The following history, is to help you with points of reference in Scripture and the Testimony. Some of the historical figures are of various backgrounds, because they attested to or were involved in something from the Scriptures and Testimony, the early Hebrew believers or changes in Scripture. Some history is for the in between chronology and serve as a point of reference, a backdrop and a foundation for future events. The sources are also varied, some religious (Jewish, Christian, Samaritan, Qararite, Nazarene, etc) and some secular, so as to not promote a certain groups beliefs or mindset. 

 

The initial titles, such as James the Just, are listed by the popular usage in English, to make it easier for referencing. Following is their name, in that person’s native language, such as Hebrew or Aramaic for James the Just, making it Yaaqob HaTsaddiq. Or in the case of Jerome who was Roman, his name is Hieronymous. When quoting directly, I have no choice but to quote it as the sources have it, even if that does use God, Lord or Jesus, or misspellings. All other times, the spellings of YHWH, Yahusha’ and names such as Yahudiym [Jews] will be used. In the Resources section is a Booklist. My sources for the history are there. It is my hope that this section and the corresponding Timeline, will be a tool, to aid you in your studying.

 

 

 

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M

N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

 

 

A

 

Akiba (Akiva) ben Joseph

Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph, was born in 40 CE. He died in Caesarea, Palestine [Now Israel], in 135 CE. Tradition has it that he was an illiterate shepherd who began his studies after the age of 40, joining his five year old son, at school and learned to read. Soon he could recite the entire Pentateuch by heart. His principal teachers were Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Joshua ben Hananiah. After thirteen years, he opened his own school, under a fig tree, in a village near Jamnia (Jabneh). Akiba is considered, by most Yahudiym, to be one of the great Rabbis.

 

In 95 CE, when word came that the Roman Emperor Domitian, was planning persecutions against the Yahudiym [Jews], he and Gamaliel II, and two other men were chosen to go to the Emperor and make an appeal. Domitian died while they were there and Nerva heard them and ended the fiscus Iudaicus – the taxing of the Yahudiym to rebuild Rome. On the way back to Jamnia, Akiba decided to undertake the tremendous project of codifying the Halakah. This would be continued by Rabbi Meir and then finished by their student Judah HaNasi [Judah the Prince], around 200 CE.

 

Though Akiba preached peace all his life, he gave his blessing to the revolt against the Romans. He was the spiritual force behind the Bar Kochba rebellion of 132 – 135 CE. Rabbi Akiba considered Bar Kochba to be the long awaited Messianic king. Akiba broke the ban on public instruction of the Thorah and was arrested and jailed. He was tried, condemned and executed. According to tradition he was flayed alive in 135 CE.

 

Alexander the Great

Alexander (helper of man) III was born in 356 BCE, in Pella, Macedonia to Phillip II, king of Macedonia. From the age of 13 – 16, he was taught by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. He became king of Macedonia in 336 BCE. He quickly consolidated his political power and took Greece. This was the foundation of the Hellenistic Empire. 

 

In the spring of 334 BCE, he set off on his Persian expedition. In the winter of 334 – 333, Alexander conquered western Asia Minor. In July of 332 he took Tyre. The city resisted so long that when finally taken, Alexander, in a fury, massacred 8000 Tyrians and sold 30,000 as slaves. Jerusalem surrendered quietly. Gaza reisted until all the men were killed. After consolidating his hold on the Mediterranean, he entered and conquered Egypt, in 332 – 331 BCE. Alexander was received as a god and showed great respect for their gods. He conceived and had built a new capital, Alexandria, in Egypt, at one of the mouths of the Nile. He returned to Tyre and from there set out and took Babel. In the spring of 330 BCE, he marched north and conquered Media. In the same year, he set fire to Persepolis. From there he set out eastward toward central Asia. Resistance by the Sythians was strong and the fighting continued until 328 BCE. In the early summer of 327, Alexander crossed the Himalayas to invade India. He crossed the Indus river in the spring of 326 BCE. Alexander’s army suffered heavy losses to battle and environment. He returned to Babel to consolidate his empire. In a great wedding to mingle the royalty of Persia, with Greece, he married two women. Statira, the daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis, the daughter of Artaxerxes III. Eighty of his officers took Persian brides as well. Thousands of similar weddings took place, amongst his soldiers.

 

Alexander was a great military leader. He introduced the practice of  men shaving their beards, because he said that it provided  a ready handle for the enemies to grasp. He trusted in soothsayers and astrologers. He was superstitious and worshipped various gods, sacrificing before battles and often changing major plans because of a “sign”.. Though Alexander took several wives, they seem to have been political marriages. In his latter years, he drank increasingly, as well as became more prone to violent rages. He was credited with compassion in his earlier years, but it is said that the farther from Greece he went, the more barbaric he became.

 

Upon returning to Babel from India, he was considered half mad. In 324, Alexander sent word to all the Greek states, except Macedonia, that he was to be recognized as the son of Zeus-Ammon. After the death of his companion, Hephaestion, Alexander took to drinking even more heavily. After a drinking match, he drank a goblet, containing 6 quarts of wine. The next day he drank heavily again. He developed a fever and became ill. The fever continued for 10 days and on the 11th he died. When his generals asked who would succeed his kingdom, he said, “To the strongest.” For the history of the division of the Greek Empire see “Greek Empire Divided.” In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great died at the age of 33.

 

Scriptures

Daniyel 8:21,22, “And the male goat is the melek Yawan [king of Greece], and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. As for the broken one, in whose place four arose,  four kingdoms will arise from the Goy, but lacking its strength.”

 

Daniyel 11:2-4, “Now I will tell you the truth. See, three more kings will arise from Pharash [Persia]. The fourth will acquire the greatest wealth of them all; and when he grows strong with his riches, he will arouse all against the kingdom of Yawan [Greece]. A mighty king will then arise; he will rule with great domination and he will do as he pleases. But after he has risen, his kingdom will be broken  and will be divided into the four directions of the heavens- but not to his posterity; nor will it be like his dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted, and for others besides these.”

 

 

Alexander Janneus

Alexander (helper of man) Janneus was born in 104 BCE and died in 78 BCE, the son of John Hyrcanus, the Maccabean ruler. He was educated by Greek tutors in Rome, and thereby very sympathetic to Hellenistic beliefs. He openly opposed the Parushiym [Pharisees]. When he died in 78 BCE, he left his kingdom to his widow, Alexandra Salome. She appointed her older son, John Hyrcanus II, as Kohen Gadol [High Priest]. She died shortly after, and her younger son, Aristobulus declared himself king.

 

 

Antiochus Epiphanes

One of 13 Selucid monarchs who ruled Syria. Born 215 BCE. Antiochus Epiphanes was also known as Antiochus the IV, the third son of Antiochus the III, also known as Antiochus the Great. Antiochus IV was called Epiphanes meaning “God Revealed”, but was nicknamed Epimanes, meaning, “the Mad,” due to his odd and violent behavior. He even had coins struck, which had written, “Antiochus Theos Epiphanes,” meaning God Made Manifest. He ruled from 175 BCE – 164 BCE, when he died, in Persia, on the way to battle eastern tribes.

 

He intensely promoted Hellenization. This brought him in direct conflict with the Yahudiym [Jews] of Palestine. Onias the III, the Kohen Gadol [High Priest] was replaced in 173 BCE,  by Jason, who promoted the Hellenistic party in Yerushalayim [Jerusalem]. Jason even went so far as to change his Hebrew name,  Yahusha` [Joshua], to Jason.  Menelaus, who promoted Hellenization even more, out bid Jason for the position of Kohen Gadol.

 

In 168 BCE, Antiochus was expelled from Egypt. A mistaken report of his death caused Yerushalayim to rejoice. They deposed his appointees and killed the leaders of the Hellenizing party. When Antiochus  felt that the Yahudiym had been a cause in his defeat in Egypt, turned his anger out on them. Upon entering Yerushalayim, he killed Yahudiym of both sexes, by the thousands, looted the Temple and restored Menelaus to power as Kohen Gadol.

 

By 167 BCE, the forced Hellenization of the Yahudiym reached a critical point when he took Yerushalayim by force and plundered the Temple. Antiochus had a Greek altar built over the old one and demanded that the usual sacrifices be stopped and sacrifices of swine only, replace them.  The Yahudiym, threatened with the death penalty for non-compliance, were told, “to depart from the laws of their fathers, and to cease living by the laws of ‘God’. Further, the sanctuary in Yerushalayim was to be polluted and called after Zeus Olympius.” – II Maccabee 6:1,2.  He forbade the practice of ritual circumcision and the observance of Shabbath and feasts under penalty of death. The homes of Yahudiym were searched to see if they possessed a copy of the Thorah or had circumcised their sons. Anyone who refused to eat pork was either jailed or killed. The found copies of the Thorah were burned. All synagogues and schools of the Yahudiym were closed. Yerushalayim was put to flames, its walls destroyed and most of the Yahudiym population was sold into slavery. Foreign peoples were brought in to resettle it and a new fortress was built on Mt. Tsiyon. Many Yahudiym, instead of conforming to the enforced Hellenization, joined the Chasidiym.

 

In 167, when he desecrated the Temple, by erecting a pagan altar to Zeus Olympius on the altar of burnt offering, this sparked the Maccabean revolt. This rebellion lasted from 166  – 160  BCE. The Maccabees, led by Judas Maccabaeus, took Yerushalayim in 164 BCE. On Kislev 25, exactly three years from its defilement, the Yahudiym cleansed and rededicated the Temple. Chanukkah is the 8 day festival celebrating this event.

 

 

Antipater

An Idumean and the first of the Herodians. The Idumeans were Edomites that lived south of Beyth Lechem [Bethlehem] and Yerushalayim. John Hyrcanus I conquered these Idumeans and forced them to accept orthodox Judaism, about 126 BCE.

