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111-614: What is known of Helena is based on the writings of Josephus , Movses Khorenatsi , Kirakos Gandzaketsi , and the Talmud . Josephus, although younger, was almost contemporary with Helena, living in Jerusalem at the time when she lived and was buried there, and he wrote substantial parts of his work from first-hand knowledge. The earliest parts of the Talmud, while based on older sources, were compiled and redacted from around 200 onward. Helena of Adiabene

222-418: A Jewish priest . His older full-blooded brother was also, like his father, called Matthias. Their mother was an aristocratic woman who was descended from the royal and formerly ruling Hasmonean dynasty . Josephus's paternal grandparents were a man also named Joseph(us) and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman—distant relatives of each other. Josephus's family was wealthy. He descended through his father from

333-420: A Large Stone Structure , which she dated to the tenth century BCE, would be evidence of buildings in Jerusalem of a size appropriate to the capital of a centralized kingdom at that time. Others, most notably Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University , argue that the structure could, for the most part, be from the much later Hasmonean period. However, new evidence continues to emerge from the dig. Mazar's date

444-551: A mikveh (ritual bath). [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Gottheil, Richard; Seligsohn, M. (1901–1906). "Helena". In Singer, Isidore ; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls. , which cites: Josephus Flavius Josephus ( / dʒ oʊ ˈ s iː f ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἰώσηπος , Iṓsēpos ; c.  AD 37  – c.  100 ) or Yosef ben Mattityahu ( Hebrew : יוֹסֵף בֵּן מַתִּתְיָהוּ )

555-543: A "wet sieving" process. In 2024, several researchers published a number of radiocarbon tests conducted in five different parts of the City of David which they argue provide evidence for the existence of an urban settlement in Jerusalem all through the 12th–10th centuries BCE. The period of the tenth and ninth centuries BCE has been the subject of an intense scholarly dispute, as well as of ongoing archaeological investigations. The 2005 discovery by archaeologist Eilat Mazar of

666-646: A Greek Jewish woman from Crete , who was a member of a distinguished family. They had two sons, Flavius Justus and Flavius Simonides Agrippa. Josephus's life story remains ambiguous. He was described by Harris in 1985 as a law-observant Jew who believed in the compatibility of Judaism and Graeco-Roman thought, commonly referred to as Hellenistic Judaism . Josippon , the Hebrew version of Josephus, contains changes. His critics were never satisfied as to why he failed to commit suicide in Galilee, and after his capture, accepted

777-471: A Roman onslaught. In Upper Galilee , he fortified the towns of Jamnith , Seph , Mero , and Achabare , among other places. Josephus, with the Galileans under his command, managed to bring both Sepphoris and Tiberias into subjection, but was eventually forced to relinquish his hold on Sepphoris by the arrival of Roman forces under Placidus the tribune and later by Vespasian himself. Josephus first engaged

888-537: A brief visit to Rome in the early 60s ( Life 13–17). In the wake of the suppression of the Jewish revolt, Josephus would have witnessed the marches of Titus 's triumphant legions leading their Jewish captives, and carrying treasures from the despoiled Temple in Jerusalem . It was against this background that Josephus wrote his War . He blames the Jewish War on what he calls "unrepresentative and over-zealous fanatics" among

999-594: A detailed examination of all the available manuscripts, mainly from France and Spain. Henry St. John Thackeray and successors such as Ralph Marcus used Niese's version for the Loeb Classical Library edition widely used today. On the Jewish side, Josephus was far more obscure, as he was perceived as a traitor. Rabbinical writings for a millennium after his death (e.g. the Mishnah ) almost never call out Josephus by name, although they sometimes tell parallel tales of

1110-470: A gap in the walls of David 's city is mentioned. After significantly modifying Jerusalem's topography for centuries, the moat disappeared again in the Late Hellenistic period , when it was backfilled as part of construction activities. In the uppermost (northern area): City of David archaeologist Eilat Mazar believes that a so-called Large Stone Structure she has discovered at the upper area of

1221-636: A kinswoman" of Izates. The palace of Queen Helena is believed to have been discovered by archaeologist Doron Ben-Ami during excavations in the former Givati parking lot area adjacent to the City of David in 2007. It was a monumental building located in the City of David just south of the Temple Mount and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The ruins contained datable coins, stone vessels and pottery as well as remnants of ancient frescoes. The basement level contained

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1332-663: A number of places where the bedrock had been cut in various ways. These included areas where the rock had been smoothed and others where it had been cut to form flow channels. There were also several groups of small basins, sometimes called cup marks , cut into the bedrock. These are assumed to have been used for some form of agricultural processing. Macalister and Duncan speculated that they were used in olive oil processing. Edwin C. M. van den Brink , who notes that similar carved basins have been found at Beit Shemesh and near Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut , speculates that they may have been created by repeated grinding and crushing activity, such as

1443-666: A person of great experience in everything belonging to his own nation, he attained to that remarkable familiarity with his country in every part, which his antiquarian researches so abundantly evince. But he was controlled by political motives: his great purpose was to bring his people, the despised Jewish race, into honour with the Greeks and Romans; and this purpose underlay every sentence, and filled his history with distortions and exaggerations. Josephus mentions that in his day there were 240 towns and villages scattered across Upper and Lower Galilee , some of which he names. Josephus's works are

