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Ingsoc

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Posts posted by Ingsoc

  1. Some people may certainly consider them as the ancient Roman-Jewish version of Al Quaeda.

     

    I don't sure that this comparison is valid, they operated in a small area of the Roman Empire and have a very narrow goal.

     

    I don't think the Israel Defence Forces would agree.

     

    Their are to some extent admiration to them in modern Israel however their tyrannical rule and the fact that they are largely seen guilty in the civil war during the Great Revolt largely hurt their reputation and they were seen as a negative example of Jewish independence and thus never rose to truely popular national heroes like king David, the Hasmoneans and Bar-Kochba.

     

    That is hardly surprising. Rabbinical Judaic literature survived, and could only survive in a milieu that was violently anti-Jewish, primarily because of its dissociation with the Messianic, Apocalyptic Judaism that had brought catastrophe to the Holy Land twice in a century. That is precisely the reason why Pauline Christianity also survived. It would have been unwise of the later sages and Rabbis to glorify the Zealots in a post-Hadrian era. So I think the Rabbinic literature you're talking about also needs to be ingested with a grain of salt.

     

    While their is an anti-Zealot tendencies from the rabbis after the failure of the Bar-Kochba revolt (btw this work from both ways, the Romans themselves have more moderate approach towards the Jews) but I doubt the Roman care much about Jewish literature (at this time censorship didn't exist) what more the non-Jewish European world "discover" the rabbinic literature only in the 13th century.

  2. The premise that the Messiah died and was resurrected after three days is considered the foundation of the Christian faith, one which differentiates it from Judaism. Through the generations, this belief stood at the center of the debate between Christians and Jews. But now, a mysterious tablet from the time of the second temple has led researchers to believe that this premise of messianic resurrection is not unique to Christianity, but rather existed in Judaism years before Jesus was born.

     

    The tablet, which has been dubbed "Gabriel's vision" because much of its text deals with a vision of the apocalypse transmitted by the angel Gabriel, was discovered eight years ago, but a large part of it is illegible and researchers have had difficulty interpreting its meaning.

     

    Israel Knohl, a professor of Bible studies at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, has offered a new interpretation of this text recently, which has sparked interest in the Christian realm. Knohl's interpretation could shed light on the history of Jesus and the way Christianity grew out of Judaism.

     

    Full article at Ha'aretz

  3. I don't so sure about your notion that there were always violence in Roman politics, take for example the Plebian-Patrician struggle in the early republic - although it's was a bitter one every time that the Plebs "revolt" it was in a passive way: they refuse to conscripted into the army or retire from the city, not once they had thought about attacking the Patricians and nor the Patricians thought about return them to line using violence.

     

    The quiet years of the middle republic in which the Roman establishment was in the highest power was due to the opening of the other magistrates to the Plebs, this made the tribune of plebs just the beginning point of the young Plebian Cursus Honorum and thus most tribunes until Tiberius Grachus didn't want to rock the boat and hurt their chances to research the high magistrates.

  4. According to Livy Rome itself had a dual monarchy during Romulus' reign when the sabines joined the Roman community and their king Titus Tatius ruled jointly with Romlus until Tatius' death. Although much of Livy's regal period is clouded in legend isn't their a possibility that a dual rule had existed before the republic atleast temporaraly?

    And even before, with the twins Romulus and Remus themselves.

     

    Just remember than all the kings before Tullus Hostilius are considered to be legendary by modern historical research.

  5. We know that the government in Carthago was ruled by two Suffetes, in a similar collegian way as Consuls in Rome and sine we know that the first treaty between Carthago and Rome was made in the year that the republic was founded (Polybius, Histories, 3.22) hence there were a contact between Carthagians and Romans in the time of the monarchy.

     

    Would it possible that the source of the Roman Republican system lays in Carthago?

