Racial Conflict in Caesarea

Josephus describes the conflict between the Jews and the Greeks of Caesarea over the cultural character of the city as a “contributory cause of the war.” As tensions grew, the situation devolved into daily violent skirmishes among “hotheads on either side.” Not only were the Roman authorities ineffective in subduing this unrest, but they also took advantage of the opportunity it presented to further extract wealth from the local population. As the conflict remained unresolved, the Roman procurator Felix sent representatives of both sides to Rome to argue their cases before Nero. Josephus recounts the continuation of this episode in The Jewish War 2.284–296 (see “The First Flames of War”).