Jerusalem
Historical Background: General
After dividing between them the lands under Roman rule, escalating tensions between Octavian and Mark Antony erupted at the battle of Actium (31 B. C.E.), a naval engagement fought off the coast of Greece. Antony and Cleopatra were defeated and fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide. Octavian became sole ruler of Rome, and in 27 B. C.E. the Roman Senate awarded him the title Augustus, marking the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Despite being sickly, Augustus outlived a number of designated heirs, ruling until his death in 14 C. E. Augustus promoted the arts and literature, and initiated a massive building program that transformed Rome's appearance. Augustus's successors (the Julio-Claudian dynasty) were Tiberius (14—37), Gaius Caligula (37—41), Claudius (41—54), and Nero (54—68).
After Nero committed suicide, a civil war erupted, with a rapid succession of four emperors over the course of a year (69). Order was restored with the accession to the throne of the general Vespasian, who established the Flavian dynasty (consisting of Vespasian [69—79] and his sons Titus [79—81] and Domi-tian [81—96]).
Historical Background: Palestine
After being appointed king of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 B. C.E., Herod returned to Palestine to fight Mattathias Antigonus, who surrendered with the fall of Jerusalem in 37 B. C.E. and was beheaded by Mark Antony. Ironically, during the first part of his reign, Herod's greatest threat came from his supporter,
7.1 Map of the Roman Empire. Ancient World Mapping Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Www. unc. edu/awmc).
Mark Antony — or, more specifically, from Antony's lover (and later wife), Cleopatra VII. As a Ptolemaic queen, Cleopatra coveted the territories ruled by Herod, which once had been part of the Ptolemaic kingdom. She persuaded Antony to give her parts of Herod's kingdom, including the Decapolis cities, most of the Palestinian coast, the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, and the lucrative plantations at Jericho, which produced an expensive perfume from the opobalsam plant. The battle of Actium removed the threat of Cleopatra, but Herod feared that his friendship with Antony would cost him the throne — and perhaps his life. Herod therefore hastened to meet with Octavian, to whom he now pledged loyalty. Octavian was persuaded; he not only reconfirmed Herod as king of Judea but also increased the size of his kingdom, which eventually included the Golan and extended even farther to the north and east.
Herod was an unusually cruel ruler, even by ancient standards. He dealt ruthlessly with all opposition (real and imagined), including members of his own household. Herod's paranoia was perhaps partially justified, as he was unpopular among much of the Jewish population, which considered him — an Idumaean Jew who was not a Hasmonean — a usurper to the throne. Herod's marriage to the beautiful Hasmonean princess Mariamne, one of his nine wives (many of whom were not Jewish) complicated matters, as from Herod's point of view the greatest threat to his rule came from the Hasmonean family. Eventually Herod had Mariamne (who was his favorite wife), as well as her younger brother Aristobulus III and their mother Alexandra, put to death. Later in his reign, Herod had two of his grown sons by Mariamne (Aristobulus and Alexander) strangled, and just five days before his death, Herod ordered the execution of his oldest son, Antipater (by his first wife, Doris). No wonder Augustus reportedly quipped, “It is better to be Herod's pig than his son." This is a clever pun on the Greek words for pig (hus) and son (huios), and it suggests that Herod might have observed the biblical Jewish dietary laws by abstaining from pork. Herod's elimination of several family members, including his own sons, might underlie the story of the massacre of the innocents (Matthew 2:16—18), according to which Herod ordered the slaughter of all children under the age of two around Bethlehem. Ironically, Herod is perhaps best remembered for this atrocity, despite the fact that many scholars believe it is fictitious.
In archaeological circles, Herod is known for having been the single greatest builder in the history of Palestine. Herod's projects include the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple, the rebuilding of Straton's Tower (Caesarea) and Samaria, the construction of a winter palace at Jericho, and the establishment of fortified palaces in the Judean Desert, including those at Herodium and Masada. Herod died at Jericho in 4 B. C.E., after suffering from an agonizing illness (perhaps syphilis?), and was buried at Herodium.
7.2 Map of Herod's kingdom. Ancient World Mapping Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Www. unc. edu/awmc).
Herod's kingdom was divided among three of his sons (all named Herod), although they were awarded a lesser title than “king":
• Herod Archelaus received Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea. A cruel and ineffective ruler, he was removed from his post and banished to Gaul in 6 C. E.
• Herod Antipas received Galilee and Peraea (a Judaized territory east of the Jordan River and Dead Sea). He rebuilt Sepphoris in Galilee and established a new capital city at Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee (named in honor of the emperor Tiberius). He is perhaps best known for having John the Baptist beheaded. According to the Gospel accounts, John condemned Antipas' marriage to his brother's wife Herodias, a union that is prohibited by biblical law. Josephus attributed the execution to Antipas' fears that John's movement would cause political unrest. Antipas was removed from his post and banished to Gaul in 39 C. E.
• Herod Philip received Gaulanitis, Trachonitis, Batanea, and Panias, which were northern territories inhabited mostly by Gentile populations. Philip was married to Herodias (the daughter of Herod's sister), until she divorced him to marry Antipas. Philip was the only son of Herod to rule until his death (33/34 C. E.).
