hadrian in palestine, 129

8/11/2019 Hadrian in Palestine, 129

1/7

Hadrian in Palestine, 129/130 A. D.

Author(s): William F. StinespringReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Sep., 1939), pp. 360-365Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/594691.

Accessed: 17/02/2012 20:50

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

American Oriental Societyis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toJournal of

the American Oriental Society.

http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aoshttp://www.jstor.org/stable/594691?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/594691?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aos


2/7

HADRIAN

IN PALESTINE,

129/130

A.

D.

WILLIAM F.

STINESPRING

DUKE

UNIVERSITY

SCHOLARS

egretfully

admit

that

the chronology

of Hadrian's

reign

in

general and

his

journeys

in particular

is still uncertain.'

With

regard

to Palestine,

Diirr

2

proposed

that the

Emperor

vis-

ited that

country

and Egypt

first

in September

117, shortly

after

his

accession in

Antioch

on August

11; but von

Rohden

in Pauly-

Wissowa

3

called

this hypothesis

weder nachzuweisen

noch

wahrscheinlich,

and von

Rohden's

opinion

has been

widely

ac-

cepted.

Recently,

however,

Professor

William

Dodge Gray

has

strongly supported

Diirr,4 proposing

that

Hadrian visited

Jeru-

salem

in

117, decided

then

to refound

the city, and

actually

had

the work started

immediately,

although

it soon

languished

and

was

not taken

up

again

until the

Emperor's

next

visit in

129/130.

The only bearing

of

this hypothesis

on

the

present paper,

as will

be

seen below, is in regardto the time of Hadrian's decision to refound

Jerusalem

as

Aelia

Capitolina.

It is

an

uncontested

fact that

Hadrian

visited

Palestine

in

129/130,

whether

he had

been

there before

or not. There are

cer-

tain fixed points

in his

itinerary,

but the order

of visitation

is

obscure.

Von Rohden

makes the

following suggestions:

Hadrian

apparently

(there

is

no certain evidence)

5spent

the winter

of

1

See, e.g., the footnote to the article Hadrian in Encyc. Brit., 14th

ed.

Webster's

there

is an

error

for

Weber's,

i. e. Wilhelm

Weber,

Untersuchungen

zur

Geschichte

des

Kaisers

Hadrianus,

Leipzig,

1907.

2

J.

Dtirr,

Die

Reisen

des

Kaisers Hadrian,

Vienna,

1881.

P

.

von

Rohden,

Aelius

(64)

P. Aelius

Hadrianus,

Paulys

Real-

Encyclopddie

der

classischen

Altertumswissenschaft,

herausgegeben

von

Georg

Wissowa,

I

(Stuttgart,

1894),

cols.

493-520.

OW.

D. Gray,

The

Founding

of Aelia Capitolina

and the

Chronology

of

the Jewish

War

under Hadrian,

AJSL

39

(July

1923)

248-256

and

New

Light

on

the

Early

Reign

of

Hadrian,

AJSL

40

(Oct.

1923)

14-29.

b

Op. cit. (Pauly-Wissowa, I) cols. 509-511. See further

George

Mac-

donald,

The

Pseudo-autonomous

Coinage

of

Antioch,

Numismatic

Chronicle

(1904)

127 ff.,

where

a

certain

amount

of

proof

is adduced

from

coins

that

Hadrian

spent

a

part

of

the

winter

of

129/139

in

Antioch.

Weber

(op.

cit. 234,

n. 843) wrongly

quotes

the

title

of this

article

as

The pseudonomous

[sic]

Coinage

of

Antioch.

360


3/7

Hadrian in Palestine, 129/130

A.

D.

361

129/130 in

Antioch, Syria; in the early

spring

of 130 he

set

out

for the

south;

he visited Jerusalem and decided

to

refound

it

as

Aelia

Capitolina;

he passed on to Gaza, where a

new

era, beginning

in 129/130 was established in his honor; we

find

him

next

in

Petra,

which henceforth called itself

'AWptv

HIEpa; a coin of Alexandria

dated

in

his fourteenth year (Aug. 29,

129-Aug. 28, 130)

makes

it

certain that he

was in Egypt by August 130; he could not have got

there much earlier.

