Cu-Laoch – King of Ireland 31 BCE Extremely wealthy, Cu Laoch owned vast gold mines in Ireland, in addition to tin, antimony and lead mines in Cornwall Britain, France and Spain. These metals/minerals were critical in the smelting production of bronze, which was used predominately in the Roman (and others) military. Cu Laoch and his family also own and control vast shipping fleets used to transport these metals to the vast storehouses around the Mediterranean. Alliances to Cu Laoch and his family were considered very strategic. Gaius/Julius Caesar once met with Cu Laoch to secure his help in getting the various Celtic tribes of the Britons to accept Roman rule. Many of the British Isle’s mines had stopped production because of infighting amongst the Celtic tribes; and as these mines were vital to the various military armies, this had caused significant issues for the Roman military at the time.
Legend has it that it was while Caesar was in Ireland, Cu Laoch sent him to meet a seer who had a tremendous affect on his governing policies. When Caesar gained control of Rome some years later, he enacted democratic changes that became some of the founding principles of democracy today.
Cu Laoch and his line were also the ranking descendents of King Zedekiah, the last ‘true’ King of Israel. They were direct descendents of Princess Tamar and King Enochaid.
Cu Yehosha – Brother of Cu Laoch
Yehosha is the brother of Cu Laoch, King of Ireland ( xx-31 BCE).
In 37 BCE, Yehosha, his daughter Rachel, and his nephew, the Crown Prince of Ireland, Cu Roi(n) (aka Seosam, Yosef's father) traveled to Jerusalem where Yehosha had agreed to allow his daughter to marry Mattathias/Matthan ben Levi, a recently announced Prince of Judaea by the new edict of the Grand Sanhedrin. Matthan ben Levi is of the Abiudite line of King David. This was his second marriage, with his first being to Estra/Elizabeth of Jerusalem, aka Princess Alexandra II. They had a son, Alexander III Helios, aka Heli, who is the father of Miriam, aka Mary, and grandfather of Yeshua.
Rachel is 19 years old when she weds Mattathias in 37 BCE. Cu Yehosha has brought his nephew Seosam Cu Roin on this trip to show/teach him the family international business interests. They own mines in Cornwall, Gaul and Spain, as well as the shipping interests and storehouses of the metals that were mined there. After his daughter’s marriage, Cu Yehosha and Seosam Cu Roin (Yosef's father), travel extensively to Britain, Rome, and Egypt, as well as Palestine. While in Egypt and Palestine, Cu Yehosha and Seosam Cu Roin purchase multiple family estates in Bethany and Caesarea. West of Jerusalem, a large estate is purchased.
Within a year after Rachel’s marriage, they had a son. He is named Joshua (born in 36 BCE). Unfortunately, Rachel had problems with the delivery of her son and is very weak thereafter. Two years later she dies. Cu Yehosha decides to remain in Judaea to help raise his grandson. He moves into one of the larger estates they have purchased outside of Jerusalem. Four years later, Mattathias is murdered by Herod for sedition. Cu Yehosha brings his grandson to live with him in the town that is now known as Arimathea. He grows up being known as Joshua of Arimathea.
Seosam Cu Roin remains with his uncle for a time and while in Egypt he meets and falls in love with a Jewish Priestess and daughter of the High Priest of YAHU, named Esu. In 35 BCE, he marries her at Elephantine Island, a Jewish temple in Egypt before returning home to Ireland, and where he will eventually succeed his father as King. In 34 BCE, he and Esu have a son, Cu Cuileann, aka Yosef who will go by the name of Yosef and be given the title Ha Rama Theo, or ‘of Divine Highness’.
