Roman Judea 63 B.C. to 70 AD

Roman Client State and Province 63 B.C. - 70 A.D.

The conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus culminated in a civil war that ended abruptly when the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BCE and inaugurated the Roman period of Jewish history.

                        Pompey the Great

Pompey ended the monarchy and named Hyrcanus high priest and ethnarch (a lesser title than "king"). 6 years later Hyrcanus was deprived of the remainder of political authority and ultimate jurisdiction was given to the Proconsul of Syria, who ruled through Hyrcanus's Idumaean associate Antipater, and later Antipater's two sons Phasael, military governor of Judea, and Herod (later known as Herod the Great), military governor of the Galilee. Hyrcanus became a "client ruler" of a vassal state on behalf of the Romans. As with most Roman territories, the local ruler was obliged to provide support and tribute to Roman activities, and expected to ensure Rome was not troubled by the territory, in return for which he was otherwise allowed broad autonomy to rule as he chose.

 In 57 BCE the Proconsul Cabineus (Gabinius) established five regional synhedria (Sanhedrins, or councils) to regulate the internal affairs of the Jews.^[3] The Sanhedrinae was a legislative council of 71 elders chaired by the high priest, that interpreted Jewish law and adjudicated appeals, especially in ritual matters. Their specific composure and powers actually varied depending on Roman policy.

 In 40 BCE Aristobulus's son Antigonus overthrew Hyrcanus and named himself king and high priest, and Herod fled to Rome.

                        Herod the Great 38 - 4 B.C.  

In Rome, Herod the Great sought the support of Mark Antony and Octavian, and secured recognition by the Roman Senate as King of the Jews,^[4] officially confirming the termination of the Hasmonean dynasty. Despite an attempt to appease the people by marrying Mariamme, a Hasmonean princess, Herod was an unpopular ruler, perceived by some as a foreigner and a Roman puppet. According to some, archaeological evidence suggests that king Herod identified himself as Jewish, although according to Jewish law, he would not be considered as such. He was the second son of Antipater the Idumaean, founder of the Herodian Dynasty and his wife Cypros, a princess from Petra in Nabatea (now part of Jordan). Actions such as his notoriously murderous treatment of his family and of the last Hasmonaeans, the purging of the Sanhedrin,^[5] and his grandiose modification and enlargement of the Second Temple (see: Herod's Temple), made him more disliked among pious Jews. He is said to have been a positive influence economically on the region, have kept Jewish laws fairly carefully^{[citation needed]}, but suppressed, often in a bloody manner, all incipient protests. Herod founded a minor dynasty, which meant that several different people who feature in this context and in the Gospels were also all called "Herod", see also Herodians.

                 Division of Herod’s Kingdom: Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip

After Herod's death in 4 BCE, various radical Jewish elements rose in revolt: Judas in the Galilee, whose followers tore down the Roman Eagle that had adorned the Temple; Simon in Perea, a former slave of Herod, who burned down the royal palace at Jericho, and Athronges in Judea, a shepherd who led a two-year rebellion.

The Syrian legate Varus took command of Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee, and immediately put down the uprisings, killing thousands of Jews by crucifixion and selling many into slavery.

Rome quickly re-established governance and divided Herod's kingdom among his sons:  the southern part of the territory (Judea and Samaria) was given to Archelaus,Herod Antipas was named tetrarch of the Galilee and the southern Transjordan (Peraea), and Philip received the northern Transjordan (Batanaea).

                        Judea and Samaria under Archelaus: 4 BCE – 6 CE

Archelaus antagonized the Jews as his father had, and in 6 CE the emperor Augustus acceded to a delegation by placing Judea, Samaria and Idumea under the direct rule of a Roman prefect (or after about 44 CE a procurator), and a Roman-appointed high priest instead.^[6] See also Census of Quirinius. Both of these titles were administrative officers, rather than nobility. Other than Temple officers dealing with trespass within the bounds of the temple, the Prefect was the only person authorized to sentence anyone to death, seen as an essential power in maintaining rule and military discipline. As an autonomous local ruler, the prefect was not answerable to Rome for their exercise of this power, whether the person executed was Roman or Jew. They had access to limited military capability (a few thousand troops for the country, see also Legion (demon)), enough for most incidents but not enough for serious trouble, because Rome itself governed more by proxy rather than by day to day military might. In the event of a serious threat to peace, the Prefect or Procurator would request Rome's support; for Judea this would typically be provided by the Syrian legate.

