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The Second Temple period in
Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...
lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inheri ...
existed. It started with the
return to Zion The return to Zion ( he, שִׁיבָת צִיּוֹן or שבי ציון, , ) is an event recorded in Ezra–Nehemiah of the Hebrew Bible, in which the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah—subjugated by the Neo-Babylonian Empire—were freed from th ...
and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
and the
destruction of Jerusalem The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of ...
in 70 CE. In 587/6 BCE, the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...
was conquered by the
Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and being ...
. The Judeans lost their independence and monarchy, and their holy city was destroyed. Part of the Judean population was exiled to Babylon; it was eventually allowed to return following a proclamation by the Persian king Cyrus the Great that was issued after the
fall of Babylon The Fall of Babylon denotes the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire after it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BCE. Nabonidus (Nabû-na'id, 556–539 BCE), son of the Assyrian priestess Adda-Guppi, came to the throne in 556 BCE, aft ...
to the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
. Under Persian provincial governance ( 539 – 332 BCE), the returned Jewish population in Judah was allowed to self-govern and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. In 332 BCE, Judea was conquered by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to t ...
, and later incorporated into the Ptolemaic Kingdom (c. 301-200 BCE) and the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
(c. 200–167 BCE). The
Maccabean revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ended ...
against Seleucid rule led to the establishment of an independent
Hasmonean Kingdom The Hasmonean dynasty (; he, ''Ḥašmōnaʾīm'') was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity, from BCE to 37 BCE. Between and BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, an ...
(140–37 BCE), which later, via a series of military campaigns expanded over much of modern
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and parts of
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
and
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
. In 63 BCE, the kingdom was conquered by the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman K ...
, and in 37 BCE, the Romans appointed
Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his re ...
as king of a vassal Judea. In 6 BCE, it was fully incorporated into the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medit ...
as the province of Judaea. Growing dissatisfaction with Roman rule eventually led to the
First Jewish-Roman War First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and re ...
(66-73 CE), which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple, bringing an end to the Second Temple period. As
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple p ...
developed, multiple religious currents emerged and extensive cultural, religious, and political developments occurred. The
development of the Hebrew Bible canon Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...
, the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wors ...
and
Jewish eschatology Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the reviv ...
can be traced back to the Second Temple period. According to Jewish tradition,
prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...
ceased during the early Second Temple period; this left the Jews without their version of divine guidance at a time when they felt most in need of support and direction.The Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament: Second Commonwealth Judaism in Recent Study
Wheaton College, Previously published in ''Archaeology of the Biblical World'', 1/2 (1991), pp. 40–49.
Under Hellenistic rule, the growing influence of Hellenism in Judaism became a source of dissent for those Jews who clung to their
monotheistic Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxfor ...
faith; this was a major catalyst for the Maccabean revolt. A number of messianic ideas developed during the later Second Temple period. From 170 BCE to 30 CE, five successive generations of ''
zugot The ''Zugot'' ( he, הַזּוּגוֹת ''hazZūgōṯ'', "the Pairs"), also called Zugoth or ''Zugos'' in the Ashkenazi pronunciation, refers both to the two-hundred-year period ( 170 BCE – 30 CE, he, תְּקוּפַת הַזּו ...
'' ("pairs of") leaders headed the Jews' spiritual affairs. It was during this period that the sects of the
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
,
Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio- religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. ...
,
Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st ...
,
Zealots The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
, and
early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
were formed. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70 CE is considered one of the most cataclysmic events in Jewish history. The loss of mother-city and temple necessitated a reshaping of Jewish culture to ensure its survival. Judaism's Temple-based sects, most notably the Sadducees, diminished in importance and disappeared.
Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
, centered around communal synagogue worship and
Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mitzvah'' ("comma ...
, eventually evolved out of the Pharisaic school and became the mainstream form of the religion. During the same period,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Teachings of Jesus, teachings of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. It is the Major religious groups, world's ...
gradually separated from Judaism, becoming a predominantly
Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
religion. A few decades after the First Jewish-Roman War, the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132-135 CE) erupted; it further dwindled the Jewish population in Judea and enhanced the role of
Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...
, relocating the Jewish demographic center to
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
and
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
, with smaller communities across the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
.


History


Persian period (538–332 BCE)

In 538 BCE, Cyrus the Great of the
Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
conquered Babylon and took over its empire.
Yehud Yehud ( he, יְהוּד) is a city in the Central District of Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, the city's population stood at approximately 30,000 people (including Neve Monosson – see below). Histor ...
remained a province of the Achaemenid empire until 332 BCE. According to the Bible, Cyrus issued a proclamation granting subjugated nations their freedom. Jewish exiles in Babylon, including 50,000 Judeans, led by Zerubabel returned to Judah to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. The
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inheri ...
was subsequently built in Jerusalem, and is said to have completed c. 515 BCE. The Persians may have experimented initially with ruling Judah as a Davidic client-kingdom under descendants of
Jehoiachin Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning " Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joac ...
, but by the mid–5th century BCE Judah had become in practice a
theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...
, ruled by hereditary High Priests and a Persian-appointed governor, frequently Jewish, charged with keeping order and seeing that tribute was paid. A second group of 5,000, led by
Ezra Ezra (; he, עֶזְרָא, '; fl. 480–440 BCE), also called Ezra the Scribe (, ') and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra, was a Jewish scribe (''sofer'') and priest (''kohen''). In Greco-Latin Ezra is called Esdras ( grc-gre, Ἔσδρα ...
and
Nehemiah Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced o ...
, returned to Judah in 456 BCE. The first was empowered by the Persian king to enforce the
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
, the second had the status of governor and a royal mission to restore the walls of the city. The Bible mentions tension between the returnees and those who had remained in Judah, the former rebuffing the attempt of the "peoples of the land" to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple; this attitude was based partly on the exclusivism which the exiles had developed while in Babylon and, probably, partly on disputes over property. The careers of Ezra and Nehemiah in the 5th century BCE were thus a kind of religious colonisation in reverse, an attempt by one of the many Jewish factions in Babylon to create a self-segregated, ritually pure society inspired by the prophesies of
Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ackno ...
and his followers. The Persian era, and especially the period between 538 and 400 BCE, laid the foundations for the unified Judaic religion and the beginning of a scriptural canon. The final
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
is widely seen as a product of the Persian period (probably 450–350 BCE). This consensus echoes a traditional Jewish view which gives Ezra a pivotal role in its promulgation. It has been suggested that Darius' reform of the empire's administrative structures, which included the collection, codification, and administration of local law codes, was the driving force behind the Jewish Torah's redaction.Blenkinsopp 1988, p. 64. Yehud's population significantly decreased during the Persian era; it is likely that it never exceeded 30,000. This represents a 70% decrease when compared to the late First Temple period. Jerusalem's area was also smaller compared with the late First Temple period, and its inhabited areas—the City of David and the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
—had a population of around 1500. Together with the surrounding farms and unwalled settled areas, Jerusalem's population was around 3000 people. The rest of the population lived in small, unwalled towns and villages. The Israel of the Persian period consisted of descendants of the inhabitants of the former Kingdom of Judah, returnees from the Babylonian exile community, Mesopotamians who had joined them or had been exiled themselves to Samaria at a far earlier period,
Samaritans Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Sama ...
, and others.