 

When Alexander Jannaeus died in 78 BCE, he left his kingdom to his widow, Alexandra Salome. She appointed her older son, John Hyrcanus II, as Kohen Gadol [High Priest]. She died shortly after, and her syounger son, Aristobulus declared himself king. A battle for control, between the brothers began. Antipater I of Idumea, backed John Hyrcanus II, hoping to overthrow Aristobulus. They drew the Romans into the civil war and Antipater and John won. In 63 BCE, Pompey took Judea for Rome. Pompey set Antipater up as king of Judea, but part of Rome, in place of the Hasmoneans. Antipater reinstated John Hyrcanus II as Kohen Gadol and ruler of Judea, but under himself. In 47 BCE, Julius Caesar appointed Herod Antipater, as governor of Judea.

 

Antipater appointed his two sons, Phasael and Herod, in his government. Phasael was made a prefect of Yerushalayim and Herod was made governor of Galiyl [Galilee]. When Antipater died, Antony and Octavian, as part of the Second Triumvirate, set up Herod as king of Judea in 37 BCE.

 

 

Antony

Antonius Marcus was born 83 BCE and died in 30 BCE. He was a general in the Roman army. He was close with Caesar and upon Caesar’s death, assumed the role of leadership and executed Caesar’s will. The young Octavian and Antony soon went head to head. Antony’s armies lost to the armies of Octavian and Antony fled in 44 BCE. Octavian made temporary peace with Antony. Antony  was part of the Second Triumvirate, established in 44-43 BCE, to rule over the Roman Empire,  with Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son and heir, and Lepidus, who had served under Julius Caesar. Lepidus was given Africa, Octavian took the West and Antony took Egypt, Greece, and the East.

 

A political marriage between Antony and Octavian’s sister, Octavia took place around 40 BCE. In 36 BCE, Antony sent Octavia back to Rome and arranged for Cleopatra to meet him in Antioch. As Cleopatra sought to protect Egypt by uniting with Rome, through Caesar, she sought the same with Antony. He sent a letter of divorce to Octavia in 32 BCE, and married Cleopatra. Antony and Cleopatra co-ruled the Mediterranean, Mesopatamia and Egypt.  Antony and Cleopatra had several children together.

 

Octavian declared war on Cleopatra in 32 BCE. Cleopatra convinced Antony to send Herod to fight against the Nabateans, instead of lending support to Antony, in his battle against Octavian. In a sea battle known as the Battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra deployed their fleet to battle Octavian, only they were overcome, in 31 BCE. They retreated to Egypt. Antony, on hearing a false report of Cleopatra’s death, stabbed himself. When he learned that it was false, he was raised through a window, to Cleopatra and died in her arms. After burying Antony, with Octavian’s permission, Cleopatra put an asp to her breast and killed herself. Octavian killed Caesarion, the son born by Caesar, and the oldest son by Antony and his first wife, Fulvia. The children born by Antony and Cleopatra, Octavian sent to Italy and they were raised by his sister and former wife of Antony, Octavia.  A number of these children married those in future leadership, or produced offspring that did.

 

 

Archelaus

Archelaus (chief of the people) was the son of Herod the Great, by Malthake, a Samaritan woman, which the Yahudiym [Jews] resented . When Herod the Great died in 4 BCE, his kingdom was divided between his sons. Archelaus received Samaritis, Idumea and Judea. He ruled from 4 BCE to 6 CE. Archelaus married the widow, Glaphyra, of his half-brother Alexander, which Herod the Great had killed in paranoia, in 6 BCE. Alexander was the son of Mariamne, the Jewish Princess, the daughter of John Hyrcanus II, the last of the Hasmoneans (Maccabees).  This marriage, of Archelaus, of Shomeron [Samaritan] and Idumean stock, to a Yahudiy [Jew]  and widow of one of the last Hasmoneans, angered the Yahudiym.

 

 In 4 BCE, near the Pesach [Passover] feast, many nationalists declared a revolt against Herod’s successor, Archelaus. The nationalists had camped in tents around the Beyth [Temple]. Archelaus sent troops and had about 3000 of them killed. At the following feast of Shabaoth [Pentecost], the rebels gathered again. They suffered a great slaughter again, with the Beyth cloisters being burned to the ground, the treasury being plundered and many Yahudiym  killed themselves in despair.

 

A delegation of leading Yahudiym went to Rome and petitioned Augustus, the Roman Emperor, to have Archelaus removed and Judea made a Roman province, under a procurator who was responsible to Syria. Augustus agreed and Archelaus was removed and banished to Gaul, in 6 CE and replaced by a procurator named Coponius.

 

Scriptures

MaththiYahu 2:22, “But hearing that Archelaus was reigning over Yahudah, instead of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he departed to the district of Galil.”

 

 

Artaxerxes [Ardeshier Deraz Dast]

Artaxerxes (fervent to spoil) was the son of Xerxes. He ruled Persia from 464 – 423 BCE.

 

Scriptures

 

 

 

Augustus Caesar

 Emperor of Rome. Born 63 BCE and died 14 CE. Caius Octavius was the adopted son of Julius Caesar and took the adoptive name as was custom. He added his own and his name became Caius Julius Caesar Octavianus. Seventeen years later he received the name of Augustus, which he has been known by, for centuries. Octavian ruled from 27 BCE – 14 CE.

