When Rome Ruled Palestine

In the twelfth year of Emperor Tiberius's reign, a new Roman procurator was sent to the eastern Mediterranean to govern the subject land of Judaea. Some ten years later, he was removed from office for a misdeed and exiled to Gaul, where he may have committed suicide. The man, Pontius Pilate, could never have imagined that his name would be forever fixed in history through a minor event of those years in Palestine - his sentencing to death of an accused rebel, a Jew named Jesus. Palestine was the scene of great political, social, and religious upheaval in the two centuries surrounding the life of Jesus. The Romans under Pompey arrived as conquerors in 63 BCE. Not until CE 135, two centuries later, was Roman mastery of the troublesome Jewish homeland made complete. The Jews, inheritors and guardians of an ancient belief in a single, all-powerful God, were dispersed to many lands. The followers of Jesus, originally a minor sect within Judaism, eventually forged a powerful religion out of the belief that he was the Messiah. As different as they remain, Judaism and Christianity share a common reverence for the Old Testament and for the Holy Land, where Jesus once walked, and where, since 1948, the Jewish state of Israel has flourished. Here is the story of a land in ferment and the growth of these two faiths. It forms an absorbing and important historical chronicle.

In the twelfth year of Emperor Tiberius's reign, a new Roman procurator was sent to the eastern Mediterranean to govern the subject land of Judaea. Some ten years later, he was removed from office for a misdeed and exiled to Gaul, where he may have committed suicide. The man, Pontius Pilate, could never have imagined that his name would be forever fixed in history through a minor event of those years in Palestine - his sentencing to death of an accused rebel, a Jew named Jesus.Palestine was the scene of great political, social, and religious upheaval in the two centuries surrounding the life of Jesus. The Romans under Pompey arrived as conquerors in 63 BCE. Not until CE 135, two centuries later, was Roman mastery of the troublesome Jewish homeland made complete. The Jews, inheritors and guardians of an ancient belief in a single, all-powerful God, were dispersed to many lands.The followers of Jesus, originally a minor sect within Judaism, eventually forged a powerful religion out of the belief that he was the Messiah. As different as they remain, Judaism and Christianity share a common reverence for the Old Testament and for the Holy Land, where Jesus once walked, and where, since 1948, the Jewish state of Israel has flourished.Here is the story of a land in ferment and the growth of these two faiths. It forms an absorbing and important historical chronicle.

It is remarkable that Judaism could develop given the domination by Rome in Palestine over the centuries. Smallwood traces Judaism's constantly shifting political, religious, and geographical boundaries under Roman rule from Pompey to Diocletian, that is, from the first century BCE through the third century CE. From a long-standing nationalistic tradition that was a tolerated sect under a pagan ruler, Judaism becomes, over time, a threat that needs to be repressed and confined against a now-Christian empire. This work examines the galvanizing forces that shaped and defined Judaism as we have come to know it. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.

This superb, illustrated history reveals Rome's conquest and rule over Israel and Judea, and how the Roman occupation deeply influenced the culture, law and religious establishment of the Jews. Spanning about 300 years, from the mid-2nd century BC to the mid-2nd century AD, William Morrison's investigation is thorough. Elements of this history is sociological; rigorous examinations of the social classes and composition of the Jewish society before and during the Roman conquest are central to the author's explanations. While other histories of this hotly-debated place of human history become bogged down in minutiae or conflicting sources, Morrison consistently strives to deliver a cohesive vision of ancient Israel and Palestine, of power structures military and religious. Roman policy towards conquered peoples are detailed; these were specially adopted and compromised for the region of Israel after a series of bloody conflicts. The strong presence of an ancient and distinctive monotheistic religion - Judaism - led the Romans to cooperate with the priesthood. Where other peoples had their spiritual traditions destroyed or suppressed, the Jewish temple was permitted to remain. However, the laws in Judea changed along with its overarching culture, especially once trade and migrations ensued between the locality and the wider Empire. Accompanied with some 45 illustrations, maps and photographs, Morrison's history of Israel under Roman occupation remains a valuable work and a worthy read.

This superb, illustrated history reveals Rome's conquest and rule over Israel and Judea, and how the Roman occupation deeply influenced the culture, law and religious establishment of the Jews. Spanning about 300 years, from the mid-2nd century BC to the mid-2nd century AD, William Morrison's investigation is thorough. Elements of this history is sociological; rigorous examinations of the social classes and composition of the Jewish society before and during the Roman conquest are central to the author's explanations. While other histories of this hotly-debated place of human history become bogged down in minutiae or conflicting sources, Morrison consistently strives to deliver a cohesive vision of ancient Israel and Palestine, of power structures military and religious. Roman policy towards conquered peoples are detailed; these were specially adopted and compromised for the region of Israel after a series of bloody conflicts. The strong presence of an ancient and distinctive monotheistic religion - Judaism - led the Romans to cooperate with the priesthood. Where other peoples had their spiritual traditions destroyed or suppressed, the Jewish temple was permitted to remain. However, the laws in Judea changed along with its overarching culture, especially once trade and migrations ensued between the locality and the wider Empire. Accompanied with some 45 illustrations, maps and photographs, Morrison's history of Israel under Roman occupation remains a valuable work and a worthy read.

It is remarkable that Judaism could develop given the domination by Rome in Palestine over the centuries. Smallwood traces Judaism's constantly shifting political, religious, and geographical boundaries under Roman rule from Pompey to Diocletian, that is, from the first century BCE through the third century CE. From a long-standing nationalistic tradition that was a tolerated sect under a pagan ruler, Judaism becomes, over time, a threat that needs to be repressed and confined against a now-Christian empire. This work examines the galvanizing forces that shaped and defined Judaism as we have come to know it. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.

Influential 1896 polemic by the father of modern Zionism discusses political and historic rationales for a Jewish homeland. Excellent translation includes an Introduction by Louis Lipsky and a biography of the author.