Paul as Combatant in 1st Century BCE
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 11:33 am
As most of you I am sure by now know, I have been playing around with an idea that the apostle Paul may have been involved in the civil wars that took place in the eastern Mediterranean during the 1st century BCE. Certain passages in his authentic letters seem to lend support to this general piece of speculation. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 and 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 come to mind. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446
I further speculate that of Paul’s letters, passages in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Romans might reflect some of the conflicts taking place in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia (the area to the east of Syria not the Roman province in Asia Minor) from the time of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey in 48 BCE to after the civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony. I believe for instance that Romans might have been written in the interval between the battle at Actium in 31 BCE to towards the end of the Cantabrian wars in 19 BCE with the cover letter being written perhaps between 23-17 BCE.
To illustrate this I propose the following.
1: Paul was perhaps present at the battle of Dyrrachium in Illyricum on the side of Pompey in 48 BCE. Possibly as an auxiliary or even perhaps as a mercenary. What happened to him after the battle at Pharsalus being unknown.
2: Paul was again, perhaps, present at the battle of Philippi in Macedonia on the side of Brutus and Cassius during the Liberators war of 43-42 BCE. He may have been interned at Thessalonika for a while after the war and then perhaps ended up in Philippi, Troas, Corinth or Athens.
3: Paul may have taken part in Mark Antony’s invasion of Parthia in Asia in 37 BCE.
4: Paul may have been at Actium on the side of Mark Antony in 31 BCE. Returning to Athens or perhaps Corinth after the war.
5: And finally, Paul may have been trying to participate in the Cantabrian wars which spanned from 29 to 19 BCE.
I also subscribe to the idea that some of Paul’s authentic letters are actually compilations of smaller letter collections, Philippians being perhaps three smaller letters, 1 Thessalonians being two, 1 Corinthians being five, and 2 Corinthians being five as well. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3487&start=90#p100479
Here is what I would like to advance as possible evidence.
The Pauline passage: Romans 15:19 “by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God's Spirit; so that from Ierousalem, and around as far as to Illyrikou, I have fully preached the Announcement of Christou” may be a reference to the battle of Dyrrachium in 48 BCE where Pompey had client kingdom auxiliary troops and mercenaries from as far away as Judea and Egypt bulking up his army. This would have given Paul a very good reason to have been in Illyricum as a combatant in the 1st century BCE as opposed to very little good reason to be there in the 1st century CE.
What happened to these non-Roman troops after Pompey was defeated at Pharsalus is unknown, however the auxiliaries from client kings were probably allowed to return back to their points of origin and the mercenaries were either absorbed into Caesar’s army or were cut loose to fend for themselves or enslaved (the first and third being more likely with the third most likely I would think). If Paul was at Pharsalus when Pompey was defeated then he may very well have ended up in Athens and perhaps Corinth when it was established as a veteran colony in 44 BCE. If not as a slave then perhaps as a laborer for hire as opportunity must have been good for this at the time. Although the possibility of his being part of Caesar’s military can’t be totally ruled out.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE Brutus and Cassius fled to the east to raise armies. Again, the Liberators relied heavily on eastern client kingdom auxiliaries and mercenaries for troop manpower. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 may possibly be a reference to Paul being at Philippi under Brutus during this conflict. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446#p100923
When this war was concluded, Paul may have found himself in Thessalonika and may have sent Philippians 1:1-3:1 at this time to the newly formed veteran colony at Philippi. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3487&sid=c5599e8ca1 ... 70#p100175
Is it possible I wonder, that Paul and other non-Roman, non client king auxiliary combatants that fought for Brutus and Cassius might have been interned at Thessalonika (the administrative capital of Macedonia) as POW’s after the conflict? It seems to me that colonies like Corinth, Philippi, and Troas would have been very labor intensive and in need of a large slave population, at least at first.
Would Brutus and Cassius have offered freedom to, or just outright bought, military eligible slaves in the newly created colony of Corinth to help build their armies? Was Paul a slave in Corinth following the civil war between Caesar and Pompey? Pure speculation of course, I just wonder if anything in Paul’s letters might indicate that something like this had taken place.
Mark Antony’s invasion of Parthia in Asia in 37 BCE.
