RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:ECO-JUDAISM: THE KITOS WAR: JEWISH COURAGE FROM CYRENE TO WASHINGTON — STRENGTH, SURVIVAL, AND SPIRIT AGAINST TYRANNY ACROSS THE AGES IN THE FACE OF EMPIRES ;;WORD DOC 2 OF 2

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THE KITOS WAR: JEWISH COURAGE FROM CYRENE TO WASHINGTON — STRENGTH, SURVIVAL, AND SPIRIT AGAINST TYRANNY ACROSS THE AGES IN THE FACE OF EMPIRES ;;WORD DOC 2 OF 2

APPENDIX

NB: The below research would have taken me months to accumulate. AI, using Wikipedia and primary and secondary sources, compiled it in seconds. I am copying and pasting it all. I am more interested in the spiritual, ethical, Mussar, Jewish Spiritual Renewal, aspects of this time in Jewish history, 2000 years ago. But I do find it fascinating how Jews, at least three times, were able to mount an effective revolt against Rome and sustain it for 2 or 3 years.

So, I say to my readers, my colleagues, and to myself: let us be the generation that remembers. Let us refuse the luxury of apathy. Let us build a world where moral courage is not the exception, but the expectation.

Diaspora Revolt

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Jewish revolt across several provinces. For the revolt in Judaea, see Kitos War.

Diaspora Revolt

Second Jewish–Roman War

Part of the Jewish–Roman wars

Provinces of the Roman Empire involved in the Diaspora Revolt (117 CE)

Date 115–117 CE

Location

Diaspora Revolt:

Egypt

Cyrenaica

Cyprus

Mesopotamia

Kitos War:

Judaea

Result

Roman victory with the revolt being quelled

Ethnic cleansing of Jews in Egypt, Cyrenaica and Cyprus

Halt of further Roman expansion to the east

Belligerents

Roman Empire

Local populations

Jewish rebels, primarily in:

Egypt

Cyrenaica

Cyprus

Mesopotamia

Judaea

Commanders and leaders

Trajan #

Hadrian

Marcius Turbo

Lusius Quietus

Lukuas (Andreas)

Artemio

The term "Diaspora Revolt" (115–117 CE;[1] Hebrew: מרד הגלויות, romanized: mered ha-galuyot, or מרד התפוצות, mered ha-tfutzot, 'rebellion of the diaspora'; Latin: Tumultus Iudaicus[2]), also known as the Trajanic Revolt[3] and sometimes as the Second Jewish–Roman War,[a][4] 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 for rebellion. The ancient sources do not specify 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.

Jewish–Roman wars

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 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-controlled territories.

Marcius Turbo, one of Trajan's top generals, 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 Lucius Quietus , aka Kitos, 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 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, 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.

Primary sources

The available narrative sources on the Diaspora Revolt are limited, fragmented and incomplete, making it difficult for historians to reconstruct a comprehensive account of the events.[5][6] The principal sources, Cassius Dio and Eusebius,[7] provide only a brief coverage on the events.[8] In addition to these, a few other less detailed literary references survive. Scholars also rely on archaeological evidence, including ancient documents and inscriptions, to supplement and clarify the limited textual record.[9]

Cassius Dio (c. 155–c. 235), a Roman historian and senator, addresses the revolt in his Roman History, providing the most detail on the events in Cyrene, while offering only brief mention of Cyprus and a passing reference to Egypt.[7] He also records the Roman suppression of unrest in Mesopotamia, though he does not explicitly identify a Jewish role in that region.[7] Dio's narrative survives only through a 12th-century abridgment by the Byzantine scholar Xiphilinus.[8][10] This account attributes responsibility for the uprisings to the Jewish population.[11] Classicist Timothy Barnes has suggested that Xiphilinus's anti-Jewish sentiment may have influenced and distorted the original text,[5] whereas historian Lester L. Grabbe argues that "there is no reason to assume that it has been extensively distorted or rewritten, only shortened by omission."[12]

Eusebius (c. 260–339 CE), a bishop and scholar from Syria Palaestina, addresses the revolt in both his Chronicon and Ecclesiastical History,[13] both of which are considered reliable sources.[14] His account centers on the uprisings in Egypt,[15] with additional references to a Jewish rebellion in Mesopotamia and events in Cyprus.[16] He notes that Greek historians provide accounts of the revolt similar to his, though he appears unaware of Cassius Dio's version, which emphasizes atrocities.[16] In contrast, Eusebius adopts a more neutral tone.[16] Nonetheless, his portrayal of the revolt is framed within his broader theological argument that Jewish suffering was a consequence of their rejection of Christ.[8]

Appian (c. 95–c. 165), an Egyptian-born Greek historian and lawyer, provides a first-person account of the revolt in the surviving portions of his Roman History.[16][17] 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 the Pompey monument near Alexandria.[16][18] His neutral tone is similar to that of Eusebius, who is believed to have used Appian as a source.[16] Also active in the second century, Arrian, a Greek author, wrote a now-lost work on the Parthians that reportedly included references to Trajan's actions against the Jews, and is believed to have been used as a source by Eusebius.[15]