The Romans (like the Ptolemies and Seleucids) did not have a monolithic system of government, but instead employed different administrative models that varied across time and space. Whereas the province of Syria was under the direct administration of a legate, up to this point Judea had been ruled by a client king (Herod) and his sons. When Archelaus was removed from his post in 6 C. E., the Romans replaced the native (Herodian) dynasty with governors (prefects or procurators), who were outranked by the legate in Syria. The Roman governors moved the capital of Judea from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima. Philo describes Pontius Pilate, the fifth prefect (26—36 C. E.), as “naturally inflexible, a blend of self-will and relentlessness," and speaks of his conduct as full of “briberies, insults, robberies, outrages and wanton injuries, executions without trial constantly repeated, ceaseless and supremely grievous cruelty" (Embassy to Gaius 301—2). It was during Pilate's administration that Jesus was arrested and crucified. Pilate was removed from office after executing a group of Samaritans who had followed their leader to Mount Gerizim in search of tabernacle treasures.
After Herod Philip died (37 C. E.), the emperor Gaius Caligula gave his territories to Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great and Mariamne. Herod Agrippa I had been raised in Rome and, as a child, became friends with the young Caligula. When Antipas was deposed in 39 C. E., Herod Agrippa I received his territories as well. After Caligula was assassinated, Herod Agrippa I helped convince the Roman Senate to appoint Claudius as the next emperor. In return, Claudius granted Herod Agrippa I Judea, Samaria, and Idumaea. Therefore, by 41 C. E., all of Herod the Great's former kingdom was under the rule of his grandson. Although Herod Agrippa I was not an observant Jew, he was popular among the Jewish population. Christian tradition describes Herod Agrippa I as a persecutor of the early church who had James the son of Zebedee beheaded and Peter arrested (Acts 12:1—3). Herod Agrippa I ruled only briefly, until his death in 44 C. E., when his kingdom reverted to the administration of Roman governors. His son, Herod Agrippa II, was granted the small kingdom of Chalcis in Lebanon and was given oversight of the Jerusalem temple. Herod Agrippa II remained a faithful vassal of Rome until his death (ca. 92 C. E.).
After Herod Agrippa I died, conditions in Palestine deteriorated, thanks to the inept and corrupt Roman governors and an increasingly polarized population. Escalating tensions pitted rich against poor, rural against urban, Jews against Samaritans, Jews against Gentiles, and members of various Jewish sects and movements against one another. Gangs of bandits roamed the countryside, robbing victims and making travel unsafe. An urban terrorist group called the Sicarii (literally, the “dagger men") assassinated their opponents in broad daylight by circulating among dense crowds and stabbing victims in the back, then hiding their daggers under their robes and disappearing amid the ensuing panic. The escalating unrest culminated with the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt against the Romans in 66 C. E. The Jews established an independent government and divided the country into seven administrative districts. After the Syrian legate Cestius Gallus was defeated in battle by the Jewish insurgents, Nero appointed Vespasian as general. Vespasian assembled his troops at Antioch and marched south, first taking Galilee and then Peraea (including Jericho and apparently Qumran in late spring-early summer of 68). Vespasian's strategy of isolating Jerusalem by subduing the rest of the country first was delayed by Nero's death and the civil war in Rome, as he awaited orders from the emperor. After Vespasian was proclaimed emperor in 69, he departed for Rome and left his older son Titus in charge.
By the time Titus undertook the siege of Jerusalem, the city's population was swollen with refugees. A dire shortage of food was exacerbated by the burning of granaries during the course of infighting among various rebel factions. The Romans tried to intimidate the Jews into submission by returning prisoners to the city with their hands cut off and by crucifixion near the walls: “The soldiers out of rage and hatred amused themselves by nailing their prisoners in different postures; and so great was their number, that space could not be found for the crosses nor crosses for their bodies" (Jos., War 5:451). Despite stiff Jewish resistance, the Romans managed to breach the city's walls on the north and took the Antonia fortress. According to Josephus, the daily sacrifices in the temple ceased on that day, probably because of lack of lambs. Fighting then spread onto the Temple Mount, where some Jews took refuge inside the temple, which had its own fortifications. The temple was set on fire and burned to the ground on the tenth day of the Jewish month of Av (August of 70; according to rabbinic chronology, the ninth of Av). Titus and his men entered the burning building and removed its treasures. Fighting continued on the western hill for another month. The Jews made their last stand in Herod's palace, where the rebel leaders Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala (Gush Halav) were captured.
The First Jewish Revolt ended with the fall of Jerusalem in 70. Back at home in Rome, Vespasian and Titus celebrated their victory with a parade of prisoners and treasures from Jerusalem. The treasures included the menorah (seven-branched candelabrum) and showbread table from the Jerusalem temple, which are depicted on the arch of Titus in the Roman Forum and were put on display in a temple that Vespasian dedicated to Peace. The victory parade culminated at the temple of Capitoline Jupiter, where Simon bar Giora was taken to be scourged and executed, while John of Gischala was sentenced to life in prison.
Jerusalem
World History
