Judea (Roman province)

Rome assisted the Jews in the struggle against the Seleucid Empire , after the Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes ravaged Jerusalem , the Jewish struggle for independence intensified. In 63 B.C. e. Roman troops under the command of Pompey the Great finally crushed Pontus and captured the kingdom of Judea and Syria . Pompey handed over the reins of Judea to Hyrcanus II , who received the title of Etnarch , which actually deprived him of the royal title. In 40 BC e., the Parthians conquered Judea, Antigonus II (Hasmonaeus) was appointed high priest. At this time, Herod reached Rome and was able to convince the triumvirate to make him king of Judea.

The form of administration of the province changed many times: first there was the vassal kingdom of Herod, then two vassal tetrarchies and a province, the newly restored vassal kingdom, and the final transformation of the whole territory into a province.

As the candidate of historical sciences Yulia Rogova writes in the dissertation, these changes were more likely the result of personal ties between representatives of the Jewish elite and the imperial court of Rome than well-thought-out politics ^[1] .

By the year 6 e. the son of Herod the Great, Herod Archelaus caused dissatisfaction among both Jews and the Romans, and the emperor Augustus ousted him, transferring power over Judea to the Roman governor. The first Roman ruler of Syria (which included Judea) Quirinius in the first year conducted a census to organize taxation in favor of Rome. These measures led to the rebellion of Judah the Galilean . The first Roman governor of Judea itself was appointed Coponius. By the time of the governor Pontius Pilate include events described in the Gospels, where he is incorrectly indicated in the post of prosecutor. In the year 41 A.D. e. under Herod Agrippa, Judea was united again and reached its former size .. In the middle of the 1st century, the movement of the Sicarias gained strength in Judea.

The tension between the local population and the imperial administration grew until it spilled over into the Judean War , as a result of which the Temple and Jerusalem were completely destroyed (only the Western Wall remained). Judea lost the remnants of autonomy, and camp X of the legion was set up on the ruins of Jerusalem.

In 117, Emperor Hadrian decided to build the Roman city of Elias Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem, which was to adorn the temple of Jupiter. At the same time, a decree banning circumcision was passed. These measures and the desire to transform Jerusalem into a pagan center provoked the Bar Kochba rebellion , which was brutally suppressed. In 135, the Romans renamed the province of Judea to “ Syria Palestine ” to erase the memory of the Jewish presence in these places ^{[2] [3] [4]} .

1. 6-9 Coponius
2. 9-12 Marc Ambibul
3. 12-15 Annius Rufus
4. 15-26 Valery Grat
5. 26—36 Pontius Pilate
6. 36—37 Marcellus
7. 37–41 Marull
8. 41–44 Agrippa I
9. 46–48 Tiberius Julius Alexander
10. 48-52 Ventidius Kuman
11. 52-60 Anthony Felix
12. 60–62 Servings Fest
13. 62—64 Luccey Albin
14. Hessius Flor

Biblical episodes of M. Bulgakov ’s book “The Master and Margarita ” are unfolding in the Judean province.

Judea’s relationship with Rome is the subject of Lyon Feuchtwanger ’s novel, The Judean War.

• Bible currency
• Judea under Persian rule

• Roman province of Judea
• Judea - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia

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