A Comparative Study of the ancient city of Caesarea using King Herod’s Dream as a base.
By Dr. Chretien Guidry
Who were the rulers of the ancient city of Caesarea in the 1st and 2nd centuries? This is not a simple answer. The ancient city of Caesarea was not ruled by a single person, but different people in various positions. Caesarea in the 1st century was divided into two ruling powers which involved the Roman imperial authority and the Jewish Community. Caesarea as a colony in the 2nd century would have several officials that would control the city. How was Caesarea ruled in the 1st and 2nd centuries? Who had the most power in these two centuries? First, works by Lee Levine, Benjamin Isaac, Barbara Levick, and Kenneth Holum will show how Caesarea was ruled in the 1st century, and who these rulers were. Second, these same works, along with works done by MacMullen Ramsay and E.G. Hardy's translation of Roman Laws and Charters will use comparative evidence from other Roman colonies to provide an idea of how Caesarea as a colony was ruled in the 2nd century. Finally, a conclusion of the main points from both 1st and 2nd centuries will show how the rulers of Caesarea were made up of complex and different positions of various duties and responsibilities.
The procurators were the dominant imperial authority in the city of Caesarea during the 1st century. When Arcaelaus was exiled, many of the dominions in Judaea were placed under procuratorial rule for the Roman Empire. What evidence is there that procurators were in Caesarea? The book, King Herod's Dream, explains that a Latin inscription was found by an Italian Mission in Caesarea's theater. The inscription reveals that Pontius Pilate was in Caesarea. Pontius Pilate was a procurator in the 1st century, and this suggest that procurators did exist in Caesarea. Levine's book, Caesarea Under Roman Rule, states that the city of Caesarea under procuratorial rule became the center of Roman administration within Palestine. Roman procurators were answerable only to the emperor. The procurators used Caesarea to administer the country, and their primary interest was taxes. The Roman military in Caesarea was under the control of the procurator, who could use Roman equipment and soldiers to keep the city organized efficiently. While the Roman procurators were very powerful, they were constantly involved with affairs of the country, and left the internal affairs of Caesarea to officials such as conductors.
Although the information about Roman officials like the conductors in Caesarea are limited, Frank Abbott's and Allan Johnsons book, Municipal Administration in the Roman Empire, provides evidence about these officials in other Roman cities which can be compared to Caesarea. Conductors were in charge of various estates, and gained wealth from rent money which was paid by tenants. Caesarea must have had officials similiar to conductors to control the enormous wealth produced by the city. Caesarea had several magistrates or governors in the city of Caesarea. Magistrates would administer law and enforce various penalties to people that violated these laws.
Also, the procurators were assisted by a consilium or assembly. The assembly in Caesarea was responsible for the imperial cult, the temple, and the celebrations of games which were held in honor for the emperor. Officially, the assembly was to have considerable power to blame or praise the procurator, and initially the assembly did. Roman emperors would encourage the actions of the assembly, because emperor's wanted to keep the procurators in control. Eventually, as imperial bureaucracy set in under the emperor's directions, the emperor's would lose interest in the power of the assembly. If the procurator or even the conductor wanted something, there was very little the assembly could do to stop them.
Generally, the Roman Empire would keep the previous local municipal government, because it was a simple matter to maintain organization within a city with an already existing institution. Levine points out that cities like Caesarea were suppose to have self-government under a council or popular assembly. However, imperial officials would often assume or take the judicial functions normally held by local authorities. Levine claims this was especially true in criminal cases. The more important criminal cases were completely taken out of the hands of the local judicial system and handled sometimes by the procurator himself. Although local officials could visit the emperor to complain about a procurator, this was not very realistic. The Roman emperor was very busy, and did not have the time or concern to hear every grievance. Also, if a procurator or conductor found out about such a complaint, the local official could easily lose their position or even their life.
Imperial authority of officials was the dominant ruling power of 1st century Caesarea, but the Jewish Community in this city had considerable economic power. Levine believes that half of Caesarea's population were Jews. Josephus provides evidence that the Jewish Community was a significant power in Caesarea. Josephus' book on Jewish War mentions that the Jews were superior in strength than the pagan community of Caesarea. The economic power of the Jewish Community came from commercial activity. Because of this economic power, Jews could obtain positions that gave them a limited role in the government of Caesarea.
