A BRIEF HISTORICAL
1.
Alexander the Great and the Period of the Successors
Alexander
Rome had taken control of Italy by the middle of the third century BCE. During the latter half of the third century BCE, Rome engaged in a conflict for supremacy with Carthage; the resulting wars were known as the Punic wars. (Punicus was the word that the Romans used for a Cathaginian.) In the First Punic War (264-41 BCE), Rome fought Carthage for control of Sicily and won. In the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE), Rome and Carthage fought again, and Hannibal invaded Italy, fighting the Romans on their own territory. The Romans eventually prevailed, and in 201 BCE, Carthage surrendered to Rome and was forced to cede Spain to Roman control. In 151-146 BCE, Rome fought with Carthage again, and this time Rome devastated Carthage, eliminating it as a world power. In the second century BCE,
Rome also came into conflict with the Macedonian (or Antigonid) kingdom,
which eventually led to its conquest by Rome. The Macedonian Kingdom
had allied itself with Carthage during the First Punic War, thereby
making enemies of the Romans. Between 215-206 BCE, Rome, allied with
the Aetolian League, Sparta, and Pergamum, defeated Philip V, king of
the Macedonian kingdom, and his ally, the Achaian League, forcing Philip
to agree to peace on terms favorable to the Romans and its allies (First
Macedonian War). The enemies of Philip V complained to Rome that Philip
was infringing on their territory; the senate declared war, and Rome
defeated Philip's forces (Second Macedonian War) (200-196 BCE). The
decisive battle was at Cunoscephalae in Thessaly in 196 BCE. Philip
was to pay indemnity and divest himself of all Greek territory; the
Greeks were granted freedom but allied themselves with Rome, following
Rome’s direction. After the Second Macedonian War, the Seleucid
kingdom, ruled by Antiochus III, taking advantage of the confusion in
Macedonia/Greece, sought to take control of parts of Asia Minor and
Thrace that once belonged to the Macedonian kingdom. In 190 BCE, however,
at the battle of Magnesia, the Romans defeated the Seleucid kingdom.
This was a foreshadowing of a greater Roman presence in the eastern
Mediterranean.
Judea as part of the Seleucid
kingdom existed in an uneasy relationship with its overlord. A major
source of tension was the issue of Hellenism, which was the state-supported
culture of the Seleucid kingdom; the Seleucid rulers encouraged Hellenism
among their subject peoples in hope of unifying them into a single culture,
thereby lessening the possibility of dissension and revolt. There was
a political faction of Jews in Judea that was in favor of the Hellenization
of Jewish society, to whom 1 & 2 Maccabees refer in unfavorable
terms (These men are called "men outside the law" or "the lawless men").
In 174 BCE Onias III, the High Priest, was deposed by Antiochus IV in
favor of his brother Joshua, who went by the Hellenistic name of Jason.
Joshua (Jason) offered Antiochus IV money and cooperation in the process
of Hellenization, if he made him High Priest; Antiochus accepted the
offer. Joshua (Jason) was High Priest for three years (174-171
BCE), during which time he built a gymnasion
in Jerusalem, a cultural institution instrumental in the promotion of
Hellenistic culture and established
an ephebic organization for Jewish adolescent males (ephebes).
It would seem that the goal of Joshua (Jason) was to convert Jerusalem
into a Hellenistic city (polis) within the Seleucid kingdom.