SchUrer lists

three points of

datable evidence

underlying

this

reconstruction:

(1) an inscription

from

Palmyra

of

the

year

130/131 mentioning a visit of Hadrian shortly before.7 (2) the

coinage

of

Gaza

attesting

the new Hadrianic

era; (3)

the

single

Alexandrian coin

commemorating

Hadrian's

presence

and dated

in

his 14th year,

alongside

a

greater

number

of coins dated

in

his fifteenth

year. The scarcity of the issue of

the fourteenth year

suggests that

the coinage began late in that

year. Inscriptions

from

Thebes

8

attesting the presence of the

Emperor in that city

in

November

130 support the conclusion

that he could not have

arrived in Egypt long before.

Schiirer

mentions

among

the

undatable traces of iadrian in

Palestine

temples

named

after him in

Caesarea

and

Tiberias,

a

Hadrianic

festival

(7ravv7yvptL)

n

Gaza and the addition to the

name

of

Petra

mentioned above. To these must be added most of

the

chronologically uncertain statements of the ancient literary

authorities,

including

Dio

Cassius.9

As

an

important addition

to

these data

inscriptions found at

Jerash, ancient Gerasa,

in

Trans-Jordan

should receive attention.

Excavations have

been carried on there for

some years by a joint

expedition of

Yale University and the American Schools of Oriental

Research. A

final publication of all available material has recently

appeared.10

During the

spring of 1934, while the writer

was in charge of the

6

Emil

Schlirer,

Geschichte des

jiidischen

Volkes

im

Zeitalter Jesu

Christi,

3rd-4th eds.,

Leipzig (1909)

I

680f.

7

R.

Cagnat,

Inscriptiones

Graecae

ad

Res

Romanas

Pertinentes III

(Paris,

1906)

no. 1054.

8Ibid.

I

(Paris,

1911)

nos. 1187-1188.

9lxix. 12-14

(epitome of

Xiphilinus);

convenient

translation

in B. W.

Henderson,

Life

and

Principate

of Emp.

Hadrian,

London

(1923) 216

f.

10

Gerasa,

City

of the

Decapolis, edited

by

C.

H.

Kraeling,

New

Haven,

1938.


4/7

362

William

F.

Stinespring

work,

the

dedicatory

inscription

of the Triumphal

Arch

was

brought

to light.

The

text

of

this

inscription

reads

as follows:

11

aya~j/ rVXn?

1.

vrEp

a)T-qptas

-AVTOKpaTOpOs

Kacrapos,

?Eoi

TpadavoZ

Hap@uoi

vtoi,

OFcoZ

NCpova

viwvoi,

Tpaiavoi

'MAptavoi

2.

:EfeacTTOv,

'ApXLepCo';

MeyhrTov,

8,4pXLKrjs

Ctovcr1aS

TO

X,

VTaTOV

To yn

7raTpo'

7raTp 0o%

Kat

TVX7P

Kat

aouLov7)S

ToZ

3.

arviravro'&

avTov

OxKOV--

,?

7rogXs

'AvtoXECWv

WV

7rpos

nj

Xpvaopo'

a

niv

7rpo'TEpov

rPpaarqviv

(K

8taGKqp

4)Xaovtov

4. 'Aypirrov

T7V

7rvX-qv

cAv

Optac.l/39 E7ovs

t39p'

The value

of this

inscription

for the

present

purpose

lies

first

of all in

the

fact

that

it

establishes

beyond

doubt

that

Hadrian

visited

Jerash

in

the

year

192

of that

city's

era,

i.

e.,

between

autumn

129

and

autumn

130.12

Since

his

fourteenth

tribunician

authority

did

not

begin

until December

10, 129,

that

year

is

practically

ruled

out.

