This amazing fragment of stone bears an inscription commemorating the visit of Antinous and Hadrian to Jerusalem on their fateful tour of Romes eastern provinces … a tour which ended in the death of Antinous in October 130 AD. The inscription proves that the 10th Legion was stationed in Jerusalem between the two Jewish Revolts and that troops were on hand when Antinous and Hadrian visited. Jerusalem was a turning point in the Emperors tour which, until then, had been glorious. But strife-torn Jerusalem set the stage for the tragic ending to the tour. Hadrians crackdown on Jewish hardline dissidents led by Bar Kochba ... banning circumcision, renaming Jerusalem and forcing Jews into the diaspora ... created shock waves which reverberate to this day. The stone engraved with an official Latin inscription dedicated to the Roman Emperor was discovered in the capital in July by the Antiquities Authority. It has just now been unveiled at Rockefeller Museum in east Jerusalem. It was probably part of Hadrians own main gate into the Old City of Jerusalem. It was found under the Mameluke Era Damascus Gate which was built over Hadrians Gate … probably erected after the Bar Kochba Revolt when Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina (after Hadrians Aelian family name). Jerusalems fate after destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), and prior to the Bar-Kochba revolt (132-136 CE), is one of the major issues in the history of the city and the Jewish people. “We know from ancient writers and the inscriptions on coins that the new city, which Hadrian established, was granted the status of ‘colonia,’ that is a city whose citizens and gods are Roman, and its name was changed to Aelia Capitolina, or COLONIA AELIA CAPITOLINA in Latin,” says archaeologist Dr. Rina Avner. “There is no doubt that the discovery of this inscription will contribute greatly to the long-standing question about the reasons that led to the outbreak of the Bar-Kochba revolt: Were the reasons for the rebellion the construction of Aelia Capitolina and the establishment of the pagan temple on the site of the Jewish Temple Mount; or conversely perhaps, these were the results of the revolt – that is, punitive action taken by Hadrian against those who rebelled against Roman rule?” Full report at the Antinous the Gay God Blog: antinousgaygod.blogspot/2014/10/inscription-commemorates-visit-of.html
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 10:00:31 +0000
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