The Kitos War was a Jewish uprising in the province of Judaea during the late 110s CE. Ancient Jewish sources date it to 52 years after Vespasian's war (66–73 CE) and 16 years before the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136).
190-635: The Kitos War occurred amid the broader Diaspora Revolt of 115–117, which saw Jewish uprisings across the Roman East, including Egypt , Libya , Cyprus , and Mesopotamia . Following the suppression of the revolt in Mesopotamia, the Roman general Lusius Quietus (also known as Kitos) was appointed consul and governor of Judaea by Emperor Trajan . Late Syriac sources suggest that Jews from Egypt and Libya relocated to Judaea and were defeated by Roman forces. However,
380-532: A Traia . Their son, Trajan's namesake father Marcus Ulpius Traianus , was born at Italica during the reign of Tiberius and became a prominent senator and general, commanding the Legio X Fretensis under Vespasian in the First Jewish-Roman War . Trajan's mother was Marcia , a Roman noblewoman of the gens Marcia and a sister-in-law of the second Flavian Emperor Titus . Little is known of her. Her father
570-448: A client kingdom in the first war (101–102), followed by a second war that ended in actual incorporation into the Empire of the trans-Danube border group of Dacia. According to the provisions of Decebalus's earlier treaty with Rome, made in the time of Domitian, Decebalus was acknowledged as rex amicus , that is, client king; in exchange for accepting client status, he received from Rome both
760-444: A Dacian nobleman called Bikilis was captured. Decebalus’ treasures had been buried under a temporarily diverted river and the captive workers executed to retain the secret. Staggering amounts of gold and silver were found and packed off to fill Rome's coffers. Trajan built a new city, Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa , on another site (north of the hill citadel holding the previous Dacian capital), although bearing
950-514: A Jewish uprising, and prefers to date the revolt's start to 116 CE. Evidence from ostraca found in the Jewish quarter of Edfu , in Upper Egypt , indicates that tax receipts for Jews ceased by the end of May 116, suggesting this date as the earliest possible start for the revolt in that city. The latest possible date for the revolt's start is the beginning of September 116, as indicated by CPJ II 436,
1140-459: A Roman province during Trajan's Parthian campaign around 115 CE, has sparked scholarly debate over whether a distinct Jewish revolt occurred in this region—comparable to those in other provinces—or if Jewish resistance was part of a broader anti-Roman uprising within the conquered Parthian territories. Eusebius' Chronicon reports that Trajan suspected the Jews in Mesopotamia "would also attack
1330-538: A banquet. The details of Trajan's early military career are obscure, save for the fact that in 89, as legate of Legio VII Gemina in Hispania Tarraconensis , he supported Domitian against an attempted coup by Lucius Antonius Saturninus , the governor of Germania Superior . Trajan probably remained in the region after the revolt was quashed, to engage with the Chatti who had sided with Saturninus, before returning
1520-626: A basis for further expansion within Eastern Europe, as the Romans believed the region to be much more geographically "flattened", and thus easier to traverse, than it actually was; they also underestimated the distance from those vaguely defined borders to the ocean. Defence of the province was entrusted to a single legion, the XIII Gemina , stationed at Apulum , which functioned as an advance guard that could, in case of need, strike either west or east at
1710-405: A broader rebellious movement in the region during the summer of 116 CE, where Quietus was one of several generals charged by Trajan to suppress the revolts, recovering Nisibis and besieging and sacking Edessa , both located in northern Mesopotamia. Notably, the Jews are not mentioned in this context; while Dio does provide a brief reference to Quietus subduing the Jews, this reference is made in
1900-460: A change of mores that began with the Severan dynasty , Trajan's putative lovers included the future emperor, Hadrian, pages of the imperial household, the actor Pylades, a dancer called Apolaustus, Lucius Licinius Sura, and Trajan's predecessor Nerva. Cassius Dio also relates that Trajan made an ally out of Abgar VII on account of the latter's beautiful son, Arbandes, who would then dance for Trajan at
2090-503: A clear area first established by Domitian. Apollodorus of Damascus ' "magnificent" design incorporated a Triumphal arch entrance, a forum space approximately 120 m long and 90m wide, surrounded by peristyles: a monumentally sized basilica : and later, Trajan's Column and libraries. It was started in AD 107, dedicated on 1 January 112, and remained in use for at least 500 years. It still drew admiration when Emperor Constantius II visited Rome in
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#17328475270422280-404: A coin. In reality, Trajan did not share power in any meaningful way with the senate, something that Pliny admits candidly: "[E]verything depends on the whims of a single man who, on behalf of the common welfare, has taken upon himself all functions and all tasks". One of the most significant trends of his reign was his encroachment on the senate's sphere of authority, such as his decision to make
2470-501: A concerned letter, from the wife of the strategos Apollonios in Hermoupolis . Eusebius recounts that unrest in Egypt initially arose when Jewish communities, seized by a spirit of discord ( stasis ), engaged in civil conflict with their Greek neighbors. This unrest was soon followed by the advance of Jewish forces from Cyrene, led by Lukuas, who then achieved an initial victory over
2660-528: A considerable time and killed many thousands of Jews, not only those of Cyrene but also those of Egypt." Allen Kerkeslager writes that the Jewish uprisings threatened the stability of the Roman Empire by disrupting grain shipments, prompting Trajan to divert Marcius Turbo from the Parthian front. Turbo arrived in Egypt in late 116 or early 117. He was likely accompanied by the cohors I Ulpia Afrorum equitata and
2850-445: A devastating campaign of ethnic cleansing , which effectively led to the near-total expulsion and annihilation of Jews from Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and many parts of Egypt. Historical evidence indicates that Jewish communities were either annihilated or forced into migration, with only a few survivors possibly remaining in isolated areas on the fringes of Roman control. In Egypt, the Jewish community suffered near-total destruction during
3040-609: A generous stipend and a steady supply of technical experts. The treaty seems to have allowed Roman troops the right of passage through the Dacian kingdom in order to attack the Marcomanni , Quadi and Sarmatians . However, senatorial opinion never forgave Domitian for paying what was seen as tribute to a barbarian king. Unlike the Germanic tribes, the Dacian kingdom was an organized state capable of developing alliances of its own, thus making it
3230-456: A grand scale. Trajan's reconstruction, completed by 103, was modestly described by Trajan himself as "adequate" for the Roman people. It replaced flammable wooden seating tiers with stone, and increased the Circus' already vast capacity by about 5,000 seats. Its lofty, elevated Imperial viewing box was rebuilt among the seating tiers, so that spectators could see their emperor sharing their enjoyment of
3420-697: A lengthy tour of inspection on the Rhine and Danube frontiers, may suggest that he was unsure of his position, both in Rome and with the armies at the front. Alternatively, Trajan's keen military mind understood the importance of strengthening the empire's frontiers. His vision for future conquests required the diligent improvement of surveillance networks, defences and transport along the Danube . Prior to his frontier tours, Trajan ordered his Prefect Aelianus to attend him in Germany, where he
3610-516: A letter dated 20 December 117, a woman named Eudaimonis urged her son Apollonios, the strategos of Heptakomia , to remain in his secure residence—a warning that hints at persistent danger. This correspondence, along with a subsequent letter concerning the same family, suggests that instability continued in some areas into the winter of 117–118 CE. The scarcity of literary sources documenting Roman violence against Jews in Mesopotamia , which became
3800-412: A lump sum from the imperial treasury, and in return were expected to repay an annual sum to support the alimentary fund. The earliest of Trajan's conquests were Rome's two wars against Dacia , an area that had troubled Roman politics for over a decade in regard to the unstable peace negotiated by Domitian 's ministers with the powerful Dacian king Decebalus . Dacia would be reduced by Trajan's Rome to
3990-461: A major demographic disruption in the overall population. In Cyrenaica, there was significant damage to buildings, temples, and roads, especially in Cyrene , where the city's center was extensively destroyed. The physical destruction of the city was significant enough that Hadrian had to rebuild the city at the beginning of his reign, according to archaeological findings. Hadrianic inscriptions document
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#17328475270424180-487: A network of local notables who act as mediators between the ruled and the ruler. Dio's notion of being "friend" to Trajan (or any other Roman emperor), however, was that of an informal arrangement, that involved no formal entry of such "friends" into the Roman administration. Trajan ingratiated himself with the Greek intellectual elite by recalling to Rome many (including Dio) who had been exiled by Domitian, and by returning (in
4370-551: A noblewoman from the Roman settlement at Nîmes ; the marriage ultimately remained childless. The historian Cassius Dio later noted that Trajan was a lover of young men , in contrast to the usual bisexual activity that was common among upper-class Roman men of the period. The emperor Julian also made a sardonic reference to his predecessor's sexual preference, stating that Zeus himself would have had to be on guard had his Ganymede come within Trajan's vicinity. This distaste reflected
