reign of Trajan in 115/116-117c.e.evidently had little effect on Palestine. Ar-
chaeological evidence for these uprisings remains extremely scarce, but pa-
pyri do shed some light. One dated to 19 June 116 indicates that thestrat 3 gos
Apollonios, who took part in the conflict, had requested the purchase of
new arms (P.Gissenses 47), and another shows that at the beginning of Sep-
tember Apollonios’s wife Aline was deeply concerned for his safety (CPJ
2:436). Epigraphic evidence indicates that Jews attacked temples and other
centers of Greek civic life. In the city of Cyrene, in the sanctuary of Apollo,
the baths and other neighboring buildings were burned to the ground. The
temple of Hecate was also destroyed, as were the Caesareum and the temple
of Zeus. Papyri from Egypt show that the uprising spread over vast sections
of the country and that Jews won some early victories. Eventually, though,
the uprisings brought total disaster on the Jews. In Egypt, Jewish property
was confiscated by the Roman government (CPJ2:445, 448; P.Berolensis inv.
7440; P.Berolensis inv. 8143), and evidence for Jewish life in Egypt, Libya,
and Cyprus virtually disappears after 117c.e.
A number of inscriptions shed light on some aspects of Jewish life in
the late first and early second centuryc.e.Manumission inscriptions from
the first to second centuryc.e. in Pantikapaion, Phanagoria, and
Gorgippia on the Black Sea mention a “community of the Jews” (some-
times the phrasetheon sebZn—“who worship God” — is added) that
served as the slaves’ guardian upon their manumission (IJO1:268-86, 295-
301, 303-19). In that respect, the “prayer house”(proseuch 3 )functioned like
pagan temples.The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135c.e.)
Unlike the First Revolt, which was documented in great detail by Josephus,
the history of the Second Revolt is not well known. When Hadrian set off
for his famous oriental journey and traveled to Egypt through Judea in 130
(Cassius Dio,Epitome69.11.1), many local councils took the chance to
demonstrate their loyalty by renaming their city and commissioning pub-
lic buildings in honor of the emperor. Coins proclaimed the ADVENTVS
AVGusti IVDAEAE (“Arrival of Augustus in Judea”) and inscriptions were
erected. Hierosolyma was renamed Aelia Capitolina in honor of Aelius
Hadrianus and the Capitoline Trias. With it came a prestigious building
program: an equestrian column was erected on the Temple platform, other
sanctuaries were founded or refurbished, and public buildings erected or351Archaeology, Papyri, and InscriptionsEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
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