 

Octavian’s grandmother was Julius’ sister Julia. Since Julius had no son, he adopted Octavian and educated and trained him. Upon Caesar’s death, he battled Antony for control of Rome. Antony fled in 44 BCE. When Octavian returned to Rome, he found that the Senate was just using him against Antony and had no intention of setting him up as head of Rome. He reconciled his differences with Antony, and with Antony and Lepidus, they formed the Second Triumvirate, which ruled from 43-33 BCE. During a battle with Cassius (the close friend of Julius) and Brutus (the rumored son of Julius, by an affair with his mother Servilia), both involved in the assassination of Julius Caesar, Cassius and Brutus were killed. The Empire was divided between the victors. Lepidus was given Africa, Octavian took the West and Antony took Egypt, Greece, and the East.

 

A political marriage between Antony and Octavian’s sister, Octavia took place around 40 BCE. In 36 BCE, Antony sent Octavia back to Rome and arranged for Cleopatra to meet him in Antioch. He sent a letter of divorce to Octavia in 32 BCE, and married Cleopatra. Octavian declared war on Cleopatra in 32 BCE. Antony and Cleopatra deployed their fleet to battle Octavian, only they were overcome. They retreated to Egypt. Antony, on hearing a false report of Cleopatra’s death, stabbed himself. When he learned that it was false, he was raised through a window, to Cleopatra and died in her arms. Cleopatra put an asp to her breast and killed herself.

 

Octavian slew Caesarion, Clepatra’s son by Julius Caesar, and Antony’s eldest son by Fulvia. The children by Antony and Cleopatra, he spared and they were sent to Rome and Octavia reared them as her own. Ocatavian then ruled Egypt in name and left a praefectus to administer in his absence. In 27 BCE, the Senate conferred upon Octavian the title Augustus, which many, mistakenly thought to be his name.

 

In 4 CE, Augustus Caesar adopted his son-in-law, Tiberius, the son of his third wife, Livia, by her former husband, Tiberius Claudius Nero. Augustus was still Prince when Tiberius began to rule. He died quietly, at 66 years of age, in 14 CE.

 

Scriptures

Luke 2:1,2, “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was the governor of Syria.”

 

 

 

B

 

Babylonian Exile

 

 

Bar Kochba

Bar Kochba was originally named Simeon bar Kosba (also spelled Koseba, Kosiba or Koziba). He was the leader of an unsuccessful revolt against the Romans. The Rebellion of Bar Kochba occurred in 132 – 135 CE. I t was an effort of the Yahudiym [Jews] to regain their freedom that Pompey and Titus had destroyed. Simeon Bar Kochba was reputedly of David descent and was hailed as the promised Messiah by Rabbi Akiba, who gave him the title Bar Kochba, which means Son of the Star, a messianic allusion. Bar Kochba took the title of nasi (prince) and struck his own coins, with “Year 1 of the liberty of Jerusalem” on them. Roman historian Dion Cassius notes that the early sect of believers in Yahusha’, refused to join the revolt, because they looked to Yahusha’ as Messiah and not Bar Kochba. The revolt became so serious that the Roman Emperor himself came and took the field, in the summer of 134 CE. Jerusalem was finally taken and Bar Kochba was killed at Betar, his stronghold in southwest Jerusalem. 985 towns in Palestine were destroyed and 580,000 Yahudiym, men and women, were killed in the revolt. Jerusalem was barred to Yahudiym [Jews] after that.

 

Berenike II

Berenike [Berenice] (victorius) was the daughter of Herod Agrippa I and sister to Herod Agrippa II. She had an incestual relationship with her brother, Herod Agrippa II. After Yerushalayim was destroyed, in 70 CE, Titus, the son of the Roman Emperor, Vespasian, took Berenike with him to Rome, as his mistress, intending to marry her. Vespasian wanted Titus to succeed him as Emperor and knew that a Jewish Princess would not help his ascension. Vespasian insisted that Titus put Berenike away, which Titus did.

 

Scriptures

Acts 25:13, “And when some days had passed, Agrippa the king, and Berenike, came down to Caesarea to inquire in shalom, Festus.”

 

Acts 25:23, “And the next day, came Agrippa and Berenike, with great pomp, and entered the beyth hamishphat [house of judgement], with the commanders and heads of the city, and Festus commanded and Shaul came.”

 

Acts 26:30, “And the king rose up, and the governor, and Berenike, and those who sat with them.”

 

 

Beyth Din

Beyth Din (Beth or Bet Din also) was the court of seventy-one rabbinical scholars and legists. It was established in Tiberias after the destruction of the Beyth YHWH, in 70 CE.

 

 

 

C

 

Calendar

Ancient calendars in the Middle East and Mesopatamia used a lunar calendar based on the phases of the moon. Later, calendars were devised, that were based on the sun, the solar calendar. See Julian Calendar for revisions at the time of 46 BCE.

