Herod and Augustus: Papers Presented at the IJS Conference, 21st-23rd June 2005

This volume brings together nineteen studies by foremost experts in the period of Herod and Augustus, and highlights recent progress in elucidating the phenomenon of Herod the Great in the context of the Roman imperial order inaugurated by Augustus. They illuminate Herod’s pre-eminent role in the Augustan client network and his remarkable energies, expressed in an extensive building programme which has left substantial remains. The literary records of Herod’s life and times, primarily by Josephus, are critically examined here in relation to the documentary and archaeological evidence.

David Jacobson (Ph.D. London University) is both a scholar of classical archaeology and a materials technologist, holding a Chair in Manufacturing Technology at Buckinghamshire New University. He has served on the Executive of the Palestine Exploration Fund for over a decade and chairs its Publications Committee. He has published widely on Herodian history, architecture and numismatics, most recently a monograph on The Hellenistic Paintings of Marisa (2007).

Nikos Kokkinos (D.Phil. Oxford University) is a Wingate Scholar and Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London. He has written numerous articles on literary, documentary and archaeological material, and his books include The Enigma of Jesus the Galilean (Greek, 1980/2007), Antonia Augusta (1992/2002), The Herodian Dynasty (1998), and The World of the Herods (editor 2007).