After three years, in 171 BCE, a rival to Joshua (Jason) named Menelaus made a better offer to Antiochus IV; as a result, Joshua (Jason) was deposed as High Priest and was replaced by Menelaus, who arranged to have Onias III murdered. In 170 BCE, on the false rumor that Antiochus IV was dead, Joshua (Jason) and his followers attacked Jerusalem, and forced his rival, Menelaus, to take refuge in the citadel in Jerusalem. Antiochus IV used this incident as a pretense to intervene militarily in the affairs of Judea. At the time he was involved in a successful campaign against the Ptolemaic kingdom to the south of Judea; on his return to Syria in 169 BCE, he invaded Jerusalem, slaughtered many Jews who opposed him, and plundered the Temple. He was aided in all this by Menelaus and his supporters. In 168 BCE, Antiochus IV began another campaign against the Ptolemaic kingdom in order to consolidate his previous gains, but this time, before he could carry out his intentions, the Roman general Popilius Laeneas sent an ultimatum to Antiochus IV ordering him to withdraw from Egypt or else be considered an enemy of Rome (The Ptolemaic kingdom had become an ally of Rome). Antiochus IV withdrew unwillingly; instead of attacking Egypt, he ordered that Jerusalem become a Hellenistic city and that Judaism become an outlawed religion and way of life. (Exactly why Antiochus IV began a religious persecution against the Jews is not clear and is a matter of debate.) Those Jews who would not cooperate would be killed and their wives and children sold into slavery. The Jews were forbidden to circumcise their children, observe the Sabbath, in short, to do anything that would mark them off as Jews. A pagan altar was placed upon the altar in the Temple and animals—including pigs—were sacrificed to the Olympic Zeus. The worship of the other Greek gods was also introduced in Jerusalem and other parts of Judea; pagan altars were built and Jews were encourage to participate in sacrifices at these altars. There were Jews who welcomed the policy of forced Hellenization and cooperated with Antiochus IV; there were also those who opposed the policy and refused to abandon the Law, the conformity to which made the Jews distinctive as a people. This led to a Jewish civil war. In a town called Modein, near Jerusalem, an officer of the king required that the people of the town sacrifice at a pagan altar. A man named Matthatias, a priest who had five sons, was present, and when a Jew went forward to offer the sacrifice, Matthatias killed him and the officer, and fled to the mountains with his family and some supporters. This began the Maccabean revolt in 167 BCE. Matthatias died later that year, and was succeeded by his son Judas, who was nicknamed "Maccabee," probably meaning "hammer"; his family was known as the Hasmoneans. Judas rallied to himself many Jews who in 1 Maccabees are called the Chasidim ("the pious ones") and together they won battle after battle against the Seleucid armies until Judas established himself and his followers as the de facto ruling force in Jerusalem and Judea. Judas set out to reverse the effects of the policy of forced Hellenization, and in 165 BCE purified and rededicated the Temple. Judas met his end on the battlefield in 160 BCE. This event became the reason and basis of a new, post-biblical festival called Chanukkah ('Dedication'). The period
of time from Judas' victory until the conquest of Judea by the Roman
general Pompey saw the expansion of the Jewish state through conquest
under the leadership of the Hasmoneans (the Maccabeans) and their descendants,
though they continued to fight with the Seleucids and with Jews who
opposed them. A series of Hasmonean rulers emerged during this period,
brothers or Hasmonean descendants: Judas (165-60 BCE); Jonathan (160-142
BCE); Simon (142-134 BCE); John Hyrcanus (son of Simon 134-104 BCE);
Aristobolus (son of John Hyrcanus 104-103 BCE); Alexander Jannaeus (son
of John Hyrcanus 103-76 BCE).
By 76 BCE under Alexander Jannaeus, the borders of the Jewish state were expanded mostly through conquest to include all of Palestine. The Jewish people during this period made the Hasmoneans both a ruling dynasty as well as High Priests. A woman, Salome Alexandra, the wife of Alexander Jannaeus, succeeded her husband in 76 BCE, and ruled in alliance with the Pharisees, who made their appearance some time in the second-century BCE. Her son Hyrcanus II served as High Priest during this period.  4.
Pompey and the End of Jewish Independence Jewish and Roman histories begin to intersect at this point, so that one cannot discuss Jewish history without discussing Roman history (the reverse is not as true, of course). When Salome died in 67 BCE, there arose a conflict between Hyrcanus II and his brother Aristobolus II over who would succeed their mother as both High Priest and king; these two were leaders of de facto poltical parties within the Jewish state. Aristobolus declared war on Hyrcanus, and in a decisive battle many of the soldiers supporting Hyrcanus deserted to Aristobolus. Hyrcanus agreed that his brother Aristobolus would be High Priest and king. But the matter did not end there. Antipater, an Idumean who was appointed governor of Idumea by Alexander Jannaeus, took up the cause of Hyrcanus II and with the military support of the Nabatean king Aretas—who had lost much territory to the Jews—marched to Jerusalem, laid siege to the city and demanded that Hyrcanus II be reinstated as High Priest and be appointed king. Meanwhile,
the Roman general Pompey by the authority of the Roman senate went to
Asia Minor in order to put down a rebellion by Mithridates VI Eupator,
the king of Pontus. In 63
BCE, Pompey met with Aristobolus II and Hyrcanus II in Damascus to hear
their respective cases for being appointed king and High Priest. (A
third delegation of Jews requested that the monarchy be abolished, but
Pompey did not take it too seriously.) Pompey asked both to stay in
Damascus and to wait on his decision. Aristobolus II, however, left
Damascus without Pompey's permission, so that Pompey justifiably suspected
Aristobolus II to be disloyal to him and the Romans. So with his army
he pursued Aristobolus II, who eventually surrendered near Jericho.
