The official web site of A.H. Lloyd

I remember the thrill of excitement when I realized that it was possible to read the ancient source for history directly. I was in high school, and had been binging on military history since I could read, and I always assumed that ancient sources about the Roman Empire were really obscure, so much so that only scholars could make sense of them.

Turns out, they’re in paperback at my local book store! With that, I began a crash dive into ancient history, an endeavor encouraged by the anniversary re-broadcast of I, Claudius on Masterpiece Theatre.

Adding additional fuel to my mania was my purchase of Imperivm Romanvm II, a sprawling epic of a wargame put out by West End Games. I should probably do a full review, but basically the game featured scenarios from the late Republic to the reign of Justinian, and it was the perfect companion to the works of Tacitus, Suetonius, Livy, Ammianus Marcellinus and of course Procopius.

All of which is to say that picking up Josephus’ The Jewish War finds me right at home. It’s a period I know well, and provides some interesting insights into the Levant. Indeed, many of the current problems are the same as the ancient ones.

I’ve finally finished the back story and have reached the outbreak of the rebellion, the biggest takeaway is simply this: people love to fight. It’s part of human nature. The Jews, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Arabs and the various subsets (Idumeans, Samaritans) are always either fighting one another or fighting among themselves. Second Temple Judaism seemed to regularly associate high holy days with rebellions and massacres. In the runup to the events of A.D. 66, it was almost even money that the Passover Feast would be canceled to due riots – either directed at foreigners or between the various Jewish factions.

It’s kind of surreal to go from the Gospels where Jesus is rebuked by the Pharisees for healing people on the Sabbath while within ten years, the Sabbath is being profaned by the massacre of prisoners who accepted honorable terms only to be betrayed as soon as they laid down their arms. Josephus offers a lot of commentary to the effect of: “Yeah, that temple pretty much deserved to get wrecked.”

I am also reminded of Monty Python’s take on the period in The Life of Brian. Folks often recall the Jewish rebels bemoaning Roman occupation but then noting that they brought sanitation, clean water, roads and other neat stuff. Indeed, the Romans were only involved because the one of the Jewish factions asked them to come in and calm things down, which they did, albeit with some strings attached.

Obviously, Josephus defected to the Romans after his capture and got in with the victorious Flavian Dynasty. This makes him more than a little biased, but it also gives him an understanding of how the Romans were at a loss to figure out why everyone in the area was always so worked up. Other provinces had once seen fierce fighting and lengthy wars but were now quiet and obedient, so why was Judea so full of violence? What was it all about?

I think I shall read Antiquities next, building on the local knowledge I’ve picked up.