Alexander the Alabarch
Encyclopedia
Alexander the Alabarch
, full name Tiberius Julius Alexander Major (Major, Latin for the elder, 15 BC/10 BC – 69 AD) was an Alexandria
n Jewish aristocrat who was one of the pro-Roman
leaders of the Alexandrian Jewish community and one of the brothers of the exegete and philosopher Philo
.
, Egypt
. He came from an aristocratic family who lived in Alexandria for generations. His ancestors and family were contemporaries to the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty
and the rule of the Seleucid Empire
. Although the names of his parents are unknown, Alexander came from a family who were noble, honourable and wealthy. According to Josephus
(Antiquities 20.100), Alexander surpassed his fellow local Jewish citizens in Alexandria in both ancestry and wealth.
It was either his father or paternal grandfather who was granted Roman citizenship
from the Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar
. Alexander’s eldest brother was Philo and according to Philo On Animals, Alexander had another brother called Lysimachus
. His ancestors and family had social ties and connections to the priesthood in Judea
, the Hasmonean
dynasty, the Herodian Dynasty
, and the Julio-Claudian dynasty
in Rome
.
, the historian Josephus
and the New Testament
of the Bible
(he is mentioned in Acts chapter 4). Alexander was a contemporary to the life of Jesus
of Nazareth and the lives of The Apostles
of Jesus.
Alexander along with his brothers received a thorough education. They were educated in the Egypt
ian, Jewish, Greek
and Roman
cultures, particularly in the traditions of Judaism
, the study of the Old Testament
and in Greek philosophy
. He was devoted to Judaism and to his ancestral practices.
At some unknown date, Alexander was appointed as Alabarch
of Alexandria. The alabarch was a magistrate responsible for customs in Alexandria. Later Alexander became an administrator for the extensive land estates in Egypt, owned by Antonia Minor
. Antonia Minor was a Roman noblewoman, who was the niece of Emperor Augustus
and the youngest daughter of the triumvir Mark Antony
. Alexander had been a long-time friend of Antonia Minor’s youngest child, the future Emperor Claudius
.
In 35, the Herodian prince and future King Agrippa I
, was broke and needed to travel to Italy. Agrippa sailed to Alexandria and begged Alexander to loan him 200,000 drachmas. Alexander loaned Agrippa the money and the prince repaid the money back to Alexander in 41.
As an indication of Alexander’s great wealth, he had nine gates at the Temple in Jerusalem
overlaid with massive plates of silver and gold. This was most probably done as a gift to the temple and could be a sign that Alexander was on good terms with the high priests at the Temple.
Between 37 and 41, the Emperor Caligula
, in a fit of anger for an unknown reason, ordered Alexander to be imprisoned in Rome. This could be connected to Philo’s embassy to Caligula in Rome in 38, when there was rising racial tensions in Alexandria. After the death of Caligula in 41, his paternal uncle Claudius became Emperor.
Claudius released Alexander from prison and at unknown date in Claudius’ reign, Claudius promoted Alexander to Equestrian rank. Alexander married an unnamed Roman woman and they had two sons: Tiberius Julius Alexander
and Marcus Julius Alexander
. In 41, Alexander with Agrippa I arranged for their children to marry each other. His second son Marcus Julius married one of the daughters of Agrippa, who was princess Berenice. Unfortunately, Alexander’s second son died in 43 or 44 and left no children from his marriage to Berenice.
Alabarch
The alabarch was the Greek title of the customs official at the harbour of Alexandria during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The title 'alabarch' needs to be distinguished from the title of 'ethnarch' which refers to the chief magistrate of a particular ethnic group within a city or territory.It...
, full name Tiberius Julius Alexander Major (Major, Latin for the elder, 15 BC/10 BC – 69 AD) was an Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
n Jewish aristocrat who was one of the pro-Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
leaders of the Alexandrian Jewish community and one of the brothers of the exegete and philosopher Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
.
Ancestry and family
Alexander was born and raised in AlexandriaAlexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He came from an aristocratic family who lived in Alexandria for generations. His ancestors and family were contemporaries to the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
and the rule of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
. Although the names of his parents are unknown, Alexander came from a family who were noble, honourable and wealthy. According to Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
(Antiquities 20.100), Alexander surpassed his fellow local Jewish citizens in Alexandria in both ancestry and wealth.
