Jewish-Roman revolts occurred throughout the long period of Roman occupation across the Eastern Mediterranean, which included parts of modern Southeast Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. However, arguably the most contentious period between Romans and their Jewish subjects occurred during the first and second centuries CE and settled significantly shortly after the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE. Scholarly arguments of the causes of the Jewish-Roman revolts are as abundant as the many years the conflict occurred including theories on themes of opposition to acculturation and the resulting lack of agency to the Jewish subjects. Despite the broad range of arguments for the causes of the revolts, the general consensus among
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One such example of the repetition to the disregard of the Jewish faith by their occupiers was with the siege of Jerusalem and the subsequent destruction of The Second Temple, also known as Herod’s Temple, by the Romans under Titus in the first century CE during the first Jewish-Roman War, leaving only the Western Wall. In an account by Sulpicius Severus, he discussed the events and the perceived motives years after they occurred, and the Roman’s motives to eradicate Judaism and their acknowledgement of The Second Temple having centuries long significance to the Jewish people are both parts of this account, which are mirrored in prior accounts.[7] Accounts of repeated attacks, pillages, and desecrations of Jewish temples were written by scholars that lived through these events or were well connected and could, therefore, provide a reliable resource. Of course, corroboration between sources makes their validity more substantial when the authors are of various backgrounds. Case in point, Jewish scholar and Roman citizen Flavius Josephus provides a lengthy analysis of Pompey’s conquests in Jerusalem, including an account of the prior conquest of the city by Herod and his renaming of Jerusalem to Cæsarea.[8] His account in the Antiquities of the Jews was supported by works such as Cornelius Tacitus’ Histories, Cassius Dio’s Roman History, and Plutarch’s “The Life of Pompey” …show more content…
Unlike Rabbinic Jews, the Karaite Jews believed that the oral portions of the Talmud are invalid due to conflicting messages.[10] Ultimately, the Romans responded to these foreign values with demands that the Jews submit to Roman rule and convert to Roman faith, as previously stated, and I found no evidence or research regarding preferential treatment toward one sect or the other. However, this lack of unity in the Jewish community arguably made conflicts with their Roman rulers somewhat easier because there were different pockets of people to rally and then unity to push back against a common cause. Though some Jewish territories under Roman rule accepted non-conversion and there are interesting similarities between Roman laws and Jewish faith, particularly in terms of matriarchy and patriarchy such as the comparison that to be Jewish one’s mother must be Jewish just as if a Roman woman has a child with a non-Roman citizen the child still becomes a citizen, Roman conversion requests were common.[11] These conversions were a sign of allegiance that included a show of faith such as pagan ritual sacrifices that Jews would deem sacrilegious due to their beliefs in idolatry.[12] The result of such sacrifice actually displayed the divisions in the Jewish community as Josephus explained that some immediately wanted to resort to
One such example of the repetition to the disregard of the Jewish faith by their occupiers was with the siege of Jerusalem and the subsequent destruction of The Second Temple, also known as Herod’s Temple, by the Romans under Titus in the first century CE during the first Jewish-Roman War, leaving only the Western Wall. In an account by Sulpicius Severus, he discussed the events and the perceived motives years after they occurred, and the Roman’s motives to eradicate Judaism and their acknowledgement of The Second Temple having centuries long significance to the Jewish people are both parts of this account, which are mirrored in prior accounts.[7] Accounts of repeated attacks, pillages, and desecrations of Jewish temples were written by scholars that lived through these events or were well connected and could, therefore, provide a reliable resource. Of course, corroboration between sources makes their validity more substantial when the authors are of various backgrounds. Case in point, Jewish scholar and Roman citizen Flavius Josephus provides a lengthy analysis of Pompey’s conquests in Jerusalem, including an account of the prior conquest of the city by Herod and his renaming of Jerusalem to Cæsarea.[8] His account in the Antiquities of the Jews was supported by works such as Cornelius Tacitus’ Histories, Cassius Dio’s Roman History, and Plutarch’s “The Life of Pompey” …show more content…
Unlike Rabbinic Jews, the Karaite Jews believed that the oral portions of the Talmud are invalid due to conflicting messages.[10] Ultimately, the Romans responded to these foreign values with demands that the Jews submit to Roman rule and convert to Roman faith, as previously stated, and I found no evidence or research regarding preferential treatment toward one sect or the other. However, this lack of unity in the Jewish community arguably made conflicts with their Roman rulers somewhat easier because there were different pockets of people to rally and then unity to push back against a common cause. Though some Jewish territories under Roman rule accepted non-conversion and there are interesting similarities between Roman laws and Jewish faith, particularly in terms of matriarchy and patriarchy such as the comparison that to be Jewish one’s mother must be Jewish just as if a Roman woman has a child with a non-Roman citizen the child still becomes a citizen, Roman conversion requests were common.[11] These conversions were a sign of allegiance that included a show of faith such as pagan ritual sacrifices that Jews would deem sacrilegious due to their beliefs in idolatry.[12] The result of such sacrifice actually displayed the divisions in the Jewish community as Josephus explained that some immediately wanted to resort to