Zealot - The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Read Online Free PDF Page B

Jerusalem. But the Jews
     responded to this blasphemy with a relentless guerrilla war led by the stouthearted
     sons of Mattathias the Hasmonaean—the Maccabees—who reclaimed the holy city from Seleucid
     control in 164 B.C.E . and, for the first time in four centuries, restored Jewish hegemony over Judea.
    For the next hundred years, the Hasmonaeans ruled God’s land with an iron fist. They
     were priest-kings, each sovereign serving as both King of the Jews and high priest
     of the Temple. But when civil war broke out between the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus
     over control of the throne, each brother foolishly reached out to Rome for support.
     Pompey took the brothers’ entreaties as an invitation to seize Jerusalem for himself,
     thus putting an end to the brief period of direct Jewish rule over the city of God.
     In 63 B.C.E .,Judea became a Roman protectorate, and the Jews were made once again a subject people.
    Roman rule, coming as it did after a century of independence, was not warmly received
     by the Jews. The Hasmonaean dynasty was abolished, but Pompey allowed Hyrcanus to
     maintain the position of high priest. That did not sit well with the supporters of
     Aristobulus, who launched a series of revolts to which the Romans responded with characteristic
     savagery—burning towns, massacring rebels, enslaving populations. Meanwhile, the chasm
     between the starving and indebted poor toiling in the countryside and the wealthy
     provincial class ruling in Jerusalem grew even wider. It was standard Roman policy
     to forge alliances with the landed aristocracy in every captured city, making them
     dependent on the Roman overlords for their power and wealth. By aligning their interests
     with those of the ruling class, Rome ensured that local leaders remained wholly vested
     in maintaining the imperial system. Of course, in Jerusalem, “landed aristocracy”
     more or less meant the priestly class, and specifically, that handful of wealthy priestly
     families who maintained the Temple cult and who, as a result, were charged by Rome
     with collecting the taxes and tribute and keeping order among the increasingly restive
     population—tasks for which they were richly compensated.
    The fluidity that existed in Jerusalem between the religious and political powers
     made it necessary for Rome to maintain close supervision over the Jewish cult and,
     in particular, over the high priest. As head of the Sanhedrin and “leader of the nation,”
     the high priest was a figure of both religious and political renown with the power
     to decide all religious matters, to enforce God’s law, and even to make arrests, though
     only in the vicinity of the Temple. If the Romans wanted to control the Jews, they
     had to control the Temple. And if they wanted to control the Temple, they had to control
     the high priest, which is why, soon after taking control over Judea, Rome took upon
     itself the responsibility of appointing and deposing (either directly or indirectly)
     the high priest, essentiallytransforming him into a Roman employee. Rome even kept custody of the high priest’s
     sacred garments, handing them out only on the sacred festivals and feast days and
     confiscating them immediately after the ceremonies were complete.
    Still, the Jews were better off than some other Roman subjects. For the most part,
     the Romans humored the Jewish cult, allowing the rituals and sacrifices to be conducted
     without interference. The Jews were even excused from the direct worship of the emperor,
     which Rome imposed upon nearly every other religious community under its dominion.
     All that Rome asked of Jerusalem was a twice-daily sacrifice of one bull and two lambs
     on behalf of the emperor and for his good health. Continue making the sacrifice, keep
     up with the taxes and tribute, follow the provincial laws, and Rome was happy to leave
     you, your god, and your temple alone.
    The Romans were, after all, fairly proficient in