1554-931: A significant, extra-Biblical account of the post-Exilic period of the Maccabees , the Hasmonean dynasty, and the rise of Herod the Great . He also describes the Sadducees , the Pharisees and Essenes , the Herodian Temple, Quirinius 's census and the Zealots , and such figures as Pontius Pilate , Herod the Great , Agrippa I and Agrippa II , John the Baptist , James the brother of Jesus , and Jesus . Josephus represents an important source for studies of immediate post-Temple Judaism and

1665-514: A systematic order, proceeding topically and logically" and included all relevant material for their subject. Antiquarians moved beyond political history to include institutions and religious and private life. Josephus does offer this wider perspective in Antiquities . The works of Josephus are major sources of our understanding of Jewish life and history during the first century. His first work in Rome

1776-455: A tiny backwater." Today, scholars are divided amongst those who support the historicity of the biblical narrative of a united monarchy ruled by David, those who completely deny its existence and those who support its existence but believe that the Hebrew Bible contains theological exaggerations. A view held by Finkelstein, Koch & Lipschits (2011) that the City of David is to be placed on

1887-403: A vertical shaft descending from a slanted tunnel to an apparent water source. He suggested that the shaft was used to supply water to the city, which he believed was the old biblical city of David. Today this shaft is called after its discoverer " Warren's shaft ", but his interpretation has been proven wrong, as the shaft is not man-made and had not yet been discovered by Jerusalem's inhabitants in

1998-464: Is damaged in some places. In the Life , Niese follows mainly manuscript P, but refers also to AMW and R. Henry St. John Thackeray for the Loeb Classical Library has a Greek text also mainly dependent on P. André Pelletier edited a new Greek text for his translation of Life . The ongoing Münsteraner Josephus-Ausgabe of Münster University will provide a new critical apparatus. Late Old Slavonic translations of

2109-703: Is managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and operated by the Ir David Foundation . It is located in Wadi Hilweh , an extension of the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan , East Jerusalem , intertwined with an Israeli settlement . The name " City of David " originates in the biblical narrative where Israelite king David conquers Jerusalem , then known as Jebus, from the Jebusites . David's conquest of

2220-543: Is meant. The Talmud speaks also of important presents which the queen gave to the Temple in Jerusalem . "Helena had a golden candlestick made over the door of the Temple," to which statement is added that when the sun rose its rays were reflected from the candlestick and everybody knew that it was the time for reading the Shema . She also made a golden plate on which was written the passage of

2331-602: Is on a rocky spur south of the Temple Mount and outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem , sometimes described as the southeastern ridge of ancient Jerusalem. The hill descends from the Dung Gate toward the Gihon Spring and the Pool of Siloam . Today, the archeological site is part of the Palestinian neighborhood and former village of Silwan , which was historically centered on

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2442-423: Is repentance: in later life he felt so bad about the traitorous War that he needed to demonstrate … his loyalty to Jewish history, law and culture." However, Josephus's "countless incidental remarks explaining basic Judean language, customs and laws … assume a Gentile audience. He does not expect his first hearers to know anything about the laws or Judean origins." The issue of who would read this multi-volume work

2553-454: Is said to have ruled in the city for 33 years. The area's majority Palestinian Arab residents refer to it as Wadi Hilweh , before it was renamed by Israeli authorities as the City of David after 1967, a name which was first applied to the site by French archaeologist Raymond Weill in 1913. Rannfrid Thelle wrote that the title "City of David" favors the Jewish national agenda and appeals to its Christian supporters. The archaeological site

2664-556: Is supported by 10th century imported luxury goods found within the Large Stone Structure, including two Phoenician-style ivory inlays once attached to iron objects. Comparable objects found in a Phoenician tomb at Achziv suggest that they may have decorated a sword handle. A quantity of luxury round, carinated bowls with red slip and hand burnishing support both the tenth century date and a sophisticated, urban lifestyle. A bone has been radiocarbon dated by Elisabetta Boaretto at

2775-524: Is that the ancient site of the City of David lay on an elongated spur facing north–south, extending outside the wall of the Old City, south of its southeastern corner, in the southern part of the eastern ridge next to the Gihon Spring . The City of David was the ancient epicenter of Jerusalem and whose boundaries stretched from the Temple Mount in the north, thence southward to the Pool of Siloam , including

2886-752: Is traditionally considered to be on the ridge squeezed in by the Central (Tyropoeon) Valley to the west and the Qidron Valley to the east, with the Hinnom Valley bordering it from the south, and distinct from the Ophel saddle area to its north and with the city walls ending before the King's Garden to the south. Here is an incomplete overview of archaeological sites inside the presumed city, and adjacent to it. An at least 70-metre long, 30-metre wide and 9-metre deep moat , separating