Seosam Cu Roin (62 BCE - 10 CE) - aka Seosam Cu Roin - Yosef's father
Crown Prince of Ireland (62 – 31 BCE)
King of Ireland (31 BCE – 10 CE)
In 44 BCE, when Julius Caesar is murdered, Seosam is 18 years old. Julius Caesar had visited Cu Roin’s home in Ireland in 55 BCE when he needed help to convince the different Celtic tribes in Britain to accept Roman rule. The tribes were fighting amongst themselves and had stopped production on the various mines in Britain which was a huge concern for the Roman military who required its metals for their various war implements. Caesar evidently made a big impression on the young Seosam on this visit and when he dies, Cu Roin wanted to pay tribute to the man in Rome. His father refuses to let him go then, but seven years later in 37 BCE, Cu Laoch relents and allows Seosam Cu Roin to accompany his brother, Yehosha on an extended trip abroad where he is to be introduced to the international portion of the family business. Yehosha’s daughter is to marry a newly ordained Prince of David, Mattathias ben Levi in Jerusalem.
After his cousin’s marriage, Seosam Cu Roin and Cu Yehosha travel extensively to Rome where they politic with Augustus Caesar and others in power there. The Romans continue their strategic alliance with this austere family and as a gesture of friendship grant Cu Roin, Yehosha, and all of their descendents Roman citizenship with all the many privileges this status affords. Cu Roin and Yehosha also visit the various mines and other interests in Britain, France and Spain. They travel to Egypt and Alexandria, and all over Palestine where they purchase many family estates. In all, Seosam spends two and a half years away from Ireland.
While in Egypt, he meets and falls in love with the daughter of the High Priest of YAHU, Esu – aka Luachail. They marry at the Temple at Elephantine Island. Shortly after marrying, Cu Roin returns home to Ireland and learns that his father is ill. In 31 BCE, Seosam Cu Roin succeeds his father and becomes the King of Ireland.
In 34 BCE, Cu Roin and Luachail have a son, Cu Cuileann – aka Yosef – aka Yosef Ha Rama Theo. He becomes the new Crown Prince of Ireland and the next Ha Rama Theo (of Divine Highness or Messiah King). This title has always been given to the true heir to the line of David. As they are descendants of the last true/blood King of Judaea, this title is been given to each generation’s first male heir.
Yosef Cu Cuileann - aka Yosef - aka Yosef of Arimathea – aka Joseph of Arimathea.
Our main character is born 34 BCE to Cu Roin of Ireland and Esu/Luachail of Judaea. Yosef Cu Cuileann is Crown Prince (in Exile) of Ireland until his father’s death in 10 CE, at which time he becomes the King of Glastonbury, and Ireland (in Exile).
In 12 BCE, at the age of 22, Joseph Cu Cuileann leaves Ireland with his mother (who wishes to see the home of her youth again) to see some of the works his father had commissioned, including work on various temples in Elephantine Island, Leontopolis, and for the expansion of the Temple in Jerusalem being done by Herod, as well as the expansion of a settlement at Qumran where the priests of Yahu have migrated. On their way, they stop in Rome where Emperor Augustus welcomes them and appoints Centurion Gaius Cornelius, along with 12 Roman soldiers as their personal bodyguards.
Augustus is quite nervous and vows that nothing will happen to this very important family in his kingdom on his watch. They travel on to Egypt and visit with Luachail’s family and spend close to a year there. While there, Joseph Cu Cuileann learns first hand from the priests of Leontopolis about the abhorrent conditions, both politically and economically in Israel at the time, as well as the horrible abuses of power of the priests and Herod himself, who is not only a tyrant, but appears to be a sociopath as well. Herod has murdered much of his own family in his quest to maintain power. In 30 BCE he murdered his cousin Rachel’s husband, Mattathias, in an attempt to remove potential heirs to the legal throne. His cousin’s half-brother, Heli, who worked for the family as liaison to their mines in Britain and was an appointed Roman Decurion is also murdered on charges of sedition in 17 BCE, which apparently is the indictment of choice that Herod has been using to murder off his competition.
Unfortunately, just before they are readying to leave for Palestine, Yosef’s mother, Luachail, is taken ill and dies. Cu Cuileann takes her remains to Elephantine Island before leaving for Jerusalem. In her honor, he has decided to build a city of truth, called Nazara, on the ashes of Tzipori in Galilee. It is here that we first meet Yosef, disguised for his own protection. It is 10 BCE and he is 24 years old. He is also unmarried.
