Language in Roman Caesarea

Four languages had a substantial presence in the Roman province of Judaea/Syria Palaestina: Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin. Intriguingly, however, at Caesarea, the provincial capital, the linguistic profile is much less varied. This is despite the diverse ethnic and religious profile of the metropolis, which was home to Greeks, Jews, Romans, Samaritans, and more. From the third century, further, it was a key centre of Christian learning.

On the linguistic side, however, only Greek and Latin are well represented at Caesarea. Latin is exceptionally prominent in the first two centuries of the Common Era. This, however, disappears over time, and by the fourth century Greek emerges as the near-unchallenged language of the city. Aramaic and Hebrew, meanwhile, are remarkably rare at Caesarea, despite the growth of an important Jewish community. The Jews of Caesarea rather are closely associated with Greek, in inscriptional evidence and rabbinic literature alike.

Through a primarily sociolinguistic analysis of Jewish, Christian and pagan sources, both literary and epigraphic, I shall explore how language interacted with the changing ethnic and religious identities present at Caesarea. I shall attempt to explain how Greek came to reach a dominant position in Caesarea, the associated decline of Latin, and specifically the use of Greek, and not Aramaic or Hebrew, amongst Jews. How did Jews at Caesarea identify with regards to the Greek language, and what can this tell us about their wider feelings towards Hellenistic culture and Empire?