A Brief History of Palestine Forged in Continuous Conflict Week 4 Slides may be found at

Palestine has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including the Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines, Hyksos, Hittites,Tjekker, Ancient Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, early Muslims (Umayads, Abbasids, Seljuqs, Fatimids), Crusaders, later Muslims (Ayyubids, Mameluks, Ottomans), the British, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (1948–1967, on the "West Bank") and Egyptian Republic (in Gaza), and modern Israelis and Palestinians.

Last Time: The Exiles 734 B.C. Assyria invades Israel and begins deporting populace. 724 B.C. - Judah becomes Vassal of Assyria in return for Military Aid (2 Kings 16:7-9). Assyria deports at least 27,290 Israelites. Sargon II repopulates with Gentiles No edit was ever issued for the return of the people of the Kingdom of Israel – Lost 10 Tribes 605 B.C. Babylon defeats Assyria. 604 B.C. Exiles Jews to Babylonia. 597 B.C. 2 nd wave of deportation by Nebuchadnezzar 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem – destroys Temple of Solomon 539 B.C. Exile ends – Cyrus the Persian

Last Time: Palestine Under the Persians and Greeks 539 B.C. Cyrus the Great of Persia defeats The Babylonians. Ends Captivity (Ezra 1:7) Jews prospered under Persian Rule which lasted until 332 B.C. when Alexander the Great defeats Darius II and takes the entire Persian Empire. Hellenization: The spread of Greek language and culture across the world. 201 B.C. (Syrian Greeks) gain control 168 B.C. Antiochus IV implements aggressive Hellenization (de- Judaization)

Last Time: The Maccabean Revolt Hellenized Jews wanted to abolish Jewish practices and adopt Greek ways; opposed by Traditional Jews. Attempted coup for office of High Priest. Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish Religious Rites, ordered worship of Zeus 164 B.C. Judah Maccabee drives out Seleucids, restores worship in Temple – celebrated as Chanukah Ushers in 100 year period of Self- Rule until Roman occupation in 63 B.C Merger of Priesthood and Political Rule – Rise of the Sadducees, Pharisees, etc.

753 B.C. - Rome founded as a kingdom 509 B.C. - Start of Republic, period of expansion 209 B.C. - all of Italy under Roman rule 264 B.C.-241 B.C. conquest of Sicily 1 st Punic War 218 B.C.-201 B.C. 2 nd Punic War, Hannibal defeated 149 B.C. Macedonia under Roman Rule 146 B.C. Carthage destroyed end of 3 rd Punic War 63 B.C. Syria made a province; Fall of Jerusalem 44 B.C. Julius Caesar assassinated 27 B.C. Octavian named Emperor Augustus Caesar Rome – Quick History

Judea Under Roman Rule 36 B.C. Herod appointed Client-King by Romans – Brutal madman; considered a “half-Jew”, Rebuilt the Temple. 4 B.C. Birth of Jesus 4 B.C. Herod the Great dies; Romans divide Kingdom; Archelaus became ethnarch of the tetrarchy of Judea, Herod Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, and Philip became tetrarch of territories east of the Jordan. 6 A.D. Judea becomes a Roman Province – Archelaus removed 16 A.D. Pontius Pilate - 5 th Prefect of Judea. 36 A.D. deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius 18 A.D. Caiaphas - appointed High Priest of the Temple. 36 A.D. deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius 30 A.D. Death of Jesus

Judeans Under Roman Rule 300 B.C. – 300 A.D. Greco-Roman period Romans keep Greek as Official language of Empire Jews allowed Religious Freedom Jews exempt from serving in, or supporting, Roman Army Judeans taxed to pay for Herod’s building projects Judeans include both Gentiles and Jews – Herod also built pagan temples Most Judeans never saw a Roman soldier in everyday life Prefect kept his personal cohort at his residence in Caesarea on the coast. Only brought troops to Jerusalem once per year, at time of Passover. Passover recalls the freeing of the Jews from foreign oppression, but also looks ahead. Prefect had only two responsibilities: Keep peace and collect taxes

Comparison of Pagans and Jews PagansJews Ethnic backgroundNon-SemiticSemitic Religionpolytheisticmonotheistic Religious BasisPractices and SacrificesPractices, Sacrifices, and partially text-based – Torah DevotionPeriodicContinuous

1 st Century Jewish Sects PhariseesSadduceesEssenes4 th Philosophy FocusGenerate rules to enable Jews to better keep the Law Sacrifices in the Temple Individual purity, Separation from corrupt ways Israel is the land given to Jews by God; foreigners must be expelled All of the above agreed that the Law of Moses as set forth in the Torah must be followed Disagreements were: which aspect were most important, and how the Law should be followed Oddly enough, the only Pharisee to leave us any writing was Paul Essenes formed their own communities (Qumran), shunned Jerusalem and the Temple as corrupt Dead Sea Scrolls (Essene writings) discovered in 1946 Sadducees were the real power – they ran the Temple – they had the ear of the Roman Prefect Sadducees left us no writings Disastrously, 4th Philosophy (also known as Zealots) had its way in 70 A.D.

Pax Romana 27 B.C. – 180 A.D. A “miracle” never been so many centuries of widespread peace before Not necessarily local peace, especially for Palestine and Hispania

Jewish Revolts Judaea was the stage of three major rebellions against Roman rule: 66–70 A.D. - first rebellion, followed by the destruction of Herod's Temple and the siege of Jerusalem (Josephus) Josephus was commander of the rebels in Galilee. Vespasian crushed Josephus’ troops. 97,000 enslaved. 115–117 A.D. - second rebellion, called Kito’s War, in Egypt, Libya, Judea, Cyprus, (Lukuas or Andreas) Spread to Mesopotamia and Syria; Jews expelled from Cypus 132–135 A.D. - third rebellion, Bar Kokhba's revolt (Simon Son of a Star); When ended, 580,000 Jews were dead (Cassius Dio) “Romans killed until the blood reached the nostrils of the horses” (Talmud) Following the suppression of Bar Kokhba's revolt, the emperor Hadrian changed the name of the province to Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina to erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the region. Jews forbidden to enter the city except for day of Tisha B’Av

Constantine the Great Constantine (272 A.D. – 337 A.D.) Declared Emperor in the West 306 A.D. 311 A.D. Edict of Toleration – with Licinius and Galarius grants and indulgence to the Christians. Christians, who had "followed such a caprice and had fallen into such a folly that they would not obey the institutes of antiquity", were granted an indulgence. "Wherefore, for this our indulgence, they ought to pray to their God for our safety, for that of the republic, and for their own, that the commonwealth may continue uninjured on every side, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes.“ (Eusebius, History of the Church) 312 Battle of Milvian Bridge – “In this sign, conquer” Defeats Maxentius. 313 A.D. Edict of Milan – He and Licinius agree to treat Christians benevolently. Defeats Licinius to reunite Empire by 324 A.D., after 1 st split 380 A.D. Christianity made state religion by Theodosius I – Edict of Thessalonica

Roman Empire Divides Never regarded as 2 empires, just 2 administrative districts Divides 3 times. 3rd time final. Empire in the West later falls under attacks by Visigoths, Huns, and Vandals Last attempt to reunite under Eastern Emperor Justinian failed.

Next Time: The Crusades