  6. I think that you missing the main cause for the successful revolution Kosmo, Romania (like all other Communists states in eastern Europe except Yugoslavia) was founded and maintain by Soviet bayonets, had it not for the Soviet withdrew from the affairs of her eastern clients states the Red Army would've crush all anti-Communist opposition just like it did in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

  7. Excellent! I knew the Aztecs were not all bad! To wander totally off topic one last time - I wonder can anyone think of a polytheistic religion that was not tolerant of other gods? (using Ingsoc’s qualified definition of tolerance)

     

    The Romans forbade the practice of Druidism, first to Roman citizens then to all people living in the empire because they saw Druidism as a barbaric religion. They also expell members of the eastern religions from the city of Rome on several occasions since they have won many adherents and cause they to forsake the state gods.

  8. In the HBO series, Octavian brought Antony's body back to Rome. Poetic license or real? What book or books would I find information as to where he is buried. Why didn't he have a funeral pyre? Wasn't that the custom at that time, but I guess not in Egypt.

     

    Antonius was buried in Egypt by Cleopatra

     

    "but as for Antonius, though many generals and kings asked for his body that they might give it burial, Caesar would not take it away from Cleopatra, and it was buried by her hands in sumptuous and royal fashion, such things being granted her for the purpose as she desired." (Plutarchus, Life of Antonius, 82)

     

    As he himself have wished:

     

    "Moreover, Titius and Plancus, friends of Antony and men of consular rank, being abused by Cleopatra (for they had been most opposed to her accompanying the expedition) ran away to Caesar, and they gave him information about Antonius' will, the contents of which they knew 3 This will was on deposit with the Vestal Virgins, and when Caesar asked for it, they would not give it to him; but if he wanted to take it, they told him to come and do so. So he went and took it; and to begin with, he read its contents through by himself; and marked certain reprehensible passages; then he assembled the senate and read it aloud to them, although most of them were displeased to hear him do so 4 For they thought it a strange and grievous matter that a man should be called to account while alive for what he wished to have done after his death. Caesar laid most stress on the clause in the will relating to Antonius' burial. For it directed that Antonius' body, even if he should die in Rome, should be borne in state through the forum and then sent away to Cleopatra in Egypt." (Plutarchus, Life of Antonius, 58.2)

  9. Hmmm... it's made me think how mistranslation of ancient sources affect our view of Rome, it's quit possible that most modern reader of Plutarch[us] biography of the triumviri who was defeated by Octavianus think that his real name was Mark Antony (or any other distorted form).

  10. Both explanations sound a bite suspicious to me, because even if both are commonplace in anthropology (ie, Mongols killed defeated leaders without shedding their blood, and the innocence test was regular practice during European witch hunting) I'm not aware of any primary source reference to them regarding the vestales.

     

    Well no primary source explicit say this, however from Plutarchus description of the burial (Roman Questions, 96) it's clear that the Romans regards the Vestal Virgins with the utmost holiness. It's only logical to assume an innocent test was made in order to make sure that the court didn't made a mistake and shed the blood of an holy woman for nothing.

  11. Another explanation that I've read is that supposedly this was the final test to the Vestal Virgin innocent, if a mistake was made and she was innocent then she would have been rescued by Vesta (needless to say that it's never happend...)

     

    "We have seen above that supreme importance was attached to the purity of the Vestals, and a terrible punishment awaited her who violated the vow of chastity. According to the law of Numa she was simply to be stoned to death, but a more cruel torture was devised by Tarquinius Prisons and in
  12. I would say corrupted by power not luxuries.

     

    Agreed! It was definitely increasing greed for power that caused political corruption, civil wars and ultimately toppled the republic. Unless you consider "power" a luxury, luxurious living can't be considered the sole or main cause of the republic's corruption. And I don't think that Marius, Sulla, or any member of either triumvirate who made a grab for power considered it a luxury (Spartacus might have though)

     

    It's actually an important point, as the leaders of the early republic lust after power as well (see for example the Patricians-Plebs struggle) why doesn't the Romans of the late republic could reach compromise without bloodshed like there ancestors? I thing that the reason is obvious, unlike the situation in the early republic when Rome was just another power in Italy in the late republic Roman position as a super power was well assured and there wasn't anyone who could affectedly challenge her since the Second Punic War and thus while a civil war would most likely led to the city downfall in early times the late Romans could "afford" to have a civil war without it taking a tall on Roman power and position in the world.