2997-529: Is unresolved. Other possible motives for writing Antiquities could be to dispel the misrepresentation of Jewish origins or as an apologetic to Greek cities of the Diaspora in order to protect Jews and to Roman authorities to garner their support for the Jews facing persecution. Josephus was a very popular writer with Christians in the 4th century and beyond as an independent source to the events before, during, and after

3108-650: The Haskalah ("Jewish Enlightenment") in the 19th century, when sufficiently "neutral" vernacular language translations were made. Kalman Schulman finally created a Hebrew translation of the Greek text of Josephus in 1863, although many rabbis continued to prefer the Yosippon version. By the 20th century, Jewish attitudes toward Josephus had softened, as he gave the Jews a respectable place in classical history. Various parts of his work were reinterpreted as more inspiring and favorable to

3219-411: The nomen Flavius from his patrons, as was the custom amongst freedmen . Vespasian arranged for Josephus to marry a captured Jewish woman, whom he later divorced. Around the year 71, Josephus married an Alexandrian Jewish woman as his third wife. They had three sons, of whom only Flavius Hyrcanus survived childhood. Josephus later divorced his third wife. Around 75, he married his fourth wife,

3330-624: The Early Roman period , and which, when the Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah , they continued to call the immediate area surrounding the Pool of Siloam by the name "City of David," although this name was eventually replaced by the name Accra ( חקרא ‎). According to Haaretz , "the prevailing theory in mainstream scholarship, that even if such rulers existed, they were monarchs of

3441-634: The Egyptians , who, in turn, taught the Greeks . Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which, like that of Rome, resisted monarchy . The great figures of the Tanakh are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders. He includes an autobiographical appendix defending his conduct at the end of the war when he cooperated with the Roman forces. Louis H. Feldman outlines the difference between calling this work Antiquities of

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3552-603: The Gihon Spring ; they continued to remain in use throughout subsequent periods. Two monumental Iron Age structures, known as the Large Stone Structure and the Stepped Stone Structure , were discovered at the site. Scholars debate if these may be identified with David or date to a later period. The site is also home to the Siloam Tunnel , which, according to a common hypothesis, was built by Hezekiah during

3663-518: The Hebrew Bible calls Jebus and later the City of David, began in the late 19th century with the excavations of Charles Warren and Hermann Guthe . The 1909–11 work of Louis-Hugues Vincent and Montagu Brownlow Parker identified the earliest known settlement traces in the Jerusalem region, suggesting the area was an ancient core of settlement in Jerusalem dating back to the Bronze Age . One of

3774-579: The Israel Antiquities Authority , and where they detailed Iron Age II findings in a rock-cut pool near the Gihon spring. In the "City of David Visitors' Center," before it was opened to the public, excavations were conducted in and around the general area of that site by a team of IAA archaeologists, again confirming the existence of a city dating back to the Iron Age II, and continuing unabated to

3885-645: The Roman army led by military commander Vespasian after the six-week siege of Yodfat . Josephus claimed the Jewish messianic prophecies that initiated the First Jewish–Roman War made reference to Vespasian becoming Roman emperor . In response, Vespasian decided to keep him as a slave and presumably interpreter . After Vespasian became emperor in AD ;69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed

3996-574: The Temple Mount . The site has a good defensive position, as it is almost surrounded by the Central or Tyropoeon Valley to its west, by the Hinnom Valley to the south, and the Kidron Valley on the east. The ridge is currently inside the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh, which is part of Silwan , an East Jerusalem suburb. It is thought to have been the site of a walled city from

4107-608: The Torah which the Kohenim read when a wife suspected of infidelity was brought before him. In the Jerusalem Talmud , tractate Yoma iii. 8, the candlestick and the plate are confused. The strictness with which she observed the Jewish law is instanced in the Talmud: Her son [Izates] having gone to war, Helena made a vow that if he should return safe, she would become a Nazirite for

4218-579: The Weizmann Institute , showing a probable date between 1050 and 780 BCE. A large section of a "delicate and elegant" black-on-red jug, also found in the structure, is of a kind dated to the second half of the tenth century BCE. In 2010 Mazar announced the discovery of what she believed to be a 10th-century BCE city wall . According to Mazar, "It's the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel," and "It means that at that time,

4329-482: The 10th century BCE. There have been numerous excavations since and several digs are currently underway. Complete chronological lists of the digs are available at the website of the Israel Antiquities Authority , dating to following periods: In 2010, an archaeological survey of the City of David was conducted by Rina Avner, Eliahu Shukron and Ronny Reich, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). In 2012–2013, two teams of archaeologists conducted surveys of

4440-453: The 10th century, in Jerusalem there was a regime capable of carrying out such construction." Aren Maeir, an archaeology professor at Bar Ilan University, said he has yet to see evidence that the fortifications are as old as Mazar claims. Doron Ben-Ami wrote in 2014 that, on the basis of his own excavations in the Givati parking lot area bordering on the "City of David" from the north-west, there

4551-604: The 17th century. The 1544 Greek edition formed the basis of the 1732 English translation by William Whiston , which achieved enormous popularity in the English-speaking world. It was often the book—after the Bible—that Christians most frequently owned. Whiston claimed that certain works by Josephus had a similar style to the Epistles of St. Paul . Later editions of the Greek text include that of Benedikt Niese , who made

