Nerva, the Fiscus Judaicus and Jewish Identity

1989 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 40-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Identity ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The People ◽  
Significant Step ◽  
The Way

In A.D. 96 Nerva courted popularity in Rome for his new regime by changing the way in which the special tax on Jews payable to the fiscus Judaicus was exacted. The reform was widely advertised by the issue of coins, under the auspices of the senate, with the proclamation ‘fisci Judaici calumnia sublata’. Precisely how Nerva removed the calumnia no source states, but it can be surmised. The tax did not cease to be collected, for its imposition was still in operation in the time of Origen and possibly down to the fourth century A.D. It is a reasonable hypothesis that Nerva's intention was to demonstrate publicly his opposition to the way in which his hated predecessor, Domitian, had levied the tax, and to procure release for those described by Suetonius (Dom. 12. 2) as particular victims of Domitian's tendency to exact the tax ‘acerbissime’. According to Suetonius, these unfortunates were those who either ‘inprofessi’ lived a ‘iudaicam vitam’ or ‘origine dissimulata’ refused to pay the tax: the people thus trapped by Domitian and, if the hypothesis is correct, exempted by Nerva were those who failed to admit openly to their Jewish practices and/or those who hid their origins (presumably as Jews). I shall argue in this paper that by removing such people from the list of those liable to the Jewish tax, Nerva may unwittingly have taken a significant step towards the treatment of Jews in late antiquity more as a religion than as a nation.

Trajan's Parthian War and the Fourth-Century Perspective

1990 ◽  
Vol 80 ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Lightfoot
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scholarly Discussion ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Contemporary Account ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Way

No contemporary account of Trajan's Parthian War survives, nor were any monuments set up to commemorate his exploits in the East in the same way that Trajan's Column in Rome and the trophy at Tropaeum Traiani (Adamclisi) do his Dacian Wars. We rely almost entirely on the excerpts of Dio Cassius' History preserved by Xiphilinus, together with a few fragments of Arrian's Parthica, in order to reconstruct the causes, objectives and strategy of the war. Because of the scant nature of the sources, all three aspects remain the subject of much scholarly discussion and dispute. Here, however, an attempt is made to address the problems raised by Trajan's eastern campaigns from a different perspective. References in fourth-century sources shed light not only on the purpose and execution of the war itself, but also on the way Trajan was perceived in late antiquity as a valuable paradigm for contemporary events and figures.

scholarly journals La danzatrice di Aquileia e gli spettacoli scenici in età tardoantica

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Ghedini
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Young Woman ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Original Work ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
The People ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Rich

The purpose of this paper is to reconsider a little sculpture which represents a young woman who dances, found in Aquileia at the end of nineteenth century. The original work, which can de dated – as Sperti suggests – in the fourth century, confirms the diffusion of these little works in marble or stone in the late antiquity. The subject is also interesting because it is related to the spectacles which were the most important occasion of amusing for the people. The artists performed not only in the theatres and in the circuses but also in the private houses or villas, during the convivial occasions. The little sculpture, which perhaps decorated one of the rich residences in Aquileia, testifies the importance of performances of mimes, pantomimes, dancers in the late antiquity society and the honors that were paid to them.

LEADERS AND TIMES OF CRISIS: JEREMIAH 5:1–6 A CASE IN POINT

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 657-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilhelm J. Wessels
Keyword(s):  
Ordinary People ◽  
Covenant Theology ◽  
The People ◽  
History Of ◽  
Book Of Jeremiah ◽  
Definitive Role ◽  
Ethical Obligations ◽  
Moral Demands ◽  
The Way ◽  
Crisis Situations

The book of Jeremiah reflects a particular period in the history of Judah, certain theological perspectives and a particular portrayal of the prophet Jeremiah. Covenant theology played a major role in Jeremiah’s view of life and determined his expectations of leaders and ordinary people. He placed high value on justice and trustworthiness, and people who did not adhere to this would in his view bear the consequences of disobedience to Yahweh’s moral demands and unfaithfulness. The prophet expected those in positions of leadership to adhere to certain ethical obligations as is clear from most of the nouns which appear in Jeremiah 5:1–6. This article argues that crisis situations in history affect leaders’ communication, attitudes and responses. Leaders’ worldviews and ideologies play a definitive role in their responses to crises. Jeremiah’s religious views are reflected in his criticism and demands of people in his society. This is also true as seen from the way the people and leaders in Judah responded to the prophet’s proclamation. Jeremiah 5:1–6 emphasises that knowledge and accountability are expected of leaders at all times, but in particular during unstable political times.

