John Malalas, Chronicle 10.25
created: This entry is taken from Chronicle 10.25 written by John Malalas in 530-532 C.E.
edition published: 2023-06-30-05:00
language: grc; grc
availability: Except for materials quoted from other sources, this entry is copyright 2023 by the contributors (Joseph L. Rife, et al.) and the Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project. It is licensed under the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Some texts quoted in this entry may be in the public domain in the United States. No copyright is asserted for these quotations. Some texts quoted in this entry may have copyright restrictions and are reused under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/135

Caesarea Maritima is indirectly attested at John Malalas, Chronicle 10.25. This passage was written ca. 530-532 C.E. possibly in Antioch on the Orontes. John Malalas, a moniker probably derived from Aramaic malolo meaning “orator”, was an educated Syrian who moved from Antioch to Constantinople early in the reign of Justinian I. His only known work is a historical chronicle in 18 books, apparently composed in two editions, spanning from early times probably to the death of Justinian, with a distinct focus on events in the eastern Mediterranean. In this passage, John records for the year 49 C.E. a Jewish rebellion against Roman rule and a strong response by the tribune Festus and the governor Felix. The unrest is vaguely portrayed, so that we cannot tell whether the historian has in mind the movement under the Egyptian pseudo-prophet or another activity around the same time.

Τῷ δὲ ὀγδόῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος διωγμὸν μέγαν ἐποίησαν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι κατὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τυραννίδα κατὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐμελέτουν. ὅθεν πρῶτος ἐπέμφθη κατ’ αὐτῶν χιλίαρχος ὀνόματι Φῆστος· καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου ὄλεθρος αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο. καὶ ἄρχοντα γὰρ προεχειρίσατο αὐτοῖς ὁ αὐτὸς Κλαύδιος βασιλεὺς Φήλικα ὀνόματι, ταράσσοντα αὐτούς.

[Ed. Thurn 2000]

In the eighth year of the reign of Claudius Caesar the Jews began a fierce persecution of the apostles and their disciples, and planned a rebellion against the Romans. Therefore a tribune, named Festus, was sent against them first, and from that time destuction came upon them. The emperor Claudius also appointed a governor over them, named Felix, who harrassed them.

[Adapted from Jeffreys et al. 2017]

Works Cited

[...] 10.25 131
[...] 10.25 187

[Claudius, emperor

Felix

Festus]

[Government and Law

Judaism

Military

Roman History]