Hellenistic period (333–110 BCE)

In 332 BCE the Persians were defeated by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to t ...
. After his death in 322 BCE, his generals divided the empire and
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sout ...
became a frontier region between the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
and Ptolemaic Egypt. Under the Hellenistic kingdoms, Judea was ruled by the hereditary office of the
High Priest of Israel High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previousl ...
as a Hellenistic vassal.Green, p. 501. Between 301 and 219 BC the Ptolemies ruled Judea in relative peace. Jews often found themselves working in the Ptolemaic administration and army, which led to the rise of a Hellenized Jewish elite class (e.g. the
Tobiads The Tobiads were a Jewish faction in Ammon at the beginning of the Hasmonean period. They were philhellene, supporters of Hellenistic Judaism, in the early years of the 2nd century BCE. What is known about the Tobiads is a combination of state ...
).Green, p. 504. This period also saw the rise of a
Hellenistic Judaism Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Until the early Muslim conquests of the eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were ...
, which first developed in the Jewish diaspora of Alexandria and Antioch, and then spread to Judea. The major literary product of this cultural syncretism is the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
translation of the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...
and
Biblical Aramaic Biblical Aramaic is the form of Aramaic that is used in the books of Daniel and Ezra in the Hebrew Bible. It should not be confused with the Targums – Aramaic paraphrases, explanations and expansions of the Hebrew scriptures. History During ...
to
Koiné Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
. The reason for the production of this translation seems to be that many of the Alexandrian Jews had lost the ability to speak Hebrew and Aramaic. At the turn of the 2nd-century BCE, a successful military campaign in
Coele-Syria Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria in classical antiquit ...
led by the Seleucid Antiochus III finally brought the region into the Seleucid empire, with Jerusalem falling under his control in 198 BC. The Seleucids, like the Ptolemies before them, held a suzerainty over
Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sout ...
: they respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions. This policy was drastically reversed by
Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his deat ...
, possibly due to a dispute over leadership of the Temple in Jerusalem and the office of
High Priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods reve ...
or a revolt whose nature was lost to time. Antiochus IV issued decrees forbidding many traditional Jewish practices and began a campaign of persecution against devout Jews. This triggered a revolt against his rule, the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ended ...
. These decrees were a departure from typical Seleucid practice, which did not attempt to suppress local religions in their empire. Scholars of
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple p ...
sometimes refer to Antiochus' reign as the 'Antiochene crises' for the Jews, and as a period of civil war between Hellenized and orthodox forms of Judaism.


Maccabean Revolt (167–141 BCE)