In the meantime, the people of Jerusalem shut the gates of the city
against Gabinius, the proconsul of Syria, who was sent to Jerusalem
by Pompey to get money that Aristobolus II had promised and to take
possession of the city. Pompey marched on the city, having taken Aristobolus
II as a prisoner, and the gates were opened to him by the followers
of Hyrcanus II. The supporters of Aristobolus II were forced to take
refuge in the Temple. Pompey besieged the Temple, and within three months
broke through the walls and allegedly killed about 12,000 Jews. (This
is according to Josephus, who tends to exaggerate when it comes to numbers.)
The borders of the former Jewish state were greatly reduced; what remained
was Judea, Idumea, Perea and Galilee. Pompey installed Hyrcanus II as
High Priest, but did not give him the title of king; Pompey took Aristobolus
II and many other Jewish prisoners of war to Rome where they were resettled.
A few years later Hyrcanus II was stripped of all political power, and
Gabinius, the proconsul of Syria, divided what territory remained of
the Hasmonean state into five regions, under his immediate control.
This was the end of an independent Jewish state. In Rome, a civil war erupted between Pompey and
Julius Caesar in 49 BCE, former members of the first triumvirate,
Julius Caesar was murdered in 44 BCE by In 40 BCE Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus II, allied with the Parthians, gained control of Jerusalem; a Hasmonean was once again king. Antigonus took Hyrcanus II and Phasael prisoners. Herod escaped to Masada, but Phasael killed himself. Antigonus had the ears of his uncle Hyrcanus II cut off in order to disqualify him as High Priest, a position that he then assumed. Meanwhile, Herod fled from Masada and arrived in Rome in 40 BCE. He gained the confidence of Marcus Antonius and Octavius (Lepidus no longer shared power with the other two triumvirs at this point). The Roman senate granted Herod the title of king of the Jews, and in 37 BCE he marched to Jerusalem with Roman military help and regained the city. From 37 until 4 BCE, Herod reigned in Jerusalem
and gradually with the approval of the Romans expanded his kingdom
to include most of Palestine; his kingdom included both Jews and gentiles,
but he did not follow the Hasmonean policy of forcibly converting Gentiles
to Judaism. It is at this point that the events described in the New
Testament begin to take place.
In spite
of tumultuous familial relations and a certain amount of unpopularity
among his subjects,
The emperors, beginning with Augustus, who are relevant to the events described in or presupposed by the books of the New Testament are as follows: 1. Augustus (27 BCE - 14); Tiberius (14-37); Gaius (Caligula) (37-41); Claudius (41-54); Nero (54-68); Galba (69); Vitellius (69); Vespasian (69-79); Titus (79-81); Domitian (81-96).
Herod died of an illness in 4 BCE, and he bequeathed his kingdom to three of his sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip; Herod's kingdom was to be divided among them.
The three sons three traveled to Rome to petition Augustus to ratify Herod's last will. The majority of Jews in Jerusalem also sent a delegation to Augustus asking him to abolish the Herodian dynasty and to place the region under direct Roman rule. Augustus decided in favor Herod's last will. He divided Herod's kingdom into three smaller territories. Herod
Antipas, whose mother was Malthace, was appointed tetrarch of Perea
and Galilee, when Jesus was growing up and during his public ministry
(see Josephus, Ant. 18; War 2. 167-68; Life 9,
12, 54).
Philip,
son of Cleopatra of Jerusalem, became the tetrarch of territory that
consisted of several regions, including the north eastern part of the
sea of Galilee, where the town of Bethsaida was located (see Josephus,
Ant. 18.26-27; 18.106-108; War 2.167-68;
2.181). He is not referred to directly in the New Testament, but reference
is made to the city Caesarea Philippi. The name derives from "Caesar
Augustus" and Philip's own name; it had a double name to distinguish
it from the other Caesarea, the harbor city built by Herod the Great.
Archelaus,
full brother of Antipas, became ethnarch of Judea and Samaria, but lasted
only a few years in his position, owing primarily to Jewish complaints
against him; he was removed from power in 6 and exiled to Gaul.
In 6 Archelaus'
territory was placed under the direct control of the Romans under the
authority of a procurator (or praefectus); one of the more historically
notable of these procurators was Pontius
Pilatus, who was the fifth to assume the post in 26.
Under
Claudius' reign in 50, Herod Agrippa II, the son of Herod Agrippa I,
received the territory that Philip, the son of Herod the Great, had
ruled as well as control of the Temple. The emperor Nero confirmed this
appointment when he came to power, and even expanded it in 54. (Herod
Agrippa II is called Agrippa in the Book of Acts.)
