After we have penetrated deeply into the economic activity in the Roman Land of Israel in the ancient era and touched on diverse topics such as agriculture, crafts, pasturing, shipping, professional associations and more, it would be appropriate to examine the Jewish economic activity in the commercial field and here in the context of the wide spread of the Jewish communities in the provinces and in general in the Roman Empire in relation to the fabric The international and local ways, and this is to examine what is between this deployment and the Jewish involvement in the fields of local commerce on the one hand and the imperial one on the other
Limes and sides
The "Lims" - the line of fortifications - the "Paleistini" was the line that stretched from Rafah to the southern Dead Sea in a sort of parabola image, and on which large and small fortresses and fortresses were installed at fixed intervals from each other. The fortified line was built in 106 AD after the annexation of the Nabataean Kingdom to the Roman Empire, and besides its military importance, it was also known for its economic value. For example, in the Trachon region, the Jewish archers of Zamaris (Zamri) settled who were invited from Babylon and assumed leading strategic and tactical roles, in particular protecting the arterial trade routes in the East. These entered, as a result of their role and success, an advanced phase of Romanization. One of the centers of the aforementioned unit was Neve, which began to be inhabited by Jews from the second half of the second century AD onwards.
Even the same "persecutors" Jews, some with property and some with arms - "these are the detectives who are citrus with the kingdoms" (Talmud Babyloni Sanhedrin Tzg p. XNUMX; Talmud Yerushalmi, Taniyat chapter XNUMX Sah p. XNUMX and Seferi Deuteronomy, XNUMX), Those who lived in the Negev and Tzoer (the city of dates) in Roman "optimo iure" (absolute ownership) - perhaps even as commanders of forts and on the sides of Lims, belong to the scope of the discussed chapter.
All those forts and fortresses served as defense and security measures in general that ensured the passage of rare and expensive products produced in the area such as persimmons, salt, copper, copper and more, and their effective marketing in Israel and abroad. A similar role was played by the same network of fortresses in all parts of the province of Judaea to which the issue of the "Burgunin" / "Burgesin" is connected, watchtowers for securing the borders and guarding the roads, as well as customs stations.
In this context, it is difficult to ignore the testimony about the Jew who played an important security or economic-military role - "Cantinarius" in the Roman military camp of Jaffa, as well as the testimony about the Jews who inhabited "Burgunin" spread out along the roads of the province of Judaea. Some defended the Jewish villages in the "south" - from Ein Gedi to Gerer against desert invaders. The Tosefta quoted from Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yossi, and Rabbi Yehuda the Hanasi testifies to "Beit Sha'ar and the air of the court, the burganin and the bordanin and the hut and the sukkot and the moshikoth and the tent" (Arubin 9:XNUMX).
Road and highway network
There is no need to stand and clarify how great the importance of the roads is for the development of both domestic and international trade, such as the Tosefta instructing us to have shops on the sides of the roads, when these connected different cities and we know that no important Roman military center was left without some kind of road that would connect it to other centers.
Knowing about the extent of the large urbanization and the presence of many Roman military units in the country near the rebellion of Ben Khosva and from there onwards, as well as the extent of the development of industry and crafts and agricultural products in the country during this period, we should not be surprised in view of the numerous evidences regarding the presence and occupation of many roads in the country at this time.
Here are the most important ones: the network of roads around Jerusalem and around the Sixth Legion camp "Barzli" in Otani (Lajon-Legio); Between Damascus and Gedar, between Basra and Gersh, between Acre and Beit Shean, between Beit Gobrin and Lod, between Antipatris and Caesarea, between Ashkelon and Beit Gobrin, between Beit Shean and Jericho and more.
Also, the appearance of Greek and Latin terms in Sage sources, mainly from the second half of the second century CE onwards, such as "strategia", "palatia" and more, may confirm the above archaeological and epigraphic findings.
International roads and Jewish merchants
In terms of its geographical-commercial location, the Land of Israel was located in an area that served as an important station and a major intersection of the trade routes that stretched between the countries of East Asia and between the regions of the Western Roman Empire.