According to
1 Maccabees The First Book of Maccabees, also known as First Maccabees (written in shorthand as 1 Maccabees or 1 Macc.), is a book written in Hebrew by an anonymousRappaport, U., ''47. 1 Maccabees'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)The Oxford Bible Comme ...
,
2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Β´, translit=Makkabaíōn 2 also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus I ...
, and
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, the Seleucid Emperor
Antiochus IV Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his deat ...
() moved to assert strict control over the Seleucid
satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with con ...
of
Coele Syria Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria in classical antiquit ...
and Phoenicia after his successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt (170 to 168 BCE) was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic. He sacked
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and the Temple, suppressing Jewish and Samaritan religious and cultural observances, and imposed Hellenistic practices ( 168-167 BCE). Antiochus' actions enraged the elites but also the rural population, who had remained mostly untouched by Hellenism. In 167 BCE,
Mattathias Mattathias ben Johanan ( he, מַתִּתְיָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן בֶּן יוֹחָנָן, ''Mattīṯyāhū haKōhēn ben Yōḥānān''; died 166–165 BCE) was a Kohen (Jewish priest) who helped spark the Maccabean Revolt against ...
, a Hasmonean-lineage Jewish priest, killed a Jew in his hometown
Modi'in Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ( he, מוֹדִיעִין-מַכַּבִּים-רֵעוּת) is an Israeli city located in central Israel, about southeast of Tel Aviv and west of Jerusalem, and is connected to those two cities via Highway 443. In t ...
who stepped forward to offer sacrifice to the
Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...
; he then killed a Seleucid official who ordered the sacrifice. According to
1 Maccabees The First Book of Maccabees, also known as First Maccabees (written in shorthand as 1 Maccabees or 1 Macc.), is a book written in Hebrew by an anonymousRappaport, U., ''47. 1 Maccabees'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)The Oxford Bible Comme ...
, he declared, "Let everyone who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!", and fled with his sons and followers to the wilderness of Judea. These events signaled the start of the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ended ...
. When Mattathias died, his son
Judas Maccabeus Judah Maccabee (or Judas Maccabeus, also spelled Machabeus, or Maccabæus, Hebrew: יהודה המכבי, ''Yehudah HaMakabi'') was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleuc ...
took over as leader of the revolt. He used
guerrilla tactics Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...
to defeat several small Seleucid armies while Antiochus IV was fighting a war in the east. The conflict was heavily religiously charged because, in order to distinguish themselves from their Jewish opponents, the Maccabees presented themselves as radical Jews and carried out large-scale forced circumcisions. Judas eventually succeeded in capturing Jerusalem and purifying the allegedly desecrated temple. This event is commemorated by the Jewish festival of Hannukkah. The Maccabean cause was aided further in 164 BCE when Antiochus IV died and his generals fought over guardianship of his young son
Antiochus V Antiochus V Eupator (Greek: ''Αντίοχος Ε' Ευπάτωρ''), whose epithet means "of a good father" (c. 172 BC – 161 BC) was a ruler of the Greek Seleucid Empire who reigned from late 164 to 161 BC (based on dates from 1 Maccabees 6 ...
; this turmoil ended when Antiochus IV's nephew, Demetrios I, returned from exile in Rome, deposed Antiochus V, and ascended to the Seleucid throne. Demetrios continued the war against the Maccabees and backed their Jewish opponents. Around this time Judas was able to make a treaty with the Romans. Around 161 BCE, a Roman–Jewish Treaty was signed. In 160 BCE, the Seleucid general Bacchides defeated the Maccabees at the
Battle of Elasa The Battle of Elasa was fought in April 160 BCE during the Maccabean Revolt between Judean rebels led by Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee) and an army of the Seleucid Empire under the command of Bacchides. The battle resulted in the triumph o ...
in 160 BCE; Judas' death during the battle dealt a blow to the rebels. After Judas died, his brother
Jonathan Apphus Jonathan Apphus (Hebrew: ''Yōnāṯān ʾApfūs''; Ancient Greek: Ἰωνάθαν Ἀπφοῦς, ''Iōnáthan Apphoûs'') was one of the sons of Mattathias and the leader of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. Name H J Wolf no ...
took over as the leader of the revolt. He benefited from another internal Seleucid struggle between King
Demetrius I Soter Demetrius I (Greek: ''Δημήτριος Α`'', 185 – June 150 BC), surnamed Soter (Greek: ''Σωτήρ'' - "Savior"), reigned as king (basileus) of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from November 162 – June 150 BC. Demetrius grew up in Rome a ...
and an usurper,
Alexander Balas Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος Βάλας, Alexandros Balas), was the ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 150/Summer 152 – August 145 BC. Picked from obscurity and supported by the neighboring Roman- ...
. Both turned to Jonathan, attempting to win him over with concessions, and Alexander Balas even elevated him to the position of high priest. Alexander Balas was eventually able to assert himself, but he was quickly defeated by Demetrios' son Demetrios II. The battle for the throne was now between him and the general Diodotos Tryphon, which strengthened Jonathan's position even more. This did not change when Tryphon was able to capture and murder Jonathan in Acre through treachery. In 142 BCE,
Simon Thassi Simon Thassi ( he, ''Šīməʿōn haTassī''; died 135) was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. Names The name "Thassi" has a connotation of "the Wise", a title which can also mean "the Director", "the G ...
, the last of Mattathias' sons, took over as rebellion leader and high priest. He was eventually successful in destroying the Acra, a fortified complex in Jerusalem that was the last symbol of Seleucid rule in Judea.


Hasmonean vassal state (140–110 BCE)

After Simon was assassinated and replaced by his son John Hyrcanus I (), Antiochus VII led a large army into Judea, forcing Hyrcanus to surrender as a vassal ruler in Jerusalem after a two-year siege. However, following Antiochus' death in the Seleucid-Parthian Wars in 129 BCE, the Seleucids were soon too weak to pursue an active policy outside of
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
; Hyrcanus was relieved of his burden, created the Hasmonean kingdom of Judea, minted coins for the first time, and expanded the kingdom's borders, doubling its size.


Hasmonean period (110–63 BCE)

Around 110 BCE, Hyrcanus launched an invasion of Transjordan. His army laid siege to the city of Medeba and took it after a six-month siege. After this victory, he turned north and invaded
Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
, which had long separated Judea from Jewish settlements in Galilee.
Shechem Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first ca ...
was reduced to a village and the Samaritan Temple on
Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...
was destroyed.. Archaeological evidence places these events between 111 and 110 BCE. Hyrcanus also launched a military campaign in
Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...
, capturing Marisa and Adora. The Idumeans were forced to convert to Judaism, by threat of exile or death, depending on the source. Following the death of Hyrcanus, his son
Aristobulus I Judah Aristobulus I or Aristobulus I (; el, Ἀριστόβουλος, Aristóboulos) was the first Hasmonean king of Judaea from 104 BCE until his death in 103 BCE. He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader. Joseph ...
() assumed the title of king for the first time and combined it with the office of high priest. People were now more open to Hellenistic influences that had been demonized as un-Jewish during the war; the Hasmonean kingship bore clear Hellenistic monarchy traits, but combined these with theocratic elements. He also captured and annexed the region of
Iturea Iturea ( grc, Ἰτουραία, ''Itouraía'') is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Marsyas to the Anti-Lebanon Mountai ...
in modern-day
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, ...
() waged a series of
expansionist Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established polity (who of ...
wars, primarily against the Hellenistic cities surrounding Judea. Unlike his predecessors, who were focused on the concentration of the Jewish population in one country, his military efforts were motivated by a desire to control key economic points such as ports and trade routes. On the same time, he carried on his predecessors' conversion policy, and destroyed
Pella Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great. On site of the ancient c ...
because its inhabitants refused to convert. During his reign, the Hasmonean kingdom expanded to its greatest extent. His dual role as king and high priest, his inclination towards the
Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio- religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. ...
, the high cost of the wars in both money and lives threatened the governmental balance and sparked opposition to his rule, resulting in the Judean Civil War, which Jannaeus brutally suppressed. Jannaeus' widow,
Salome Alexandra Salome Alexandra, or Shlomtzion ( grc-gre, Σαλώμη Ἀλεξάνδρα; he, , ''Šəlōmṣīyyōn''; 141–67 BCE), was one of three women to rule over Judea, the other two being Athaliah and Devora. The wife of Aristobulus I, and ...
(), ascended to power following her husband's death. Under her rule, the priesthood was separated from the other powers of government for the first time since the rise of the Hasmoneans. Salome appointed her son,
Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of Ju ...
, as high priest and his brother,
Aristobulus II Aristobulus II (, grc, Ἀριστόβουλος ''Aristóboulos'') was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea, 66 BCE to 63 BCE, from the Hasmonean dynasty. Family Aristobulus was the younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest ...
, as army commander, and pursued a moderate, mostly defensive policy that included the formation of a large and deterring army. Her nine-year reign is described as one of peace and economic prosperity, during which the country recovered from wars. The queen clearly supported the
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
, even allowing them to persecute and punish the Sadducees. Her rule had a distinct Hellenistic flavor, as there was no tradition of female rule in Judea. Hasmonean kings attempted to revive the Judah described in the Bible: a Jewish monarchy ruled from Jerusalem and including all territories once ruled by David and Solomon. In order to carry out this project, the Hasmoneans forcibly converted neighbor nations to Judaism. Some scholars argue that the Hasmonean dynasty institutionalized the final Jewish biblical canon.


