Josephus’ Portrait of the Flavian Triumph in Historical and Literary Context

Students of the Roman triumph usually amputate Josephus’ account (Bell. Iud. 7.121–162) for comparison with others. This has encouraged the view that he gives an official Flavian description of something he may not even have seen. The present chapter argues that reading Josephus’ triumph story as an integral part of his Judaean War produces a different picture. In the War’s periodic structure, the end of the work reprises the beginning. Josephus writes to challenge simplistic accounts, according to which Vespasian and Titus crushed a contemptible Eastern Menace (Bell. Iud. 1.1–8). Writing from a Judaean-elite perspective, Josephus dismantles this view. Pompey took Judaea for Rome more than a century earlier, and Augustus’ friend Herod established Judaea as Rome’s trusted regional broker, a relationship that has endured. Vespasian took over the suppression of conflict in this longstanding province from its legate; it was no foreign conquest. In taking Jerusalem, Titus admitted his dependence on the Judaean God. The Flavian triumph, fons et origo of Judaean humiliation, was a sham. Lacking real Kriegsbeute, the Flavians constructed a spectacle themselves, fabricated make-believe scenes, and were reduced to featuring sacred objects as booty. (Contrast Pompey.) Josephus was not in a position to object, and anyway he understood the need for public dissembling. His portrayal of the triumph was in the vein of ‘safe criticism’, and it became useful for Titus