4560-506: A pack of fools, yes, they treat you just like children, for we often offer children the most trivial things in place of things of greatest worth [...] In place of justice, in place of the freedom of the cities from spoliation or from the seizure of the private possessions of their inhabitants, in place of their refraining from insulting you [...] your governors hand you titles, and call you 'first' either by word of mouth or in writing; that done, they may thenceforth with impunity treat you as being
4750-601: A plan that failed. Decebalus also took prisoner Trajan's legate Longinus, who eventually poisoned himself while in custody. Finally, in 105, Decebalus undertook an invasion of Roman-occupied territory north of the Danube. Prior to the campaign, Trajan had raised two entirely new legions: II Traiana – which, however, may have been posted in the East, at the Syrian port of Laodicea – and XXX Ulpia Victrix , which
4940-438: A political intent, enabling planned increases in civil and military spending. Trajan formalised the alimenta, a welfare program that helped orphans and poor children throughout Italy by providing cash, food and subsidized education. The program was supported out of Dacian War booty, estate taxes and philanthropy. The alimenta also relied indirectly on mortgages secured against Italian farms ( fundi ). Registered landowners received
5130-499: A privileged position. As Pliny said in one of his letters at the time, it was official policy that Greek civic elites be treated according to their status as notionally free but not put on an equal footing with their Roman rulers. When the city of Apamea complained of an audit of its accounts by Pliny, alleging its "free" status as a Roman colony, Trajan replied by writing that it was by his own wish that such inspections had been ordered. Concern about independent local political activity
5320-522: A process begun by Nerva) a great deal of private property that Domitian had confiscated. He also had good dealings with Plutarch , who, as a notable of Delphi , seems to have been favoured by the decisions taken on behalf of his home-place by one of Trajan's legates, who had arbitrated a boundary dispute between Delphi and its neighbouring cities. However, it was clear to Trajan that Greek intellectuals and notables were to be regarded as tools for local administration, and not be allowed to fancy themselves in
5510-456: A public bath was built with the proceeds from the entrance fees paid by "supernumerary" members of the council, enrolled with Trajan's permission. According to the Digest , Trajan decreed that when a city magistrate promised to achieve a particular public building, his heirs inherited responsibility for its completion. Trajan was a prolific builder. Many of his buildings were designed and erected by
5700-707: A restored Osroene . For a century, Osroene retained a precarious independence as a buffer state between both empires. The situation in Judea remained tense for the Romans, who were obliged under Hadrian to move the Legio VI Ferrata permanently into Caesarea Maritima in Judea . Further developments occurred in Judaea Province in 130, when Hadrian visited the Eastern Mediterranean and, according to Cassius Dio , made
5890-460: A revolt in Mesopotamia, he does not explicitly identify the Jewish role there. His account survives only in an abridged version created in the 12th century by the Byzantine scholar Xiphilinus , whose anti-Jewish sentiment may have distorted the original text, which assigns the blame to the Jewish population. Eusebius, a Christian bishop active in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, addresses
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6080-476: A role model, for, according to Pliny, "men learn better from examples". Eventually, Trajan's popularity among his peers was such that the Roman Senate bestowed upon him the honorific of optimus , meaning "the best", which appears on coins from 105 on. This title had mostly to do with Trajan's role as benefactor, such as in the case of his returning confiscated property. Pliny states that Trajan's ideal role
6270-554: A second permanent legion was added before 120 CE. According to Martin Goodman , this addition reflects Roman concerns about potential future revolts in Judaea, despite the evident hesitation of Jews in the province to join the uprisings in the diaspora—a cautionary stance that may have played a role in the eventual outbreak of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 CE. The suppression of the revolt saw
6460-461: A show". A side effect of such extravagant spending was that junior and thus less wealthy members of the local oligarchies felt disinclined to present themselves to fill posts as local magistrates, positions that involved ever-increasing personal expense. Roman authorities liked to play the Greek cities against one another – something of which Dio of Prusa was fully aware: [B]y their public acts [the Roman governors] have branded you as
6650-479: A single person known by both names—a common practice at the time. Eusebius refers to Lukuas as "king", a title that has prompted some scholars to speculate on a possible messianic motivation behind the uprising, though evidence supporting this theory remains limited. Eusebius writes that the Jews of Libya collaborated with the Jews of Egypt , forming a symmachia (military alliance). He also mentions that, at one point,
6840-508: A small second-century temple near modern El Dab'a in Marmarica is likely also attributable to the Jewish rebels. The Jewish revolt in Egypt is often believed to have started around October 115 CE, based on papyrus CPJ II 435, which details a conflict between Jews and Greeks. Pucci Ben Zeev, however, contends that this document actually describes Greek attacks on Jews, rather than the beginning of
7030-428: A state of disorder", Pliny once wrote to Trajan, plans for unnecessary works made in collusion with local contractors being identified as one of the main problems. One of the compensatory measures proposed by Pliny expressed a thoroughly Roman conservative position: as the cities' financial solvency depended on the councilmen's purses, it was necessary to have more councilmen on the local city councils. According to Pliny,
7220-535: A strategic threat and giving Trajan a strong motive to attack it. In May of 101, Trajan launched his first campaign into the Dacian kingdom, crossing to the northern bank of the Danube and defeating the Dacian army at Tapae (see Second Battle of Tapae ), near the Iron Gates of Transylvania . It was not a decisive victory, however. Trajan's troops took heavy losses in the encounter, and he put off further campaigning for
7410-950: A strong local power base, caused by the size of the town from which they came, made it necessary for the Ulpii (and for the Aelii , the other important senatorial family of Italica with whom they were allied) to weave local alliances, in the Baetica (with the Annii , the Ucubi and perhaps the Dasumii from Corduba), the Tarraconense and the Narbonense , here above all through Pompeia Plotina , Trajan's wife. Many of these alliances were made not in Spain, but in Rome. The family home in Rome,
7600-453: A very narrow territory under its direct administration. Trajan's year of birth is not reliably attested and may instead have been AD 56. The epitome of Cassius Dio's Roman history describes Trajan as "an Iberian and neither an Italian nor even an Italiote", but this claim is contradicted by other ancient sources and rejected by modern scholars, who have reconstructed Trajan's Italic lineage. Appian states that Trajan's hometown of Italica
7790-474: Is also questioned, as it received the title of metropolis in 123 CE, suggesting not all damage was as severe as reported. Some Roman actions, such as Trajan's colony in Libya and Hadrian's edict favoring Egyptian peasants, may not be directly linked to the uprisings and could relate to pre-existing conditions. The simultaneous Jewish uprisings across various regions forced Trajan to divert his top military leaders from
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7980-512: Is believed to be Quintus Marcius Barea Sura . Her mother was Antonia Furnilla , daughter of Aulus Antonius Rufus and Furnia . Trajan owned some lands called Figlinae Marcianae in Ameria , another Umbrian town, located near both Tuder and Reate (the home of the Flavian dynasty) and believed to be the home of Marcia's family. The line of the Ulpii continued long after Trajan's death. His elder sister
8170-404: Is generally agreed that Pliny, being part of the emperor's inner circle, provides a unique and valuable source of information through his letters with Trajan, the only surviving correspondence between a governor and his emperor. However, it has been argued that Pliny's correspondence with Trajan is neither intimate nor candid, but rather an exchange of official mail in which Pliny's stance borders on
8360-428: Is likely exaggerated for rhetorical effect. The 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia notes that "(Dio's) descriptions of the cruelties perpetrated by the Jews at Cyrene and on the island of Cyprus are probably exaggerated." Pucci Ben Zeev writes that this portrayal should be examined within the broader context of how revolts by " barbarians " against the Romans were typically described in periodical historiography. She notes that
8550-507: Is lost with the exception of one sentence. Only fragments remain of the Getica , a book by Trajan's personal physician Titus Statilius Criton . The Parthica , a 17-volume account of the Parthian Wars written by Arrian , has met a similar fate. Book 68 in Greek author Cassius Dio 's Roman History , which survives mostly as Byzantine abridgements and epitomes , is the main source for
8740-534: Is one of the few rulers whose reputation has survived 19 centuries. Every new emperor after him was honoured by the Senate with the wish felicior Augusto, melior Traiano (that he be "luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan"). Among medieval Christian theologians, Trajan was considered a virtuous pagan . In the Renaissance , Machiavelli , speaking on the advantages of adoptive succession over heredity, mentioned
8930-487: Is possible that works like 4 Maccabees were created by Alexandrian Jews who had resettled in Antioch . After 117 CE, Jewish presence in Egypt and Libya virtually disappears from historical sources. No Jewish inscriptions from Egypt have been securely dated from the period following the revolt until the fourth century, and Egyptian papyri that mention Jews predominantly refer to isolated individuals rather than communities. In
