Chapter Seven. Agrippa In Alexandria

The situation in Alexandria became critical with the arrival of King Agrippa I. Tiberius incarcerated Agrippa in 36 C.E. on the pretext of offense to his imperial persona. Gaius needed someone to deliver his mandata to Flaccus and Agrippa, who was in Rome and about to head home, filled Gaius' need. After an ad interim period, Agrippa delivered Gaius' mandata, formalizing Flaccus' new imperium. It has been surmised that Isidoros was the gymnasiarch of Alexandria in the summer of 38 C.E. and that he had orchestrated the riots in that capacity. Philo's derogatory language presents the honors to Flaccus as a prize and should be understood in the context of the alleged alliance between Flaccus and the leaders of the city's anti-Jewish faction. It is Gaius' decretum and its consequences that the Jews asked the emperor to reconsider by giving Agrippa a supplication, a document through which provincials addressed emperors.Keywords: Alexandrian Jew; Flaccus; Gaius' decretum; Gaius' mandata; gymnasiarch Isidoros; King Agrippa I; Philo; riot of 38 C.E; Tiberius