Tiberius Julius Alexander

Daniel M Friedenberg

Prometheus Books 2010

This book gives a rather unusual look at the peak of Roman power in the eastern Mediterranean. Tiberius Julius Alexander was an Egyptian Jew living in Alexandria, at that time the most exciting place to be outside Rome itself. His father was of great service to the Romans and was awarded the right to add Julius to the family names, a great honour. He may have been a customs official of some sort but in the book he is described as a very successful trader.

Young Tiberius is a more academic type. He is interested in the mix of religions in the area and has reached the conclusion that there is no one religion, that they all draw from each other and from previous cults and religions. He is at odds with his father and his uncle over this. They are dedicated Jews and believe in one God, not the pantheon of Gods worshiped by the Greeks in the city and by the Romans. They believe that the Torah is the literal word of Yahweh and the commentaries are written under his divine inspiration. Tiberius has difficulties with this simplistic explanation since his researches clearly show that stories in the Torah are derived from many earlier sources.

Religious tension in the city is growing between the Greeks and the Jews and there may be a revolt brewing in neighbouring Judea. To avoid the unpleasantness Tiberius’ father ships him off to Rome where he meets people of influence and power. Tiberius’ skill with languages makes him valuable to the Romans and he gradually rises in power, taking a major role in the re-invasion of Britain under the Emperor Claudius. To achieve such power he has had to swear allegiance to the deified Roman Emperors like Caligula and Nero and this has completely severed his relations with his family. They believe there is only one God so to swear allegiance to a Roman Emperor turned God is apostasy.

This allows him more freedom in his successive jobs, now he is free of the trappings and beliefs of religion. Although he continues to study the region’s religions with interest it is more as an outside observer than as a believer. He rises up the Roman bureaucracy, becoming in time Procurator of Egypt and then second in command of the Roman legions trying to squash the Jewish revolt. In his middle age, though, something happens that forces him to reexamine his lack of belief.

It is hard to resist comparing the book to Robert Graves’ I Claudius but it is a much wider view of Roman history, not just an inward looking view of the ruling classes. As such it puts much of the Roman history and people of the period into a personal context as seen by Tiberius. The constant religious friction is plausible and the irrationality of the Jewish zealots comes across as quite believable. Friedenberg has researched the history and background thoroughly and produced a good story of Roman history as well as a first class novel.

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