Roman Jerusalem

Roman rule in Palestine began in 63 BCE. The fight between the Pharisees and the Sadducees were so intense that Pompey, the Roman general, didn’t have to do much to besiege Jerusalem and annex it for Rome. During 63 BCE, Pompey assumed control of Jerusalem. He appointed Hyrcanus as “ethnarch,” the ruler of the ethnicity or people. He also chose an Idumean man named Antipater to be installed as procurator and his sons as local rulers Jerusalem. Pompey chose a family from Idumea because they would be sympathetic to the Roman rule, since Idumeans were only half Jewish because they were forcefully circumcised by the Hasmoneans.

Herod the Great rose to power when he expelled the Parthians and became King of Rome and Judah. In 37 BCE, he got Jerusalem from Parthians after siege. Herod was from Idumea, so he was superficially “Jewish.” His knowledge of Jewish tradition enabled him to rule without provoking the Jews to rebel. Herod was very sensitive to his Jewish subjects. For examples, coins of Herod the Great had no pagan images. He did not defile the Temple when besieging Jerusalem, and he allowed the Jews to select their High Priest. All in all, he was a puppet king for the Romans. He terrorized the Jews, and he was a successful brutal dictator.