9120-462: Is said to have informed Hadrian in 108 that he had been chosen as Trajan's imperial heir. As governor of Upper Germany (Germania Superior) during Nerva's reign, Trajan received the impressive title of Germanicus for his skilful management and rule of the volatile Imperial province. When Nerva died on 28 January 98, Trajan succeeded to the role of emperor without any outward adverse incident. The fact that he chose not to hasten towards Rome, but made
9310-427: Is seen in Trajan's decision to forbid Nicomedia from having a corps of firemen ("If people assemble for a common purpose ... they soon turn it into a political society", Trajan wrote to Pliny) as well as in his and Pliny's fears about excessive civic generosities by local notables such as distribution of money or gifts. Pliny's letters suggest that Trajan and his aides were as much bored as they were alarmed by
9500-516: The Bar Kokhba revolt erupted, marking the last major Jewish attempt to regain independence in Judaea. After its failure, the Jewish population in Judaea was significantly reduced, and the community's center shifted to Galilee . In the Diaspora, the largest Jewish communities were concentrated in Parthian Mesopotamia and Roman-ruled Asia Minor and Italy . The available narrative sources on
9690-645: The Davidic kingdom in Israel —as well as a longing for the re-establishment of the Jewish state. Contemporary Jewish texts, such as the Third Sibylline Oracle, 4 Ezra , and 2 Baruch , reflect these themes, emphasizing anticipation of a messianic figure, the ingathering of the exiles , and the eventual rebuilding of the Temple . The messianic aspect of the revolt is perhaps suggested by Eusebius referring to Lukuas ,
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#17328475270429880-743: The Epitome de Caesaribus , was the town of Tuder ( Todi ) in the Umbria region of central Italy . This is confirmed by archeology, with epigraphic evidence placing both the Ulpii and the Traii in Umbria generally and Tuder specifically, and by linguistic studies of the family names Ulpius and Traius which show that both are of Osco-Umbrian origin. It is unknown whether Trajan's ancestors were Roman citizens or not at their arrival in Spain. They would have certainly possessed Roman citizenship in case they arrived after
10070-509: The Faiyum region, which previously had substantial Jewish communities, mid-2nd century CE tax records show only one Jew among a thousand adult males. Moreover, no Jewish tax receipts have been discovered in Edfu from after 116 CE. It was not until the third century that Jews re-established communities in Egypt, but they never regained their former influence. In Cyrenaica, a gap in the evidence following
10260-508: The Faiyum , Oxyrhynchus , and the Herakleopolite nome. Further south, fighting also impacted the Kynopolite, Hermopolite , Lycopolite, and Apollinopolite districts. It seems that the Jewish forces were well-organized and capable of presenting serious military challenges to their adversaries; as they moved through Egyptian villages, they quickly overcame local resistance. Appian , who
10450-518: The Roman Senate . Trajan was born in the municipium of Italica in the present-day Andalusian province of Seville in southern Spain, an Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica ; his gens Ulpia came from the town of Tuder in the Umbria region of central Italy. His namesake father, Marcus Ulpius Traianus , was a general and distinguished senator. Trajan rose to prominence during
10640-519: The Roman currency , decreasing the silver content of the denarius from 93.5% to 89.0% – the actual silver weight dropping from 3.04 grams to 2.88 grams. This devaluation, along with the massive amounts of gold and silver acquired through his Dacian wars , allowed Trajan to mint many more denarii than his predecessors. He also withdrew from circulation silver denarii minted before Nero's devaluation. Trajan's devaluation may have had
10830-468: The Second Sophistic ; this "cultural patriotism" acted as a kind of substitute for the loss of political independence, and as such was shunned by Roman authorities. As Trajan himself wrote to Pliny: "These poor Greeks all love a gymnasium ... they will have to content with one that suits their real needs". The first known corrector was charged with a commission "to deal with the situation of
11020-472: The Social War (91–87 BC) , when Tuder became a municipium of Roman citizens. In Spain they may well have intermarried with native Iberians, in which case they would have lost their citizenship. Had they lacked or lost the status of Roman citizens, they would have achieved it or recovered it when Italica became a municipium with Latin rights in the mid-1st century BC. Trajan's paternal grandfather Ulpius married
11210-518: The Talmud . The rebel leaders Pappus and Julian were among those whom the Romans executed that year. The situation in Judea remained tense for the Romans, who were obliged under Hadrian to move the Legio VI Ferrata permanently into Caesarea Maritima in Judea. Fifteen years later, the Bar Kokhba revolt erupted, marking the last major Jewish attempt to regain independence in Judaea. The Hebrew name for
11400-645: The Trajanic Revolt and sometimes as the Second Jewish – Roman War , refers to a series of uprisings that occurred in Jewish diaspora communities across the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire during the final years of Trajan 's reign. These revolts occurred while the emperor was engaged in his Parthian campaign in Mesopotamia , which provided a favorable opportunity. The ancient sources do not specify
11590-415: The "contagion" of Christianity threatened everyone, regardless of gender, age, or rank. Pliny gave those accused of being Christians opportunity to deny it, and those who would not, he executed. Any who cursed Christ or recited a prayer to the gods or to Trajan’s statue were released. Pliny acknowledged that these were things that "those who are really Christians cannot be made to do." In 107, Trajan devalued
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#173284752704211780-441: The "tyrant" Domitian – attributes to him, at the time, various (and unspecified) feats of arms. Domitian's successor, Nerva , was unpopular with the army, and had been forced by his Praetorian Prefect Casperius Aelianus to execute Domitian's killers. Nerva needed the army's support to avoid being ousted. He accomplished this in the summer of 97 by naming Trajan as his adoptive son and successor, claiming that this
11970-626: The Dacians, devoid of manoeuvring room, kept to their network of fortresses, which the Romans sought systematically to storm (see also Second Dacian War ). The Romans gradually tightened their grip around Decebalus' stronghold in Sarmizegetusa Regia , which they finally took and destroyed. A controversial scene on Trajan's column just before the fall of Sarmizegetusa Regia suggests that Decebalus may have offered poison to his remaining men as an alternative option to capture or death while trying to flee
12160-670: The Danubian lands; when Rome was weak, as during the Crisis of the Third Century , the province became a liability and was eventually abandoned. Trajan resettled Dacia with Romans and annexed it as a province of the Roman Empire. Aside from their enormous booty (over half a million slaves, according to John Lydus ), Trajan's Dacian campaigns benefited the Empire's finances through the acquisition of Dacia's gold mines, managed by an imperial procurator of equestrian rank ( procurator aurariarum ). On
12350-479: The Diaspora Revolt are fragmented, late, and incomplete, making it difficult for historians to reconstruct a comprehensive account of the events. The principal sources, Cassius Dio and Eusebius , provide only a brief coverage. Cassius Dio, writing in the 3rd century, offers extensive information on Cyrene, a brief mention of Cyprus, and only a passing reference to Egypt. While he notes the Roman suppression of
12540-1073: The Domus Traiana, was on the Aventine Hill ; excavations under the Piazza del Tempio di Diana found remains thought to be of the family's large suburban villa, with evidence of highly decorated rooms. As a young man Trajan rose through the ranks of the Roman army , serving in some of the most contested parts of the empire's frontier. In 76–77, his father was Governor of Syria ( Legatus pro praetore Syriae ), where Trajan himself remained as Tribunus legionis . From there, after his father's replacement, he seems to have been transferred to an unspecified Rhine province, and Pliny implies that he engaged in active combat duty during both commissions. In about 86, Trajan's cousin Aelius Afer died, leaving his young children Hadrian and Paulina orphans. Trajan and his colleague Publius Acilius Attianus became co-guardians of
12730-434: The East, that meant the families of Greek notables. The Greeks, though, had their own memories of independence – and a commonly acknowledged sense of cultural superiority – and, instead of seeing themselves as Roman, disdained Roman rule. What the Greek oligarchies wanted from Rome was, above all, to be left in peace, to be allowed to exert their right to self-government (i.e., to be excluded from
12920-506: The Great , suffect consul in 116. Trajan created at least fourteen new senators from the Greek-speaking half of the empire, an unprecedented recruitment number that opens to question the issue of the "traditionally Roman" character of his reign, as well as the "Hellenism" of his successor Hadrian. But then Trajan's new Eastern senators were mostly very powerful and very wealthy men with more than local influence and much interconnected by marriage, so that many of them were not altogether "new" to
13110-433: The Greeks. The Greeks escaped to Alexandria, massacring its Jewish population. Lukuas's forces, supported by Egyptian Jews who rallied to his side, continued to plunder the Egyptian chora (countryside) and destroy various districts throughout Egypt. Papyrological evidence indicates that the revolt indeed affected extensive areas, including the Athribite district, the region around Memphis (noted for its antisemitism ),
13300-401: The Iron Gate's gorge. A canal was built between the Danube's Kasajna tributary and Ducis Pratum, circumventing rapids and cataracts. Trajan's Forum Traiani was Rome's largest forum. It was built to commemorate his victories in Dacia , and was largely financed from that campaign's loot. To accommodate it, parts of the Capitoline and Quirinal Hills had to be removed, the latter enlarging
