Martin Goodman

Jews in a Graeco-Roman world

PART I: THE HELLENISTIC AND ROMAN WORLD - JEWISH PERSPECTIVES PART II: SOCIAL INTEGRATION? PART III: SIMILARITIES? PART IV: DIFFERENCES?

Nerva, the Fiscus Judaicus and Jewish Identity

In A.D. 96 Nerva courted popularity in Rome for his new regime by changing the way in which the special tax on Jews payable to the fiscus Judaicus was exacted. The reform was widely advertised by the issue of coins, under the auspices of the senate, with the proclamation ‘fisci Judaici calumnia sublata’. Precisely how Nerva removed the calumnia no source states, but it can be surmised. The tax did not cease to be collected, for its imposition was still in operation in the time of Origen and possibly down to the fourth century A.D. It is a reasonable hypothesis that Nervas intention was to demonstrate publicly his opposition to the way in which his hated predecessor, Domitian, had levied the tax, and to procure release for those described by Suetonius (Dom. 12. 2) as particular victims of Domitians tendency to exact the tax ‘acerbissime’. According to Suetonius, these unfortunates were those who either ‘inprofessi’ lived a ‘iudaicam vitam’ or ‘origine dissimulata’ refused to pay the tax: the people thus trapped by Domitian and, if the hypothesis is correct, exempted by Nerva were those who failed to admit openly to their Jewish practices and/or those who hid their origins (presumably as Jews). I shall argue in this paper that by removing such people from the list of those liable to the Jewish tax, Nerva may unwittingly have taken a significant step towards the treatment of Jews in late antiquity more as a religion than as a nation.

A History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135)

Introduction 1. Scope and Purpose of the Work 2. Auxiliary Sciences 3. The Sources- The First Period 4. Religious Crisis and Revolution 175-164 B.C. 5. Judas Maccabaeus 164-161 B.C. 6. Jonathan 161-143(2) B.C 7. Simon 143(2)-135(4) B.C. 8. John Hyrcanus I 135(4)-104 b.c. 9. Aristobulus I 104-103 B.C. 10. Alexander Jannaeus 103-76 B.C. 11. Alexandra 76-67 B.C. 12. Aristobulus II 67-63 B.C. The Second Period 13. Hyrcanus II 63-40 B.C. the rise of Antipater and his Sons Phasael and Herod 14. Antigonus 40-37 B.C. 15. Herod the Great37-4 B.C. 16. Disturbances after Herods Death 4 B.C. 17. From the Death of Herod the Great to Agrippa I 4 B.C.-A.D. 41. 18. Agrippa I A.D. 37, 40, 41-44. 19. The Roman Procurators A.D 44-66 20. The Great War with Rome A.D. 66-74 21. From the Destruction of Jerusalmen to the Downfall of Bar Kokhba/Appendices

Religious Reactions to 70: The Limitations of the Evidence

That the year 70 marked a turning point in the history of Roman attitudes to Jews, in the Jewish leadership of Judea, and in the economy of Jerusalem and its environs, is not in doubt. Harder to pin down is the most obvious change to be expected as a result of the destruction of the Temple - that is, a change within Judaism. Only one major source of evidence for Jewish reactions to 70 remains for discussion, but it should be emphasized how remarkable it is that the writings of Josephus can be placed and dated with a degree of precision during the years 70 to 100. It is true that in Josephuss earlier works the focus of his attention was on the history of Jews before 70, but he made frequent reference in passing to his own day and his own views. Keywords:Jerusalem Temple; Judaism

The Problems of Jewish Studies

The recognition of Jewish studies as an area of knowledge worthy of research and teaching in universities is a quite recent phenomenon. From an exceedingly small base in the first half of the twentieth century, the subject has now burgeoned. This explosion of interest, particularly since the 1960s, has led to a massive increase in the number of teachers and scholars for whom research in Jewish studies forms a significant part of their academic careers, with a concomitant burgeoning of publications. Many of the major academic presses now produce a Jewish studies list, and the subject features disproportionately prominently in some of the more self-consciously intellectual magazines and newspapers, particularly in the English-speaking world.

The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome A.D. 66-70

1. Introduction: (i) The problem (ii) The conventional explanations (iii) Civil war, the ruling class and revolt Part I. The Ruling Class AD 6-66: 2. The new ruling class AD 6 3. Problems facing the ruling class: economic and social 4. Problems facing the ruling class: religious ideology 5. Why the ruling class failed Part II. Faction Struggle within the Ruling Class: 6. Reactions to failure: the ruling class AD 6-66 7. The outbreak of revolt 8. The independent Jewish state AD 67-70 9. Trends in faction politics AD 50-70 Part III. The Aftermath of the Revolt: 10. The Roman reaction.