tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post323334984981326867..comments2024-03-29T03:57:26.974-04:00Comments on Grim's Hall: Masada WinsGrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-13798381328358354692015-02-04T21:28:42.012-05:002015-02-04T21:28:42.012-05:00Ummm....no. I mean, the Romans certainly didn'...Ummm....no. I mean, the Romans certainly didn't treat Judea kindly, but the two big revolts, in AD70 and AD135, were centered on the cities, and a more likely culprit for the demise of the date palm industry was much later, during the middle ages, during the Crusades. <br /><br />This bit from wikipedia agrees with what I know of the Roman period: The whole middle east doesn't turn in the steaming pile it is now until the Arabs conquer the place. <br /><br />"It is sometimes claimed that date growing as a commercial fruit export stopped at the end of 70 CE, when the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans.[8] However, study of contemporary sources indicates that the date industry continued in Palestine throughout the Roman period and that, indeed, the Roman Imperial treasury collected a good deal of the profits.[9] Asaph Goor in his 21-page article History of the Date through the Ages in the Holy Land never mentions any such Roman devastation of the date palms, but rather cites numerous contemporary accounts attesting to the continuing extent of date cultivation through the Roman period. Goor only detects a decline in date cultivation through the period of Arab rule and especially during the Crusades, when he notes that the devastation of the region was particularly hard on the palm plantations. However, despite this, extensive cultivation persisted in Jericho and Zoara, until the agrarian economy collapsed around the 14th century. Goor attributes this final decline to a change in the climate, and quotes several later travelers to the area as to the rarity of date palms, including Pierre Belon, who in 1553 scoffed at the idea that the region could have ever produced the bounty of dates reported in ancient sources.[6]"Eric Blairnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-51529006351072117182015-02-03T11:18:17.503-05:002015-02-03T11:18:17.503-05:00There are allied species, yes, which is fortunate ...There are allied species, yes, which is fortunate because it can be crossbred to them in order to broaden the genetic pool available for propagation. The Romans were interested in wiping this one out, though, as they were interested in wiping out Masada (and Judaism in general, destroying the second Temple and conducting massacres in Jerusalem in the process). Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-33048661817236825472015-02-03T10:31:32.081-05:002015-02-03T10:31:32.081-05:00Did they have a special date palm species in Judea...Did they have a special date palm species in Judea? No one could bring a suitable replacement from somewhere else before 1963?Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.com