13490-447: The Jewish population of the time can be traced to several factors. The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE left a profound impact, compounded by the imposition of the Fiscus Judaicus the same year, a humiliating tax levied on all Jews within the Roman Empire. This period also witnessed widespread messianic expectations—a belief in the coming of a redeemer , a descendant of David , who would bring transformative change and restore
13680-516: The Jews expelled joined Berber tribes, particularly those around modern-day Sirte . A substantial Jewish community was not reestablished in Cyrenaica until the fourth century. Cassius Dio reports that, even in his day in third-century Cyprus, "no Jew may set foot on that island, and even if one of them is driven upon the shores by a storm he is put to death." This claim is corroborated by archaeological evidence, which indicates no Jewish presence on
13870-474: The Jews in the First Jewish Revolt of 66–73 CE amplified hostility towards them in Egypt, resulting in legal and violent exclusion from civic positions and higher business fees. The conflict intensified anti-Jewish rhetoric in Egypt and exacerbating mutual hostilities between Jews and Egyptians. In the years leading up to the Diaspora Revolt, incidents of anti-Jewish violence by Greeks occurred in 112 and
14060-479: The Jews of Libya moved into Egypt. Dio's account describes the Jews of Libya as engaging in shockingly violent and cruel behavior. They are said to have engaged in cannibalism , mutilation , and other brutal acts, including using the victims' skins and entrails to make clothing and belts, and staging gladiatorial and wild beast shows. Dio reported that the Jewish rebels in Cyrenaica were responsible for approximately 220,000 Gentile deaths, though this figure
14250-662: The Jews, led by Artemion, rebelled in Cyprus. Eusebius' Chronicon states that the Jews attacked the island's pagan inhabitants and destroyed the prominent port city of Salamis . Both pagan and Christian sources describe the revolt as having a profound impact, with Dio claiming that "two hundred and forty thousand perished" in Cyprus, and Orosius asserting that "all the Greek inhabitants of Salamis were killed". According to Eusebius, Trajan sent Marcius Turbo , one of his leading generals, "with land and sea forces including cavalry. He waged war vigorously against them in many battles for
14440-401: The Jews, with the names of specific Roman legionaries from these units recorded as being killed in combat. Native Egyptians and Greeks, driven by entrenched anti-Jewish sentiments intensified by wartime conditions and imperial support, eagerly joined the Romans in attacking Jews. The early severe losses suffered by the Roman military had resulted in the conscription of locals into the army, and
14630-498: The Judean population and a ban upon the Jewish practices, which was lifted only in 138, upon Hadrian's death. Diaspora Revolt Kitos War : Roman Empire Jewish rebels, primarily in: The term " Diaspora Revolt " (115–117 CE; Hebrew : מרד הגלויות , romanized : mered ha-galuyot , or מרד התפוצות , mered ha-tfutzot , 'rebellion of the diaspora'; Latin : Tumultus Iudaicus ), also known as
14820-493: The Parthian front, impacting his campaign. The resistance in Mesopotamia , though ultimately unsuccessful in its siege of Hatra , led to a compromise with the Parthians and coincided with Trajan's illness and death. The siege of Hatra continued throughout the summer of 117, but the years of constant campaigning and reports of revolts had taken a toll on Trajan, who suffered a stroke resulting in partial paralysis. He decided to begin
15010-544: The Pompey monument near Alexandria. His neutral tone is similar to that of Eusebius, who is believed to have used Appian as a source. Also active in the second century, Arrian —who wrote a lost work on the Parthians that included references to Trajan's actions against the Jews—is also believed to have been used by Eusebius. Orosius , a Roman Christian historian and theologian writing in the early 5th century, provides information on
15200-457: The Roman Empire (both empires had shared hegemony over Armenia since the time of Nero some 50 years earlier) necessarily led to war. As Trajan's army advanced victoriously through Mesopotamia, Jewish rebels in its rear began attacking the small garrisons left behind. A revolt in far-off Cyrenaica soon spread to Egypt and then Cyprus and incited revolt in Judea . A widespread uprising, centred on Lydda , threatened grain supplies from Egypt to
15390-408: The Roman authorities, with accounts from historians like Cassius Dio and Eusebius , as well as epigraphical evidence, documenting extreme violence, including mass killings and the destruction of temples. In contrast, the rebellion in Mesopotamia seems to have been part of a broader resistance against Roman expansion into Parthian -ruled territories. Marcius Turbo , one of Trajan's top generals,
15580-559: The Royal House of Commagene , left behind him a funeral monument on the Mouseion Hill that was later disparagingly described by Pausanias as "a monument built to a Syrian man". As a senatorial Emperor, Trajan was inclined to choose his local base of political support from among the members of the ruling urban oligarchies. In the West, that meant local senatorial families like his own. In
15770-471: The Sarmatians living at the borders. Therefore, the indefensible character of the province did not appear to be a problem for Trajan, as the province was conceived more as a sally-base for further attacks. Even in the absence of further Roman expansion, the value of the province depended on Roman overall strength: while Rome was strong, the Dacian salient was an instrument of military and diplomatic control over
15960-493: The Second Temple and sixteen years before the Bar Kokhba revolt , resulting in restrictive legislation and a ban on teaching Greek. Late Syriac sources mention unrest in Judaea, claiming that Jews from Egypt and Libya were defeated by Roman forces there. An inscription from Sardinia mentions an expeditio Judaeae among Trajan's military campaigns. Additionally, Judaea's status changed from praetorian to consular , and
16150-548: The Senate. On the local level, among the lower section of the Eastern propertied, the alienation of most Greek notables and intellectuals towards Roman rule, and the fact that the Romans were seen by most such Greek notables as aliens, persisted well after Trajan's reign. One of Trajan's senatorial creations from the East, the Athenian Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos , a member of
16340-646: The Temple of Khnum at Esna . He built palatial villas outside Rome at Arcinazzo , at Centumcellae and at Talamone . He also built a bath complex as well as the Aqua Traiana . Trajan invested heavily in the provision of popular amusements. He carried out a "massive reconstruction" of the Circus Maximus , which was already the empire's biggest and best appointed circuit for the immensely popular sport of chariot racing . The Circus also hosted religious theatrical spectacles and games , and public processions on
16530-542: The VII Gemina legion to Legio in Hispania Tarraconensis. In 91 he held a consulate with Acilius Glabrio , a rarity in that neither consul was a member of the ruling dynasty. He held an unspecified consular commission as governor of either Pannonia or Germania Superior , or possibly both. Pliny – who seems to deliberately avoid offering details that would stress personal attachment between Trajan and
16720-528: The aid of the troops in his rearguard. The Dacians and their allies were repulsed after two battles in Moesia, at Nicopolis ad Istrum and Adamclisi . Trajan's army then advanced further into Dacian territory, and, a year later, forced Decebalus to submit. He had to renounce claim to some regions of his kingdom, return runaways from Rome then under his protection (most of them technical experts), and surrender all his war machines. Trajan returned to Rome in triumph and
16910-434: The appointing of imperial correctores to audit the civic finances of the technically free Greek cities . The main goal was to curb the overenthusiastic spending on public works that served to channel ancient rivalries between neighbouring cities. As Pliny wrote to Trajan, this had as its most visible consequence a trail of unfinished or ill-kept public utilities. Competition among Greek cities and their ruling oligarchies
17100-571: The atrocities attributed to the Jews by Dio are not more egregious than those he ascribes to the Britons during the Boudican revolt in 61 CE or to the Bucoli, a group of Nile Delta herdsmen, during their uprising in Egypt in 171 CE. Epigraphical sources provide evidence of attacks on religious and civic structures, including temples and statues. In Cyrene , for instance, the sanctuary of Apollo witnessed
17290-511: The besieged capital with him. Decebalus fled but, when later cornered by Roman cavalry, committed suicide. His severed head, brought to Trajan by the cavalryman Tiberius Claudius Maximus , was later exhibited in Rome on the steps leading up to the Capitol and thrown on the Gemonian stairs . The famous Dacian treasures were not found in the captured capital and their whereabouts were only revealed when
17480-545: The best way to achieve this was to lower the minimum age for holding a seat on the council, making it possible for more sons of the established oligarchical families to join and thus contribute to civic spending; this was seen as preferable to enrolling non-noble wealthy upstarts. Such an increase in the number of council members was granted to Dio's city of Prusa, to the dismay of existing councilmen who felt their status lowered. A similar situation existed in Claudiopolis , where
17670-461: The case of the Galatian notable and "leading member of the Greek community" (according to one inscription) Gaius Julius Severus, who was a descendant of several Hellenistic dynasts and client kings. Severus was the grandfather of the prominent general Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus , consul in 105. Other prominent Eastern senators included Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus , a descendant of Herod
17860-558: The center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in 70 and defeated the remaining Jewish strongholds later on. In 115, Emperor Trajan was in command of the eastern campaign against the Parthian Empire . The Roman invasion had been prompted by the imposition of a pro-Parthian king in the Kingdom of Armenia after the Parthians invaded it. That encroachment on the traditional sphere of influence of
