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Josephus’ Nabataeans: a vision of Roman power in the Near East

  • Anna Accettola EMAIL logo

Abstract

Nabataean history is significantly overlooked in the works of ancient historians. Josephus is an exception to this, as he includes several important events from Nabataean history in De Bello Judaico and Antiquitates Judaicae. However, his retelling of these events differs between the two works. In this paper, I argue that Josephus became more “pro-Roman” over time and eventually overshadowed an accurate portrayal of Nabataean history in his later narrative. He undermined moments of tension between Rome and Nabataea in order to showcase Roman power in the Near East, even beyond reality. In support of this argument, I analyze the Nabataean sections of Josephus’ works, as each passage has overlapping details, but significantly different emphasis, characterization, and perspective through variations in terminology, imagery, and tone. Though problematic, Josephus has preserved a unique look into Roman-Nabataean relations in the two centuries prior to the incorporation of Nabataea into the Empire.

Acknowledgment

I wish to express my thanks to the reviewers of this article for the apt and constructive feedback and Dr. Ra’anan Boustan for his mentorship and helpful critiques during the preparation of this article. I would also like to thank Benjamin Niedzielski, Rhiannon Koehler, and Alison Crandall for their comments and suggestions. All translations and errors in this article are my own.

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Published Online: 2020-12-05
Published in Print: 2020-11-27

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