Roman presence in Israel.
Just who were they, how did they get there and how did the Jews function under
Roman rule?
It all began as a family quarrel
sometime in the year 63 B.C. Two brothers from the Hasmonean
dynasty, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus,
vied for the throne in Jerusalem.
They were descended from the great Maccabees, the
family that had succeeded in ousting the abhorred Greeks from Israel some
hundred years before. The Maccabees had
established themselves as high priests and kings in Israel in no uncertain terms.
For a
hundred years the mighty Romans had been advancing eastward. In 67 B.C. General
Pompey reached Syria and
established it as a province for Rome.
Cities were built to assure Rome's eternal presence in the area and Pompey settled
for a time at least before he would assert his rights in Rome. One day he received two messages for
help from Hyrcanus and Aristobulus.
Neither one was ready to relinquish power and called on Rome to intervene. Pompey was only too happy
to come to their assistance.
What
should have been settled over the weekend turned into a 500-year influence. Inviting the Romans in to solve the problem was
engaging a lion to destroy a mouse. Like the man who came to dinner and never left,
the Romans considered the
invitation permanent. Mighty Rome was not to be trifled with. It took its
duty seriously. When it came to the aid of a smaller state, it formed an
alliance that was irrevocable and any attempt to negate it was regarded as a rebellion.
Rome settled
the dispute in favor of Hyrcanus, but he scarcely had
time to thumb his nose at his brother when he realized that he had lost all
power and that the noble Hasmonean Empire was at an
end.
It was
Rome's custom to place a friendly king on the throne of
any country on their borders that they had no wish to govern. They called them
client kings. Hyrcanus was allowed to rule a small
territory, but he ruled only in name. The real power was in the hands of his
minister Antipater, a man who had proved himself a friend to the Romans, and he
would become the father of a man who would be an even greater friend: Herod the
Great. The Romans had come to Palestine
and they would remain there, until their Empire fell in the late fifth century
A.D.
The Roman Empire
In the
year 37 B.C., the young Octavian became Emperor of Rome with the title Augustus
Caesar. He confirmed Herod, as he did client kings in many other places, as
king of the Jews. Herod owed allegiance to Rome, but he could do anything he liked within
his territory as long as foreign policy did not get out of line.
Should he fail to please the Romans he would be immediately deposed.
Rome's empire encompassed the
whole of the known world. They had an ingenious government. The Empire was divided
into provinces and able men were sent there to govern. On arrival, a governor,
accompanied by his engineers, architects, builders and army, set about
constructing roads and cities to establish their permanent presence. Once
can see the remains of these ancient cities all over
the Middle East today.
During
the time of Augustus the Pax Romana was in force. Rome was not engaged in
war. But they were always prepared for it. Roman soldiers operated all over the
Empire. Nine legions were concentrated in the East. A legion was composed of
foot soldiers holding Roman citizenship. They were professionals who had signed
up for 25 years. A legion consisted of ten cohorts divided into six
"centuries" of 100 men each. Each century was commanded by a centurion.
There were one hundred cavalry attached to each legion, so that there were
somewhat over six thousand men in all. They were armed with heavy javelins and
short thrusting swords as well as a small dagger. They wore helmets and mail
shirts made of small iron rings and they carried large curved wooden shields.
In
addition to the legions, auxiliary
forces were drawn from the province. Those serving in these forces did not have
Roman citizenship. They were organized into cohorts like
the legions and could be called upon by the governors for help at any time. While
a century of soldiers was present at Capernaum
(Jesus cured the centurion's son),
it is now thought that these were not Romans but were part of the army of Herod
Antipas. Capernaum
was on the border of his territory and taxes were collected here, particularly
from the fishermen. At the time of Jesus Roman soldiers would have been
found only around Caesarea Maratima
where the Roman procurator lived. They would have been called into use
when the great festivals were being celebrated in Jerusalem to prevent uprisings, or they
would be needed in the execution of criminals by crucifixion.
Living
under Roman rule had some advantages. Generally they allowed freedom of
religion (unlike the Greeks had done) and did not interfere with the religious
practices of the people they governed. The governors of provinces built temples
to their own gods. where sacrifices were conducted
daily.
But it was the Roman method of taxation that most stung. Provinces had
to pay taxes. An amount was estimated and the country split up into tax
districts. As Rome
had no civil service, taxes were collected by private syndicates composed of
local citizens who made a large profit by overcollecting.
Taxes on goods were very high. Not surprisingly, tax collectors were despised.
