Figure 1.-- |
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The history of the Hebrew people extends more than 4,000 years and after the Roman supression of the Jewish revolt becomes extroidinarily complex as Jewish communities were established and to varying degree mixed with populations throughout Europe and eventually European colonies. Very little is know about the early Hebrews, but a good deal is known Hebrew history by the 1st millenium BC. Hebrew history in large measure was determined by geograph, their placement between the two-great river valley civilozations--Mesopotamia and Egypt. Much the Old Testmant deals with the struggle of the Herews to maintain their independence from Mesopotamia (Assyria and Babylon) to the northeast and Egypt to the west. What is remarkable is that while other small kingdoms in the area are now lost to history, the Jews survived as a people and a people who played a major role on Western civilization. With the rise of Rome the Jews became a part of the Empire. The revolt against Rome resulted in the end of the Jewish state and the Diasporah of the Hebrew people throughout the Westetn world. After the NAZI World war II Holocaust the Zionist movement created a new Jewish state--Israel.
Archeological evidence shows that many mostly small kingdoms rose and fell over time in the area between the two great centers of civilization, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Aryan people in the 18th century BC introduced horse drawn chariots. This warrior class using horses, armored chariots, composite bows, and javelins formed a class of professional fighters who began to replace conscripted and largely untrained agricultural pesants. It was this warrior class that established petty states in Palestine and Syria. They may have negotiated alliances with the Semetic Hyskos who conquered Lower Egypt. Later in the 16th century BC these client states may have negotiated new alliances with the Thebian princes who expelled the Hyskos and founded the New Kingdom. They may have recived land in Egypt for their support, oriented them toward Egypt. [Aldred, p. 24.] These states constntly wared with each other and pleaded with Egypt and other foreign powers for support in their wars with neighboring states. Knowlege of these constantly changing relations comes from the discovery of some of the Pharaohs diplomatic correspondence in the form of cuneiform tablets, the so called Amarna letters. [Aldred, pp. 15-16.]
While these peoples are mostly of only minor importance in the great sweep of history. One of these people, however, the Hebrews have come to play a major role in the development of Wetern civilization. The origin of the very name is shrouded in the mist of pre-history.
The Bible is the only source for the migrations of Jacob and the age of the Partiarchs. Thus it must be treated as legend withouy any other historical evidence. While legend the historical existence of Jacob and the Patriarchs can not be dismissed.
Some scholars associate the Hebrews with the word "Hiberu". It first appears in writing sent to Egypt from one of the small client states which the Egyptians left after withdrawing from Canaan in the 1300s BC. These client states faced waves of nomadic tribes. The Egyptian word "Hiberu" meant "outsider" and originally was probably used to describe migrants in general and not one specific people. Other scholars refer to the Hapiru. These appear to be bedouin people who attacked caravans and isolated settlements. The Egyptians also used the term for war captives used as laborors and slaves as well as people of undetermined ethnicity who wandred the area of modern Syria and Paestine engaging in bringanage and marcinary service. They might be hired by the rulers of the petty states of the area to assist in their dynastic disputs. [Aldred, p. 37.] The Exodus has not been documented outside of the Bible, although Egyptian scholars have found some tantelizing clues. Biblical scholars tend date the Exodus to the reign of Ramses II (1292-1225), although there are alternative assessments.
The era of the Judges is commonly dated to the 12-11th century BC.
The Levant was a dangerous place. Tribes competed for scarce resources. These struggles gave rise to strong charismatic leaders who could organize armies and successfully wage war. King Saul from the tribe of Benjamin became king (about 1000 BC). He was defeated and killed by Philistines. David (1000-960 BC) succeeded him. David was succeeded by his son Solomon (960-22). Under David and Solomon, the united Hebrew people were the major power in the Levant.
