After being reminded by Odosia, Joanna found out about this "discord".

"If you don't say it, I really didn't notice." She had to admit that she hadn't noticed it: "The other day, when I was preparing to expand the warehouse, I was haggling with a Jew. But if you think about it, there really isn't a typical Jewish community in this city. ”

"You should know about those places, too." Odosia nodded.

"Yes, in order to do business, I often have to deal with them." Joanna said, "But to be honest, I really don't like that kind of place. ”

"Typical Jewish neighborhoods, very closed. Sometimes, it's not about their architectural style, or how well the neighborhood is planned as a whole, but that kind of ...... Atmosphere. ”

"When I was a kid, my father took me to that kind of place once. What impressed me the most was the row of people sitting at the entrance of the street. As we walked past, everyone turned their heads in unison, and then stared at us viciously. Even if the merchant who led the way told them that this was a distinguished guest invited by the Chamber of Commerce, it did not make their attitude improve in the slightest, but they did not speak. ”

In order to prevent accidents, my father deliberately brought a few swordsmanship. But even so, I still have a strong sense of insecurity surrounded by them. To this day, I still remember the bright slanting sun on that autumn afternoon, the long shadows in the alleys, and the row of gloomy eyes at the junction of light and shadow. Now that I think about it, that's probably their most obvious sign. ”

"I've heard that there are such communities all over the continent, wherever there is a large Jewish population. However, in Rome, I haven't seen much of it. She thought for a moment and said, "Not only here, but also several other cities on the Black Sea coast that I have been to before." ”

"Then you should already have an idea." Odosia nodded: "There's obviously a reason for that. ”

"They do have this habit." Joanna affirms: "Some people say that it is because Jews are prone to exclusion that they like to live in groups, and their communities are xenophobic. Others say that it is because Jews do not like to mingle with other people and stubbornly want to maintain their own strange beliefs and customs, so they always gather together and exclude others. I can't really tell which is more correct – maybe both, and they're reinforcing each other. ”

"As for Rome, I really haven't thought about it...... Maybe they've always had a grudge. ”

"The vengeance of ancient Rome is too long. That was more than a thousand years ago. Odosia shook her head and said, "You see, the people of the Central Plains are already very resentful, but when they really trace the hatred of their ancestors, they are still considering the interests of reality first. ”

"Age-old hatred is generally just an excuse to add some persuasiveness to your actions, to gain more support, to get some icing on the cake. But if you want to accomplish something based on this reason alone, then I am afraid that there is no hope. ”

"Well......" Joanna didn't seem to have thought about it, and said again a little dazedly.

"I thought you knew the Han people very well." Odosia glanced at her with a slightly surprised look: "...... Of course, this does not affect either. Because the same thing, no matter where it is, should be there. ”

"The question is not whether the Romans ever had a grudge against the Jews or 'how deep was that hatred was there'. And we all know that the Romans who preside over the country today may not have anything to do with the Romans of the past. Therefore, the crux of the problem should not be the hatred of the past, but the relationship of interests now. ”

"It's just that history, traditions, and people's memories are not sudden. The events of ancient times determine the distribution of forces and the habits and customs of the people now, and provide us with some precedents as a reference, so that these past events can also affect the present. But in the end, it also indirectly affects people by influencing the current interest relationship. ”

"The past of ancient Rome can provide such an example." She told Joanna: "Judging from the various cases at that time, these Jewish communities can be said to be the source of the scourge. ”

"In the Levant and Egypt, there were very independent Jewish communities in many cities. Through religion, the Jewish priests had a firm grip on the inhabitants of the community. Whenever the priests had a conflict of interest with the local ruler, they would use their religious power to incite the Jews in the community to riot and pour out of the community to burn and loot in the city, thus threatening the ruler to accept his demands. ”

"This is indeed a 'continuation of hatred.'" Joanna noted: "I read the first book of the New Testament and says that it was these Jewish priests who persecuted the Romans to kill Jesus. ”

The Roman governor had believed that Jesus had not committed a capital crime, but the priests and elders instigated the crowd to go to the governor and demand that he be put to death. When the governor persuaded them, they did not listen, but threatened to riot. So the governor washed his hands in front of the priests and told them that the responsibility for the bloodshed was not his own, but that the persecutors should bear it. The priests immediately pushed the boat along, indicating that they and their descendants would bear the blame for the sin. ”

"When I first saw it, I thought it was a religious statement, but now that I think about it, isn't this their daily method?"

"Yes, but it's not specifically against the Romans, and it's not specifically against Jesus." "All rulers, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, use this method to blackmail," said Eudosia. This is true even if the Jews themselves become kings. ”

In that year, the Maccabees, who served as priests, led their subjects against the Seleucid dynasty and finally won the victory and established the Second Temple for the Jews. The Maccabees thus gained great prestige and became kings of the country. But after that, relations between the Maccabees and the priests also deteriorated rapidly. ”

"It was the time of 'Hellenism', and Judea was influenced by a more developed Greek civilization, and many Jews were close to the Greek regime and admired Greek culture, much to the displeasure of the conservative priests. In the process of establishing the Maccabees, they received strong support from these priests, hoping to restore the traditional belief of 'purity' and eliminate the cultural infiltration of the Greeks. ”

However, after the establishment of the dynasty, the kings, in order to strengthen their rule, began to take the initiative to learn the Greeks' way of governance. Even the title of the Jewish king was changed by them to the Greek 'Barcelus'. By the end of the Maccabean dynasty, even the names of the royal family members had become Greek names, and there were no local characteristics. ”

"After the Maccabees declined due to civil strife, Herod the Great, as the son-in-law of the Maccabean royal family, was supported by the Romans and established a new dynasty. He simply went against the priests and hunted down the most devout – and certainly the most extreme Jews. ”

The priests were so unhappy with this that the synod they formed even tried to judge the king. However, Herod had a much stronger armed force. When the conflict between the two sides finally broke out, the king invaded Jerusalem, which was occupied by the opponents, and he killed forty-five of the seventy-one priests of the Sanhedrin. ”

After that, he simply disbanded all the forces of the local Jewish aristocracy, recruited a Celtic and Germanic guard, and recruited a large number of Thracians as mercenaries, relying on the army to suppress the resistance of others. Until now, in Jewish scriptures, Herod is a brutal villain. ”

"You see, these priests are not just trying to repel the heathen." Eudosia concluded: "Even those who come from the same family of priests, if they take the position of the king and try to establish normal rule, will come into conflict with the power of the priests, and will immediately become their enemies. ”

So, in my opinion, religious conflict is just an excuse. No matter who you replace, the end result is the same. These examples should already be obvious. ”

Joanna nodded.

(End of chapter)