LIFE OF JOSEPHUS: Biography of Josephus, an appendix to his historical work Jewish Antiquities.

AGAINST APION: A response to the criticisms provoked by the publication of Jewish Antiquities, particularly regarding the antiquity of the Jews' origins.

Josephus, a Jewish historian of the 1st century A.D., was born in the first year of Caligula's reign, 37/38 A.D., into a priestly family and received rabbinical upbringing. After studying at the theological schools of the Jews, he embraced the sect of the Pharisees.

In 66 A.D., he was elected by the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem as the general of Galilee in the war against the Romans. He was captured in 67 A.D. by Vespasian, who subsequently freed him and then made him a Roman citizen. He lived in Rome until his death, enjoying the favor of the Flavian emperors.

The date of his death is unknown, but from his writings, it can be inferred that he lived into the first decade of the 2nd century A.D.

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