Hasmonean civil war

After Salome Alexander died in 67 BCE,
Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of Ju ...
, her older son, was entitled to assume the throne and was already acting as high priest. However,
Aristobulus II Aristobulus II (, grc, Ἀριστόβουλος ''Aristóboulos'') was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea, 66 BCE to 63 BCE, from the Hasmonean dynasty. Family Aristobulus was the younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest ...
, her younger son, was more energetic and determined to become king. Aristobulus gathered an army to attack Jerusalem, forcing Hyrcanus to abdicate the crown. The abdication was formally carried out in the temple, and Aristobulus' son, Alexander, married Hyrcanus' daughter, Alexandra. However,
Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...
, an
Edomite Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...
noble who served as Hyrcanus' advisor, convinced him that giving up the throne was a mistake that needed to be undone. Along with
Aretas III Aretas III (; Nabataean Aramaic: ''Ḥārīṯat''; Ancient Greek: ) was king of the Nabataean kingdom from 87 to 62 BCE. Aretas ascended to the throne upon the death of his brother, Obodas I, in 87 BCE. During his reign, he extended his ...
, king of the
Nabateans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
, these two formed an alliance and together they attacked and besieged Jerusalem. During the same period, Roman general Pompey was in the midst of a campaign in the Eastern Mediterranean. After defeating
Mithridates VI Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...
of Pontus, Pompey conquered the Seleucid Kingdom, which became a Roman province called
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. The warrying brothers, who saw a mighty army camped near them, appealed to Pompey to decide between them. Three delegations then appeared before Pompey: one sent by Aristobulus, one sent by Hyrcanus, and another from "the people" who demanded to abolish the Hasmonean dynasty, which had transformed the rule of the priests into the rule of kings. Pompey heard the delegations but refrained from deciding. Eventually, in 63 BCE, Pompey invaded Judea, conquered Jerusalem, desecrated the
Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...
, imprisoned Aristobulus, and declared Hyrcanus an "
ethnarch Ethnarch (pronounced , also ethnarches, el, ) is a term that refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or homogeneous kingdom. The word is derived from the Greek words ('' ethnos'', "tribe/nation") and (''archon'', "l ...
", a title inferior to the title "king". Judea then became a vassal kingdom of the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman K ...
.


Early Roman period (63 BCE – 70 CE)

After Pompey's conquest of Judea in 63 BCE,
Hyrcanus II John Hyrcanus II (, ''Yohanan Hurqanos'') (died 30 BCE), a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch (ruler) of Ju ...
assumed the role of ethnarch; however, his advisor
Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...
was ruler in practice and managed the kingdom's affairs. Some cities which were conquered by the Hasmoneans were removed from Judaean rule, including Azotus, Jaffa and
Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
, as well as Scythopolis and several cities in Transjordan, which formed the semi-autonomous
Decapolis The Decapolis (Greek: grc, Δεκάπολις, Dekápolis, Ten Cities, label=none) was a group of ten Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BCE and CE. They formed a group b ...
. Hyrcanus II's rule was unstable. Alexander II, Aristobulus II's son, raised a large army and seized Jerusalem, forcing Hyrcanus to leave the city. The Roman general
Aulus Gabinius Aulus Gabinius (by 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic. Career In 67 BC, when tribune ...
invaded Judea in retaliation, sent Hyrcanus back to Jerusalem, and reinstated him as high priest. When
Caesar's civil war Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was one of the last politico-military conflicts of the Roman Republic before its reorganization into the Roman Empire. It began as a series of political and military confrontations between Gaius Julius Caesar and ...
broke out,
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
attempted to install Aristobulus on the throne; however, Aristobulus was poisoned, and his son Alexander, who was preparing to support him, was beheaded at
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
at the command of Pompey. Antipater and his sons
Phasael Phasael (died 40 BC; , ''Faṣā'ēl''; Latin: Phasaelus; from , ''Phasaelos''), was a prince from the Herodian Dynasty of Judea. Origins and early career Phasael was born in the Hasmonean Kingdom to an aristocratic family of Edomite descent. His f ...
and Herod gained status and power at the expense of the Hasmonean dynasty's waning power. When the Parthians invaded the area in 40 BCE, they installed
Antigonus II Mattathias Antigonus II Mattathias ( grc-gre, Αντίγονος ''Antígonos''; he, , ''Matīṯyāhū''), also known as Antigonus the Hasmonean (died 37 BCE) was the last Hasmonean king of Judea. A puppet king installed by the Parthians, he was the son ...
, Aristobulus II's youngest son, as king. Phasael committed suicide, and Hyrcanus II was taken as a prisoner to Babylon after having his ear severed in order to prevent him from ever acting as high priest again. Herod, who fled the Parthians, found his way to
Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
, who then controlled the eastern part of the Roman Republic. In agreement with his co-ruler
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, who controlled the western part, the two decided to appoint Herod as king of Judaea, and sent him with an army to seize the throne. In 37 BCE, Jerusalem was taken after a siege, and Antigonus was captured and executed.


