Post by Murph on Oct 21, 2014 12:29:26 GMT -6
Jerusalem stone may answer Jewish revolt questions
October 21, 2014
A details from a large stone bearing an official Latin inscription some 2,000 years old, which archeologists from the Israeli Antiquities Authority describe as 'extremely rare' and of 'tremendous historical significance' is displayed before the Rockefeller Museum in East Jerusalem, October 21, 2014. The inscription is a dedication to the Roman emperor Hadrian and consists of six lines engraved on hard limestone which reads, 'To the Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadranus Augustus, son of the deified Parthicus, grandson of the deified Nerva, high priest, invested with tribunician power for the 14th time, consul for the third time, father of the country (dedicated by) the 10th legion Fretensis (2nd hand) Antoniniana.' Only a small number of official Latin inscriptions have been discovered in archaeological excavation in Israel and Jerusalem and is important for mentioning Emperor Hadrian and the Tenth Legion in the era between two revolts, one being the JewishBar Kochba revolt which broke out several years later than Hadrian's visit to Jerusalem in the year 129-130 CE. (EPA/JIM HOLLANDER)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli archaeologists said Tuesday they have discovered a large stone with Latin engravings that lends credence to the theory that the reason Jews revolted against Roman rule nearly 2,000 ago was because of their harsh treatment. Israel's Antiquities Authority said the stone bears the name of the Roman emperor Hadrian and the year of his visit to Jerusalem, a few years before the failed Bar Kochba revolt in the second century A.D. The inscription backs up historical accounts that Rome's Tenth Legion was present in Jerusalem in the run-up to the revolt.
The cause of the Jewish revolt, which resulted in their exile, is disputed. It is unclear whether they rose up independently or were provoked by harsh Roman measures, but the presence of the legion would give credence to the latter. Hadrian is reviled in Jewish history for imposing dictates aimed at persecuting Jews and forcing them to abandon their religion.
Along with Jewish accounts, the history of the Bar Kochba revolt is also known from the works of Roman historian Cassius Dio, who mentions that Hadrian visited Jerusalem in 129 A.D., three years before the revolt erupted. The stone was found outside Jerusalem's Old City.
news.yahoo.com/jerusalem-stone-may-answer-jewish-revolt-questions-120209735.html
