Are Palestinians today "protected" by Israel, since they're allowed to worship? Did Jews and Arabs live in relative peace in Jerusalem before the "rebellion" of 1967?
Julius Caesar was born in 100 BC and assassinated in 44 BC.. I don't know what you are talking about.
The Jews were not expelled from the Roman Empire. Just Rome itself 139BC and 19AD. In the 4th decade AD more Jews were expelled from Jerusalem, but it is more likely that this was 'some' Jews who were causing a disturbance. One historian is a little confusing and two others refer to an expulsion, but not as a general exodus. Provided a conquered nation was prepared to obey basic Roman laws and pay their taxes Rome usually allowed them to practise their own religion. Indeed Rome actually incorporated some foreign religious beliefs into their religion. Whilst the Jews did not like being ruled obviously, the majority carried on with life. A few rebelled and were dealt with severely by the Romans. It was when Caesars decided they were 'gods' and demanded worship that the real problems arose - and you know the rest.
I know its only a film, albeit a truly classic one, but if you watch it closely you'll see many of the 'Gladiators' were also Israelites. It also comes as no surprise that they also helped build the Coliseum given that they too are credited with building the Giza Pyramids. One would assume that if they were deemed good builders AND fighters then they would need to have been physically exceptionally gifted individuals too along with their inspiring literature.
It is unlikely that 100,000 Jewish slaves would have been taken to Rome. Lower estimates of 20-40,000 are probably more accurate. This is due to the logistical problems of housing, feeding etc. This was at a time when Nero's devaluation of gold and silver coinage was taking effect, and inflation was affecting the population, particularly the poor who were very unhappy . The wealth from the Temple went into building and furnishing the 'Colosseum'. In fact the 'Colosseum' was actually a huge statue of Nero (which had its head changed by different emperors). The amphitheatre was thought to have been 'Flavian Amphitheatre' but much later became known as the Colosseum.
Well actually iwasnt, what made you think that, cuz ireferenced a film? Of course hollywood fictionalizes lots of stuff but it also knows a lot of stuff. The film Gladiators is a truly great film and has many real historical references.
No he didn't. He banished Jews from Rome and sent some of the younger element as 'auxiliaries' to Corsica. About 2 years later he realised the injustice of what he had done and they were 'freed'. This action of 'conscription' was a rare event. The Roman army at this time consisted of volunteers, conscripts in emergencies only - Roman citizens. The Roman auxiliaries were also volunteers, mainly from countries conquered by the Romans, and mercenaries, earning from their employment. They were used at this time in lands seperate from their own for obvious reasons. Later they became as well trained and armed as the Roman soldiers and fought alongside them.
Interesting. However - I am an ("ultra") Orthodox Jew and an avid student of history. I have studied both the Talmudic accounts of Jews under Roman rule and the accepted historical accounts, such as Josephus... The Romans were brutal highly ethnocentric rulers who firmly believed in "My Way or... death. That being said, from time time of miracles and wonders when the Maccabees began to fight their Seleucid oppressors in167 BCE to the final destruction of the Jews in Israel after Bar Kochba's revolt in approximately 133 CE, the Jews spent a great deal of time killing and warring against each other over dynastic and religious issues. It was the Great Sectarian Civil War of the Jews (or, as Josephus put it, simply - The Wars of The Jews) that ultimately drove the Romans to first destroy our Temple and then to finally wipe out the majority of Jews in Israel after Bar Kochba's Great Revolt. From the time the Maccabees won, they spent the next 250 years or so killing each other in the Name of their particular interpretation of G-d. This disturbed the Pax Romana and Rome acted according to its nature. This more than disrupted Roman Judea and the Romans consequently went "full Roman" on the Jews.
Thanks for the insight. I can't imagine for the life of me why someone would want to minimize the harm of subjugation by implying Jews were "protected" and lived in harmony. It's like saying American slaves were better of here than in Africa or the Caribbean.
Thank you... very interesting.. If the Sermon on the Mount if true.. we begin to see what it was like to live under Roman law..
Then can we assume that the Romans were 'tough' on the Hebrews because the Hebrews themselves were causing them problems. I haven't studied the history if Palestine under the Romans as well as you. But I do know that there was always opposition by various groups, and 'messiahs' came and went and went when the Romans intervened. Zealots and their murderous Sicarii were also a problem. With respect, the Oral Torah reveals that Israel (I use the general term) had always been an introverted nation, a nation favoured and maintained by their G-d, not to be shared with any other nation, except perhaps proselytes. It is not easy to accept the inevitable, but if the nation, and individuals had, the Romans would have left them to live quietly- albeit under Roman Law. They were still able to practise their religion - until the 'Caesar gods' - and although it would have been galling to pay taxes to Rome they were more secure now than they had been since Alexander died. When they objected to Archelaus behaviour, and Agrippa's demand for them to remove their wall, they appealed to Rome, who decided against their own Roman Governors. So it's not all one way. It appears that the Greeks lived fairly well under the Romans, several Emperors visiting Greece and bestowing favours on them. Perhaps that was because Rome had accepted a certain amount of 'Hellenisation' in its own outlook. Something the Hebrews were not prepared to accept. Just a thought.
Interesting. Always nice to get it from a perspective closer to actuality as opposed to those believing certain things they've been told.
The Pyramids of Giza are in Lower Egypt. It is well known that there were many Asiatics in Lower Egypt from the early Dynasties. You yourself have even stated this. The possibility that these Asiatics included many Israelites is plausible.
It seems to me that any time there was famine and drought people from the general area of Canaan probably headed for the Nile Delta.
Yes, the Jews were basically in a state of insurrection against themselves and/or Rome from the time of the Hasmoneans around 167 BCE to the final Roman Destruction around 133 CE. This, of course, does not "justify" the incredible Roman brutality and barbarism. However, it was one of the Hasmonean kings who invited Rome (Pompeii, I think) to Jerusalem as an ally in his war against his brother Hasmonean king. And, once Rome came; Rome stayed. And then, the Roman solution to anything that upset their Roman rule was to kill it; destroy it; and utterly obliterate it... The Jews upset Roman rule... You are essentially correct. Except - had the Jews NOT been busy murdering each other over their various interpretations of religion, Rome would not have obliterated them. Emperor worship was not a particular problem. It was the physical violence and disruption of Roman rule that caused Rome to attack Israel. According to historian Paul Johnson, about 10% of the Roman Empire was Jewish - that was about 8 million Jews. There were only about 3 or 4 million living in the Land of Israel at the time of the Roman Destruction. The rest of the Jews in the Empire were left unmolested and free to practice their religion. There were brief restrictions on Jews due to the rebellions in Judea but, these were not permanent and Jews were never "forced' to worship Emperors in the same fashion as they were forced to worship idols under the Seleucid's. In a broad historical context - the Jews were fighting their Great Sectarian Civil War, which ended up utterly wiping out the Jews in the Land of Israel. The Christians fought their Great Sectarian Civil War (the "Reformation") for a couple of hundred years in the 16th and 17th centuries which wiped out tens of millions of European Christians and totally obliterated much of Northern Europe.. The Muslims and Arabs are currently fighting their Great Sectarian Civil War and have been for the last 100 years. The difficulty in today's world is that the results of their particular fratricide could wipe out large portions of Planet Earth and kill billions...