Herodian dynasty

In 37-36 BCE,
Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his re ...
was appointed king of the Jews by the
Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
. The kingdom of Judea during his period is also referred to as the
Herodian kingdom The Herodian Kingdom of Judea was a client state of the Roman Republic from 37 BCE, when Herod the Great, who had been appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in 40/39 BCE, took actual control over the country. When Herod died in 4 BCE ...
. As a close and loyal ally to the Romans, Herod extended his rule as far as Arabia and the Hauran. Herod undertook many colossal building projects, including fully rebuilding the Second Temple and expanding the
Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...
, and founding
Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national pa ...
as a major port city. Herod also constructed the enclosure around the
Cave of the Patriarchs , alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) , image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg , alt = , caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009 , map ...
in
Hebron Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East Je ...
, the fortress at
Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead ...
, and
Herodium Herodion ( grc, Ἡρώδειον, ar, هيروديون, he, הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis ( ar, جبل فريديس, , "Mountain of the Little Paradise") is an ancient Jewish fortress and town, located in what is now ...
. The Herodian kingdom under Herod experienced a period of growth and expansion. After Herod's death in 4 BCE, the kingdom was partitioned to several parts to each of his three sons (initially four parts), forming the
Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares'' ...
. The central part of the Tetrarchy was given to
Herod Archelaus Herod Archelaus (, ''Hērōidēs Archelaos''; 23 BC – ) was ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa, for a period of nine years (). He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samarita ...
, including Judea proper,
Idumea Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...
and
Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
. Herod's death in 4 BCE caused the release of built up frustrations of the people who were suppressed by his brutality. Many people were impoverished because of Herod's high taxes and spending. When he died, his building projects that once allowed for job opportunities were stopped, and many people lost their jobs. This built up frustrations that ultimately contributed to the causes of the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
.


Roman Judaea

In 6 CE, the country fell into unrest, and the Herodian ruler of Judea was deposed in favor of forming the new
Iudaea Province Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
under direct
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
rule. The
Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and
Herodian kingdom The Herodian Kingdom of Judea was a client state of the Roman Republic from 37 BCE, when Herod the Great, who had been appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in 40/39 BCE, took actual control over the country. When Herod died in 4 BCE ...
s. It was created in 6 CE with the
Census of Quirinius The Census of Quirinius is generally believed to be a census of Judea taken by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, governor of Roman Syria, upon the imposition of direct Roman rule in 6 CE. The Gospel of Luke uses it to date the birth of Jesus, ...
and merged into
Syria Palaestina Syria Palaestina (literally, "Palestinian Syria";Trevor Bryce, 2009, ''The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia''Roland de Vaux, 1978, ''The Early History of Israel'', Page 2: "After the revolt of Bar Cochba in 135 ...
after 135 CE.
Herod II Herod II (ca. 27 BC – 33/34 AD) was the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II, the daughter of Simon Boethus the High Priest. For a brief period he was his father's heir apparent, but Herod I removed him from succession in his will. Some writ ...
ruled
Ituraea Iturea ( grc, Ἰτουραία, ''Itouraía'') is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Marsyas to the Anti-Lebanon Mountai ...
and
Trachonitis The Lajat (/ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Haura ...
until his death in 34 CE when he was succeeded as tetrarch by
Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa (Roman name Marcus Julius Agrippa; born around 11–10 BC – in Caesarea), also known as Herod II or Agrippa I (), was a grandson of Herod the Great and King of Judea from AD 41 to 44. He was the father of Herod Agrippa II, the l ...
, who had previously been ruler of Chalcis. Agrippa surrendered Chalcis to his brother Herod and ruled in Philip's stead. On the death of
Herod Antipas Herod Antipas ( el, Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, ''Hērǭdēs Antipas''; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both ...
in 39 CE Herod Agrippa became ruler of
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
also, and in 41 CE, as a mark of favour by the Emperor
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
, succeeded the Roman prefect Marullus as ruler of Judea. The era from roughly 4 BCE to 33 CE is also notable as being the time period when
Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
lived, primarily in Galilee, under the reign of Herod Antipas. It is therefore considered in specifically Jewish history as being when
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism, monotheistic religion based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, life and Teachings of Jesus, teachings of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. It is the Major religious groups, world's ...
arose as a messianic sect from within Second Temple Judaism.