Another source for the Diaspora Revolt is Paulus Orosius (c. 375–after 418), a Christian Roman historian and theologian, who discusses the events in his Seven Books Against the Pagans, composed around 418 CE.[19][20] However, the reliability of Orosius's account has been questioned due to its chronological and historical inaccuracies.[20] His narrative draws on the works of Eusebius, likely accessed through Latin translations by Jerome and Rufinus, but Orosius introduces rearrangements and adopts a more vivid and dramatic rhetorical style to enhance the account.[19] According to Judaic scholar William Horbury, Orosius's version of the revolt is derivative, lacks immediacy, and can be characterized as "vague" in its presentation.[19]

The uprisings in Egypt are also documented by papyrological evidence.[9] which offers valuable insights into the events.[6] These documents, part of the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum (CPJ) collection,which includes ancient papyri related to Jews and Judaism in Egypt[21], shed light on key aspects of the revolt, including its chronology, casualties, impact, and aftermath.[22] Papyri, for example, showed that local Egyptians fought against the Jews, instead of supporting them, as was suggested earlier.[23] Additionally, archaeological and epigraphic evidence strengthens the understanding of the revolt in Cyprus and Cyrenaica,[5] 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.[24]

The Jerusalem Talmud, Sukkah 5:1, contains three stories about the Jewish revolt, including references to the destruction of the Great Synagogue of Alexandria and the massacre of Jews by Trajan.[16][25] 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,[26] 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 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.[25]

Background

The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, 70 CE contributed to the sense of unrest and messianic expectations that played a significant role in the Diaspora Revolt

The motivations behind the revolts are complex and not easily discernible due to the lack of direct sources addressing the underlying causes.[27][28] However, a prevailing sense of unrest and dissatisfaction among the Jewish population of the time can be traced to several factors. The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans 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.[27] 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 the Davidic kingdom in Israel[29]—as well as a longing for the re-establishment of the Jewish state.[27] 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.[27] The messianic aspect of the revolt is perhaps suggested by Eusebius referring to Lukuas, 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.[30][2]

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.[27] 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.[11] The defeat of 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.[31] The conflict intensified anti-Jewish rhetoric in Egypt and exacerbating mutual hostilities between Jews and Egyptians.[31] In the years leading up to the Diaspora Revolt, incidents of anti-Jewish violence by Greeks occurred in 112 and the summer of 115 CE.[27] These attacks, especially the latter, were likely direct catalysts for the Jewish uprising in the region.[27] 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.[27] Additionally, the destruction of the Jewish landholding aristocracy exacerbated economic hardships for Jewish tenant farmers, pushing them into cities and worsening their plight.[32]

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.[33] He adds that Jews in 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.[34] This idea is supported by Josephus' account of radical Sicarii refugees in Cyrene, the discovery of First Jewish revolt coinage in Memphis and near Cyrene, and traces of these themes in diasporic literature.[34]

Classicist historian E. Mary Smallwood suggests that the revolutionary 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.[30] Archaeologist Shimon Applebaum writes that the movement aimed at "the setting up of a new Jewish commonwealth, whose task was to inaugurate the messianic era."[35] Biblical scholar and historian 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.[2] Similarly, Horbury writes that the Jewish forces likely aimed to return to and defend Judaea.[33]

Uprisings

The Jewish uprisings erupted almost simultaneously across various Diaspora regions in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.[36] 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.[36] There is no evidence that Jewish communities in Asia Minor participated in the revolt,[3] and the Jewish community in Rome also did not join the uprising.[37] Eusebius links the revolts in Libya and Egypt, while late Syriac sources mention that Jews from Egypt fled to Judaea.[36] However, there is no definitive evidence of a coordinated effort.[36][38]

Libya

We are left with the ruins of Cyrene, Libya. The city's center was extensively damaged during the revolt, with public baths, the Caesareum, and several temples destroyed.

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 a single person known by both names—a common practice at the time.[39] Eusebius refers to Lukuas as "king",[40][39] a title that has prompted some scholars to speculate on a possible messianic motivation behind the uprising, though evidence supporting this theory remains limited.[39] 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, the Jews of Libya moved into Egypt.[39]

Dio's account describes the Jews of Libya as engaging in shockingly violent and cruel behavior.[39] 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.[40][35] Dio reported that the Jewish rebels in Cyrenaica were responsible for approximately 220,000 Gentile deaths,[40] though this figure is likely exaggerated for rhetorical effect.[35] 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."[41] 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 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.[39]

Epigraphical sources provide evidence of attacks on religious and civic structures, including temples and statues.[39] In Cyrene, for instance, the sanctuary of Apollo witnessed 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.[39][42] Bishop Synesius, a native of Cyrene from the early 5th century, also refers to the devastation caused by the Jews, four centuries after the revolt.[43]