 

Due to constraints by the Romans, in limiting the practices of the Yahudiym [Jews], after another revolt and the destruction of several cities of the Yahudiym, Hillel II (Hillel HaNasi) introduced a fixed calendar, which was no longer based on the first light of the new moon, for each new month. He published Sod ha-Ibbur (“The Secret of InterCalation”) and Kevi’uta de-Yarha (“The Fixing of the New Month”). According to Hai Gaon and Abraham bar Hiyya, this took place in 358 (359) CE. Others site the year 344 for the fixing of the calendar.

 

In the 6th century CE, Jewish astronomers, from Babel, introduced a calendar based on direct observations of the heavens. They based the year on the movements of the sun, instead of the lunar calculations of Hillel II or the lunar sighting of the first light of the new moon. These Jewish astronomers from Babel, also gave the calendar the names of the months that were used in Babel. They made some months “full” with 30 days and some months “defective” with 29. They reconciled the lunar and solar calendar by adding a thirteenth month every third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years in a nineteen year cycle. In the East, the Yahudiym [Jews] used the Seleucid calendar, which began in 312 BCE. In the Europe, in the 9th century, they adopted the present “Jewish era,” anno mundi – year of the world, which they stated began in creation-3761 BCE. Which would make the year 2000, 5760/5761 by their dating.

 

 

Caligula

Emperor of Rome. Born 12 CE.  Named Gaius Julias Caesar Germanicus. Caligula Gaius ruled from 37 – 41 CE. He was the son of Germanicus Caesar. He was the  nephew and the adoptive son of Tiberius, and Agrippina the Elder. He had the blood of both Antony and Octavian in him, through his grandmothers. Caligula means “little boots,” which was a nickname given to him as a child by soldiers of the Rhine army commanded by his father. Seven months after he became Emperor of Rome, Caligula became very ill. His behavior became increasingly immoral and tyrannical. He was known for delighting in  cruelty, bloodshed, butchery and torture. Caligula fancied himself divine and demanded to be worshipped like a god. He despised the Yahudiym [Jews]. A  delegation of Yahudiym came to Rome, to plead with Caligula not to demand divine honors from the Yahudiym. He ordered in 41 CE, the erection of his statue, in the Temple in Yerushalayim [Jerusalem], which was later abandoned. He was murdered on January 24, 41, at the Palatine games, by Cassius Chaerea, who was insulted by the obscene passwords that Caligula gave him, day after day. On hearing the news, the people were afraid to rejoice, thinking it was a trick to ferret out those that would be glad, at his death. To make sure the people understood that he had been assassinated, the assassins killed Caesonia, his last wife and her daughter. Claudius was named Emperor of Rome.

 

 

Cambyses [Cambujieh]

Cambyses was the son of Cyrus. Also known as Cambyses II. He ruled Persia from 530 – 521 BCE. Cambyses used Babel as his capital city. He assumed the throne after his father’s death and set about to conquer Egypt. Cambyses was not as popular as his father had been. He was a man that was violent and had no regard for others lives, abusive of his power, and was a drunkard. On returning from conquering Egypt, he heard that a pretender had set himself on the throne, named Smerdis (Pseudo Smerdis, who was really Gaumata, a hereditary priest of the Magi tribe). Before Cambyses arrived home, he died. Darius, one of his officers in Egypt and a cousin, ascended to the throne, after killing the pretender Smerdis.

 

Chasidiym

The ancient sect of Chasidiym were not as the more modern sect of Chasids. The Chasidiym arose out of religious Yahudiym [Jews] setting themselves apart from the Hellenizations of the Yahudiym, which began with Alexander the Great, conquering Syria, Palestine and Asia Minor. They began, about 300 BCE, with a pledge to avoid wine for a given period of time, much as a vow of the Nazir would. Later, they went to extremes, according to the common Yahudiym,  to avoid corruption and loss of their faith.

 

Due to the extreme Hellenization under Antiochus IV and his appointed Kohen Gadol [High Priest], Menelaus, many of the Yahudiym [Jews] became shocked. With the building of a gymnasium and participation by an increasing number of Yahudiym youth and kohaniym [priests], while naked, as well as the operations of a number of youth to have their circumcisions hidden, to hide their race, the majority of the common Yahudiym went over to the side and view of the Chasidiym. The numbers increased when in 167 BCE, Antiochus entered on an extreme campaign of persecution. He desecrated the Temple, burned copies of the Thorah, killed those found in possession of it, and those who observed Shabbath or any of the feasts, who had circumcised their sons or refused to eat pork. Many of the Yahudiym, who did not conform, hoping to ride the storm out, joined the Chasidiym, in caves or mountain retreats. They ate off of what they could gather from the fields. The Chasidiym went among the refugees preaching courage and resistance.

 

A family of Yahudiym, that joined those in the caves, were the family of Hasmonai, of the Tribe of Aharon. Mattathias was the family head. His five sons of Aharon were Johannan Caddis, Simon, Judas, Eleazer and Jonathan.

 

 

Claudius

Emperor of Rome. Claudius (lame ruler) ruled from 41 CE – 54 CE. Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus was placed on the throne after the assassination of Caligula, at the age of 51. He was born 10 BCE, at Lugdunum [Lyons] the son of Antonia and Drusus, the brother of Germanicus and Livilla, the grandson of Octavia and Antony, and of Livia and Tiberius Claudius Nero.

