The present volume brings together papers by internationally renowned specialists in Jewish history in the Roman period. Most of them were read at a conference at Tel Aviv University in 2009 in honour of Aharon Oppenheimer. The volume focuses on a number of well-defined key topics in the history of the Jews both in Judea and in the diaspora: first of all the image of Jews among non-Jews and of non-Jews among Jews; questions of social and intellectual history, mostly those dealing with the transformation that took place as a result of the failed Jewish revolts against Rome and urgent issues in modern scholarship.Studies to be mentioned here are: the relationship and cultural differences between Palestinian and Babylonian Jews; the relationship between Jews and early Christians; the evolving image of first century Judaism as projected in the early Christian sources and modern scholarship; the role of the sages in this period, conversion to Judaism, and Jewish resistance and martyrdom under Roman rule.Many of the papers provide a new assessment of the relevant subjects in the light of changing views of social and religious history. Central to many of the papers is a focus on attitudes toward others and collective image: the Jews as seen by others; Jews looking at others and at internal groups. Another category of articles are chapters in social and intellectual history with a sensitive and controversial ideology in the background, some of them providing provocative re-assessments.

Rome and Judaea explores the nature of Judaea’s first diplomatic mission to Rome during the Maccabean revolt: did it result in a sanctioned treaty or was it founded instead on amity? This book breaks new ground in this debate by bringing to light the "Roman-Jewish Friendship tablet," a newly discovered piece of evidence that challenges the theory Rome ratified an official treaty with Judaea. Incorporating interdisciplinary research and this new textual evidence, the book argues that Roman-Jewish relations during the Maccabean revolt were motivated by the Roman concept of diplomatic friendship, or amicitia.

“Both the knowledge of a scholar and the imagination of a poet are brought to bear upon Jesus as child, boy, and man. . . . A bold speculative adventure” (Harold Brighouse, Manchester Guardian). In Robert Graves’s unique retelling, Jesus is very much a mortal and the grandson of King Herod the Great. When his father runs afoul of the king’s temper and is executed, Jesus is raised in the house of Joseph the Carpenter. The kingdom he is heir to, in this version of the story, is very much a terrestrial one: the Kingdom of Judah. Graves tells of Jesus’s rise as a philosopher, scriptural scholar, and charismatic speaker in sharp detail, as well as his arrest and downfall as a victim of pitiless Roman politics. Bringing together his unparalleled narrative skill and in-depth expertise in historical scholarship, renowned classicist and historical novelist Robert Graves brings the story of Jesus Christ to life in a strikingly unorthodox way, making this one of the most hotly contested novels Graves ever wrote—and possibly one of the most controversial ever written. It provides a fascinating new twist to a well-known story, one that fans of this historical period are sure to love. “This is not reading for the easily shocked; it definitely presents Jesus as a sage and a [poet], if not divine. It moves, as does all Mr. Graves’ writing, at a brilliant fast pace, and with a tremendous style.” —Kirkus Reviews

How encounters with the Roman Empire compelled the Jews of antiquity to rethink their conceptions of Israel and the Torah Throughout their history, Jews have lived under a succession of imperial powers, from Assyria and Babylonia to Persia and the Hellenistic kingdoms. Jews and Their Roman Rivals shows how the Roman Empire posed a unique challenge to Jewish thinkers such as Philo, Josephus, and the Palestinian rabbis, who both resisted and internalized Roman standards and imperial ideology. Katell Berthelot traces how, long before the empire became Christian, Jews came to perceive Israel and Rome as rivals competing for supremacy. Both considered their laws to be the most perfect ever written, and both believed they were a most pious people who had been entrusted with a divine mission to bring order and peace to the world. Berthelot argues that the rabbinic identification of Rome with Esau, Israel's twin brother, reflected this sense of rivalry. She discusses how this challenge transformed ancient Jewish ideas about military power and the use of force, law and jurisdiction, and membership in the people of Israel. Berthelot argues that Jewish thinkers imitated the Romans in some cases and proposed competing models in others. Shedding new light on Jewish thought in antiquity, Jews and Their Roman Rivals reveals how Jewish encounters with pagan Rome gave rise to crucial evolutions in the ways Jews conceptualized the Torah and conversion to Judaism.

It is remarkable that Judaism could develop given the domination by Rome in Palestine over the centuries. Smallwood traces Judaism's constantly shifting political, religious, and geographical boundaries under Roman rule from Pompey to Diocletian, that is, from the first century BCE through the third century CE. From a long-standing nationalistic tradition that was a tolerated sect under a pagan ruler, Judaism becomes, over time, a threat that needs to be repressed and confined against a now-Christian empire. This work examines the galvanizing forces that shaped and defined Judaism as we have come to know it. This publication has also been published in hardback, please click here for details.

This book examines why in AD 66 a revolt against Rome broke out in Judaea. It attempts to explain both the rebellion itself and its temporary success by discussing the role of the Jewish ruling class in the sixty years preceding the war and within the independent state which lasted until the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. The author seeks to show that the ultimate cause of the Revolt was a misunderstanding by Rome of the status criteria of Jewish society. The importance of the subject lies both in the significance of the history of Judaea in this period for the development of Judaism and early Christianity and in the light shed on Roman methods of provincial administration in general by an understanding of why Rome was unable to control a society with cultural values so different from its own.

During the first and second centuries A.D., the supremacy of the Roman Empire was aggressively challenged by three Jewish rebellions. The facts surrounding the initial uprising of A.D. 66-74 have been filtered through the biased accounts of Judeao Roman historian Flavius Josephus. Primary information regarding the subsequent Diaspora Revolt (A.D. 115-117) and the Bar Kochba Rebellion (A.D. 132-135) is limited to fragmentary anecdotes emphasizing the religious implications of the two insurrections. In contrast, this analytical history focuses objectively on the military aspects of all three Judean uprisings. The events leading up to each rebellion are detailed, while the nine appendices cover such topics as the nature and number of the Jewish rebels and the factual reliability of the controversial Josephus. One appendix hypothesizes an alternative history of the war between Jerusalem and Rome.

This biography of the ancient Jewish military leader examines how he mounted a years-long revolt against Rome that changed the course of history. In AD 132, a bloody struggle began between two determined leaders over who would rule Judea. One was the powerful Roman Emperor Hadrian, who some regarded as divine. The other was Shim’on—known today as Bar Kokhba—a Jewish military commander in a district of a minor province, who some believed to be the ‘King Messiah’. In Bar Kokhba, ancient historian Lindsay Powell examines the clash between these two men, and the two ancient cultures they represented. In the ensuing conflict, the Jewish militia resisted the onslaught of the professional Roman army for three-and-a-half years. They established an independent nation with its own administration, headed by Shim’on as its president. The outcome of that David and Goliath contest was of great consequence, both for the people of Judaea and for Judaism itself. Drawing on archaeology, art, coins, inscriptions, militaria, as well as secular and religious documents, Lindsay Powell sheds light on Bar Kokhba’s singular life and legacy. She also describes her personal journey across three continents to establish the facts.