This was hardly surprising: no critic, no matter how stinging or how subtle, can convince people to change their beliefs or to abandon their practices. Modena had also failed to convince other scholars and other critics—the very people who might have been most receptive to his argument. To describe Ari Nohem as a failure is neither to indict the book nor to celebrate it. It is an attempt to understand it as a work written by an author constrained by the limits of his own particular moment in history.

She Came from Kasaba

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 582-585
Author(s):  
Leslie Hakim-Dowek
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
Modal Approach ◽  
History Of

As in Marianne Hirsch’s (2008) notion of ‘devoir de memoire’, this poem-piece, from a new series, uses the role of creation and imagination to strive to ‘re-activate and re-embody’ distant family/historical transcultural spaces and memories within the perspective of a dispersed history of a Middle-Eastern minority, the Sephardi/Jewish community. There is little awareness that Sephardi/Jewish communities were an integral part of the Middle East and North Africa for many centuries before they were driven out of their homes in the second half of the twentieth century. Using a multi-modal approach combining photography and poetry, this photo-poem series has for focus my female lineage. This piece evokes in particular the memory of my grandmother, encapsulating many points in history where persecution and displacement occurred across many social, political and linguistic borders.

Religious Dissent in Late Antiquity, 350-450

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maijastina Kahlos
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Late Antique ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Dissent ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Roman

Religious Dissent in Late Antiquity reconsiders the religious history of the late Roman Empire, focusing on the shifting position of dissenting religious groups. The groups under consideration are non-Christians (‘pagans’) and deviant Christians (‘heretics’). The period from the mid-fourth century until the mid-fifth century CE witnessed a significant transformation of late Roman society and a gradual shift from the world of polytheistic religions into the Christian Empire. This book demonstrates that the narrative is much more nuanced than the simple Christian triumph over the classical world. It looks at everyday life, economic aspects, day-to-day practices, and conflicts of interest in the relations of religious groups. The book addresses two aspects: rhetoric and realities, and consequently delves into the interplay between the manifest ideologies and daily life found in late antique sources. We perceive constant flux between moderation and coercion that marked the relations of religious groups, both majorities and minorities, as well as the imperial government and religious communities. Religious Dissent in Late Antiquity is a detailed analysis of selected themes and a close reading of selected texts, tracing key elements and developments in the treatment of dissident religious groups. The book focuses on specific themes, such as the limits of imperial legislation and ecclesiastical control, the end of sacrifices, and the label of magic. It also examines the ways in which dissident religious groups were construed as religious outsiders in late Roman society.

Claudius's ‘Durbar’ in Britain, A.d. 43 —Roman Chelmsford?

1974 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. F. Hind
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Personal Involvement ◽  
History Of ◽  
To Receive

Claudius's stay of sixteen days in Britain preceded one of the most famous triumphal celebrations in the history of the early Roman Empire. The emperor's own personal involvement in the conquest of Britain in A.d. 43 was negligible, but that he took the trouble to visit the new province and to receive the submission of eleven kings of Britannia is much to his credit. Claudius is known to have brought with him a great retinue of Roman senators, the Praetorian Guard, and perhaps also a detachment of Legio VIII, to overawe the defeated Britons. Four legions had been enough to crush them, yet here was the emperor with further reinforcements, including his crack Praetorians.

TWO ALLUSIONS TO TERENCE,EUNUCHUS579 IN JEROME

2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 407-412
Author(s):  
Andrew Cain
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Roman

During the Late Roman Empire Terence was the most revered and the most quoted classical Latin poet after Virgil. Among authors both pagan and Christian, none (to judge, of course, by the surviving written record) made as frequent or as creative literary use of his comedies as Jerome, one of the most accomplished polymaths in all of Latin antiquity. In his estimation Terence ranked, alongside Homer, Menander and Virgil, as one of the greatest of all poets. Jerome had an encyclopedic knowledge of Terence's dramatic corpus and quoted or appropriated phraseology from all six of his comedies. A significant number of these reminiscences have already been identified, but others await discovery. The purpose of the present study is to make a further contribution to this particular branch of HieronymianQuellenforschungby adducing and analysing two hitherto unrecognized allusions in Jerome's correspondence to Terence'sEunuchus, apparently one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of the Roman stage.