First Jewish-Roman War

In 66 CE, the Jews of Judea rose in revolt against Rome, sparking the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
(66-73 CE), also known as the Great Jewish Revolt.
Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, a contemporary Jewish historian who fought as the commander of Jewish forces in Galilee but later defected to the Roman side, chronicled the events of the war in his book '' The Jewish War''.
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...
, an experienced Roman general, was sent by emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
to crush the rebellion. He arrived at Ptolemais along with legions X ''Fretensis'' and V ''Macedonica''. There he was joined by his son Titus, who arrived from
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
at the head of
Legio XV Apollinaris Legio XV Apollinaris ("Apollo's Fifteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was recruited by Octavian in 41/40 BC. The emblem of this legion was probably a picture of Apollo, or of one of his holy animals. XV ''Apollinaris'' ...
, as well as by the armies of various local allies including that of king Agrippa II. During the Galilee campaign, many towns surrendered without a fight, and others were taken by force. Yodfat, a fortified town in the
Lower Galilee The Lower Galilee (; ar, الجليل الأسفل, translit=Al Jalil Al Asfal) is a region within the Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to the north, from which it is ...
, was besieged for 47 days before it fell to treachery; the city was razed, many people were killed, and the rest were enslaved.
Gamla Gamla, alt. sp. Gamala ( he, גַּמְלָא, The Camel) was an ancient Jewish city on the Golan Heights. It is believed to have been founded as a Seleucid fort during the Syrian Wars which was turned into a city under Hasmonean rule in 81 B ...
, the major Jewish stronghold in the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
, fell after a one month siege. Following a lull in military operations caused by civil war and political turmoil in Rome, Vespasian was summoned to Rome and appointed Emperor. In early 70 CE, Titus moved to besiege Jerusalem, the center of rebel resistance in Judaea. The city had been taken over by several rebel factions following a period of massive unrest and the collapse of a short-lived provisional government. The first two walls of Jerusalem were breached in three weeks, but the Roman Army was unable to breach the third and thickest wall due to a stubborn rebel standoff. According to
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, a contemporary historian and the main source for the war, the city was ravaged by murder,
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...
and
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
. On
Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( he, תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב ''Tīšʿā Bəʾāv''; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism, on which a number of disasters in Jewish history occurred, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian E ...
, 70 CE (August 30), Roman forces finally overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple. Resistance continued for another month, but eventually the upper and lower parts of the city were taken as well, and the city was burned to the ground. Titus spared only the three towers of the Herodian citadel as a testimony to the city's former might. Rocca (2008), pp. 51-52. Josephus wrote that over a million people perished in the siege and the subsequent fighting. While contemporary studies dispute this figure, all agree that the siege had a major toll on human life, with many people being killed and enslaved, and large parts of the city destroyed. After the fall of Jerusalem, Titus returned to Rome, leaving the remaining Jewish strongholds, including
Herodium Herodion ( grc, Ἡρώδειον, ar, هيروديون, he, הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis ( ar, جبل فريديس, , "Mountain of the Little Paradise") is an ancient Jewish fortress and town, located in what is now ...
and
Machaerus Machaerus (Μαχαιροῦς, from grc, μάχαιρα, , makhaira sword he, מכוור; ar, قلعة مكاور, translit=Qala'at Mukawir, lit=Mukawir Castle) was a Hasmonean hilltop palace and desert fortress, now in ruins, located in t ...
, to the Roman Legions. The war ended in 73-74 CE with the
siege of Masada The siege of Masada was one of the final events in the First Jewish–Roman War, occurring from 73 to 74 CE on and around a hilltop in present-day Israel. The siege is known to history via a single source, Flavius Josephus, a Jewish rebel leade ...
. According to Josephus, the siege resulted in the
mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Overview Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Su ...
of the Sicarii rebels and resident Jewish families, though the historicity of the mass suicide is debated.


Aftermath

Two generations after the First Jewish-Roman War, the
Bar Kokhba Revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, ag ...
(132-136 CE) erupted. It resulted in the extensive depopulation of Judean communities, more so than during the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
of 70 CE. Some scholars have described these events as
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lati ...
. According to
Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, 580,000 Jews perished in the war and many more died of hunger and disease, 50 fortresses and 985 villages were destroyed. In addition, many Judean war captives were sold into slavery.Mor, M. ''The Second Jewish Revolt: The Bar Kokhba War, 132-136 CE''. Brill, 2016. P471/ Some modern historians assert that Dio's numbers were somewhat exaggerated, but other researchers support Dio's claim of massive depopulation. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a
Roman colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Character ...
under the name of
Aelia Capitolina Aelia Capitolina (Traditional English Pronunciation: ; Latin in full: ) was a Roman colony founded during Emperor Hadrian's trip to Judah in 129/130, centered around Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. T ...
, and the province of Judea was renamed
Syria Palaestina Syria Palaestina (literally, "Palestinian Syria";Trevor Bryce, 2009, ''The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia''Roland de Vaux, 1978, ''The Early History of Israel'', Page 2: "After the revolt of Bar Cochba in 135 ...
.H.H. Ben-Sasson, ''A History of the Jewish People'', Harvard University Press, 1976, , page 334: "In an effort to wipe out all memory of the bond between the Jews and the land, Hadrian changed the name of the province from Judaea to Syria-Palestina, a name that became common in non-Jewish literature."Ariel Lewin. ''The archaeology of Ancient Judea and Palestine''. Getty Publications, 2005 p. 33. "It seems clear that by choosing a seemingly neutral name - one juxtaposing that of a neighboring province with the revived name of an ancient geographical entity (Palestine), already known from the writings of Herodotus - Hadrian was intending to suppress any connection between the Jewish people and that land." Jewish presence in the region significantly dwindled after the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt.Nevertheless, there was a continuous small Jewish presence and
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
became its religious center. Jewish communities also continued to reside in the southern
Hebron Hills The Hebron Hills, also known as Mount Hebron ( ar, جبل الخليل, translit=Jabal al-Khalīl, he, הר חברון, translit=Har Hevron), are a mountain ridge, geographic region, and geologic formation, comprising the southern part of the ...
and on the coastal plain. The
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and part of the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
, central Jewish texts, were composed during the 2nd to 4th centuries CE in
Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
and
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. After the destruction of the Second Temple, Judaism separated into a linguistically Greek and a Hebrew / Aramaic sphere. The theology and religious texts of each community were distinctively different. Hellenized Judaism never developed yeshivas to study the Oral Law.
Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
(centered in the Land of Israel and Babylon) almost entirely ignores the Hellenized Diaspora in its writings. Hellenized Judaism eventually disappeared as its practitioners assimilated into Greco-Roman culture, leaving a strong Rabbinic eastern Diaspora with large centers of learning in Babylon. By the first century, the Jewish community in
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled stat ...
, to which Jews were exiled after the Babylonian conquest as well as after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, already held a speedily growingמרדכי וורמברנד ובצלאל ס רותת "עם ישראל – תולדות 4000 שנה – מימי האבות ועד חוזה השלום", ע"מ 95. (Translation: Mordechai Vermebrand and Betzalel S. Ruth – "The People of Israel – the history of 4000 years – from the days of the Forefathers to the Peace Treaty", 1981, p. 95) population of an estimated one million Jews, which increased to an estimated two millionDr. Solomon Gryazel, "History of the Jews – From the destruction of Judah in 586 BC to the present Arab Israeli conflict", p. 137 between the years 200 CE and 500 CE, both by natural growth and by immigration of more Jews from the
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, making up about one-sixth of the world Jewish population at that era. Over the next centuries, more Jews emigrated to flourishing communities in the
Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...
. Others remained in the Land of Israel, and some
converted to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believe ...
. In the following millennia, Jewish diaspora communities coalesced into three major ethnic subdivisions according to where their ancestors settled: the ''
Ashkenazim Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
'' ( Central and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, wh ...
), the ''
Sephardim Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
'' (initially in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
), and the ''
Mizrahim Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
'' (
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
).Dosick (2007), pp. 59, 60.


