Flavius Josephus (2016 Boccaccini), graduate seminar

NEAREAST 490.002: Flavius Josephus and the Jewish War.

In 66 CE the historian Flavius Josephus was one of the military leaders of the Jewish War against the Romans. The rebellion was initially successful and took several years to the Roman Army to regain control of the region. Surprisingly enough, however, there were Jews like Herod Agrippa II, Berenice, Tiberius Alexander, and eventually Josephus himself, who played a crucial role in the repression of the revolt and in the rise to power of Vespasian and Titus as the new Roman Emperors. The Jewish War turned into a civil strife with Jewish soldiers and Jewish commanders besieging Jerusalem with the Romans. The course aims to explore these forgotten aspects of the Jewish War; it is open to graduates and advanced undergraduates.

Syllabus

(1) Sept 7, 2016 -- Introduction

Part 1 The Interpreters

(2) Sept 14, 2016

• Josephus (1914 Bentwich), book
• Josephus: The Man and the Historian (1929 Thackeray), book

(3) Sept 21, 2016

• Josephus: The Historian and His Society (1983 Rajak), book (2nd ed. 2002)
• Josephus in Galilee and Rome (1979 Cohen), book

(4) Sept 28, 2016

• Flavius Josephus = Flavius Josèphe (1993 @1989 Hadas-Lebel / Miller), book (English ed.)
• Flavius Josephus between Jerusalem and Rome (1988 Bilde), book

(5) Oct 5, 2016

• Josephus, the Emperors, and the City of Rome (2014 Hollander), book
• A Jew among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus (2013 Raphael), non-fiction

Part 1: the Sources

(6) Oct 12, 2016 - Jewish War (books 1-2)

(7) Oct 19, 2016 - Jewish War (books 3-4)

(8) Oct 26, 2016 - Jewish War (book 5-6)

(9) Nov 2, 2016 - Book 6 and book 7 (first part)

<Special event: "Disability and the Destruction of Jerusalem: Gender, Sex, and Flesh in Rabbinic Narrative," lecture by Julia Watts Belser, Georgetown University (Tuesday, November 15th, 4 pm, 202 S. Thayer St., Room 2022.>

(10) Nov 16, 2016 - Book 7 (second Part) Life

Part 3: The Characters (papers)

(11) Nov 30, 2016 - Berenice & Herod Agrippa II

(12) Dec 7, 2016 - Tiberius Alexander - Josephus & Luke

(13) Dec 14, 2016 - Joshua - Wrap-Up Session.

Bibliography

Auto-biography:

• Life of Josephus (2001 Mason), book

Biographies:

• Josephus, the Emperors, and the City of Rome (2014 Hollander), book

• A Jew among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus (2013 Raphael), non-fiction

• Flavius Josephus = Flavius Josèphe (1993 @1989 Hadas-Lebel / Miller), book (English ed.)

• Flavius Josephus between Jerusalem and Rome (1988 Bilde), book

• Josephus: The Historian and His Society (1983 Rajak), book (2nd ed. 2002)

• Josephus in Galilee and Rome (1979 Cohen), book

• Josephus: The Man and the Historian (1929 Thackeray), book

• Josephus (1914 Bentwich), book

Notes

• The Romans supported the Hasmonean Kingdom against the Seleucid Empire.

• After the collapse of the Seleucid Empire, the Romans intervened in the region, by supporting a Jewish faction against the other.

• They then supported Antipater and his descendants (the Herodians). Antipater received Roman citizenship by Julius Caesar.

Book 3

• Vespasian arrived in Antioch where he met Agrippa II