From: seraphimsigrist	Date: November 19th, 2003 07:16 pm (UTC)		(Link)
	masada and pease porridge etc

The account of Masada is a must read too...
an actually decent epic movie was made from
that siege.
thinking of our nice, or anyway I am maybe
easily amused but, exchange on porridge
I am thinking the quote I picked at random
from S J Perelman somehow fits in that
whole problematic...or if it doesnt it should

"Did you see Mrs Fettucini react to the oatmeal? Her eyes
glistened like black olives."
cheers
+Seraphim.

	From: vexen	Date: November 20th, 2003 10:14 am (UTC)		(Link)
	Re: masada and pease porridge etc

I was wondering if any of it had been put into film. I bet the later Masada siege was very tense too.

For some reason that particular shade of glistening seems to hint more at pure terror than delight!

	From: tintaglia30	Date: November 20th, 2003 01:42 am (UTC)		(Link)

"...Jerusalem, built up as it was by King Herod, as the single most beautiful and wonderfully rich city in history. Also one of the most heavily fortified large cities. None other match in fortifications times beauty times defences."


Well, I'm sure Jerusalem was pretty but - Pi-Ramesses? Babylon? And even Rome it's self, and Thebes and Athens must surely have rivaled it's beauty?

And as for defense - Jericho?

	From: castorlion	Date: November 20th, 2003 03:09 am (UTC)		(Link)

How do you have two civil wars? Surely that's just the same civil war with more than two factions?

Hello, by the way. :-)

	From: vexen	Date: November 20th, 2003 09:55 am (UTC)		(Link)

Hi there :-)

Calling it "two civil wars" was the more accurate way I could say it in briefly!

There were three large groups in Jerusalem, Simon's men, and John's, the civilians were brutalized and imprisoned (forced not to surrender, despite being in the majority) by both large civil armies, who were also at war with each other. (Inside Jerusalem, one lot had control of the fortified temple, complete with bridges and towers, and the other lot had the outer walls and city. So, there were multiple sieges occuring simultaneously, with the civilians caught hopelessly inbetween all the fighting.

From: (Anonymous)	Date: March 3rd, 2007 08:39 am (UTC)		(Link)

Recommended follow-up is - "Jews, God and History "- Max I Dimont [New American Library-Penguin ]
Puts the entire non-religious history of the Jews 4000 b.c - 2000 a.d [including the Roman period] into perspective and underscores the unique selection of the Jews in the immutable plans of YAHWEH the God of Christians and Jews.