Jewish People in Classical Antiquity From Alexander to Bar Kochba
By John H. Hayes and Sara R. Mandell Westminster John Knox Press, 1998 ISBN: 0-664-25727-5
Reviewed by Rochelle Caviness
Jewish history is, and always had been, a contentious area of study. Personal ideologies, political sensibilities, and religious overtones often color the study of Jewish History. In The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander to Bar Kochba, John H. Hayes and Sara R. Mandell have taken on the task of exploring a vital period of Jewish history. This period, which ranges from 333 B.C.E. to 135 C.E., encompasses an exceptionally volatile period beginning with the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great and culminating with the termination of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome.
Many authors have found it difficult to approach this era without allowing their own personal biases to encroach upon their work. In an era that is so tinged with religious overtones, this is not unexpected. In The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity, the authors, John H. Hayes (Professor of Old Testament at Emory University) and Sara R. Mandell (Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida), strove to be as unbiased as possible and to present a truthful and historical account of the period, for the most part they succeeded admirably.
The text is divided into four parts.
Ptolemaic and Seleucid Rule
This section covers the Ptolemaic rule of Jewish Palestine, the conquest of Judea by Alexander the Great and the consequent Hellenization of the area, and the rule of the Seleucids. When the Seleucid Kingdom became a client state of Rome, after the Battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C.E., Jewish Palestine, by default, also came under the mantel of Roman control. The text chronicles the transformation of Jewish Palestine from a Seleucid dependency to that of a Roman client state.
The Hasmonaeans
During this period, Jewish Palestine was still, technically, subjected to Seleucid rule. Nonetheless Jewish Palestine maintained a relationship with Rome that provided the Hasmonaeans with a sense of sovereign independence while fostering Judea as a client state of Rome's, independent of the Seleucids.
The Herodian Period
This period begins with the outright conquest of Judea by Rome, and the instillation of quasi-kings who really owed their allegiance to Rome rather than to the people they ostensibly ruled. Included is a detailed analysis of Herodian rule and how that rule was influenced by political instability in Rome, especially the internal struggles which ensued after the assassination of Julius Caesar.
The Jewish-Roman Wars
The Jewish-Roman Wars occurred while Judea was under the control of Roman Procurators. Gone was the illusion that Judea was independent. Judea was now, openly, a Roman province. Rome no longer felt a need to install a figurehead king, and ruled directly through the appointment of Procurators. In addition to offering a detailed analysis of the wars, the authors also covered the aftermath of the wars and how Rome treated the province, and its people, once the insurrections were suppressed.
Throughout the text, the authors strove to tell the story of the Jewish-Judea community - from their vantage point. As well as from the viewpoint of the Roman's and other ruling entities. They were brutally honest when explaining the machinations of the Temple state and the political infighting that often crippled the ability of the Jews to wage a successful campaign for self-rule. Most important, they took great pains to explain, and document, how the political and religious intricacies of the Jewish community affected their relationship with Rome. The text also illustrated how political turmoil in Rome affected the civil and religious life of the Jewish community in Palestine. Meticulous care was also taken to explain how and why the Jews went to war against Roman rule and why Rome viewed the Roman-Jewish wars as revolts and not as real wars. The insights offered on this topic are invaluable to explaining how the Roman's viewed their world, and their responsibilities to those areas which they had annexed and to those kingdoms which they viewed as client states.
By far, the most valuable assets contained in this book are the plethora of time-line and genealogy charts, maps, and translations of period texts that serve to explain and highlight important aspects of the time. Students of both Jewish and Roman History will find the time-line charts invaluable. These charts offer detailed information covering major events, information on the various rulers and important officials, including a chronology of who held the position of High Priest and how he came to power. In addition these charts offer a comparison of ongoing Roman and Jewish affairs. This allows the student to see, at a glance, what was going on in Rome and, at the same time, what was going on in Jewish Palestine.
This text was written for both students and scholars of classical antiquity. The narrative is lucid, compelling and provides a wealth of information on a significant period in both Roman and Jewish History. In addition, the text illustrates how Rome dealt with other religious and political institutions that fell within their purview.
Related Reviews:
The Roman-Jewish Wars and Hebrew Cultural Nationalism, by Moshe Aberbach and David Aberbach.
This book covers two interrelated subjects - the Roman-Jewish wars and the development of Hebrew cultural nationalism. This is accomplished via a discussion the short and long term causes of the three revolts that erupted between the Jews and the Graeco-Romans, which occurred in 66-70, 115-17, and 132-35 C.E.
Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, by Martin Goodman.
Unlike other minority groups which became intertwined with the Roman apparatus, the Jews not only maintained their own cultural identity and practices, but they also left behind written and archeological records of their existence and life under Roman rule. In Jews in a Graeco-Roman World, Martin Goodman, has brought together a series of essays on the topic of Jewish life in the Graeco-Roman world.
