Between Rome and Jerusalem: 300 Years of Roman-Judaean Relations

Martin Sicker

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The earliest numismatic evidence for the name Syria Palaestina comes from the period of emperor Marcus Aurelius. The Roman province of Judea incorporated the regions of Judea , Samaria , and Idumea , and extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel. It was named after Herod Archelaus 's Tetrarchy of Judea , but the Roman province encompassed a much larger territory.

The capital of Roman Syria was established in Antioch from the very beginning of Roman rule, while the capital of the Judaea province was shifted to Caesarea Maritima , which, according to historian H. Ben-Sasson , had been the "administrative capital" of the region beginning in 6 AD. Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding in 6 AD during the Census of Quirinius and several wars were fought in its history, known as the Jewish-Roman wars. The Temple was destroyed in 70 as part of the Great Jewish Revolt resulting in the institution of the Fiscus Judaicus.

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The Provinces of Judaea and Syria were key scenes of an increasing conflict between Judaean and Hellenistic population, which exploded into full scale Jewish-Roman Wars, beginning with the Great Jewish Revolt of 66— Disturbances followed throughout the region during the Kitos War in — Between —, Simon Bar Kokhba led a revolt against the Roman Empire , controlling parts of Judea but seemingly not Jerusalem, for three years. As a result, Hadrian sent Sextus Julius Severus to the region, who brutally crushed the revolt.

Shortly before or after the Bar Kokhba's revolt — , the Roman Emperor Hadrian changed the name of the Judea province and merged it with Roman Syria to form Syria Palaestina , while Jerusalem was renamed to Aelia Capitolina , which certain scholars conclude was done in an attempt to remove the relationship of the Jewish people to the region. After crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt , the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province. Hadrian probably chose a name that revived the ancient name of Philistia Palestine , combining it with that of the neighboring province of Syria, in an attempt to suppress Jewish connection to the land, although the actual Philistines from which the name derives had disappeared from history during the Neo-Assyrian Empire BC.

The capital of the enlarged province remained in Antiochia. In , the province of Syria-Coele was split from Syria Palaestina. In the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty. Syria was of crucial strategic importance during the Crisis of the Third Century. Beginning in , Palmyra's trade diminished as the Sassanids occupied the mouth of the Tigris and the Euphrates. In , the Syrian Legion rebelled against the Roman Empire, but the uprising went unsuccessful. Septimius Odaenathus , a Prince of the Aramean state of Palmyra , was appointed by Valerian as the governor of the province of Syria Palaestina.

After Valerian was captured by the Sassanids in , and died in captivity in Bishapur , Odaenathus campaigned as far as Ctesiphon near modern-day Baghdad for revenge, invading the city twice. When Odaenathus was assassinated by his nephew Maconius, his wife Septimia Zenobia took power, ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son, Vabalathus.

The first years of Roman occupation - Blogs - Jerusalem Post

Zenobia rebelled against Roman authority with the help of Cassius Longinus and took over Bosra and lands as far to the west as Egypt , establishing the short-lived Palmyrene Empire. Next, she took Antioch and large sections of Asia Minor to the north. In , the Roman Emperor Aurelian finally restored Roman control and Palmyra was besieged and sacked, never to recover her former glory.

Aurelian captured Zenobia, bringing her back to Rome.

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He paraded her in golden chains in the presence of the senator Marcellus Petrus Nutenus, but allowed her to retire to a villa in Tibur , where she took an active part in society for years. A legionary fortress was established in Palmyra and although no longer an important trade center, it nevertheless remained an important junction of Roman roads in the Syrian desert.

Diocletian built the Camp of Diocletian in the city of Palmyra to harbor even more legions and walled it in to try and save it from the Sassanid threat. The Byzantine period following the Roman Empire only resulted in the building of a few churches; much of the city went to ruin.

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Palaestina Secunda consisted of the Galilee, the lower Jezreel Valley , the regions east of Galilee, and the western part of the former Decapolis with the seat of government at Scythopolis. Palaestina Tertia included the Negev, southern Transjordan part of Arabia—and most of Sinai with Petra , as the usual residence of the governor.

Palestina Tertia was also known as Palaestina Salutaris. When he received no help from the Nabataeans , Herod made his way to Rome. Supported by Antony, he was proclaimed "King of the Jews" [3] by the Roman Senate and returned to Judea to claim the throne. He then marched on Jerusalem, hoping to capture the city and bring a swift end to the war. Faced with corruption among his Roman officers, mutinous Roman troops and Antigonus' guerrillas, however, Herod was forced to abandon his siege of Jerusalem. He operated in Judea, Samaria and the Galilee instead, fighting against both insurgents and bandits, while sending his brother Joseph to deal with Idumaea.

By late 38 BC, reinforced by several Roman legions and having fought two years of counter-insurgency, Herod was finally able to pacify the Galilee and march south towards Jerusalem. Antigonus attempted to face Herod in a pitched battle, striking against both Jericho and Samaria , but both efforts were defeated. Herod once again pitched camp outside Jerusalem, though the onset of winter brought military operations to a halt. Herod had pitched his camp north of the Temple , near a saddle allowing access to the city walls, the same location chosen by Pompey 26 years earlier.

According to Josephus, Herod had 30, men under his command, though a modern estimate puts the number at about half of that. His engineers followed Roman practices, erecting a wall of circumvallation and guard towers, cutting down the trees surrounding the city, and employing siege engines and artillery. They sallied from the walls, ambushing the besieging troops and hindering Herod's attempts to raise ramparts, and fought Roman efforts to mine under the walls with counter-mining.

After forty days, Herod's forces breached what Josephus calls "the north wall", apparently Jerusalem's second wall. The first wall fell 15 days later, and soon the outer court of the Temple fell as well, during which its outer porticoes were burnt down, apparently by Antigonus' supporters. While Antigonus shut himself up in citadel known as the Baris , the defenders were left holding the Temple's inner court and Jerusalem's upper city southwestern quarter of the city. Further negotiations, however, proved fruitless and Herod's forces assaulted the city.

Syria Palaestina

Antigonus surrendered to Sosius, and was sent to Antony for the triumphal procession in Rome. Herod, however, fearing that Antigonus would also win backing in Rome, bribed Antony to execute Antigonus. Antony, who recognized that Antigonus would remain a permanent threat to Herod, had the Hasmonean beheaded in Antioch , the first time the Romans had executed a subjugated king.

Herod also had 45 leading men of Antigonus' party executed. With the fall of Jerusalem, Herod's conquest of the kingdom was complete.

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