The Specter of the Jews : Emperor Julian and the Rhetoric of Ethnicity in Syrian Antioch / Ari Finkelstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Finkelstein, Ari, Author.

Series:

S. Mark Taper Foundation imprint in Jewish studies.

California scholarship online.

The S. Mark Taper Foundation imprint in Jewish studies

California scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rome--History--Julian, 361-363.

Rome.

Julian, Emperor of Rome, 331-363--Religion.

Julian.

Jews--Middle East--History--70-638.

Jews.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource.)

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In the generation after Constantine the Great elevated Christianity to a dominant position in the Roman Empire, his nephew, the Emperor Julian, sought to reinstate the old gods to their former place of prominence-in the face of intense opposition from the newly powerful Christian church. In early 363 c.e., while living in Syrian Antioch, Julian redoubled his efforts to hellenize the Roman Empire by turning to an unlikely source: the Jews. With a war against Persia on the horizon, Julian thought it crucial that all Romans propitiate the true gods and gain their favor through proper practice. To convince his people, he drew on Jews, whom he characterized as Judeans, using their scriptures, institutions, practices, and heroes sometimes as sources for his program and often as models to emulate. In The Specter of the Jews, Ari Finkelstein examines Julian's writings and views on Jews as Judeans, a venerable group whose religious practices and values would help delegitimize Christianity and, surprisingly, shape a new imperial Hellenic pagan identity.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Emperor Julian's Jewish Gambit

1. Julian's Hellenizing Program and the Jews

2. Setting the Stage: Hellenes, Christians, and Jews in Cosmopolitan Antioch

3. Hebrews, Jews, and Judeans: Julian's Ethnographic Arguments and His Hellenizing Campaign

4. Propitiating the Gods, Saving the Empire: Th e Place of Jewish Sacrifi ce in Emperor Julian's Hellenizing Program

5. A Priestly Nation: Th e Jewish Priesthood as a Model for Julian's Priestly Program

6. Th e God of Jerusalem and His Temple: Fixing the Jewish God in Julian's Cosmos

7. Creating and Maintaining Hellenic Places in Antioch

Conclusions: Antioch in the Aftermath of Julian

Appendix: The Letter to the Community of the Jews

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Previously issued in print: 2018.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 21. Dez 2019)

ISBN:

9780520970779

0520970772

OCLC:

1031421362