Yosef Cu Cuileann is a very wealthy man, heir to one of the largest fortunes in the empire, and his family controls the richest mines which are needed for providing armaments for the Roman military. Because of this, pretty much everyone is in deference to this man. Also, because of his pedigree with respect to the line of David, most Jews recognize his significance. Shortly after arriving in Jerusalem, he is granted a position of esteem on the Great Sanhedrin, which he will keep and use in times of great stress when his son is hanging from the cross. Herod knows of his existence, but is powerless to touch the man given his close relations with the Emperor.
Yosef will become the noblis Decurion, or Roman officer appointed as Minister of the Mines, and Decurion of the Mendip Mines on the Cornwall Peninsula given his strategic association and ownership of such.
Yosefe comes good friends with Ananias ben Ananias, son of a future High Priest of Jerusalem.
He also becomes friends with Herod Philip I, the son of Herod and his third wife, Mariamne, daughter of High Priest Simon V Boethus. Herod Philip I and his wife Herodias will have a daughter, named Mariamne, who we will meet much later on as Mary Magdalene.
As the Crown Prince, he is also known as Yosef Ha Rama Theo. Ha Rama Theo is a title “of Divine Highness”, or “of the Messiah King”), a title given to the first born heir of the line of David, or heir to the messiahship/king of Judaea). [Joseph Ha Rama Theo = Yosef (of) H-Arama theo = Yosef (of) H-Arimathea; that is, Yosef of Arimathea].
Yosef will initially take up residence just north of Jerusalem at the estate of his uncle Cu Yehosha, in the town that has taken on the name of Arimathea; he will be known in history as Joseph of Arimathea.
Because of the extensive building project that Yosef Cu Cuileann has undertaken, he is also nicknamed “the Carpenter” by the Romans.
Joshua of Arimathea
Son of Rachel and Mattathias. He was born in Jerusalem in 36 BCE and has lived under the guardianship of his grandfather, Cu Yehosha, since his parent’s death.
Half brother of Heli (Prince Alexander III Helios), Miriam’s (Mary’s) father.
Joshua's grandfather, Cu Yehosha, and his half brother, Heli, are both rich businessmen. They work for the Holly (Holy) family mines and are both Roman Decurions; that is, Roman appointed miners of strategic metals including tin, antimony and lead used in the smelting production of bronze which was used in the procurement of military armaments. As Rome required ample metal for use in their constant wars, they had official positions for men responsible for supplying these metals. Cu Yehosha and Heli controlled the extraction, production, and shipping of these valuable metals to their vast storehouses.
Unfortunately, Heli is murdered under suspicious circumstances in 17 BCE, leaving a daughter, Miriam, who was 9 at the time of his death.
Prince Jacob ben Matthan - Father of Joseph of the BIble/Grandfather of Jesus
Patriarch/Nazi of Jerusalem (36 - 23 BCE), a fairly high ranking position typically given to a ranking Davidian male. He was of the Abiudite Davidian priestly Line which was legitimized in 37 BCE.
Jacob was also in the Roman military and in 31 BCE was sent to Egypt by Herod with about 3000 troops to help Caesar ‘Octavian’ in the conquest of Antony and Cleopatra. It was here that Queen Cleopatra was “given to a foreign Prince” as recorded in history. That ‘Prince’ was Price Jacob ben Matthan, and she was given to him by her mother, Queen Cleopatra, just prior to her imminent suicide with Antony. The young Cleopatra was three weeks short of her 13th birthday at the time; and from this time was known as Cleopatra of Jerusalem. Queen Cleopatra also had a son with Julius Caesar, named Caesarian, who was 14 at the time of his capture. It was at this time that he was strangled at the order of Octavian Caesar, Julius Caesar’s nephew who inherited everything from Caesar, for “there was not enough room for two Caesars in the Roman Empire”.
