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mentioned, who was cotemporary with Judah the faint, and flourished about the year 220, or, at the earliest, under his father, about the beginning of the third century; and then their authority could be but finall, confidering the flavery under which the Jews groaned from the Parthians, Romans, and other tyrants, whatever titles they might bestow on them to raise the credit of their nation.

When firft We need not repeat what hath been faid in other parts began. of this history concerning thefe wars, and the triumph of Severus over Artaxerxes, the famed restorer of the Perfian monarchy t. This last died about an. 244, and was fucceeded by his fon Sapor, from whom that new fucceffion Favoured took their name *. Both of them became great favourers by the of the Jews, and fhewed an extraordinary esteem for their Perfians. rabbies; and it is under them that we find the celebrated

Learned

Samuel Jarchi, or the Lunatic (G), not only honoured with the title of Naffi or Prince, but likewife with the names of those two monarchs, being first firnamed Ariochus, or Artaxerxes, and, after his death, Sapor, the name of his fon, to fhew the high degree of authority they had gained at that new court. This great man, as we formerly hinted, men there. came from Judea hither; and, among his other dignities, had that of Counsellor of Huna, the chief of the Captivity P. He is faid to have died an. 250, and to have been fucceeded by R. Ada, who perfected the reformation which he had left defective. The other doctors that flourished in this

+ See Anc. Hift. vol. xi. p. 363, & feq. * Ibid. p 403, & feq. vol. xv. p. 70, & feq. P GANTZ TZEMACH, P. 113. BARTOLOC. ub. fup. tom. iv. p. 388. Vid. BASNAG. ub. fup.

emperors M. Aurelius and Severus, having reduced that country to the greateft extremity, towards the close of the second century, it is not likely that this new dignity could be introduced there till matters had taken a more favourable turn, that is, under Hunah his fon, who is therefore fuppofed the first chief of the captivity (23).

(G) So called from his great fkill in aftronomy; fome tables

(23) Vid. Bartoloç. Bafnag,

of which he is faid to have calculated, which are still preferved in the Vatican library (†). He was moreover well verfed in the Jewish laws, and was prefident of the famed academy of Nabardea, where he became famous for his aftronomical and other lectures and particularly, as we have lately hinted, for the improve ments he made of Hillel's reformation of the calender.

(†) Id. ibid. lib. viii. c. 3.

century,

century, and raised the fame of that univerfity under Huna, the reader may fee in the margin (H).

BUT their felicity foon proved the prelude of a violent perfecution under Sapor, the fecond Perfian monarch of this race. That prince, who loved to converfe and often difpute with them, having one day questioned them about their cuftom of burying the dead, and infifted upon their producing fome exprefs and decifive text in their law for it, received fuch an illufory anfwer, that, from a favourer, he

(H) Rabbi Jehudah, the fon of Eliezer, raifed himself by his great learning; infomuch that we find feveral of his decifions in the Babylonifh Thalmud; tho', in most of them, he betrays his averfion to the heathen and ftrangers. Some have mifplaced him in the university of Pundebita, which was as yet unfounded. He had a fuccef. for named Nachman, who filled the chair with no lefs reputation; and, in general, the profeffors of Nahardea are faid to have excelled thofe of Sora, its rival; only thefe latter were more in favour with the prince of the captivity.

Among these we may, however, put in the firft rank the famed R. Abba Aricka, who was emphatically tiled

Rab, or Rau, or the Great, and is chiefly known and quoted by that title. Both he and Samuel Farchi had spent fome time in Judea, and studied under Judah the faint; but, after the death of their master, they both returned and fettled, the former at Sora, and the latter at Nabardea. Rab was fo well beloved by one of the Babylonifh princes, named Adarchan, that he used to affift at his lectures, and at length caufed himself to be circumcifed about A. C. 243. He wrote, they fay, a comment on

the book of Ruth, and fome other pieces, and was of opinion that the Romans would be mafters of the whole world nine months before the coming of the Meffiah.

He was fucceeded in the chair of Sora by Huna, a relation of the prince of that name, and was fo proud of his affinity to him, that he is the first who took upon him the title of Prince of the Academy, or

w Rosh Fehubah. He had 160 volumes of the law;

פסול one of which was found

pafful, or illegal, merely because it was as broad as long; which we chiefly mention to give our readers a taste of the doctors, and learning of thofe times.

We fhall only add one more learned, viz. R. Cohanah, of the priestly order, as his name imports, and of the family of Eli, the high-priest; tho' that is by fome called in question. He had likewife ftudied at Tiberias under R. Jochanan and the patriarch Samuel; and indeed it was then a common custom fo to do; infomuch that a man was not efteemed learned, unlefs he had ftudied fome time in that academy. All this is a proof that the Jews not only lived peaceably, but were in high favour with the then Perfian monarch.

