Josephus and Archaeology on the Cities of the Galilee

JOSEPHUS AND ARCHAEOLOGY ON THE CITIES OF THE GALILEE

Zeev Weiss

Two cities are known in the Lower Galilee of the first century c.e. Sepphoris, the capital of the Galilee, has a long history that can be traced back to the Persian period, whereas Tiberias, which governed the region for several decades, was newly founded in the early first century c.e. by Herod Antipas. Josephus, historian and commander of the Galilee during the first Jewish revolt against Rome, provides valuable information about these two cities, their populations, and the major events that transpired there prior to and during the revolt. Josephus remarks that Sepphoris and Tiberias were the two largest cities in the Galilee (Life 346). Modern scholarship often considers them to have been of equal standing;1 each was autonomous and had its own territory (x≈ra),2 each had a majority Jewish population—although it is assumed that pagans also lived in both locales3— and each was decorated with public buildings to serve the needs of its local inhabitants. It is generally acknowledged that both cities, influenced by Greco-Roman culture in the first century c.e., under- went major developments, for the most part, during the reign of Herod Antipas.4 Unlike Pliny or Pausanias, Josephus does not pro- vide a proper description of the urban topography, nor does he men- tion the monumental buildings constructed by Herod Antipas either in Sepphoris or his new capital. Nevertheless, from his description of the events in the Galilee during the first revolt, we learn about several public institutions in Tiberias whose construction most schol- ars attribute to this Tetrarch. It is also assumed that Herod Antipas would have established a capital commensurate to his status as a

1 On this approach in modern scholarship, see Smallwood 1976, 183–84; Rappaport 1988, 20–23; Freyne 1992, 75–91; Roller 1998, 240–42; Horsley 1996, 49–60. 2 Avi-Yonah 1984, 131–42. In contrast to a Greek polis, Tiberias did not have a true chora, according to Hoehner (1972, 100). 3 Meyers 1997, 63–64. On the pagan population in the Galilean cities, see Freyne 1998, 167–75. 4 On Herod Antipas’s rule over the Galilee, see Hoehner 1972, 43–110; Horsley 1995, 64–67. 386 zeev weiss

Roman “client king” and that Sepphoris was the obvious site for his agenda.5 When mapping Josephus’s references to the two cities in War, Life, and even Antiquities, one comes to the realization that the author provides more information about the physical, institutional, and gov- ernmental entities of Tiberias than those of Sepphoris. Life furnishes the most details, with parallels in War and less in Antiquities.6 However, the disparity between the number of references, as well as in the degree of detail Josephus provides, at first glance seems to create a disproportionate picture. Josephus visited Sepphoris more than once, but the Sepphoreans (Sepfvr›tai; Life 373)—acting independently during the revolt— opposed the rebels, closed the city gates, and joined the Romans. In contrast, Josephus’s focus of attention and activity was in Tiberias, where various factions in the city debated amongst themselves whether to join or oppose the commander of the Galilee. Trying to convince the Tiberians to join him, Josephus maintained an active presence within the city, visiting some of its buildings and meeting with the inhabitants or the local municipal leadership. Josephus’s motivation to describe the nature of events and his role as the commander of the Galilee during the first Jewish revolt may explain, on the one hand, why the information about Sepphoris is meager compared to that of Tiberias. The two cities indeed had much in common, both in architectural appearance and municipal governance. On the other hand, can it be proven that first-century Sepphoris and Tiberias were equally endowed with municipal institutions and monumental buildings, presumably established by or following Herod Antipas’ rule in the Galilee, or did the picture drawn by Josephus impart a different reality in each of these cities? What, then, does Josephus’s description infer regarding Tiberias and Sepphoris on the eve of the revolt and how does it help us in reconstructing the urban landscape of the two cities that rivaled for supremacy in the Galilee in the course of the first century c.e.?7

5 Horsley 1996l, 49–51. 6 See the references below to the various subjects relating to Tiberias and Sepphoris. 7 According to Miller (1987, 1–24), the rivalry between the two cities character- izes the pre-revolt period even though rabbinic literature oﬀers no evidence for any type of competition between them. Goodman (1983, 133–34) and Levine (1978, 175–78) argue that the tension between Tiberias and Sepphoris did not disappear entirely in the ﬁrst centuries following the destruction of the temple.