 

Claudius, impressed with Herod’s grandson, Herod Agrippa, made Agrippa king over most of Palestine, in 41 CE. When Agrippa died suddenly in 44, riots broke out again and Claudius imposed the procuratorial rule. The freedman of Claudius, Pallas, chose his brother Felix, to be the procurator of Judea.  Due to some riots, Claudius exiled the Yahudiym [Jews] from Rome, but in 42 CE, he ordered a general edict, confirming throughout the Empire, their rights to live by their own laws.

 

In 48 CE, he married his niece, Agrippina the younger, who also had the mixed blood of Antony and Octavian. She persuaded Claudius to adopt her son Nero, by her first husband, Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. Then she persuaded him to give his 13 year old daughter, Octavia, to her 16 year old son, in marriage. Setting her son Nero, up for the throne. After five years of marriage to Agrippina, Claudius finally perceived the powerbase that Agrippina had set up for herself and her son, and determined to appoint his son Britannicus his heir. Agrippina realized his intentions and fed him poisonous mushrooms. He died after 12 hours of agony, not being able to speak, during that time, in 54 CE. Nero succeeded to the throne.

 

Scriptures

Acts 11:28, “And one of them, named Hagab, stood up and indicated by the Ruach [Spirit], that there was going to be a great scarcity of food in the land, which also took place under Claudius Caesar.”

 

Acts 18:2, “And he found a certain Yahudiy [Jew] named Aqulus, born inPontos, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Yahudiym [Jews] to leave Rome, and he came to them.”

 

 

Claudius Lysias

Claudius Lysias (lame dissolution) was the commander of the Roman troops in Yerushalayim. He sent Shaul to the governor, Felix, to have Felix determine the case against Shaul by the Yahudiym [Jews].

 

Scriptures

Acts 23:26, “Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.”

 

Acts 24:22, “And having heard this, having known more exactly about The Way, Felix put them off, saying, ‘When Lysias, the commander, comes down, I will decide your case.’ “

 

 

Clement I

Clemens (mild) Romanus, known as Clement of Rome. He was the first “Apostalic Father”. He was Pope of Rome from 88 – 97 or 92 – 101 CE, as dated by Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea. He was supposedly the third successor to “St. Peter”. Clement is the author of a letter, written to the church in Corinth, in 96 CE. He speaks with authority to the Christians, in this letter, possibly indicating that he was viewed with the authority ascribed to him.

 

 

Clement of Alexandria

Born Titus Flavius Clemens. Clement was a Christian Apologist. He was the intellectual leader of the Alexandrian  Christian community. Clement was the teacher of Origen. He left the Christian Catechetical School of Alexandria, which he was president of, when Christian persecution broke out in 201 – 202 CE, under the reign of Roman Emperor, Severus. Clement went to Palestine, where he stayed with a former student, Alexander, Bishop of Yerushalayim [Jerusalem], until he died.

 

 

Constantine

Named Flavius Valerus Constantinus. He was born at Naissus in Moesia, about 272. He was the illegitimate son of Constantinus Chlorus, by a legal concubine Helena, from Bithynia. Constantinus was the Caesar to the Augustus  Galerius in 292 CE (see Diocletian). During the reign of Galerius, in 306 CE, Constantine was declared a Caesar and Augustus by the troops, upon his father’s death. Augustus Galerius could not put a stop to this declaration and hesitantly acknowledged Constantine as his Caesar.  Constantine ruled with Lucinius jointly from 307 CE – 313 CE as one of six Augusti-emperors, where Diocletian’s plan was for two, over the East and the West. They divide the Empire in  313 CE. Constantine ruled as sole Emperor from 324 CE – 337 CE. He killed his son, nephew and wife in 326 CE. 

 

Constantine claimed to have become a Christian in 304 CE.  He allowed the freedom of worship to all religions, even after he supposedly became a Christian. He seldom participated in Christian worship and most scholars believe the conversion was purely political. In fact, he did not accept Christian baptism until he was dying in 337. He was baptized by his friend, Eusebius, who was the Bishop of Nicomedia, an Arian. Before his “conversion” to Christianity, Constantine had given the Yahudiym [Jews] legal equality with all the other subjects. After his “conversion”, he oppressed them, taxed them and forbade Christians to associate with them. He banished the rabbis in 337 CE. Also, it was forbidden for a Yahudiy [Jewish] man to marry a Christian woman, punishable by death.

 

A schism in the church, over “consubstantiality” (homoousia) verses similarity (homoiousia) of the Father and the Son, became a major source of public debate. The two major proponents were Bishop Alexander and Arius, in Alexandria, Egypt. Bishop Alexandria stating that the two were one and Arius promoting that “Christ”, was not one, but a created being. This schism became so large, that upon hearing of it, Constantine called the first eucumenical – universal- council of the churches in 325 CE. The council was held at Bithynian Nicaea, near his capital Nicomedia. The council met in a hall of the imperial palace. Constantine presided over the meetings. Arius was anathematized and exiled. It was at this council that it was decreed for the churches to celebrate Easter, on the same day, every year, to be named by the Bishop of Alexandria.