                        Judea and Samaria under Roman Prefects and Procurators: 6 – 70 CE

The first prefect of Iudaea Province was Coponius (6 - 9 CE); the prefect who ruled from 26 to 36 CE was Pontius Pilate. Annas was high priest from 6 to 15 CE, his son-in-law Caiaphas served from 18 to 36 CE. Jesus is commonly believed to have preached and died around the period 30 - 33 CE.

The High Priest

Although the office of high priest was theoretically life-long, the Romans considered the high priesthood more of a political office (ie, leader responsible for the conduct of the Jewish people), and regularly deposed the high priests in favour of their own choice of appointees. Due to the manipulations of Annas, however, the temple remained in control of one family for most of the first century until it was destroyed. Annas was high priest from 6-15 CE. His son-in-law Caiaphas was high priest from 18-36. His sons Eleazar (16-17), Jonathas (36-37 and 44), Theophilus ben Ananus (37-41), Matthias (43) and Ananias (63) all became high priests. (In this context, the Gospel of John reports a separate trial of Jesus before Annas, in addition to the Sanhedrin; if this took place, it was perhaps because many considered him to be the legitimate high priest.)

Religious and Cultural Life During the Roman Period

During the Roman period, Aramaic and Greek continued to be the most important languages in the region. Prefects like Pontius Pilate (a Roman from Rome and later recalled to Rome) would most likely have spoken Latin (see also INRI), but may have used Koine Greek to handle day to day business in the province, though it is also possible that he used Aramaic for this or made use of translators. Scholars debate whether everyday people or Jesus himself spoke any languages other than Aramaic, perhaps some rudimentary Greek or Latin, and (as Jews) Hebrew.

According to the Torah, Jews were required to travel to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices at the Temple three times a year: Passover, Sukkot, and Shavuot. Although many Jews attempted to do so, many could not due to the large distances involved. Consequently, Jews developed new institutions to supplement the Temple. Outside of Roman Judea, Jews established proseuchai (house of prayer). Within Roman Judea, Jews established synagogues (meeting houses). Synagogues served primarily as local civic-centers, but people in synagogues and proseuchai developed practices based on and paralleling practices in the Temple. For example, people in the proseuchai imitated the Temple practice of reciting the Shema twice daily.

Messiahs and Millennial Prophets

Main articles: Messiah, Moshiach (Jewish concept of the word)

The English word "messiah" is derived from the Hebrew word mashiyakh or moshiach (he: משיח), meaning "anointed one." But this word has had other meanings, for different groups of people at different times. We cannot immediately assume that when Jews, or indeed Jesus and his followers, used the word, they used it the same way as people do now.

For many Christians today, "messiah" refers to the personal and divine savior of all humankind, an apocalyptic notion of messiah, as one who will usher in the end of history by resurrecting the dead and by executing God's judgement over humankind. This apocalyptic vision has its origins in Jewish culture during the Babylonian Exile and the Second Temple Period. Nevertheless, it existed alongside a nationalist notion of messiah, as one who will defend the Jews against foreign oppressors and rule the Jews justly, and by divine right. This nationalist vision has its origins in the Hebrew Bible, and endures among Jews today.

In the Hebrew Bible, "messiah" was originally used to refer to formally appointed High Priests and kings. The Essenes and the Mishnah, edited in 200, uses the term mainly to refer to the High Priest. By the time of the Roman occupation, however, many Jews also used the term to refer to a descendant of King David who would restore God's kingdom (see the passage from II Samuel quoted above [2]. Thus, although all Jewish kings were anointed, not all kings were considered messianic. The Hasmonean kings (162 BCE - 56 BCE) were not descended from David, and did not claim to have established God's Kingdom. After the Roman occupation and the fall of the Hasmoneans, many Jews seeing these as the end of days, hoped that the Romans would somehow fall or be replaced by a Jewish king. They were divided as to how this might occur. Most Jews believed that their history was governed by God, meaning that even the conquest of Judea by the Romans was a divine act. Thus, the majority of Jews accepted Roman rule^{[citation needed]}, and did not look for, or encourage, messiahs. They believed that the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king only through divine intervention at a time of God's choosing. The word 'moshiach' came to be used for the one who would achieve these things.

