Josephus

Josephus Synopsis

The works of Flavius Josephus provide us with a striking and unusual perspective on life in the Roman Empire. A learned Judaean priest, a provincial rebel turned Roman citizen and collaborator, and a Greek historian communicating Jewish history to a largely non-Jewish audience, Josephus' accomplished historical works supply a view of Roman rule from the perspective not of the conquerors but of the conquered and colonized.

His complex, richly allusive and double-facing works brilliantly illuminate the intersection of Roman power, Greek culture and local identity in the Roman provinces, and constitute the most important historical sources for the history of Judaism, Christianity and the Roman East in the time of the early emperors. This book provides an essential introduction to the works of this complex, challenging and rewarding author, situating them in the context of Josephus' life and times, providing readings of each of his four surviving texts, and surveying the reception of those texts from antiquity to the present day.