It was either his father or paternal grandfather who was granted Roman citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
from the Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
. Alexander’s eldest brother was Philo and according to Philo On Animals, Alexander had another brother called Lysimachus
Lysimachus (brother of Philo)
Lysimachus or possibly known as Julius Lysimachus, was an Alexandrian Jew who lived in the Roman Empire. Lysimachus was a brother of the Jewish Philosopher, Historian Philo and the Pro-Roman Aristocrat Alexander the Alabarch. Lysimachus is mentioned in Philo’s On Animals.Lysimachus was born and...
. His ancestors and family had social ties and connections to the priesthood in Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, the Hasmonean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
dynasty, the Herodian Dynasty
Herodian Dynasty
The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...
, and the Julio-Claudian dynasty
Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Life
What is known of Alexander’s life comes from referenced sources from PhiloPhilo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
, the historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
and the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
(he is mentioned in Acts chapter 4). Alexander was a contemporary to the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
of Nazareth and the lives of The Apostles
The Apostles
The Apostles are an experimental punk rock band who developed within the confines of the 1980s Anarcho Punk scene in the UK, but did not necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement.-History:...
of Jesus.
Alexander along with his brothers received a thorough education. They were educated in the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian, Jewish, Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
cultures, particularly in the traditions of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, the study of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and in Greek philosophy
Greek philosophy
Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire...
. He was devoted to Judaism and to his ancestral practices.
At some unknown date, Alexander was appointed as Alabarch
Alabarch
The alabarch was the Greek title of the customs official at the harbour of Alexandria during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The title 'alabarch' needs to be distinguished from the title of 'ethnarch' which refers to the chief magistrate of a particular ethnic group within a city or territory.It...
of Alexandria. The alabarch was a magistrate responsible for customs in Alexandria. Later Alexander became an administrator for the extensive land estates in Egypt, owned by Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...
. Antonia Minor was a Roman noblewoman, who was the niece of Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
and the youngest daughter of the triumvir Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
. Alexander had been a long-time friend of Antonia Minor’s youngest child, the future Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
.
In 35, the Herodian prince and future King Agrippa I
Agrippa I
Agrippa I also known as Herod Agrippa or simply Herod , King of the Jews, was the grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. His original name was Marcus Julius Agrippa, so named in honour of Roman statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and he is the king named Herod in the...
, was broke and needed to travel to Italy. Agrippa sailed to Alexandria and begged Alexander to loan him 200,000 drachmas. Alexander loaned Agrippa the money and the prince repaid the money back to Alexander in 41.
As an indication of Alexander’s great wealth, he had nine gates at the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
overlaid with massive plates of silver and gold. This was most probably done as a gift to the temple and could be a sign that Alexander was on good terms with the high priests at the Temple.
Between 37 and 41, the Emperor Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, in a fit of anger for an unknown reason, ordered Alexander to be imprisoned in Rome. This could be connected to Philo’s embassy to Caligula in Rome in 38, when there was rising racial tensions in Alexandria. After the death of Caligula in 41, his paternal uncle Claudius became Emperor.
Claudius released Alexander from prison and at unknown date in Claudius’ reign, Claudius promoted Alexander to Equestrian rank. Alexander married an unnamed Roman woman and they had two sons: Tiberius Julius Alexander
Tiberius Julius Alexander
Tiberius Julius Alexander was an equestrian governor and general in the Roman Empire. Born into a wealthy Jewish family of Alexandria but abandoning or neglecting the Jewish religion, he rose to become procurator of Judea under Claudius...
and Marcus Julius Alexander
Marcus Julius Alexander
Marcus Julius Alexander was a distinguished and wealthy Alexandrian Jewish Merchant.-Ancestry and Family:...
. In 41, Alexander with Agrippa I arranged for their children to marry each other. His second son Marcus Julius married one of the daughters of Agrippa, who was princess Berenice. Unfortunately, Alexander’s second son died in 43 or 44 and left no children from his marriage to Berenice.
Sources
- Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002
- Article: Hellenistic Jewish Literature - Chapter 6: The Life in the Mind: Reader’s Digest: Jesus and His Times, The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. Printed by Fourth Printing USA, July 1990
- http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julius/alexander2.html
- http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1159&letter=A
- http://www.livius.org/am-ao/antisemitism/antisemitism01.html#pogrom2
- http://kassevans.com/Alexander/AlexanderTheAlabarch_RomanAndJew-Summary.html