Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Early scholarship
- 2 Literary texts
- 3 Archaeology
- 4 Coins
- 5 Inscriptions
- 6 Ituraeans and identity
- 7 The Ituraeans in history
- 8 Conclusions
- Appendix 1 Two small finds and the Ituraeans
- Appendix 2 Inscriptions relevant to the Roman auxiliary units
- Bibliography
- Index
7 - The Ituraeans in history
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Early scholarship
- 2 Literary texts
- 3 Archaeology
- 4 Coins
- 5 Inscriptions
- 6 Ituraeans and identity
- 7 The Ituraeans in history
- 8 Conclusions
- Appendix 1 Two small finds and the Ituraeans
- Appendix 2 Inscriptions relevant to the Roman auxiliary units
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In the Lebanon mountains the Ituraean Arabs emerged as a political power during the last fifty years of the Seleukids. They were an Arab tribe who began by raiding from the mountains into the Biqaa Valley and towards the west, and then moved into those areas as conquerors.
History, as in the Greek ἱστορία, has the meaning of inquiry, or of knowledge so obtained. It acquires a more nuanced sense when referring to a written narrative, which constitutes a continuous methodical record in order of time, of important or public events especially those connected with a particular country, people or individuals. It is then a matter of inquiry, to seek knowledge, to interpret and record, and then to write without prejudice. Influenced as we are by our own experiences, both past and present, the objectivity required is often difficult to achieve. As suggested in previous chapters, any pursuit in an attempt to construct an unbiased ‘history’ of the Ituraeans is fraught with obstacles, and in fact may never be fully achieved.
The quotation above testifies to a long-accepted view of the Ituraeans, an understanding of their history as interpreted from the written documents. That they emerged as a political power beginning in the mid-first century BCE, that they were an Arab people known mainly for their raiding, and that they conquered the region of the Lebanon/Anti-Lebanon, the Biqa‘ valley and areas to the east and south are commonly held perceptions.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Ituraeans and the Roman Near EastReassessing the Sources, pp. 147 - 168Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010