02x09 - Jewish Rome

[bunniefuu]

What does it all mean?

This is where the archeology has been found.

Hi, how are you?

Look at that.

I need a planter.

A shrine to a bellybutton.

Is this a rock of salt?

Look at that!

No one gets into this place?

Whoa! Don't take me too far.

Now that's naked archeology.

[theme music]

[SIMCHA] Rome.

The heart and foundation of the Christian Church,

home to some of the most magnificent structures

on the planet, and some of the tastiest dishes.

It is a beautiful goddess above ground

and a dark guardian of the most intricate tombs below.

There is no doubt that Rome, in all its splendor,

is distinctly Roman... or is there?

Some say that over two-thousand years ago

many of the influences on Romans,

from the way they built their buildings,

to the ways in which they prayed,

to the food that they ate,

to the ways that they buried and venerated their dead,

all of these were influenced by their sworn enemies...

The Jews.

But that just sounds like the musings

of a proud Jewish grandmother?

Just as the Scottish grandmother believes

that all great things were created by the Celts

or the Greek-grandma can prove that the best inventions,

sports and disciplines have Greek roots.

Can we really uncover evidence

of a Jewish inspired ancient Rome?

Didn't Rome conquer Judea?

How could the customs and religion

of the conquered transform the conquerors?

To answer these questions I need to dig deep

into the Jewish history of Rome.

I'm standing right at the forum.

This was the heart of ancient Rome.

This is the place where the tourists flock

because this was it. This was downtown,

the senate building, all the great structures,

the big business, the power game

was right here, the heart.

[SIMCHA] And it was right here in CE

that the Roman emperor Vespasian decided

to send his many legions into Jerusalem.

The city had been occupied by Rome

for some odd years and now

the Jews had revolted and so Rome sacked the city.

They burgled the many riches from Jerusalem's temple

and knocked it down.

They returned to Rome

with over , Jewish slaves in tow,

and they paraded them right through this forum.

But Roman historian Lea Cline tells me

that it would have been a horrific

and sad parade for many of the onlookers.

Were talking about the defeat of Judea

but meanwhile there were Jews in Rome,

I mean Rome was not just Romans.

There were probably synagogual communities in Rome.

That's a lot.

That's a lot of synogogual communities

but they were named after the emperor

so they took it seriously that they were Roman

and Jewish at the same time.

They went to the baseball games.

Absolutely.

They certainly played Roman and they did everything

that a Roman would do

except for their own particular needs as Jews

and their own religious traditions.

There were at least Jews

in Rome in the first century CE.

Not counting slaves.

Not counting slaves.

Roman citizens who were Jewish.

That's a lot of citizens.

Which means that they certainly had a voice in Rome

[SIMCHA] They had a voice

and now with the influx of slaves...

, more hands... albeit sl*ve hands.

And it's what those hands did that you might find surprising.

Within a stone's throw of the Forum

is the greatest monument of the Roman Empire.

The Coliseum!

And while it has stood for almost years

as an example of brilliant Roman engineering

and architecture, historian Alan Epstein tells me,

thousands of its builders have never been truly recognized.

The Coliseum begins to be built

immediately after the conquest of the Jews in AD.

In conquering the Jews, the Romans are conquering

a people who's obviously much older than they are.

The Romans as a people could only

for the past several hundred years before those conquests

they could till the soil and they could fight.

They were farmers and they were warriors.

There wasn't much else.

When they begin to conquer the other peoples

in the Mediterranean now they're elevating their culture

because they're conquering people

who have older traditions.

Now obviously Jews have been masons

for thousands of years going back to Jerusalem,

to BC and what you get is the intelligence

of building together with the Roman genius

because remember they are great builders.

They are fabulous engineers.

And so together the Romans and the Jewish slaves

who were brought back as teachers

for building build this amazing amphitheatre

that of course is the largest amphitheatre in the Roman world.

[SIMCHA] Slaves, but master builders ...

there are probably countless buttresses and joints

in this megalithic amphitheatre that are crafted

and inspired by Jewish master masons.

Still standing after two millennia,

that's some nice work.

But when the job was done the demand for slaves slumped.

