The Artabba fortress, a site until recently unknown, is located at the summit of a high hill in western Bethel hills; its monumental remains were exposed by chance during development works carried out by residents of the nearby village of Deir Abu Mash’al. The remains included fortifications, architectural elements, the openings of five huge cisterns, ritual bathes and storage pits as well as various rock cuttings and numerous potsherds from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. These finds, especially the fortifications and the impressive water-supply system, are the principal features of the sites in the Judaean desert and the settled areas of the country where there were fortresses from the Second Temple period. The Archaeological finds, in conjunction with the geographical and Historical data, make it possible to date the fortress from the time of Simon the Hasmonean to the end of Herod’s reign. The discovery of the Artabba fortress sheds light on the history of the settlement of northern Judea in the Second Temple period.

This book recounts the heroic story of the Maccabees and explains how they successfully took on the might of the Seleucid realm, illustrated by the coins issued by the main protagonists. What was an epic struggle of an oppressed people to win their national and religious freedom has provided much inspiration through the ages and continues to strike a strong resonance with our own times. However, that historical drama, as recorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees, with its unfamiliar roll-call of major players and place-names, has acquired a considerable mystique. The coins put faces to many of these seemingly obscure names and help to bring those stirring events back to life. In this new edition, archaeological findings that have elucidated the historical backdrop to the Wars of the Maccabees are also given due attention. An updated and considerably augmented bibliography is included. The origin of Torah Judaism is discussed and an appendix on 'Hellenization of the Hasmonaeans in the Later Second Century BCE' has also been added to this new addition.

The Papers in this volume, edited by David Jacobson and Nikos Kokkinos, are based on presentations at an international two-day conference held at Spink & Son in London on 13-14 September, 2010. The period covered spans the Roman conquest of Judaea by Pompey through to the last major Jewish uprising against Rome under Shimon Bar-Kokhba, encompassing the age of the Herods and the birth of Christianity. These contributions focus on the relations between Rome and Judaea as reflected in the numismatic record, during this momentous period of history. The past few decades have seen considerable advances in numismatic scholarship dealing with this period, partly stimulated by archaeological exploration and numerous coin finds, which have shed light on these historical events and associated political, social and economic issues. My article, entitled "The Significance of the Caduceus between Facing Cornucopias in Herodian and Roman Coinage" is reproduced in full below.

This volume presents the numismatic results from nineteen seasons of fieldwork by the Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritima (1971-1987 and 1993-1993). The expedition recovered just over 8,000 coins, of which about 2,700 were datable between 350 BC and AD 640. The volume provides a complete descriptive catalogue of the datable coins along with a separate section illustrated with color photographs of a spectacular hoard of 99 gold Byzantine solidi of Valens and Valentinian I discovered in 1993. The publication is volume 6 of the JECM (Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritima) series.

In the wake of the Gospels' accounts, modern scholars do not pay much attention to the role Romans played in Jesus of Nazareth's arrest, and are prone to give credit to manifestly biased sources. Besides, some misconceptions (e.g. that the military in pre-War Judaea was exclusively confined to its largest cities) prevent them from seriously weighing up the possibility that the role of the Romans in Jesus' fate was more decisive than usually recognized. In this article, we reconsider a number of issues in order to shed light on this murky topic. First, the nature and functions of the Roman military in Judaea are surveyed (for instance, Palestine before the Jewish War had a robust network of fortlets and fortresses, which Benjamin Isaac has argued largely served to facilitate communication into the hinterlands). Second, we track some traces of anti-Roman resistance in the prefects' period (6-41 CE), Third, the widely overlooked issue of the intelligence sources available to Roman governors is tackled. Fourth, the extent of the problems of the Passion accounts is seriously taken into account. The insights obtained are then applied to the Gospels' story, thereby rendering it likely that Pilate had some degree of "intelligence" regarding Jesus and his followers before their encounter in Jerusalem that led to the collective execution at Golgotha.

"This paper examines in some detail the circulation pattern of coins in the Galilee in the Early Roman Period that come from mints situated within or on the borders of the Galilee itself.1 As I will suggest, this pattern can mostly be explained through political, economic and ethnic considerations. Naturally, other coins circulated in Galilee as well in the Early Roman period, most notably coins of the Jewish rulers and the Roman governors from the mint of Jerusalem and the coins of the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon. Moreover, the patterns observed in this period are a development of patterns that crystallized in the Hasmonaean period (late 2nd –1st centuries BCE)."

