speedlearner

Thank you so much for your information. Most of what you told me confirms my theories about the magi. I'm sure it would be difficult to prove whether the magi brought the gold across the border or if they acquired the gold after the crossed the border since nobody alive today was there when they crossed it. But the research I've done so far indicates how dangerous the border really was. After all, there was an invasion of Armenia in 37 ad that didn't conclude until 47 ad. And Nero had his own struggle with Armenia around 60 ad. So I'm sure the magi wouldn't have crossed the border with just three men and no armaments. Papyrus documents from that period of time would be difficult to find due to the Roman invasion of Judea in 70 ad as well as the passage of time. So all people like me can do is read the literature that is available and draw the best conclusions that we can.

I'm going to refer to the period of time between Marc Antony's defeat after he marched across Armenia and fought the Parthians and the time when Nero became an emperor. I know that many Roman soldiers weren't pleased with the defeat of Marc Antony and I also know that the Roman Controlled Judea was filled with bandits. So what I want to know is how safe was it to travel across the Roman Parthian border? The reason I ask is due to the travel plans of the Magi as they journeyed to the birthplace of Jesus. After all, they brought a large quantity of frankincense and Myrrh across the border. Some say that they also brought a large amount of gold across the border. Would that have been safe to do? Would the Roman soldiers, upon seeing the magi, treat them like diplomats? Would the Roman soldiers been intimidated by the priestly nature of the Magi? Would the Magi have bribed the Roman soldiers to gain safe passage across the border? Or would the magi have sneaked across the border? I know the magi were well versed in the uses of frankincense and myrrh. And I also know that there weren't a lot of apothecary shops in the region. Is it possible that they knew how to manufacture frankincense and myrrh? I'm sure they probably knew how to travel to Arabia to obtain the ingredients. I know they used frankincense and myrrh in their priestly rituals. But is it possible that they bartered some of their frankincense and myrrh for gold?