Aside from the passage in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446#p100895 I really have nothing. All that I can really say is that Paul uses the word Asia without any indication that it might be the Roman province of Asia that he is talking about and the wording that he uses for his situation is much more grim than one would expect if he were just talking about getting roughed up by locals in Asia Minor.
I really have nothing for Paul perhaps being at Actium as well. It just seems that if Paul were indeed a freelance soldier that Antony’s Parthian and later Armenian campaigns as well as the fight against Octavian would have been ideal ways for him to make a living. With Actium at least it seems that Antony would have wanted every soldier that he could have rounded up to beef up his forces against Octavian. Free or otherwise.
Again, pure speculation.
With Paul’s possible attempt to participate in the Cantrabrian wars in Spain after Actiun I may be on firmer ground with the passage in Romans 15:23-24 “Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you, but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you, whenever I journey to Spanian, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if I may be replenished by you first”.
With the disbanding of large parts of the armies of Antony and Octivian after Actium, and the general peace in the east, opportunities for mercenaries in the east must have become somewhat scarce. The conflicts in Spain must have seemed the only real chance a freelance fighter might have left to ply his trade.
A flaw in this reasoning however is that Paul seems to just have acquired monies from Macedonia and Achaia with plans to go to Jerusalem with it.
Another problem with Romans 15:19 and 15:23-24 is that there is a chance that chapter 15 may not originally have been part of Romans written by Paul.
One interesting thing however is that in Romans chapter 16 Paul says “Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus” followed by “Greet Herodion, my kinsman”. The sons of Herod the Great were in Rome between 23-17 BCE for their education. So if it is family members of Herod that Paul is mentioning we could narrow the composition of at least the cover letter to when they were in Rome (wouldn’t that be nice). However Aristobulus, while favored as a name by the Hasmoneans and Herodians, was a common Greek name, and no one seems to know who Herodion was. Further, Romans chapter 16 may not have originally been part of the letter to the Romans.
And so it goes.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little foray into attempting to discover if there is anything to the idea of Paul perhaps writing (and fighting) in the 1st century BCE. Any feedback on this is very welcome, especially constructive criticism (or really just feel free to point out what a bonehead I am).
Cheers
Lane
I further speculate that of Paul’s letters, passages in 1 and 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Romans might reflect some of the conflicts taking place in Greece, Macedonia, and Asia (the area to the east of Syria not the Roman province in Asia Minor) from the time of the civil war between Caesar and Pompey in 48 BCE to after the civil war between Octavian and Mark Antony. I believe for instance that Romans might have been written in the interval between the battle at Actium in 31 BCE to towards the end of the Cantabrian wars in 19 BCE with the cover letter being written perhaps between 23-17 BCE.
To illustrate this I propose the following.
1: Paul was perhaps present at the battle of Dyrrachium in Illyricum on the side of Pompey in 48 BCE. Possibly as an auxiliary or even perhaps as a mercenary. What happened to him after the battle at Pharsalus being unknown.
2: Paul was again, perhaps, present at the battle of Philippi in Macedonia on the side of Brutus and Cassius during the Liberators war of 43-42 BCE. He may have been interned at Thessalonika for a while after the war and then perhaps ended up in Philippi, Troas, Corinth or Athens.
3: Paul may have taken part in Mark Antony’s invasion of Parthia in Asia in 37 BCE.
4: Paul may have been at Actium on the side of Mark Antony in 31 BCE. Returning to Athens or perhaps Corinth after the war.
5: And finally, Paul may have been trying to participate in the Cantabrian wars which spanned from 29 to 19 BCE.
I also subscribe to the idea that some of Paul’s authentic letters are actually compilations of smaller letter collections, Philippians being perhaps three smaller letters, 1 Thessalonians being two, 1 Corinthians being five, and 2 Corinthians being five as well. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3487&start=90#p100479
Here is what I would like to advance as possible evidence.
The Pauline passage: Romans 15:19 “by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God's Spirit; so that from Ierousalem, and around as far as to Illyrikou, I have fully preached the Announcement of Christou” may be a reference to the battle of Dyrrachium in 48 BCE where Pompey had client kingdom auxiliary troops and mercenaries from as far away as Judea and Egypt bulking up his army. This would have given Paul a very good reason to have been in Illyricum as a combatant in the 1st century BCE as opposed to very little good reason to be there in the 1st century CE.
