Life of Flavius Josephus

Titus Flavius Josephus was born in Jerusalem around 37 C.E. to an aristocratic family. He would go on to become a distinguished military leader and diplomat, as well as a chronicler of a tumultuous time in Middle Eastern history. In The Life..., or the Vita, Flavius Josephus tells his story in his own words, providing a glimpse into the life and politics of Roman Judea in the first century and insight into the military campaigns that characterized the age of the Roman-Jewish Wars.

Modern historians approach the text — and Josephus's life in general — with some uncertainty. It is believed that the autobiography was written sometime between 94 and 99, probably in the final years of the author's life, and may have been an appendix to an earlier work, Antiquities of the Jews. The text may also have been written as a riposte to Justus of Tiberias — another Jewish scholar of Roman Judea who had apparently cast doubt on some of Flavius Josephus's own claims regarding the Roman-Jewish conflicts. Whether an exercise in setting the record straight in the face of his critics or simply an aging historian examining his own life, the Vita is a valuable document of the era.