DISPERSED
823
DISPERSION
eph. Ant. x!r, 7, 2). He had his seat at Alexandria, nd yn'as called an aiabarch (q. v.), Akafiapx^Q (<^0' eph. A iU. xviii, 8, 1 ; xix, 6, 1 ; xx, 7, 8 ; comp. Rhen- Jrd, Opera philol, p. 684 sq.), with which the patriarch f the modem Oriental Christiana may be compared, Ce -was supported by a council of elders (yepoi/crta), ac- ordixK^; to the arrangement institned by Augustus Philo, Opp, iif 527). See Sanhedrim. These Jews ad completely adopted Greek under the Ptolemies : ; -waa their ecclesiastical as well as social language. tat the Greek learning, L e. philosophy, which flour- ihed in Alexandria, lUso fouikl admission to them ; he Alexandrian Rabbins were among the most learn* d Jews ; they formed for themselves a peculiar relig- >a8 philosophy, based upon the Jewish Scriptures, and xercised with the utmost acuteness the allegorical in erpretation of the Bible which was essentially con lected with it. Philo^s writings afford ample eridence f this system (comp. D&hne, Geschiehtl. Darsteliung d, 'ad. cUacandr, HdighfupihiUm. Halle, 1884, vol. ii ; also vrossman, De tkeciogw PkUonU fontUnu et auctoritate, Aps. 1824 ; and De Phariaaismo Jud. Alex. Lips. 1846 ; :«lln, Bibl. Tkeol. i, 853 sq.). The Jewish colony in Jyrene (Cyrenaica) was derived from Egypt, enjoyed ike privileges with the other inhabitants, and had a ynago^e likewise in Jerusalem (Acts vi, 9). Ptole- ny L.agi, who subjugated Cyrene (Justin, xxii, 7), ap- >ear9 to have become himself the founder of this colo- ly, and to have sought to secure this province to him- «lf by these means (Joseph. Ap. ii, 4). Under the ater Roman emperors of the first century, however, he Jewish population sought to acquire a pre-emi- lence over the other inhabitants, and thus brought on >loody contests, which ended in the expulsion of the Fews from Cyrene (see MQnter, Letzer jud. Krieff^ p. LO sq. ; comp. generally Cless, I)e cohmis Judaor, in ^gypt. lerrasgue c, .£gypto conjtmcUu post Mosen de- hictis, Stuttg. 1882). See CrREinE.
3. Syria was another place to which the Jews mi- grated after the time of Selencus Nicator, and here ;hey were grafted by this prince equal rights, at Anti- K:h and other cities, with the Macedonians (Joseph. Ant. 3, 1). The following kings of this dynasty, like- rise, wiUi the exception of Antiochus Epiphanes (q. T".), favored the Jews (Joseph. ITor, vii, 8, 8) ; they Ived in prosperity, could even make proselytes, had it Antioch their own ruler ({&.), and were in Damas- rns numerous (Joseph. War, ii, 20, 2). Nevertheless lere, too, the popular hate was inflamed against them ; long restrained, it finally broke out under Nero (t6.), .hen under Vespasian with great violence, and, under ;he patronage of the Roman arms, inflicted every im- iginable evil upon the Jews (Joseph. Life, 6). Yet ntus, after the destruction of Jerusalem, befriended :hesc persecuted people, and restored to them their rights (Joseph. War, vii, 5, 2). See Antioch.
From Syria the Jews had found their way into Asia Minor (1 Pet i, 1 ; Philo, Opp. ii, 582). As early as \ntiochu8 Theos, the Jews in Ionia were granted the privilege of citizenship (Joseph. Ant. xii, 3, 2); but An- tiochns the Great planted in Phrygia and Lydia, which liad been overrun by him, colonies of Jews from Meso- potamia and Babylonia, amounting to 8000 families [ib. 3, 4). By Julius Cssar in the later times of the Roman republic, and by Augustus, there were issued a series of decrees (Joseph. Ant. xiv, 10 ; xvi, 6) to the most of the chief cities of Asia Minor, e. g. Ephesus, Sardis, Laodicea, Halicamassus, etc., in which the un- restricted exercise of their religious worship, generally also freedom from military service, and the privilege of sending the Temple contribution and firstlings to Jerusalem, which even Roman governors had at times interdicted {ib, xvi, 2, 8), were assured to the Jews. See each of these cities in their place. See Asia MnroR.
4. From Asia Minor, too, the first Jews may liave been attracted to Greece (Siainropd rwv *EXA^wv, John vii, 85) and Macedonia, where, in the apostles*
time, we find in all the important cities, especially those of a maritime and con^erdal character, com- munities with synagogues or proseuchae (Acts xvi- xviii, 20). See Greecb.
Borne and Italy had before Pompey no settled Jews ; but from the Jewish prisoners of war, who had either been redeemed or dismissed on account of their im- practicable habits (Philo, Opp. ii, 568), there now grew up in Rome, by the influx of freebom Jews from Pal- estine, Greece and regions, a numerous communis, who liad theh* abode in a separate Jewish quarter across the Tiber. See Rome. They were accorded full freedom of worship, and were even successful in making proselytes. They must soon have risen to prosperity, for the yearly Temple contributions (Philo, Opp. ii, 568) of the Italian Jews (Cicero, Fiacc. 28) was very considerable. They were once expelled from Rome under Tiberius, and again by Claudius (Acts xviii, 12). See Claudius. On their kter fate, see Jost, Geach. d. I$r. ii, 826 sq., who, however, has here, as in his antecedent sections on the extra-Pales- tinian Jews, failed to give exact reference to the au- thorities. Of intrinsic value are the expositions of the public documents bearing on this snbject in the two works, Decreta Rom. et Asiat. ad cult. 3iv. per AtioB Min, urbea secure obeandum a Josepho coUecta, restit. a J. Gronov. (Leid. 1712), and Decreta Somanor. pra Jw dme, etc. a J. T. Krebs (Lips. 1768). Comp. also Levys- sohn, De Judaor, tub Casaribus condiOone (L. B. 1828) ; and generaUy Remond, Vert, einer Getch. der Audtreit, d. Judenik, (Lips. 1789) ; Walch, ffitt. patriarcharum Judceorum (Jen. 1752).— Winer, ii, 727. See Jews.