Jacob ben Matthan and Cleopatra of Jerusalem had a son in 29 BCE, named Prince Joseph ben Jacob.
Jacob and Cleopatra also had twin boys, born in 26 BCE. Their names were Ptolas/Ptoles and Cleopas/Clopas and they play into the future history of those close to Jesus. [Ptolas/Ptoles = short for Ptolemy, the family name of Cleopatra from Egypt. Clopas/Cleopas = short for Cleopatra.] Ptolas will eventually marry a woman named Escha, a daughter of Joachim. Cleopas will marry Escha’s sister, Mary, known in the Bible as ‘the Other Mary’.
In 23 BCE, intrigue and lust enter the reign of Herod the Great which profoundly affects history. Sort of a prehistoric Henry VIII actually. Herod falls in love with a beautiful princess, Mariamne, son of Simon IV Boethus. It plays out one of two ways: Either in order to justify his marriage into the family, Herod needs to elevate the status of the family in some way so he appoints Mariamne’s father, Simon IV Boethus, to the position of High Priest; or: because he is in love with Mariamne and wants to marry her, her father, Simon IV wants something in return. The two things he gets are: elevation to the status of High Priest of Jerusalem, and he is given in marriage a beautiful bride himself, none other than Cleopatra of Jerusalem, the daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt and Julius Caesar. Mariamne will be the fourth wife of Herod, and the second one named Mariamne (so she is often referred to as Mariamne II).
Note that at this time, in 23 BCE, the current High Priest of Jerusalem is Yehoshua III. Yehoshua is the father of three daughters, the priestesses Jane/JoAnna, Elizabeth, and (H)anna. Jane/JoAnna has married Joachim; Elizabeth has married Zechariah; and(H)anna has married Heli, Miriam's father and Joshua's half brother. In order to facilitate Simon’s ascension to the position of High Priest of Jerusalem, Herod accuses Yehoshua III of sedition and has him executed in 23 BCE.
Also note that at the time, Cleopatra of Jerusalem is already married to Jacob ben Matthan, and they have three children: Joseph, father of Jesus in the bible, and twins Ptoles and Cleopas. In order to facilitate this marriage to Simon IV Boethus, Herod also accuses Jacob ben Matthan of sedition and has him executed in 23 BCE as well.
Interestingly, in 23 BCE, after their father’s death, Jacob’s children by Cleopatra (Joseph of the bible, Cleopas and Ptoles), as well as Yehoshua III’s youngest daughter (H)anna and her daughter Miriam, are all whisked away into hiding to Jacob’s brother’s estate in Gamala, Galilee, where they are cared for by Jacob’s brother, Hezekiah.
Jacob has two brothers: Prince Hezekiah/Ezekias the Zealot, and Prince Judas of Gamala/Galilee. Both are noted in the bible; Hezekiah is named after Ezekiah, the first martyr of the zealots. Judas the Galilean will be known as the zealot who led the uprising in 6 CE against Roman taxes.
Prince Joseph ben Jacob ben Matthan – Joseph of the Bible
Princess Miriam – daughter of Heli – Mother of Yeshua
Judas ben Hezekiah and the Zealots
Born in 31 BCE, Judas is the son of Prince Hezekiah, nephew of Jacob ben Matthan, and thus a cousin of Joseph of the Bible. Judas and Joseph of the Bible were raised pretty much as brothers and were very close. However, note that this Joseph and our hero Yosef are not the same person. Yosef of Arimathea will know of Joseph and his family circumstances given his own cousin’s (Joshua of Arimathea's) half brother, Heli. Heli was married to Hanna before his own execution by Herod.
After the execution of his brother Jacob, Hezekiah opened up his home to his nieces and nephews (Joseph of the Bible, Ptomes, Cleopas), along with the youngest daughter of the then High Priest, Hanna bat Yehoshua III, who is the mother of Miriam.