In 66
a war broke out between rebellious factions of Jews and culminated in
the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70. The Roman procurators'
corruption and ineptitude fueled the independence movement in those
regions of Palestine heavily populated by Jews. Years of tension came
to a head in 66. The illegal appropriation of funds from the Temple
treasury by Florus, the last Roman procurator, sparked a riot, which
culminated in the storming of the Antonia citadel and the slaughter
of the unarmed Roman cohorts (one tenth of a legion, which during the
time of imperial Rome was about 6,000 men) stationed there; this was
a declaration of war against the Romans. Those favoring the political
alternative of suing the Romans for peace were driven from the city,
leaving it to the rebels, many of whom belonged to the group known as
the Zealots.
The emperor
Nero responded to the
Vespasian left his son Titus in Palestine in charge of the army consisting
of four legions; Titus then resumed the siege of Jerusalem in 70. After
many successful campaigns at taking regions of the city, Titus succeeded
in breaking into the Temple where many of the Jewish rebels and the
remaining civilian population had retreated. The Romans killed almost
all the Jews in the Temple area and burned or otherwise destroyed the
Temple structures. There remained only the upper city of
7.
Nero’s Persecution of the Church
Nero succeeded the murdered Claudius as emperor in 54. Although he is not mentioned by name in the New Testament, he is the Caesar referred to in Acts 25-28 and Phil 4:2. By all accounts, in the latter part of his reign Nero was a moral degenerate and madman, who abused his power as emperor, being responsible for many murders. Because of the certain threat of imminent revolt, Nero had no choice but to commit suicide in 68.
On July 19, 64 a fire began in Rome that would burn
for five days; the fire began in the circus maximus, and eventually
spread to ten of the fourteen districts in which the city was divided.
Nero was in Antium when the fire broke out, and then returned to Rome.
In spite of his relief efforts, rumor abounded that Nero was responsible
for the fire;
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the Great died in 323 BCE. After his death, there was a
period of intense political infighting among the possible successors
of Alexander, who neither named a successor before his death nor had
a son who was a viable candidate for king. The period after Alexander's
death is known as the Diadochan period (Greek diadochos = successor).
Eventually Alexander's unified empire was broken into 
Pompey
defeated Mithridates in 66 BCE in what is called the Third Mithridatic
War (74-63 BCE). While in Asia Minor, Pompey heard of the dispute going
on in Jerusalem between Hyrcanus II and Aristobolus II from one of his
generals, Scaurus, who had been sent to Syria. Scaurus began to travel
to Judea to capitalize politically on this internal crisis of the Jews.
Hearing that the Roman general was on his way to Judea, both Aristobolus
II and Hyrcanus II sent emissaries to him in order to gain his support
for their respective causes; this was the beginning of the end of the
Hasmonean dynasty. Scaurus temporarily decided in favor of Aristobolus
II and ordered Aretas to withdraw, which he did. In the meantime, Pompey
conquered Syria, and Syria was made into a Roman province with a proconsul;
this was the end of the Seleucid kingdom.
the
other being Crassus, who had died. (The first triumvirate was formed
in 59 BCE in response to the crisis in the Roman republic caused by
the social unrest in Rome and Italy.) At first Hyrcanus II and Antipater,
who was the real power behind Hyrcanus II, supported Pompey, as most
from the east did, but quickly switched allegiances when it was discovered
that Caesar and his allies had been victorious over Pompey, who had
fled to Egypt and was killed in 48 BCE by Caesar's allies there. Hyrcanus
II and Antipater provided Caesar with military support in his war with
Ptolemy XIII, a former ally of Pompey. Caesar was given autocratic powers
by the Roman senate to carry through the necessary reforms to bring
stability to the Roman empire; he was proclaimed dictator (an
ancient political position of absolute power in times of crisis) in
46 BCE for ten years and in 45 BCE it became a life appointment; he
held the consulship several times and was the pontifex maximus. He
also took the title imperator, a military position of "commander-in-chief." The
Roman republic had come to an end. In gratitude for the help given to
him, Caesar appointed Hyrcanus II as High Priest and ethnarch of the
Jews, but it was Antipater who actually ruled in Jerusalem, who received
the appointment of procurator (epitropos) of Judea. (As indicated,
Antipater was not ethnically a Jew but an Idumean.) Antipater had two
sons, Phasael and Herod, both of whom were quite active militarily and
politically in various capacities.
