History

Exploring history from the Graeco-Roman
period to the modern world.

Essays

“The Pharisees who?” A Short Intro to Jewish Sectarianism

Picture this. You’ve just finished the Book of Malakai. Perhaps it’s taken you the better part of a year to get this far, reading start

“The sins of Jeroboam”: The Religious Responsibility of the Israelite Kings

The conception of the king as a religious figure was fundamentally tied to his moral responsibility for the religious actions of the nation as a whole.

The Religiopolitical Significance of the Maccabean Treaty with Rome

The nature of the treaty as two pronged, both deeply religious and notably political. It thus lent legitimacy not only to Judas’ political authority as a revolutionary, but also to the priestly leadership of later Hasmoneans.

Blank Page Chronicles

Blank Page: The Silent Years Between Testaments

The tears of Jerusalem and the blood of her liberators stain the pages between Malachi and Matthew. If only there was more than a single

Blank Page: From Ezra to Alexander

The year is circa 430 BC and all has been set aright: the children of Israel have begun to return from Persian exile; the Temple has been rebuilt, albeit ingloriously; the law has been reestablished; and a portion of Jerusalem’s wall has been reconstructed.

Blank Page: The Ptolemies in Judaea

Alexander the Great is dead. His glorious empire has fractured. Jerusalem is ruled by the Ptolemies. Spanning the fourth and third centuries BC (approximately 301 to 200 BC), the Ptolemaic dynasty in Judaea is fraught with conflict.