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4662-565: The Bronze Age, which enjoyed the defensive advantages of its position. In the pre-Israelite period, the area is thought to have been separated from the site of the later Temple Mount by the Ophel , an uninhabited area which became the seat of government under Israelite rule. In 2014, excavations at the Givati parking lot argued there had been no 10th-century city wall, meaning: no fortified settlement in

4773-513: The City of David during the Iron IIA (c. 1000–925 BCE), the time span usually proposed by biblical scholars for the reigns of David, Solomon and Rehoboam . During the reign of Hezekiah (reign c. 716–697/687 BCE), the walls of Jerusalem were expanded westward, across the Central Valley from the City of David and the Temple Mount, enclosing a previously unwalled suburb in the area known today as

4884-549: The Emperor's family name of Flavius . Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship . He became an advisor and close associate of Vespasian's son Titus , serving as his translator during Titus's protracted siege of Jerusalem in AD 70, which resulted in the near-total razing of the city and the destruction of the Second Temple . Josephus recorded

4995-408: The Galileans and by the Romans; he was guilty of shocking duplicity at Jotapata, saving himself by sacrifice of his companions; he was too naive to see how he stood condemned out of his own mouth for his conduct, and yet no words were too harsh when he was blackening his opponents; and after landing, however involuntarily, in the Roman camp, he turned his captivity to his own advantage, and benefited for

5106-507: The Great Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70), including the siege of Masada . His most important works were The Jewish War ( c.  75 ) and Antiquities of the Jews ( c.  94). The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Greek and Roman audience. These works provide insight into first-century Judaism and

5217-509: The Greek also exist, but these contain a large number of Christian interpolations. Author Joseph Raymond calls Josephus "the Jewish Benedict Arnold " for betraying his own troops at Jotapata, while historian Mary Smallwood , in the introduction to the translation of The Jewish War by G. A. Williamson , writes: [Josephus] was conceited, not only about his own learning, but also about the opinions held of him as commander both by

5328-458: The Jews (cf. Life 430) – where the author for the most part re-visits the events of the War and his tenure in Galilee as governor and commander, apparently in response to allegations made against him by Justus of Tiberias (cf. Life 336). Josephus's Against Apion is a two-volume defence of Judaism as classical religion and philosophy , stressing its antiquity, as opposed to what Josephus claimed

5439-478: The Jews , completed during the last year of the reign of the Emperor Flavius Domitian , around 93 or 94 AD. In expounding Jewish history, law and custom, he is entering into many philosophical debates current in Rome at that time. Again he offers an apologia for the antiquity and universal significance of the Jewish people. Josephus claims to be writing this history because he "saw that others perverted

5550-517: The Jews instead of History of the Jews . Although Josephus says that he describes the events contained in Antiquities "in the order of time that belongs to them," Feldman argues that Josephus "aimed to organize [his] material systematically rather than chronologically" and had a scope that "ranged far beyond mere political history to political institutions, religious and private life." An autobiographical text written by Josephus in approximately 94–99 CE – possibly as an appendix to his Antiquities of

5661-529: The Jews than the Renaissance translations by Christians had been. Notably, the last stand at Masada (described in The Jewish War ), which past generations had deemed insane and fanatical, received a more positive reinterpretation as an inspiring call to action in this period. The standard editio maior of the various Greek manuscripts is that of Benedictus Niese , published 1885–95. The text of Antiquities

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5772-424: The Jews, who led the masses away from their traditional aristocratic leaders (like himself), with disastrous results. For example, Josephus writes that " Simon [bar Giora] was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves." Josephus also blames some of the Roman governors of Judea , representing them as corrupt and incompetent administrators. The next work by Josephus is his 21-volume Antiquities of

5883-599: The Kings ." A sarcophagus bearing two inscriptions was found there, the funerary epigram reading in Aramaic Ṣaddān Malkaṯā ( Palmyrene : 𐡲𐡣𐡭 𐡬𐡫𐡪𐡶𐡠), and Ṣaddā Malkaṯā ( צדה מלכתה ‎), interpreted by scholars to mean: "Our mistress, the Queen." The sarcophagus of Helena was discovered by Louis Felicien de Saulcy in the nineteenth century. However, he believed the bones inside, wrapped in shrouds with golden embroidery, were

5994-442: The Ophel are known. The City of David is one of the most excavated archaeological sites in the country and one of the first to be excavated. Many researchers of Near Eastern history often took part in digs within the City of David, among whom were: C. Warren , 1867–1870; H. Guthe , 1881; F.J. Bliss and A.C. Dickie, 1894–1897; R. Weill , 1913–1914 and 1923–1924; M. Parker and L. Vincent , 1909–1911, in which they documented

6105-403: The Roman army at a village called Garis , where he launched an attack against Sepphoris a second time, before being repulsed. At length, he resisted the Roman army in its siege of Yodfat (Jotapata) until it fell to the Roman army in the lunar month of Tammuz , in the thirteenth year of Nero 's reign. After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands;

