The Jewish Ethnarchy of Alexandria

Josephus

Jewish Antiquities 14.117–118

93–94

Accordingly, territory has been designated in Egypt specifically for the Jews, and a large portion of the city of Alexandria has been marked off for this nation. An ethnarch of their own has been appointed, who governs the people and arbitrates disputes and has charge over contracts and ordinances as if he were the ruler of a sovereign republic. In Egypt, therefore, this nation is powerful, because the Jews were originally Egyptians, and because those who left from that region made their settlements nearby.

Translated by William Whiston, Adapted by Aaron Samuels.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.

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Creator Bio

Josephus

37–100

Flavius Josephus was born into a prominent Jewish priestly family and served as a general stationed in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). He was captured by the Romans and eventually integrated into the Flavian imperial aristocracy, who commissioned him to compose chronicles of the Jewish–Roman war and the history of the Jews. Josephus’ works, all written in Greek, include The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion, and his autobiography, Life of Josephus. These writings provide important insights into the Judaisms of the Second Temple period and include one of the few surviving accounts of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

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