The Ituraeans, a little-known people of late first century BCE Syria/Palestine, are referred to briefly in a number of early texts, notably Pliny, Strabo and Josephus, and the principality of Ituraea is mentioned in Luke 3.1. There is, as yet, no consensus among archaeologists as to whether certain artefacts should be attributed to the Ituraeans or not. They form a mysterious backdrop to what we know of the area in the time of Jesus, which remains obstinately obscure despite the enormous amount of research in recent decades on the 'historical Jesus' and Greco-Roman Galilee. Through reference to the early texts, modern scholarship has contributed to a claim the Ituraeans were an Arab tribal group known mainly for their recurrent brigandage. Elaine Myers challenges these presuppositions and suggests a reappraisal of previous interpretations of these texts and the archaeological evidence to present a more balanced portrait of this ancient people.
Author(s): Myers E. A.
Edition: 1
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 234
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Dedication......Page 9
Contents......Page 11
Illustrations......Page 12
Preface......Page 13
Abbreviations......Page 14
Introduction......Page 19
1 Early scholarship......Page 23
2 Literary texts......Page 30
Eupolemus......Page 31
Strabo......Page 33
Arabs/Arabians......Page 36
Strabo and brigands/robbers......Page 38
Apuleius and the later writers......Page 40
Josephus......Page 42
Josephus and the bandits/robbers......Page 51
Roman historians......Page 56
On Cicero......Page 57
The Golan and its Pottery......Page 60
Archaeological history......Page 66
Golan Ware: early surveys and excavations......Page 68
Stating the problem......Page 70
Excursus on Galilean coarse ware......Page 73
Khirbet Zemel......Page 75
The pithoi......Page 76
The Hermon and Har Sena'im......Page 82
The Hermon......Page 86
Dar's Hermon surveys and excavations......Page 88
Upper cult enclosure......Page 89
Excursus on the standing stone......Page 95
Lower cult enclosure......Page 98
Chalcis ad Libanum and the Biqa'......Page 100
Recent excavations in the Lebanon......Page 106
Excursus on the temple......Page 108
The temple at Heliopolis-Baalbek......Page 115
4 Coins......Page 120
Funerary inscriptions......Page 133
Military diplomas......Page 137
Inscriptions by or about members of units......Page 141
From an ostracon......Page 144
Inscriptions connected to Ituraeans because of provenance......Page 145
Aramaic inscriptions......Page 148
6 Ituraeans and identity......Page 151
The Aramaeans......Page 157
Safaitic inscriptions......Page 158
7 The Ituraeans in history......Page 165
8 Conclusions......Page 187
Kulullû: the Assyrian fish-man......Page 194
The archer......Page 196
Alae I Augusta Ituraeorum......Page 198
Cohors I Ituraeorum (sagittaria)......Page 199
Egyptian garrison – cohors II and III Ituraeorum (equitatae)......Page 200
II and III Ituraeorum......Page 201
Temple inscriptions in Greek from the time of Hadrian and Antoninus Pius......Page 203
Early texts......Page 204
Secondary works......Page 205
Index......Page 231
