Abba Kolon and the Founding of Rome
In remarkable and unique passage (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.6.4) concerning the founding of Rome, R. Levi notes that each time two huts were built in Rome they collapsed, until an old man named Abba Kolon told the Romans that unless water from the Euphrates were mixed with mortar, the buildings would n...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn Press
1991
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
Year: 1991, Volume: 81, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 239-266 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In remarkable and unique passage (Song of Songs Rabbah 1.6.4) concerning the founding of Rome, R. Levi notes that each time two huts were built in Rome they collapsed, until an old man named Abba Kolon told the Romans that unless water from the Euphrates were mixed with mortar, the buildings would not stand. He volunteered to get the water and, disguised as a wine carrier, journeyed to the Euphrates, where he obtained some water, returned, and mixed it with the mortar. The huts then remained standing. The city thus built was called Rome-Babylon. Numerous attempts have been made to solve this enigmatic passage. The present study seeks to view it against the background of the latter part of the third century, when R. Levi lived. This period saw the continuation of the seemingly unending struggle between the Roman Empire and Persia. The nadir of Roman fortunes occurred when the emperor Valerian was forced to make peace with the Persians and was abducted by the Persian king, Shapur I. There followed an unexpected challenge from Palmyra, an oasis in the Syrian desert, which had, significantly for our story, been raised to the status of a Roman colony some years earlier and which now, under the command of a nobleman named Odaenathus, defeated Shapur on the bank of the Euphrates. Odaenathus was subsequently appointed dux Orientis, in effect associate emperor for the East, and given the title corrector totius Orientis. Thus, by a deus ex machina, as it were, the Roman Empire, as symbolized by the huts, had been restored to stability. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1455320 |