This is my contribution to a conference honouring Professor Lucio Troiani in Pavia. It is about to appear in Livia Capponi, ed., Tra Politica e Religione: I Guidei nel Mondo Greco-Romano. Studi in onore di Lucio Troiani (Milan: Jouvence/Antiquitas), 225–46. The essay argues (developing J. Price 1994) that the homeland // diaspora dichotomy, which remains fundamental to much research on Roman Judaea and Judaeans, inhibits historical understanding of the lived situation in the poleis of southern Syria, especially the origins of the war with Rome. These categories were not available to first-century residents of Caesarea, Ascalon, Idumaea, Scythopolis, or Sepphoris. Although there may be heuristic value in using them for some trans-temporal questions, they become a distraction if our interest is understanding events and their motives in the first century CE.

Herod's appointment as Rome’s client ruler of Judaea in 40 BCE marked a step change in that territory's political, economic and cultural development, being brought from the periphery into the mainstream of the Graeco-Roman world. Josephus presents Herod (the Great) as a loyal client of Rome, ever eager to please Augustus and his deputy, Marcus Agrippa, while adopting the trappings of hellenistic monarchy. This study delves into Herod's role as a member of Rome's client network, as it existed in the last decades of the 1st century BCE, comparing and contrasting his activities in relation to two other prominent client kings, Archelaus Philopatris of Cappadocia and Juba II of Mauretania.

The purpose of this of essay will be to examine the nature of Roman military control in the province of Judea by looking at the disposition and actions or duties of the Roman forces in the province. The research will be focusing on three periods of Roman control in the province. The first period sees Judea as a client kingdom, the second period will cover the first period of Roman control, (this period runs from Augustus dismissing the ruling Herodian in AD6 to the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt AD66) and the third period will cover the Roman actions in the First Jewish Revolt AD66-73.

This paper describes the historical background on the intertestamental period between the Old Testament and the New Testament

This paper pays close attention to architectural decoration in King Herod’s construction projects and offers a renewed perspective on Herod’s use of monumental display to situate his own kingdom within the empire. His increased reliance on the Corinthian rather than the Doric order, for example, appears to reflect Augustus’s choice of the Corinthian order as representing the new Roman taste. His introduction into local architecture of particularly Roman architectural elements, such as the stucco ceilings of the “coffer-style” and the console cornice, moreover, transformed the adornment of buildings throughout Judaea. The recently discovered mausoleum in Herodium identified by its excavators as Herod’s tomb exemplifies how these new Roman trends were incorporated into the local Hellenistic architectural tradition. I suggest that Herod’s decorative program influenced the tastes of many of his subjects; the architectural decoration in cities such as Jerusalem demonstrates how the innovations introduced by Herod to the local architecture were embraced by the upper-class citizens of those cities. In peripheral cities and smaller sites such as En-Gedi and Gamla, however, the architectural decoration maintains the local Hellenistic tradition. In these sites, the Doric order continues to be popular, and entablature elements are rare.

A look at an academic rather than religious history of the Levant, derived from history, archaeology, and anthropology.

Various motifs displayed on the series of four coins minted in the name of King Herod and bearing the date-mark ‘year 3’ and a tau-rho monogram are re-examined for what they can tell us about their specific date of production. Their themes certainly belong to an iconographic programme reflecting Augustan ideology post-Actium, i.e. after 31 BCE. This strongly suggests that an earlier chronology, including one based on Herod’s regnal era beginning either in late 40 BCE or 38/37 BCE should be ruled out. Possible alternative dates for these coins are discussed.

The plate is a separate PDF, which I'll gladly send on request.

This article presents a survey of recent research in pre-coinage currency of Judaea, coins of the Persian period (Philistia, Edom, Samaria, and Judaea), the Hasmonean dynasty, the Herodian dynasty, the Jewish War against Rome and the Bar Kokhba revolt. Books, articles, presentations and dissertations have added significantly to the literature; it is the author’s goal to assist the non-specialist in keeping up with the latest information and opinions.

In the first part of this paper, I try to reconstruct elements of Hasmonaean theology, to understand how the Hasmonaeans supported their state-building project by scripture and theological argument. In the second part, I analyse relevant texts in 1 Maccabees, the best extant source text for pro-Hasmonaean state ideology. Then I read Qumran texts as resistance texts, dialectic responses to Hasmonaean ideology, state-building, and harsh and intractable autocracy. Some non-Qumranic sources that reflect anti-Hasmonaean voices are also introduced into the discussion, as well as Hasmonaean responses to critical voices. The investigation concentrates on the period from the Maccabean revolt to the takeover by Herod the Great, but I also look for a Nachleben of memories and discussions from the Hasmonaean period in later sources.