 

In 335, Constantine, knowing that he would die soon, divided his empire between his sons and nephews. To his eldest son, Constantine II, he gave the West – Britain, Gaul and Spain. To his son Constantius, the East – Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. To his youngest son, Constans – North Africa, Italy, Illyricum and Thrace. To his two nephews, he gave Armenia, Macedonia and Greece. Constantine died in 337 CE. The sons and nephews entered into a civil war, that Constantine, sought to avoid, by dividing his empire. All male relatives of Constantine, except his 3 sons and two of his nephews, Gallus who was dying and Julian, who was five, were killed. Constantius renewed the war between East and West, and his brothers killed each other, in the battles. In 353, Constantius was the sole Emperor of the Empire.

 

 

Constantius

In 335 CE, Constantine, dying, divided his empire between his sons and two nephews. Constantius received the East – Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. In 337 CE, Constantine died. Civil war began between the brothers. Constantius became the sole Emperor in 353 CE. He supported the Christians and persecuted the Yahudiym [Jews]. When he was battling the Persians, the soldiers under his cousin, Julian, declared Julian Emperor. Constantius, returning from the battle with the Persians, to deal with Julian, died enroute, leaving Julian the undisputed emperor, in 361 CE.

 

In 337 CE, Constantius banished the Rabbis and made marriage of a Yahudiy [Jew] with a Christian woman a capital crime.

 

 

Council of Ephesus

431 CE

 

Council of Jamnia

70 CE

 

 

Council of Laodicea

361 CE

 

 

Council of Nicaea

325 CE. General councils of the whole empire were unknown before the Council of Nicaea. It was convened by Emperor of Rome, Constantine, who endorsed the dogmatic views established.

 

There had been a schism that had developed between the Bishop of Alexandria and a man named Arius. The Bishop believed that the Father and the Son were one and equal -“consubstantiality” (homoousia). Arius believed that the Son was the first and highest creation of the Father - similarity (homoiousia). Their differences became so great and public, that Emperor Constantine, upon hearing about it, called  the first eucumenical – universal- council of the churches in 325 CE. The council was held at Bithynian Nicaea, near his capital Nicomedia. The council met in a hall of the imperial palace. Constantine presided over the meetings. Arius was anathematized and exiled. It was at this council that it was decreed for the churches to celebrate Easter, on the same day, every year, to be named by the Bishop of Alexandria, according to astronomical charts.

 

 

Cyrus [Kurush]

Born 575 BCE, he was also known as Cyrus (the Greek name) the Great and Cyrus II. Kurush’s father was the Persian king Cambyses. His mother, Mandane, was the daughter of the Median king Astyages.  Cyrus was the founder of the Mede-Persian empire and ruled till 530 BCE. He conquered Media, Lydia and the Babylonian Empires. Kurush was very accommodating, as to others religions, permitting the conquered nations to worship their own gods. He even sacrificed to the gods of each city as he entered it. Within a year of conquering Babel, he allowed the Yahudiym [Jews] to return to Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] to rebuild their Temple, which he gave financial assistance for. He died in 530 – 525 BCE, in a battle against an obscure tribe from the east, that bordered the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, the Massagetae. His son, Cambyses, succeeded him as king.

 

Scriptures

 

 

 

Cyrus’ Edict

 

 

 

 

D

 

Darius [Darryoosh]

Darius ruled Persia from 522-521 – 486 BCE. He was also known as Darius the Great. His father was Hystapes. Darius  came to the throne after he killed the imposter Gaumata, posing to be Smerdis, the son of Cyrus and slain half-brother to the then reigning Cambyses.. Cambyses, the King of Persia, left his conquered Egypt to depose the imposter, but died enroute. Darius, a general of Cambyses in Egypt and cousin, deposed Gaumata and took the Persian throne. Darius moved the capital from Babel to Susa, the old Elamite capital. Because of the intense summer heat at Susa, they used the Median city of Ecbatana, as the capital, during the summer months. Darius’ son Xerxes, succeeded him as king.

 

 

Dead Sea Scrolls

 

 

 

Diocletian

Caius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius. Emperor of Rome. Diocles was the son of a Dalmatian freedman. From the time that he was named imperator, by the army, he began calling himself Diocletian. He ruled from 284 CE – 305 CE. He abandoned Rome as the capital and chose Nicomedia in Asia Minor as his capital. To better rule, Diocletian devised a co-ruler system. He chose Maximian as his coruler. Maximian chose Milan as his capital. Six years later, to better administer, Diocletian determined that each Augusti would choose a caesar as his aid and to succeed him. Diocletian chose Galerius and Maximian chose Constantinus Chlorus. Each Augustus chose to retire after 20 years and their Caesar would then become Augustus, appointing a Caesar to follow him. Each Augustus gave his daughter in marriage to his Caesar. Diocletian hoped to stop the warring for succession and unite the empire. In 305 CE, Diocletian and Maximian relinquished their power as Augusti, to their Caesars, Galerius and Constantinus Chlorus, who became the Augusti of the East and the West.