Rediseñando las Organizaciones del Futuro. El impacto de la transformación digital en el mundo del trabajo

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-226
Author(s):  
Ricardo M. Piñeyro Prins ◽  
Guadalupe E. Estrada Narvaez
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Third Sector ◽  
Digital Transformation ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
The People ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
The Way

We are witnessing how new technologies are radically changing the design of organizations, the way in which they produce and manage both their objectives and their strategies, and -above all- how digital transformation impacts the people who are part of it. Even today in our country, many organizations think that digitalizing is having a presence on social networks, a web page or venturing into cases of success in corporate social intranet. Others begin to invest a large part of their budget in training their teams and adapting them to the digital age. But given this current scenario, do we know exactly what the digital transformation of organizations means? It is necessary? Implying? Is there a roadmap to follow that leads to the success of this process? How are organizations that have been born 100% digital from their business conception to the way of producing services through the use of platforms? What role does the organizational culture play in this scenario? The challenge of the digital transformation of businesses and organizations, which is part of the paradigm of the industrial revolution 4.0, is happening here and now in all types of organizations, whether are they private, public or third sector. The challenge to take into account in this process is to identify the digital competences that each worker must face in order to accompany these changes and not be left out of it. In this sense, the present work seeks to analyze the main characteristics of the current technological advances that make up the digital transformation of organizations and how they must be accompanied by a digital culture and skills that allow their successful development. In order to approach this project, we will carry out an exploratory research, collecting data from the sector of new actors in the world of work such as employment platforms in its various areas (gastronomy, delivery, transportation, recreation, domestic service, etc) and an analysis of the main technological changes that impact on the digital transformation of organizations in Argentina.

Living with water: at the cross-roads of change

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 393-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joost de Jong ◽  
Peter T. J. C. van Rooy ◽  
S. Harry Hosper
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Environment ◽  
Integrated Water Management ◽  
Practical Action ◽  
The People ◽  
Global Perception ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Water Quality Deterioration ◽  
The Way

Until the last two decades, the global perception of how to control our various water bodies was remarkably similar – water management was organised on a sectoral basis, as it always had been. It was only in the 1970s that the people actually responsible for implementing water management began to become aware of the serious implications of such an approach: water quality deterioration, desiccation and an alarming loss of the flora and fauna that characterised their local water environment. It was a growing awareness that led to the formation of the concept of integrated water management, a concept almost universally accepted today as the way forward. However, despite the fact that few dispute the validity of the concept, a number of obstacles remain before this theoretical agreement can be transformed into practical action. Three main bottlenecks stand in the way of implementation: institutional, communicational and socio-political. Whilst solutions to these are available, the key question still to be answered is whether society is really prepared to accept the consequent changes in the way we live that will result from putting the theory of integrated water management into practice. It was this issue that dominated the “Living with water” conference held in Amsterdam in September 1994. The following is a summary of the discussions held there and the various papers that were submitted.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Bakhos ◽  
Michael Cook
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Interested Reader ◽  
The Way

The Introduction describes the way in which the volume originated and briefly surveys the chapters contained in it. Four chapters (by Joseph Witztum, Patricia Crone, Gerald Hawting, and Michael Cook) originate from papers delivered at the conference ‘Islam and its Past: Jahiliyya and Late Antiquity in the Qurʾan and Tradition’. The other four chapters (by Devin Stewart, Nicolai Sinai, Angelika Neuwirth, and Iwona Gajda) were not presented at this conference. All the chapters are concerned directly or indirectly with Islamic revelation, and for the most part with the Qurʾan. We live in a time when the study of the Qurʾan has been making a remarkable comeback after spending a generation on the backburner. This volume will give the interested reader a broad survey of what has been happening in the field and concrete illustrations of some of the more innovative lines of research that have recently been pursued.