As

Rostovtzeff

points

out,'3

this

visit

might

have

been

inferred

from three

inscriptions

previously

found;14

indeed, Weber

5

had already inferred it in 1907 from one inscrip-

tion

published

by

Lucas. '

Nevertheless,

Cheesman's

guess

of

132/133

as the

date

for

the

Equites

Sin

gulares

inscription

had

disturbed

the

picture.

This inscription

relates

that

the

Equites

Singulares

Imperatoris

(emperor's

personal bodyguard)

spent

a

winter

at

Gerasa;

the date,

unfortunately,

is

missing.

Now

we

can

combine

the

Equites

and Triumphal

Arch inscriptions,

and

assert

with

some

confidence

that Hadrian's

bodyguard

spent

the

winter

of 129/130 at Gerasa.

11

For

initial

publications

see

Stinespring,

The

Inscription

of

the

Triumphal

Arch

at

Jerash,

BASOR

56

15

f.;

and Rostovtzeff,

L'In-

scription

de

1'Arc

de

Triomphe

de

Djerasch,

Academie

des

Inscr.

et

Belles-Let.,

Comptes

Rendus (1934)

264-272.

See

now

the

discussion

by

C.

B.

Welles

in

Gerasa

401

f.

12

See

McCown,

The

Calendar

and

Era

of

Gerasa,

Transactions

of

the

American

Philological

Association

64

(1933)

77-88.

18

Op.

cit.,

267

f.

14H. Lucas, Repertorium der griechischen Inschriften aus Gerasa,

Mittheilungen

und

Nachrichten

des

Deutschen

Palistina-Vereins

(1901)

68,

no.

54;

A.

H.

M.

Jones, Inscriptions

from

Jerash,

Journal

of

Roman

Studies

18 (1928)

158,

no.

17;

G.

L.

Cheesman,

An

Inscription

of

the

Equites

Singularis

Imperatoris

from Gerasa,

JRS

4

(1914)

13-16.

15

Op.

cit.,

238

ff.

1

See

note

14.


5/7

Hadrian in

Palestine,

129/130

A. D.

363

Where

was the

emperor at this time? Von Rohden

in

Pauly-

Wissowa

says at the end of his discussion of year 129: Den

Winter

129/130

wird

Hadrian

wahrscheinlich

17

in

Antiochia

zugebracht

haben.

McCown,18

aking

note of

the

fact that Gerasa

had

changed it

name

'

to

Antioch

on the

Chrysorhoas

and

that

the

emperor's

personal

bodyguard had wintered

there, pro-

poses

that

Hadrian

himself

stayed there,

rather than at the me-

tropolis of

northern Syria.

However, the

evidence

to make this

certain

is

lacking. It

is

probable that

Hadrian

would have

pre-

ferred

the

metropolis

to the

provincial

town.

So

apparently

Rostovtzeff

20

believes, for he suggests that the bodyguard came to

Gerasa ahead of

the

emperor

in

order to

prepare

for

his

coming.

The

Gerasenes

could

hardly have

furnished

suitable

quarters

and

honors

on

short notice.

Nevertheless, it is

plain

that

Hadrian had a

very

kindly

feeling

for the

little Antioch on

the

Chrysorhoas. The

Equites

in-

scription

refers to

it as

hiera

et

asylos

et

autonomos

and the

dedi-

cation of

the

Triumphal

Arch has

the

tone of

people

fully con-

scious of imperial favor and wishing wholeheartedly to retain it.

The

building of

this

massive arch

of

three

gateways,

almost

as

imposing as

the later

one of

Constantine

in

Rome, must

have

been

a

big

undertaking for

this

comparatively

small

community, but

the

people

probably

felt

that the

occasion

justified

unusual effort.

Unless we

accept

the

hypothesis

of

Gray

(following

DUrr)

that

Hadrian

had

already

in

117

decided to

remake

Jerusalem,

it

is

natural

to

suppose

that

the

decision

was

arrived at

during

the

visit of 130. The Emperor reflected upon the loyalty of the people

of

Gerasa,

Petra,

Tiberias,

Caesarea,

and

Gaza.

