Cassius Dio's figures for the demographic consequences of the Bar Kokhba War: Exaggeration or reliable account?

Scholars have long doubted the historical accuracy of Cassius Dio's account of the consequences of the Bar Kokhba War (Roman History 69.14). According to this text, considered the most reliable literary source for the Second Jewish Revolt, the war encompassed all of Judea: the Romans destroyed 985 villages and 50 fortresses, and killed 580,000 rebels. This article reassesses Cassius Dio's figures by drawing on new evidence from excavations and surveys in Judea, Transjordan, and the Galilee. Three research methods are combined: an ethno-archaeological comparison with the settlement picture in the Ottoman Period, comparison with similar settlement studies in the Galilee, and an evaluation of settled sites from the Middle Roman Period (70–136 CE). The study demonstrates the potential contribution of the archaeological record to this issue and supports the view of Cassius Dio's demographic data as a reliable account, which he based on contemporaneous documentation.

Panhellenic Program of Hadrian

The Panhellenic project of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) to unite the Greek Polis into a single organization is considered. It is noted that Hadrian's policy was based on the romanticized idea of reviving the classical Greek tradition. In particular, the ideal of the new Union was Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and other cities of mainland Greece, which preserved the foundations of their Polis organization and self-government until the second century. It is assumed that the Union was not all-Greek, since it did not affect the Hellenistic cities founded after the campaigns of Alexander the Great. In addition, the article examines the negative manifestations of Hadrian's Philhellenic policy, which are observed in a major Jewish revolt caused by the forced Hellenization of the Eastern provinces of the Empire. The works of foreign researchers are involved for the full analysis of the issue.

Edilizia residenziale nel paesaggio urbanistico di Tolemaide in Cirenaica

The article presents the private houses of Ptolemais’ inhabitants in the context of the history and urban development of a city with a thousand-year-long history. Four periods can be distinguished in the history of Ptolemais: the first since the creation of the city’s final spatial development plan in the 2nd century BC until the Jewish Revolt in 115–117 AD; the second in the 2nd–3rd centuries AD under the sign of development and growing aspirations of Ptolemais; the third in the 4th century AD until the first half of the 5th century AD, when the city served as the capital of the province of Libya Superior; and the fourth, from the end of the 5th century AD until the mid-7th century AD, in which Ptolemais, after a short period of crisis related to the nomad invasions, flourished again until the appearance of the Arabs, marking the end of the ancient city, although not the end of settlement in its area. Within this historical framework, changes in the city’s buildings and the transformation of private houses can be identified, and various cultural influences associated with the arrival of new residents at different times with their baggage of experience or with the more or less significant presence of representatives of the civil and military administration of the Roman Empire can be seen.