Flavius Josephus, born Yosef ben Matityahu around 37 AD in Jerusalem, was a prominent Roman-Jewish historian, scholar, and military leader during the first century AD. He was descended from a priestly family on his father's side, with his mother claiming descent from the Hasmonean royal line, which positioned him within the Jewish aristocracy of Judea, then a province of the Roman Empire. His early life was marked by education in Jewish law and traditions, and he briefly joined the Essenes, a ascetic Jewish sect, before returning to mainstream Judaism.
In his youth, Josephus traveled to Rome around 64 AD, where he observed the empire's political intricacies, including the trial of imprisoned Jewish priests. This experience likely influenced his later writings. When the First Jewish-Roman War erupted in 66 AD amid rising tensions between Jewish rebels and Roman authorities, Josephus was appointed as a general by the provisional Jewish government to command forces in Galilee. He led defenses against Roman legions but faced internal divisions among Jewish factions, including Zealots and Sicarii extremists.
During the Roman siege of Jotapata (Yodfat) in 67 AD, led by the general Vespasian, Josephus's forces were defeated after a six-week battle. Captured but feigning a prophetic vision, he predicted Vespasian would become emperor, a claim rooted in Jewish messianic prophecies. This spared his life, and he served as an interpreter and advisor to the Romans. When Vespasian ascended to the throne in 69 AD following the Year of the Four Emperors, he freed Josephus, who adopted the name Flavius Josephus in honor of his patron and received Roman citizenship.
After the war, Josephus accompanied Titus, Vespasian's son, during the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 AD. He attempted to negotiate surrender but was unsuccessful. Settling in Rome under imperial patronage, he received a pension and resided in a lavish home. Josephus married multiple times, fathering children, and lived until around 100 AD, dying in obscurity compared to his earlier prominence.
His autobiography, The Life of Flavius Josephus, defends his actions during the war against accusations of treason from Jewish critics, portraying himself as a moderate who sought to avert catastrophe for his people.
Josephus is best known for his historical writings, which provide invaluable insights into Second Temple Judaism, the First Jewish-Roman War, and early Jewish history. His first major work, The Jewish War (c. 75-79 AD), originally composed in Aramaic and later translated into Greek, chronicles the revolt from its origins under Herod the Great to the fall of Jerusalem. Divided into seven books, it details Roman military campaigns, Jewish internal strife, and the siege of the city, serving as a primary source for the period despite biases favoring Roman perspectives.
His magnum opus, Antiquities of the Jews (c. 93-94 AD), spans 20 books and covers Jewish history from creation to the war's prelude, drawing on Hebrew Bible narratives, Hellenistic sources, and oral traditions. It aims to educate Greco-Roman audiences about Jewish customs and refute antisemitic stereotypes. Notably, it includes the controversial Testimonium Flavianum, a passage referencing Jesus and early Christianity, whose authenticity is debated among scholars.
In Against Apion (c. 97 AD), a two-volume defense, Josephus counters Greco-Egyptian critics like Apion who maligned Jewish practices, affirming the antiquity and superiority of Jewish laws and scriptures.
Josephus wrote during a transformative era for Judaism, post the destruction of the Second Temple, which shifted Jewish practice toward rabbinic traditions. His works bridge Jewish and Roman worlds, offering a Romanized view of Jewish history while preserving details lost in other sources, such as descriptions of the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE) and figures like John of Gischala and Simon bar Giora. Critics, including later Jewish scholars like Yosef ben Matityahu himself in self-defense, accused him of collaboration with Rome, labeling him a traitor, while others view him as a pragmatic survivor who documented his people's story.
His writings influenced early Christian authors, medieval historians, and modern scholarship on ancient Judaism. Despite debates over interpolations in his texts, Josephus remains a cornerstone for understanding the Roman Judea and the roots of the Jewish diaspora.
Sources consulted include: Wikipedia entry on Josephus, Britannica biography, and The Works of Flavius Josephus online.