315
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
the homage and loyalty which thitherto lie had yielded to Antony. Augustus, accepting the offer,
confirmed the royal position of Herod Friendship and bestowed upon him, after the with suicide of Antony and Cleopatra, all the Herod. provinces of which he had been bereft
through the influence of the
latter (Jo-
sephus, "Ant." xv. 6, § 7). He tried also to aid the harassed Jewish king in his domestic troubles, by effecting a temporary reconciliation between him and the two sons of Mariamne, Alexander and Aristobulus (ib. xvi. 4, § 4). Herod showed his appreciation of his patron's favors by naming his new capital, built up out of Samaria, " Sebaste " (Greek for "Augustus," which title the emperor had just then assumed), in honor of the emperor, and its magnificent seaport, which occupied twelve years in the building, "Cassarea" (ib. xv. 8, § 5; 9, § 6). Under Augustus, moreover, Judea forfeited the actual or nominal independence it had possessed for a century and a half, and was made a Roman province. After the death of Herod (3 C.E.), an embassy of fifty prominent men from Jerusalem betook itself to Rome to protest against the continuance of the tyrannical rule of the Herodian dynasty, and to plead with Augustus for the annexation of
Judea Judea to Syria, and the appointment During His of a mild magistracy which would 1
Reign.
to Judea internal autonomy. About 8,000 Roman Jews joined the delegation, which was received by the emperor at the Temple of Apollo. The preliminary result of this movement was that Augustus divided Herod's
leave
—
realm between Archelans whom he appointed ethnarch, promising him the kingly title if good conduct should warrant such reward— and Philip and Antipas making liberal provisions, also, for Salome, Herod's sister, and for his two daughters (ib. xvii. 11, § 5). At this juncture Augustus rendered another good service toxJudea by unmasking and punishing a pretender to* Herod's throne, who, emerging from Sidon, had passed for Alexander, one of Mariamne's slain sons, and who, on his triumphal journey from Puteoli to Rome, had gained many a follower
among the credulous Jews (ib. xvii. 12). The rule of Archelaus, however, was tyrannous and about ten years
Augustus
after his accession another embassy of leading Jews appeared before Augustus with an arraignment of his cruel despotism. The emperor there-
Banishes Archelaus. upon summoned him to Rome, and banished him and his wife, Q-laphyra, to Vienne, a city of Gaul,
now
in the Isfire depart-
ment, France. His wealth was confiscated, while Quirinius, a prominent senator, accompanied by Coponius, was delegated to Syria and Judea (6-7 c.e.) for the purpose of taking a census of those provinces and of introducing the Roman system of poll and property taxation, as well as of making the proper disposal of the belongings of Archelaus. The census proved highly unpopular, particularly among the Zealots, a band of resolute republicans
by Judas the Galilean, or the Gaulanite, and by who saw in this innovation a menace to national and personal liberty, and opposed it accordingly, though without permanent success. In some led
Zadok,
Augustine
Augustus
II.
places open resistance even may have occurred (Josephus, "Ant." xviii. 1, § 1; xx. 5, § 2; idem, "B. J." ii. 8, § 1; 17, § 8; Luke ii. 1-3; Acts v. 37).
Judea thus became wholly a Roman province of the second order, not incorporated into Syria, as Josephus says, but having an imperial representative in the person of a procurator,
New by
who
resided at Caesarea.
marks of loyalty were shown Herodian proteges.
his
Antipas
Augustus
to
fortified Sep-
phoris, the chief city of Galilee, dedicating
emperor he
while the
new
fortress at
it
to the
Betharamptha
named
"Julias," after the emperor's wife. Simian important city at the head of the Jordan valley, styling it "Cffisarea Philippi," in distinction from its namesake built by Herod the larly, Philip built
Great while he enlarged and embellished Bethsaida, near the Lake of Gennesaret, and called it also " Julias," after the daughter of Augustus (Josephus, "Ant." xviii. 2, § 1 ).
Bibliography:
Griitz, Qesch. tier Juden, 4th ed., iii. 229 Vogelstein and Rieger, Qesch. der Juden in Rom, Berliner, Qesch. der Juden in Rom, i. 21, 62; Mommsen, Romische Qesch. v. 504 et seq.; Schurer, Qesch. der Juden, i. index, s.v. Octavianus Augustus.
et seq.
1.
11-14;
H. G. E.
g.
AUGUSTUS
II.,
THE STRONG:
Elector of
Saxony 1694-1733, and from 1697 king of Poland with the title Frederick Augustus I. born at Dres;
den
May
1670; died at "Warsaw Feb. 1, 1733. He confirmed the privileges of the Jews, following the example of his predecessor, John Sobieski (167496); but while that monarch always manifested a friendly disposition toward them, Augustus II. with his lavish expenditures which impoverished Poland and laid the foundations for her future misfortunes was quite indifferent to the condition of the Polish Jews, who had hitherto always been protected by the throne. This indifference was in face of the fact that the Jewish bankers Oppenheimer of Vienna, 12,
,
—
—
—
Liebmann
of Berlin, and Meyer and Assisted Lehmann of Dresden furnished the in Election greater part of the 10,000,000 thalers by Jews, used by Augustus to buy up the Po-
—
lish nobles for the purpose of securing the throne. Another Jew, Berend Lehmann (b. 1659 at Halberstadt), furnished the money necessary for his coronation at Warsaw, and in order to do this he negotiated the sale of the hereditary estate of Quedlinburg to Brandenburg for 340, 000 thalers (according to Vehse and Gretschel). But this indifference with regard to the protection of the Jews may be explained by the fact that Augustus was also indebted to the Jesuits of Vienna, who furnished a part of the funds for the purchase of the Polish throne, taking his jewel^ as security. With the aid of the Jesuits he attempted to corrupt the inconstant Poles with money, and by intrigues to keep them in dependency for this purpose he even tried to change the electorate to a hereditary order. That he personally favored certain Jews is evident from his letter dated Sept. 23, 1707, in which he praises Berend Lehmann for his services, fidelity, and good character. The same friendly tone marks a letter of protection dated March 27, 1708, authorizing Berend Lehmann's family and servants, and also his brother-in-law, Jonas Meyer of Hamburg,
to settle at
Dresden
(see
Berend Lehmann).
