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History |
| Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundas, also known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman official, cavalry officer, advisor, and author of the 37 volume Natural History encyclopedia, which was written to "set forth in detail all the contents of the entire world," and in which he mentions the Decapolis, and Abila specifically (see below). Pliny was born in Como, Italy in AD 23. Pliny the Younger, his nephew, carried on his legacy by writing a series of letters about early Christians in ancient Rome. Pliny's letters provide one of the first accounts of a non-biblical witness to early Christianity. Pliny was descended from a prosperous family, and he was enabled to complete his studies in Rome. At the age of 23, he began a military career by serving in Germany, rising to the rank of cavalry commander. He returned to Rome, where he possibly studied law. Until the end of Nero's reign Pliny lived in semi-retirement, studying and writing. Upon the accession in AD 69 of Vespasian he returned to Rome and assumed various official positions. Of his writings only the Natural History is extant. There survive, however, a few fragments of his earlier writings on grammar, a biography of Pomponius Secundus, a history of Rome, a study of the Roman campaigns in Germany, and a book on hurling the lance. Natural History The Natural History, divided into 37 books, was completed in AD 77. In the preface, dedicated to Titus (who became emperor shortly before Pliny's death), Pliny justified the title as the study of "the nature of things, that is, life". Pliny adopted a plain style as best suited to his purpose. A novel feature of the Natural History is the care taken by Pliny in naming his sources, more than 100 of which are mentioned. The Natural History is devoted to a great variety of subjects, such as cosmology, astronomy, geography, medicine, zoology, botany, agriculture, etc. His description of an ox-driven grain harvester in Gaul, long regarded by scholars as imaginary, was confirmed by the discovery in southern Belgium in 1958 of a 2nd-century stone relief depicting such an implement. By recording the Latin synonyms of Greek plant names, he made most of the plants mentioned in earlier Greek writings identifiable. With the decline of the ancient world and the loss of the Greek texts on which Pliny had so heavily depended, the Natural History became a substitute for a general education. In the European Middle Ages many of the larger monastic libraries possessed copies of the work; these and many abridged versions ensured Pliny's place in European literature. Pliny's Death: Mt. Vesuvius Pliny's last assignment was that of commander of the fleet in the Bay of Naples. Learning of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius Pliny went ashore to ascertain the cause and to reassure the terrified citizens. He was overcome by the fumes resulting from the volcanic activity and died on August 24, 79. Mention of Abila and Decapolis (Natural History: 5, 16, 74) "Adjacent (to Judea) on the Syran side is the region of the Decapolis, so-called by virtue of the number of cities in it. Not all persons give the same cities in their lists, but most of them include Damascus, with its fertile land irrigated by the Chryorrhoe, Philadelphia, Raphana--all of which lie inside of Arabia--Scythopolis (previously Nysa, named for Father Liber's nurse who is buried there), settled by the Scythians, Gadara, beside which flows the Yarmuk, the aforementioned Hippos, Dion, Pella rich in water, Galasa and Canatha. Between and around these cities are the tetrarchies, each of them like a kingdom, and indeed they comprise kingdoms: Trachonitis, Panias (in which is Caesarea, with the aforesaid spring), Abila, Arca, Ampeloessa and Gabe." |
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