History of Egypt From 330 B.C. To the Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12) — John Shaqi
History of Egypt From 330 B.C. To the Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12)Rappoport, A. S. (Angelo Solomon)
History
History of Egypt From 330 B.C. To the Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12)
Rappoport, A. S. (Angelo Solomon)
Egypt -- History
lowering the price of grain in a famine by opening the public granaries;
and Tiberius sternly reproached him with breaking the known law of
Augustus, by which no Roman citizen of consular or even of equestrian
rank might enter Alexandria without leave from the emperor.
There were at this time about a million of Jews in Egypt. In Alexandria
they seem to have been about one-third of the population, as they
formed the majority in two wards out of the five into which the city was
divided. They lived under their own elders and Sanhedrim, going up at
their solemn feasts to worship in their own temple at Onion; but, from
their mixing with the Greeks, they had become less strict than their
Hebrew brethren in their observance of the traditions. Some few of them,
however, held themselves in obedience to the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem, and
looked upon the temple of Jerusalem as the only Jewish temple; and these
men were in the habit of sending an embassy on the stated solemn feasts
of the nation to offer the appointed sacrifices and prayers to Jahveh
in the holy city on their behalf. But though the decree by Caesar, which
declared that the Jews were Alexandrian citizens, was engraved on a
pillar in the city, yet they were by no means treated as such, either by
the government, or by the Greeks, or by the Egyptians.
[Illustration: 027.jpg ON THE BANKS OF THE NILE.]
When, during the famine, the public granaries seemed unable to supply
the whole city with food, even the humane Germanicus ordered that the
Jews, like the Egyptians, should have no share of the gift. They were
despised even by the Egyptians themselves, who, to insult them, said
that the wicked god Typhon had two sons, Hierosolymus and Judaeus, and
that from these the Jews were descended.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account