One position Jews possibly had in Caesarea was the job of an Agoranomoi. An Agoranomoi was responsible for the inspection of provisions and purchases of sale. Levine argues that Jews may have had this position because of their economic importance. Also, many Jews were tax collectors for Caesarea, and focused their efforts on the ports of Caesarea. The goods imported were an excellent source for revenue in the form of taxes. The position of a tax collector in Caesarea was very much like the position of alabarch in Alexandria. An alabarch also collected taxes and many Jews held this position in Alexandria. The Jewish Community as a whole was organized in Caesarea as a politeuma. A politeuma was the equivalent of a civic municipal organization, and frequently interacted with Roman officials. There were twelve leaders of the Jewish Community at one time, and they were called many different names such as first men, elders, leaders, or notables. Because the Roman Empire had a tradition of using previous municipal governments, the Jewish Community was allowed to debate and make decisions on broad issues concerning Caesarea. While the Jewish Community was limited in its role of government of Caesarea, they did present a powerful presence in Caesarea. Roman officials needed to work with the Jewish Community in order to keep Caesarea under control. Unfortunately, this created considerable tension between the Jewish Community and the Roman ruling powers.
The rule of the procurators was stopped for three years by the reign of Agrippa I. Agrippa I gained great respect from the Jewish Community in Caesarea by not violating any religious precepts. Unfortunately, the Roman soldiers and Caesarean Gentiles were not happy with Agrippa's actions toward the Jews. When Agrippa I died in Caesarea, the tension between the Jewish Community and the Roman imperial power was released. The Jews believed that the city of Caesarea should have been theirs because its founder, Herod, was a Jew. The Romans believed that King Herod had wanted the city to be a Gentile city, because of the various statues and temples he built in Caesarea.
At first, both sides used verbal arguments to debate the issue. However, the arguments became more violent, and a battle took place on the streets of Caesarea. The magistrates of the city were the first to act, and tried to control the violence by enforcing various penalties to offenders. This proved useless, and even more violence continued. Caesarea's Roman troops and Jews continued to battle until the Jews emerged victorious. The procurator Felix arrived, and ordered the Jews to stop the conflict. When the Jews refused to obey Felix, he ordered the troops to attack, and many Jews were killed, or captured.
Caesarea gained two important advantages from the outbreak of the Jewish war. First, Caesarea served as Vespasian's headquarters in the first Jewish revolt. Because Vespasian had several legions coming in and out of the city, Caesarea's importance to the Roman Empire was increased. When Jerusalem fell, Caesarea became the dominant city in the region. Second, Caesarea's population was now primary pagan. Since the Jewish Community was virtually destroyed, the Roman imperial rule could take complete control of the city. The emperor Vespasian increased the power of Roman rule over Caesarea by raising it to the rank of a colonia sometime between 69 and 79 B.C.E . Vespasian may have made Caesarea a colonia for several reasons. Caesarea as the provincial capital would now have an even more important position in the region. Also, Vespasian could have believed that he owed the city for it's role in the war. Caesarea had housed and sheltered many of his troops. An emperor could express his gratitude for a city by making it a colonia. Because Caesarea was now a colonia in the 2nd century, even more Roman offices and regulations would affect the city's municipal government.
What were the rules for founding a colonia? Levine explains that there is little evidence on Caesarea as a colony. Comparative evidence on other Roman colonies can provide information about what Caesarea was like as a colony. Levine explains that founding a Roman colony involved one out of several forms. First, the area of the colony needed to have had the previous settlements eliminated. Second, an honorary grant was needed. Third, most colonies needed to have an integration of old Roman inhabitants and veteran soldiers. Levine believes Caesarea was more closely related to the third form. Because Caesarea met this third forms criteria, it could become a colonia.