Religion

During the 600 years of the Second Temple period, multiple religious currents emerged and extensive religious developments occurred. The
development of the Hebrew Bible canon Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped *Photographi ...
, the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wors ...
,
Jewish eschatology Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the reviv ...
can all be traced back to the Second Temple period. According to Jewish tradition,
prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...
ceased during the early Second Temple period; this left the Jews without their version of divine guidance at a time when they felt most in need of support and direction. During the Hellenistic period, currents of Judaism were influenced by
Hellenistic philosophy Hellenistic philosophy is a time-frame for Western philosophy and Ancient Greek philosophy corresponding to the Hellenistic period. It is purely external and encompasses disparate intellectual content. There is no single philosophical school or ...
developed from the 3rd century BCE, notably the
Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...
in
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
, culminating in the compilation of the
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
. An important advocate of the symbiosis of Jewish theology and Hellenistic thought is Philo. The growing influence of Hellenism in Judaism became a source of dissent for some Jews; this was a major catalyst for the Maccabean revolt. From 170 BCE to 30 CE, five successive generations of ''
zugot The ''Zugot'' ( he, הַזּוּגוֹת ''hazZūgōṯ'', "the Pairs"), also called Zugoth or ''Zugos'' in the Ashkenazi pronunciation, refers both to the two-hundred-year period ( 170 BCE – 30 CE, he, תְּקוּפַת הַזּו ...
'' ("pairs of") leaders headed the Jews' spiritual affairs. It was during this period that the sects of the
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
,
Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio- religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. ...
,
Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st ...
and Zealots were formed. A number of messianic ideas developed during the later Second Temple period. Christianity first emerged as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the 1st century
Hellenistic Judaism Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Until the early Muslim conquests of the eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were ...
in Roman Judea.
Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
was a first-century
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
preacher and religious leader. After his death, his apostles and their followers spread around the
Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...
, Europe,
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
,
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, the
South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arm ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...
, and
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
, despite initial persecution. It soon attracted
gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...
God-fearers, which led to a departure from Jewish customs, and, after the fall of Jerusalem which ended the Temple-based Judaism, Christianity slowly separated from Judaism.


Language


Overview

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sout ...
's linguistic situation during the Second Temple period is defined by the co-existence of two spoken languages:
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
and
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. The meaning of the population's Multilingualism, bilingualism is debated; opinions differ on whether speakers express themselves equally in Hebrew or Aramaic, or whether one language is preferred over the other depending on region. Aramaic became widely spoken in
Samaria Samaria (; he, שֹׁמְרוֹן, translit=Šōmrōn, ar, السامرة, translit=as-Sāmirah) is the historic and biblical name used for the central region of Palestine, bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The first ...
and
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
, while Judea continued to use Hebrew. Although Aramaic had eventually surpassed Hebrew as the most widely spoken language in the region, many people learned Hebrew as a Sacred language, liturgical language. During the two centuries of Persian rule (538–332 BCE), the administrative language was Imperial Aramaic. Beginning in 333 BCE, Koine Greek became the official language of administration and was used to spread Hellenistic period, Hellenistic culture. Even under Roman rule, the administrative language in the eastern provinces, including Judaea, remained Greek. The Hebrew alphabet, square script (also known as Ktav Ashuri) had probably already started to replace the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, paleo-Hebrew script during the Persian period, though the transition was not complete until the Hellenistic period and traces of the previous script were still in use until the Bar Kokhba revolt, Bar-Kokhba revolt. Latin, the language of the Roman army and higher levels of administration, had almost no impact on the linguistic landscape. It is less common in texts and archaeology. Only a few Latin papyri were discovered in the region; those discovered at
Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead ...
belonged to the Roman garrison.


Aramaic

During the Yehud (Persian province), Persian period, Aramaic was the civil administration language. The contract texts were written in Aramaic. The ketubah (marriage contract), Get (divorce document), get (divorce certificate), and other legal documents mentioned in the Talmud are written in Aramaic. The formulas for the Aramaic texts of the ketubot have been preserved since the Persian period, even though they were modified during the Hellenistic period. Elephantine's Jewish community has adopted Aramaic, and it was the main language used in the Elephantine papyri and ostraca. Jesus, a native of the Galilee, and his disciples Language of Jesus, spoke Aramaic.Despite the fact that Aramaic has become the most widely spoken language, there are few Aramaic texts that provide information on the language spoken in the region during the Second Temple period. Three books of the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Hebrew