18050-434: The city was "overthrown" and required rebuilding by Hadrian. The primary loss was the sanctuary of Nemesis , where Pompey 's head was buried, which was destroyed by Jewish forces possibly in retaliation for Pompey's desecration of the Temple in 63 BCE. The Ptolemaic Serapeum and other structures were likely damaged later by Egyptian and Cyrenaican Jews, rather than by Alexandrian Jews. The total destruction of Salamis
18240-406: The claims of Dio and other Greek notables to political influence based on what they saw as their "special connection" to their Roman overlords. Pliny tells of Dio of Prusa placing a statue of Trajan in a building complex where Dio's wife and son were buried – therefore incurring a charge of treason for placing the emperor's statue near a grave. Trajan, however, dropped the charge. Nevertheless, while
18430-536: The cohors I Augusta praetoria Lusitanorum equitata, both present in Egypt in 117 CE, with the latter suffering heavy losses during the early summer of the same year. One papyrus details plans to mobilize large forces, including fleets from Misenum and Ravenna , the Legio III Cyrenaica , and auxiliary units such as the Cohors I Flavia Cilicum equitata. Legio XXII Deiotariana and Legio III Cyrenaica fought against
18620-479: The conflict, פולמוס קיטוס Polmus Ḳīṭus , is a corruption (likely through Aramaic ) of the Greek Πόλεμος του Κυήτου Pólemos tū Cyḗtū (meaning Quietus's War ), after the Roman governor of Judaea , Lusius Quietus , who put down the revolt. The terms "Kitos War", "Diaspora Revolt" and "Second Jewish–Roman War", are often used interchangeably, but the first two terms are better understood as theatres of
18810-564: The construction or reconstruction of Old Cairo 's Roman fortress (also known as "Babylon Fort") to Trajan, and the building of a canal between the River Nile and the Red Sea . In Egypt, Trajan was "quite active" in constructing and embellishing buildings. He is portrayed, together with Domitian , on the propylon of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera . His cartouche also appears in the column shafts of
19000-506: The context of the revolts in Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica, without specifying a geographic location. Miriam Pucci Been Zeev suggests that the sources describing Jewish resistance in Mesopotamia are likely part of a broader resistance in the Parthian territories occupied by the Romans, probably driven by the Jews' relatively favorable position within the Parthian Empire, which contrasted with their harsher treatment under Roman rule. Around
19190-416: The decision to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem as the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina , derived from his own name. That decision, together with Hadrian's other sanctions against the Jews, was allegedly one of the reasons for the eruption of the 132 Bar Kokhba revolt , an extremely violent uprising that stretched Roman military resources to the limit. The rebellion ended with an unprecedented onslaught of
19380-474: The destruction and burning of the baths, porticoes , ball-courts, and other nearby structures during the uprising. The temple of Hecate also suffered destruction and was burned down in the uprising. Significant damage is also recorded at the Caesareum and the temple of Zeus . Bishop Synesius , a native of Cyrene from the early 5th century, also refers to the devastation caused by the Jews, four centuries after
19570-678: The destruction of the Great Synagogue of Alexandria and the massacre of Jews by Trajan. These narratives, which focus on Roman actions rather than the Greeks or Egyptians, were likely influenced by the heightened anti-Roman sentiment following the Bar Kokhba revolt , which occurred about fifteen years later and had disastrous consequences for the Jews of Judaea. While the stories contain historical kernels, they also incorporate legendary elements that reduce their reliability as strict historical sources. Nonetheless, these sources reflect rabbinic debates of
19760-399: The destruction of the Jewish landholding aristocracy exacerbated economic hardships for Jewish tenant farmers, pushing them into cities and worsening their plight. William Horbury writes that the revolt was influenced by a strong national hope and local interpretations of messianic expectations, particularly the return of the diaspora and the rebuilding of the Temple. He adds that Jews in
19950-521: The destruction of the celebrated Great Synagogue of Alexandria. Turbo's military actions may have extended to Libya, where a Roman praefectus castrorum was killed. In Cyprus, the suppression of the Jewish revolt was led by Gaius Valerius Rufus, one of Trajan's generals. The military actions there might also corroborate the Babylonian Talmud 's claim that the blood of Jews killed in Egypt reached as far as Cyprus. Scholarly debate surrounds
20140-656: The diaspora may have been influenced by the concepts of "liberty" and "redemption," which were central to the First Jewish Revolt and likely spread to Jewish communities in Egypt, Cyrene, and possibly Cyprus through refugees and traders from Judaea . This idea is supported by Josephus' account of Sicarii refugees in Cyrene, the discovery of First Jewish revolt coinage in Memphis and near Cyrene, and traces of these themes in diasporic literature. E. Mary Smallwood suggests that
20330-470: The eastern provinces of the Roman Empire . In Egypt , Libya and Cyprus , Jewish actions were primarily directed against local populations rather than the Roman authorities. In contrast, the rebellion in Mesopotamia appears to have been part of a broader resistance against Roman expansion into areas ruled by the Parthian Empire . There is no evidence that Jewish communities in Asia Minor participated in
20520-567: The emperor and the Senate, especially after the supposed bloodiness that had marked Domitian's reign and his dealings with the Curia . By feigning reluctance to hold power, Trajan was able to start building a consensus around him in the Senate. His belated ceremonial entry into Rome in 99 was notably understated, something on which Pliny the Younger elaborated. By not openly supporting Domitian's preference for equestrian officers, Trajan appeared to conform to
20710-525: The empire, most notably the Alexandria pogroms , targeting the large Jewish community of Alexandria in the province of Egypt. However, with the exception of Alexandria, the Jewish diaspora fared well throughout the Roman Empire and relied on the Roman state to maintain their rights. The escalation of tensions finally erupted as the First Jewish–Roman War , which began in 66. Initial hostilities were
20900-462: The entrance of Amnis Traianus , a canal constructed under Trajan, which facilitated connections between the Nile and the Red Sea . Papyri indicate that the Greeks, led by strategoi , retaliated against the Jews, with assistance from Egyptian peasants and Romans. Prefect Rutilius Lupus is noted to have personally participated in these engagements. Some efforts were successful, as evidenced by
21090-523: The events. These documents, part of the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (CPJ) collection—which includes ancient papyri related to Jews and Judaism in Egypt —shed light on key aspects of the revolt, including its chronology, casualties, impact, and aftermath. Papyri, for example, showed that local Egyptians fought against the Jews, instead of supporting them, as was suggested earlier. Additionally, archaeological and epigraphic evidence strengthens
21280-588: The exact motivations, but they were likely influenced by the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, long-standing tensions between Jews and Greeks, the Fiscus Judaicus tax, messianic expectations, and hopes for a return to Judaea. Major conflicts The uprisings unfolded almost simultaneously across various provinces of the Roman East. In Egypt , Libya and Cyprus , Jewish actions were primarily directed against local populations rather than
21470-463: The existing quasi-urban Dacian settlements disappeared after the Roman conquest. A number of unorganized urban settlements ( vici ) developed around military encampments in Dacia proper – the most important being Apulum – but were only acknowledged as cities proper well after Trajan's reign. The main regional effort of urbanization was concentrated by Trajan at the rearguard, in Moesia, where he created
21660-575: The five successive good emperors "from Nerva to Marcus " – a trope out of which the 18th-century historian Edward Gibbon popularized the notion of the Five Good Emperors , of whom Trajan was the second. An account of the Dacian Wars , the Commentarii de bellis Dacicis , written by Trajan himself or a ghostwriter and modelled after Caesar 's Commentarii de Bello Gallico ,
21850-636: The fourth century. It accommodated Trajan's Market, and an adjacent brick market. Trajan was also a prolific builder of triumphal arches, many of which survive. He built roads, such as the Via Traiana , an extension of the Via Appia from Beneventum to Brundisium and the Via Traiana Nova , a mostly military road between Damascus and Aila , which Rome employed in its annexation of Nabataea and founding of Arabia Province . Some historians attribute
22040-535: The free cities", as it was felt that the old method of ad hoc intervention by the Emperor and/or the proconsuls had not been enough to curb the pretensions of the Greek notables. It is noteworthy that an embassy from Dio's city of Prusa was not favourably received by Trajan, and that this had to do with Dio's chief objective, which was to elevate Prusa to the status of a free city, an "independent" city-state exempt from paying taxes to Rome. Eventually, Dio gained for Prusa
22230-416: The front. The Jewish insurrection swiftly spread to the recently conquered provinces. Cities with substantial Jewish populations, Nisibis , Edessa , Seleucia and Arbela (now Erbil , Iraq) joined the rebellion and slaughtered their small Roman garrisons. The Jewish leader Lukuas fled to Judea. Marcius Turbo pursued him and sentenced to death the brothers Julian and Pappus , who had been key leaders in
22420-405: The gifted architect Apollodorus of Damascus , including a massive bridge over the Danube , which the Roman army and its reinforcements could use regardless of weather; the Danube sometimes froze over in winter, but seldom enough to bear the passage of a party of soldiers. Trajan's works at the Iron Gates region of the Danube created or enlarged the boardwalk road cut into the cliff-face along
