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Last Updated on 13 Jan 2019

Author: Mario C.D. Paganini

CAPInv. 1483: U-EGY-041

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area Egypt
ii. Nome Alexandria (L00)
iii. Site Alexandria

II. NAME

i. Association with unknown name U-EGY-041

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 180 - 116 BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii. Descriptive terms πολίτευμα, politeuma
Note politeuma: Letter of Aristeas 310

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) Letter of Aristeas 310 (mid II BC)
i.a. Source type(s) Literary source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Epistolary narrative in Greek about the story of the translation of the Bible into Greek (The Septuagint) by order of Ptolemy II.

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii. Leadership If we accept that the present text attests to the existence of the Jewish politeuma of Alexandria, it is possible that the ἐθνιάρχης, ethniarches mentioned by Strabo FGr.Hist. II A91 F7 (recorded by J. AJ 14.114) was in fact at the head of the politeuma of the Jews of Alexandria in the late Ptolemaic period. On this see Honigman 2003.
iv. Officials The passage refers to οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ... τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ πολιτεύματος, hoi presbyteroi ... ton apo tou politeumatos: these may well have been the officials of the Jewish politeuma of Alexandria.

XII. NOTES

i. Comments Other terms such as πλῆθος, plethos and ἔθνος, ethnos are employed in the text, but these generally refer to the whole body of the Jewish community resident in Alexandria and not specifically to those belonging to the politeuma.
iii. Bibliography Honigman, S. (2003), 'Politeumata and ethnicity in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt', AncSoc 33: 61-102.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Possible
Note It is possible that the Jewish politeuma of Alexandria had originally formed a private association gathering Jewish immigrants from a military background. Its functions and importance may have increased with the passing of time to a pseudo-civic organisation.
ii. Historical authenticity The authenticity of the passage and of the existence of a Jewish politeuma of Alexandria has been debated. However, on the basis of parallel evidence for Jewish politeumata of Egypt (in particular that of Heracleopolis, cf. CAPInv. 1370) it is possible that (some members of) the Jewish community of Alexandria decided (and were granted permission) to gather in a politeuma.