Jerusalem during the second temple period

Jerusalem was the principal city of Judea

Judea

Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...

in the years between 538 BCE and 70 CE, from the beginning of Achaemenid (Persian) rule over the city

Yehud Medinata

Yehud Medinata or simply Yehud, was an Achaeminid autonomous province covering Judea and parts of Samaria, located south to Eber-Nari...

until its destruction by the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

during the First Jewish–Roman War. In Jewish history

Jewish history

Jewish history is the history of the Jews, their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Since Jewish history is over 4000 years long and includes hundreds of different populations, any treatment can only be provided in broad strokes...

this timespan is known as the Second Temple period

Second Temple period

The Second Temple period , in Jewish history, is the period between 530 BCE and 70 CE, when the Second Temple of Jerusalem existed. It ended with the First Jewish–Roman War and the Temple's destruction....

or Second Commonwealth which saw both region and city change hands several times. It was the center of religious life for all Jews, even those who lived in the diaspora

Diaspora

A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...

prayed towards Jerusalem on a daily basis and made pilgrimages during religious festivals. Jerusalem was fertile grounds for religious creativity; the Pharisees

Pharisees

The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...

of Second Temple Judaism

Second Temple Judaism

Second Temple Judaism refers to the religion of Judaism during the Second Temple period, between the construction of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem in 515 BCE, and its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE This period witnessed major historical upheavals and significant religious changes that...

developed into the Tannaim

Tannaim

The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...

and Judaism's post-exilic religious identity as it continues today

Rabbinic Judaism

Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud...

, and the Jewish Bible was likely canonized

Development of the Jewish Bible canon

Rabbinic Judaism recognizes the 24 books of the Masoretic Text, commonly called the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, as authoritative. Evidence suggests that the process of canonization occurred between 200 BCE and 200 CE. A popular former theory is that the Torah was canonized c. 400 BCE, the Prophets c....

though exactly when this occurred remains disputed. It was also in Jerusalem during the later stages of this period that Christianity was born

Origins of Christianity

For centuries, the traditional understanding has been that Judaism came before Christianity and that Christianity separated from Judaism some time after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE....

.

The 600 years of the Second Temple

Second Temple

The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...

period can be divided into several periods, each with its own distinct political and social characteristics. The physical development of the city was greatly affected by the changing characteristics of each era, while at the same time influencing these periods themselves. The city's population was characterized by social stratification, both economic and religious, which grew more pronounced over the years. There existed in the city, for example, a clear distinction between a rich and cosmopolitan elite and the wider population wishing less influence in the nation's ways from the outside world. Social strata also encompassed different religious outlooks, each with its different emphasis: some reliant on the Temple priests

Kohen Gadol

The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...

, while the majority were led by traditional non-priestly families, emphasizing the world of Torah study

Torah study

Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...

and the development of law over the formal hierarchy established in the Temple.

Persian Period

At the time of the Return to Zion from the Babylonian captivity

Babylonian captivity

The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....

, Jerusalem was materially rather poor. Its walls were derelict and a modest shrine now stood at the site of Solomon's once grand Temple

Solomon's Temple

Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....

. The city, nevertheless, enjoyed a vibrant and flourishing religious life. It was at this time that the first Mishnas were written up and both the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

and the Halakha

Halakha

Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

begun to take their modern form. The same time witnessed the emergence of a dominant priestly class, a cosmopolitan elite receptive to foreign influences.

Political state

During the Babylonian period the centre of Judah had shifted northward to Benjamin; this region, once a part of the kingdom of Israel, was far more densely populated than Judah itself, and now held both the administrative capital, Mizpah

Mizpah in Benjamin

Mizpah was a city of Benjamin.Tell en-Nasbeh is one of two sites often identified with Biblical Mizpah of Benjamin, and is located about 8 miles north of Jerusalem. The other suggested location is Neby Samwil, which is some 4 miles north-west of Jerusalem, and situated on the loftiest hill in the...

, and the major religious centre at Bethel

Bethel

Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...

. Mizpah continued as the provincial capital for over a century. The position of Jerusalem before the administration moved back from Mizpah is not clear, but from 445 BCE onwards it was once more the main city of Yehud, with walls, a temple (the Second Temple

Second Temple

) and other facilities needed to function as a provincial capital, including, from 420 BCE, a local mint striking silver coins.

The Persians may have experimented at first with ruling Yehud as a client-kingdom under descendants of Jehoiachin, who had kept his royal status even in captivity. Sheshbazzar, the governor of Yehud appointed by Cyrus in 538, was of Davidic origin, as was his successor (and probable nephew) Zerubbabel; Zerubbabel in turn was succeeded by his second son and then by his son-in-law, all of them hereditary Davidic governors of Yehud, a state of affairs that ended only around 500 BCE. This hypothesis - that Zerubbabel and his immediate successors represented a restoration of the Davidic kingdom under Persian overlordship - cannot be verified, but it would be in keeping with Persian policy in other parts of the Persian Empire, such as Phoenicia.

The second and third pillars of the early period of Persian rule in Yehud were the institutions of High Priest and Prophet, preserved in the Hebrew bible

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...

in the histories of Ezra-Nehemiah

Ezra-Nehemiah

Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...

and the Books of Chronicles

Books of Chronicles

The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...

as well as the books of the prophets Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi

Malachi

Malachi, Malachias or Mal'achi was a Jewish prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He had two brothers, Nathaniel and Josiah. Malachi was the writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim section in the Jewish Tanakh...

