Aulus Avillius Flaccus
Aulus Avillius Flaccus (* in Rome ; † 39 AD on Andros ) was a Roman knight and from 32 AD until shortly before October 20, 38 Prefect of Egypt .
Born in Rome, Flaccus was a playmate of two successor candidates to Augustus , Gaius and Lucius Caesar , and a friend of the later Roman emperor Tiberius . Flaccus was the accuser of the elder Agrippina , mother of the future emperor Caligula , who was exiled because of her problematic relationship with Tiberius. When Tiberius was succeeded, Flaccus sided with Tiberius Gemellus and thus against Caligula.
Flaccus was prefect of Egypt from AD 32 to AD 38. In the diaspora community of Alexandria , where Greeks and Jews lived together, he approved the installation of statues of emperors in the synagogues . After riots broke out over this, he declared the Jews to be strangers in the city of the Greeks by edict. When the new Jewish King Herod Agrippa I stopped in Alexandria in August 38 on the way to Palestine , he was mocked by the Greek population with an anti-Jewish satire. However, it did not stop at verbal and non-violent abuse. Incited Greeks stormed the synagogues and set up images of the emperors, plundered Jewish houses and shops, and expelled, abused and murdered Jews. During these riots between Greeks and Romans, Flaccus withdrew citizenship from the Jews. He also had 38 members of the council of elders publicly flogged. The riots against Jews developed into the greatest pogrom known from ancient times.
One month after the riots, Flaccus was deposed by Caligula, but not because of his wrongdoing against the Alexandrian Jews. Rather, he was tried because he was hated by Caligula as a friend of Tiberius. Flaccus was accused of betraying the Roman Empire. He was exiled to Andros and executed there in 39 AD.
The main source on Flaccus is In Flaccum by the Jewish thinker Philon of Alexandria .
literature
- The new Pauly . Vol. 2, Col. 371.
- Klaus Bringmann : History of the Jews in Antiquity. From the Babylonian exile to the Arab conquest. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-608-94138-X , pp. 218 ff., 241–245.
- Paul von Rohden : Avillius 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, col. 2392.
- Steven H. Rutledge: Imperial Inquisitions. Prosecutors and informants from Tiberius to Domitian . Routledge, London 2001, ISBN 0-415-23700-9 , pp. 201-202 .
- Ute Schall : The Jews in the Roman Empire . Pustet, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7917-1786-3 , p. 179, p. 198 f., P. 355.
- E. Mary Smallwood: The Jews under Roman rule. From Pompey to Diocletian . Brill, Leiden 1976, p. 236 ff.
- Zvi Yavetz : anti-Semitism in antiquity . Beck, Munich 1997, p. 104 ff.
Remarks
- ↑ Philon of Alexandria: In Flaccum. 19,158.
- ↑ Philon of Alexandria: In Flaccum. 1.9.
- ↑ Klaus Bringmann: History of the Jews in antiquity. From the Babylonian exile to the Arab conquest. Stuttgart 2005, p. 218.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Hiberus |
Prefect of the Roman Province of Egypt 32–38 |
Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Flaccus, Aulus Avillius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Avillius flaccus, Aulus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prefect of Egypt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC Chr. |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | 39 |
| Place of death | Andros |