What happened to these non-Roman troops after Pompey was defeated at Pharsalus is unknown, however the auxiliaries from client kings were probably allowed to return back to their points of origin and the mercenaries were either absorbed into Caesar’s army or were cut loose to fend for themselves or enslaved (the first and third being more likely with the third most likely I would think). If Paul was at Pharsalus when Pompey was defeated then he may very well have ended up in Athens and perhaps Corinth when it was established as a veteran colony in 44 BCE. If not as a slave then perhaps as a laborer for hire as opportunity must have been good for this at the time. Although the possibility of his being part of Caesar’s military can’t be totally ruled out.
After the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE Brutus and Cassius fled to the east to raise armies. Again, the Liberators relied heavily on eastern client kingdom auxiliaries and mercenaries for troop manpower. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 may possibly be a reference to Paul being at Philippi under Brutus during this conflict. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446#p100923
When this war was concluded, Paul may have found himself in Thessalonika and may have sent Philippians 1:1-3:1 at this time to the newly formed veteran colony at Philippi. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=3487&sid=c5599e8ca1 ... 70#p100175
Is it possible I wonder, that Paul and other non-Roman, non client king auxiliary combatants that fought for Brutus and Cassius might have been interned at Thessalonika (the administrative capital of Macedonia) as POW’s after the conflict? It seems to me that colonies like Corinth, Philippi, and Troas would have been very labor intensive and in need of a large slave population, at least at first.
Would Brutus and Cassius have offered freedom to, or just outright bought, military eligible slaves in the newly created colony of Corinth to help build their armies? Was Paul a slave in Corinth following the civil war between Caesar and Pompey? Pure speculation of course, I just wonder if anything in Paul’s letters might indicate that something like this had taken place.
Mark Antony’s invasion of Parthia in Asia in 37 BCE.
Aside from the passage in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5446#p100895 I really have nothing. All that I can really say is that Paul uses the word Asia without any indication that it might be the Roman province of Asia that he is talking about and the wording that he uses for his situation is much more grim than one would expect if he were just talking about getting roughed up by locals in Asia Minor.
I really have nothing for Paul perhaps being at Actium as well. It just seems that if Paul were indeed a freelance soldier that Antony’s Parthian and later Armenian campaigns as well as the fight against Octavian would have been ideal ways for him to make a living. With Actium at least it seems that Antony would have wanted every soldier that he could have rounded up to beef up his forces against Octavian. Free or otherwise.
Again, pure speculation.
With Paul’s possible attempt to participate in the Cantrabrian wars in Spain after Actiun I may be on firmer ground with the passage in Romans 15:23-24 “Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you, but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you, whenever I journey to Spanian, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if I may be replenished by you first”.
With the disbanding of large parts of the armies of Antony and Octivian after Actium, and the general peace in the east, opportunities for mercenaries in the east must have become somewhat scarce. The conflicts in Spain must have seemed the only real chance a freelance fighter might have left to ply his trade.
A flaw in this reasoning however is that Paul seems to just have acquired monies from Macedonia and Achaia with plans to go to Jerusalem with it.
Another problem with Romans 15:19 and 15:23-24 is that there is a chance that chapter 15 may not originally have been part of Romans written by Paul.
One interesting thing however is that in Romans chapter 16 Paul says “Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus” followed by “Greet Herodion, my kinsman”. The sons of Herod the Great were in Rome between 23-17 BCE for their education. So if it is family members of Herod that Paul is mentioning we could narrow the composition of at least the cover letter to when they were in Rome (wouldn’t that be nice). However Aristobulus, while favored as a name by the Hasmoneans and Herodians, was a common Greek name, and no one seems to know who Herodion was. Further, Romans chapter 16 may not have originally been part of the letter to the Romans.
And so it goes.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little foray into attempting to discover if there is anything to the idea of Paul perhaps writing (and fighting) in the 1st century BCE. Any feedback on this is very welcome, especially constructive criticism (or really just feel free to point out what a bonehead I am).
Cheers
Lane