ROMAN RULE (63 B.C. – 29 A.D.)
Rome was governed by a hierarchy of magistrates both elective and honorary. Government was headed by two consuls, elected annually. In the period when Rome became a power in the Hellenistic world, Roman society was dominated by a bitter contest between two privileged classes in the Republic--
1) the senate (the governing body) was a municipal assembly consisting of 600 elders. (They ruled the entire Republic until other forces seized control in the 1st Century B.C.; in the following centuries they were still the advocates of a republican oligarchy in opposition to the emperor.)
2) A new class based on wealth: the industrial and commercial businessmen who profited from the newly-opened trade routes. (Referred to as the Roman equestrians because their wealth allowed their sons to occasionally serve in the armed cavalry.)
Besides the privileged classes there were the oppressed or disadvantaged groups (the numerous townspeople of Rome, farmers, and small businessmen living far from Rome.)
Roman Period:
63 B.C. – Pompey captures Jerusalem and annexes Palestine...Pompey occupied Jerusalem and ended independent rule for Judea until 1948.
60 B.C. – Crassus, Pompey and Julius Caesar form the First Triumvirate to rule Rome
59 B.C. – Julius Caesar is elected consul...Roman historian Livy is born; he writes Ab Urbe Condita, which follows Rome’s history from its founding in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus
57 B.C. – Caesar conquers all of Gaul
53 B.C. – Marcus Crassus is defeated and killed by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in Syria
51 B.C. – Caesar crushes revolt of Vercingetorix in Gaul
49 B.C. – Ceasar crosses the Rubicon River with his army
48 B.C. – Caesar defeats Pompey in Greece and becomes sole dictator of Rome, taking the title of Imperator, Commander in Chief of the Roman armies
47 B.C. – Ceasar invades Egypt and proclaims Cleopatra queen
45 B.C. – Julius Caesar revises old Roman Calendar and institutes 12 month Julian Calendar
44 B.C. – Ceasar is assassinated in the Roman Senate on the Ides of March...Marc Antony and Caesar’s nephew, Octavius, defeat Senators who tried rule following Caesar’s death
43 B.C. – Octavius, Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus form military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate
37 B.C. - Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel. He enlarges the Temple Mount and rebuilds the Temple. He also builds other monumental projects including Caesarea, Herodion and Masada.
31 B.C. – Octavius defeats Antony at the Battle of Actium and becomes sole ruler of Rome...Octavius accepts the title Augustus and becomes Imperator; reforms military
27 B.C. – Augustus takes the title of First Citizen and leads Rome...The Republic is dead, the Empire begins
23 B.C. – Augustus initiates a period of peace known as the Pax Romana...Cities throughout the Roman Empire have water and sewage systems, theaters, and public baths...Provincial government improves...The Roman alphabet became the basis for the western world alphabet...Latin, the Roman language, became the basis for French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian
19 B.C. – Virgil writes The Aeneid
16 B.C. – Ovid writes Amores
13 B.C. – Augustus expands the borders of the Roman Empire in Europe to the Danube
8 B.C. – Ovid writes Metamorphoses
0 ? – Jesus’ birth
27 – 33 (37?) A.D. – Jesus’ ministry
33 (37?) A.D. – Jesus crucified
1) the senate (the governing body) was a municipal assembly consisting of 600 elders. (They ruled the entire Republic until other forces seized control in the 1st Century B.C.; in the following centuries they were still the advocates of a republican oligarchy in opposition to the emperor.)
2) A new class based on wealth: the industrial and commercial businessmen who profited from the newly-opened trade routes. (Referred to as the Roman equestrians because their wealth allowed their sons to occasionally serve in the armed cavalry.)
Besides the privileged classes there were the oppressed or disadvantaged groups (the numerous townspeople of Rome, farmers, and small businessmen living far from Rome.)
Roman Period:
63 B.C. – Pompey captures Jerusalem and annexes Palestine...Pompey occupied Jerusalem and ended independent rule for Judea until 1948.