When Solomon died (922 BC), his two sons disputed the sucession and the kingdom was divided . The northern kingdom was Isreal. The southern kingdom was Juah. Religious differences developed in the two kingdoms. The prophet Elijah describes this era. The two kingdoms existed between Assyria to the West and Egypt to the east. For a time the Assyrians were content to receive tribute from the Jews. Egypt was ruled by the southern Saites dynasty and was absorbed in internal affairs. Assyrian power varied over time. The Jews instead of joining forces against the Assyrians quareled with each other. There were wars between Israel and Judah. And there were civil wars within the two states over the kingship. There were also wars with neigboring peoples like the Canaanites. Both states had commercial, military, and diplomatic contacts with the other peoples of the Levant. Of particular importance were the Phoenicians (coat of Lebanon) and the Aramaeans (Damascus and Hamath).
Assyria began expanding south (9th century BC). Israel joined with the kingdoms of Hamath and Damascus (modern Syria) to resist the Assyrians (mid-9th century). The Assyrian had far greater resoyrces and steadily moved south. One of the most important Assyrian kings was Tiglathpileser III ( -728 BC). He appears to have been the Biblical Pul (2 Kings 15.19). His conquests included the Aramaean tribes in Babylonia and his armies campaigned against the Medes and reached as far north as the Caspian Sea. Tiglathpileser defeated King Urartu in Hamath thus gaining control of the north of modern Syria. The two Hebrew states instead of joining against Assyria saw each other as the major enemy. King Ahaz of Judah appealed to King Tiglathpileser for military aid King Pekah of Israel and King Resin of Damascus.
Tiglathpileser conquered Damascus. He then supressed a revolt in Babylonia.
Stripped of its northern allies, Israel had to face Assyria alone with a hostile Judah to the south. Tiglathpileser conquered northern areas of Israel and exiled the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali.
Shalmanaser V (727-22) took Luli in Tyre. He then conquered Samaria, the capital of Israel, in the same year he died (722 BC). [2 Kings 17.] This ws the territory of tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, Shalmanaser exileds the tribes. Sargan II (721-05 BC), one of the greatest Assyria kings conquered the rest of Isreal, completing the conquest. Sargon is Biblical Sharru-kin. [Isaiah 20:1.] The exiled Jews were replaced with other peoples. It is unclear who they were, but because because they were living in Shomron or Samaria -- are called Samaritans in the Bible. The Samaritans accepted some aspects of Judaism, but not the religion fully. They were thus not accepted by the Jewish people and were in turn resentful.
The exile is decribed in the Bible. "And the King of Assyria took Samaria and exiled the Israelites to Assyria, and he settled them in Halah at the [River] Habor, at the River Gozan, and in the cities of Media. This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God ... they worshipped other gods and followed the customs of the nations. [2 Kings 17:6-7] As a way of controlling territory in his expanding empire he would exile conquered peoples and replace them with people more amenable to Assyrian rule. In addition the exiled people proved less prone to revolt.
The Jewish people Israel were scattered by the Assyrians throughout their empire. Gradually they assimilated with other local people and are now called the ten lost tribes. Interestingly there are people throughout the world, especially eastern Asia that claim to be descended from Jewish tribes exiled by the Assyrians. Most of these people lost all commection with the Jewish faith. Some authors have attempted to asssess the claims of of people claiming Jewish ancestry. [Parfait] Jews are, for example, reported in India even before the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem. Some Indian Jews claim to be descended from the lost tribes of Israel.
With the conquest of Isreael the Assyrains began to target the southern kingdom of Judah. This proved more difficult and before it was accomplished, the Assyrians were conquered by the Babylonians. It was Baylon that would conquer Judah. Babylon was new empire arose in western Asia centered on the ancient city with the decline of the Assyrian Empire, The Babylonian Empire gradually expanded and defeated the Assyrians. The Jews under their king Josiah were Assyrian alliess. The Egyptians dispatched troops to assist the Babylonians, but Josiah and the Jews at the battle of Megiddo blocked the Egyptian column (609). The Babylonians even without Egyptian assistance defeated the Assyrians . Babylonian became the dominant power in western Asia.
