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A History of the Jews: From Earliest Times Through The Six Day War
Recounts the social, religious, and cultural development of the Jewish peoples from Biblical times
452 pages, Paperback
First published January 13, 1970
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About the author
Cecil Roth
122 books8 followersCecil Roth (5 March 1899 – 21 June 1970),[1] was a British Jewish historian.
A prolific writer, Roth published more than 600 books and articles, which have been translated into many languages, including histories of the Jews in England (1941) and Italy (1946), A History of the Marranos (3d ed. 1966), The Jews in the Renaissance (1959), Jewish Art (1961), and The Dead Sea Scrolls (1965).
He was educated at Merton College, Oxford (Ph.D., 1924)[1] and later returned to Oxford as Reader in Post-Biblical Jewish Studies from 1939 to 1964.[2] Thereafter he was visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University, Israel (1964–1965), and at the City University of New York (1966–1969).
Roth was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1925 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1941.[1] He died, aged 71, on 21 June 1970 in Jerusalem.[2]
A prolific writer, Roth published more than 600 books and articles, which have been translated into many languages, including histories of the Jews in England (1941) and Italy (1946), A History of the Marranos (3d ed. 1966), The Jews in the Renaissance (1959), Jewish Art (1961), and The Dead Sea Scrolls (1965).
He was educated at Merton College, Oxford (Ph.D., 1924)[1] and later returned to Oxford as Reader in Post-Biblical Jewish Studies from 1939 to 1964.[2] Thereafter he was visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University, Israel (1964–1965), and at the City University of New York (1966–1969).
Roth was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1925 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1941.[1] He died, aged 71, on 21 June 1970 in Jerusalem.[2]
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 12, 2022
For me this was another building block in my quest to really understand the cultures of jewish people over and asbove the holocaust (which was all my childhood taught me abnout Jews). So I learned so much about the continued diaspora from the sacking of jerusalem onwards, who persecuted their ~jewish residents and why. I still do not really iunderstand why Jews were so singled out in history (lthough this may not in fact be the case alone - but since this is a book about Jewish history, its not surprising that the author concentrates on this. It certainly showed me how the importance of education and culture was a key glue that held communities together - and that ghettos were in many cases a saving grace for persecuted people.
I was less intersted in the developments of religious thinking, the various rival sects and the approaches to the Torah and other documents of instruction and the key individuals in Europe over the centuries.
But it really picked up when the 19th century arrived, which i know much more about in a 'general' sense - fitting the Jewish experience directly into these days and the move towards Zionism, ending up with the botched creation of Israel was fascinating. I was very absorbed, though there were sentences I really winced at - how 'backward' and 'uncivilised' the Palestinians were, when the European Jews got to Palestine and how much they (Jews) made the country so much better and richer. No analysis to speak of of the issue with the oppression of Palestinians, the shrinking of their remaining land and other in my opinion unacceptable behaviours. The book does end at the 6 day war in 1967, and it is led up to as defending themselves against active Arab hostility from all around. So it could be that the 'overkill' began after that
Very pleqsed to hqave read it anyway - and Ive passed it on to others ....
I was less intersted in the developments of religious thinking, the various rival sects and the approaches to the Torah and other documents of instruction and the key individuals in Europe over the centuries.
But it really picked up when the 19th century arrived, which i know much more about in a 'general' sense - fitting the Jewish experience directly into these days and the move towards Zionism, ending up with the botched creation of Israel was fascinating. I was very absorbed, though there were sentences I really winced at - how 'backward' and 'uncivilised' the Palestinians were, when the European Jews got to Palestine and how much they (Jews) made the country so much better and richer. No analysis to speak of of the issue with the oppression of Palestinians, the shrinking of their remaining land and other in my opinion unacceptable behaviours. The book does end at the 6 day war in 1967, and it is led up to as defending themselves against active Arab hostility from all around. So it could be that the 'overkill' began after that
Very pleqsed to hqave read it anyway - and Ive passed it on to others ....
July 28, 2024
AN EXCELLENT SURVEY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Cecil Roth (1899-1970) was a British Jewish historian, as well as visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel (1964-1965) and the City University of New York (1966-1969). He also wrote books such as 'A History of the Marranos,' 'The Spanish Inquisition,' 'Jews in the Renaissance,' etc.
