Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/713

657 ;

do

to Ix'ttcr llic liiiancial CDiulilion of I lie stiitr. Hiiljlii led the iiicssciiircr into his pmlcii, and williout sjiy-

emperor; born in the year 80; died in 161; ruled from ViH until his death. The reign of this just and humane emperor came like a bles.siug to the Jews, particularly to those of Palestine. The religious iiersecutions of Hadrian had deva.stateil the country, depopulated the cities, and made the intellectual development of the Jews impossible. Had

iiig n word juiikMl u|i sonu' of the huge nidishcs aiid replaced them with youiis ones. The emperor un-

derstood the intimation; ami by th<' removal of the heads of liis tinaneial administnilion he elTeeted a

wholesome

elianire ((!en. K. Ixvii). Antoninus had at heart; one was the (levalion of

two wishes most

these conditions lasted much longer, there xvould have been an end to the Jewish people in the Homan empire. As soon as the Jews knew of the ch;inge of rulers, they sent an embassy, with H. Judah b. .Shamu'a at its head, to Rome to negotiate for improvement in lheircondition(.Meg. Ta'anit, .xii). Through the intercession of an inlluential matron they suc-

—

Tiberias to the rank of a "colony" probably because it was a Jewish town; and the second was to succession of his son to the throne. assure the He could obtain either but not both of these re(juesls the Senate; and he applied to I{;ibl)i for counfrom Habbi brouu;ht two men into the presence sel. of the messenirer, put a dove in the hand of one of them and bade him mount the back of his fellow. Then he said lo him that supported the other, "^iee that he whom IhnU earliest lets the dove f;o free!" Antoninus understood the intimation; his son. once emperor, woulil have it in his jjower to raise Tiberias to the position of a eolimy (Al). Zarah, H)Ij). A similar answer was relurned to the emperor by Habbi in reply to Ids in(|uirv as to w hat he should do concernini; his unprincipled danf,'htcr, whose name was <!ira. The imiuiry came in the shape; of a plant called (!arf,'ira; that is. "Gar Gira"; Gira hath iroiie astray. Hablii's answer consisted of the plant Kusbarta (meaniiii; "Kus," slay, "brata," the daii{,diter). Anioidiuis replied again by seiuling the plant luirrathe, which word means "my e.xtinc tion" whereupon Hjilibi. apprecialini; the emperor's inwillin.irness to cut olT his posterity, replied by

sendiiif; tlu; plant l.lasa, "

Have mercy

"

(//;.

!/.

The emperor's appreciation of ijabbi took the form of the richest presents, tracts of land (Yer. Sheb. vi. 'Mil), even sacks of gold, the mouths of which were covered with grain in older not to e.xcite the jealousy of the Romans. Habbi did not wish to accept these presents until Antoiunus puintcd out to him that the time woidd come when his posterity would be very glad of the gold in order lo ai)pease the greed of those thatshould be desc-ended from him (Antoninus) ('.li. Zarah, KlA). The earlier legend .sees in Aiitniiinus only the God fearing iion Jew, so well inclined toward Judaism that he erected an altar to the Jewish God, without actually beconnnga Jew (Yer. .Meg. i. ~2'i; thus also probably Midr. Teh. .vxii. 24). The later legend, however, regards him as the type of the true pro.se lyte. pnv 13. and it is allirmed that at the risiirrection he ill arise and be the His AHeged leader of all proselytes) Yer. -Meg. l.r.. Conversion. Lev. H. iii ). The cause of his conver sion is said to have been his inciinry id' Habbi whether he would be entitled to partake of I,Kvi.vrn.N in the future world. Habbi assured him he would be considered worthy, but Antoninus wmdd not believe him, because the law concerning

the paschal lamb (Kx. no uncircumeised one

IM) states distinctly

xii.

shall

became

11

Jew

(Yer. Meg.

that

He Abraham and

partake nf that.

accordingly entered the covenant of I.e.).

ceeded in procuring milder treatment. On the tifteenth (.Vug., 138 or

emperor

I.lrwril, Iv ilin. Iv. 117 •



lUiixiiwirl,

-'l.'«


 * tli.

vll.

