Book Review
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Title:The Fall of Jerusalem.Most compelling thought:The destruction of Jerusalem and most of all the Temple was not intended by the Romans but brought about by Jewish terrorists who were also mistreating their own population. Buy this book for: People who are interested in history but specifically in the context of the beginning of Christianity. This book is also very interesting for people who ponder the nature, effect or defeasibility of empires. Flavius Josephus Titus Flavius Josephus was born around the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and died around the year 100. |
A brief review of:
The Fall of Jerusalem
Everybody knows that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem during the war of 66-70 AD but how this happened is often misrepresented by the brevity of the statement. Josephus, the author of The Jewish War, from which The Fall Of Jerusalem is a mere 100 pages excerpt, was originally a rebel but was captured by the Romans and instated as an interpreter, translator, negotiator and reporter. His work is obviously propagandic but still can be used to distil the importance that Romans gave to the preservation of culture and infrastructure. He even speaks of 'unwilling Romans' and their 'melancholy victory.' "For [Titus'] chief concern was to preserve the City for himself and the Temple for the city."'Greatly distressed' Titus addresses the rebels who themselves are wrecking the Temple, "I call the gods of my fathers and any god that ever watched over this place - I do not believe there is one now - I call my own army, the Jews in my camp, and you yourselves to witness that I am not compelling you to desecrate your Temple. If you change the battle-ground, no Roman shall go near your holy places or insult them: I will protect the sanctuary for you, whether you wish it or not."
Jospehus' final conclusion: The destruction of the city that had by then already existed for 2000 years of recorded history (!), the loss of over one million lives by violence, pestilence and starvation, and the desecration of the Sanctuary was "deserved [] on no other account than that [Jerusalem] produced a generation such as brought about her ruin."
"Her internal divisions destroyed the City, and the Romans destroyed the internal divisions, which were far more firmly established than her walls; and the misery of it all could reasonable be put down to her own people, the justice of it to the Romans. But everyone must interpret the facts in his own way."
This fine member of the Penguin Epic series is an eloquent translation by G. A. Williamson, and every serious student of either the Bible, the modern state of Israel, or human affairs in general should read it. There are always empires. There are always areas within those empires that feed off the empire but still claim great difference. And there are always people within those areas that call themselves freedom fighters, and would readily destroy what they claim to protect in order to entertain their absurd notions of separateness. And even if we would want to battle an empire, we can learn from the Jewish revolt how not to do it. As Titus says, the Brits had a greater wall than Jerusalem (namely the sea), the Germans had stronger physiques than the Jews and still they were annexed. The fall of Rome or any empire will never be due to an armed local revolt such as attempted by the Jews.
For this and other reasons, the text doesn't feel old. When we read, for instance, Homer or Shakespeare or even the Bible itself, the reasoning and wording is evidence of bygone ways, but Josephus sounds like a contemporary. Though filled with compassion, his work is almost void of emotion. His arguments are sound; his references to passages in Scriptures are practical and nowhere evoke Powers that are so easily hijacked for any purpose.
Finally, we must note the mastery of Josephus' writing style. Accounts of the general battle alternate with specific data, personal achievements and deep insights in human behaviour and human conflict. As a story the account is never dull, forceful or irrelevant. And by sheer merit of its longevity, I must say that apart from the Bible, Josephus' Fall Of Jerusalem is the most important book I have read in many years.
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