scholarly journals Jewish community in Cieszowa in Upper Silesia (1737-1904) and the efforts of Fr. Karl Urban to save its material and spiritual heritage

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Górecki
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Community ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Popular Opinion ◽  
Upper Silesia ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Set Up

 When in 1908 in Cieszowa, one of the oldest Jewish communities in Upper Silesia, buildings of the dissolved Kehilla were put up for auction, Fr. Karl Urban (1864-1923), the priest of the parish of St. Joseph in Sadów, to which Cieszowa also belonged, purchased a synagogue with the surrounding outbuildings from his own resources, thus protecting them from inevitable liquidation. Cieszowa was one of four villages in Upper Silesia, in which Jews were ordered to reside during Prussian settlement bans, issued in the 1770s and 1780s. The article briefly describes the history of the Jewish community in Silesia, with the emphasis on the religious community set up by them in Cieszowa. In addition, the circumstances of the auctioning of local buildings in 1908 and their purchase by Fr. Karl Urban were described. The author focused on the activity of Fr. Urban, aimed at creating a religious and museum memorial site. Moreover, the author undermines the popular opinion involving the demolition of wooden monuments, allegedly after 1911, postponing the time of their destruction for the years after the death of Fr. Urban, i.e. after 1923.

Innerjüdische Streitigkeiten vor christlichen Gerichten

Aschkenas ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Avraham Siluk
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Holy Roman Empire ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Jewish Communities

Norms and regulations of medieval and early modern Jewish communities forbade Jews from bringing other Jews to trial in front of Christian courts. In spite of this prohibition there were several cases, in which Jews sued other Jews in courts of Christian authorities. One example is a dispute between the Jewish intercessor, Jakob Süßmann , and the Jewish community of Frankfurt , which was processed before the Frankfurt council. The said case, which started as a local affair took a surprising course and affected, in the end, whole Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire. Through this case, the essay shows that not only the infraction of, but also compliance with the norms could lead to unexpected complications. In addition, the essay argues that the examination of such court cases would reveal valuable information about Jewish efforts of political organization.

scholarly journals Alcohol and Substance Use in the Jewish Community: A Pilot Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Baruch ◽  
Abraham Benarroch ◽  
Gary E. Rockman
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Family History ◽  
Jewish Community ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Community Knowledge ◽  
Jewish Communities ◽  
History Of

Awareness of addictions in the Jewish community is becoming increasingly prevalent, and yet, a gap exists in the literature regarding addictions in this community. Knowledge about the prevalence of addictions within Jewish communities is limited; some believe that Jews cannot be affected by addictions. To address this gap, a pilot study was conducted to gather preliminary evidence relating to addictions and substance use in the Jewish community. Results indicate that a significant portion of the Jewish community knows someone affected by an addiction and that over 20% have a family history of addiction. Future research needs are discussed.

scholarly journals Polityka zachodnia cesarza Marcjana (450-457). Problem huński i jego wpływ na relacje między Cesarstwem Wschodnim a Zachodnim

Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 383-409
Author(s):  
Łukasz Pigoński
Keyword(s):  
Roman Empire ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Roman

The reign of Emperor Marcian came at the turning point in the history of the Late Roman Empire. The Empire struggled against the Hun and Vandal menace and an internal political crisis. The Western policy of Theodosius II, who attempt­ed to keep a close relationship between both parts of the Empire, turned out to be a failure, and led to numerous defeats against barbarians. After his death, the mili­tary faction, opposed to his policies, chose its own candidate, Marcian, a former officer in service of a powerful general Aspar. The Emperor conceived a new line of Western policy, especially opposing the demands of Attila, the king of Huns. Marcian was reluctant to get involved in the matters of the Western Roman Em­pire, however, in 452 he sent an auxiliary force to Valentinian III, as a part of an agreement with Aetius, who convinced the Emperor to abandon his claim to the Eastern throne. Marcian also saw the opportunity to weaken Attila, and attacked the dwellings of his warriors beyond the Danube. After the death of Aetius, the Emperor did not support the Western Roman Empire, even when Rome was threatened and eventually sacked by Vandals. The cautious and pragmatic policy of Marcian helped the Byzantium to regain its power, and it led to neutralization of the Hun menace. The Emperor however did not make an attempt to save the Western Roman Empire from its internal political struggle and the Vandal attacks.

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