6216-442: The Roman forces and became prisoners. In 69 AD, Josephus was released. According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, during which time his parents were held as hostages by Simon bar Giora . While being confined at Yodfat (Jotapata), Josephus claimed to have experienced a divine revelation that later led to his speech predicting Vespasian would become emperor. After

6327-485: The Southeastern Ridge from the Ophel and the top of the Temple Mount , was identified in 2023 in the Givati parking lot dig, with an additional segment to the east discovered by Kathleen Kenyon in the 1960s and now understood as part of the same defensive ditch. It is not possible to determine when it was hewn out of the bedrock, but it was in place by the Late Iron Age IIA , around 900 BCE. It reached from Jerusalem's central valley ( Josephus ' Tyropoeon Valley ) in

6438-402: The Temple Mount has largely been rejected by scholars of historical geography . The area is one of the most intensively excavated sites in the Holy Land. Archaeological practice at the site has been criticized for its practitioners not acknowledging political and corporate motivations, questionable field practice and overtly skewed interpretations. It is on a narrow ridge running south from

6549-431: The Western Hill of the Old City. Archaeological exploration of the area began in the nineteenth century, with excavations undertaken by Charles Warren in 1867. Warren was sent by the Palestine Exploration Fund . Warren conducted an excavation of the area south of the Temple Mount and recovered a massive fortification. The finding led him to conduct more excavations at the area south of the Temple Mount. There he revealed

6660-460: The actions of both parties with accuracy." Josephus confesses he will be unable to contain his sadness in transcribing these events; to illustrate this will have little effect on his historiography, Josephus suggests, "But if any one be inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only." His preface to Antiquities offers his opinion early on, saying, "Upon

6771-400: The ancient geography of the region: Outside of the Scriptures, Josephus holds the first and the only place among the native authors of Judaea; for Philo of Alexandria, the later Talmud, and other authorities, are of little service in understanding the geography of the country. Josephus is, however, to be used with great care. As a Jewish scholar, as an officer of Galilee, as a military man, and

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6882-412: The area marking the Kidron brook in the east and the adjacent dale in the west. Its area is about 50 dunams (ca. 12.3 acres). The beginning of its settlement dates back to the Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze Age , largely built-up around the natural spring, although not known then by the name City of David. The Old Testament claims that, after the conquest of Jerusalem, an earlier name for

6993-547: The area on behalf of the IAA; one led by Joseph (Joe) Uzziel, and the other by Yuval Gadot. Archaeological surveys in the City of David continued in 2014, led by Uzziel, and Nahshon Szanton. A four-year project started in 2017, called "Setting the Clock in the City of David" and led by Yuval Gadot, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University together with Elisabetta Boaretto (Weizmann Institute of Science), plus two Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists, Joe Uziel and Doron Ben Ami, intends to carbon-14 date sites in Jerusalem. At

7104-427: The background of Early Christianity . Josephus's works are the chief source next to the Bible for the history and antiquity of ancient Israel , and provide an independent extra-biblical account of such figures as Pontius Pilate , Herod the Great , John the Baptist , James, brother of Jesus , and Jesus of Nazareth . Josephus was born into one of Jerusalem's elite families. He was the second-born son of Matthias,

7215-407: The basis of their findings, have disproved Warren 's theory that King David (c. 1000 BCE) captured Jerusalem by entering into the city through the shaft now known as Warren's Shaft , and have concluded that the shaft was largely in disuse at that time, although it was within the city and the city was, indeed, encompassed by a monumental wall which they had excavated. This ancient wall, found on

7326-411: The city is described twice in the Bible: once in the Books of Samuel and once in the Books of Chronicles ; those two versions vary in certain details. In his Antiquities of the Jews , 1st century Jewish-Roman historian Josephus repeated the story. The reliability of the Bible for the time period's history is subject to debate among scholars. According to the Hebrew Bible, the name "City of David"

7437-521: The context of early Christianity . A careful reading of Josephus's writings and years of excavation allowed Ehud Netzer , an archaeologist from Hebrew University , to discover what he considered to be the location of Herod's Tomb , after searching for 35 years. It was above aqueducts and pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to the Herodium , 12 km south of Jerusalem—as described in Josephus's writings. In October 2013, archaeologists Joseph Patrich and Benjamin Arubas challenged

7548-474: The difference between history and philosophy by saying, "[T]hose that read my book may wonder how it comes to pass, that my discourse, which promises an account of laws and historical facts, contains so much of philosophy." In both works, Josephus emphasizes that accuracy is crucial to historiography. Louis H. Feldman notes that in Wars , Josephus commits himself to critical historiography, but in Antiquities , Josephus shifts to rhetorical historiography, which

7659-432: The entourage of Titus. There, he became a Roman citizen and client of the ruling Flavian dynasty . In addition to Roman citizenship , he was granted accommodation in the conquered Judaea and a pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works. Although he only ever calls himself "Josephus" in his writings, later historians refer to him as "Flavius Josephus", confirming that he adopted

7770-436: The fall of Jerusalem , and the subsequent fall of the fortresses of Herodion, Macharont and Masada and the Roman victory celebrations in Rome, the mopping-up operations, Roman military operations elsewhere in the empire and the uprising in Cyrene . Together with the account in his Life of some of the same events, it also provides the reader with an overview of Josephus's own part in the events since his return to Jerusalem from

