Jewish Lydda in the Roman Era
It is commonly accepted that following the First Revolt the Jewish leadership institutions were transferred from Jerusalem to Yavneh and that they remained there till the revolt of Bar Kokhba. Systematic perusal of the sources indicates that the center in Lydda was no less important than that in Yav...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1988
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 1988, Volume: 59, Pages: 115-136 |
| IxTheo Classification: | HH Archaeology |
| Further subjects: | B
Lod
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| Summary: | It is commonly accepted that following the First Revolt the Jewish leadership institutions were transferred from Jerusalem to Yavneh and that they remained there till the revolt of Bar Kokhba. Systematic perusal of the sources indicates that the center in Lydda was no less important than that in Yavneh and perhaps even more so. Lydda served as a meeting place for the sages; the important Tannaim such as Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi ʿAqiba were active there; the sages gathered in Lydda in various places; important decisions were taken there, as emphasized in the sources. After the Bar Kokhba revolt, Yavneh is not even mentioned, while the status of Lydda is manifest as the most important center of instruction in the south. There was even a period when the calendar was established there. In the period of the Amoraim, Lydda became to some extent a center competing with the leadership institutions in Sepphoris and Tiberias in Galilee. All this fits the position of Lydda, lying as it does in the heart of the Judaean lowlands, on a crossroads with highways leading to Caesarea, Jaffa, and Jerusalem — a city which had a Jewish majority already at the end of the Second Temple period. It is mentioned by Josephus together with Yavneh as the place where Jewish leaders were sent who were willing to accept a compromise with Rome during the First Revolt. It received city status in the reign of Septimius Severus in the time of Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi (199/200 C.E.). |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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