The archaeological evidence, including inscriptions, sheds light on the significant destruction caused by the Jews in Cyrenaica during the revolt.[44] 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.[39][40] Classicist Joyce Reynolds notes significant damage to the sanctuary of Asclepius at Balagrae, west of Cyrene, which was later rebuilt under the Antonin dynasty.[42][39] 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 classicist Joyce Reynolds, that Jews deliberately sought to disrupt the route connecting Cyrene with neighboring regions to the west.[39] The destruction of a small second-century temple near modern El Dab'a in Marmarica is likely also attributable to the Jewish rebels.[42]

Egypt

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.[17] Pucci Ben Zeev, however, contends that this document actually describes Greek attacks on Jews, rather than the beginning of a Jewish uprising, and prefers to date the revolt's start to 116 CE.[17] 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.[17] The latest possible date for the revolt's start is the beginning of September 116, as indicated by CPJ II 436, a concerned letter, from the wife of the strategos (military leader) Apollonios in Hermoupolis.[17]

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.[15] This unrest was soon followed by the advance of Jewish forces from Cyrene, led by Lukuas, who then achieved an initial victory over the Greeks. The Greeks escaped to Alexandria, massacring its Jewish population.[45] 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.[46] Papyrological evidence indicates that the revolt indeed affected extensive areas, including the Athribite district, the region around Memphis (noted for its antisemitism), the Faiyum, Oxyrhynchus, and the Herakleopolite nome. Further south, fighting also impacted the Kynopolite, Hermopolite, Lycopolite, and Apollinopolite districts.[17] 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.[47]

Appian reports that the Jews destroyed the shrine of Nemesis near Alexandria.[17][48] He states that this destruction was "for the needs of the war", suggesting an attempt to remove a strategic point of advantage for the enemy, possibly repurposing the stone to fortify their own defenses.[16] This action, along with other attacks on pagan temples in Egypt and Cyrenaica, may explain the term 'impious Jews' used in some papyri.[17] Appian records that the Jews seized control of waterways near Pelusium,[17] 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,[17] a fort situated at the entrance of Amnis Traianus, a canal constructed under Trajan, which facilitated connections between the Nile and the Red Sea.[49]

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.[17] Some efforts were successful, as evidenced by 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.[17]

Cyprus

Most of what we know about the events in Cyprus comes from literary sources, as epigraphical evidence is limited, indirect, and difficult to interpret.[50] Dio reports that 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.[50][51] 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".[50]

Suppression

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 a considerable time and killed many thousands of Jews, not only those of Cyrene but also those of Egypt."[52] 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.[53]

Turbo arrived in Egypt in late 116 or early 117.[53] He was likely accompanied by the cohorts I Ulpia Afrorum equitata and the cohorts 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.[52] One papyrus details plans to mobilize large forces, including fleets from Misenum and Ravenna, the Legio III Cyrenaica, and auxiliary units such as the Cohorts I Flavia Cilicum equitata.[52] Legio XXII Deiotariana and Legio III Cyrenaica fought against the Jews, with the names of specific Roman legionaries from these units recorded as being killed in combat.[52] Native Egyptians and Greeks, driven by entrenched anti-Jewish sentiments intensified by wartime conditions and imperial support, eagerly joined the Romans in attacking Jews.[53][54] The early severe losses suffered by the Roman military had resulted in the conscription of locals into the army, and the presence of seasoned Roman troops, eager for retribution, further exacerbated the violence.[53]

Turbo's mission seemingly included not only quelling the revolt but also exterminating Jews in the affected areas.[55] Roman repression was severe, with Appian describing it as an extermination of the Jewish population in Egypt,[56][57][58] and Arian writes that Trajan asked "to destroy the nation entirely, but if not, at least to crush it and stop its presumptuous wickedness."[59][60] The Jerusalem Talmud noted the destruction of the celebrated Great Synagogue of Alexandria.[61][52] Turbo's military actions may have extended to Libya, where a Roman praefectus castrorum was killed.[52]

In Cyprus, the suppression of the Jewish revolt was led by Gaius Valerius Rufus, one of Trajan's generals.[52] 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.[62][52]

Scholarly debate surrounds 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.[52] However, historians Noah Hacham and Tal Ilan point to evidence suggesting more prolonged unrest. In CPJ 664c, 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.[63]

Related events

Events in Mesopotamia

The scarcity of literary sources documenting Roman violence against Jews in Mesopotamia, which became a Roman province during Trajan's Parthian campaign around 115 CE,[64] 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.[65] Eusebius' Chronicon reports that Trajan suspected the Jews in Mesopotamia "would also attack the inhabitants",[66] prompting him to send General Lucius Quietus, aka Kitos, to suppress them harshly.[67] Eusebius further notes that Quietus "murdered a great number of the Jews there."[66] Later Christian sources also describe a military campaign led by Quietus against the Jews.[65]

In contrast, Cassius Dio's account does not mention a Jewish uprising or a campaign against Jews in Mesopotamia.[67] Instead, Dio refers to 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.[65][67] Notably, the Jews are not mentioned in this context;[65] while Dio does provide a brief reference to Quietus subduing the Jews, this reference is made in the context of the revolts in Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrenaica, without specifying a geographic location.[65] Historian 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.[67]

The "Kitos War" in Judaea

Around 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 Lucius 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 the Second Temple and sixteen years before the Bar Kokhba revolt, resulting in restrictive legislation and a ban on teaching Greek.[68]

Late Syriac sources mention unrest in Judaea, claiming that Jews from Egypt and Libya were defeated by Roman forces there.[68] An inscription from Sardinia mentions an expeditio Judaeae among Trajan's military campaigns. Additionally, Judaea's status changed from praetorian to consular, and a second permanent legion was added before 120 CE.[68] According to historian 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.[8]

Aftermath

Destruction of Jewish communities

A replica of a Roman milestone was found at Shahhat, near Cyrene, with an inscription documenting the repair of a road damaged during the Jewish uprising, carried out under Hadrian.