Towards the end of the second century CE, the branching of the road network in the Roman Empire was completed for strategic and tactical purposes on the one hand and economic on the other, along with the formation of new centers for the extraction and production of raw materials. New roads and trade routes were discovered in Northern Europe, in the Far East, across the Indian Ocean and more, and along which Jewish merchants moved, among others, as we learned for example from the Babylonian Talmud: "Said Rabbi Yehuda, said Rabbi - from Tire to Carthage (Carthage, Karta-Hadhta) they know Israel and their Father in heaven" (Menachot Ki p. XNUMX). Beyond this exaggeration and up to the inclusiveness of the source, it can be linked with the Jewish lines of trade for any mention of the two aforementioned ancient cities as international commercial centers.
Next to the "travel routes" we find that most of the foreign trade of the Roman Empire moved to the east and even most of the imports came from there, mainly from India and China. This commercial movement passed through two routes: by land - through China, Turkestan, Persia, Babylon and Syria, and by sea - India, the Red Sea and Egypt. Each of these two paths had a side branch that crossed the Land of Israel and became, under known circumstances, a main road. Thus we witness the existence of the following roads: from Egypt to the north, from Gaza parallel to the coast, in the Jordan Valley to Petra and to Gaza, from Acre to Beit Shan, to Gersh, to Basra, to Tammor and Seleucia, from Zion Gebr to Gaza, from Petra to Philadelphia (Rabat Bnei Ammon), to Gersh, to Basra, from the ports of Judah and Syria through Cyprus to the shores of Asia Minor and from there to Rome and more.
Jewish communities were scattered along the international trade routes that helped the Jewish merchants in their business and made their trading life easier. And so the following midrash teaches us: "Rabbi Tanhuma said: There was an incident in one ship that was entirely owned by Gentiles, and there was one Jew on board. They came to one miracle, they said to that certain Jew: Take off your clothes and go up to this miracle and take from there a nation for us. He said to them: I do not know an innkeeper, but where shall I go? They said: There is a Jewish innkeeper wherever you go, your God is with you" (Deuteronomy Rabbah, 10:XNUMX). From this section, although there is a degree of navigation, it is possible to learn about the Jewish inns that served Jewish merchants and passers-by in general.
The distribution of many Jewish communities along the length of the Mediterranean was known, such as: Egypt, Syria, Babylon (Persia), Asia Minor (today's Turkey), Crete, Cyprus, Greece, Kyrenia, Italy, Malta, Gallia and more. These arose over the years for various reasons such as deportation and diverse demographic dispersion, including the existence of trading stations.
In light of the multitude of Sage testimonies, and literary, archaeological and epigraphic sources (inscriptions) such as Hebrew-Israeli names in Greek and Roman cities, it is possible to learn about interesting trade relations between the Land of Israel and various cities in the Mediterranean region such as Tarsus, Cappadocia, Selinus, Korikos, Tida, Lymyra and more. The fact of the presence of Hebrew/Land of Israel names in Asia Minor will be particularly noted, indicating, as with other places, trade relations with the Land of Israel.
The fact of the impressive archaeological findings on the large and rich synagogue in Sardis in Asia Minor and its annexes and buildings will also be noted. Its size indicates a rich and prosperous Jewish community in the first half of the third century CE, and we will also learn about interesting commercial connections of the local Jews.
As mentioned, during the periods under discussion, in the light of Sage testimonies, epigraphical and archaeological evidence, we will learn about the founding of new Jewish communities and the thickening of the existing ones and their establishment, mainly in the international centers of industry and trade, the tightening of the ties between them and the Land of Israel, including repeated visits by the sages of the Sanhedrin between the Diaspora and the center of the Land of Israel, Such as the "towel of the sages" phenomenon of collecting donations from Diaspora Jews for the benefit of the Sanhedrin Center of Israel. And on the other hand, in the very same area, we find communities of Jews from the diaspora or foreigners in the Land of Israel, such as the "Antiochians in Lod" during the presidency of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamaliel, and Lod was an important economic center for the ceramics and dyeing industry. There is also evidence of merchants who were buried in Beit Shaarim, as well as sages, such as Rabbi Shimon, who praise the "Prakmatiya" business in the Diaspora. And in addition, the "Kenishta" (synagogue) of Babylonian Jews in Zipori and Tiberias is advertised.