The Babylonians with the defeat of the Assyrians took over most of Western Asia. Judah without its powerful ally could not by itself resist the powerful Babylonian amies. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon's great Temple (the First Temple) (586). Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all wrote sad lamentations about the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, which are in the Bible (the book of Prophets). The Prophets tried to understand why God had allowed the Babylonians to conquer and exile the Jews. They concluded that the Jews had not adequately observed the Law (the Ten Commandments). Essentially the
Jewish people had not kept up their side of the Covenant, so God had not kept up his side. Ironically in our modern world, this is the same argument Islamicists use. They claim that the poverty and weakness of the arab people is due to an inadequate commitment to Islam.
The period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) to the reconstruction in PaleTstine of a new Jewish state is known as the Babylonian Captivity. The conquering Babylonians saw the Jews as hostile, in part because they had been hard-fighting Assyrian allies. They took many many Jews hostage, chosing the Jewish elite, both men and women, and their children. Deportations like this were common imperial practices by both the Asyrians and Baylonians. The Babylonians brought the Jewish hostages to Babylon itself where they could be better controlled. Jewish historians debate the number of Jews brought to Babylon and the nimber that remained at home. The Babylonian Captivity is chronicled in the Bible. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel (the book of Prophets) penned sad descriptions describing the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple. The Jews in Babylon, however, managed to mmaintain some contact with their kinsmen in Palestine [Ezekiel] Ezra and Nehemiah persuaded many of the captive Jews in Babylon to more faithfully observe the Law.
The Babylonians in turn were conquered by Persia. Cyrus the Great introduced new concepts of imperial rule. He conquered Babylon (539 BC) and permitted the Jews to worship once more in Jerusalem (538 BC). Many Jews returned to Palestine. More than 40,000 are believed to have returned. The Assyrians had taken the northern tribes into captivity and are lost to history. The Babylonian exile were what remained of the Children of Israel. Cyrus had am inovative imperial outlook. The Persians allowed local notables to govern their own people. Other exiled Jews remained in Babylon. The relatively open policies of the Persians allowed Jews to spread throughout their Empire. This was the origin of the Jewish population in Iran as well as many other western Asian countries that were part of the Persian Empire. The Jews asked themselves while God had allowed this terrible tragedy occur. Ezra and Nehemiah preached that the Jews themselves were at fault. They had not properly observed the Law. In other words, the Jews had not adhered to their side of the Covenant. Ezra and Nehemiah successfully convinced many exiled Jews to observe the Law more rigorously. The prophesied 70 years of captivity were fulfilled with the completion of the new Temple (516 BC). The Jews began the compilation of the Mishnah (c400 BC).
The Jews returning home from Babylon encountered the Samaritans in their former homeland. These were people that the Assyrians had help settle. The Bible describes the Samaritans were a foreign people, but who who had partially adopted the Israelite religion. Historians debate the origins of the Sanaritans. Some believe that the Jews were not exiled but had mixed with non-Jews. The Samaritans still practiced Judiasm, but there were religious differences. This may be the result of an extended separationas well as the beliefs that the non-Jews had. There are other theiries. It seems likely that the Jews in captivity had been more commited and strict. Conflict developed between the Jews and Samaritans. Iran has one of the oldest Jewish communities outside Israel. Jews first appeared in Iran at the time of the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BC). The Jews had been conquered by the Babalonians and many were taken to Babylon as slaves. Cyrus the Great who founded the Archemid dynasty, conquered Babylon (539 BC). Cyrus allowed the enslaved Jews to return to Israel. Not all the Jews returned. Scattered Jewish colonies were established in Babylon and various Persian provinces as well as Hamadan and Susa.
