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of the god Enki who had drained the marshy land: it was built on an important<br />

system of canals and marshes. His name may recall the biblical Irad/Iaràd, son<br />

of Enoch, the “builder of cities”. In Genesis 4:17 we read of a settlement in the<br />

plains and the founding of a city that was built by Enoch, named after his son,<br />

Irad/Iaràd: the name means “he who descended” and so it seems to recall a<br />

migration from the higher territories towards the plain, or yet, those who<br />

descended from above. It corresponds to the current Tell Abu Shahrain (315<br />

km south-east of Baghdad).<br />

Flavius Josephus<br />

He was born in Jerusalem around 37 A.D., in a noble family and was educated<br />

in the Jewish tradition but with influences from Greek and Latin. He was a<br />

Torah observant Jew, close to the movement of the Pharisees, hostile to<br />

nationalist movements. In 64 he visited Rome and loved it. During the first<br />

Jewish War (66 AD) he was holding the position of military governor of<br />

Galilee. When the rebels realized they could no longer fight the Romans, they<br />

decided to commit suicide: Joseph managed to stay alive and surrendered to<br />

the Romans. He had a meeting, very positive for him, with the military<br />

commander Flavius Vespasian, whom he predicted he would have become<br />

emperor; as a result of this lucky premonition, the future king of the Romans<br />

spared his life and Joseph committed to the Emperor's family, taking on Flavia<br />

gens' appellative.<br />

He later lived in Rome, writing works that, even with a strong pro-Roman<br />

imprint, also spread elements of the Jewish culture. His writing Jewish War is<br />

the main historical source on the war against Rome, and also contains a<br />

description of the last days of the Jewish fortress of Masada. In Judaic<br />

Antiquities there are also hints on the figure of Jesus and important information<br />

about the religious movements of the period of Judaism. He died in Rome<br />

around 100 A.D.<br />

Book of Jubilees<br />

Also called Little Genesis, this text is considered canonical only by the Coptic<br />

Church. It was probably composed in Hebrew in the late second century BC<br />

211

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