Judas the Zealot is a roughneck. He is also very devout. Things have gotten so bad under Herod’s reign that he feels something has to be done to stop the corruption and demise of the Jewish nation. He, along with his father and uncle, have been an active guerilla leaders of a band of zealots residing in Galilee. In 12 BCE, Judas also becomes the personal guard for the exiled Crown Prince of Ireland. Yosef deliberately got himself ‘caught’ by Judas’ zealot band because he wanted to hire Judas and his men as protection for the city of Nazara which he was building within the borders of Galilee. In return, Yosef offered the Zealots gold, supplies, and an education for all of Judas’ men at the new school he was to build within Nazara. Judas is impressed with the man and his actions, and the two have been pretty much inseparable since.
Judas' father, Hezekiah, was named after one of the original zealot martyrs, killed in 47BCE whilst fighting Antipater, Herod’s father, for the rights of Jews to rule themselves. Hezekiah ben Matthan, like his namesake, Hezekiah ben Gurion, firmly believed it was not part of God’s covenant that Jews be destined to be slaves and pawns under the tyrannical rule of King Herod. They fought for the freedom of the Jews. Their ideology was not for political revolution, it was bound by the higher calling to preserve the integrity of Jewish life as taught by the Torah.
After King Aristobulus II had been poisoned by Pompey’s men, Hezekiah ben Gurion had gathered the remnants of the king’s army who were in the mountains of Galilee and carried on a very successful guerilla war against both the Romans and the Syrians. They were waiting for the opportunity to stage a full uprising against Rome. The pious men of Israel looked at Hezekiah as the avenger of their honor and liberty. Unfortunately Antipater, who was the governor of Judaea at the time, and his sons Herod (the eventual ruler of Galilee) and Joseph did not see this band as patriots at all. They beheaded Hezekiah and many of his followers, making them martyrs for Israel and in particular the Zealot sect.
Not all the Israelites were against interactions with the Gentiles or even the idea of foreign rule. The Sadducees, who came to believe there was no life after death, and even some Pharisees elite did not believe it was against God’s law to accept foreign rulers. This was for a couple of reasons. First, the elite knew quite well that both the Torah, which was ‘mysteriously found’ by Josiah in the late 7th century BCE (around 620ish BCE), and the Talmud which was brought back from Babylon after the Exile, were ‘clever interpretations of previous oral traditions’ compiled by scribes under the direct influence of foreign powers who wanted to insert a few moral lessons into the Jewish tradition. Some of the passages of these ‘scriptures’ were complete reprints of ancient Zoroastrianism text taken out of the Avesta. Since these holy scriptures were not then the ‘word of God’, they felt it was not necessary to execute the words explicitly.
Secondly, with regard to ‘foreign rulers’, many elite Jews – and in particularly the priests – became very wealthy as a result of having foreigners rule. Typically the foreign leaders used the priests’ unique status over the common people to their advantage and enacted programs whereby these priests were able to keep a percentage of the taxes collected from its citizens. So it didn’t take long for priests to recognize the distinctive advantage of having a foreign ruler in charge; they made money. Politics eventually ruled the situation and as priests became wealthier, they were less inclined to ‘fight’ this particular issue of foreigners in charge.
This is one of the primary reasons that the Zealots began to persecute the priests as well as the foreign rulers of Rome. The corrupt nature of many of the priests did not sit well with the Zealots, and they struck hard against them.
Zealots were pretty much everywhere in 1st century Israel, but their primary territory was in Galilee. There in the mountains, they were able to build secure fortresses in which they hid and fought their enemies.
Jacob and Hezekiah had another brother named Judas the Galilean who was also an active Zealot known for his role in leading a Jewish revolt in 6 CE against Herod’s new taxing legislation. Judas the Galilean dies in this skirmish in 6 CE.
There are a number of insurrections planned and carried out in late 1st century BC as well as the early 1st century CE. Some of these will be under the direct leadership of either Judas the Zealot, his father Hezekiah, or his uncle Judas the Galilean. Yosef Cu Cuileann and Joseph of the Bible will participate in some of these encounters. Judas honestly believes he has placed his allegiance with the true heir to the throne of Israel, Yosef of Arimathea.
