DANIEL, VISION OF

DANIEL, VISION OF , Hebrew apocalypse written in the Byzantine Empire. Scholars differ over its date: some place the work in the 13^th century, after the Latin conquest of Constantinople (1204), while others maintain that it was written in the late tenth century. The "Vision" opens with the appearance of the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, continues with historical narrative, and concludes with an apocalyptic vision. The main interest of the work is historiographic: it traces the policies of Byzantine emperors toward the Jews from Michael iii to *Constantine vii Porphyrogenitus (ninth to mid-tenth centuries), supporting the assertion of Megillat Aḥima'aẓ (see *Ahimaaz b. Paltiel) that *Basil I attempted to convert the Jews, that his son Leo *vi rescinded the decree, and that Romanus I Lecapenus renewed the attempt, which finally was abandoned by Constantine vii. However, it also makes the unfounded allegations that Michael iii persecuted the Jews, that Basil i began by rehabilitating the persecuted, and that Romanus "troubled them by expulsion but not through destruction." It may be that the writer of the "Vision" was influenced by the historiography of Constantine vii which exaggerated the virtues of his own Macedonian dynasty (founded by Basil I) and magnified the vices of the previous one, which ended with Basil's murder of Michael iii. The writer's generally positive attitude toward the state indicates a marked improvement in the position of Jews in the Byzantine Empire which is further supported by the apocalyptic section of the work. Instead of the usual prophecy foretelling the annihilation of the Christian and Islamic kingdoms, the "Vision" concludes by postulating a final struggle between Rome and Constantinople from which Constantinople will emerge victorious and the Messiah will judge the nations of the world there.

bibliography:

L. Ginzberg, Ginzei Schechter, 1 (1928), 313–23; Krauss, in: rej, 87 (1929), 1–27; Y. Even-Shemuel (Kaufmann), Midreshei Ge'ullah (1954²), 232–52; Baron, Social², 3 (1957), 179, 314–5; Sharf, in: Bar Ilan, Sefer ha-Shanah, 4–5 (1967), 197–208 (Eng. summary li–lii).

[Andrew Sharf]