 

In 303 CE, Diocletian, terribly persecuted the Christians. He ordered that all copies of the Scriptures were to be turned over to the authorities and be burned.

 

 

Domitian

Emperor of Rome. He ruled from 81-96 CE.  Born Titus Flavius Domitianus Augustus in 51 CE. He was the son of Vespasian and brother to Titus. When Titus died, Domitian succeeded him as Emperor of Rome. He had statues of himself and his family made, proclaiming themselves, deities. He required officials to speak of him, in their documents, as Dominus et Deus Noster – “Our Lord and God.” The Jews and Chrisitans refused to acknowledge him as a god. In 93 CE, Domitian executed Christians for refusing to offer sacrifices to his image. In 94 CE, he banished the Yahudiym [Jews] of Rome to the Valley of Egeria. Eusebius writes that it was Domitian that banished Yahuchanan [John], the brother of Yaaqob [James] to the isle of Patmos, where the Fourth Basar [Good News] and the Book of Revelations were written. In 96 CE, Emperor Nerva brought them back and restored their rights. Domitian became increasingly mad and torturous, even to his own household. In 96 CE, he was killed, in the night, by several of his household staff.

 

Scriptures

Revelations 1:9, “I, Yahuchanan, both your brother and co-sharer in pressure, and in the kingdom and endurance of Yahusha` HaMashiach, came to be on the island of Patmos for the word of YHWH and for the witness of Yahusha` HaMashiach.”

 

 

 

E

 

Eusebius

In 325 Eusebius issued his Ecclesiastical History.

 

 

F

 

Felix

Antonius Felix (happy) lived in the first century CE. When Herod Agrippa died, the Roman Emperor, Claudius, ended the kingship, and put Judea under the procuratorial rule, in 44 CE. Pallas, the freedman of Claudius, appointed Felix, his brother in this position. Felix  was married to Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I. Festus succeeded Felix as procurator of Judea, when Felix’s malfeasance was discovered (44-54 CE).

 

Scriptures

Acts 23:24, “and provide beasts, on which to place Shaul, and to bring him safely to Felix, the governor.”

 

Acts 24:22, “And having heard this, having known more exactly about The Way, Felix put them of, saying, ‘When Lysias, the commander comes down, I will decide your

case.’ “

 

Acts 24:24, “And after some days, when Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, who was a female Yahudiy [Jew], he sent for Shaul and heard him concerning the belief in Mashiach.”

 

Acts 24:27, “But after two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. And wishing to do the Yahudiym [Jews] a favor, Felix left Shaul bound.”

 

Also, Acts 23:26, 24:2,3,24,25, 25:14.

 

 

 

 

Festus

Portius Festus (swine-like) was appointed procurator in place of Felix, when the malfeasance of Felix, which had been covered over, by Felix’s brother, Pallas, the freedman of the Roman Emperor Claudius (44-54 CE), was uncovered.

 

Scriptures

Acts 24:27, “But after two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix. And wishing to do the Yahudiym [Jews] a favor, Felix left Shaul bound.”

 

Acts 26:24,25, “And while saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, ‘Shaul, you are mad! Much learning is turning you to madness.’ But Shaul  said, ‘I am not mad, most excellent Festus, but I speak words of truth and sense.’ “

 

Acts 26:32, “And Agrippa said to Festus, ‘This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar,’ “

 

Also, Acts 25:1,3,4,9,12-14,22-24.

 

 

First Council of Constantinople

 

 

 

G

 

Galatinus, Petrus

Born Pietro Columna Galatinus (1460-1540 CE). He was an Italian theologian and Christian Qabbalist. Galatinus was confessor to Pope Leo X. He was a Franciscan friar. Galatinus is well known for a writing in 1518, titled De Arcanis Catholicae Vertatis (Universal Truths), which dealt with Christian mysticism and Qabbalah, which inspired many Christian Qabbalists. In that work, he is credited with being the first to use the mistaken spelling of “Jehovah.”  This work was published by Gershom Soncino.

  

 

Galba

Emperor of Rome. Servius Sulpicius Galba was born 3 BCE and died 69 CE. Galba ruled from 68 CE – 69 CE. Galba had been the commander of the Roman army in Spain, under Nero. The Senate, tired of Nero and his ways, declared Galba the emperor and Nero fled Rome. The Senate declared Nero a public enemy. Galba sent soldiers to find Nero and found that he had killed himself, before they could execute him.

 

Galba’s reign was short, due to the fact that he was strict in his administration of justice and frugal with funds. When he declared that the liberal gifts which Nero had given, 9/10th’s must be returned to the Treasury, a hoard of enemies arose and Galba’s days were few. A bankrupt senator, Marcus Ortho, declared that the only way that he could pay his debts, was to become the emperor. The Guards backed him and slew Galba, carrying his head to Ortho, who the Senate hurriedly appointed Emperor, because the Roman armies in Germany and Egypt were also declaring their generals as emperor. Germany declared Aulus Vitellius a