A New Hope

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoran Oklopcic
Keyword(s):  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
The People ◽  
Collective Self ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Way

As the final chapter of the book, Chapter 10 confronts the limits of an imagination that is constitutional and constituent, as well as (e)utopian—oriented towards concrete visions of a better life. In doing so, the chapter confronts the role of Square, Triangle, and Circle—which subtly affect the way we think about legal hierarchy, popular sovereignty, and collective self-government. Building on that discussion, the chapter confronts the relationship between circularity, transparency, and iconography of ‘paradoxical’ origins of democratic constitutions. These representations are part of a broader morphology of imaginative obstacles that stand in the way of a more expansive constituent imagination. The second part of the chapter focuses on the most important five—Anathema, Nebula, Utopia, Aporia, and Tabula—and closes with the discussion of Ernst Bloch’s ‘wishful images’ and the ways in which manifold ‘diagrams of hope and purpose’ beyond the people may help make them attractive again.

The Beginnings of the Cult of Relics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wiśniewski
Keyword(s):  
Essential Element ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Hidden Knowledge ◽  
Physical Diseases ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Way

Christians always admired and venerated martyrs who died for their faith, but for a long time thought that the bodies of martyrs should remain undisturbed in their graves. Initially, the Christian attitude toward the bones of the dead, whether a saint’s or not, was that of respectful distance. This book tells how, in the mid-fourth century, this attitude started to change, swiftly and dramatically. The first chapters show the rise of new beliefs. They study how, when, and why Christians began to believe in the power of relics, first, over demons, then over physical diseases and enemies; how they sought to reveal hidden knowledge at the tombs of saints and why they buried the dead close to them. An essential element of this new belief was a strong conviction that the power of relics was transferred in a physical way and so subsequent chapters study relics as material objects. The book seeks to show what the contact with relics looked like and how close it was. Did people touch, kiss, or look at the very bones, or just at reliquaries which contained them? When did the custom of dividing relics appear? Finally, the book deals with discussions and polemics concerning relics and tries to find out how strong was the opposition which this new phenomenon had to face, both within and outside Christianity on the way to relics becoming an essential element of medieval religiosity.

The Fate of Small Towns, Hilltop Settlements, and Elite Residences in Merovingian-Period Gaul

2020 ◽  
pp. 610-640
Author(s):  
Luc Bourgeois
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Power Networks ◽  
Early Middle Ages ◽  
The Many

The study of places of power in the Merovingian realm has long been focused on cities, monasteries, and royal palaces. Recent archaeological research has led to the emergence of other categories. Four of them are addressed in this chapter. These include the capitals of fallen cities, which continue to mark the landscape in one way or another. Similarly, the fate of small Roman towns during the early Middle Ages shows that most of them continued to host a variety of secular and ecclesiastical powers. In addition, from the fourth century onward, large hilltop fortified settlements multiplied anew. They complemented earlier networks of authority, whether elite residences, artisan communities, or real towns. Finally, from the seventh century onward, the great aristocratic villas of late antiquity were transformed into settlements organized around one or more courtyards and supplemented by funerary and religious structures. The evolution of political spaces and lifestyles explains both the ruptures in power networks that occurred during the Merovingian epoch and the many continuities that can be seen in the four kinds of places studied in this chapter that were marked by these developments.

Amphilochius of Iconium and Lycaonian Asceticism

2011 ◽  
Vol 101 ◽  
pp. 185-205
Author(s):  
Peter Thonemann
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Fourth Century ◽  
Orthodox Christian ◽  
Ascetic Communities ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
First Time

AbstractNon-orthodox Christian asceticism in Late Antiquity is known to us largely through the distorting lens of orthodox heresiology. This paper aims to reassess the character of the ascetic communities of rural Lycaonia in the fourth century a.d. in the light of the surviving funerary and ecclesiastical epigraphy, including three inscriptions published here for the first time. We are fortunate to be able to read these texts in the light of a neglected work of orthodox polemic, Amphilochius’ Against False Asceticism, the work of an embattled orthodox bishop at Iconium in the late 370s a.d. This treatise formed part of a successful campaign to stigmatize the Lycaonian ascetics as heretics, a position which was enshrined in Theodosius’ anti-heretical legislation of a.d. 381–3.

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