He begins this revised 1970 edition by describing "numbers of Aramean immigrants from the crowded plains of Mesopotamia... Ibrim, or Hebrews, they were called... from the fact that they came 'Beyond the Great River,' the Euphrates." (Pg. 3-4) He later observes, "At the beginning of the twelfth century B.C.E., some local upheaval... seems to have caused a wholesale migration ... The strangers, repulsed from Egypt in 1194, fell back upon the rich coastal plain to the north... Here they had little difficulty in establishing themselves... Such was the impression which they made upon the ancient world that ultimately their name was given to the whole of the country, which is still known after them, as Palestine..." (Pg. 15-16)
He notes, "The modern critical school ascribes to Ezra... the redaction and even the authorship of a substantial portion of what subsequently became known as the Torah---the Law of Moses. Whether or not this is the case, it remains an indisputable fact that, with Ezra, the reign of the Torah over the Jewish people began." (Pg. 67)
Of Josephus, he records, "After a defense of two months, the city was captured and Josephus, saving his life by a strategem, went over brazenly to the Romans, an act of treachery to which the Jewish people is indebted for its one-sided though minute knowledge of this period." (Pg. 107) Later, he adds, "The revolt of the Maccabees, essentially a reaction against Hellenism, actually resulted in bringing the Jews into touch, for the first time, with their ultimate enemy, Rome." (Pg. 135)
About the First Crusade, he said, "This was the direct occasion of the succession of Crusades which, throughout the next two centuries, attempted... to win back Palestine for the Cross, initiating incidentally an era of martyrdom for the Jewish people which is without precedent in history." (Pg. 180) But he later notes, the Jewish people "might be massacred, exterminated, or expelled in one state; but there was always another in the immediate neighborhood which was momentarily prepared to receive them." (Pg. 235)
About the establishment of ghettos, he observes, "In most cases... they fought fiercely against its establishment. But it soon became apparent that the Ghetto walls, though originally intended to keep the victims in, were no less useful in keeping their enemies out... (it also) tended to act as a powerful preservative of ... solidarity and culture." (Pg. 274) Of the Warsaw Ghetto revolt in WWII, he states, "The three thousand years of Jewish history know of no episode more heroic." (Pg. 405)
This is a balanced "popular" overview of the entire spectrum of Jewish history (it ends with the 1967 Six-Day War).
Cecil Roth (1899-1970) was a British Jewish historian, as well as visiting professor at Bar-Ilan University in Israel (1964-1965) and the City University of New York (1966-1969). He also wrote books such as 'A History of the Marranos,' 'The Spanish Inquisition,' 'Jews in the Renaissance,' etc.
He begins this revised 1970 edition by describing "numbers of Aramean immigrants from the crowded plains of Mesopotamia... Ibrim, or Hebrews, they were called... from the fact that they came 'Beyond the Great River,' the Euphrates." (Pg. 3-4) He later observes, "At the beginning of the twelfth century B.C.E., some local upheaval... seems to have caused a wholesale migration ... The strangers, repulsed from Egypt in 1194, fell back upon the rich coastal plain to the north... Here they had little difficulty in establishing themselves... Such was the impression which they made upon the ancient world that ultimately their name was given to the whole of the country, which is still known after them, as Palestine..." (Pg. 15-16)
He notes, "The modern critical school ascribes to Ezra... the redaction and even the authorship of a substantial portion of what subsequently became known as the Torah---the Law of Moses. Whether or not this is the case, it remains an indisputable fact that, with Ezra, the reign of the Torah over the Jewish people began." (Pg. 67)
Of Josephus, he records, "After a defense of two months, the city was captured and Josephus, saving his life by a strategem, went over brazenly to the Romans, an act of treachery to which the Jewish people is indebted for its one-sided though minute knowledge of this period." (Pg. 107) Later, he adds, "The revolt of the Maccabees, essentially a reaction against Hellenism, actually resulted in bringing the Jews into touch, for the first time, with their ultimate enemy, Rome." (Pg. 135)
About the First Crusade, he said, "This was the direct occasion of the succession of Crusades which, throughout the next two centuries, attempted... to win back Palestine for the Cross, initiating incidentally an era of martyrdom for the Jewish people which is without precedent in history." (Pg. 180) But he later notes, the Jewish people "might be massacred, exterminated, or expelled in one state; but there was always another in the immediate neighborhood which was momentarily prepared to receive them." (Pg. 235)
About the establishment of ghettos, he observes, "In most cases... they fought fiercely against its establishment. But it soon became apparent that the Ghetto walls, though originally intended to keep the victims in, were no less useful in keeping their enemies out... (it also) tended to act as a powerful preservative of ... solidarity and culture." (Pg. 274) Of the Warsaw Ghetto revolt in WWII, he states, "The three thousand years of Jewish history know of no episode more heroic." (Pg. 405)
This is a balanced "popular" overview of the entire spectrum of Jewish history (it ends with the 1967 Six-Day War).
February 7, 2013
Informative, enlightening, tragic, and inspiring history of a resilient people.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews