Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 450 The incident of the priest killing Brother Tian

After Eudocia's reminder, Joanna discovered this "violation".

"You don't tell me, I really didn't notice it." She had to admit that she didn't notice this: "When I was preparing to expand the warehouse a few days ago, I was bargaining with a Jew. But if you think about it carefully, this building There really wasn’t that typical Jewish community in the city.”

"You should also know those places." Eudocia nodded.

"Yes, in order to do business, I often have to deal with them." Joanna said: "But to be honest, I really don't like that kind of place."

"Typical Jewish communities are very closed. Sometimes, this is not about their architectural style or the overall planning of the community, but the... atmosphere."

"When I was a child, my father took me to a place like that once. What impressed me the most was the row of people sitting at the entrance of the street. When we walked past, everyone turned their heads together, and then started to look at each other fiercely. They stared at us. Even if the businessman leading the way told them that they were distinguished guests invited by the Chamber of Commerce, their attitude did not improve at all, they just did not speak. "

"In order to prevent accidents, my father brought a few swordsmen with him. But even so, I still felt a strong sense of insecurity surrounded by them. To this day, I still remember the bright setting sun on that autumn afternoon. The long shadows in the alley, and the row of gloomy eyes at the intersection of light and shadow. Now that I think about it, this may be their most obvious sign."

"I heard that in the entire continent, wherever there are many Jews, there will be such communities. However, I have never seen them in Rome." She thought for a while and said, "Not only here, but also before I Even the other cities on the Black Sea coast that I have been to are not there.”

"Then you should already have some idea." Eudosia nodded: "There is obviously a reason for this."

"They do have this habit." Joanna also affirmed: "Some people say that it is because Jews are easily excluded, so they like to live in groups, and their communities are also very exclusive. Some people say that it is because Jews do not like to be with other people. They live together and stubbornly want to maintain their own weird beliefs and customs, so they always gather together and exclude others. I actually can't tell which reason is more correct - it may be both, and they are reinforcing each other. Bar."

"As for Rome, I really haven't thought about it... maybe they have always had a grudge."

"The hatred of ancient Rome is too old. That was more than 1000 years ago." Eudosia shook her head and said: "You see, the people of the Central Plains are already very vengeful, but when they really trace the hatred of their ancestors , we are still considering actual interests first.”

"Generally speaking, ancient hatred is just an excuse. It can add some persuasiveness to one's actions, get more support, and get some icing on the cake. But if you just rely on this reason to achieve something, I'm afraid it's There’s no hope.”

"Is that so..." Joanna really didn't seem to have thought about it, and continued a little confused.

"I thought you knew the Han people very well." Eudosia glanced at her slightly in surprise: "... Of course, this doesn't matter. Because the same thing should exist no matter where you are."

"The key to our question is not 'did the Romans once have enmity with the Jews' or 'how deep was the hatred back then'. And we all know that the Romans who are presiding over the country now may not be the same as the Romans back then. Direct relationship. So the key to the problem should not be the hatred back then, but the interest relationship now."

"It's just that history, tradition and people's memories do not appear suddenly. Ancient events determine the current distribution of forces and people's habits and customs, and provide us with some precedents as reference, making these past events , can also affect the present. But in the end, it also affects people indirectly by affecting current interest relationships." "The past events of ancient Rome can provide such examples." She told Joanna: "All kinds of things from that time Judging from the cases, these Jewish communities can be said to be the root of the disaster."

"In many cities in the Levant and Egypt, there were such strong independent Jewish communities. Jewish priests firmly controlled the residents of the community through religion. Whenever the priests had conflicts with local rulers, When there is a conflict of interest, they will use their religious power to incite the Jews in the community to riot, rush out of the community, burn, kill and loot in the city, thereby threatening the rulers to accept their demands."

"This is indeed a 'continued hatred'." Joanna pointed out: "When I read the first volume of the New Testament, it said that it was these Jewish priests who forced the Romans to kill Jesus."

"The Roman governor originally believed that Jesus had not committed a capital crime, but the priests and elders instigated the crowd to go to the governor to make trouble and demanded that he be executed. After the governor's persuasion, they did not listen, but instead threatened to start a riot. So the governor specially asked the priests to Wash your hands in front of them and tell them that the blame for this bloodshed is not on you, but on these persecutors. The priests immediately followed suit, saying that they and their descendants would bear the blame."

"When I first saw it, I thought it was a religious announcement, but now that I think about it, isn't this their daily approach?"

"Yes, but this is not specifically about the Romans, nor is it specifically about Jesus." Eudocia said: "All rulers, whether they are Egyptians, Persians, Greeks or Romans, they will use this Use other methods to blackmail. Even if the Jews themselves become kings, it will be the same."

"At that time, the Maccabees, who served as priests, led their subjects to fight against the Seleucid dynasty, and finally won the victory and established the Second Temple of the Jews. As a result, the Maccabees gained high prestige and became the kings of this country. . But after that, the relationship between the Maccabeans and the priests quickly deteriorated."

"It was the era of 'Hellenism' at that time. The Judea region was influenced by the more developed Greek civilization. Many Jews were also close to the Greek regime and respected Greek culture, which made the conservative priests very dissatisfied. The Maccabean dynasty was established during the In the process, we received strong support from these priests, hoping to restore the 'pure' traditional beliefs and eliminate the cultural penetration of the Greeks."

"However, after the dynasty was established, in order to strengthen their rule, the kings began to take the initiative to learn the management methods of the Greeks. Even the title of the Jewish king was changed to the Greek 'Basileus'. To the Maccabees At the end of the dynasty, even the names of the royal family members became Greek names, and there was no trace of local characteristics.”

"After the Maccabean dynasty declined due to civil strife, King Herod the Great, as the son-in-law of the Maccabean royal family, received support from the Romans and established a new dynasty. He simply became directly hostile to the priests and hunted down those who were the most pious - of course The most extreme Jew.”

"The priests were very dissatisfied with this, and the Sanhedrin they formed even tried to judge the king. However, King Herod had a stronger armed force. When the conflict between the two sides finally broke out, the king invaded Jerusalem occupied by the opponents, and the Sanhedrin Of the 71 priests, he killed 45.”

"After that, he simply disbanded all the armed forces of the local Jewish nobles, recruited a guard composed of Celts and Germans, and also recruited a large number of Thracians to serve as mercenaries, relying on the army to suppress the resistance of others. Until Now, in the Jewish scriptures, Herod is a brutal villain."

"You see, these priests are not only trying to exclude pagans." Eudocia finally concluded: "Even people who come from the same family of priests, as long as they stand on the position of the king and try to establish normal rule, they will and come into conflict with the power of the priests, and thus at once become their enemies.”

"So, in my opinion, religious conflicts are just an excuse. No matter who it is, the final result will be the same. These few examples should be obvious."

Joanna nodded.

(End of this chapter)