Claudius Letter To The Alexandrians Analysis

Marc Falcon

Professor John Bauschatz

Classic 160 B1:

11/27/15

Claudius Letter to the Alexandrians

Claudius letter to the Alexandrians was a valuable piece in Roman history that has given a personal insight into the social and political scene of Alexandria. Much has been said about the Jewish people of Alexandria, the most influential, as well as the most outspoken people in the community. Yet, the principal problem, which has provoked the publication of violent riots is the civic status that surrounds the Jewish people. While Claudius first discusses the statues, monuments, and temples that were given in his honor, he goes on to give his thoughts concerning the Jewish and Greek communities in Alexandria. From his decree we can infer that

the population in Alexandria was made up of a Greek elite who maintained political and social authority over the native Egyptians and the Jewish population.
This letter represented a strong sense of authority that Claudius has on his people and the recognition that he receives from the people of Alexandria.. In Claudius letter he shows his respect of Jewish culture by stating, “The Alexandrians show themselves forbearing and kindly toward the Jews, who or many years have dwelt in the same city”. He speaks on behalf of Jewish people by allowing them of their rights to live freely and practice their religion in Alexandria. While Claudius protects the Jews in a sense, he does maintain peace within the empire by limiting the status of the Jews by restricting them of their ability for citizenship as it will only contradict the beliefs of Alexandrians. Claudius still enables the Greeks to maintain all real power of upper-class roles.; he wants the Jews to remain peacefully content with their current rights and population as it can destroy any chaos and havoc that is happening in the city of Alexandria.
Claudius reign as Roman Emperor was a time of civil unrest in Alexandria, Claudius letter helps better understand the position of Jews in society.

Claudius calls the conflict a riot “against the Jews,” rather than a conflict between the Jews and Greeks. Claudius defends the Jews’ right to practice their religion freely and live freely as part of the community, but while he does protect their basic rights, he denies them equivalent status to the Greek elite. Claudius asks the Greeks to “conduct themselves more gently and …. In Claudius Letter to the Alexandrians his main purpose is to reaffirmed Jewish rights in the city but also to forbade them to move in more families en masse. This brought great attention to the ideas of helping the city of Alexandria to prosper by respecting the rights of people while also limiting the amount of cultural aspects by reducing the migration of Jewish people into the city of

Alexandria.
Majority of Claudius’s letter, relating to the constitutional relations between the Jewish and Greek communities in Alexandria, is irrelevant to our present purpose. But one part of it would have a direct relevance, if a certain interpretation of how it could be established and the changes it can make to the lives of people in Alexandria. The ban which Claudius places on the introduction into Alexandria of Jews from Egypt. This has been interpreted as a reference to disturbances and chaos that has been created within the Jewish community of Alexandria caused by the introduction of Christianity to that city, and confirmatory evidence has been sought by linking the emperor’s severe words about “a general plague which infests the whole world”. Claudius’s threat “to show what a benevolent ruler is capable of when he is moved to righteous indignation” anger was seriously meant, as is clear from his severe threat of portraying violence to scare the people of doing any racial grievances and that they must obey Claudius ruling of being consent to live with mutual forbearance and kindliness.

trace any allusion to Christians in the emperor’s letter.

The unrest to which he refers was unrest between the Greek and Jewish communities of the city, not within the Jewish community. The Jews who were sailing in from Syria are placed on the same footing as the Jews who sailed down the Nile to Alexandria from other parts of Egypt. There were many Jews in Egypt apart from those of Alexandria, but they did not enjoy the special privileges granted to their brethren in Alexandria. The significance of the illegal Jewish immigration into Alexandria from Syria and the rest of Egypt is probably to be found in the statement of Josephus that the Jews of Alexandria, having obtained no satisfaction from Gaius, took up arms when the news of his death arrived. That is to say, they prepared to attack the Greek Alexandrines, and in these circumstances it was only natural that they should try to augment their strength by inviting their fellow-Jews from other parts of Egypt and from Syria and Palestine to come to their aid. Such a situation would amply account for the severity of the emperor’s admonition to stop this at

once.