7881-462: The founder of the Arabs , the connection of "Semites", "Hamites" and "Japhetites" to the classical nations of the world , and the story of the siege of Masada . Scholars debate about Josephus's intended audience. For example, Antiquities of the Jews could be written for Jews—"a few scholars from Laqueur onward have suggested that Josephus must have written primarily for fellow Jews (if also secondarily for Gentiles). The most common motive suggested

7992-463: The grinding of grain or the crushing of olives. Eilat Mazar speculates that they were used to collect rainwater. Pieces of pottery have been found. Middle Bronze Age Jerusalem is mentioned several times in Egyptian texts from the 19th–18th centuries BCE. Pottery and bronze arrowheads dating form this period have been found. In 2010, a fragment of a clay tablet dating from the 14th century BCE

8103-497: The identification of the tomb as that of Herod. According to Patrich and Arubas, the tomb is too modest to be Herod's and has several unlikely features. Roi Porat, who replaced Netzer as excavation leader after the latter's death, stood by the identification. Josephus's writings provide the first-known source for many stories considered as Biblical history, despite not being found in the Bible or related material. These include Ishmael as

8214-562: The late 8th century BCE in preparation for an Assyrian siege . However, recent excavations at the site suggested an earlier origin in the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. Remains from the early Roman period include the Pool of Siloam and the Stepped Street , which stretched from the pool to the Temple Mount. The excavated parts of the archeological site are today part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park . The site

8325-536: The life of Jesus of Nazareth . Josephus was always accessible in the Greek-reading Eastern Mediterranean. His works were translated into Latin, but often in abbreviated form such as Pseudo-Hegesippus 's 4th century Latin version of The Jewish War ( Bellum Judaicum ). Christian interest in The Jewish War was largely out of interest in the downfall of the Jews and the Second Temple, which

8436-571: The location of tunnels and artifacts discovered in and on the bedrock in the areas around Warren's Shaft on the eastern slopes of the mountain above the Gihon Spring; R.A.S. Macalister and J. G. Duncan, 1923–1925, who discovered the Ophel ostracon in Wadi Hilweh of the City of David; J.W. Crowfoot and G.M. Fitzgerald, 1927–1928; K.M. Kenyon , in the years 1961–1967; Y. Shilo , 1978 to 1985; and more. More recent excavations (2000–2008) were conducted by R. Reich and E. Shukron on behalf of

8547-591: The original settlement core of Jerusalem during the Bronze and Iron Ages . It is situated on southern part of the eastern ridge of ancient Jerusalem, west of the Kidron Valley and east of the Tyropoeon Valley , to the immediate south of the Temple Mount . The City of David is an important site of biblical archeology . Remains of a defensive network dating back to the Middle Bronze Age were found around

8658-509: The patronage of Romans. The works of Josephus provide information about the First Jewish–Roman War and also represent literary source material for understanding the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and late Temple Judaism. Josephan scholarship in the 19th and early 20th centuries took an interest in Josephus's relationship to the sect of the Pharisees . Some portrayed him as a member of

8769-696: The people of Tiberias appealed to King Agrippa 's forces to protect them from the insurgents. Josephus trained 65,000 troops in the region. Josephus also contended with John of Gischala who had also set his sight over the control of Galilee. Like Josephus, John had amassed to himself a large band of supporters from Gischala (Gush Halab) and Gabara , including the support of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Josephus fortified several towns and villages in Lower Galilee , among which were Tiberias, Bersabe , Selamin , Japha , and Tarichaea , in anticipation of

8880-485: The pharaoh in Egypt. Professor Christopher Rollston points out that there is no mention of any personal names or titles and no place names in the document. He notes that the quality of the script is good but that this does not show that it is "international royal correspondence." He also suggests that caution should be taken before positing a definite date as it is not a stratified find, having been discovered after excavation in

8991-475: The philosophical school of the Pharisees as a matter of deference, and not by willing association. The works of Josephus include useful material for historians about individuals, groups, customs, and geographical places. However, modern historians have been cautious of taking his writings at face value. For example, Carl Ritter , in his highly influential Erdkunde in the 1840s, wrote in a review of authorities on

9102-454: The prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. Josephus wrote that his revelation had taught him three things: that God, the creator of the Jewish people, had decided to "punish" them; that "fortune" had been given to the Romans; and that God had chosen him "to announce the things that are to come". To many Jews, such claims were simply self-serving. In 71 AD, he went to Rome as part of

9213-451: The priestly order of the Jehoiarib , which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the Temple in Jerusalem . Josephus calls himself a fourth-generation descendant of " High Priest Jonathan", referring to either Jonathan Apphus or Alexander Jannaeus . He was raised in Jerusalem and educated alongside his brother. In his mid twenties, he traveled to negotiate with Emperor Nero for