During this period a new class of prophets emerged who hearkened back to Moses and Joshua as harbingers of national liberation. These men did not claim to be messiahs, and did not rely on physical force, but did lead large movements of people (from the hundreds to the thousands) to act in ways that, they believed, would lead God to restore his kingdom. For example, in 36 a Samaritan led a large group up Mount Gerizim, where they believed Moses had buried sacred vessels (echoing Moses' ascent up Mt. Sinai). Pilate blocked their route and killed their leaders. Josephus, who elsewhere expressed prejudice against Samaritans, suggested that they were armed. But the surviving Samaritans appealed to the Syrian Legate, Vitellius, that they were unarmed and that Pilate's actions were excessively cruel. As a result, Pilate was sent to Rome and ultimately dismissed from his post as procurator. Another such prophet was Theudas, who, sometime between 44 and 46 led a large group of people to the Jordan river, which he claimed he could part (echoing Moses at the Red Sea and Joshua at the Jordan river). Fadus, the procurator who succeeded Pilate, blocked their route and killed Theudas. An "Egyptian Prophet" (it is unclear if the prophet came from Egypt, or was invoking Moses' Egyptian origin) led thirty thousand around the mount of Olives and sought to enter Jerusalem until stopped by Felix, the procurator who succeeded Fadus.

Sicarii, Bandits, and Zealots

Various groups also resisted the status quo by force of arms. In many cases these groups did not have a clearly defined revolutionary program; in some cases they were opposed more to urban elites than to the Romans per se. These groups took on different forms, with different methods in the North than in the South.

In addition, bandits or brigands had been active in the region. Social historians have suggested that bandits are common in peasant societies; often poor men who identify with other peasants, but who seek to acquire wealth and political power. When Herod was still military governor in the Galilee, he spent a good deal of time fighting bandits under the leadership of Ezekias. These bandits are best understood as a peasant group whose targets were local elites (both Hasmonean and Herodian) rather than Rome. Ventidius Cumanus (procurator 48 to 52 CE) often retaliated against brigandry by punishing peasant communities he believed to be their base of support. When a Galillean pilgrim on way to Jerusalem was murdered by a Samaritan, the bandit chief Eliezar organized Galilleans for a counter-attack, and Cumanus moved against the Jews. The Syrian legate Quadratus intervened and sent several Jewish and Samaritan officials to Rome. The Emperor Claudius took the Jewish side, and had the Samaritan leaders executed and exiled, and turned one named Veler over to the Jews who beheaded him. Thus, widespread peasant unrest of this period was not exclusively directed against Rome but also expressed discontent against urban elites and other groups; Roman policy sought to contain the power of the bandits while cultivating Jewish support.

During the Great Revolt in 66, Josephus was sent to command the Galilee. He raised an army primarily of local bandits who pillaged nearby Greek and Roman cities (including ones occupied by Jewish elites), including the administrative centers of Sepphoris, Tiberias, and Gabara. This suggests that they were concerned primarily with gain or social insurrection against local elites, rather than a political revolution against Roman occupation. When Roman legions arrived from Syria, the bandit army melted away.

The Romans employed a scorched-earth policy in its fight in the north, driving thousands of peasants sourthwards towards Jerusalem. Between 67 and 68, these peasants, perhaps led by bandits, formed a new political party called the Zealots, which believed that an independent kingdom should be restored immediately through force of arms. It is unclear whether their leaders made messianic claims. The Zealots imprisoned members of the Herodian family, killed the former high priests Ananus ben Artanus and Joshua ben Gamaliel, and put on trial the wealthiest citizens. It is possible that they believed they were purging elements who whom they believed would have surrendered to the Romans. But these purges also reveal the great social divide between Jewish peasants and aristocrats at this time. They formed part of a social revolution: although they ultimately lost to the Romans, elite groups like the Hasmoneans, Herodians, and Sadducees would never again have power in Roman Judea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_and_historical_background_of_Jesus

                        Destruction of the 2nd Temple 70 A.D.

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