After centuries of Persian rule, the fabeled Persian Empire was destroyed by Alexander. After Alexander's death (323 BC), his generals (the Diadochi) divided his vast empire. Palestine was on a fault line between rival Greek kingdoms. Ptolemy invaded Palestine (320). The Battle of Ipsus fought to the north of Palestine was a major encounter between the the Diadochi settling the fate of Alexander's empire. (301 BC). Ipsus was a small village in Phrygia. Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius I of Macedon fought a coalition of three other companions of Alexander: Cassander (Macedon), Lysimachus (Thrace), and Seleucus I Nicator (Babylonia and Persia).
This was the last effort to unite Alexander's empire. Antigonus had been the only general able to consistently defeat the other Successors. His death meant the end of Alexander's empire. Ptolemy held Egypt, Seleucus receiving the bulk of Antigonus' lands in the east and eastern Asia Minor, and Lysimachus receiving the remainder of Asia Minor. Seleucus would eventually defeat Cassander and Lysimachus (281 BC), but died shortly afterward. This began a period of conflict between the Ptolemic and Seleculid empires and Palestine was on the fault line between the two empires. For many years the Jews were controlled by the Ptolemies in Egyot. They were defeated bt the Seleucids under Antiochus III who the Jews joined (199 BC). The Jews helped Antiochus drive the Ptolemies from Jerusalem.
Little information exists on Jews in Rome during the Republic. Rome armies defeat Antiochus III (190-188 BC). Judas Maccabaeus stages a revolt (161-160 BC). The Hasmonean Kingdom is established (142 BC). Rome gained control over the Hadsmonean Kingdom (63 BC). Herod rules as King of Judaea (40-4 BC). Archeologists have found a bronze column in Ankara which confirms that the Emperor Augustus recognized the Jews of Asia Minor as an acceptable religious community.
Rome appoints a proculator of Judaea (6 AD).
Despite the supression of the Jewish Revolt and the exile of the Jews, Roman emperors recognized Judiasm as a legal religion. Jewish communities were established throughout the Roman Empire after the failure of the Jewish revolt and the Roman supression of the Jews. Several of the communities were established in Anatolia (often referred to as Asia Minor). Other Jewish communities were esablished in the Balkans and Levant. Early Christians often emerged out of these Jewish communities. Recognition of the Jews was a status not conferred on the Christians, at first seen as a Jewish sect. Roman emperors to varying degrees supressed the Christians. The situation of the Jews changed with the assent of Constantine (4th century AD). Roman general Constantine seized control of the Empire and converted to Christianity. Gradually after his conversion, Christianity changed from a supressed sect to the state religion of the Empire. Relations between Jews and Christians had varied. Some Jews (like Paul) attempted to supress the Christians, but eventually more benign relations developed.
When Rome seized Egypt, Roman power and influence grew throughout the Levant, ibcluding Palesine.
At about the same time, a new group of devout Jews appeared--the Zealots. They were oposed to foreign rule, at the time meaning Roman rule. Their central commitment was that the Jews had to achieve political and religious liberty. And they were willing to challege Rome.
The Jews were apauled during the reign of Emperor Caligula, who declared himself to be a god and and ordered his statue to be set up at every religious building rhroughout the Empire (39 AD). This included Jewish temples. Religious leaders throughout the Empire complied--except the Jews.
Caligula was outraged and threatened to destroy the Temple. The Jews sent a delegation to Rome in an effort to pacify him. Their mission was a failure. Caligula in a rage virtually condened them, "So you are the enemies of the gods, the only people who refuse to recognize my divinity." It is unclear what Caligula planned for the Jewish people, but disaster was overted when the palace guard murdered the emperor (41). The experience with Caligula, however, radicalized the Jewish people. Many Jews saw Caligula's policies as what they could expect from the Romans. The Zealots claimed that it was God who had smitten Caligula ad he would assist them if they confronted the Roman Legions. The Romans made no real effort to deal with any sesitivity wih the Jews.
