ABSTRACT
Josephus was born in Israel in c. 37 ce into an aristocratic priestly family descended from the Hasmonean priest-princes, descendants of the Macca-bean heroes who prosecuted the revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes in 167–164 bce and served as high priests in the Temple in Jerusalem from the middle of the second century till the reign of Herod the Great (40[37]–4 bce). Josephus died in Rome in c. 100 ce, having enjoyed the patronage of the three Flavian emperors, Vespasian (69–79), and his sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96).
