before the outbreak of another uprising. Although the account has been
heavily fictionalized, it speaks to the tensions between Alexandrian Jews
and non-Jews. Some scholars have argued that there were additional fac-
tors leading up to the rebellions (Pucci Ben Zeev 2005). In particular, reb-
els who had fled Judea after the suppression of the First Revolt continued
to cause problems, which only heightened tensions between Jews and non-
Jews. There was a general rise in messianic aspirations and expectations of
Rome’s collapse, especially after an earthquake that occurred in Antioch
during a visit of Emperor Trajan in 115.
In 115/116, these tensions exploded into full-scale revolt in Egypt, Cyrene,
Cyprus, and Mesopotamia. This revolt, also called the War of Quietus after
the general Lusius Quietus who suppressed the revolt in Mesopotamia,
raged until 117. In Egypt, the Jewish rebels managed to take over much of the
countryside including the Athribite district, the Fayum, Oxyrhynchus, and
the nome of Herakleopolis. To the south, fighting broke out in the districts
of Apollinopolis Magna, Hermopolis, Kynopolis, and Lycopolis. In Alexan-
dria itself the rebellion seems to have involved destruction of pagan shrines,
such as the shrine of Nemesis near Alexandria and the tomb of Pompey
(Appian,Bella Civilia2.90). In Cyrene, the rebels, who were led by a certain
Andreas (Dio 68.32.1) or Lukuas (Eusebius,Hist. Eccl.4.2.3), killed several
thousand non-Jews and destroyed several statues of the gods as well as sev-
eral temples and sanctuaries, including the temples of Zeus and Hecate and
parts of the sanctuaries of Apollo and Asclepius. Finally, perhaps in fear of a
Roman military arrival by sea, the rebels smashed up the road connecting
Cyrene to its port (CJZC24-25). In Cyprus, a man named Artemion led an
attack on the Gentile population and razed the city of Salamis. Not much in-
formation is known about the uprising in Mesopotamia except that Trajan
sent Lusius Quietus to suppress the rebellion. It is possible that the Jews were
simply one part of a general anti-Roman revolt within the region, and that
the inhabitants there preferred Parthian control to Roman.
The Roman response to the uprisings in Cyrene, Cyprus, and Egypt
was swift and brutal. Trajan sent two forces to put down the rebellion: the
VII Claudia legion to Cyprus and Quintus Marcius Turbo, with a large
fleet and a number of legions, to Egypt and Cyrene. Egyptian papyri also
indicate that local non-Jewish militias fought alongside the legions. Turbo
sailed into Alexandria and defeated the rebels over the course of several
battles in which his army killed several thousand Jews.
The results of the war were cataclysmic for the Jewish populations of
Egypt, North Africa, and Cyprus. Jews were banished from Cyprus and64chris seeman and adam kolman marshakEERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:52 PM