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Judaea (Roman province)

Judaea (Latin: Iudaea [juːˈdae̯.a]; Ancient Greek: Ἰουδαία, romanized: Ioudaía [i.uˈdɛ.a]) was a Roman province from 6 to 132 AD, which incorporated the Levantine regions of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Judea. The name Judaea (like the similar Judea) was derived from the Iron Age Kingdom of Judah.

This article is about the Roman Province. For region in the Levant, see Judea.

Province of Judaea
Provincia Iudaea (Latin)
Ἐπαρχία Ιουδαίας (Koinē Greek)

Caesarea Maritima

32°30′N 34°54′E / 32.500°N 34.900°E / 32.500; 34.900

 

Coponius

Pontius Pilate

Gessius Florus

Lusius Quietus

Tineius Rufus

 

Agrippa I

Agrippa II

Synedrion/Sanhedrin

Roman Principate

6 AD

c. 30/33 AD

37–41 AD

44 AD

70 AD

c. 74 AD

132 AD 132 AD

Israel
Palestine

Since the Roman Republic's conquest of Judea in 63 BC, the latter had maintained a system of semi-autonomous vassalage. The incorporation of the Roman province was enacted by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, after an appeal by the populace against the ill rule of Herod Archelaus (4 BC – 6 AD).


With the onset of direct rule, the official census instituted by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, the governor of Roman Syria, caused tensions and led to an uprising by Jewish rebel Judas of Galilee (6 AD). Other notable events in the region include the crucifixion of Jesus c. 30–33 AD (which led to the emergence of Christianity) and in 37 AD, Emperor Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Jewish temple.


Growing discontent at Roman rule led to the First Jewish–Roman War in 66–73 AD and ultimately the Siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in 70 AD,[1] bringing an end to the Second Temple period. In 44 AD, Galilee and Perea were added to the province. In 132 AD, sources say the merging of Galilee and Judea resulted in an enlarged province named Syria Palaestina.[2][3][4]

66–70: , resulting in the siege of Jerusalem, the destruction of Herod's Temple and ending with the siege of Masada in 73–74 (see Josephus). Before the war Judaea was a Roman province of the third category, that is, under the administration of a procurator of equestrian rank and under the overall control of the governor of Syria. After the war it became an independent Roman province with the official name of Judaea and under the administration of a governor of praetorian rank, and was therefore moved up into the second category (it was only later, in about 120, that Judaea became a consular province, that is, with a governor of consular rank).[34]

First Jewish–Roman War

115–117: the (Second Jewish-Roman War); Judea's role in it is disputed though, as it played itself out mainly in the Jewish diaspora and there are no fully trustworthy sources on Judea's participation in the rebellion, nor is there any archaeological way of distinguishing destruction levels of 117 CE from those of the Bar Kokhba revolt (Third Jewish-Roman War) revolt of just a decade and a half later.

Kitos War

132: The province of Judaea was merged with Galilee into an enlarged province named .[2][3][4] As a result of the Jews' defeat in the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE), Jerusalem was destroyed. A few years later, a new colony was founded in its place, named Aelia Capitolina. One scholarly view the aim of renaming Judea was to disassociate the Jewish people from the land,[35] though other explanations have also been proposed,[36] and an alternative theory is that the renaming efforts preceded and helped precipitate the rebellion.[37] The renaming did not prevent the Jewish people from referring to the country in their writings as either "Yehudah" (Hebrew: יהודה)[38][39] or "The Land of Israel" (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל).[40]

Syria Palaestina

Economy[edit]

Agriculture[edit]

Agriculture played a significant role in economic life in Judaea. Wheat, barley, olives and grapes were the main crops grown in Judaea's fields. Evidence for the cultivation of herbs, vegetables, and legumes comes from Rabbinic literature, Josephus' works, and the New Testament. Writings from the late first and early second centuries indicate that Jewish farmers introduced rice to Judea during the early Roman period. The local crop was fine, large-kernel rice.[42][43]

 – Tax imposed on Jews in the Roman Empire (70–96 CE)

Fiscus Judaicus

– a British comedy film which riffs on the idiosyncrasies of life in 33 AD Roman Judea

The Life of Brian

– overview of the road network in the province

Roman roads in Judaea/Palaestina

Jacobson, David (2001), , Biblical Archaeology Review, 27 (3)

"When Palestine Meant Israel"

(1996). "The Roman Province of Judea: A Historical Overview". Masada and the World of the New Testament (1996–97). Vol. 36. pp. 319–336. JSTOR i40117983. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

Hall, J. F.

Jewish Encyclopedia: Procurators of Iudaea

Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906

Procurators

The name Rome gave to the land of Israel