Roman Judea

Judaea was a Roman province from 6 to 135 CE, which at its height encompassed the regions of Judea, Idumea, Peraea, Samaria, and Galilee, as well as parts of the coastal plain of the southern Levant. At its height, it encompassed much of the core territories of the former Kingdom of Judaea, which had been ruled by the Hasmonean and Herodian dynasties in previous decades. The name ''Judaea'' (like the similar ''Judea'') derives from the Iron Age Kingdom of Judah, which was centered in the region of Judea.

Since the Roman Republic's conquest of Judaea in 63 BCE, which abolished the independent Hasmonean monarchy, Rome maintained a system of semi-autonomous vassalage in the region. After Hasmonean ruler Antigonus II Mattathias briefly regained the throne, he was overthrown by Herod, who was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate and ruled Judaea until his death in 4 BCE. The province's formal incorporation into the Roman Empire was enacted by Augustus in 6 CE, following an appeal by the populace against the misrule of Herod's son, Herod Archelaus (r. 4 BCE – 6 CE). The administrative capital was relocated from Jerusalem to the coastal city of Caesarea Maritima.

Over the six decades following the province's establishment, relations between the majority Jewish population and Roman authorities were marked by frequent crises. With the onset of direct rule, the official census instituted by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, the governor of Roman Syria, caused tensions and led to an uprising by Jewish rebel Judas of Galilee (6 CE). Other notable events in the region include the crucifixion of Jesus (which led to the emergence of Christianity) and in 37 CE, Emperor Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Second Temple. A brief respite came under Agrippa I (r. 41–44 CE), a popular ruler who temporarily restored Jewish self-governance under Roman auspices. However, after his death, Judaea—now encompassing Galilee and Peraea—reverted to direct Roman rule, and unrest gradually escalated. In the following years, prophetic figures sought to gain followers, Sicarii assassins targeted officials, and corrupt and brutal governors—most notably Gessius Florus (r. 64–66 CE)—further inflamed tensions.

In 66 CE, unrest in Caesarea, followed by clashes in Jerusalem, ignited the First Jewish–Roman War. The Romans, under Vespasian and later his son Titus, systematically crushed the rebellion, culminating in the razing of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The Jewish population recovered within a generation and, in 132 CE, launched the Bar Kokhba revolt in response to Hadrian's plans to construct Aelia Capitolina, a non-Jewish colony, on the ruins of Jerusalem. The rebels briefly established an independent Jewish state, but the Roman suppression of the revolt resulted in the widespread destruction and near-depopulation of the region of Judea. In that same year, Judea was officially merged with Galilee in an enlarged province named Syria Palaestina.

Background

Judaea, an independent state under the Hasmonean dynasty, was conquered by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE. At the time, it was embroiled in a civil war between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, sons of Queen Salome Alexandra, both vying for the throne. Roman general Pompey intervened, besieging and capturing Jerusalem. In the aftermath, he appointed Hyrcanus II as ethnarch and High Priest, but denied him the title of king.

In 40 BCE, Antigonus II Mattathias, son of Aristobolus II, temporarily reclaimed the throne with Parthian support but was overthrown in 37 BCE by Herod, whom the Roman Senate had appointed "King of the Jews." Herod ruled Judaea as a client kingdom of Rome until his death in 4 BCE. Widely despised and resented by the public, he maintained close relations with the Romans. During this period, the remaining Hasmonean heirs were eliminated, and the grand port city of Caesarea Maritima was constructed.

Herod died in 4 BCE, and his kingdom was partitioned into a tetrarchy and divided among three of his sons. Archelaus served as ethnarch of Judea (including Jerusalem), Samaria, and Idumaea, while Herod Antipas governed Galilee and Peraea, and Philip ruled over Gaulanitis, Trachonitis and Batanaea. Archelaus rule of Judea was gravely atrocious that he was dismissed in 6 CE by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, after an appeal from his own subjects. Following his removal, Judaea was annexed as the Roman province of Judaea. Herod Antipas continued to rule Galilee and Peraea until his dismisal by Emperor Caligula in 39 CE.