Johanan ben Zechariah (ben Zakkai) aka Jon the Baptist
Jon the Baptist is the son of Elizabeth bat Yehoshua III (Miriam’s aunt), and Zechariah.
Jon is the leader of the New Covenant community whose headquarters became the settlement of Qumran, the home of the Essenes. He is mentioned as the “Unique Teacher” in the Damascus document (CD) of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Jon formed the New Covenant by uniting the various outcast, or disillusioned anti-establishment members of the other Jewish sects at the time, including the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes, as well as the Zealots and Sicarri sects. Jon’s movement at Qumran started around 3 BCE (although for purposes of my book I have moved this back to 12 – 10 BCE).
Jon was an eclectic, who was an extreme vegetarian to the point of not wearing anything from dead animals. He is noted as wearing animal hair itself for his clothing. He was a very learned man who believed strongly in prophecy and was constantly quoting scripture. He firmly believed that the ‘End Times’ were upon the Israelites and throughout his ministry preached there was not much time left for people to ‘save themselves’. Many people followed Jon, for his message hit home. The persecution of the people by Herod, the Romans, as well as the corrupt priests, were well prophesized. Israel was going downhill because of the sins of the Israelites.
1QS1 to 5 and 1QSa of the DSSs were written to describe the aims, organization, rules and penal code for the New Covenant group. 1QSb was written as a collection of blessings for the sect and its leaders.
Herod the Great
Ananias ben Sie (Seth) – High Priest 6 – 16 CE
Born in 38 BCE, Ananias ben Seth is nephew to Simon Boethus, High Priest from 23 to 5 BCE. He will become High Priest himself from 6 to 16 CE.
Ananias is the son of Sethus (Sie) of Syria, a powerful Sadducee with estates outside Antioch.
He was the grandson of Boethus of Egypt. Ananias had five sons, four of which became High Priests. His grandson, Ananias ben Ananias ben Ananias, was responsible for killing James the Righteous, the brother of Jesus, often thought of as the beginning of the end of the Jerusalem. Ananias’ son-in-law, Joseph Caiaphas, would also be a High Priest and would be responsible for the trial of Jesus.
Ananias was appointed High Priest in 6 CE by the Roman legate Quirinus, just after the Romans deposed Archelaus as Ethnarch of Judaea and place it under direct Roman rule as part of the Idumaea Province. He served in this office for ten years, until the new procurator Valerius Gratus dismissed him in 16 CE.
He is succeeded by Eleazar ben Ananias, his eldest son, who serves from 16 – 17 CE. In all, four of his sons, his grandson Ananias, and son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas will serve as High Priests of Jerusalem prior to the destruction of its Temple in 68 CE.
Ananias ben Ananias, one of Ananias's sons, is friends with Yosef Cu Cuileann. They know each other from when Yosef first moved to Judaea. They are both wealthy, but Cu Cuileann and his family are powerfully connected in their own right, him being a Crown Prince and then King of Ireland (in Exile).
Herod Philip I – Tetrarch of Batanea, Auranitis, Upper Galilee
Herod Philip I is the son of Herod and Mariamne II, the third wife of Herod and second wife named Mariamne. Mariamne II was the daughter of Simon IV Boethus, one of the seven sons of the High Priest Boethus, who was brought out of Egypt at the request of Herod to reestablish the legal line of Tzadok High Priests as the sons of Aaron. This line of High Priests had migrated to Leontopolis, Egypt after Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Seleucid King) deposed the line and began selling the position to the highest bidder. In Leontopolis, Onias V, the legal line of the Aaron High Priests built another Jewish Temple and continued the legal branch of priests.
After Herod the Great dies in 4 BCE, Herod Philip is given a portion of Judaea, primarily in the north and west of Galilee, to rule as Tetrarch by Augustus Caesar, Emperor of the Roman Empire of which Judaea is now part. Two of his half-brothers were given the remainder of the region to rule.
Herod Philip I has a daughter named Mariamne. Mariamne will later be known as the Master sage, Mary Magdalene.
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