A History of the Jewish War: AD 66–74 (Key Conflicts of Classical Antiquity)
Cambridge University Press, 2/24/2016
EAN 9780521853293, ISBN10: 052185329X
Hardcover, 735 pages, 26.2 x 18.8 x 5 cm
Language: English
A conflict that erupted between Roman legions and some Judaeans in late AD 66 had an incalculable impact on Rome's physical appearance and imperial governance; on ancient Jews bereft of their mother-city and temple; and on early Christian fortunes. Historical scholarship and cinema alike tend to see the conflict as the culmination of long Jewish resistance to Roman oppression. In this volume, Steven Mason re-examines the war in all relevant contexts (such as the Parthian dimension, and Judaea's place in Roman Syria) and phases, from the Hasmoneans to the fall of Masada. Mason approaches each topic as a historical investigation, clarifying problems that need to be solved, understanding the available evidence, and considering scenarios that might explain the evidence. The simplest reconstructions make the conflict more humanly intelligible while casting doubt on received knowledge.
Part I. Contexts
1. A famous and unknown war
2. Historical evidence
understanding Josephus' Judean War
3. Parthian saviours, sieges, and morale
ancient warfare in human perspective
Part II. Investigations
4. Why did they do it? Circumstances, conditions, and 'causes'
5. Nero's war I
the 'blunder' of Cestius Gallus?
6. Nero's war II
Flavians in Galilee
7. Flavian war I
the education of Titus
8. Flavian war II
coins, councils, and the siege of Jerusalem
9. Machaerus and Masada
a tale of two fortresses.