Circumcision in the Year 85 CE
Circumcision in the year 85 CE
Roman historian Suetonius commented in his work "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars", how Domitian, Titus' brother, levied heavy taxes on the Jews. Jews were identified by their circumcision, one of the main commandments incumbent on Jewish men by Jewish Law.
Suetonius writes:
Besides other taxes, that on the Jews was levied with the utmost vigor, and those were prosecuted who without publicly acknowledging that faith yet lived as Jews, as well as those who concealed their origin and did not pay the tribute levied upon their people. I recall being present in my youth when the person of a man ninety years old was examined before the procurator and a very crowded court, to see whether he was circumcised.
Overview
C. Suetonius Tranquillus, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, “The Life of Domitian,” Chapter 12, 121 CE:
Besides other taxes, that on the Jews was levied with the utmost vigour, and those were prosecuted who without publicly acknowledging that faith yet lived as Jews, as well as those who concealed their origin and did not pay the tribute levied upon their people. I recall being present in my youth when the person of a man ninety years old was examined before the procurator and a very crowded court, to see whether he was circumcised.
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