The suppression of the revolt saw a devastating campaign of ethnic cleansing,[55] which effectively led to the near-total expulsion and annihilation of Jews from Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and many parts of Egypt.[55][69] 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.[55]

In Egypt, the Jewish community suffered near-total destruction during the revolt,[70] an event historian Willy Clarysse characterizes as a genocide.[71] Appian reported that Trajan "was utterly destroying the Jewish people in Egypt,"[56][72] a claim corroborated by papyri and inscriptions documenting widespread devastation of Jewish populations across many regions.[55] Jewish lands were confiscated,[73][55] and Trajan implemented a new registry, the Ioudaikos logos, to catalog properties that had previously belonged to Jews.[74] The Jewish community in Alexandria appears to have been entirely eradicated, with the only survivors likely being those who had fled to other regions at the onset of the uprising.[75] The large synagogue of Alexandria, celebrated in the Talmud, was destroyed,[76][77] and the Jewish court in Alexandria might have been abolished.[73] Horbury suggests that some Jewish refugees fled to Judaea, bringing with them stories about Egypt and Trajan, which were later preserved through rabbinic transmission.[78] Others may have fled to Syria, where it is possible that works like 4 Maccabees were created by Alexandrian Jews who had resettled in Antioch.[79]

After 117 CE, Jewish presence in Egypt and Libya virtually disappears from historical sources.[73] 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.[80] In 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.[80] It was not until the third century that Jews re-established communities in Egypt, but they never regained their former influence.[81]

In Cyrenaica, a gap in the evidence following the revolt suggests that the region was virtually depopulated of Jews due to their migration to Egypt and subsequent massacres by non-Jews.[55] After the war ended, laws were placed ordering the exile of Jews from Cyrene, which historian 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 the Jews expelled joined Berber tribes, particularly those around modern-day Sirte.[82] A substantial Jewish community was not reestablished in Cyrenaica until the fourth century.[80]

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."[73][83] This claim is corroborated by archaeological evidence, which indicates no Jewish presence on the island until the fourth century.[73]

Impact on the eastern provinces

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.[73] Roman troops in Egypt suffered significant losses, with some units experiencing 30–40 percent casualties.[53] Egypt's agricultural hinterlands were heavily impacted by the war, and many farmlands remained unrecovered and underproductive for decades.[53] Despite this, census data do not show a major demographic disruption in the overall population.[53]

In Cyrenaica, there was significant damage to buildings, temples, and roads, especially in Cyrene,[73] where the city's center was extensively destroyed.[44] 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.[84] Hadrianic inscriptions document the restoration of sites such as the baths by the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Caesareum.[85] A letter from Hadrian to the Cyrenaeans in 134/5 CE urged them to prevent their city from remaining in ruins.[86] 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 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.[86]

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:[73]

The Jews waged war on 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.[87]

In Alexandria, the damage was less extensive than Eusebius suggests, who claimed the city was "overthrown" and required rebuilding by Hadrian.[76] 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.[76][88] The Ptolemaic Serapeum and other structures were likely damaged later by Egyptian and Cyrenaican Jews, rather than by Alexandrian Jews.[76]

The total destruction of Salamis 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.[73]

Impact on Trajan's Parthian campaign

The simultaneous Jewish uprisings across various regions forced Trajan to divert his top military leaders from 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.[89] 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 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.[90][91]

This shift in focus from the east may have influenced Hadrian's policy of avoiding further imperial expansion, contrasting with Trajan's approach.[89] Despite a triumph celebrated at Trajan's funerals, the Parthian war ended in failure and ensured that Babylonian Jews remained outside Roman control, as reflected in the Babylonian Talmud's assertion of their protection from Roman decrees: "The Holy One, blessed be He, knows that Israel is unable to endure the cruel decrees of Edom, therefore He exiled them to Babylonia".[92][89] Orosius, writing in the early fifth century, saw the Jewish uprisings as divine punishment—a plague upon Rome—resulting from its persecution of Christians.[7]

Bar Kokhba revolt

Fifteen years after the Diaspora Revolt, the Bar Kokhba revolt erupted in Judaea, marking the final major Jewish uprising against Roman rule and the last attempt to restore Jewish independence in the Land of Israel.[93] The revolt was driven by a combination of factors: administrative changes in Judaea following the First Jewish–Roman War, a heavy Roman military presence, economic decline possibly linked to a shift from landownership to sharecropping, and a rise in nationalistic sentiment fueled by the Diaspora Revolt.[3] Immediate causes debated by scholars include Hadrian's establishment of Aelia Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem and a ban on circumcision.[3]