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became a furious perfecutor of them (I). But how far the evidence on which this fact is founded is to be relied on, the reader may judge from what we have faid in the last note. However, it is plain from the famed infcription ingraved on Gordian's tomb, which Capitolinus tells us was written in the Perfic and Hebrew characters, that it might be read by all the world, that there were still great numbers of the Jews in Perfia, and confiderable enough to be thought worthy of reading that Emperor's praises in their own language. Sapor is faid to have reigned from A. C. 241 to 272 and Ab A. C. how unfucçefsful he was in his wars, not only against the 260, ad Romans, but especially against the great Odenatus, and an 272. his celebrated queen Zenobia, hath been seen in a former part; and it was under that glorious princess that the Jews

4 In GORDIAN. p, 165, & feq. & feq. Vol. xv. p. 441, & feq.

(I) They tell us that one of the doctors not being able to produce a command for it, another more fubtile than he plead ed cuftom and example; to which Sapor retorted that of Mofes, who was not buried to this they replied, that the Iraelites mourned for him (24), which did not fatisfy him. But, if we may believe a certain chronicle, faid to have been tranfmitted from Perfia into Spain (25), he was forced to this violence by his fubjects, who could not brook the efteem he fhewed to the Jews, and were ready to mutiny against him. So that he was obliged to imprison three of their principals, whom he tried in vain, by dint of fcourging, to force into an abjuration of their religion. Provoked at their conftancy, he caufed all the princes of that nation to be imprifoned, and fo ill treated and macerated, that they had nothing left but skin and bones, From that time the Perfiuns be

See Anc. Hift. vol, xi. p. 71,

came fo unfortunate in all their wars, especially with the Arabs, who fubdued and led them away captive, that they acknowledged at length that their cruelty to the Jews brought all these evils upon them as a juft punifhment; on which account they granted them full liberty of confcience, whilst the Arabian princes, who looked upon that perfecution as cruel and unjust, had courted great numbers of them into their dominions, where they were protected and careffed.

T'he chronicle above-named, which alone mentions all these particulars, is much called in queftion by the learned; tho', if by the Arabians there mentioned, we understand their neighbours the Palmyrenians and the Saracens, under the famed Odenatus, it is plain that they reduced the Perfians to great extremities, at the fame time that they highly favoured the Jews.

(24) Deut, e, ult, wiƐ. (25) Ex Genar, tract, Sanbedr. Solom. Ben. virg.

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made the most confiderable figure all the time of her reign, and in every part of her dominions, which, as we there obferved, were of very great extent.

SHE had been brought up in their religion, and was a zealous profeffor of it. Both fhe and her husband were become fo fuccefsful and powerful over those eastern tracts, they carried all before them; fo that there is no room to doubt of the Jews making the most of the favour and protection of two fuch powerful friends. She, in particular, is recorded to have built them a great number of stately fy-. nagogues, and to have raised them to the highest digni

Her fad fate, however, foon put an end to all her glory and their happiness, unless we will fuppofe, that her fon Vaballat, who fucceeded her in fome part of her old dominions, was of the fame religion with her, and fhewed the fame favour and encouragement to them; tho' even in this cafe, which is not altogether certain, all he could do for them must come vaftly fhort of what his mother had done. After the fall of that great heroine, the Jews retired from her conquered dominions into feveral cities of Perfia, where they were likely to live more quietly, and where there ftill flourished feveral of their learned men, fome of them chiefly famed for the moft puerile actions; fuch as that of the celebrated Chija, who flung himself into a fmoaking oven or furnace to fubdue his luft, after he had tried in vain variety of other means. The noble academy of Nahardea having undergone the fame fate with that city, that of Sora became the most populous and famed for its great, men (K).

IT was during the time of profperity and glory abovementioned, that we find the Jewish doctors began to take variety of pompous titles; fuch as thofe of Abba Father, Baal Lord, Rom High, Rab Mafter, Mor Teacher, Rob Chief or Head, and the like. Among them was a famed doctor named Jeremiah, who stiled himself the Mafter of Queftions; and, to

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Jews in

the 4th Century,

mortify the Babylonifh doctors, made his wife hold frequent difputes against them. They flourished about the year 290; but the most famed among them was Manes, a perfon of, great learning, but who could by no means be reconciled to the religion, or even God, of the Jews; nor to what the facred hiftorians record, of his ordering that nation to deftroy and exterminate fuch great number of kingdoms and people, and preferred that of the Chriftians, who commended nothing fo much as univerfal love and benignity. He is faid to have held frequent conferences with the Jewish doctors of Perfia, in order to inspire them, as he pretended, with more worthy ideas of the Godhead. Our modern rabbies do not acknowlege any fuch conferences between their ancestors and him, whom they have noted in their calendar as the head of that new fect, which still bears his name, and which they abfurdly place towards the close of Conftantine's reign, tho' he lived about the end of this third century. The perfecution which was raifed against the Chriftians about the fame time, under Dioclefian, did not much affect the Jewish nation either in the east or weft; at leaft, neither Jewish or any other authors mention any thing of it only the former pretend, that he defigned to have made them feel the feverest marks of his refentment for fome fcandalous reflexions which the difciples of Judah the faint had caft on him; but that they found means to appeafe him and prevent it (L), But it is now time to pass on to the 4th century, and fee how they fared under the Chriftian emperors.

WE have had occafion already to mention fome fevere laws which Conftantine was forced to enact, to fupprefs the infolence of the Jews against the Chriftians; and to forbid them making of profelytes, and abufing those who embraced Chriftianity. But fome historians have gone farther, and made that prince a very fevere perfecutor of them; infomuch that one of the Greek fathers tells us, that, being shocked at their affemfup. tom. iii.

• BARTOLOC, ub.

(L) They upbraided him, it feems, with having been a fwineherd, but appeafed his refentment with telling him, that tho' they defpifed the fwineherd, they reverenced the emperor. This ftory feems founded on the prediction which had

been made to that prince, that he should afcend the throne when he had killed Aper (the boar); meaning Aper the Prefectus Prætorii, whofe death opened to him the way to the empire, as hath been fhewn in that part of the Roman history (†).

(t) See Anc. Hift, vel, xv. p. 484, & feq.

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