Iudaea Province
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Iudaea was a Roman province that extended over Judaea (Palestine).
During the 1st century BCE Judea lost its autonomy to the Roman Empire by becoming first a client kingdom, then a province of the empire.
The client kingdom of Judea
The first interference of Rome in the region dates from 63 BCE, following the end of the Third Mithridatic War, when Rome made a province of Syria. After the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus, general Gn. Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) remained back, to secure the area. Judea at the time was not a peaceful place. Queen Alexandra had recently died and her sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, were scourging the country in a power struggle. In 63 BCE, Aristobulus was besieged in Jerusalem by his brother's armies. He sent an envoy to Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, Pompey's representative in the area. Aristobulus offered a massive bribe to be rescued, which Pompey promptly accepted. Afterwards, Aristobulus accused Scaurus of extortion. Since Scaurus was Pompey's brother in law and protégée, the general retaliated by putting Hyrcanus in charge of the kingdom as prince and high priest. Judea and Galilee became client kingdoms of Rome, which meant that, although independent, their kings maintained a subservient position towards the Roman Republic.
When Pompey was defeated by Julius Caesar, Hyrcanus was succeeded by his courtier Antipater, as the first Roman Procurator. Both Caesar and Antipater were killed in 44 BCE, and Herod, Antipater's son, was appointed as governor (tetrarch) by the Roman Senate, 41 BCE. He became the outright ruler (basileus) of Judea in 37 BCE and was later known as King Herod the Great. During his reign the last representatives of the Maccabees were eliminated, and the great port of Caesarea Maritima was built. He died in 4 BCE, and his kingdom was divided among his sons, who became tetrarchs ("rulers of fourth parts") of Judaea. One, Herod Archelaus, ruled Judea so badly that he was dismissed in 6 CE by the Roman emperor Augustus, after an appeal from his own population.
Iudaea
The kingdom of Judea now became part of a larger Roman province, called Iudaea, which was formed by combining Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. It did not include Galilee, Gaulanitis (the Golan), nor Peraea or the Decapolis. This was one of the few governed by a knight of the equestrian order, not a former consul or praetor of senatorial rank, even though its revenue was of little importance to the Roman treasury, it controlled the land routes to the bread basket Egypt and was a border province against Parthia. Pontius Pilate was one of these prefects.
Between 41 and 44 Iudaea regained its relative autonomy, when Herod Agrippa was made king by the emperor Claudius. Following Agrippa's death, the province returned to Roman control for a short period. Iudaea was returned to Agrippa's son Marcus Julius Agrippa in 48. There was, however, an imperial procurator in the area, responsible for keeping peace and tax raising. When he died, about 100, the area returned to exclusive Roman Empire control.
Iudaea was also the stage of three major rebellions against the Romans. They were (see Jewish-Roman wars for the full account):
- 66-70 - first rebellion, followed by the destruction of Herod's Temple and the siege of Jerusalem (see Great Jewish Revolt, Josephus)
- 115-117 - second rebellion, called Kitos War, due to excessive taxation
- 132-135 - third rebellion, Bar Kokhba's revolt
| Roman Imperial Provinces (120) |
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|---|---|
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