60 B.C. – Crassus, Pompey and Julius Caesar form the First Triumvirate to rule Rome
59 B.C. – Julius Caesar is elected consul...Roman historian Livy is born; he writes Ab Urbe Condita, which follows Rome’s history from its founding in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus
57 B.C. – Caesar conquers all of Gaul
53 B.C. – Marcus Crassus is defeated and killed by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae in Syria
51 B.C. – Caesar crushes revolt of Vercingetorix in Gaul
49 B.C. – Ceasar crosses the Rubicon River with his army
48 B.C. – Caesar defeats Pompey in Greece and becomes sole dictator of Rome, taking the title of Imperator, Commander in Chief of the Roman armies
47 B.C. – Ceasar invades Egypt and proclaims Cleopatra queen
45 B.C. – Julius Caesar revises old Roman Calendar and institutes 12 month Julian Calendar
44 B.C. – Ceasar is assassinated in the Roman Senate on the Ides of March...Marc Antony and Caesar’s nephew, Octavius, defeat Senators who tried rule following Caesar’s death
43 B.C. – Octavius, Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus form military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate
37 B.C. - Herod, Roman vassal king, rules the Land of Israel. He enlarges the Temple Mount and rebuilds the Temple. He also builds other monumental projects including Caesarea, Herodion and Masada.
31 B.C. – Octavius defeats Antony at the Battle of Actium and becomes sole ruler of Rome...Octavius accepts the title Augustus and becomes Imperator; reforms military
27 B.C. – Augustus takes the title of First Citizen and leads Rome...The Republic is dead, the Empire begins
23 B.C. – Augustus initiates a period of peace known as the Pax Romana...Cities throughout the Roman Empire have water and sewage systems, theaters, and public baths...Provincial government improves...The Roman alphabet became the basis for the western world alphabet...Latin, the Roman language, became the basis for French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian
19 B.C. – Virgil writes The Aeneid
16 B.C. – Ovid writes Amores
13 B.C. – Augustus expands the borders of the Roman Empire in Europe to the Danube
8 B.C. – Ovid writes Metamorphoses
0 ? – Jesus’ birth
27 – 33 (37?) A.D. – Jesus’ ministry
33 (37?) A.D. – Jesus crucified
ROMAN OCCUPATION, ANTIPATER, AND HEROD THE GREAT, 63 – 4 B.C
Antipater
With Rome’s occupation of Palestine, Antipater, a capitalist who was a power-seeker, continued to exercise his influence on the high priest Hyrcanus II. From 63 – 55 B.C. Antipater was the unofficial ruler of the land, and from 55 until his death in 43 B.C. he was Roman procurator in Jerusalem and then over the entire country.
Herod I, 43 – 4 B.C.
In 43 B.C. Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the second triumvirate, which can be thought of as an officially recognized continuation of the dictatorship.
In 40 B.C. Antigonus, the surviving son of Aristobulus II, rebelled and named himself king, wanting to restore the Hasmonean monarchy. Later, Antigonus was crucified then beheaded.
Herod’s reign from 37 – 27 B.C.
Domestically, Herod gave attention to trying and executing the members and supporters of the old royal house for high treason. These included the young high priest Aristobulus III (his brother-in-law), one of his uncles, the aged Hyrcanus II, his own wife Mariamne I, and his mother-in-law.
Herod’s reign from 27 – 13 B.C.
This period is marked by the construction of a number of magnificent public buildings, demonstrating the wealth and cultural status of Herod.
Herod’s reign from 13 – 4 B.C.
Herod’s sons from his 10 wives became politically significant and had to be dealt with. He charged his two sons by Mariamne I (who were Hasmonean) with high treason and had them executed. He tortured and killed several Pharisaic theology students for removing the golden eagle from the temple; he got Augustus’ permission to have his eldest son executed. Herod I died shortly before Passover in 4 B.C.