Rabbi Haya the Great, who immigrated from Babylon to the Land of Israel, probably with the encouragement of the House of the President, and spent a lot of time in the presence of Rabbi Yehuda the Hanasi, was engaged among other things in the cultivation of linen, until it was said about him, albeit with somewhat accepted exaggeration: , and they gave their eyes thanks to Rabbi Haya HaGadol and his sons" (Yerushalmi Talmud from Asher Shani XNUMX:XNUMX). The same Rabbi Haya together with Rabbi Shimon (son of the president Rabbi Yehuda) were busy in silk weaving in the city of Tyre.
In Tammur, also known as Palmyra, which played the role of a commercial power and an important brokering station, was awarded a fine status as having a wide autonomy during the Syrian Empire, and whose merchant guild was very active in trade and on the international routes towards the Red Sea and even to India, the following testimonies have a different meaning, such as: Jews taking part in The "slice" of international trade; Affluent Jews of Tammor origin are buried in the large and somewhat prestigious grave estate in Beit Sha'arim; Hebrew-Land of Israel names come from the middle found in Tammor; Candles found in the Land of Israel with decorations and shapes similar to those in Tammor, as well as evidence embedded in the Sage's literature regarding the residents of Tammor... all of this may be clarified against the background of trade relations between the two areas in question.
In Israel, "Hanan the Egyptian" became known, from the students of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Alexandri, both distinguished sages who stayed in Egypt and maintained close ties with the Center of the Land of Israel. And it is interesting to emphasize the fact that despite the heavy disaster that befell the Jewish community in Alexandria following the Diaspora revolt during the reign of Emperor Trianus, it recovered, although it did not return to the dimensions that preceded the aforementioned revolt (117-114 AD). Merchants from Egypt were found buried in Jaffa, such as Justus the merchant of the Beloi, as well as a Jew from Pravetis who was buried near Yavne. Ono's Synagogue and "bulbatia" (council) redeemed an Egyptian slave and her children. All of these are dwarfed by Rabbi Yehuda's testimony about the Jewish synagogue in Alexandria and its appearance "like a basilisk" (Basilika), in which the Jewish craftsmen and merchants settled, probably in fixed places, according to their profession, such as goldsmiths and goldsmiths. This testimony serves to strengthen the assumption regarding the connection between this community and the Land of Israel Center.
Regarding Rome, circumstantial and Talmudic evidence was found about the local community's ties with the Land of Israel. Moreover, of the inscriptions in the catacombs of the Jews of Rome, seven inscriptions of Jews outside Rome were mentioned, of which four were from the Land of Israel (from Caesarea and Tzipori). Also known were the merchants of the city of Tiberias who stayed in Rome and established a hostel and a commercial office there, perhaps in connection with the glass products that Tiberias was blessed with.
There was no lack of evidence of commercial ties to various regions in Asia Minor, which were frequented by the Sanhedrin sages from Eretz Israel, and especially in Cappadocia. And in the Talmud it is told about "Cappadocians Deciphorin" (we were people of Cappadocia in the Galilean city of Tzipori). Also found in Jaffa, an important port city, were Jewish graves from Tarsus, among them a textile merchant. At the famous burial site at Beit Shaarim, quite a few Jews from the regions of Asia Minor and various places such as Korikos, Limeira, Cilicia, Chios and more were buried. Sage literature tells about Cappadocian coins in the Land of Israel and about Rabbi Yodan Cappadocia and Rabbi Shmuel "Cappadocian".
We will not bore the reader further except that we will present a reminder of Talmudic evidence from here and archaeological and epigraphic evidence from here about Jewish merchants in Spain, in Greece in general such as in Illyria, Thessaly and Delphi, Arabia (Yemen-Himyar), in Africa, Carthage, Kyrenia and more.
In summary: Jewish merchants from the Land of Israel maintained trade relations, some branches, with the Mediterranean regions, including with Jewish communities in the Diaspora. This phenomenon coincided well with the development of international trade initiated by the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire encouraged urbanization, invested in a network of roads and roads, protected commercial activities, nurtured the middle class and the affluent, and more.
For all episodes of the series "Economy of the Land of Israel"
