Lysanias
Encyclopedia
Lysanias was the ruler of a small realm on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, attested to by the Jewish writer Josephus and in coins from circa 40 BC. There is also mention of a Lysanias dated to 29 AD in the gospel of Luke. It has been debated whether these are the same person.
, Chalcis
and Iturea
, from about 40-36 BC. Josephus is our main source for the life of Lysanias.
His father was Ptolemy
son of Mennaeus who ruled the tetrarchy before him. Lysanias was cousin of Antigonus
, who he helped during the latter's attempt to claim the throne of Judea
in 40 BC with the military support of the Parthians.
According to Josephus
(B.J. 1.248), he offered the Parthian satrap Barzapharnes
"a thousand talents and 500 women to bring Antigonus back and raise him to the throne, after deposing Hyrcanus". However, Josephus in his later work, the Jewish Antiquities 14.330-331, relates that it was Antigonus who made the offer to the Parthians. Whichever the case, Lysanias was put to death by Mark Antony
for his Parthian sympathies, at the instigation of Cleopatra, who had eyes on the territories of Lysanias.
Coins from his reign indicate that he was "tetrarch and high priest". The same description can be found on the coins of his father, Ptolemy son of Mennaeus and on those of his son Zenodorus
who held the territory in 23-20 BC.
records that a Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene in the time of John the Baptist
.
According to Josephus
the emperor Claudius
in AD 42
confirmed Agrippa I
in the possession of Abila of Lysanias
already bestowed upon him by Caligula
, elsewhere described as Abila, which had formed the tetrarchy of Lysanias. The statement appears in the Wars:
and also in Antiquities (Ant. xix.5, 1).
The first, a temple inscription found at Abila, named Lysanias as the Tetrarch of the locality.
The temple inscription reads:
It has been thought that the reference to August lords as a joint title was given only to the emperor Tiberius
(adopted son of Augustus
) and his mother Livia
(widow of Augustus). If this analysis is correct, this reference would establish the date of the inscription to between A.D. 14 (when Tiberius began to reign) and 29 (when Livia died), and thus could not be reasonably interpreted as referring to the ruler executed by Mark Antony in 36 BC. However, Livia received suitable honors while Augustus was still alive, such as "Benefactor Goddess" (Θεα Εύεργέτις) at a temple at Thassos, so there would be no clear reason that "August Lords" could not be Augustus and Livia.
Some say that the Lysanias whose tetrarchy was given to Agrippa cannot be the Lysanias executed by Antony, since his paternal inheritance, even allowing for some curtailment by Pompey
, must have been of far greater extent. Therefore the Lysanias in Luke (AD 28
-29
) is a younger Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene only, one of the districts into which the original kingdom was split up after the death of Lysanias I. This younger Lysanias may have been a son of the latter, and identical with, or the father of, the Claudian Lysanias.
But Josephus does not refer to a second Lysanias. It is therefore suggested by others that he really does refer to the original Lysanias, even though the latter died decades earlier. In BJ 2.215 Josephus refers to the realm as being "called the kingdom of Lysanias", while Ptolemy writing circa 120 AD in his Geography Bk 5 refers to Abila as "called of Lysanias"
The explanation given by M. Krenkel is that Josephus does not mean to imply that Abila was the only possession of Lysanias, and that he calls it the tetrarchy or kingdom of Lysanias because it was the last remnant of the domain of Lysanias which remained under direct Roman administration
until the time of Agrippa.
Lysanias in Josephus
Lysanias was the ruler of a tetrarchy, centered on the town of Abila. This has been referred to by various names including AbileneAbilene (biblical)
Abilene or simply Abila was a plain, a district in Coele-Syria, of which the chief town was Abila Lysaniou...
, Chalcis
Chalcis, Syria
Chalcis was an ancient city in Syria. Syrian Chalcis was the birthplace of 3rd century Neoplatonist philosopher Iamblichus.It is thought to be the site of the modern town of Qinnasrin, though Anjar in Lebanon has also been suggested as the site of ancient Chalcis....
and Iturea
Iturea
Iturea is the Greek name of a region in the Levant during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It is mentioned only once in the Christian Bible, while in historical sources the name of the people, the Itureans , occurs...
, from about 40-36 BC. Josephus is our main source for the life of Lysanias.
His father was Ptolemy
Ptolemy (son of Mennaeus)
Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus , son of Mennaeus was tetrarch of Iturea and Chalcis from about 85 BCE to 40 BCE, in which year he died. He tried to extend his kingdom by warlike expeditions ; and ruled the Lebanon, threatened Damascus, subjugated several districts on the Phoenician coast, and once had...
son of Mennaeus who ruled the tetrarchy before him. Lysanias was cousin of Antigonus
Antigonus the Hasmonean
Antigonus II Mattathias was the last Hasmonean king of Judea. He was the son of King Aristobulus II of Judea...