He also

recalled

the fact

that

these

places

had

colonnaded

streets, baths,

temples,

and

the other

external

appurtenances

of

Roman

culture.

Perhaps

the

very

acts

of

looking

at

classical

architecture and

observing

sacrifices

to

Jupiter

would

eventually give

even

this

stiff-necked

people

of

Jerusalem a

Roman

soul.21

Construction

was

started

17

Italics

mine.

1

C. C. McCown, New Historical Items from Jerash Inscriptions,

JPOS 16

75

f.

19

Probably in

the

time

of

Antiochus III

(the

Great);

see my

reasons

for

this

dating

in

AJA

40

273; see

also

Kraeling in

Gerasa

30

ff.

20

Op.

cit. 268.

Cf. also

Macdonald, op.

cit.

129.

21

For

a

discussion of

Hadrian's

feeling

of

a

mission

to

Romanize

the


6/7


7/7

Hadrian

in

Palestine,

129/130

A.

D.

365

sium,

but where he

was

just

before,

no one has told us.

By

Ara-

bia

(Ger.

Arabien)

is

meant

practically

what

is now

officially

called

Trans-Jordan,

including the towns of

Gerasa,

Philadelphia,

and

Petra.

It is

possible

that

the

Emperor

went to

Pelusium

more

or

less

directly

from

Petra via

Aila

(site

near modern

'Aqabah)

27

and

across

Sinai;

or he

may

have

gone

back

to Gaza28

via

the

Negeb

route before

entering Egypt.

Weber

29

would

consider

the

visit

to the coast towns of

Berytus,

Sidon,

and

Tyre

as

having

come

later,

and

proposes

instead

that

the

imperial

party came

through

the interior from

Damascus

to

Bostra, thence to Philadelphia via Gerasa. The visit to Philadel-

phia is

attested

by

a

milestone

(COIL,

II, 14168).

From

Phila-

delphia,

says

Weber,

Hadrian

went

directly

to Jerusalem.

(No

support

is

offered

for this

statement and

it

appears

to

be a mere

conjecture). Jerusalem

was ordered

to be

rebuilt

as

Aelia

Capi-

tolina.

Then from

Jerusalem Hadrian

made a

special

trip

to

Petra, going

directly

to Petra

and

coming

back

again

to

Jerusalem,

whence he

journeyed to Gaza and

so

on to

Egypt.

It is hard to disprove this itinerary proposed by Weber, but

equally

hard

to

prove

it. The

passage from

eastern to

western

Palestine or

vice versa

three

times

seems

unnecessary

and

a

bit con-

fusing.

However,

it is

quite

possible

that

Weber,

as

against Dirr

and

von

Rohden, is

right about

Hadrian's

entering

the

country

through

Bostra.30

Rostovtzeff

1

thinks

so, and

the present

writer

has

been

favorably

inclined

to this view

for

some

time.

Admitting,

then,

this

point

of

Weber's

and

ruling

out for

the

moment

von

Rohden's idea

that the

Emperor

finished

his

visit

on the

western

side

of

the

Jordan

before

crossing

over,

there

remains

one

alterna-

tive;

namely,

that

Hadrian

came

first

to

the

eastern

side

(modern

Trans-Jordan)

and

completed

his

visit

there

before

crossing

to

Palestine

proper.

In

other

words,

Bostra,

Gerasa,

Philadelphia,

and Petra could

have

been visited

in

order

as

the first

stage of the

Palestinian tour.

Then with

a

certain

amount

of

retracing,

Jeru-

salem,

and

doubtless

other

Cis-Jordanian

towns,

would

follow,

with

Gaza

as

the

last

important

stopping place

before the

entry into

Egypt.

27

Recently

explored

by

the

American

School

of

Oriental

Research

in

Jerusalem;

see AAASOR

15 46

f.

28

Gregorovius,

op.

cit.

118.

29

Op.

cit. 239-245.

80

Ibid.

239

and

DUrr,

op.

cit.

63,

n.

356.

I

Op.

cit.

268.

hadrian in palestine, 129

Documents