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Tiberius Julius Alexander: A Historical Novel
This vividly told historical novel reconstructs the conflicted life of one of the most paradoxical figures of ancient Jewish history—Tiberius Julius Alexander. Tiberius was the nephew of the renowned neo-Platonist philosopher Philo Judaeus and the son of the wealthiest man in the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria. Unlike his father, who was a pious Jew and a generous contributor to the temple in Jerusalem, Tiberius showed little interest in his Jewish heritage and soon became an apostate. Pursuing military ambitions, he rose in the ranks of the Roman army and spent his career as a loyal Roman soldier in military and civil service. Ironically, he served as second in command to the future emperor Titus during one of the most catastrophic events of Jewish history—the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, when the Roman army destroyed the city and its magnificent temple.
Piecing together the evidence for the life of Tiberius, the author creates a fictional memoir based on the facts known about the real historical figure. He skillfully brings to life Roman society in the Near East of the first century, with all its luxurious refinements, brutal realities, competing religious cults, and social unrest. Readers with an interest in ancient history, Jewish culture, and well-told stories will be fascinated by this page-turner.
Piecing together the evidence for the life of Tiberius, the author creates a fictional memoir based on the facts known about the real historical figure. He skillfully brings to life Roman society in the Near East of the first century, with all its luxurious refinements, brutal realities, competing religious cults, and social unrest. Readers with an interest in ancient history, Jewish culture, and well-told stories will be fascinated by this page-turner.
213 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 7, 2018
I came across the title, Tiberius Julius Alexander: A Historical Novel Kindle by Daniel M Friedenberg, purchased it, and read it through in the course of researching a novel of my own on the title character's uncle, the famed Jewish philosopher of Alexandria, Philo Judaeus. I don't fancy myself an expert on either the characters or the period (the 1st Century AD), but I've read just about as much as I could take on the people and the era. All this to say that I can vouch for the veracity of the history, as much as it is known, presented by Friedenburg in the book. He remains true to preserved history even while he allows his imagination and literary license to pump details into the life of the people he writes about.
The protagonist, Tiberius Julius Alexander, would perhaps have been completely lost among the better known persona of the 1st Century, Roman and Jewish, had he not been connected in an unusual way to both the Roman imperial establishment and the wealthiest and most powerful Jewish family in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. That he rejected his Jewish roots and became not only an apostate but an enemy of the Jewish people is his claim to infamy. He held the position of procurator of Judea some years after Pontius Pilate occupied that position and also ordered the crucifixion of Galilean rebels against the Roman state. Later, he was an adjutant to Vespasian and Titus, on hand at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As such, he is an appropriate foil to the usual characters featured from this period (Caligula, Nero, Herod Agrippa, Paul, etc.), and through his eyes the author provides both historical details and interesting hypotheses about a time period that has certainly been worked over by both fiction and non-fiction writers.
So kudos to this first-time novelist. Anyone interesting in broadening their perspective on the 1st century, one somewhat similar to the Jewish historian Josephus, another defector to the Roman cause, will find this book enjoyable, informational and well-researched. Lack of technique here and there, as noted by other reviewers, is quite tolerable in my opinion.
The protagonist, Tiberius Julius Alexander, would perhaps have been completely lost among the better known persona of the 1st Century, Roman and Jewish, had he not been connected in an unusual way to both the Roman imperial establishment and the wealthiest and most powerful Jewish family in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. That he rejected his Jewish roots and became not only an apostate but an enemy of the Jewish people is his claim to infamy. He held the position of procurator of Judea some years after Pontius Pilate occupied that position and also ordered the crucifixion of Galilean rebels against the Roman state. Later, he was an adjutant to Vespasian and Titus, on hand at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. As such, he is an appropriate foil to the usual characters featured from this period (Caligula, Nero, Herod Agrippa, Paul, etc.), and through his eyes the author provides both historical details and interesting hypotheses about a time period that has certainly been worked over by both fiction and non-fiction writers.
So kudos to this first-time novelist. Anyone interesting in broadening their perspective on the 1st century, one somewhat similar to the Jewish historian Josephus, another defector to the Roman cause, will find this book enjoyable, informational and well-researched. Lack of technique here and there, as noted by other reviewers, is quite tolerable in my opinion.
February 17, 2011
An interesting view of this particular character and the history he took part in. The history itself makes the book worth reading. However, I'm not sure the writing style was all that fantastic; and the mechanism used to create the story really didn't work well for me either. The whole time I was reading I kept thinking that other more talented writers could have pushed this historical novel to much more exciting levels.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews