Josephus
In Our Time: History
05/21/15
•45m
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It is said that, in Britain from the 18th Century, copies of Josephus' works were as widespread and as well read as The Bible. Christians valued "The Antiquities of the Jews" in particular, for the retelling of parts of the Old Testament and apparently corroborating the historical existence of Jesus. Born Joseph son of Matthias, in Jerusalem, in 37AD, he fought the Romans in Galilee in the First Jewish-Roman War. He was captured by Vespasian's troops and became a Roman citizen, later describing the siege and fall of Jerusalem. His actions and writings made him a controversial figure, from his lifetime to the present day.
With
Tessa Rajak
Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, University of Reading
Philip Alexander
Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
And
Martin Goodman
Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Oxford and President of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Previous Episode
The Lancashire Cotton Famine
May 14, 2015
•45m
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Cotton Famine in Lancashire from 1861-65. The Famine followed the blockade of Confederate Southern ports during the American Civil War which stopped the flow of cotton into mills in Britain and Europe. Reports at the time told of starvation, mass unemployment and migration. Abraham Lincoln wrote, "I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working-men of Manchester, and in all Europe, are called to endure in this crisis." While the full cause and extent of the Famine in Lancashire are disputed, the consequences of this and the cotton blockade were far reaching.
With
Lawrence Goldman
Director of the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London
Emma Griffin
Professor of History at the University of East Anglia
And
David Brown
Senior Lecturer in American Studies at University of Manchester
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
Next Episode
Prester John
June 4, 2015
•44m
In the Middle Ages, Prester John was seen as the great hope for Crusaders struggling to hold on to, then regain, Jerusalem. He was thought to rule a lost Christian kingdom somewhere in the East and was ready to attack Muslim opponents with his enormous armies. There was apparent proof of Prester John's existence, in letters purportedly from him and in stories from travelers who claimed they had met, if not him, then people who had news of him. Most pointed to a home in the earthly paradise in the Indies, outside Eden, with fantastical animals and unimaginable riches. Later, Portuguese explorers thought they had found him in Ethiopia, despite the mystified denials of people there. Melvyn Bragg asks why the legend was so strongly believed for so long, and what facts helped sustain the myths.
With
Marianne O'Doherty
Associate Professor in English at the University of Southampton
Martin Palmer
Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture
And
Amanda Power
Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Sheffield.
Producer: Simon Tillotson.
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