Late Judaean (II/51)

Author: Mick Hession

Synopsis: Permit Late Judaean armies to have fortified camps

Proposal:

Insert new line before "Roman allies - List: Marian Roman (Bk 2) or Early Imperial Roman (Bk 2)":

Palisade and ditch for camp - TF @ 1AP 0-12

Justification:

See Josephus, Jewish Antiquities XV:108

"But afterward there were gotten together another numerous army of the Arabians, at Cana, which is a place of Celesyria. Herod was informed of this beforehand; so he came marching against them with the greatest part of the forces he had; and when he was come near to Cana, he resolved to encamp himself; and he cast up a bulwark, that he might take a proper season for attacking the enemy."

(The Greek word translated "bulwark" is charax, "palisade")

Apart from the textual evidence it is reasonable for Judaean armies of the period to have fortified camps, which was normal Roman/Hellenistic practice - see Hellenistic fortified camps. Also, such fortifications are permitted to the earlier Hasmonean Jewish list. The number of TF proposed is the de facto DBM standard for fortified camps.

Author Jim Webster

Proposal

Only from 40BC to 38BC

Parthian Allies - List Parthian (Bk 2) 0 to 8

Justification

Now looking at Josephus book Fourteen 333 "Parcous sent a troop of horsemen

into Judea, to take a view of the state of the country and to assist

Anigonus"

During the street fighting that racked Jerusalem, during which "many ten

thousands of the people were gathered together about the temple, some in

armour and some without" (I would guess that for 'in armour' you could read

'with arms') "yet was Parcous, the General of the Parthains, at the desire

of Antigounus, admitted into the city with a few of his horsemen, under the

pretence indeed as if he would still the sedition"

Finally when Phasaelus, brother of Herod, and Hyrcanus were escorted as an

embassy to meet the Parthian upper echelons, "But Pacorus left with Herod

200 horsemen, and ten men who were called the freemen, and conducted the

others on their journey"

Now the numbers quoted have been a bit vague, but I would suggest that the number of Parthians in the Jewish list should be restricted to some sort of limit, as

the numbers that can be currently used seem disproportionate.