Who were the Roman rulers of Caesarea as a colony? Which official had the most power? E.G. Hardy's, "Roman Laws and Charters", gives comparative evidence on a charter of the Roman colony, Lex Coloniae Genetivae Juliae. While Caesarea may not have had all the offices about to be mentioned in this charter, certainly some of these positions must have existed for Caesarea to have an effective municipal government. One position was the decuriae or the governing body of a colony. Evidence does exist to prove that Caesarea did have decuriones. The book, King Herod's Dream, explains that a Latin inscription of various offices was found. This Latin inscription was found on the upper surface of marble where a statue had been placed. The inscription reveals that various offices did exist in Caesarea. Two of the offices mentioned were the decuriones and the duumvir. Hardy believes the decurione was one of the most powerful positions an individual could have. Magistrates were responsible for naming the ducuriones and the comitia would elect the ducuriones. The comitia was like the consilum or assembly of officials that would come together to make decisions. Also, the comitia was responsible for removing the ducuriones from office.
The ducuriones in a colony were the equivalent of a senator in Rome. Roman officials felt that it was an insult to senators in Rome to call anyone outside the empire a senator. The ducuriae were responsible for many things. They were in charge of fixing the days for festivals, and had to decree payment to contractors in connection with sacrifices. The ducuriae were in charge of public business, and had to sanction the dismantling of buildings or houses. Also, the ducuriae were in charge of handling public money, and making preparations for possible wars. Hardy believes that the ducuriae approval was required by all positions in a colony's municipal government. If Caesarea had a governing body such as the ducuriae, it could have become the dominant ruling force in the city.
The ducuriae made the important decisions in Caesarea, but they needed officials to carry out their instructions. The duoviri would fill this role. There were two types of duoviri. The first type was called duoviri iure dicundo, and there were two of these officials. The Latin inscription found in Caesarea revealed that Marcus Flavius Agrippa was one of these officials in the municipal government of Caesarea. The duoviri were the chief magistrates of the city. The chief magistrates would preside over meetings of the ducuriae. After the ducuriae made their decision, the magistrate would carry out their orders. The magistrate had considerable power to execute his orders.
The duoviri iure dicundo had the power to control public works and buildings. He was in charge of the public festivals, and required to take a census of the city for every five years. The issue of public funds appeared to create some tension between the magistrate and the ducuriae. The magistrate could use public money to pay for things, but he needed the authorization of the ducuriones. When the magistrate was given the authorization, the magistrate had flexibility in how he went about using the money. The ducuriones knew this was a possible danger, and certain restrictions on using public money were made. For example, the magistrates were forbidden to assign money for payment in a future date.
While the ducuriones had great power over the magistrates, the magistrates were initially independent on the function of jurisdiction. The magistrates could have controlled both civil and criminal jurisdiction of Caesarea. Eventually the function of jurisdiction was gradually lost by the magistrates. The governor of the province would eventually have this duty. Magistrates were very often assisted by an accensus, and this could have occurred in Caesarea. Accensus was a personal attendant of the magistrate. The accensus would eventually give advice to the magistrate, and was a close confidant to the magistrate. While officially this position was not very
powerful, unofficially the accensus' advice to the magistrate could affect major decisions in a city.
The second type of duoviri were called the duoviri aediles. The aediles were below the magistrates in ruling power. The aediles were in charge of making contracts for the repair of roads. They handled many functions that were similiar to the magistrates. The magistrates would often give the aedile the power to handle affairs that the chief magistrate did not have time for. Frank Abbott and Allan Johnson claim that some aedile in Italian cities would sometimes assume the role of chief magistrate in certain situations. For example, if a chief magistrate was removed for violating a law, the aedile would take this position, and could even hold a census. The city of Caesarea may have had the position of the aedile because the aedile were more efficient in dealing with the community than the magistrates were.
While the magistrates, aedile and decuriae were powerful positions in provincial cities, the average citizen would rarely interact with such officials. A citizen of Caesarea was possibly more concerned with the positions of lictors, scribae, viatores and praecones. Why were these positions so important to people in the city? These offices were the ones that interacted with the people directly. For example, the decuriae would issue a law that prohibits a citizen from doing something. The magistrate enforces the law, and orders the aedile to execute this order. The aedile finds out which individuals are violating this law, and summons a lictor to deal with the violator. A lictor was responsible for arresting individuals, and carrying out public punishment. Caesarea could have used lictors to keep the communities under control and obedient.