Herod the Great
During
the time of Herod the Great there were probably no Roman soldiers to be found
in Israel. He had his own private
army, and auxiliary units could always be called in if there was trouble.
Like the Romans, Herod set out on a great building program. Among the towns he
erected was Caesarea Maratima on the coast of the Mediterranean. This splendid town had a theater, an
amphitheater, a stadium, a chariot-racing arena, public baths, a temple to
Augustus, a splendid palace for himself and a false harbor so that he could
import his marble and wine and all the commodities needed by a king. No expense
was spared in the building of the city and he invited the emperor Augustus to
the opening.
But
Herod never lived there. He died in 4 B.C. before it was entirely completed and
his territory was divided among his sons, who received the title
tetrarch rather than king. Archelaus got Judea; Herod
Antipas, Samaria and Galilee;
Philip Herod, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis
and Batanea.
Judea,
which contained the holy city of Jerusalem, was going to be the most difficult
to govern.
At Passover the year after Herod died, thousands of pilgrims came pouring into
the temple. Archelaus sent his troops (he
had 3,000 of them) to control the crowd, but the crowd turned on the soldiers
and stoned them to death. Some 3,000 people ended up being killed in the
ensuing conflict. The governor of Syria
took it upon himself to place a legion at Jerusalem
to keep the peace. But at Pentecost more crowds came pouring in and climbed on
the temple porticoes to pelt the Roman soldiers. The whole country was soon up
in arms and the governor of Syria
returned with more legions. Two thousand of the rebels were captured and
crucified.
Enter the Procurators
Archelaus proved to be such an inept and cruel ruler that
in A.D. 6 the people of Judea asked that a Roman procurator be appointed in his
place
under the watchful eye of the governor of Syria (Quirinius).
The Syrian governor ordered a census of all property in order to estimate taxes
and to sell off the estate of Archelaus. This was
bitterly resented by the Jews.
Since
the high priest had failed to convince the Jews that a census should be taken,
he was replaced by a new high priest, Annas, who
would keep the position until A.D. 15. Archelaus's troops were taken over by the Romans and
turned into auxiliary units. The
proconsul was given supreme power. He had total authority over the region. He
could imprison, flog or execute as he saw fit. He set up his government at Caesarea Maratima and moved
into Herod's palace.
The
first three procurators governed for only a year each. The next, Valerian Gratus, did a 17-year stint. Then, in A.D. 26, Emperor Tiberius appointed as procurator of
Judea a man called Pontius Pilate.
Pontius
Pilate is described as greedy, vindictive and cruel by historians of the time. . He was deliberately
provocative. A new aqueduct was needed to bring water into Jerusalem. Pilate paid
for the building of an aqueduct with Temple
taxes. This again infuriated the Jews. Afraid of a riot, Pilate had some of his
soldiers dress like Jews, mingle with the people and, at the first sign of
trouble, kill the potential troublemakers.
It was
customary for the proconsul to go to Jerusalem
for the main feasts. Thus for Passover in the year 30, we find Pilate in Jerusalem.
The Zealots
Gamla is poised on a rocky ridge protected on each side by sweeping
valleys in the Galilean hills. Here the Zealot movement had been founded by Judas
the Galilean and a Pharisee named Zadduk
in A.D. 6, at the time of the census by Quirinius.
They
preached that God alone was the ruler of Israel and that no taxes should be
paid. In A.D. 66 a revolt against Roman rule was started in Galilee.
The Romans sent in their greatest general Vespasian to deal with the situation.
He did it with ruthlessness and efficiency. Some 5,000 zealots committed
suicide by jumping off the Gamla cliff as the Roman army
approached.
Vespasian
was so successful that his soldiers declared him emperor and he returned to Rome, leaving his son
Titus in charge.
Titus
destroyed Jerusalem.
Whether he intended to destroy the Temple
is often questioned. It was one of the most magnificent buildings in the world.
Some say it caught fire by mistake. But destroyed it was.
Some
of the Zealots escaped to Masada where they stayed for nine
months before killing each other rather than fight the
Romans.
We
know a great deal about this period because of the writings of Josephus. He was
an Israelite general in the army that fought against Rome. He tells us that had he not been thrown
from his horse and sprained his wrist during one of the battles and taken for
medical attention to Capernaum,
the history of the world would have been changed.
Be
that as it may, in the long run he turned traitor and joined the Romans. It is
said that he sat with Titus watching the destruction of the Temple
in Jerusalem.
He was taken by Titus to Rome,
ensconced in an apartment and told to write a history of the Jewish wars. He
also wrote a history of the Jews and his own life.