The Jacob and Simon uprising was a revolt instigated in

Roman Judea 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 o ...

by brothers Simon and Jacob in 46–48 CE. The revolt, which was concentrated in the Galilee, began as a sporadic insurgency and when climaxed in 48 CE was quickly put down by Roman authorities and both brothers executed.

Background

The Crisis under Caligula (37–41) has been proposed as the "first open break between

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the

Jews 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""The ...

", even though problems were already evident during 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, wh ...

in 6 and under

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Gua ...

(before 31).

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 ...

' ''

Jewish Antiquities ''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume Historiography, historiographical work, written in Greek language, Greek, by historian Josephus, F ...

'' states that there were three main Jewish sects at this time, the Pharisees, 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. T ...

, and 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 ce ...

. The Zealots were a "fourth sect", founded by

Judas of Galilee Judas of Galilee, or Judas of Gamala, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. He encouraged Jews not to register and those that did had their houses burnt an ...

(also called Judas of Gamala) in the year 6 against Quirinius' tax reform, shortly after the Roman Empire declared what had most recently been the tetrarchy of Herod Archelaus to be a

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 ...

, and that they "agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord." (18.1.6) According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on ''Zealots'': Others have also argued that the group was not so clearly marked out (before the first war of 66-70/3) as some have thought.

Richard Horsley Richard A. Horsley was the Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion at the University of Massachusetts Boston until his retirement in 2007. He described his view of the historical Jesus in these words (''Jesus'' ''and the ...

's "Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs" and Tom Wright's "The New Testament and the People of God"

Revolt of 48 CE

The information on the revolt which erupted in Galilee, then part of the

province, is limited. The sources however indicate that the revolt was motivated by anti-Roman sentiments and driven by

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 ...

. The revolt, which was concentrated in the Galilee, began as sporadic insurgency and then climaxed in 48 CE. Two of

Judas the Galilean Judas of Galilee, or Judas of Gamala, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. He encouraged Jews not to register and those that did had their houses burnt an ...

' sons, Jacob and Simon, were involved in a revolt and were executed by Tiberius Alexander, the

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of Iudaea province from 46 to 48.H.H. Ben-Sasson, ''A History of the Jewish People'', Harvard University Press, 1976, , page 275

Aftermath

18 years after the events of the revolt in Galilee the entire province of Judea revolted against Rome, in what became known as the Great Revolt of Judea.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em 46 47 48 40s in the Roman Empire 1st-century Judaism 1st-century rebellions Galilee Jewish–Roman wars Judea (Roman province) Rebellions in Asia Rebellions against the Roman Empire Religion-based wars 40s conflicts

Background

Revolt of 48 CE

Aftermath

See also

References