Izates, Helena and Monobazos of Adiabene

Více o knize

This monograph focuses on the royal converts from Adiabene, exploring the cultural and political context of Hellenistic and Parthian Adiabene. It compiles and analyzes all available sources on the subject, structured into three parts. The first part centers on the longest ancient account of the Adiabene royalty, Josephus's "Adiabene Narrative," examining it as a deliberate literary work with specific rhetorical features and ideological goals. The second part addresses additional sources regarding the royal family, including Rabbinic traditions about Queen Helena and King Munbaz, as well as Jewish and non-Jewish texts that mention Queen Helena's resting place and the Adiabene palaces in Jerusalem. This section also updates discussions on relevant archaeological sites, such as Le Tombeau des Rois and the Givati Parking Lot. The third part delves into the cultural and political landscape of Adiabene from the third century BCE to the third century CE, utilizing various sources like geographical and ethnographical texts, archaeological findings, and numismatic evidence. It includes a chronology of the Adiabene royalty during the Hellenistic and Parthian periods and examines the political dynamics between Adiabene and Judaea within the broader context of Roman-Parthian relations in the first century CE.