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Ananus ben Ananus, of the House of Annas, was the Jewish High Priest in 63 CE, and the leader of the anti-Zealot faction in Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt in 66-68 CE.

This page is edited by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan.

Overview

Ananus was the son of Annas (Ananus ben Seth), therefore a member of the powerful family who controlled the High Priesthood in the first century. He was the only High Priest of whom it is explicitly said (by Josephus) that he was not simply associated with the Sadducees but actually a member of that party. In spite of his strong connections, Ananus remained in power only three months, as he took advantage of the interregnum between Festus and Albinus to execute James, the brother of Jesus of Nazareth, and others, as "breakers of the Law." Ananus' action seems to confirm a consistent pattern of opposition by members of the House of Annas towards the Jesus movement. Ananus however was denounced by "the most equitable of the citizens" and accused by Albinus of abuse of power for "assembling a sanhedrin without his consent." As a result Ananus was deposed by Herod Agrippa II and replaced with Joshua ben Damnaeus.

According to Josephus, the former high priest played a major role at Jerusalem during the Jewish War, where he led the moderate and anti-Zealot faction of the rebellion, until his assassination. After the defeat of Cestius in 66 CE, members of the Jewish aristocracy "partly by force, partly by persuasion" joined the rebellion. Ananus was appointed with Joseph ben Gorion "to the supreme control of the city (of Jerusalem) with a special charge to raise the height of the walls"(Bel II 562-63). Teaming with other former High Priest Joshua ben Gamaliel of the House of Boethus, Ananus tried hard to fight against the rising power of the Zealots but they were both ultimately defeated and murdered. Josephus praised Ananus as a brave leader who was "unique in his love of liberty and an enthusiast for democracy," and whose "supreme object was to maintain peace." In his opinion, "the capture of the city began with the death of Ananaus," as the leadership of the rebellion fell into the hands of the most radical elements and the moderate leaders (among whom Josephus reckoned himself) were marginalized.

Ananus ben Ananus in ancient sources

Ananus ben Ananus (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Ananus ben Ananus in scholarship

Scholarly debate has focused on three major issues: (a) the relationship between the Sadducees and Ananus (and the House of Annas in general); (b) the episode of the killing of James; and (c) the pro-Roman or anti-Roman attitude of Ananus during the Jewish War.