Contrary to what one might have expected, the Judaean monarch, Herod the Great (37-4 BCE), famous as a prolific builder, did not mint any silver coins, but instead limited his production to very modest low value bronze denominations. In the 1980s, the Israeli numismatics scholar, Y. Meshorer endeavoured to demonstrate that Herod appropriated the mint of the coastal city of Tyre and moved it to Jerusalem where shekels and half-shekels in fine silver of the Tyrian type were issued. Since then, Meshorer' s proposal has been discredited by contrary evidence. In this article, it is shown that, although the Tyrian mint stayed put throughout, from the late 2nd cent, BCE to the outbreak of the Jewish War in 66 CE, Judaean coinage was tied to the Tyrian shekel (reduced tetradrachm) and was produced in fractional denominations to this standard, which was established during Seleucid rule.

What are the names given to the Land of Israel over the millennia? Who or which entity used which name? At first called Canaan or part of Canaan, it is called Land of Israel in Jewish tradition, and was called Judea by Greeks and Romans, until Emperor Hadrian changed the name to Syria Palaestina, whence the now fashionable name Palestine. Christians typically called the Land Holy Land, according to their various languages. Arabs and the Muslim tradition saw it as an undefined part of Bilad ash-Sham. It was also seen as part of Syria, the Levant and other geographical notions.

Though New Testament scholars have written extensively on the Roman Empire, the topic of the military has been conspicuously neglected, leading many academics to defer to popular wisdom. Against this trend, The Roman Army and the New Testament provides a clear discussion of issues that are often taken for granted: Who served in the military of early Roman Palestine? Why did men join the Roman army, seemingly at odds with their own interests as subject peoples? What roles did soldiers serve beyond combat? How did civilians interact with and perceive soldiers? These questions are answered through careful analysis of ancient literature, inscriptions, papyri, and archaeological findings to paint a detailed portrait of soldier-civilian interactions in early Roman Palestine. Contrary to common assumption, Judaea and Galilee were not crawling with Roman legionaries with a penchant for cruelty. Rather, a diverse mix of men from Palestine and nearby regions served as soldiers in a variety of social roles: infrastructure construction, dispute mediation, bodyguarding officials like tax-collectors, etc. Readers will discover a variety of complex attitudes civilians held toward men of Roman violence throughout the Roman East. The importance of these historical issues for biblical scholarship is demonstrated through a verse-by-verse commentary on relevant passages that stretches across the entire New Testament, from the Slaughter of the Innocents in Matthew's nativity to the climactic battle with the Great Beast in Revelation. Biblical scholars, seminarians, and military enthusiasts will find much to learn about the Roman army in both the New Testament and early Roman Palestine.

There are several books on Herod the Great, many of which have a short section on his sons. Most of those have no more than ten to twenty pages on Herod Antipas and yet he was the tetrarch who ruled over the domains in which John the Baptist and our Lord were ministering. The subject of this book was suggested to me by my New Testament Research Supervisor Dr. E. Bammel. The work was originally presented to the University of Cambridge in 1968 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. I have attempted to read the literature relevant to the subject which appeared subsequently and have updated . the work until it went to the Press. Since the time of my original study several works (e.g. J aubert, Jeremias, Kittel, Lohse, Reicke) have been trarislated into English and I have for the benefit of the English readership changed the bibliographical data accordingly. Of course, the works in the original language were retained where there had been substantial revision subsequent to the English translation (e.g. Schurer, Blinzler). Since the debate on the synoptic problem has been renewed, I have attempted where relevant not to assume one position dogmatically.

Working from available archaeological data, historical records and from our own observations in the field, this study sets out to determine who lived in the ancient cave-village carved into the cliffs of Mt. Arbel, in Lower Galilee. Four existing theories are examined and excluded either because they are untenable, or because they provide only partial explanations for the findings at the Arbel Cave village. After uncovering evidence for an Essene presence in the town of Arbel from around 100 BCE, we consider evidence for the Essene occupation of the nearby Arbel Cave village. While further archaeological investigation is desirable, existing evidence is sufficient to affirm that the Arbel Cave village was an Essene commune inhabited by a sizeable, all-male, community of Essenes, throughout the first century BCE, the first century CE and even up to the start of the 3 rd century CE. This theory explains its origin in about 100 BCE, its continuous occupation thereafter, and its many unusual features, which include the communal organization of a dense collection of about 120 hewn cave-dwellings, the numerous cisterns and mikva'ot, the conversion of the adjacent 'great cave' into a fortified, communal dining room/storeroom/kitchen complex, and the location of the village in a harsh, ascetic environment, not unlike that of Qumran.