22610-422: The idea (developed by Pliny) that an emperor derived his legitimacy from his adherence to traditional hierarchies and senatorial morals. Therefore, he could point to the allegedly republican character of his rule. In a speech at the inauguration of his third consulship, on 1 January 100, Trajan exhorted the senate to share the care-taking of the empire with him – an event later celebrated on
22800-405: The imperial title. He was murdered in unknown circumstances in the summer of 118, possibly by the orders of Hadrian. Hadrian took the unpopular decisions to end the war, abandon many of Trajan's eastern conquests, and stabilise the eastern borders. Although he abandoned the province of Mesopotamia, he installed Parthamaspates —who had been ejected from Ctesiphon by the returning Osroes —as king of
22990-449: The incorporation of Armenia , Mesopotamia , and Assyria as Roman provinces. In August AD 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a stroke in the city of Selinus . He was deified by the senate and his successor Hadrian (Trajan's cousin). According to historical tradition, Trajan's ashes were entombed in a small room beneath Trajan's Column . As an emperor, Trajan's reputation has endured – he
23180-402: The inhabitants throughout Libya in the most savage fashion, and to such an extent was the country wasted that, its cultivators having been slain, its land would have remained utterly depopulated, had not Emperor Hadrian gathered settlers from other places and sent them thither, for the inhabitants had been wiped out. In Alexandria, the damage was less extensive than Eusebius suggests, who claimed
23370-407: The inhabitants," prompting him to send General Lusius Quietus to suppress them harshly. Eusebius further notes that Quietus "murdered a great number of the Jews there." Later Christian sources also describe a military campaign led by Quietus against the Jews. In contrast, Cassius Dio 's account does not mention a Jewish uprising or a campaign against Jews in Mesopotamia. Instead, Dio refers to
23560-496: The interests of justice, and to reflect "the spirit of the age". Non-citizens who admitted to being Christians and refused to recant were to be executed "for obstinacy". Citizens were sent to Rome for trial. Further tests faced by Christians in Pontus are alluded to in correspondence between Pliny the Younger, governor of the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus, and Emperor Trajan. Writing from Pontus in about AD 112, Pliny reported that
23750-518: The island until the fourth century. In Egypt, the aftermath of the revolts caused agricultural decline, shortages of slave labor and textiles, and an economic crisis with unstable prices and a shortage of essentials like bread. Roman troops in Egypt suffered significant losses, with some units experiencing 30–40 percent casualties. Egypt's agricultural hinterlands were heavily impacted by the war, and many farmlands remained unrecovered and underproductive for decades. Despite this, census data do not show
23940-421: The latter larger conflict. Tension between the Jewish population of the Roman Empire and the Greek and Roman populations mounted over the course of the 1st century CE, gradually escalating with various violent events, mainly throughout Judea (Iudaea), where parts of the Judean population occasionally erupted into violent insurrections against the Roman Empire . Several incidents also occurred in other parts of
24130-621: The leader of the Jewish rebels in Libya, as "king," suggesting that the uprising evolved from an ethnic conflict into a nationalist movement with messianic ambitions for political independence. Local conditions further contributed to the unrest, especially in Egypt , where longstanding social, economic, political, and ideological tensions between Jews and Greeks had escalated since the third century BCE. The situation deteriorated under Roman rule, leading to notable but sporadic violence in various eastern cities, including severe riots in Alexandria in 29 BCE, 38 CE , 41 CE, and 66 CE . The defeat of
24320-479: The long journey back to Rome to recover. As he sailed from Seleucia , his health deteriorated rapidly. He was taken ashore at Selinus in Cilicia , where he died. His successor, Hadrian , assumed the reins of government shortly thereafter. Trajan Trajan ( / ˈ t r eɪ dʒ ən / TRAY -jən ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus , 18 September 53 – c. 9 August 117 )
24510-421: The messianic era." John M. G. Barclay argues that the significant damage to Cyrenaica's infrastructure during the uprising implies that the Jews involved intended to leave the province, probably planning to ultimately reach Judaea. Similarly, Horbury writes that the Jewish forces likely aimed to return to and defend Judaea. The Jewish uprisings erupted almost simultaneously across various Diaspora regions in
24700-408: The more popular Trajan, who had distinguished himself in military campaigns against Germanic tribes. As emperor of Rome, Trajan oversaw the construction of building projects such as the forum named after him , the introduction of social welfare policies such as the alimenta , and new military conquests. He annexed Nabataea and Dacia , and his war against the Parthian Empire ended with
24890-474: The movement could be seen as an ancient form of Zionism , with the goal of returning Jewish exiles from North Africa to Palestine. The advance of the Cyrenaican Jews into Egypt, marked by widespread destruction, may have been intended as the initial phase of this large-scale migration. Shim'on Applebaum writes that the movement aimed at "the setting up of a new Jewish commonwealth, whose task was to inaugurate
25080-479: The new cities of Nicopolis ad Istrum and Marcianopolis . A vicus was also created around the Tropaeum Traianum. The garrison city of Oescus received the status of Roman colony after its legionary garrison was redeployed. The fact that these former Danubian outposts had ceased to be frontier bases and were now in the deep rear acted as an inducement to their urbanization and development. Not all of Dacia
25270-413: The office of corrector was intended as a tool to curb any hint of independent political activity among local notables in the Greek cities, the correctores themselves were all men of the highest social standing entrusted with an exceptional commission. The post seems to have been conceived partly as a reward for senators who had chosen to make a career solely on the emperor's behalf. Therefore, in reality
25460-505: The only survivors likely being those who had fled to other regions at the onset of the uprising. The large synagogue of Alexandria, celebrated in the Talmud , was destroyed, and the Jewish court in Alexandria might have been abolished. Horbury suggests that some Jewish refugees fled to Judaea, bringing with them stories about Egypt and Trajan, which were later preserved through rabbinic transmission. Others may have fled to Syria , where it
25650-449: The other hand, commercial agricultural exploitation on the villa model, based on the centralized management of a huge landed estate by a single owner ( fundus ) was poorly developed. Therefore, use of slave labor in the province itself seems to have been relatively undeveloped, and epigraphic evidence points to work in the gold mines being conducted by means of labor contracts ( locatio conductio rei ) and seasonal wage-earning. The victory
25840-580: The political history of Trajan's rule. Besides this, Pliny the Younger 's Panegyricus and Dio Chrysostom 's orations are the best surviving contemporary sources. Both are adulatory perorations , typical of the High Imperial period, that describe an idealized monarch and an equally idealized view of Trajan's rule, and concern themselves more with ideology than with fact. The 10th volume of Pliny's letters contains his correspondence with Trajan, which deals with various aspects of imperial Roman government. It
26030-465: The populace; the more "serious matter" of the corn dole aimed to satisfy individuals. During the period of peace that followed the Dacian war, Trajan exchanged letters with Pliny the Younger on how best to deal with the Christians of Pontus . Trajan told Pliny to continue prosecutions of Christians if they merited that, but not to accept anonymous or malicious denunciations. He considered this to be in
26220-426: The post was conceived as a means for "taming" both Greek notables and Roman senators. It must be added that, although Trajan was wary of the civic oligarchies in the Greek cities, he also admitted into the senate a number of prominent Eastern notables already slated for promotion during Domitian's reign by reserving for them one of the twenty posts open each year for minor magistrates (the vigintiviri ). Such must be
26410-465: The precise end date of the Jewish uprising. Miriam Ben Zeev argues that the revolt was likely suppressed before autumn 117, and possibly by summer, prior to Trajan's death. The reassignment of Marcius Turbo to Mauretania following Hadrian 's accession as emperor in August 117 appears to support this timeline. However, Noah Hacham and Tal Ilan point to evidence suggesting more prolonged unrest. In CPJ 664c,
26600-499: The presence of seasoned Roman troops, eager for retribution, further exacerbated the violence. Turbo's mission seemingly included not only quelling the revolt but also exterminating Jews in the affected areas. Roman repression was severe, with Appian describing it as an extermination of the Jewish population in Egypt, and Arian writes that Trajan asked "to destroy the nation entirely, but if not, at least to crush it and stop its presumptuous wickedness." The Jerusalem Talmud noted
26790-457: The provincial government, as was Italy) and to concentrate on their local interests. This was something the Romans were not disposed to do as from their perspective the Greek notables were shunning their responsibilities in regard to the management of Imperial affairs – primarily in failing to keep the common people under control, thus creating the need for the Roman governor to intervene. An excellent example of this Greek alienation
26980-655: The races, alongside his family and images of the gods, At some time during 108 or 109, Trajan held 123 days of games to celebrate his Dacian victory. They involved "fully 10,000" gladiators and the slaughter of thousands, "possibly tens of thousands," of animals, both wild and domestic. Trajan's careful management of public spectacles led the orator Fronto to congratulate him for paying equal attention to public entertainments and more serious issues, acknowledging that "neglect of serious matters can cause greater damage, but neglect of amusements greater discontent". State-funded public entertainments helped to maintain contentment among