Popular messianic uprisings at the death of Herod.
The Jews asked Archelaus to reduce the tax burden and to release political prisoners in various Herodian fortresses. When crowds from the countryside in Jerusalem for the Passover insisted on these demands Archelaus sent in the army, which killed thousands of them. When Archelaus left shortly thereafter for Rome the countryside broke out in revolt. Confrontation between the peasantry and Roman troops broke out again in Jerusalem at the festival of Pentecost. When that happened the common people revolted again in every major section of Herod’s kingdom, revolts that took the form of messianic movements. Judas at Sepphoris in Galilee gathered a sizable force and wanted to be king; Simon, a servant of Herod raided the royal palace in Jerusalem and led a group of followers; Athronges, an obscure shepherd who aspired to be king, gathered an army and fought against the Romans and the armies of Herod. The pro-Roman Jewish historian Josephus comments about Athronges and the likes of him: “Judea was infested with gangs of bandits. Whenever seditious bands came across someone suitable, that person could be set up as king, eager for the ruin of the [Roman] commonwealth, doing little damage to the Romans, but causing extensive bloodshed among their countrymen.” [FJ, Ant. 17.278-85, cited by HH, 114]
With Rome’s occupation of Palestine, Antipater, a capitalist who was a power-seeker, continued to exercise his influence on the high priest Hyrcanus II. From 63 – 55 B.C. Antipater was the unofficial ruler of the land, and from 55 until his death in 43 B.C. he was Roman procurator in Jerusalem and then over the entire country.
Herod I, 43 – 4 B.C.
In 43 B.C. Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus formed the second triumvirate, which can be thought of as an officially recognized continuation of the dictatorship.
In 40 B.C. Antigonus, the surviving son of Aristobulus II, rebelled and named himself king, wanting to restore the Hasmonean monarchy. Later, Antigonus was crucified then beheaded.
Herod’s reign from 37 – 27 B.C.
Domestically, Herod gave attention to trying and executing the members and supporters of the old royal house for high treason. These included the young high priest Aristobulus III (his brother-in-law), one of his uncles, the aged Hyrcanus II, his own wife Mariamne I, and his mother-in-law.
Herod’s reign from 27 – 13 B.C.
This period is marked by the construction of a number of magnificent public buildings, demonstrating the wealth and cultural status of Herod.
Herod’s reign from 13 – 4 B.C.
Herod’s sons from his 10 wives became politically significant and had to be dealt with. He charged his two sons by Mariamne I (who were Hasmonean) with high treason and had them executed. He tortured and killed several Pharisaic theology students for removing the golden eagle from the temple; he got Augustus’ permission to have his eldest son executed. Herod I died shortly before Passover in 4 B.C.
Popular messianic uprisings at the death of Herod.
The Jews asked Archelaus to reduce the tax burden and to release political prisoners in various Herodian fortresses. When crowds from the countryside in Jerusalem for the Passover insisted on these demands Archelaus sent in the army, which killed thousands of them. When Archelaus left shortly thereafter for Rome the countryside broke out in revolt. Confrontation between the peasantry and Roman troops broke out again in Jerusalem at the festival of Pentecost. When that happened the common people revolted again in every major section of Herod’s kingdom, revolts that took the form of messianic movements. Judas at Sepphoris in Galilee gathered a sizable force and wanted to be king; Simon, a servant of Herod raided the royal palace in Jerusalem and led a group of followers; Athronges, an obscure shepherd who aspired to be king, gathered an army and fought against the Romans and the armies of Herod. The pro-Roman Jewish historian Josephus comments about Athronges and the likes of him: “Judea was infested with gangs of bandits. Whenever seditious bands came across someone suitable, that person could be set up as king, eager for the ruin of the [Roman] commonwealth, doing little damage to the Romans, but causing extensive bloodshed among their countrymen.” [FJ, Ant. 17.278-85, cited by HH, 114]