The scribae carried out very important task for provincial cities. A scribae was responsible for drawing up public documents and keeping accounts. E.G. Hardy points out that tight restrictions were placed on scribae due to interaction with the city's treasury. Also, the scribae were employed in courts of law, and they often drafted decrees of the decuriones. Because the scribae spent a great deal of time with administrative duties, Caesarea would have needed a lot of scribae. The citizens of a city would have interacted with scribae when settling their own affairs within the city.
The viatores and the praecones were positions that involved the most public interaction. Viatores had similiar responsibilities and duties like the lictors. In some cases, viatores could even replace the position of a lictor. Viatores had to carry official messages of the magistrates to various people of all classes. Also, a viatore would summon a person to appear before the tribunal of a magistrate. The praecones position was considered as important as a viatore. The praecones had to make public proclamations to the people, the law courts and sometimes even the senate. They also had to officiate at public auctions, and make announcements for the aedile. While both positions were not as esteem a position as a magistrate or aedile, the positions of viatores and praecones could have played a significant role in the city of Caesarea for serving the local municipal government.
Officially the decuriones and the duoviri were the dominant ruling power of Caesarea in the 2nd century. Who was the ruling power unofficially? Ramsay MacMullen's book, Corruption and the Decline of Rome, may provide some insight into this question. MacMullen believes that a significant amount of ruling power went to the patronus of an association. In essence, certain men and even women were very much like "godfathers" of a city. Very wealthy and powerful families in Roman provincial cities would have these "godfathers". How does this fit in to Caesarea? Caesarea was the Roman provincial capital, and was a very wealthy city. Caesarea could have easily attracted powerful and wealthy families. If such families did exist in Caesarea, they would have considerable power and flexibility. MacMullen points out that provincial cities did not have an effective police system. Wealthy families could enforce their will through fear and intimidation. Also, because these "godfathers" had considerable wealth, they could easily influence the municipal government of provincial cities like Caesarea. A system of granting special privileges for previous favors would dominate provincial cities. Latin inscriptions exist in Caesarea that give evidence about the patronus in the city. Because Caesarea was a very wealthy city, the patronus would have been a major ruling power within the city.
The ancient city of Caesarea in the 1st and 2nd centuries was ruled by different people in various positions. Caesarea in the 1st century was ruled by the Roman imperial authority and the Jewish Community. The imperial authority had positions such as the procurators and the conductors. The Jewish Community also had different positions. When Caesarea became a colony, the Roman imperial authority dominated the whole system. Officially, the positions of ducuriones and duoviri were the most powerful. However, positions like the lictors and viatores gave individuals considerable power over the people of Caesarea. Caesarea may even have had unofficial ruling powers such as the "godfathers". Clearly, the question of who were the rulers of Caesarea is not one to be taken lightly.
Bibliography
Kenneth Holum, Robert HohlFelder, Robert Bull, and Avner Raban. King Herod's Dream, New York, W.W. Norton & Company, 1988.
E.G. Hardy, Roman Laws and Charters, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1912.
Freedman, David N. The Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritima, Montana, Scholars Press, 1975.
Barbara Levick, Roman Colonies in Southern Asia Minor, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1967.
Levine, Lee I. Caesarea Under Roman Rule, Leiden, Netherlands, 1975.
Frank Frost Abbott and Allen Chester Johnson, Municipal Administration in the Roman Empire, New York, Russel & Russel, 1968.
Finley, Moses. A Translation of Josephus' "Jewish War" and Other Selections, New York, Twayne Publishers, Inc. 1965.
Benjamin Isaac, The Limits of Empire, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1990
Ramsay MacMullen, Corruption and the Decline of Rome, London, Yale University Press, 1988.
Wellesley, Kenneth. The Long Year A.D. 69, Colorado, Westview Press, 1975.
Wells and Barrow, R.H. A Short History of the Roman Empire, London, Methuen & Co., 1935.
Millar, Fergus. The Roman Empire and its Neighbors, New York, Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1981.
Grant, Michael. Herod the Great, New York, American Heritage Press, 1971.
Salmon, Edward. A History of the Roman World, London, Methuen & Co. LTD, 1959
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