Under the leadership of Simon bar Kokhba, the Jews initially succeeded in establishing a short-lived independent state.[94] However, the Romans responded with a massive military campaign, decisively suppressing the revolt by 135 CE.[95] The suppression resulted in extensive destruction across Judaea, mass death, displacement, and enslavement, along with severe punitive measures. The province was renamed Syria Palaestina, and Jews faced restrictions on religious practice.[96]

After the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Jewish population in Judaea was significantly diminished, and the Jewish center shifted to Galilee.[97] Within the Roman Empire, the most significant Jewish diaspora communities were in Asia Minor and Italy, while the largest Jewish populations were concentrated in Central Mesopotamia, under Parthian and later Sasanian rule.[97]

Influence on Jewish thought

In the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, a tannaitic exegesis on Exodus, the 'days of Trajan' are cited as the third instance in which the Torah's injunction against returning to Egypt was violated, resulting in three punishments:[98][99]

In three places God warned Israel not to return to Egypt [...] Yet three times they returned, and three times they fell. The first was in the days of Sennacherib, as it is said, Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help. The second was in the days of Yohanan son of Kareah, as it is said, 'Then it shall come to pass that the word, which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt. The third time was in the days of Trajan. On these three occasions they returned, and on all three occasions they fell.[100]

The reference to the calamity during Trajan's reign is notably more concise than the detailed accounts of the earlier violations, suggesting that the event was still vivid in Jewish consciousness.[98] According to this interpretation, the destruction of the community in Alexandria was a consequence of violating the prohibition against returning to Egypt, implying that every Jewish settlement in Egypt was a sin.[98] While the Mekhilta does not identify the sage behind this saying, a parallel tradition in the Jerusalem Talmud attributes it to Shimon bar Yochai,[101] a sage of the generation following the Bar Kokhba revolt, who, in numerous other sayings, emphasized the centrality of the Land of Israel.[98] According to Noah Hacham, Bar Yochai's statement served a dual purpose: it aimed to explain to his contemporaries the destruction of the Jewish community in Egypt, while also reinforcing the notion that, despite the disastrous consequences of the Bar Kokhba revolt and subsequent distress, only the Land of Israel offered the hope of safety and salvation for the Jewish people.[102] The Jerusalem Talmud, following bar Yochai's statement and before a description of the Great Synagogue of Alexandria and its destruction by Trajan, includes an amoraic passage (a rabbinic text dated between 200–500 CE) written in a blend of Hebrew and Aramaic, offering an explanation for Trajan's massacre of the Jews in Alexandria:[103]

A son was born to him on the Ninth of Ave and they did fast. His daughter died on Ḥanukkah and they lit lights. His wife sent and told him, instead that you conquer the barbarians come and conquer the Jews who revolted against you. He intended to come in ten days and came and found them occupied [in the Torah with the verse:] He will carry against you a people from far away, from the ends of the earth, etc. He asked them, with what were you occupied. They answered him, with such-and-such. He said to them, this man is he since he intended to come in ten days but came in five. He surrounded them by legions and killed them. He said to their wives, if you listen to my legions I shall not kill you. They told him, what you did to those on the ground floor do to those on the gallery. He mixed their blood with their blood and the blood flowed in the sea up to Cyprus. At that moment the horn of Israel was trimmed and will not be restituted until the Son of David will come.[101]

The story highlights a stark contrast between the Jews and Rome: while the emperor celebrates the birth of his son, the Jews fast in mourning; and when his daughter dies, the Jews rejoice with festive lights. Interpreting these acts as signs of rebellion, Trajan's wife persuades him to redirect his focus from the Parthian campaign to suppress the Jews.[104][105] Though the story reflects historical facts, such as Trajan's reallocation of troops, it also contains fictional elements—Trajan is not known to have had children, nor is there evidence of his presence in Egypt during this time.[104] The Torah passage cited in the story, referencing an enemy nation and in a later part, the eagle—also a Roman symbol—identifies the biblical, prophesized oppressor with Rome.[106]

Noah Hacham interprets the stories as reflecting a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between Jews and Romans. The Ninth of Av, when Jews commemorate Rome's destruction of the Second Temple, coincides with Rome celebrating the continuity of its empire, while Hanukkah, marking the Temple's rededication, contrasts with the disruption of Roman continuity.[104] Additionally, the Egyptian context casts Trajan as harsher than the biblical Pharaoh: the latter targeted male infants, whereas Trajan annihilated all.[107] According to Hacham, these stories, put together in the Jerusalem Talmud, frame the destruction of Alexandria's Jewish community as part of a pattern of calamities endured by the Jewish people.[108]

Commemoration in Egypt

At Oxyrhynchus, a festival commemorating the victory over the Jews continued to be observed nearly 80 years later, around 200 CE, during the visit of Septimius Severus to Egypt, as documented in papyrus CPJ II 450:[109][52][81]

The inhabitants of Oxyrhynchus possess the goodwill, faithfulness and friendship to the Romans, which they showed in the war against the Jews, fighting on your side. And even now they celebrate the day of victory as a festival day each year.[109]