Brutus
and Cassius, part of a conspiracy to restore the Roman republic; Marcus
Antonius, a consul and supporter of Caesar sought to avenge the death
of Caesar, with the result that another civil war broke out in the empire.
Antipater and Hyrcanus II allied themselves with Cassius. Marcus Antonius
with Octavius and their supporters, however, defeated Brutus and Cassius
and theirs in 42 BCE. This began the time of the second triumvirate
composed of Marcus Antonius, Octavius and Lepidus. Antipater was murdered
in 43 BCE. Although they, like their father, had supported Cassius,
after the death of Cassius, Herod and Phasael along with Hyrcanus II
quickly changed their allegiance and managed to convince Marcus Antonius
(by means of a bribe) that they would be loyal to him.
Herod
maintained tight control of Palestine. Early in Herod's reign, Marcus
Antonius and Octavius had a falling out, which led to another civil
war. They had agreed to share power in the empire, Marcus Antonius the
east and Ocatvius the west. Marcus Antonius became involved with Cleopatra
VII, of Ptolemaic royal lineage, and began to behave as an oriental
despot rather than as a Roman. As a result, Octavius, with the support
of the Roman senate, fought and defeated him at the battle of Actium
in Greece in 31 BCE. Although they managed to escape to Alexandria,
Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra VII realized that there was no way of
eluding Octavius, so that both committed suicide. In all this upheaval,
Herod had supported Octavius, so his position was secure at the end
of the civil war. The senate changed Octavius' name to 
uprising
by sending Vespasian with 60,000 legionaries,
auxillaries and allies under his charge. Departing from Antioch
in Syria, Vespasian retook Galilee between 66 and 68; he then moved
south to Judea, and besieged Jerusalem in 68. Nero died, however, in
68, and there erupted chaos in Rome over who would succeed him as emperor.
Vespasian lifted his siege of Jerusalem until political stability in
Rome was re-established. The Jewish rebels interpreted this as victory.
Galba was acclaimed emperor, and Vespasian sent his son Titus to Rome
to convey a greeting to him; but before he arrived, he heard in Corinth
that Galba had been murdered. After Galba, Vitellius was proclaimed
emperor. Titus returned to his father in Caesarea. In 69, the legions
under Vespasian's command acclaimed him as a rival emperor to Vitellius.
Since Vitellius was murdered in 69, Vespasian encountered little opposition
when returned to Rome to make good on his claim to being the new Roman
emperor.
Jerusalem
to take, which the Romans soon did. The Romans kept alive a select few
to march in a triumphal procession in Rome; after the procession the
prisoners were executed. With the destruction of Jerusalem there remained
three fortresses still held by the Zealots, one of which was Masada;
by 73 these had also been taken (see Tacitus, Histories, 5.1-13
for a Roman perspective on Jewish history, including the destruction
of the Temple [5.10-13]; other sources for this period in Roman history include
Tacitus, Histories, 2.1-4, 79-93; 4.81; 5.12-26; Suetonius, Vespasian
5-6; Titus, 4-5; Dio Cassius, Roman History 66.1, 4-7,
15).
his
purpose in arranging for the burning of Rome, according to Suetonius,
was to be able to rebuild the city on a grander scale (see Tacitus,
Annals 15.38-43; Suetonius, Nero 38). In order to quell
this rumor, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire, who, known for
their anti-social attitude (odium humani generis), made perfect
scapegoats. Beginning probably in 65, Nero ordered that confessed Christians
be arrested and interrogated; then on their disclosures (of the existence
of others who were Christians, presumably) vast numbers of Christians
were convicted and executed in cruel and unusual ways: "They
were covered with the skins of wild beasts and torn to death by dogs;
or they were fastened on crosses, and, when daylight failed, were burned
to serve as lamps by night" (Tacitus, Annals, 15.44; see
Suetonius, Nero, 16.2; 1 Clement 6). According to early
and reliable tradition, among the Christians who died during Nero’s
persecution were the apostles Peter and Paul (Eusebius, H.E.
2.25; 3.1); Paul was beheaded, whereas Peter was crucified. (According
to Origen, Peter was crucified upside down at his own request.) Tacitus
reports that those who witnessed the public execution of Christians
took pity on them, contrary to Nero’s intention, because they believed
that they were merely victims of one man’s cruelty. There is no clear
indication how long the persecution lasted or whether it was continuous
or intermittent. Nevertheless, with Nero’s death in 68, the pogrom against
the Roman Christians came to an end, for Vespasian did not have the
same hostile designs towards the church.
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