Masacre Of Romans Citizens In Cyprus

[Arvioustus]

History does not talk about this much but it was an enormous masacre of regular citizens. Curious, did the Huns even mascare this many? Not at one time I am sure. Did the Roamns put 250,000 citizens to death?

 

The massacre of Roman citizens on a massive scale by armed Jewish mobs in Cyprus (recorded as 240,000) and Cyrene as well as the destruction of pagan temples forced brutal retaliation. Massacre was met with massacre as Trajan ordered legionary response to the uprising. Jews were virtually expelled from Cyprus and the population of North Africa (Jewish, Roman and Greek) was decimated. The revolt and its suppression dragged on even into the reign of Hadrian (who would be faced years later with another considerable Jewish uprising in Judaea), but Trajan still yearned for his Alexander style eastern campaign and exacting revenge against the people of Hatra. A planned renewal of the offensive was brought to a halt as the emperor fell ill during the summer of AD 117, and Trajan began the trip back to Rome. Landing in Cilicia after a short journey by sea, the emperor died in Selinus on August 9 most likely of natural causes.

[Pantagathus]

First off, this event supposedly happened during Hadrian's reign.

 

Second, it was the Greek inhabitants of Cyprus that the Jews reportedly killed. I have seen the 240,000 number but that came from a 19th Century source; Henry Hart Milman.

 

I have not seen his bibliography but I don't if that event was documented by an ancient source. In which case I have a hard time accepting it as wholly factual...

[Primus Pilus]

The revolt on Cyprus did occur during Trajan's reign. You may be thinking of the Simon ben Kosiba Jewish revolts which occured under Hadrian.

 

I will admit that the 240,000 number is not an easily identifiable figure and the ancient sources on Trajan are practically non existent.

 

Just for the record, my source was not 19th century but rather Cassius Dio book 68

 

Meanwhile the Jews in the region of Cyrene had put a certain Andreas at their head, and were destroying both the Romans and the Greeks. They would eat the flesh of their victims, make belts for themselves of their entrails, anoint themselves with their blood and wear their skins for clothing; many they sawed in two, from the head downwards; others they gave to wild beasts, and still others they forced to fight as gladiators. In all two hundred and twenty thousand persons perished. In Egypt, too, they perpetrated many similar outrages, and in Cyprus, under the leadership of a certain Artemion. There, also, two hundred and forty thousand perished, and for this reason no Jew may set foot on that island, but even if one of them is driven upon its shores by a storm he is put to death. Among others who subdued the Jews was Lusius, who was sent by Trajan.

[Pantagathus]

The revolt on Cyprus did occur during Trajan's reign. You may be thinking of the Simon ben Kosiba Jewish revolts which occured under Hadrian.

 

Ack! But I thought that Cassius Dio places a Jewish revolt in Cyrene during Trajen? Acts of the Apostles I thought then said another happened during Hadrian and that's the one that involved Cyrus?

 

Of course I defer to your judgement P-P because as we move father into AD I walk on shakier ground...

 

EDIT (After P-P's Edit...) I see, my memory was cutting out a portion of Dio...

Edited January 26, 2006 by Pantagathus

[Primus Pilus]

The revolt on Cyprus did occur during Trajan's reign. You may be thinking of the Simon ben Kosiba Jewish revolts which occured under Hadrian.

 

Ack! But I thought that Cassius Dio places a Jewish revolt in Cyrene during Trajen? Acts of the Apostles I thought then said another happened during Hadrian and that's the one that involved Cyrus?

 

Of course I defer to your judgement P-P because as we move father into AD I walk on shakier ground...

 

EDIT (After P-P's Edit...) I see, my memory was cutting out a portion of Dio...

 

Quite frankly, that era was nearly a persistent state of revolt from Alexandria to Cyrene to Cyprus to Jerusalem.

 

Sorry about the after the fact add-on. It was actually a separate post, but sometimes when you make one post right after a previous one... it will combine both together as if it was all done at the same time.

[Favonius Cornelius]

History does not talk about this much but it was an enormous masacre of regular citizens. Curious, did the Huns even mascare this many? Not at one time I am sure. Did the Roamns put 250,000 citizens to death?

 

It is true, one does not hear much about this massacre during these revolts in the east. When people read Roman history in schools you hear plenty of the numbers slaughtered by Caesar or the Huns, but never the Jewish revolts. One must dig avidly before hearing much about it; I remember when I first read about it I was surprised and shocked.

 

Anyone care to conjecture as to why it is not more widely known?

[Arvioustus]

I think historians in general promote what they want promoted. Ussually you would assume the Aryan historians change history and facts to promote their ideology but they are not alone. It seems that through omision or downplaying of certain events over others the same distortions occur. This event it seems can be one of the biggest massacres of civilans in ancient history. One question, how come the civilains could not protect themselves at all? Another question, ancient Judea has produced much turmoil (guess it still does) and the fantasism must have produced fierce fighters and many problems for the legions. My guess why the Romans could not protect these 250,000 civilians just shows that Roman legions are just streched too far perhaps. Why historians downplayed this needs serious attention.