The First Jewish Revolt, (AD66 -70).
Especially troublesome to the Roman Empire was the Province of Judaea where, in AD 66, small groups of Jews offered sporadic resistance to the Romans. Eventually, these small groups joined together in open revolt and expelled the Romans from Jerusalem.
Rome had little tolerance for those who disturbed the Pax Romana and the Emperor Nero dispatched General Vespasian who, later, in AD 69, became Emperor Vespasian. It was left to the new emperor's son, Titus to put down the revolt; which he did with ruthless efficiency.
History records Titus' deeds. The defeat of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the second Temple. Josephus, the Jewish historian wrote of the killing of over one million people - many by crucifixion - and the enslavement of the Jewish people. In fact, 70,000 Jews were taken as slaves to Rome and forced to build the Roman Colliseum.
Pictured above are two Jewish rebels who because of their brute strength were spared the gruesome death of crucifixion and sold into abject slavery.
These two were sold to a wealthy Roman, the owner of a large latitfudium in Sicilia for use as plough-slaves. Near naked and yoked to a heavy wooden plough, they now sweat and strain incessantly under the whips of their overseers.
You are left to wonder who were the luckier; those rebels who suffered the agonising - but relatively short - death on the cross or those wretched survivors who were made to toil as mere beasts-of-burden over many years thus enriching their Roman masters. Neither group had a choice in the matter. Their fates were decided for them by their Roman conquerors and masters under the Pax Romana.
Note: this picture is credited to Vittorio Carvelli. However - and I might be wrong - I believe this is a still taken from the 1961 movie "Barabbas" starring Anthony Quinn in the title role and Vittorio Gassman as his fellow slave, Sahak.
If I am correct, in the movie, they were the sole survivors of the destruction by earthquake of a sulphur mine in Sicilia where they'd laboured chained together for twenty years. Having survived the horrors of the mines, they were then harnessed together and yoked to a plough.
I have always admired your vast historical culture, Chris; and I especially like this post that deals with two important aspects of the Roman history and civilization that would both deserve a much deeper discussion that is not possible here, in one comment to just one post.
ReplyDeleteI refer first to the two very bloody main Roman wars in Judea, the one led by Vespasian and Titus (to which you refer here) and the one of 132-136 AD under Emperor Hadrian; while, as the second topic of discussion, I refer to the exploitation of slaves’ labour as “animals” in Roman farms.
For the first topic, you summary of the war and of the atrocities that accompanied the conflict and that followed the fall of Jerusalem, is very good.
However, about the enslavement of the vanquished Jewish people, let me add just a few other details.
Not only (as you mention) thousands of the strongest Jewish youths were exploited as “public slaves” at hard-labours for constructing roads and bridges, digging tunnels and erecting many public buildings, among which the Coliseum in Rome is the hugest and most famous.
Besides this, it might be worthy to mention at least four further episodes of “sadism and depravation” over slaves during that war:
1) At the beginning of the war, when Nero was still the Emperor, Vespasian sent to Nero, as a “personal gift” as many as 6,000 of the strongest and most muscular Jewish young captives. Nero used them (and their lives !) in his foolish attempt of digging an ancient version of the Canal of Corinth in Greece.
2) After the fall of Jerusalem, Titus sent to Rome a fleet of several galleys with the scope of transporting a very special (and debauched !) “GIFT” not only for the most illustrious Senators and Aristocrats of Rome but also for the whole Roman people.
This special and “debauched” GIFT consisted in about 3,000 Jewish male teenagers, aged between 14 and 18 (and as many young girls) that had been carefully chosen among the most “exquisitely beautiful” Jewish young male (and female) prisoners.
Several hundreds of them were given, as sexual-toys and “personal gifts” of the Emperor, to the main Roman Senators and Aristocrats for their sexual pleasures; while the remaining lads and girls were “donated” to the whole Roman people; i.e. there were put in public-brothels in the city of Rome, and every Roman citizen could enter and demand to have sex with each of those boys and lads (or girls) without paying any money. All “for free”, offered by the Emperor, for celebrating his triumph and military victories !
3) Both Vespasian and Titus, on various occasions during and after the war, sent several thousands of the strongest young Jews, captured in military actions, as “entertainments” in the Arenas not only of Rome but also of the other main cities of the Empire. In the arena they were obliged to fight among them as gladiators, or to fight against wild beasts. But differently from “normal” gladiators who might hope to survive their fights by winning, these poor Jewish prisoners of war were all killed, because the winners of the various matches were executed in the arena itself, by crucifixion or by being burned at the stake or by other barbaric sentences to the death.