9324-431: The primary source for the chain of Jewish high priests during the Second Temple period. A few of the Jewish customs named by him include the practice of hanging a linen curtain at the entrance to one's house, and the Jewish custom to partake of a Sabbath-day 's meal around the sixth-hour of the day (at noon). He notes also that it was permissible for Jewish men to marry many wives ( polygamy ). His writings provide

9435-485: The release of some Jewish priests. Upon his return to Jerusalem, at the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War , Josephus was appointed the military governor of Galilee . His arrival in Galilee, however, was fraught with internal division: the inhabitants of Sepphoris and Tiberias opted to maintain peace with the Romans; the people of Sepphoris enlisted the help of the Roman army to protect their city, while

9546-522: The remains of the wife of a king of Judea from the First Temple period , possibly Zedekiah or Jehoash . De Saulcy was forced to suspend the dig when the news that human bones were being dug up drew the ire of the Jewish community of Jerusalem . The sarcophagus and other findings were sent to France and displayed at the Louvre . According to Josephus, the palace was built by (the otherwise unknown) "Grapte,

9657-550: The rest of his days from his change of side. In the Preface to Jewish Wars , Josephus criticizes historians who misrepresent the events of the Jewish–Roman War , writing that "they have a mind to demonstrate the greatness of the Romans, while they still diminish and lessen the actions of the Jews." Josephus states that his intention is to correct this method but that he "will not go to the other extreme ... [and] will prosecute

9768-486: The same events that Josephus narrated. An Italian Jew writing in the 10th century indirectly brought Josephus back to prominence among Jews: he authored the Yosippon , which paraphrases Pseudo-Hegesippus's Latin version of The Jewish War , a Latin version of Antiquities , as well as other works. The epitomist also adds in his own snippets of history at times. Jews generally distrusted Christian translations of Josephus until

9879-466: The sect and as a traitor to the Jewish nation—a view which became known as the classical concept of Josephus. In the mid-20th century, a new generation of scholars challenged this view and formulated the modern concept of Josephus. They consider him a Pharisee but describe him in part as patriot and a historian of some standing. In his 1991 book, Steve Mason argued that Josephus was not a Pharisee but an orthodox Aristocrat-Priest who became associated with

9990-476: The site and tentatively dated to the tenth to ninth century BC, may be the palace of King David . Not far from that excavation area a number of bullae (seal impressions) were unearthed, bearing the names of Yehucal son of Shelemiah and Gedaliah son of Pashhur , two officials mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah . The Gihon Spring is a major water source used in several successive ancient water systems. The remains at

10101-532: The site include several water tunnels, one of which, the Siloam Tunnel , was built by King Hezekiah and still carries water, along with several pools including the Pool of Siloam known from the Old and New Testaments. The ancient water systems connected to the Gihon Spring include natural, masonry-built, and rock-cut structures, such as On the eastern slope of the ridge, towards the Qidron Valley: Outside

10212-485: The site, Jebus, was replaced by the term "City of David". David's son, Solomon , extended the wall to the north and added to it the area of the Temple Mount whereon he built an edifice (Temple) to the God of his fathers. From the eighth century BCE, the city began to expand westward beyond the dale. The debate within biblical archaeology on whether this site on the hill southeast of the Old City could be identified with what

10323-524: The slopes of the southern part of the Mount of Olives , east of the City of David. In the 20th century, the village spread west and crossed the valley to the eastern hill, the site of the ancient city. Before 1948, the area was known in Arabic as Wadi al-Nabah , but was renamed to Wadi al-Hilweh after the wife of the local mukhtar who was killed in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War . The prevailing view of archaeologists

10434-500: The space of seven years. She fulfilled her vow, and at the end of seven years went to Judea . Those belonging to the School of Hillel told her that she must observe her vow anew, and she therefore lived as a Nazirite for seven more years. At the end of the second seven years she became ritually impure by corpse uncleanness , and she had to repeat her Naziriteship, thus being a Nazarite for twenty-one years. Judah bar Ilai , however, said she

10545-488: The stated objectives of the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) since its establishment in 1865 was to search for the true location of the biblical "City of David" and to report on its findings. However, after 130 years of research, surveys, and excavations in Jerusalem, only a few of the targets relating to the area of the City of David have been achieved and neither the location of the tombs of David and Solomon or

10656-520: The survivors committed suicide. According to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 AD. The Romans (commanded by Flavius Vespasian and his son Titus, both subsequently Roman emperors ) asked the group to surrender, but they refused. According to Josephus's account, he suggested a method of collective suicide; they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, and Josephus happened to be one of two men that were left who surrendered to

10767-515: The time only ten reliable carbon dates existed from all of the city's digs. According to Gadot, the chronology of Jerusalem is "an assumption on an assumption on an assumption". The results of several studies have been published including for the Gihon Spring Tower and for Wilson's Arch. There are several excavated sections known as Area A, B, C, etc., which include city walls, water systems, remains of buildings and more. The City of David

10878-598: The truth of those actions in their writings", those writings being the history of the Jews. In terms of some of his sources for the project, Josephus says that he drew from and "interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures" and that he was an eyewitness to the wars between the Jews and the Romans, which were earlier recounted in Jewish Wars . He outlines Jewish history beginning with the creation, as passed down through Jewish historical tradition. Abraham taught science to