Some of the later books of the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ackno ...
were written during the Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile. There are varying opinions about when Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Book of Jonah, Jonah, some of the Psalms, and possibly the Book of Job were written. The majority of researchers, however, agree that they were composed during the Second Temple period. Most of these books were written in what linguistics call "Late
Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...
". This later form of Biblical Hebrew is particularly notables in the Book of Chronicles since it occasionally rewrites sections from Samuel and Kings and modifies parts to conform to post-exilic usage. However, not all of the Second Temple literature exhibits the language traits of late
Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...
to the same degree; some of it is written in a manner that is strikingly reminiscent of classical Biblical Hebrew. Hebrew was still a spoken language during the Second Temple period at least in some areas of Judea. It continued to be used up until 200 CE, and possibly even after. It is thought that the Hebrew spoken during the Second Temple period evolved from Biblical Hebrew, possibly from a distinct dialect. This form of Hebrew is now known as Mishnaic Hebrew. The Hasideans, who are believed to be the precursors of both the
Essenes The Essenes (; Hebrew: , ''Isiyim''; Greek: Ἐσσηνοί, Ἐσσαῖοι, or Ὀσσαῖοι, ''Essenoi, Essaioi, Ossaioi'') were a mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st ...
and the
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
, used a combination of Biblical Hebrew and Mishnaic Hebrew as their literary language, with Mishnaic Hebrew dominating. The literature of the Tannaim and Amoraim of the Land of Israel and Babylonia is written in Mishnaic Hebrew, which is later found in the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
. Among the earliest are the tractates of Tamid and Interpunct, Middot. It reflects a living Hebrew that is not just an artificial language reserved for Jewish scholars, despite the fact that this language has been fixed in rabbinic discussions. The Qumran group continued to use Late Biblical Hebrew, which was still a literary language, while fusing it with their own unique linguistic traits. The first century Jewish historian
Flavius Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
asserts that he addressed the people of Jerusalem in Hebrew. But as usual, his testimony is ambiguous and at odds with the Aramaic transcriptions he uses to describe Jewish traditions. Spoken Hebrew saw a brief resurgence in interest during the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135 CE). The Mishna, however, was written down circa 200 CE because it could no longer be memorized and could no longer be transmitted orally due to the lack of Hebrew speakers who could memorize it. Archaeology provides evidence of the usage of Mishnaic Hebrew in the Second Temple period. It can be found in texts found in the Judaean Desert from the first and second centuries, including the Copper Scroll found in Qumran and the Bar Kokhba letters and other writings found in caves near Nahal Hever. These documents provide a glimpse of everyday Hebrew, without indicating which regions they pertain to. Judean Desert examples tend to indicate that it is a southern dialect.


Greek

Greek was the primary language of the History of the Jews in Egypt#Ptolemaic and Roman, Jews of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt, particularly those of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. Although the Jews of Egypt used Aramaic in the early Ptolemaic period, it was quickly abandoned in favor of Greek. It is only in the early Byzantine period that Egyptian Jewish communities communicated with one another in Hebrew, which again served as the official language. The use of Greek was not limited to the Jewish diaspora, Jewish Diaspora. From the third century BCE onward, almost all inscriptions in the Southern Levant were written in Greek, with the exception of tombs and ossuaries, as well as those in synagogues. Many Ossuary, ossuaries of the period bear inscriptions in Greek, either indicating the tombs of families descended from the Diaspora or assisting authorities in identifying the tombs. According to the Mishnah, Mishna, Greek was even present in the Temple of Jerusalem. Greek was widely used in Judaea, at least in a certain social stratum. Greek was also used in legal documents such as the Babatha Archives and the Bar Kokhba letters. The
Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...
, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, was not limited to Jews in the Diaspora - it was also used in Judea, as evidenced by the discovery of fragments at Qumran and Nahal Hever. Greek names like Jason, Menelaus, and Alexander were popular among Jews throughout most of the Second Temple period. Some
Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...
, too, had Greek names like Antigonus of Sokho or Abtalion, P[t]ollion.


Burial

In contrast to earlier and later Jewish burial practices, the two acceptable types of burial during the late Second Temple period (1st-2nd centuries BCE and CE) were primary burial in coffins and secondary burial in ossuaries. For primary burial, coffins were placed in ''kokhim''. After a while, bones were collected for secondary burial in ''kokhim'' and placed in Ossuary, ossuaries. Ossuaries, which were cut from local limestone, were either kept on the floor or on shelves in specially carved niches in the walls of the tomb. It was common for the ossuaries to be decorated with ornaments that included typical motifs of the period. In Jerusalem, for example, palm branches and flowers, especially the lily, were typical motives. Funerary inscriptions with names etched or inscribed in Hebrew or Greek ossuaries are commonly found on ossuaries and sometimes on tombs. A number of especially lavish tombs were built around Jerusalem during the early Roman period. Examples are the so-called "Tombs of the Sanhedrin" and the monumental tombs of the Kidron Valley. As a common practice in the Greco-Roman world, these tombs were built along ancient roads that have since disappeared. Scholars believe these tombs were built by individuals seeking to elevate themselves and their families in the eyes of Jews in both the Land of Israel and the Diaspora by employing temple-like architectural designs. According to Halakha, Jewish Law (
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
, Bava Batra tractate), due to the Jerusalem in Judaism, sanctity of Jerusalem and the Corpse uncleanness, impurity of the dead, burial was only allowed beyond the city's walls and fifty cubits away. When the city expanded, the cemeteries were removed (except for the graves of the Davidic line, House of David and Huldah).Tosefta, Bava Batra, 1:11 It has been suggested that the Uzziah Tablet, which says "Hither were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Not to be opened", might indicate that king Uzziah's tomb was relocated beyond the city's walls during this period. Jericho's cemetery was also located outside the town's limits.


See also

* Archaeology of Israel * History of ancient Israel and Judah * Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period *
Second Temple Judaism Second Temple Judaism refers to the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period, which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The Second Temple p ...


References


Citations


Sources

* {{Israel topics Second Temple period, Second Temple, * Ancient Jewish Greek history Ancient Jewish Persian history Historical eras Jews and Judaism in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire