Queen for a Day
Nazir 19
We hear about Helene and her sons Monbaz and Izates in a
number of places. Josephus, who was almost her contemporary (she probably died
when he was a child, in the mid first century CE), writes about the family’s
conversion to Judaism. Helene and her husband Monbaz were the rulers of a
country called Adiabene or חדייב in Hebrew. It is located on the northern
end of the Tigris River, near ancient Nineveh and the Assyrian kingdom. Today
it is in northern Iraq, in Kurdistan:
Adiabene’s location was on a major trade route and
therefore the story that Josephus tells: that Izates and Helene were each
separately converted by traveling Jewish merchants – seems plausible. Izates became
king after his father died and his older brother (also Monbaz) abdicated for
him. His path to leadership was not a smooth one and perhaps this is what the
Mishnah is alluding to when it tells us that Helene took a Nazirite vow as a
way of asking God to protect her son. In any case, after Izates became king,
Helene left for Jerusalem and lived there. When Izates died young, she returned
to Adiabene and died soon after. Monbaz arranged for them both to be buried in
an ornate tomb in Jerusalem.
The Mishnah and Gemara mention both Helene and Monbaz in
various contexts, usually connected to their charity and good works. They are
attributed with saving the people of Jerusalem from famine and with donating
various precious items to the Temple, including a beautiful chandelier that
hung at the entrance to the building:
Do we have anything concrete left of Helene of Adiabene
in Jerusalem? There are two fascinating structures, one explored over 100 years
ago and one discovered only recently. Near the northeastern corner of the Old
City, on Shechem Road and Salah A Din Street is the Tomb of the Kings, קברי המלכים. Jews long attributed this magnificent
structure to the wealthy father-in-law of Rabbi Akiva, Kalba Savua. But it
seems, based on Josephus’ geographical description, that this is the Adiabene
family tomb:
The tomb has a curious history. It was bought by a French
Jewish family named Pereire in 1878 and when the head of the family died, it
was bequeathed to the government of France who still have sovereignty over it
today. The tomb, with its inner chambers, was excavated by the French
archaeologist Louis Felicien de Saulcy in the 19th century. He discovered a
number of beautiful stone sarcophagi and brought two of them to the Louvre in
Paris. His conclusion was that this was a First Temple royal tomb. His
discovery of an inscription on one of the sarcophagi strengthened his belief.
It said, in Aramaic and Hebrew, צדן מלכתא
and צדה מלכתה , the queen Tzada.
He took this to mean that perhaps the wife of King Tzidkiyahu was buried there.
Today we know, based on the letters of the inscription, the style of the
sarcophagus and the design of the tomb that this is a classic first century
burial and not one from First Temple times. Is Tzada the Adiabenian name of
Helene, an obviously Greek name? Was she buried in one of the other sarcophagi?
We don’t know but it seems that this is her tomb.
http://members.bib-arch.org/publication.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=40&Issue=3&ArticleID=3
The more recent discovery connected to Queen Helene is of a
monumental home discovered in the Givati parking lot, by the City of David.
Josephus tells us that the queen lived down there, in what was a less exclusive
area than the upper city, and the suggestion that this was her home is an
intriguing one.
Queen Helene – her conversion, her choosing to be a Nazirite,
her philanthropy – was a personality whose life raises many fascinating
questions about identity and affiliation with the Jewish people in Second
Temple times. She is certainly worthy of having a main Jerusalem street named
after her!
So interesting. Thanks Shulie!
ReplyDeletefascinating!
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