Loading...I recently announced a tour I will be doing – Covid permitting – to Rome and Southern Italy this coming June. (See it here, with a brochure: https://ehrmanblog.org/interested-in-going-to-rome-with-me/) On the tour I’ll be giving lectures and hanging out for the ten days with everyone else; it should be great fun. For the sites we see we will have local tour guides who are flat-out experts on everything..
In this post I’m announcing a tour that will be coming directly on the heels of that one – again, Covid permitting. It is possible to come to either one, or both. Those who choose to do both will get a discount. Consider it buying in bulk. This second one will be to the Southwest coast of Croatia and nearby islands.
This is one of the most gorgeous places in the known universe, and I’m particularly excited about it, because I’ve never been there. I’m drawn by the beauty but also by the medieval towns and, even more ancient, its connection with some very important figures and events of early Christianity. In particular, we will be visiting the palace of the emperor Domitian in Split and we will be in the same part of the world that his successor, the emperor Constantine came from (in what is now Serbia).
Domitian is known as the emperor who instigated the ten-year “Great Persecution” of the Christians (303-13 CE); Constantine was the first Christian emperor who put an end to the persecution and made Christianity a legal and acceptable religion (he did not, btw, make it the official state religion, even though that’s what everyone says). In other words, these two were fundamental in the ultimate Christianization of the empire.
And that will be the theme of my lectures in this tour – how the Roman empire, which had been 93-95% pagan, ended up becoming Christian. I will especially be focusing on the persecutions against Christians and the role that Domitian and Constantine played in the embattled and then victorious church. Fantastically interesting stuff.
Wanna see what the tour will be like? Here’s the brochure. The tour company, Thalassa, is terrific. This will be a small tour where I’ll be spending massive of time with everyone there. I hope you can think about it!
JOURNEY HIGHLIGHTS
Travel and learn with Professor Bart D. Ehrman, whose lectures and informal discussions will enrich your experience.
• Discover the best of Croatia, one of the most beautiful countries in Europe with a spectacular, island-laden coastline.
• Explore Diocletian’s Palace, dating from 295 A.D., which contains within its walls the medieval town of Split.
• Sail to the evocative islands of Hvar and Korcula, whose architecture reveals centuries of Venetian dominance.
• Enjoy time for independent exploration of Dubrovnik, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities.
I believe that you mean Diocletian, not Domitian. Domitian was a younger son of Vespasian. Assassinated in ~ 96 CE. Last of the “twelve Caesars.” Correctly identified in the “journey highlights” section. Domitian also not a fan of Christians, however.
Ha!!! That’s funny. I better change it, huh?
Interesting choice, from what I have read, its a mix of pagan belief, and numerous Christian religions including Goths. Muslim religion by force or other means and a communist dictatorship that banned teachings of the previous three.
Dear Bart,
Happy to see you are coming to my country. Actually, I live nearby Split. I was wondering is there a possibility to grab a quick cup of coffee with you while you are there? It would be an honor to meet you since you had a big influence on my career. Maybe I can even persuade you to sign some of your books that I have in my collection.
Of course, if you won’t have time for that, I’ll understand. In any case, wish you all the best. You won’t be disappointed with the Croatian coast.
P.S. I sincerely recommend Restaurant Adriatic in Split. Amazing food, and an even better atmosphere. I’ve been to a lot of restaurants in Croatia (from Osijek to Dubrovnik) – this one is the best I’ve ever been to.
Kind regards,
Marko.
I actually don’t know yet. These tour companies tend to book up every 15 minutes, but it may be possible. Be in touch close to the time — then, for example, I’ll know if I’m even going! And it would be great to be able to meet.
Dear Bart,
Hope you and your family are doing well.
Do you have any updates about your trip to Croatia (Split)? I would really like to get the opportunity to meet you and steal some of your precious time for a book signing.
Kind regards,
Marko
We’re planning to put it off till 2022. I thought I had made a post on that, but now I see I haven’t. ERG! I’ll post on it next week. The new dates are June 1-7, 2022, and it’s set up differently (as a cruise along the west coast of Croatia) with inland visits thorughout. Looks spectacular.
Looks like my dream is going to come true. The great Bart Ehrman will come to me!
In April 2020 it was your plan to be in Italy, and I intended to celebrate my 77th birthday there.
Unfortunately, the corona virus was stronger!
This year, with God’s help (believers would say) we will be stronger !!
And you come to “play” on my field, in Split! There is no Split to Split, says the Split anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt7k8NW4qSM
“Wasn’t that old Roman emperor smart,
and his name is, you know, Diocletian
He built his palace without even knowing it
in the most beautiful part of the world
right in the middle of Split ” etc., etc.
(Ask your colleague, Zlatko Pleše, to translate the rest)
Maybe you didn’t know, Saint Domnius is the patron saint of Split,
and he was tortured and killed on the orders of Diocletian.
Now they are both in harmony, they are a trademark of Split.
I was born on the island of Hvar,
in an even more beautiful place than Split, in Vrboska. (Feb 2016)
https://blog.dnevnik.hr/geomir/2016/02/index.html#dan6
You should visit Vrboska! (Feb 2019)
https://blog.dnevnik.hr/geomir/2019/02/index.html#dan20
I hope that, as your blogger, I will be able to greet you
and follow you from the sidelines when you walk around Split.
Dr Ehrman ; off- the topic Question about resurrection of the dead in Early Judaism :
You argue resurrection of the dead first apeears Judaism in second century BCE. ( Maccabean time )
But you also say first Jewish book includes the resurrection of the dead First Enoch and it dates 200-250 BCE
According to you First Enoch is earlier than Maccabean Period ? But you said not …. I could not get your point ?