The Romans occupied Palestine (63 AD). Rome ruled Judea through a procurator. His principal function was to collect taxes and he was assigned a quota. The way the system worked was that any amount he collected over the quota was his to keep. As a result, Roman taxes soon became onerous apprpsachin confiscatory levels. Perhaps even more disturbing to devout Jews was that Rome began appointing the High Priest. This meant that the high priests who were the Jews representatives to God became if not tools of the Roman authorities, individuals prone to colaboration. The Jews experienced a series of what the saw as outrages aimed at their God. Roman soldiers reportedly exposed themselves in the Temple and in another occasion burned a sacred torah scroll. Thus tensions mounted as a result of financial exploitation, religious insensitivity, and favorism shown to non-Jews. The flash point came with the Roman procurator removed large quantities of silver from the Temple (66). Outraged mobs in Jerusalm attacked and killed the small Roman garison in Jerusalem. Cestius Gallus, the Roman ruler in nearby Syria dispated a more sizeable force, but Jewish rebels defeated them. The early victories over relatively small Roman forces embolded the Jews. Large numbers of new recruits joined the Zealots.
The Romans dispatched a massive force of 60,000 battkle hardened Legionaires. The Jews had no professinal army to meet a force of that nature. The initial Roman action came in the north, te Galilee where the Zealots were the strongest (68 AD). The Romans had no trouble in quickly defeating the Zealot forces. Reports suggest the Romans killed or took as slaves 100,000 Jews. Authorities in Jerusalem made not effort to assist the Jewish forces in the Galilee. It is unckear why. One historian believes it was because they knew the Revolt was doomed. [Zeitlin] The Zealots who survived the Roman onslaught in the Galilee fled to Jerusalem. Therec they attacked leaders not willing to resist the Romans. This result in a Jewish civil war at the same time the Romans were moving to besige the city. There was a large stock pile of food in Jerusalem, but inexplicably the Zealots burned it, tinking that this would make the populatin fight the Romans with more intensity. The result was that after the Romans besiged the city there was soon large-scale starvation.
Some important leaders hd opposed the Revolt, most prominate was Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai. He was targeted by the Zealots, but managed to escaope, He surrendered to the Roman general Vespasian who promised that he would permit Jewish communal life to continue. The Romans finally breached the walls of Jerusalem (summer 70). They put the city to the sword and destroyed the Second Temple. There are no precise numbers, but the Romans may have killed as many as 1 million Jews. The failure of the Revolt eded the last vestages of a Jewish state. The Jewish Disapora is generally dated from the failure of te Revolt and the destruction of the Secnd Temple. Another disterous revolt came 60 years later--the
Bar Kokhba revolt (132 AD)
The Romans in the 1st century AD suppressed Jewish revolts and destroyed the Temple in Jewrusalem. Jews we slauhtered and enslaved. Survivors spread throughout the Roman world, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. This is today known as the Disapora. The Diaspora began with th Babylonian Captivity. This spread the Jews east. The Roman supresion of the Jews spread them west. While dispersed, the Jews refused to abandon their faith and assimilate. Jews since the Diaspora have lived in separate, often small religious community living among Gentiles--for the most part, Christian and Islamic majorities. Thre are two great traditions of European Jews. The Ashkenazi oe Eastern European Jews with traditions in some cases daring back to Roman times. The Sephardic Jews are Western European Jews with roots to the tolerant Omayyid Caliph of southern Spain. Their intelectual tradition was developed in an atmosogere of toleration of the People of the Book. This was the Sephardic Golden Age and when King Ferdinand after the fall of Granada expelled the Jews, the Sephardi carried this tradition with them to the other areas of Western Europe which accepted them. [Perera]
Aldred, Cyril. Akhenaten: Pharaoh of Egypt--A New Study (McGraw-Hill: New York, 1968), 272p.
Parfait, Tutor. The Thirteenth Gate. University College in London.
Perera, Victor. The Cross and the Pear Tree.
Zeitlin, Solomon. The Rise and Fall of the Judean State Vol. III.
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