Tacitus, Histories 5.9
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/420
Context
Cornelius Tacitus (ca. 56-ca. 120 C.E.) was an ancient historian of
the Roman Empire held in high esteem by scholars today. He enjoyed a successful career
as a prominent lawyer, a rising official in both the civic and provincial spheres, and
eventually suffect consul in 97 C.E. and then governor of Asia in 112-113 C.E. His major
historical works, Histories and so-called Annals (“From
the Departure of Augustus the God,” ab excessu divi Augusti), offered
a detailed narrative with penetrating political analysis of the Imperial government and
its ruling class from the death of Augustus through the Flavian dynasty, probably the
death of Domitian (14-96 C.E.)Before his account of the fall of Jerusalem to Titus in
70 C.E. (Histories 5), Tacitus delivers a long excursus on the history,
culture, and geography of the region. In this passage, he describes stages in the Roman
subjugation of the Jews, from Pompey (63 B.C.E.) to the Antonius Felix, the procurator
of Judaea whose base was Caesarea (52-60 C.E.)
Text
Romanorum primus Cn. Pompeius Iudaeos domuit templumque iure victoriae
ingressus est: inde vulgatum nulla intus deum effigie vacuam sedem et inania arcana.
Muri Hierosolymorum diruti, delubrum mansit. mox civili inter nos bello, postquam in
dicionem M. Antonii provinciae cesserant, rex Parthorum Pacorus Iudaea potitus
interfectusque a P. Ventidio, et Parthi trans Euphraten redacti: Iudaeos C. Sosius
subegit. Regnum ab Antonio Herodi datum victor Augustus auxit. Post mortem Herodis,
nihil expectato Caesare, Simo quidam regium nomen invaserat. Is a Quintilio Varo
obtinente Syriam punitus, et gentem coercitam liberi Herodis tripertito rexere. Sub
Tiberio quies. Dein iussi a C. Caesare effigiem eius in templo locare arma potius
sumpsere, quem motum Caesaris mors diremit. Claudius, defunctis regibus aut ad modicum
redactis, Iudaeam provinciam equitibus Romanis aut libertis permisit, e quibus Antonius
Felix per omnem saevitiam ac libidinem ius regium servili ingenio exercuit, Drusilla
Cleopatrae et Antonii nepte in matrimonium accepta, ut eiusdem Antonii Felix progener,
Claudius nepos esset.1
Textual Note
Ed. Fisher 2008Translation
The first Roman to subdue the Jews and enter their Temple by right
of conquest was Gnaeus Pompey [in 63 B.C.E.]. From then on it was widely known that
there were no images of the divine inside, but the sacred place was vacant and the
secret shrine empty. The walls of Jerusalem were raised but the Sanctuary remained
standing. Later, during our Civil Wars, after these provinces had fallen under the
control of Mark Antony, the king of the Parthians, Pecorus, seized Judaea, but he was
killed by Publius Ventidius, and the Parthians were driven back beyond the Euphrates;
and Gaius Sosius subdued the Jews [in 37 B.C.E]. Antony gave the kingdom to Herod, and
Augustus, after his victory, magnified it [in 31 B.C.E.] After the death of Herod, a
certain Simon assumed the royal title without waiting for Caesar’s sanction [in 4
B.C.E.] He was punished by Quintilius Varus, governor of Syria, and, after the
supression of the Jews, the sons of Herod ruled over a kingdom divided three ways. Under
Tiberius all was quiet. Then, when Gaius Caesar (Caligula) to set up his statue in their
Temple, they took up arms instead, but the emperor’s death put an end to the uprising
[in 41 C.E.]. Now that the kings were dead or had been reduced to insignificance,
Claudius made Judaea a province and entrusted it to Roman equestrians or to freedmen.
One of the latter, Antonius Felix, perpetrating every kind of cruelty and lust,
exercised his ruling power with a servile instinct [from 42 C.E.]. He married Drusilla,
the granddaughter of Cleopatra and Antony, and so he was Antony’s grandson-in-law, while
Claudius was Antony’s grandson.2
Translation Note
Adapted from Moore 1925Works Cited
- 1 Cornelius Tacitus, Corneli Taciti historiarum libri, ed. Charles D. Fisher, repr. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2008), bk: 5, ch: 9.
- 2 Cornelius Tacitus, Tacitus. The Histories; The Annals, trans. Clifford Herschel Moore and John Jackson, 4 vols., Loeb Classical Library (London & New York: Heinemann / Putnam, 1925), vol: 2, p: 190-191.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Tacitus, Histories 5.9,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/420.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Tacitus, Histories 5.9.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/420.About this Entry
Entry Title: Tacitus, Histories 5.9
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- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Tacitus, Histories 5.9”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Tacitus, Histories 5.9”
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