Because of huge supply,

the bottom dropped out of the sl*ve market in Rome.

Slaves once worth a few large aureus

were now sold for a few dupondii-

that's going from gold to bronze for you Barbarians out there.

It was a good thing for the Jewish slaves though,

because it meant that many of them

were able to buy back their freedom.

And you might be surprised that after that

most of them didn't leave Rome. Why?

[SIMCHA] It's around CE in Rome,

years after the legions sacked Jerusalem

and brought home thousands of Jewish slaves

to build things like the Coliseum.

Many slaves have bought their own freedom

but they're not going back to Judea.

After tossing their Roman captors

they find themselves injected into a Jewish community

so well established that it offers

a welcome home away from home.

Flash forward years

to the long-standing Jewish area in Rome.

And I get the details from Alan Epstein.

Remember that this was a city for the most part

where Jews were not particularly mistreated

throughout the centuries.

One of the reasons of course is because

there had been such an old Jewish community.

This is the longest continuous Jewish community

in the world since at least BC.

That's the first documented presence of Jews.

So at least years and no other city

can claim this continuous presence of Jews

that Rome has.

[SIMCHA] The first Jews came here voluntarily

long before the Roman conquest of Judea,

they came in BCE, during the Maccabean era.

The Book of Maccabees tells us

that they came as envoys to negotiate protection

from the invading Syrians.

The Romans were happy to oblige

and lend their brawn to help Judea maintain its independence.

Many of these Jews stayed in Rome

and organized a Jewish community.

The reason why they come here

is because Rome has become the masters of the universe.

They've conquered the western Mediterranean.

They're now going toward the eastern Mediterranean and so-

This was where the action was.

Where the action is.

It makes sense to send a delegation

of ambassadors and merchants

and begin to open up trade with these people

who are now obviously going to rule the roost here.

[SIMCHA] And with the establishment

of such a strong Jewish community in Rome

came all of the cross-cultural influences

that you would expect.

From restaurants to synagogues,

from food all the way to religion.

But before we taste the transitions in theology

lets sample the conversions of cuisine.

There is a particularly tasty dish

that has been on the Roman menu for over two millennia.

Jewish artichokes.

Jewish artichokes, right.

You know, these artichokes are pressed between bricks

and fried and of course, you know, fried food

and, and very, very well baked food

has always been part of the Jewish tradition

in order to stave off health hazards.

High cholesterol is a Jewish thing.

Is a Jewish trait, right.

These artichokes have been made this way

for thousands of years and they taste yummy still!

Bon appetite.

[SIMCHA] And it wasn't just tasty Jewish food recipes

that tantalized Romans' tongues in st and nd Century Rome.

There were some Jewish recipes for the soul

that caught the Roman appetite.

This was a time when Rome was in great religious transition.

It would take less than years

after Rome sacked Jerusalem,

for the Roman Empire to switch from a pagan,

multi-god religion to the single-god Christianity.

And who was responsible for giving birth to that?

Let's face it. All the original popes were Jews

because Peter was a Jew

and all of the original apostles and disciples.

These were Jews who said that Jesus was in fact the messiah.

And so at the beginning there was no real separation

between Christians and Jews.

It was only after the famous Saint Paul,

he was the one who set out all of the first rules

and the first principles of Christianity

and the thing that he said that has great significance

is he said you don't have to limit this to Jews.

Of course it is the fulfillment of Judaism

but that's really secondary to the idea

that all the world should hear the good news.

Convert the gentiles he said. Convert everyone.

It's now something tha is open to the whole world

and that universal religion spills out

all through the Roman Empire.

[SIMCHA] So... the Jewish inspired Jesus-following,

Jews who believed Jesus was the Messiah

gives birth to Christianity.

Paul makes it extremely palatable for gentiles

and Christianity becomes a tasty dish for many Roman souls.

AND before the very hard and fast lines were drawn

between Roman Pagan, Roman Christian

and Roman Jew,

there seems to be a significant absorption

of an entirely Jewish ritual.

Suddenly the majority of people in Rome

begin to change the ways they bury their dead.

[SIMCHA] By the beginning of the th Century,

Christianity had taken hold of Rome.