, who he helped during the latter's attempt to claim the throne of 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...
in 40 BC with the military support of the Parthians.
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...
(B.J. 1.248), he offered the Parthian satrap Barzapharnes
Barzapharnes
Barzapharnes was a Parthian general during the latter half of the 1st century BCE. In 40 BCE, Barzapharnes commanded a Parthian invasion of the Levant, commanded and aided by Pacorus, who allied himself with the Roman outlaw Quintus Labienus, and seized Syria...
"a thousand talents and 500 women to bring Antigonus back and raise him to the throne, after deposing Hyrcanus". However, Josephus in his later work, the Jewish Antiquities 14.330-331, relates that it was Antigonus who made the offer to the Parthians. Whichever the case, Lysanias was put to death by 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...
for his Parthian sympathies, at the instigation of Cleopatra, who had eyes on the territories of Lysanias.
Coins from his reign indicate that he was "tetrarch and high priest". The same description can be found on the coins of his father, Ptolemy son of Mennaeus and on those of his son Zenodorus
Zenodorus son of Lysanias
Zenodorus was the ruler of a small principality in the vicinity of Damascus described by Josephus as the "house of Lysanias", 23-20 BCE. Though Josephus doesn't seem to know it, Zenodorus was actually the son of Lysanias, for a funerary inscription found at Heliopolis was dedicated to "Zenodorus...
who held the territory in 23-20 BC.
Lysanias in Luke
The LukeGospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
records that a Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene in the time of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
.
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...
the 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 AD 42
42
Year 42 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caesar and Piso...
confirmed 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...
in the possession of Abila of Lysanias
Abila Lysaniou
Abila Lysaniou or Abila Lysaniae or Abila was an ancient city, on the Abana River and capital of ancient Abilene, Coele-Syria. The site is currently that of the village Suk Wadi Barada , circa northwest of Damascus, Syria...
already bestowed upon him by 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...
, elsewhere described as Abila, which had formed the tetrarchy of Lysanias. The statement appears in the Wars:
- "He added to it the kingdom of Lysanias, and that province of Abilene"
and also in Antiquities (Ant. xix.5, 1).
Archaeological Lysanias
Two inscriptions have been ascribed to Lysanias. The name is conjectural in the latter case.The first, a temple inscription found at Abila, named Lysanias as the Tetrarch of the locality.
The temple inscription reads:
| Inscription | Translation | |
|---|---|---|
| Huper tes ton kurion Se[baston] | For the salvation of the Au[gust] lords | |
| soterias kai tou sum[pantos] | and of [all] their household, | |
| auton oikou, Numphaios Ae[tou] | Nymphaeus, free[dman] of Ea[gle] | |
| Lusianiou tetrarchou apele[utheors] | Lysanias tetrarch established | |
| ten odon ktisas k.t.l | this street and other things. |
It has been thought that the reference to August lords as a joint title was given only to the emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
(adopted son of 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 his mother Livia
Livia
Livia Drusilla, , after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Augustus and his adviser...
(widow of Augustus). If this analysis is correct, this reference would establish the date of the inscription to between A.D. 14 (when Tiberius began to reign) and 29 (when Livia died), and thus could not be reasonably interpreted as referring to the ruler executed by Mark Antony in 36 BC. However, Livia received suitable honors while Augustus was still alive, such as "Benefactor Goddess" (Θεα Εύεργέτις) at a temple at Thassos, so there would be no clear reason that "August Lords" could not be Augustus and Livia.
Possible identity of the two figures
The reference to Lysanias in Luke 3:1, dated to the fifteenth year of Tiberius, has caused some debate over whether this Lysanias is the same person son of Ptolemy, or some different person.Some say that the Lysanias whose tetrarchy was given to Agrippa cannot be the Lysanias executed by Antony, since his paternal inheritance, even allowing for some curtailment by Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, must have been of far greater extent. Therefore the Lysanias in Luke (AD 28
28
Year 28 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Silanus and Nerva...
-29
29
Year 29 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Geminus and Geminus...
) is a younger Lysanias, tetrarch of Abilene only, one of the districts into which the original kingdom was split up after the death of Lysanias I. This younger Lysanias may have been a son of the latter, and identical with, or the father of, the Claudian Lysanias.
But Josephus does not refer to a second Lysanias. It is therefore suggested by others that he really does refer to the original Lysanias, even though the latter died decades earlier. In BJ 2.215 Josephus refers to the realm as being "called the kingdom of Lysanias", while Ptolemy writing circa 120 AD in his Geography Bk 5 refers to Abila as "called of Lysanias"
The explanation given by M. Krenkel is that Josephus does not mean to imply that Abila was the only possession of Lysanias, and that he calls it the tetrarchy or kingdom of Lysanias because it was the last remnant of the domain of Lysanias which remained under direct Roman administration
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....
until the time of Agrippa.