27170-418: The rebellion. Lusius Quietus, the conqueror of the Jews of Mesopotamia, rose to command of the Roman army in Judea and laid siege to Lydda , where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappus. The distress became so great that the patriarch Rabban Gamaliel II , who was shut up there and died soon afterwards, permitted fasting even on Ḥanukkah . Other rabbis condemned that measure. Lydda
27360-512: The recorded "victory and success" of Apollonios near Memphis; however, due to many Roman forces being deployed in Mesopotamia, the remaining troops, including the Legio XXII Deiotariana and part of the Legio III Cyrenaica , were insufficient to restore order effectively. Most of what we know about the events in Cyprus comes from literary sources, as epigraphical evidence is limited, indirect, and difficult to interpret. Dio reports that
27550-458: The region. Some of these veterans were stationed in Cyrene itself, while others were relocated to other sites, including the newly founded city of Hadrianopolis, on the coast. Eusebius' Chronicon and Orosius report extensive destruction in Salamis and Alexandria , with Orosius noting that Libya would have remained depopulated without Hadrian's resettlement efforts: The Jews [...] waged war on
27740-637: The reign of Domitian ; in AD 89, serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis , he supported the emperor against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus . He then served as governor of Germania and Pannonia . In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by the elderly and childless Nerva , who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard , Nerva decided to adopt as his heir and successor
27930-447: The reliability of these sources is debated, and modern scholarship remains cautious with the lack of confirmation from Cassius Dio and Eusebius , the main sources for the Diaspora Revolt. Lusius Quietus laid siege to Lydda , where the rebel Jews had gathered under the leadership of Julian and Pappus. Lydda was taken, and many of the rebellious Jews were executed. The "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in
28120-570: The restoration of sites such as the baths by the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Caesareum. A letter from Hadrian to the Cyrenaeans in 134/5 CE urged them to prevent their city from remaining in ruins. The Roman authorities initiated a large-scale recolonization of Cyrenaica after the destruction caused by the revolt, sending 3,000 veterans under the command of the prefect of Legio XV Apollinaris to settle in
28310-457: The result of Greek and Jewish religious tensions but later escalated with anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens. The Roman military garrison of Judea was quickly overrun by rebels and the pro-Roman king Herod Agrippa II fled Jerusalem , together with Roman officials, to Galilee . Cestius Gallus , the legate of Syria , brought the Syrian army, based on XII Fulminata , reinforced by auxiliary troops, to restore order and quell
28500-505: The revolt but is not an independent source. His account heavily relies on Eusebius's works, accessed through Latin translations by Jerome and Rufinus. While Orosius mirrors Eusebius closely, he introduces rearrangements and employs more vivid, dramatic language to enhance the narrative. Despite its liveliness, his account lacks originality and immediacy and has been described as "vague". The uprisings in Egypt are also documented by papyrological evidence. which offers valuable insights into
28690-443: The revolt in both his Chronicon and Ecclesiastical History . His narrative centers on the uprisings in Egypt, with additional references to a Jewish rebellion in Mesopotamia and events in Cyprus. He mentions that Greek historians provide accounts of the revolt similar to his, though he seems unaware of Cassius Dio's version, which emphasizes atrocities. In contrast, Eusebius adopts a more neutral tone. Nonetheless, his portrayal of
28880-410: The revolt is framed within his broader theological argument that Jewish suffering was a consequence of their rejection of Christ . Appian provides an eyewitness account of the revolt in the surviving portions of his Roman History. Among several anecdotes, he recounts his narrow escape from capture, fleeing a Jewish ship via wilderness paths and boat near Pelusium , and describes the destruction of
29070-401: The revolt suggests that the region was virtually depopulated of Jews due to their migration to Egypt and subsequent massacres by non-Jews. After the war ended, laws were placed ordering the exile of Jews from Cyrene, which Renzo De Felice said "reduced the flourishing [Jewish] community of Cyrene to insignificance and set it on the road to an inevitable decline." According to De Felice, many of
29260-564: The revolt, an event Clarysse characterizes as a genocide . Appian reported that Trajan "was utterly destroying the Jewish people in Egypt," a claim corroborated by papyri and inscriptions documenting widespread devastation of Jewish populations across many regions. Jewish lands were confiscated, and Trajan implemented a new registry, the Ioudaikos logos , to catalog properties that had previously belonged to Jews. The Jewish community in Alexandria appears to have been entirely eradicated, with
29450-539: The revolt, and the Jewish community in Rome also did not join the uprising. Eusebius links the revolts in Libya and Egypt, while late Syriac sources mention that Jews from Egypt fled to Judaea . However, there is no definitive evidence of a coordinated effort. In Libya , Jews launched attacks against their Greek and Roman neighbors, led either by Andreas (according to Dio / Xiphilinus ) or Lukuas (according to Eusebius ). These could have been two separate individuals or
29640-500: The revolt. The archaeological evidence, including inscriptions, sheds light on the significant destruction caused by the Jews in Cyrenaica during the revolt. A Hadrianic milestone commemorates the repair of the road connecting Cyrene with its port, Apollonia , "which had been overturned and smashed up in the Jewish revolt," possibly in anticipation of a Roman military advance from the sea. Joyce Reynolds notes significant damage to
29830-455: The revolt. The legion, however, was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon , a result that shocked the Roman leadership. The suppression of the revolt was then handed to General Vespasian and his son Titus , who assembled four legions and began advancing through the country, starting with Galilee in 67. The revolt ended when legions under Titus besieged and destroyed
30020-468: The right to become the head of the assize-district, conventus (meaning that Prusans did not have to travel to be judged by the Roman governor), but eleutheria (freedom, in the sense of full political autonomy) was denied. Eventually, it fell to Pliny, as imperial governor of Bithynia in AD 110, to deal with the consequences of the financial mess wrought by Dio and his fellow civic officials. "It's well established that [the cities' finances] are in
30210-611: The same full name, Sarmizegetusa. This capital city was conceived as a purely civilian administrative centre and was provided the usual Romanized administrative apparatus ( decurions , aediles , etc.). Urban life in Roman Dacia seems to have been restricted to Roman colonists, mostly military veterans; there is no extant evidence for the existence in the province of peregrine cities. Native Dacians continued to live in scattered rural settlements, according to their own ways. In another arrangement with no parallels in any other Roman province,
30400-457: The sanctuary of Asclepius at Balagrae , west of Cyrene, which was later rebuilt under the Antonine dynasty . The presence of a deeply incised seven-branched menorah —a symbol indicative of Jewish presence—on a road northwest of Balagrae may suggest, according to Reynolds, that Jews deliberately sought to disrupt the route connecting Cyrene with neighboring regions to the west. The destruction of
30590-455: The senatorial provinces of Achaea and Bithynia into imperial ones in order to deal with the inordinate spending on public works by local magnates and the general mismanagement of provincial affairs by various proconsuls appointed by the Senate. In the formula developed by Pliny, however, Trajan was a "good" emperor in that, by himself, he approved or blamed the same things that the Senate would have approved or blamed. If in reality Trajan
30780-420: The servile. Some authors have even proposed that much of the text was written and/or edited by Trajan's Imperial secretary, his ab epistulis . Given the scarcity of literary sources, discussion of Trajan and his rule in modern historiography cannot avoid speculation. Non-literary sources such as archaeology, epigraphy , and numismatics are also useful for reconstructing his reign. Marcus Ulpius Traianus
30970-399: The summer of 115 CE. These attacks, especially the latter, were likely direct catalysts for the Jewish uprising in the region. In Libya , earlier disturbances in 73 CE, which resulted in the deaths and dispossession of many wealthy Jews, may have weakened the moderating influence of the Jewish elite, thereby enabling more radical elements to gain prominence and push for revolt. Additionally,
31160-566: The term 'impious Jews' used in some papyri. Appian records that the Jews seized control of waterways near Pelusium , located at the eastern edge of the Nile Delta, a region of critical strategic value. Further evidence of military activity in Egypt's waterways is found in CPJ II 441 and a 7th-century chronicle by Coptic bishop John of Nikiû . The latter mentions the Babylon Fortress , situated at
31350-451: The time of the Diaspora revolt, a lesser-known and understood conflict called the " Kitos War " occurred in Judaea . After Trajan's military campaigns in Mesopotamia, General Lusius Quietus was appointed governor of Judaea and likely brought additional forces, including possibly the vexillatio of Legio III Cyrenaica. Jewish sources date the "Kitos War" to fifty-two years after the destruction of
31540-482: The time regarding Jewish life in the diaspora following the Bar Kokhba revolt, highlight the hostilities and tensions between Jews and Romans, and reveal the hope for the arrival of the Messiah among the Jews of Judaea. The motivations behind the revolts are complex and not easily discernible due to the lack of direct sources addressing the underlying causes. However, a prevailing sense of unrest and dissatisfaction among