4) Last but not least, besides the captives enslaved in the final fall of Jerusalem, the historian Josephus tells that the number of enslaved people, in all Palestine and during the long war, was so large, that the price of even young and very robust slaves fell to amazingly low levels in all the Slave-Markets not only of the Middle-East and Egypt but also in Greece and Italy.
Karel
CONTINUES BELOW
About the second topic that Chris touches in this post, i.e. the exploitation of strong and particularly robust male slaves in the place of animals, for the heaviest hard-labours in Roman farms, allow me to add a few pieces of information.
ReplyDeleteThis Roman habit of using particularly strong male-slaves in the place of animals (mules, horses, oxen etc.) even for the most exhausting and degrading hard-labours in farms …….. including e.g. PULLING PLOUGHS (like here) or TURNING HUGE GRINDSTONES …… is well documented as a real and widespread habit among rich Roman landowners.
It is mentioned …… and even recommended ! (see below) …… in the two most famous surviving Roman treatises about Agriculture and farming, i.e. the “De Agricultura” by Cato the Elder and the “De Re Rustica” by Columella; it is also mentioned and testified by Pliny in his “Natural History”.
The main reason was not sadism by the Roman Masters (even if this was always and heavily present in Roman farms) but it was mainly and simply an “economic profit / advantage” of the Roman Lords, due to the fact that ……. at equal “animal strength & extractable labour ” , e.g. two robust slaves in the place of a horse or four muscular men in the place of an ox ……… often two or four herculean young slaves were cheaper than an “equivalent” draught-horse or an ox ! ….. especially after victorious wars, when herds of very robust, healthy and young prisoners of war were enslaved and often sold in herds to rich Roman Senators and landowners for ridiculously low prices.
About the illustration, Chris, you are right; this scene is taken from the 1961 movie “BARABBA”.
Another very sadistic and exciting scene of a herculean male slave yoked to pull a plough in a Roman farm, can be seen in the 1964 movie “MESSALINA vs. THE SON OF HERCULES” starring the very handsome and splendidly muscular blond American actor Richard Harrison, in the role of the slave Glaucus.
In this scene (probably more realistically than in “Barabba”) the sturdy Richard Harrison is actually yoked under a real big wooden ox-yoke, positioned on his nape and shoulders and with his muscular arms wide open and tied at the wrists to the ends of the yoke.
The yoke on the shoulders of Richard is then fastened to the plough and an overseer cruelly whips the bound Richard on his brawny back for forcing him to haul the heavy plough.
Very, very exciting scene ……. unfortunately rather short !
But can we imagine that, two thousand years ago, spectacles like this exciting sadistic scene, could be really seen every day in many Roman farms ? ! …….. herds of muscular young male slaves, cruelly exploited as burden-beasts and as “toil animals” in the place of animals themselves, laboring to exhaustion from dawn to sunset, for pulling ploughs, turning huge millstones, pumping water from wells by pushing and turning water-wheels etc.etc. !
The “heaven” for a sadist !
Karel
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DeleteKarel, it might be "heaven" for a sadist but it would be "paradise" in a consensual slave's erotic fantasies!
DeleteHappy to read you again Master Karelius. Your depiction of young slaves being offered as sex toys make me wish i would be young enough to be a part of this batch of naked and beautifull girls and boys to be used by our victor. But as a full brown up i guess i would be used as the tool animal you so perfectly depicted. It makes me wish that some Master would enslave me and use me in his farm and hopefully also use me sexually...
ReplyDeleteSlave enak (enak@gmx.fr)
Thanks Enak. Your reply and your "identification" with the slaves in the historical episodes I was referring to, intrigues me.
DeleteIf you like, you might imagine of being a robust and healthy male teenager between 14 and 18 and you are captured by Romans.
Because you are also a very attractive lad, the Emperor chooses you among those 3,000 most beautiful boys and youths that are sent to Rome for being donated as "sex-toys" to the most illustrious Senators and aristocrats.
You are donated to a perverted old Senator who uses and abuses you in all possible manners.
Then when you grow older (like in another post in this Blog) your Master gets tired of you and sends you to hard labours in his farm.
Independently from your present age, I think it is not difficult to imagine all this "cycle of life" of the young slave Enak.
Karelius
Master Karelius,
ReplyDeleteThank you for these advises. Surely i like to picture myself as a younger slave. I wonder what this Senator will do to of me and at what time will he get tired of me and sell me out...
slave énak (enak@gmx.fr)