The "good word" hatched in Jerusalem

and handed off by the Apostles Peter and Paul,

is now the "official word" and religion of the Roman Empire.

Its roots, as we now know, can be traced to Jewish origin.

And although the Romans at the time

might not have cared to admit it, the roots and influences

of their on-and-off-again enemy, the Jews,

could be found deep under Roman soil.

This is the entrance to a wine cellar

for an upscale restaurant in Rome.

But it was once a columbarium:

a vault built to contain the ashes of the Roman dead.

And its here, that I meet with historian Mino Carbone

to learn more about the evolution

of Roman burial practice.

We're in the wine cellar in Rome which used to be a tomb.

It's what Romans used before the Common Era,

before Christianity.

So this is before they started inhumation.

Before they started burying the bodies

they cremated them. They brought it here.

They put just the urns in some particular niches.

The urns, like that niche over there?

Very good.

An original urn in the niche?

In the niche over there.

Have a look just here.

This niche, this is a very perfect columbaria intact.

We can see the niche and then we can see inside

two holes in which they left just the urn.

Then at the end they added on the top

just marble stone with the name written on the marble.

Looking at this rock which is closing an original niche

and behind this rock

there's still probably an urn with ashes.

But then they started putting it in the catacombs,

entire bodies.

In the catacombs, very good.

Rome according to the of the geology of the country

is very suitable to create these kind of locules,

just a place where people can get buried without any coffin.

The tufa stone is very soft.

It was very easy to go underground to create

a line of tombs to leave the body there

and wait for the resurrection.

In my personal opinion started from the Jewish,

the first Jewish that came to live in Rome so now.

So the Jews and Christians and maybe Judeo-Christians?

Maybe Judeo-Christians together

because it was a mixture, a merging between the Jew,

Judea tradition to the Christian ones

and they start to create this kind of cementarium

which means a place to sleep so they left the body

to lie down until the resurrection.

[SIMCHA] Back in Jerusalem,

for the entire first century, the archaeology shows

that Jews buried their dead in a unique way.

They would first lay the body in a rock-hewn tomb,

on a carved out shelf called an arcosolia.

After a year the bones were gathered

and put inside a small stone coffin called an ossuary.

The ossuary was then placed in a carved out niche

inside the tomb.

Could this Jewish tradition have moved to Rome

and influenced the early Christian burial practices?

The archaeology shows that around the nd century

the Romans switched from columbaria to catacombs

no longer cremating, but leaving the body intact

on a carved out rock shelf.

So it was a transition from tombs for ashes to tombs for bodies.

Yes just a kind of continuity.

And you, you think it has, the transition in style

of burial has something to do with the idea of resurrection.

I'm quite sure that this tradition started

because they wanted to commemorate

the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm quite sure of this.

And right now you say there's really good wine here.

Yes, the temperature is perfect.

[speaks Italian]

Did you know the secret of a good wine is when you-

Is a good tomb. -Is a good tomb.

It gives it a good body.

C'mon Simcha!

[SIMCHA] Mino and Franco were

distracting me with wine.

But I managed to move from grapes back to graves.

If the Romans switched from cremation to inhumation

because of a Jewish influence

where is the archaeological evidence in Rome?

The answer lies below suburbia,

underneath the summer residence

of one of the most infamous fascist dictators.

[SIMCHA] For thousands of years

Rome has hidden a massive matrix of Christian catacombs

under its surface.

But it wasn't until

that some of the oldest catacombs were discovered

underneath the summer residence

of none other than the fascist front-man, Mussolini.

Over burial niches were found

carved into long tunnels below the dictator's tennis courts.

And what was most interesting was the artwork

and inscriptions on the catacomb walls.

They showed that these tombs were not Christian.

Catacomb chaperone, Micaela Vitale

guides me through the maze.

We can only stay down here for minutes at a time

because of the high levels of CO and Radon gas.

How old is this?

From the end of the st century Common Era.

Common Era... a body used to be put here.

Yes.

There's a skull here. This is incredible.

It's in perfect shape.

This is called a Cobicola.

Cobicola, Arcosolia with the arch.

They closed it up? -Yes.

So the bones were not exposed in ancient times.