10989-512: The walls to the south: The Giv'ati Parking Lot excavations extend over an area of about 5 dunams (1.2 acres ). Here archaeologists claim to have found the remains of the Acra , a fortress built by Antiochus Epiphanes to subdue those Jerusalemites who were opposed to Hellenisation. See Ophel: Jerusalem ophel . Chalcolithic remains include bits of pottery found in clefts in the bedrock by Macalister and Duncan. The expedition also discovered

11100-587: The west, to the western slopes of the Qidron Valley north of the Stepped Stone Structure , thus either protecting the northern walls of the Bronze Age city if it is indeed that old, or separating the Iron Age II, so Israelite acropolis , which possibly included the Temple Mount, from the residential part of the city. Researchers tentatively connected it to a passage from the Hebrew Bible , 1 Kings 11:27 , where

11211-465: The whole, a man that will peruse this history, may principally learn from it, that all events succeed well, even to an incredible degree, and the reward of felicity is proposed by God." After inserting this attitude, Josephus contradicts Berossus: "I shall accurately describe what is contained in our records, in the order of time that belongs to them ... without adding any thing to what is therein contained, or taking away any thing therefrom." He notes

11322-514: Was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing The Jewish War , he was born in Jerusalem —then part of the Roman province of Judea —to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry . He initially fought against the Roman Empire during the First Jewish–Roman War as general of the Jewish forces in Galilee , until surrendering in AD 67 to

11433-525: Was a Nazirite for fourteen years only. "Rabbi Judah said: 'The sukkah [erected for the Feast of Tabernacles ] of Queen Helena in Lydda was higher than twenty cubits . The rabbis used to go in and out and make no remark about it'." Helena moved to Jerusalem , where she is buried in the pyramidal tomb which she had constructed during her lifetime, three stadia north of Jerusalem. The catacombs are known as " Tombs of

11544-687: Was an account of the Jewish War, addressed to certain "upper barbarians"—usually thought to be the Jewish community in Mesopotamia —in his "paternal tongue" ( War I.3), arguably the Western Aramaic language . In AD 78 he finished a seven-volume account in Greek known as the Jewish War ( Latin Bellum Judaicum or De Bello Judaico ). It starts with the period of the Maccabees and concludes with accounts of

11655-475: Was apparently no 10th-century city wall: "Had a fortified settlement existed in the City of David, then the course of the city wall on the west would have had to pass through the Givati excavation area. No such city wall has thus far been found. This means that the Iron Age IIa settlement [c. 1000–925 BCE] was not fortified." Ben-Ami's findings stand in stark contrast to those of R. Reich and E. Shukron who, on

11766-537: Was applied to Jerusalem after its conquest by David c. 1000 BCE, and is not to be confused with the modern organization by the same name and which showcases relatively small excavated portions of the larger city. It is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in 1 Kings 11:27 , in 2 Samuel 5:9 , in 2 Chronicles 32:30 and in Nehemiah 3:15–16 , being the name given to Jerusalem after it had been conquered by King David and who

11877-484: Was noted for her generosity; during a famine at Jerusalem in 45–46 CE, she sent to Alexandria for grain and to Cyprus for dried figs for distribution among the sufferers from the famine. In the Talmud, in Bava Batra 11a, this is laid to the credit of Monobaz II instead. Although Nehemiah Brüll regarded the reference to Monobaz as indicating the dynasty, Rashi maintained the simpler explanation—that Monobaz himself

11988-574: Was the norm of his time. Feldman notes further that it is significant that Josephus called his later work "Antiquities" (literally, archaeology) rather than history; in the Hellenistic period, archaeology meant either "history from the origins or archaic history." Thus, his title implies a Jewish peoples' history from their origins until the time he wrote. This distinction is significant to Feldman, because "in ancient times, historians were expected to write in chronological order," while "antiquarians wrote in

12099-453: Was the relatively more recent tradition of the Greeks. Some anti-Judaic allegations ascribed by Josephus to the Greek writer Apion and myths accredited to Manetho are also addressed. City of David (historic) The City of David ( Hebrew : עיר דוד , romanized :  ʿĪr Davīd ), known locally mostly as Wadi Hilweh ( Arabic : وادي حلوة ), is the name given to an archaeological site considered by most scholars to be

12210-408: Was uncovered, making it the oldest written document yet uncovered in Jerusalem. It is dated by the writing it bears, in an ancient Akkadian cuneiform script. The text was deciphered by graduate student Takayoshi Oshima working under professor Wayne Horowitz . According to Horowitz, the quality of the writing indicates that this was a royal inscription, apparently a letter from the king of Jerusalem to

12321-721: Was widely considered divine punishment for the crime of killing Jesus . Improvements in printing technology (the Gutenberg Press ) led to his works receiving a number of new translations into the vernacular languages of Europe, generally based on the Latin versions. Only in 1544 did a version of the standard Greek text become available in French, edited by the Dutch humanist Arnoldus Arlenius . The first English translation, by Thomas Lodge , appeared in 1602, with subsequent editions appearing throughout

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