History

Revolt and removal of Herod Archelaus

Following the death of Herod the Great, the Herodian Kingdom of Judea was divided into the Herodian Tetrarchy, jointly ruled by Herod's sons and sister: Herod Archelaus (who ruled Judea, Samaria and Idumea), Herod Philip (who ruled Batanea, Trachonitis as well as Auranitis), Herod Antipas (who ruled Galilee and Peraea) and Salome I (who briefly ruled Jamnia).

A messianic revolt erupted in Judea in 4 BCE because of Archelaus's incompetence; the revolt was brutally crushed by the Legate of Syria, Publius Quinctilius Varus, who occupied Jerusalem and crucified 2,000 Jewish rebels.

Because of his failure to properly rule Judea, Archelaus was removed from his post by Emperor Augustus in 6 CE, while Judea, Samaria, and Idumea came under direct Roman administration.

This event had significant and ever-lasting effects on Jewish history, and the development of Christianity.

Under a prefect (6–41 CE)

The Judean province did not initially include Galilee, Gaulanitis (today's Golan), nor Peraea or the Decapolis. Its revenue was of little importance to the Roman treasury; however, it controlled the land and coastal sea routes to the "bread basket" of Egypt and was a buffer against the Parthian Empire. The capital was moved from Jerusalem to Caesarea Maritima.

Augustus appointed Publius Sulpicius Quirinius to the post of Legate of Syria and he conducted a tax census of Syria and Judea in 6 CE, which triggered the revolt of Judas of Galilee; the revolt was quickly crushed by Quirinius.

Judea was not a senatorial province, nor an imperial province, but instead was a "satellite of Syria" governed by a prefect who was a knight of the Equestrian Order (as was that of Roman Egypt), not a former consul or praetor of senatorial rank. Quirinius appointed Coponius as first prefect of Judea.

Still, Jews living in the province maintained some form of independence and could judge offenders by their own laws, including capital offenses, until . Judea in the early Roman period was divided into five administrative districts with centers in Jerusalem, Gadara, Amathus, Jericho, and Sepphoris.

In 30–33 CE, Roman prefect Pontius Pilate had Jesus of Nazareth crucified on the charge of sedition, an act that led to the birth of Christianity. In 36 CE another messianic revolt erupted near Mount Gerizim, under the lead of a Samaritan, and was quickly crushed by Pilate; the Samaritans complained against Pilate's brutality to the Legate of Syria Lucius Vitellius the Elder, who removed Pilate from his post and sent him to Rome to account, replacing him with an acting prefect called Marcellus.

In 37 CE, Emperor Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem,Philo of Alexandria, ''On the Embassy to Gaius'' XXX.203. a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism.Philo of Alexandria, ''On the Embassy to Gaius'' XVI.115. The Legate of Syria, Publius Petronius, fearing civil war if the order was carried out, delayed implementing it for nearly a year. King Herod Agrippa I finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order.Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' XVIII.8.1. Caligula later issued a second order to have his statue erected in the Temple of Jerusalem, but he was murdered before the statue reached Jerusalem and his successor Claudius rescinded the order.Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' XVIII.8. The "Crisis under Caligula" has been proposed as the first open break between Rome and Jews.

Autonomy under Herod Agrippa (41–44)

Between 41 and 44 AD, Judea regained its nominal autonomy, when Herod Agrippa was made ''King of the Jews'' by the emperor Claudius, thus in a sense restoring the Herodian dynasty. Claudius had allowed procurators, who served as personal agents to the Emperor and often as provincial tax and finance ministers, to be elevated to governing magistrates with full state authority to keep the peace. He may have elevated Judea's procurator to imperial governing status because the imperial legate of Syria was not sympathetic to the Judeans.

Under a procurator (44–66)

Following Agrippa's death in 44, the province returned to direct Roman control, incorporating Agrippa's personal territories of Galilee and Peraea, under a row of procurators. Nevertheless, Agrippa's son, Agrippa II was designated ''King of the Jews'' in 48. He was the seventh and last of the Herodians.

