The Incident at Inmestar: Jews and Christians at the Beginning of the Fifth Century Cover Image

The Incident at Inmestar: Jews and Christians at the Beginning of the Fifth Century
The Incident at Inmestar: Jews and Christians at the Beginning of the Fifth Century

Author(s): Krystyna Stebnicka
Subject(s): History, Cultural history, Jewish studies, History of Judaism
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Socrates Scholasticus; Inmestar; Jews; Christians; Purim; violence

Summary/Abstract: At the end of the fourth century and beginning of the fifth century AD, there were numerous acts of violence between Christians and Jews. This background exposes the especially interesting, isolated message of Socrates Scholasticus concerning the events at Inmestar in Syria (HE VII 16), where some drunken Jews murdered a Christian boy. Although many details of Socrates’ narrative seem unclear, it appears that the murder itself did not occur on the occasion of the feast of Purim, as was often assumed in the older literature concerning this topic. Consequently, the event is further proof of the local conflicts between believers of the two religions.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 12
  • Page Range: 47-57
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English