The Precedent For The Riots

Philo identifies Gaius' accession as the point when Alexandria's troubles began. The reason the prefect would have refused the Jewish request, had they submitted one, was that two Alexandrian embassies were already in Rome at the time, as documented in P. Yale II 107. The opinion supported in this chapter is that the group opposing the Alexandrians before Gaius was composed of Alexandrian Jews and that the katēgoros was their leading representative. According to Philo, Isidoros voluntarily left Alexandria in the aftermath of the gymnasium protest. As Philo's account and terminology suggest, Flaccus acted Isidoros' protest during the summer eastern delta conventus, which occurred at the peak of the grain transportation season between Alexandria and Puteoli in Italy. As Philo points out, before the riots of the summer of 38 C.E. Alexandria's Jews were katoikoi epitimoi.Keywords: 38 C .E riot; Alexandrian Jew; Flaccus; Gaius' accession; Isidoros; katoikoi epitimoi; P . Yale II 107; Philo