31730-455: The two children. Trajan, in his late thirties, was created ordinary consul for the year 91. This early appointment may reflect the prominence of his father's career, as his father had been instrumental to the ascent of the ruling Flavian dynasty , held consular rank himself and had just been made a patrician . Around this time Trajan brought the architect and engineer Apollodorus of Damascus with him to Rome , and married Pompeia Plotina ,
31920-426: The understanding of the revolt in Cyprus and Cyrenaica, with Latin and Greek inscriptions from Cyrenaica serving as key examples. These inscriptions document the reconstruction of buildings damaged during the "Jewish uprising," shedding light on the scale of the destruction and subsequent rebuilding efforts. The Jerusalem Talmud , Sukkah 5:1, contains three stories about the Jewish revolt, including references to
32110-413: The very last!" These same Roman authorities had also an interest in assuring the cities' solvency and therefore ready collection of Imperial taxes. Last but not least, inordinate spending on civic buildings was not only a means to achieve local superiority, but also a means for the local Greek elites to maintain a separate cultural identity – something expressed in the contemporary rise of
32300-507: The winter of 117–118. The Diaspora Revolt appears to have resulted in the devastation or annihilation of Jewish communities in Egypt, Libya, and other regions. There was significant damage to buildings, temples, and roads, especially in Cyrene and other parts of Cyrenaica . A festival celebrating the victory over the Jews continued to be observed eighty years later in the Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus . Fifteen years after these uprisings,
32490-461: The year in order to regroup and reinforce his army. Nevertheless, the battle was considered a Roman victory and Trajan strived to ultimately consolidate his position, including other major engagements, as well as the capture of Decebalus' sister as depicted on Trajan's Column. The following winter, Decebalus took the initiative by launching a counter-attack across the Danube further downstream, supported by Sarmatian cavalry, forcing Trajan to come to
32680-552: Was Lucius Licinius Sura , a Roman senator born in Spain and the governor of Germania Inferior , who was Trajan's personal friend and became an official adviser of the Emperor. Sura was highly influential, and was appointed consul for a third term in 107. Some senators may have resented Sura's activities as a kingmaker and éminence grise , among them the historian Tacitus, who acknowledged Sura's military and oratorical talents, but compared his rapacity and devious ways to those of Vespasian 's éminence grise Licinius Mucianus . Sura
32870-470: Was Ulpia Marciana , and his niece was Salonia Matidia . Very little is known about Trajan's early formative years, but it is thought likely that he spent his first months or years in Italica before moving to Rome and then, perhaps at around eight or nine years of age, he almost certainly would have returned temporarily to Italica with his father during Trajanus's governorship of Baetica (ca. 64–65). The lack of
33060-481: Was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty . He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier-emperor who presided over one of the greatest military expansions in Roman history , during which, by the time of his death, the Roman Empire reached its maximum territorial extent. He was given the title of Optimus ('the best') by
33250-483: Was a conservative one, argued as well by the orations of Dio Chrysostom—in particular his four Orations on Kingship , composed early during Trajan's reign. Dio, as a Greek notable and intellectual with friends in high places, and possibly an official friend to the emperor ( amicus caesaris ), saw Trajan as a defender of the status quo . In his third kingship oration, Dio describes an ideal king ruling by means of "friendship" – that is, through patronage and
33440-463: Was an ex post facto fiction developed by authors writing under Trajan, including Tacitus and Pliny . According to the Historia Augusta , the future Emperor Hadrian brought word to Trajan of his adoption. Trajan retained Hadrian on the Rhine frontier as a military tribune , and Hadrian thus became privy to the circle of friends and relations with whom Trajan surrounded himself. Among them
33630-504: Was an autocrat, his deferential behavior towards his peers qualified him to be viewed as a virtuous monarch. The idea is that Trajan wielded autocratic power through moderatio instead of contumacia – moderation instead of insolence. In short, according to the ethics for autocracy developed by most political writers of the Imperial Roman Age, Trajan was a good ruler in that he ruled less by fear, and more by acting as
33820-419: Was apparently executed forthwith ("put out of the way"), and his now-vacant post taken by Attius Suburanus . Trajan's accession, therefore, could qualify more as a successful coup than an orderly succession. On his entry to Rome, Trajan granted the plebs a direct gift of money. The traditional donative to the troops, however, was reduced by half. There remained the issue of the strained relations between
34010-433: Was between 150,000 and 175,000, while Decebalus could dispose of up to 200,000. Other estimates for the Roman forces involved in Trajan's second Dacian War cite around 86,000 for active campaigning with large reserves retained in the proximal provinces, and potentially much lower numbers around 50,000 for Decebalus' depleted forces and absent allies. In a fierce campaign that seems to have consisted mostly of static warfare,
34200-410: Was born on 18 September AD 53 in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica (in what is now Andalusia in modern Spain ), in the municipium of Italica (now in the municipal area of Santiponce , in the outskirts of Seville ), a Roman colony established in 206 BC by Scipio Africanus . At the time of Trajan's birth it was a small town, without baths, theatre and amphitheatre, and with
34390-611: Was dispatched with both land and naval forces to suppress the uprisings in Egypt and Libya. Literary sources suggest that the Jewish population in these regions faced severe reprisals and devastation. Meanwhile, General Lusius Quietus quelled the revolts in Mesopotamia and was subsequently appointed governor of Judaea . It was during this time that the lesser-known and less-understood Kitos War unfolded, involving Jewish unrest in Judaea. The uprisings were likely suppressed before autumn 117, possibly as early as summer, just prior to Trajan's death; however, some unrest may have persisted into
34580-441: Was entirely due to Trajan's outstanding military merits. There are hints, however, in contemporary literary sources that Trajan's adoption was imposed on Nerva. Pliny implied as much when he wrote that, although an emperor could not be coerced into doing something, if this was the way in which Trajan was raised to power, then it was worth it. Alice König argues that the notion of a natural continuity between Nerva's and Trajan's reigns
34770-592: Was granted the title Dacicus . The peace of 102 had returned Decebalus to the condition of more or less harmless client king; however, he soon began to rearm, to again harbour Roman runaways, and to pressure his Western neighbours, the Iazyges Sarmatians, into allying themselves with him. Through his efforts to develop an anti-Roman bloc, Decebalus prevented Trajan from treating Dacia as a protectorate instead of an outright conquest. In 104, Decebalus devised an attempt on Trajan's life by means of some Roman deserters,
34960-409: Was in Egypt during the revolt, reports that the Jews destroyed the shrine of Nemesis near Alexandria . He states that this destruction was "for the needs of the war," suggesting a tactical move to remove a strategic point of advantage for the enemy, possibly repurposing the stone to fortify their own defenses. This action, along with other attacks on pagan temples in Egypt and Cyrenaica, may explain
35150-406: Was mainly for marks of pre-eminence, especially for titles bestowed by the Roman emperor. Such titles were ordered in a ranking system that determined how the cities were to be outwardly treated by Rome. The usual form that such rivalries took was that of grandiose building plans, giving the cities the opportunity to vie with each other over "extravagant, needless ... structures that would make
35340-625: Was permanently occupied. After the post-Trajanic evacuation of lands across the lower Danube, land extending from the Danube to the inner arch of the Carpathian Mountains , including Transylvania , the Metaliferi Mountains and Oltenia was absorbed into the Roman province, which eventually took the form of an "excrescence" with ill-defined limits, stretching from the Danube northwards to the Carpathians . This may have been intended as
35530-492: Was posted to Brigetio , in Pannonia . By 105, the concentration of Roman troops assembled in the middle and lower Danube amounted to fourteen legions (up from nine in 101) – about half of the entire Roman army. Even after the Dacian wars, the Danube frontier would permanently replace the Rhine as the main military axis of the Roman Empire. Including auxiliaries , the number of Roman troops engaged on both campaigns
35720-557: Was settled by and named after Italic veterans who fought in Spain under Scipio, and new settlers arrived there from Italy in the following centuries. Among the Italic settlers were the Ulpii and the Traii , who were either part of the original colonists or arrived as late as the end of the 1st century BC. Their original home, according to the description of Trajan as "Ulpius Traianus ex urbe Tudertina" in
35910-425: Was the personal role played by Dio's relationship with Trajan. Dio is described by Philostratus as Trajan's close friend, and Trajan as supposedly engaging publicly in conversations with Dio. Nevertheless, as a Greek local magnate with a taste for costly building projects and pretensions of being an important political agent for Rome, Dio of Prusa was actually a target for one of Trajan's authoritarian innovations:
36100-405: Was then taken, and many of the rebellious Jews were executed; the "slain of Lydda" are often mentioned in words of reverential praise in the Talmud . Pappus and Julian were among those executed by the Romans that year, and became martyrs among the Jews. Lusius Quietus, whom Trajan had held in high regard and who had served Rome so well, was quietly stripped of his command once Hadrian had secured
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