While Pontius Pilate is often seen as agnostic, in modern terms, the material evidence of his coinage and the Pilate inscription from Caesarea indicate a prefect determined to promote a form of Roman religion in Judaea. Unlike his predecessors, in the coinage Pilate used peculiarly Roman iconographic elements appropriate to the imperial cult. In the inscription Pilate was evidently responsible for dedicating a Tiberieum to the Dis Augustis. This material evidence may be placed alongside the report in Philo Legatio ad Gaium (299–305) where Pilate sets up shields – likewise associated with the Roman imperial cult –honouring Tiberius in Jerusalem.

The author focuses his research on four main subjects concerning the Bar-Kokhba revolt: (1) Hadrian's promise to rebuild the Temple, (2) the ban on circumcision, (3) the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina and (4) Bar Kokhba's leadership. Rezumat: Autorul îşi concentrează analiza asupra a 4 puncte importante privind revolta lui Bar-Kokhba: (1) promisiunea lui Hadrian de a reconstrui templul din Ierusalim, (2) interzicerea circumciziei, (3) întemeierea Aeliei Capitolina, (4)conducerea lui Bar Kokhba. One subject that has been extensively discussed in the research on the Bar-Kokhba revolt is the question regarding the immediate factors that caused its outbreak. During the last two decades, this issue has been examined from several points of view. 2 In my book, The Bar-Kochba Revolt: Its Extent and Effect, I discussed this at length. My main argument was that a revolt does not usually break out because of immediate causes. The decision to go to war against a superior military force,...

The author focuses his research on four main subjects concerning the Bar-Kokhba revolt: (1) Hadrian’s promise to rebuild the Temple, (2) the ban on circumcision, (3) the Foundation of Aelia Capitolina and (4) Bar Kokhba’s leadership.

In this paper, I present the material culture relevant to understanding Jewish life in Palestine in the century or so before the Revolt. I organize the evidence according to the locales and activities from which they result, paying particular attention to the evidence for date and distribution since these are the criteria that allow us to track when and where these activities and the attitudes they represent appear. Some aspects of life and culture are better represented by archaeological remains than others but of course that is a drawback of all ancient evidence, including that from texts. In brief, the archaeological evidence shows that Jews throughout Judea, Galilee, and Gaulanitis were closely linked by religious practices and so, likely, beliefs, but quite divided by cultural attitudes. Beginning in the early first century B.C.E., workshops for kitchen pottery, standardized oil jars, and household or neighborhood mikva’ot reveal that Jewish women and men adopted overtly religious activities and attitudes into their households and daily lives. In the later first century B.C.E. and early first century C.E., they began using stone vessels and a specific new form of oil lamp to further distinguish and identify themselves. Other remains, however, tell a different story. In Jerusalem, the wealthy embraced the use of decorated table vessels, Italian-style cooking pans, foreign modes of dining, and the construction of elaborately decorated display tombs – all of which reflect foreign, classicizing activities and attitudes. These sorts of remains are rare or absent in rural Judea, Jewish Galilee, and Gaulanitis. The archaeological evidence thus provides an eyewitness view of a population strongly unified in religious practices but sharply divided by cultural ethic. Such a view is certainly helpful for understanding the environment in which the Revolt began. Even better, it may assist in explaining why it failed.

Based on numbers alone, Greek had as much currency in rst- as it did in second- and third-century Galilee. But measuring the use of Greek by calculating the number of inscriptions in each century is flawed methodology. This is because the inscriptional evidence is patchy and unrepresentative (as the very few inscriptions in Aramaic/Hebrew demonstrate). Scholars must first understand the various kinds of ancient bilingualism, then look for indications of these, including (written) Greek literacy. Literary and other evidence, especially factors that might encourage bilingualism, such as the influence of the administrative cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias and the surrounding Hellenistic cities, the state of the Galilean economy, and rural-urban dynamics, can then help to fill in the gaps. On the basis of all of the extant evidence, knowledge of Greek was probably quite common, with most people picking it up by force of circumstance rather than through formal instruction.