Resurrection idea in Judaism was born In maccabean period or earlier ? Thanks in advance and best wishes for your works.
I used to say that Daniel was the the first to express the idea of resurrection, but that is wrong. It was 1 Enoch. So it may depend which of my pulications you’re referring to.
Can we really date 1 Enoch as being before Daniel? I understood that its dating is ambiguous, and that parts of it may be older than Daniel, other parts never. (FWIW, Daniel is one of the few – only? – books in the OT we can date precisely.)
The Book of the Watchers is almost certainly before Daniel, probably by 40-50 years. You can see the discussions, e.g., in the commentary of Nicklesburg (and lots of other places). And yes, I completely agree about DAniel.
That would be Amazing! Spent time in Croatia in 2011 in the small town of “Buzet.” Would love to go back and see this part of Croatia and “learn!”
I’m interested in going to Croatia.
-Dave Mondeel
Good! I hope you can check out the brochure and let them know!
As a citizen of Split, Croatia, I look forward to your soon visit.
I would like you to dedicate a post in your blog to Diocletian, his attitude towards Christians and with an emphasis on his decision to build a palace “in the middle of Split.”
In fact, Diocletian also built a water supply system from the source of the river Jadro in Solin, 9 km long with a constant drop of 0.37% and a water capacity of 13 m3 / sec.
Even today, parts of that aqueduct are still in operation.
Diocletian is the “brand” of Split, which is why it is widely believed here, when Diocletian 308. CE was begged by his helpless heirs to regain power, that his answer was:
“Come visit me once in Salona and admire my cabbage garden which I cultivate myself, and in the future you will spare me such an inappropriate claim!”
Is this a historical truth, i.e. do you know that there is a written document that confirms this?
Thank you!
I”ve never heard of that as a quotation, but I don’t know enough to discount it. He was famous for being the first emperor to abdicate and it did strike many as odd that he really did appear to want to retire to the life of a country gentleman taking care of his cabbage garden….
No more Comments anymore? The Stranglers.
Ragusa is great at night.
Yeah, it’s weird. We’re looking into it.
In What SENSE is Jesus “God” in Matthew, Mark, and Luke? My Change of Mind
Due to The tech problem my short comment. Mark 5:7 , Luke 1:32. Jesus is YHWH himself
I don’t think any early Christian would have called Jesus YHWH. They would have seen him as the Son of YHWH. THe Gospel writers certainly did not think of him as the Lord God Almighty. He was the Lord of the world but there was one greater than he, who made him what he was.
Yahweh was one of the sons of El Elyon; and Jesus in the Gospels was described as a Son of El Elyon, God Most High. In other words, he was described as a heavenly being. Thus the annunciation narrative has the term ‘Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1, 32) and the demoniac recognized his exorcist as ‘Son of the Most High God’ (Mark 5, 7). Jesus is not called the son of Yahweh nor the son of the Lord, but he is called Lord. We also know that whoever wrote the New Testament translated the name Yahweh by Kyrios, Lord … This suggests that the Gospel writers, in using the terms ‘Lord’ and ‘Son of God Most High’, saw Jesus as an angel figure, and gave him their version of the sacred name Yahweh.” G. Widengren M.Barker.
Luke 1,42 (“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb”) clearly refers to Jdt 13,18 (“May you be blessed, my daughter, by God Most High, beyond all women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth”). Rene Laurentin proposed an interpretation according to which “the fruit of your womb” should be intertextually interpreted as “Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth”.
Unknown God and his true son Jesus instead of false son demiurg Jahwe? Or maybe it was just a good concept to elevate Jesus by the authors?
Professor, Apologies if this isn’t the right place to post this question. I recently found out from a gene test that I am distantly related to the body that is buried in Padua, Italy, that is thought to be Saint Luke. Who exactly is buried in this tomb? Can you please point out to some good material on the subject? In watching Prof. Martin’s course on the New Testament on YouTube, I have only recently learned that the Gospel of Luke was pseudonymously written, and that it is understood now that there was no Luke (in the way that is believed in churches nowadays). Thank you in advance.
If the person in the tomb had children my guess is that literally everyone you know is probably distantly related to him as well, or at least as I understand how genealogies work (over many, many centuries). We do not know who is in the tomb, but the idea it is Luke is a very much later legend; it must be early medieval at best? I really don’t know, but I don’t recall legends placing Luke in Italy in the ealry centuries.
According to St. Jerome, the bones of St. Luke were transported to Constantinople in the famous basilica of the Holy Apostles after the middle of the fourth century. The same source tells that his relic reached Padua, at the time of the Roman emperor Flavius Claudius Julian (361-363). St. Luke was placed in the basilica of Santa Giustina. The abbot of the monastery Domenico and the bishop of Padua Gerardo Offreducci and Pope Alexander III met to certify that the body belonged to the holy evangelist.
But you are probably acquainted with Boccaccio, that writes at the same time. He describes how relicts were thought to be religiously significant and were said to have magical properties, healing and helping those who possessed them. But there were a lot of fakeries. It was not unusual to find multiple copies of the same item claiming to be the rightful relic.
I’m also related to Pope Alexander VI, from the Borgia Family, but I guess I won’t tell people when I offer them drinks.
We did a sailing tour along the Dalmation coast a couple of years back, and it’s both lovely and fully of remarkable architecture and history (plus, yeah, Venetian lions stamped on everything). Enjoy!