Benjamin Isaac
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Isaac is the Fred and Helen Lessing Professor of Ancient History in the Tel Aviv University
. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
and the American Philosophical Society
, the oldest learned society in the United States, dating to 1743.
, Switzerland
, where his parents had fled from the Netherlands
during World War II
, in 1942. He grew up in Amsterdam
and studied classics, ancient history and archaeology at Amsterdam University. In 1972, he moved to Israel
, where he started working at Tel Aviv University. In 1980, he received his PhD (summa cum laude) for a thesis on the Greek settlements in Thrace
until the Macedonian conquest, supervised by Prof. Shalom Perlman. He has held visiting appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study
, Princeton, NJ (twice), All Souls College, Oxford
, Dumbarton Oaks
in Washington, DC, Churchill College Cambridge
, the National Humanities Center
, North Carolina
, Harvard University
and the Collège de France
.
He is married and has three children.
, and of a group preparing a corpus of ancient inscriptions in all relevant languages from the region, the Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae.
Two of his works should be mentioned here in particular. First, his work on the imperial Roman army
and imperialism
. This traces the various functions of the provincial army. It was commonly assumed that the main function of the Roman army was the defence of the frontier provinces against foreign enemies. Isaac argues that it had two different tasks, internal police functions and preparation for further expansion. Rome had an ideology
of offence and expansion rather than preservation of the status quo and defence. In this connection Isaac has argued that the concept of an imperial frontier was irrelevant in Roman terms. The Empire was not a territorial concept, but one that expressed rule over peoples and cities. Another topic of this book is the question whether Rome had a “Grand strategy
” as had been argued. Isaac has shown that this reflects a modern concept that could not apply to ancient reality.
The second work is his book on the ideological roots of racism
. In this work Isaac argues that racism must be distinguished from other forms of prejudice
and stereotypes. It is a rationalization and systematizaton of prejudice first encountered in the 5th century BCE in Greece as a result of the development of abstract thinking in contemporary philosophy and medical science. The concept of environmental determinism
was developed at this time and has been accepted as valid until very recently. It assumes that geography, climate and other external realities impose definite and unchangeable qualities, physical and mental on entire groups of people. As such it preceded social Darwinism
as an attempt to rationalize group prejudice. It played a role too in imperialist ideology
because it was used to distinguish between superior and inferior peoples. These concepts were taken over by Roman authors and by those who, in later times, used them for similar or related purposes. Thus Isaac argues that the history and development of racism as an ideology has roots going back to Graeco-Roman antiquity.
He is the author of numerous articles. He is also member of a team working on the publication of a corpus of all ancient inscriptions from Judaea / Palestine
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, based in Jerusalem, was set up in 1961 by the State of Israel to foster contact between scholars from the sciences and humanities in Israel, to advise the government on research projects of national importance, and to promote excellence. It comprises...
and the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
, the oldest learned society in the United States, dating to 1743.
Biography
Isaac was born in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where his parents had fled from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1942. He grew up in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and studied classics, ancient history and archaeology at Amsterdam University. In 1972, he moved to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, where he started working at Tel Aviv University. In 1980, he received his PhD (summa cum laude) for a thesis on the Greek settlements in Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
until the Macedonian conquest, supervised by Prof. Shalom Perlman. He has held visiting appointments at the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
, Princeton, NJ (twice), All Souls College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks
Dumbarton Oaks is the conventional name for the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, situated on a historic property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The institution is administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. Its founders, Robert Woods Bliss and his wife...
in Washington, DC, Churchill College Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, the National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities. It is the only major independent institute for advanced study in all fields of the humanities in the United States. The NHC operates as a privately incorporated nonprofit and is not part of any...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
He is married and has three children.
Research and works
Isaac’s research covers the period from the 6th century BCE until the 7th century CE. It deals with Greek and Roman history and with Jewish history from the 2nd century BCE onward. He has been member of a team surveying the Roman roads in Judaea/Palaestina with Moshe Fischer and Israel RollIsrael Roll
Israel Roll was an Israeli archaeologist and academic. He was the former director of the Apollonia-Arsuf excavations, and one of the directors of the excavations of the Roman Temple at Kedesh. He was currently retired from Tel Aviv University. He completed his bachlor's degree in the Hebrew...
, and of a group preparing a corpus of ancient inscriptions in all relevant languages from the region, the Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae.
Two of his works should be mentioned here in particular. First, his work on the imperial Roman army
Imperial Roman army
The Imperial Roman army refers to the armed forces deployed by the Roman Empire during the Principate era .Under the founder–emperor Augustus , the legions, which were formations numbering about 5,000 heavy infantry recruited from Roman citizens only, were transformed from a mixed conscript and...
and imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
. This traces the various functions of the provincial army. It was commonly assumed that the main function of the Roman army was the defence of the frontier provinces against foreign enemies. Isaac argues that it had two different tasks, internal police functions and preparation for further expansion. Rome had an ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
of offence and expansion rather than preservation of the status quo and defence. In this connection Isaac has argued that the concept of an imperial frontier was irrelevant in Roman terms. The Empire was not a territorial concept, but one that expressed rule over peoples and cities. Another topic of this book is the question whether Rome had a “Grand strategy
Grand strategy
Grand strategy comprises the "purposeful employment of all instruments of power available to a security community". Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart says about grand strategy:...
” as had been argued. Isaac has shown that this reflects a modern concept that could not apply to ancient reality.
The second work is his book on the ideological roots of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. In this work Isaac argues that racism must be distinguished from other forms of prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
and stereotypes. It is a rationalization and systematizaton of prejudice first encountered in the 5th century BCE in Greece as a result of the development of abstract thinking in contemporary philosophy and medical science. The concept of environmental determinism
Environmental determinism
Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism, is the view that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture...
was developed at this time and has been accepted as valid until very recently. It assumes that geography, climate and other external realities impose definite and unchangeable qualities, physical and mental on entire groups of people. As such it preceded social Darwinism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
as an attempt to rationalize group prejudice. It played a role too in imperialist ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
because it was used to distinguish between superior and inferior peoples. These concepts were taken over by Roman authors and by those who, in later times, used them for similar or related purposes. Thus Isaac argues that the history and development of racism as an ideology has roots going back to Graeco-Roman antiquity.
He is the author of numerous articles. He is also member of a team working on the publication of a corpus of all ancient inscriptions from Judaea / Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....