Millin. ». v.: Iilcni. In Krrrin I:1HL'U: J>.»l. (.»r/i. ilir hinVri(i. IWll, p, 11 s. Ciw. si'l. In Krscli iiiiiKinilnT, Kiirulil. ixvll. 17 >»«<<;.; Knn'hiniil. Ilc-lliilii;. II. 7i: /.. Kniiikel, .V. /m. p. isr.'; (iriliz, (.«<;i. ;!lr, >iiH: II. llniTiiiiinn. fn Mttiiitzin. xlx. 'CI, :14 whiTi' nil till' If^end.H nf .i)tiiiiiiiu!« itnI'olUrtiHl ; Iliu'lKT, Aa. l>iii. II. 4W.

L. O.

ANTONINUS PIUS Boionius l.—Vi

Arrius

(Titus

AureHus Ful-

Antoninus):

Hi'tiian

Ab the

permitted

mans, and whose interment had been put under severe penalty (

Yer. Ta'anit, iv. ^ 5, Ta'anit, Sin).

9((

Half

a

(.March.

year Kit)

later

or 140) repealed

. toninus the edicts of Hadrian

— which had iirevent-

Curious Pk'ture of Antoninus Plus frctin the .iri(l.-(>eriiuiii "JosipIXJii," FQrth, KtW.

ed the Jews from exercising their religion on the condition that they should not receive proselytes (Meg. Ta'anit. .xii. " Digesta " of .Modestinus, xlviii. S, 11). Moreover, they were forbidden, on penally of death, to enter Jerusalem. Those Jews who had fled to foreign countries in order to escape the persecutions of Hadrian gradually returned to their homes. The intellectual stagnation of the Jewish people came to an end and the disciplesof Akiba founded a new center of Jewish culture at rsha, whither the patriarch Simon b. Gamaliel also reiiaired. It is stated to have been in .Vnloninus' reign that I he Jews were deprived of the right lo have their own courts, which prerogative was by the Pharisees considered essenlial to religion (Yer. Saidi. vii. §2, 24/»). Those that dared to criticize the measures of the emperor were baiushed or put to death (Shall. 3o/'). It is licit surprising, then, that even under. toniuus the .lews attc'inpted to throw otT the Homan yoke ("Seriptores lIisioria> Augusta', .iitoninus Pius,'' eh. v. The strained relations existing between the Parthiansaiid the Romans may have cucoimiged the Jews to revolt and to expect assistance from tin- Parlliians Hut such assislaiiee was not rendered, and the revolt was probably nippcMl in the bud; Jewish sources do not even allude to it. .Sif also .VntoniIN TIIK 'I'.Vl.Ml I); Sl.MoN 11. Y'di.l.M; V.MdS.

—



H

).

MS

Illlll.liiiill.kniv:

'Knh

of l;!!!)

the burial of the Jewish soldiers and mar tyrs who had fallen in battle a.gaiust the Ro-

ani, ai7,

nnii.KKiitAi'iiv

xrxis

Antonia, Princess Antonio, Dio^o

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

667

Hum.

I.

(iriltz,

(Irmli.

il.

.linlnl.

2cl

wl.. Iv. IHI-IHO,

47IMni; VuK-ftsirln uuil Itliwr. <leKli. ilirjinlrii in 111.

L. G.

ANTONIO, DIOOO

A

physic ian who lived in I.isbiiii the lirst half of the sixteenth century. ill Ill l."i:i!l he .siieeeccled Duarlc' de I'll/, as ri^presenlalive of the Portuguese' Manuios at I{ome. charired with the mis-sicui of endeavoring lo prevent, or at lea.st lo postpone, the eslablishment of the Incpiisilion in I'ortiigal. For this purpose certain sums of moiii-y were entrusted to him, but lie iisc'd Ihein for obtaining papal briefs of protection for him.self and