Jerusalem was plagued by famine between 44 and 48. According to Josephus, Helena of Adiabene"...went down to the city Jerusalem, her son conducting her on her journey a great way. Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. And as soon as they were come back, and had brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it, and left a most excellent memorial behind her of this benefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to the principal men in Jerusalem.

First Jewish–Roman war (66–70)

In 66 CE, tensions in Judaea escalated into an open revolt following clashes between Jews and Greeks in Caesarea. These were followed by the Roman procurator Florus' seizure of Temple funds in Jerusalem and his subsequent massacres of its population. A Temple captain halted sacrifices for the emperor, and the Roman garrison in the city was massacred. In response, Cestius Gallus, the Roman governor of Syria, led a 30,000-strong army into Judaea and besieged Jerusalem. However, after withdrawing from the city for unclear reasons, his forces suffered a devastating ambush at the Bethoron Pass.

After Gallus' defeat, a provisional government was formed in Jerusalem, appointing military commanders across the country. Soon Emperor Nero tasked Vespasian with suppressing the revolt, and in 67 CE, he launched a campaign in Galilee, besieging and destroying rebel strongholds such as Yodfat, Tarichaea, and Gamla. Meanwhile, Jerusalem became overcrowded with refugees and rebels. Inside the city, internal Jewish factions clashed as Zealots seized power, overthrew the moderate government, and invited the Idumeans, who massacred opposition leaders and consolidated their control. By 68 CE, Vespasian had secured Galilee and parts of Judea, aiming to isolate Jerusalem. However, Nero's suicide in 68 CE plunged Rome into civil war (the " Year of the Four Emperors"). In 69 CE, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor and left for Rome, entrusting command to his son Titus, who prepared to crush the remaining Jewish resistance.

In 70 CE, Titus led a 50,000-strong Roman army and laid siege to Jerusalem. The city's population had swollen with Passover pilgrims and refugees, while three-way factional strife among Jewish groups further weakened its defense. As supplies dwindled, the inhabitants suffered from starvation and disease. The Romans breached the city walls and, in the summer, stormed the Temple Mount, destroying the Second Temple. The following month, the Romans completed their conquest of Jerusalem, slaughtering, enslaving, or executing many of its inhabitants and reducing the city to ruins. In the years that followed, Roman forces launched a final campaign against isolated rebel-held fortresses, which concluded with the fall of Masada in 73/74 CE.

Under a legate (70–132)

From 70 until 132, Judaea's rebelliousness required a governing Roman legate capable of commanding legions. Because Agrippa II maintained loyalty to the Empire, the Kingdom was retained until he died, either in 93/94 or 100, when the area returned to complete, undivided Roman control.

In 115 CE, widespread Jewish uprisings, known as the Diaspora Revolt, broke out almost simultaneously across several eastern provinces, including Cyprus, Egypt, Libya, and Mesopotamia. The uprisings took two years to suppress and resulted in the near-total destruction of Jewish communities in Cyprus, Egypt, and Libya. Judea's role in the revolt is disputed, as there are no fully trustworthy sources on Judaea's participation in the rebellion, nor is there any archaeological way of distinguishing destruction levels of 117 CE from those of the Bar Kokhba revolt revolt of just a decade and a half later. Rabbinic sources mention the "Kitos War" occurring fifty-two years after the destruction of the Second Temple and sixteen years before the Bar Kokhba revolt, leading to restrictive legislation and a ban on teaching Greek. Late Syriac sources mention unrest in Judaea, stating that Jews from Egypt and Libya were defeated by Roman forces there. An inscription from Sardinia mentions an among Trajan's military campaigns. Additionally, Judaea's administrative status was upgraded from praetorian to consular, and a second permanent legion was stationed there before 120 CE.

Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136)

In 132 CE, the Bar Kokhba revolt—the final major Jewish revolt and last organized effort to regain national independence—erupted in Judaea. It was primarily concentrated in Judea proper and was led by Simon bar Kokhba. The revolt was directly precipitated by the establishment of Aelia Capitolina, a pagan Roman colony, atop the ruins of Jerusalem,—an act Goodman described as the "final solution for Jewish rebelliousness." The many hiding complexes built before the revolt show that the Jews had been preparing for conflict in advance. With early victories over the Romans, Bar Kokhba secured control over a Jewish state and minted coins bearing symbols and slogans proclaiming Jewish independence, similar to those issued during the revolt. However, Roman forces under Emperor Hadrian eventually crushed the revolt, resulting in widespread destruction and mass slaughter, which some historians describe as genocidal. The fall of Betar and the death of Bar Kokhba in 135 marked the final collapse of the revolt. Judea proper was heavily depopulated, with many Jews sold into slavery and transported to distant regions.

While Hadrian's death in 137 eased some of the restrictions and persecution, the Jewish population in the region was severely reduced. The remaining Jews were largely concentrated in the Galilee, the Golan, and coastal plain cities, with smaller communities along the fringes of Judea proper and a few other areas.

Aftermath

After the revolt, Hadrian imposed laws targeting Jewish practices with the goal of dismantling Jewish nationalism. The revolt also sealed the fate of the Jerusalem Temple, preventing its rebuilding for the foreseeable future. Hadrian's punishment also included banning Jews from Jerusalem and its surrounding areas, and renaming the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina.

The creation of Syria Palaestina from the ruins of Judaea, whose name not officially used until then, did not prevent the Jewish people from referring to the land in their writings as either "Yehudah" () or "The Land of Israel" ().

Economy

Agriculture

Agriculture played a significant role in economic life in Judaea. Wheat, barley, olives and grapes were the main crops grown in Judaea's fields. Evidence for the cultivation of herbs, vegetables, and legumes comes from Rabbinic literature, Josephus' works, and the New Testament. Writings from the late first and early second centuries indicate that Jewish farmers introduced rice to Judea during the early Roman period. The local crop was fine, large-kernel rice.

Coinage

During the Roman administration of Judaea, some governors commissioned the minting of coins for local use. Only six governors are known to have issued such coins, all minted in Jerusalem. All issues minted were ''prutot'', small bronze coins averaging 2-2.5 grams, similar to the Roman '' quadrans''.

The design of the coins reflects an attempt to accommodate Jewish sensibilities, likely in collaboration with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. Unlike typical Roman coinage featuring the emperor's portrait, these coins displayed symbols like palm tree and ears of grain, echoing earlier Hasmonean and Herodian designs. A notable exception is the coinage of Pontius Pilate, (26-36 CE), which included Roman cultic items like the '' simpulum'' and '' lituus'' on one side, though the reverse maintained Jewish imagery.Graves, D. E. (2019). Pilate’s Ring and Roman Religion. ''Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin'', ''64'', p. 7

Attributing these coins to specific governors is a challenge. They lack the governor's name, but display the reigning emperor's regnal year and name in Greek. Scholars rely on cross-referencing this information with historical records, particularly the writings of Josephus, to establish a governor's chronology and assign the coins accordingly.

These coins were primarily circulated within Judaea, with the highest concentration found in Jerusalem, where hundreds have been discovered. However, evidence indicates that the coins transcended their intended region, with discoveries in Transjordan and even in distant locations like Dura and Antioch.

The minting of provincial coins ceased in 59 CE, and they continued to circulate until the end of the First Jewish–Roman War in 70 CE. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, Jews lost their previously held rights; subsequent Roman coinage in Judaea no longer reflected Jewish influence.

List of governors (6–135 CE)

See also

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*'' The Life of Brian'' – a British comedy film which riffs on the idiosyncrasies of life in 33 AD Roman Judea
* Roman roads in Judaea/Palaestina – overview of the road network in the province

Sources

References

Notes

Bibliography

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Works cited

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Further reading

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External links

Jewish Encyclopedia: Procurators of Iudaea

Procurators
'' Jewish Encyclopedia'', 1906

The name Rome gave to the land of Israel

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