  13. One of the most annoying thing to me as a native Hebrew speaker in when I'm reading a book or an article in English is the custom of English writers to "translate" foreign names into English sounding names. the most blunt example is Marcus Antonius who became Mark Antony and when you transcript the name accurately you pronounce it wrong, for example Cicero should be pronounce as Kikero.

     

    Now I assume this was originally done as an attempt to bring close the English translations of ancient writers to the English speaking audience, but why continue with it to this day? it's amaze me every time that I read an article or an book in English that author could call Marcus Antonius Mark Antony.

  14. This recent post got me thinking, it's seem to be a common themes among ancient historians that the Romans of the late republic were corrupted by luxuries and thus lost the virtues of their ancestors who lived during the early of the republic.

     

    Now this idea became accepted in modern times by prominent historians as well and it's was often refer as one of the reasons to the republic demise, but is it true? one certainly could say that the lack of luxuries of the Romans in the early republic wasn't due to the fact that they had virtues but to the fact that they were poor and of course all of this change with the Roman rise to be the prominent power in the ancient world.

     

    Now I wouldn't say that your amount of wealth decide whatever you have virtues or you are corrupted, we certainly don't lack examples of politicians who "play dirty" during the early republic and we could give an examples to governors of provinces in the late republic (like Cato Minor, Gabinius, Cicero, Brutus) we conducted the affairs of their subject with respect and didn't made an attempt to loot their money.

  15. We are also, for good as well as ill, the heirs of the Roman Republic. Had the title not already been taken, I would have called this book Citizens--- for they are its protagnoists, and the tragedy of the Republic's collapse is theirs. The Roman people too, in the end, grew tired of antique virtues, preferring the comforts of easy slavery and peace. Rather bread and circuses than endless internecine wars. As the Romans themselves recognized, their freedom had contained the seeds of its own ruin, a reflection sufficient to inspire much gloomy moralizing under the rule of a Nero or a Domitian. Nor in the centirues since, has it ever lost its power to unsettle.

    ---Preface, The Last Years of the Roman Republic by Tom Holland

     

    Is this true?

     

    Is all point that the Roman citizen body was responsible to the collapse of the Republic is incorrect in my eyes:

     

    In the last republican census some 910,000 citizens were counts, obviously since the elections were held only in Rome not all of them could attend, furthermore an election took at least one day of work a day that the poor couldn't afford to waste and I doubt they care much who would be the next consul - the fight between the aristocracy of the republic simply didn't concern the issues that was important to them like the hight rent, unemployment, fires and etc. only in uncanny cases like the Grachi agrarian laws or Pompius special command in the east they had interests to attend.

     

    And in an event they could attend they simply would have much say in the elections of the magistrates due to the structure of the Comitia Centuriata which was timocratian and almost always led to decisions being made without the voting of the poorer centuriatas.

     

    So in the end the republic fall wasn't due to the so call corruption of the Roman people in the late republic but to the inability of the small aristocracy to compromise and that led to the civil wars and in the end to the rise of the imperial autocratic system.

  16. Why think of only military leaders? I would think that Iustinianus I (Justinian I) codification of Roman law was one that continue to influence the world for centuries (it's was still thought in law schools a few decades ago) and thus made a deep impact over the entire world more than any military commander could have done.

  17. Agrippa I was named after the late son in law of the emperor. His real name was Marcus Julius Agrippa (though his praenomen is disputed) in the Talmud he is called "Agrippas" and in the New Testament he is called "Herod", according to Daniel Shwartz (in his book "Agrippa I: The Last King of Judea") this was made either to mark him as the enemy of Christianity (as anyone who called Herod would be) or the writer simply mistook him for his brother Herod of Chalcis. He is not called Herod in any other source although on one coin he is named "Herod Agrippa".

     

    Herod was indeed a close friend of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, he visited him during his stay at Lesbos and in 15 BC Agrippa visited Judea, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and committed sacrifices in the temple what earn his the affection of the Jewish masses (thought it's seem his father in law dislike his actions), it's was the greatest tribute any Roman has made toward the Jews. Herod also came with his fleet to assist Agrippa in his campaign against the Bosporus Kingdom.

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