See Ananus ben Ananus (research) -- survey of scholarly works

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-'''Ananus ben Ananus''' was the Jewish High Priest in 63 CE, and the leader of the anti-Zealot faction in Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt in 66-68 CE.
+*[[:Category:People|BACK TO THE PEOPLE--INDEX]]
-==Biography==
-Ananus was the son of [[:Category:Annas (subject)|Annas (Ananus ben Seth)]], therefore a member of the powerful family who controlled the High Priesthood in the first century. He was the only High Priest of whom it is explicitly said (by [[Josephus]]) that he was not simply associated with the [[Sadducees]] but actually a member of that party. However, Ananus remained in power only three months, as he took advantage of the interregnum between [[:Category:Festus (subject)|Festus]] and [[:Category:Albinus (subject)|Albinus]] to execute [[:Category:James (subject)|James]], the brother of [[:Category:Jesus of Nazareth (subject)|Jesus of Nazareth]], and others, as "breakers of the Law." Ananus's action confirms a consistent pattern of opposition by members of the House of [[Annas]] towards the Jesus movement. Ananus however was denounced by "the most equitable of the citizens" and accused by [[:Category:Albinus (subject)|Albinus]] of abuse of power for "assembling a sanhedrim without his consent." As a result Ananus was deposed by [[:Category:Herod Agrippa II (subject)|Herod Agrippa II]] and replaced by [[:Category:Joshua ben Damnaeus (subject)|Joshua ben Damnaeus]].
-According to Josephus, the former high priest played a major role at Jerusalem during the [[Jewish revolt]], where he led the moderate and anti-Zealot faction of the rebellion, until his assassination. After the defeat of Cestius in 66 CE, members of the Jewish aristocracy "partly by force, partly by persuasion" joined the rebellion. Ananus was appointed with [[Joseph ben Gorion]] "to the supreme control of the city (of Jerusalem) with a special charge to raise the height of the walls"(Bel II 562-63). Ananus tried hard to fight against the rising power of the [[Zealots]] but he was ultimately defeated and murdered. Josephus praised Ananus as a brave leader who was "unique in his love of liberty and an enthusiast for democracy," and whose "supreme object was to maintain peace." In his opinion, "the capture of the city began with the death of Ananaus," as the leadership of the rebellion fell into the hands of the most radical elements and the moderate leaders (among whom Josephus reckoned himself) were marginalized.
+'''Ananus ben Ananus''', of the [[House of Annas]], was the Jewish High Priest in 63 CE, and the leader of the anti-Zealot faction in Jerusalem during the Jewish revolt in 66-68 CE.
-==Ananus in ancient sources==
+*This page is edited by [[Gabriele Boccaccini]], University of Michigan.
-Josephus is the major source of information on Ananus.
-====Josephus====
-. And now Caesar (i.e. [[Nero]]), upon hearing the death of [[Festus]], sent [[Albinus]] into Judea, as procurator. But the king (i.e. [[Herod Agrippa II]]) deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of [[Annas|Ananus]], who was also himself called Ananus... But this younger Ananus... was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the [[Sadducees]], who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. [[Festus]] was now dead, and [[Albinus]] was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was [[James the brother|James]], and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king (i.e. [[Herod Agrippa II]]), desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet [[Albinus]], as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent. Whereupon [[Albinus]] complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damnaeus, high priest. (Josephus, Ant XX 9:1).
+==Overview==
-==Ananus in Scholarship==
+Ananus was the son of [[:Category:Annas (subject)|Annas (Ananus ben Seth)]], therefore a member of the powerful family who controlled the High Priesthood in the first century. He was the only High Priest of whom it is explicitly said (by [[Josephus]]) that he was not simply associated with the [[Sadducees]] but actually a member of that party. In spite of his strong connections, Ananus remained in power only three months, as he took advantage of the interregnum between [[:Category:Festus (subject)|Festus]] and [[:Category:Albinus (subject)|Albinus]] to execute [[:Category:James (subject)|James]], the brother of [[:Category:Jesus of Nazareth (subject)|Jesus of Nazareth]], and others, as "breakers of the Law." Ananus' action seems to confirm a consistent pattern of opposition by members of the [[House of Annas]] towards the Jesus movement. Ananus however was denounced by "the most equitable of the citizens" and accused by [[Albinus]] of abuse of power for "assembling a sanhedrin without his consent." As a result Ananus was deposed by [[Herod Agrippa II]] and replaced with [[Joshua ben Damnaeus]].
-Scholarly debate has focused on three major issues: (a) the relationship between the Sadducees and Ananus (and the House of [[Annas]] in general); (b) the episode of the killing of James; and (c) the pro-Roman or anti-Roman attitude of Ananus during the [[Jewish War]].
-Some scholars take the reference to Ananus the Sadducee as evidence of the Sadducean membership of the entire House of Annas; some caution that "we have no evidence for such a conclusion" (VanderKam).
+According to Josephus, the former high priest played a major role at Jerusalem during the [[Jewish War]], where he led the moderate and anti-Zealot faction of the rebellion, until his assassination. After the defeat of Cestius in 66 CE, members of the Jewish aristocracy "partly by force, partly by persuasion" joined the rebellion. Ananus was appointed with [[Joseph ben Gorion]] "to the supreme control of the city (of Jerusalem) with a special charge to raise the height of the walls"(Bel II 562-63). Teaming with other former High Priest [[Joshua ben Gamaliel]] of the [[House of Boethus]], Ananus tried hard to fight against the rising power of the [[Zealots]] but they were both ultimately defeated and murdered. Josephus praised Ananus as a brave leader who was "unique in his love of liberty and an enthusiast for democracy," and whose "supreme object was to maintain peace." In his opinion, "the capture of the city began with the death of Ananaus," as the leadership of the rebellion fell into the hands of the most radical elements and the moderate leaders (among whom Josephus reckoned himself) were marginalized.
-Tessa Rajak maintains that the reference to James is a Christian interpolation, with no historical value; others (Poehlmann, VanderKam) give credibility to the episode.
+==Ananus ben Ananus in ancient sources==
-According to Smallwood, Ananus was consistently anti-Roman since his act of defiance in executing James, and urged moderation only when he finally realized the futility of the resistance. Horsley instead suggests that Ananus joined the revolt only reluctantly and remained always pro-Roman. Others point out at the difficulty to provide any historical reconstruction as Josephus' account is too much influenced by his own apologetic concerns.
+* [[Ananus ben Ananus (sources)]] -- survey of ancient sources
-====References====
+== Ananus ben Ananus in scholarship ==
-*High Priests and Politics in Roman Palestine / [[E. Mary Smallwood]] / JTS 13 (1962) / pp.14-34
-*High Priests and the Politics of Roman Palestine / [[Richard A. Horsley]] / JSJ 17 (1986) / pp.23-55
-*The Sadducees as Josephus Presents Them; or, The Curious Case of Ananus / [[W. Poehlmann]] / [[All Things New (1992 Hulltgren, et al.), edited volume]] / pp.87-100
-*The Jewish Leadership in Jerusalem in the First Part of the Great Revolt (66-68 BE) / [[Uriel Rappaport]] / [[The Congregation of Israel (2001 Gafni), edited volume]] / pp.75-83 <Hebrew>
-*[[From Joshua to Caiaphas (2004 VanderKam), book]] / pp.476-482
-==Ananus in Fiction==
+Scholarly debate has focused on three major issues: (a) the relationship between the [[Sadducees]] and Ananus (and the [[House of Annas]] in general); (b) the episode of the killing of [[James]]; and (c) the pro-Roman or anti-Roman attitude of Ananus during the [[Jewish War]].
+* See [[Ananus ben Ananus (research)]] -- survey of scholarly works
 ==Related categories==
-*[[:Category:Annas (subject)|Annas (subject)]]
-*[[:Category:James (subject)|James (subject)]]
+*[[High Priests]] / [[House of Annas]] / [[Joshua ben Gamaliel]]
-*[[:Category:Herod Agrippa II (subject)|Herod Agrippa II (subject)]] / [[:Category:Albinus (subject)|Albinus (subject)]]
+*[[James the Just]]
+*[[Herod Agrippa II]]
+*[[Herodians]] / [[Albinus]]
 ==External links==
 *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananus_ben_Ananus Wikipedia]
-[[Category:Subjects]]
-[[Category:People]]
+[[Category:Index (database)]]
+[[Category:People (database)]]