This celebration drew participants and spectators from diverse social groups, including Greco-Egyptian elites and local Egyptian peasants, suggesting its development within traditional Egyptian festival frameworks. Its annual occurrence linked it to the agricultural cycle of the period, highlighting its importance in the community.[110]

David Frankfurter, a scholar of ancient religion, argues that the festival involved a ritual re-dramatization of the victory, portraying the Jews as Typhonians (followers of Set-Typhon) and their defeat as the triumph of Horus-Pharaoh, with their expulsion framed as a purification of the land.[111] The Egyptian priesthood, who had previously recast the Greek Ptolemaic rulers as traditional pharaohs, apparently led these celebrations, continuing an earlier priestly tradition that had produced anti-Jewish polemics through figures like Manetho and Chaeremon.[112]

Further reading

Primary sources

Appian. Roman History, Fr. 19.

Cassius Dio. Roman History, 68.32.1–3.

Eusebius. Chronicon.

Eusebius. Ecclestial History, 4.2.1–5.

Orosius. Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 7.12.6–8.

First Jewish–Roman War

Jewish history

_________

PARTHIA

Historical region of Iran

The region of Parthia within the empire of Medes, c. 600 BC; from a historical atlas illustrated by William Robert Shepherd

Capital Nisa

History

• Establishment of the Parthian Empire

247 BC

• Fall of the Parthian Empire

224 AD

Today part of Iran and Turkmenistan

Parthia (Old Persian: 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 Parθava; Parthian: 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 Parθaw; Middle Persian: 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 Pahlaw) is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, and formed part of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire after the 4th-century BC conquests of Alexander the Great. The region later served as the political and cultural base of the Eastern Iranian Parni people and Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD). The Sasanian Empire, the last state of pre-Islamic Iran, also held the region and maintained the seven Parthian clans as part of their feudal aristocracy.

Name

Xerxes I tomb, Parthian soldier circa 470 BCE

The name "Parthia" is a continuation from Latin Parthia, from Old Persian Parthava, which was the Parthian language self-designator signifying "of the Parthians" who were an Iranian people. In context to its Hellenistic period, Parthia also appears as Parthyaea.

Parthia was known as Pahlaw in the Middle Persian sources of the Sasanian period, and Pahla or Fahla by later Islamic authors, but mainly referred to the Parthian region in the West of Iran.[1]

Geography

The original location of Parthia roughly corresponds to a region in northeastern Iran, but part is in southern Turkmenistan. It was bordered by the Kopet Dag mountain range in the north, and the Dasht-e Kavir desert in the south. It bordered Media on the west, Hyrcania on the north west, Margiana on the northeast, and Aria on the east.[2]

During Arsacid times, Parthia was united with Hyrcania as one administrative unit, and that region is therefore often considered a part of Parthia proper .

By the early Sasanian period, Parthia was located in the central part of the Iranian plateau, neighboring Pars to the south, Khuzistan to the south-west, Media to the north-west, the Alborz Mountains to the north, Abarshahr to the north-east, and Kirman to the east. In the late Sasanian era, Parthia came to embrace central and north-central Iran but also extended to the western parts of the plateau as well.[1]

In the Islamic era, Parthia was believed to be located in central and western Iran. Ibn al-Muqaffa considered Parthia as encompassing the regions of Isfahan, Ray, Hamadan, Mah-i Nihawand and Azerbaijan.[3] The same definition is found in the works of al-Khawazmi and Hamza al-Isfahani. Al-Dinawari, while not using the word Parthia, considered Jibal to be the realm of the last Parthian king, Artabanus IV.[1]

History

Under the Achaemenids

Parthia { P-rw-t-i-wꜣ), was one of the 24 subjects of the Achaemenid Empire, in the Egyptian Statue of Darius I.

As the region inhabited by Parthians, Parthia first appears as a political entity in Achaemenid lists of governorates ("satrapies") under their dominion. Prior to this, the people of the region seem to have been subjects of the Medes,[4] and 7th century BC Assyrian texts mention a country named Partakka or Partukka (though this "need not have coincided topographically with the later Parthia").[5]

A year after Cyrus the Great's defeat of the Median Astyages, Parthia became one of the first provinces to acknowledge Cyrus as their ruler, "and this allegiance secured Cyrus' eastern flanks and enabled him to conduct the first of his imperial campaigns – against Sardis."[6] According to Greek sources, following the seizure of the Achaemenid throne by Darius I, the Parthians united with the Median king Phraortes to revolt against him. Hystaspes, the Achaemenid governor of the province (said to be father of Darius I), managed to suppress the revolt, which seems to have occurred around 522–521 BC.