No, no absolutely not.

And these are still sealed here down here?

Yes.

This is actually the way they all would have been right?

Right.

See this is very clear here.

[SIMCHA] Tomb raiders have broken

most of the seals that covered these graves,

but at one time the names of the dead

were inscribed on brick and plaster.

Very few of the inscriptions

have survived but their origin cannot be mistaken.

So what does it say here? Do you know?

Yes this is 'Insadicada' it's the formula for 'here lies.'

Here lies.

Yuda, no Judah, this is Judah.

So it is a Jewish name, a Hebrew name.

[SIMCHA] Micaela shows me more inscriptions

and more Jewish names.

The evidence strongly suggests that

these year old catacombs are entirely Jewish.

And then Micaela shows me the treasure gem!

Wow.

This is an arcosolia. This is the temple.

The temple? Oh! Wow!

This is breath taking! Oh my goodness!

Menorah with the lights burning.

Next to it is you have temple oil like in Hanukkah right,

you have the temple oil it will be needed again.

Next to it you have the temple

with the torah scrolls in the centre.

And we have the sun, the star and the moon.

The star, that's the star of the Messiah,

referencing the line in the Bible:

star will come out of Judah referring to the Messiah.

So this is belief in the rebuilding of the Temple.

Yes.

Belief in end of days.

Belief in resurrection. Belief in the Messiah

Belief in... -In everything.

In everything! WOW!

It's all encoded in this stuff. It's incredible.

[SIMCHA] This arcosolia, decorated with some

of the most important symbols of the Jewish faith,

proves without a doubt that these catacombs,

the oldest found in Rome, are Jewish.

It's powerful evidence that the burial rituals

were brought from Jerusalem to Rome.

Do you think this is related to secondary burial

you find in Jerusalem?

I don't know but I think so.

It looks like the tombs you find in Jerusalem.

Yes it's true.

But here the stone is softer and we have no ossuaries.

[SIMCHA] But the absence of ossuaries

could simply suggest a burial ritual that was changing.

And there seems to be evidence here

of the something else as well.

Some of the symbols on these walls

just might show the arrival of Judeo Christianity to Rome.

Oh look at that! Christian, my friend!

No, no, no absolutely not.

Why not?

Because it's of the fabric of...

What are you talking about? This is a fish.

No please. It's not a fish.

It's a mark with the finger. They made a sign

to count every brick that go out from the factory.

So it's a mark made by the people

who were fabricating this brick.

Yes.

How do you know that?

Because all of the Roman bricks have this kind of sign.

This sign. This sign like...

This signs.

Many of this kind or round signs.

Just to keep count.

Just to keep count yes.

It sure looks like a fish.

[SIMCHA] Micaela doesn't see early Christian symbols

in these Jewish catacombs, but I see them everywhere!

This is a dolphin, not a Jewish symbol

but around the trident.

This is clearly the tail of a dolphin

with three prongs in the tail.

This is very interesting because the dolphin...

Is not a Jewish symbol.

It's a symbol of what?

Of the passage to the other world.

To the other world. -Yes.

So basically in Pagan symbolism, the dolphin,

just like the dolphin accompanies ships...

They accompany the ships.

They accompany the spirits to the other world.

Could be. Yes.

The trident represents Neptune.

Sure.

The trident together with the dolphin...

you could say that it's a Judeo-Christian symbol.

I'm sorry to say that because the Trident could be

the trinity and the dolphin represents resurrection.

It's taken over from Pagan symbolism.

But it's not for Jews.

Well if it's Jews who might have believed

in Jesus as Messiah.

Well you have to agree that the dolphin

and the trident is not a typical Jewish symbol.

No I don't think so.

So there's a mystery?

Sure yes. You can say yes.

[SIMCHA] The mysteries of who influenced

who and where exactly the sources of tradition

can be traced will forever plague the archaeologist.

We may never know if these ancient catacombs

actually contain the remains

of the Jewish men and women, and later Jewish-Christians,

who provided the theological stepping stones

that led to Roman Christianity.

But I think we've uncovered enough possibilities

in the tombs, the religions, the food, and the

buildings of Rome to say with confidence