The first indigenous Iranian mention of Parthia is in the Behistun inscription of Darius I, where Parthia is listed (in the typical Iranian clockwise order) among the governorates in the vicinity of Drangiana.[7] The inscription dates to c. 520 BC. The center of the administration "may have been at [what would later be known as] Hecatompylus".[8] The Parthians also appear in Herodotus' list of peoples subject to the Achaemenids; the historiographer treats the Parthians, Chorasmians, Sogdians and Areioi as peoples of a single satrapy (the 16th), whose annual tribute to the king he states to be only 300 talents of silver. This "has rightly caused disquiet to modern scholars."[9]

At the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC between the forces of Darius III and those of Alexander the Great, one such Parthian unit was commanded by Phrataphernes, who was at the time Achaemenid governor of Parthia.[10] Following the defeat of Darius III, Phrataphernes surrendered his governorate to Alexander when the Macedonian arrived there in the summer of 330 BC.[11] Phrataphernes was reappointed governor by Alexander.[12]

Under the Seleucids

Following the death of Alexander, in the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC, Phrataphernes, the former governor, retained control of Parthia and became governor of Hyrcania.[13] In 320 BC, at the Partition of Triparadisus, Parthia was reassigned to Philip, former governor of Sogdiana.[citation needed] A few years later, the province was invaded by Peithon, governor of Media Magna, who then attempted to make his brother Eudamus governor. Peithon and Eudamus were driven back, and Parthia remained a governorate in its own right.[14]

In 316 BC, Stasander, a vassal of Seleucus I Nicator and governor of Bactria (and, it seems, also of Aria and Margiana) was appointed governor of Parthia. For the next 60 years, various Seleucids would be appointed governors of the province.[citation needed]

A coin of Andragoras, the last Seleucid satrap of Parthia who proclaimed independence around 250 BC was discovered.

In 247 BC, following the death of Antiochus II, Ptolemy III seized control of the Seleucid capital at Antioch, and "so left the future of the Seleucid dynasty for a moment in question."[15] Taking advantage of the uncertain political situation, Andragoras, the Seleucid governor of Parthia, proclaimed his independence[16] and began minting his own coins.[citation needed]

Meanwhile, "a man called Arsaces, of Scythian or Bactrian origin, [was] elected leader of the Parni",[17] an eastern-Iranian peoples from the Tajen/Tajend River valley, south-east of the Caspian Sea.[18] Following the secession of Parthia from the Seleucid Empire and the resultant loss of Seleucid military support, Andragoras had difficulty in maintaining his borders, and about 238 BC – under the command of "Arsaces and his brother Tiridates"[17][19] – the Parni invaded[20] Parthia and seized control of Astabene (Astawa), the northern region of that territory, the administrative capital of which was Kabuchan (Kuchan in the vulgate).[21]

A short while later the Parni seized the rest of Parthia from Andragoras, killing him in the process. Although an initial punitive expedition by the Seleucids under Seleucus II was not successful, the Seleucids under Antiochus III recaptured Arsacid controlled territory in 209 BC from Arsaces' (or Tiridates') successor, Arsaces II. Arsaces II sued for peace and accepted vassal status,[19] and it was not until Arsaces II's grandson (or grand-nephew) Phraates I, that the Arsacids/Parni would again begin to assert their independence.[22]

Under the Arsacids

Main article: Parthian Empire

A statue of a Parthian horseman is on display at the Palazzo Madama, Turin.

A coin of Mithridates I (R. 171–138 BC)'s reverse shows Heracles, and the inscription ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΟΥ ΑΡΣΑΚΟΥ ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ "Great King Arsaces, friend of Greeks".

There is a Reproduction of a Parthian archer as depicted on Trajan's Column.

A Nisa helmeted warrior, a Hellenistic figure or deity, from the Parthian royal residence and necropolis of Nisa, Turkmenistan, 2nd century BC, was discovered in a 'dig.'

From their base in Parthia, the Arsacid dynasts eventually extended their dominion to include most of Greater Iran. They also quickly established several eponymous branches on the thrones of Armenia, Iberia, and Caucasian Albania. Even though the Arsacids only sporadically had their capital in Parthia, their power base was there, among the Parthian feudal families, upon whose military and financial support the Arsacids depended. In exchange for this support, these families received large tracts of land among the earliest conquered territories adjacent to Parthia, which the Parthian nobility then ruled as provincial rulers. The largest of these city-states were Kuchan, Semnan, Gorgan, Merv, Zabol and Yazd.

From about 105 BC onwards, the power and influence of this handful of Parthian noble families was such that they frequently opposed the monarch, and would eventually be a "contributory factor in the downfall" of the dynasty.[23]

From about 130 BC onwards, Parthia suffered numerous incursions by various nomadic tribes, including the Sakas, the Yuezhi, and the Massagetae. Defending the empire against the nomads cost Phraates II and Artabanus I their lives.[23]

Around 32 BC, civil war broke out when a certain Tiridates rebelled against Phraates IV, probably with the support of the nobility that Phraates had previously persecuted. The revolt was initially successful, but failed by 25 BC.[24] In 9/8, the Parthian nobility succeeded in putting their preferred king on the throne, but Vonones proved to have too tight a budgetary control, so he was usurped in favor of Artabanus II, who seems to have been a non-Arsacid Parthian nobleman. But when Artabanus attempted to consolidate his position (at which he was successful in most instances), he failed to do so in the regions where the Parthian provincial rulers held sway.[25]

By the 2nd century AD, the frequent wars with neighboring Rome and with the nomads, and the infighting among the Parthian nobility had weakened the Arsacids to a point where they could no longer defend their subjugated territories. The empire fractured as vascularizes increasingly claimed independence or were subjugated by others, and the Arsacids were themselves finally vanquished by the Persian Sassanid's, a formerly minor vassal from southwestern Iran, in April 224.[citation needed]

Under the Sasanians

Parthia was likely the first region conquered by Ardashir I after his victory over Artabanus IV, showing the importance of the province to the founder of the Sasanian dynasty.[1] Some of the Parthian nobility continued to resist Sasanian dominion for some time, but most switched their allegiance to the Sasanians very early. Several families that claimed descent from the Parthian noble families became a Sasanian institution known as the "Seven houses", five of which are "in all probability" not Parthian, but contrived genealogies "in order to emphasize the antiquity of their families."[26]

Parthia continued to hold importance throughout the 3rd century. In his Ka'be-ye Zardusht inscription Shapur I lists the province of Parthia in second place after Pars. The Abnun inscription describes the Roman invasion of 243/44 as an attack on Pars and Parthia. Considering the Romans never went further than Mesopotamia, "Pars and Parthia" may stand for the Sasanian Empire itself.[27] Parthia was also the second province chosen for settlement by Roman prisoners of war after the Battle of Edessa in 260.[1]

Language and literature

Main article: Parthian language

Hercules, Hatra, Iraq, Parthian period, 1st–2nd century AD.

The Parthians spoke Parthian, a northwestern Iranian language. No Parthian literature survives from before the Sassanid period in its original form,[28] and they seem to have written down only very little. The Parthians did, however, have a thriving oral minstrel-poet culture, to the extent that their word for "minstrel" (gosan) survives to this day in many Iranian languages and especially in Armenian (gusan), on which it exercised heavy (especially lexical and vocabulary) influence.[29] These professionals were evident in every facet of Parthian daily life, from cradle to grave, and they were entertainers of kings and commoners alike, proclaiming the worthiness of their patrons through association with mythical heroes and rulers.[30] These Parthian heroic poems, "mainly known through Persian of the lost Middle Persian Xwaday-namag, and notably through Firdausi's Shahnameh, [were] doubtless not yet wholly lost in the Khurasan of [Firdausi's] day."[31]

In Parthia itself, attested use of written Parthian is limited to the nearly three thousand ostraca found (in what seems to have been a wine storage) at Nisa, in present-day Turkmenistan. A handful of other evidence of written Parthian has been found outside Parthia, the most important of these being the part of a land-sale document found at Avroman (in the Kermanshah province of Iran), and more ostraca, graffiti and the fragment of a business letter found at Dura-Europos in present-day Syria.[citation needed]

The Parthian Arsacids do not seem to have used Parthian until relatively late, and the language first appears on Arsacid coinage during the reign of Vologases I (51–58 AD).[32] Evidence that use of Parthian was nonetheless widespread comes from early Sassanid times; the declarations of the early Persian kings were—in addition to their native Middle Persian—also inscribed in Parthian.[citation needed]

The old poems known as fahlaviyat mostly come from the areas which were considered part of Parthia in the Islamic period. These poems have the characteristics of oral literature and may have continued the oral traditions of Parthian minstrels.[1]

Society

City-states of "some considerable size" existed in Parthia as early as the 1st millennium BC, "and not just from the time of the Achaemenids or Seleucids."[33] However, for the most part, society was rural, and dominated by large landholders with large numbers of serfs, slaves, and other indentured labor at their disposal. Communities with free peasants also existed.[33]

By Arsacid times, Parthian society was divided into the four classes (limited to freemen). At the top were the kings and near family members of the king. These were followed by the lesser nobility and the general priesthood, followed by the mercantile class and lower-ranking civil servants, and with farmers and herdsmen at the bottom.

Little is known of the Parthian economy, but agriculture must have played the most important role in it. Significant trade first occurs with the establishment of the Silk road (c. 114 BC), when Hecatompylos became an important junction.[34]

Parthian cities

Nisa (Nissa, Nusay) or Mithradātkert, located on a main trade route, was one of the earliest capitals of the Parthian Empire (c. 250 BC). The city is located in the northern foothills of the Kopetdag mountains, 11 miles west of present-day city of Ashgabat (the capital of Turkmenistan).[35] Nisa had a "soaring two-story hall in the Hellenistic Greek style"[36] and temple complexes used by the early Arsacid dynasty. During the reign of Mithridates I of Parthia (c. 171 – 138 BC) it was renamed Mithradatkirt ("fortress of Mithradates").[37] Merv (modern-day Mary) was another Parthian city.[citation needed]

Apaveritica (modern day Abivard)

Asaak

Hecatompylos (modern day Damghan)

Hyrcania (modern day Gurgan)

Patigrabana (possibly modern day Tus, Iran)

Sarigo (modern day Sarakhs)

Susia (modern day Zuzan) some maps have it in Aria instead of Parthia

Tabiene (modern day Tabas)[38]

Zadracarta (modern day Sari)

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