. But by the mid-5th century BCE the prophets and Davidic kings had disappeared, leaving only the High Priest. The practical result was that after c.500 BCE Yehud became in practice a theocracy, ruled by a line of hereditary High Priests. Alongside the High Priest was the Persian governor, apparently usually a local, charged primarily with keeping order and seeing that tribute was paid. He would have been assisted by various officials and a body of scribes, but there is no evidence that a popular "assembly" existed, and he would have had little discretion over his core duties. Evidence from seals and coins suggests that most, if not all, of the governors of Persian Yehud were Jewish, a situation which conforms with the general Persian practice of governing through local leaders.

Social and religious state

Judah during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE was basically polytheistic, with Yahweh

Yahweh (Canaanite deity)

The hypothesis of a Canaanite deity named Yahweh or Yahwi is accepted by some Ancient Near Eastern scholars, although no direct evidence from archeology has been found. The name Yahwi may possibly be found in some male Amorite names...

operating as a national god

National god

The concept of a national god is most closely associated with the God of Israel who in the Torah is described as the sole God to be worshipped by the nation of Israel...

in the same way that surrounding nations each had their own national gods. The Exile allowed the worship of "Yahweh-alone" to emerge as the dominant theology of Yehud, while the "sons of Yahweh" of the old pantheon evolved into angel

Angel

Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

s and demon

Demon

call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...

s in a process that continued into the Hellenistic age.

Possibly the single most important development in the post-Exilic period was the promotion and eventual dominance of the idea and practice of Jewish exclusivity, the idea that the Jews, meaning followers of the God of Israel and of the law of Moses

Law of Moses

The Law of Moses is a term first found in Joshua 8:31-32 where Joshua writes the words of "the Law of Moses" on the altar at Mount Ebal. The text continues "And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law."...

), were, or should be, a race apart from all others. This was a new idea, originating with the party of the golah, those who returned from the Babylonian exile; behind the biblical narrative of Nehemiah

Nehemiah

Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...

and Ezra

Ezra

Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...

lies the fact that relations with the Samaritans and other neighbours were in fact close and cordial: comparison between Ezra-Nehemiah

Ezra-Nehemiah

Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...

and the Books of Chronicles

Books of Chronicles

bears this out: Chronicles opens participation in Yahweh-worship to all twelve tribes and even to foreigners, but for Ezra-Nehemiah "Israel" means Judah and Benjamin alone, plus the holy tribe of Levi.

Urban landscape

Persian-era Jerusalem was tiny: about 1500 inhabitants, even as low as 500 according to some estimates. It was the only true urban site in Yehud, the bulk of the province's population living in small unwalled villages. This picture did not much change throughout the entire Persian period, the entire population of the province remaining around 30,000. There is no sign in the archaeological record of massive inwards migration from Babylon. The urban area did not include the western hill (containing the Jewish, Armenian

Armenian Quarter

The Armenian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the four quarters, with the smallest number of residents....

and Christian Quarter

Christian Quarter

The Christian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem, the other three being the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter...

s of modern Jerusalem), which had been inside the walls before the Babylonian destruction.

The bible describes the construction of a wal by Nehemiah

Nehemiah

. In November 2007 archaeologist Eilat Mazar

Eilat Mazar

Eilat Mazar is a third-generation Israeli archaeologist, specializing in Jerusalem and Phoenician archeology. A senior fellow at the Shalem Center, she has worked on the Temple Mount excavations, as well as excavations at Achzib. In addition to heading the Shalem Center's Institute of Archeology,...

announced the discovery of fortifications in area G on the eastern fringes of the City of David, which she dates to Nehemiah's time; Mazar's findings, however, are disputed by other archaeologists.

The biblical book of Ezra

Book of Ezra

The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...

also describes the construction of a new temple (the Second Temple

Second Temple

by returning exiles from Babylon. No trace of this has been found, but its existence seems probable.

Hellenistic Period

The conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE ushered in the Hellenistic period, which would last until the Maccabean Revolt in 167 BCE. Hellenistic Jerusalem was characterized by a growing gap between the Hellenized elites who adopted Greek culture and the city's observant population, a gap that would eventually lead to the Maccabean Revolt. For most of the Hellenistic period, however, Jerusalem was quite prosperous. It had a measure of autonomy in managing its own affairs and was eventually awarded the status of a Polis

Polis

Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...

Political state

Alexander the Great conquered the region in 332 BCE and according to several Jewish traditions even visited Jerusalem. After his death the region known as Coele-Syria

Coele-Syria

Coele-Syria , or Cœle-Syria or Celesyria, traditionally given the meaning 'hollow' Syria, was the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty. Rather than limiting the Greek term to the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, it is often used to cover the entire area...

was contested by the Diadochi

Diadochi

The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...

and their successor states. Between 301 and 198 BCE the Land of Israel was under the rule of Ptolemaic Egypt

Ptolemaic Egypt

Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...

, but in 198 BCE it passed to the Seleucid Empire

Seleucid Empire

The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

.

The Ptolemaic dynasty

Ptolemaic dynasty

The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...

allowed Jews to manage their own affairs, without significant intervention by the government. Leadership was awarded to the High Priest, as is found in the account of Hecateus of Abdera, written around 300 BCE and quoted in Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus

Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...

' Bibliotheca historica

Bibliotheca historica

Bibliotheca historica , is a work of universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe the history and culture of Egypt , of Mesopotamia, India, Scythia, and Arabia , of North...

:
In 198 BCE Antiochus III conquered Jerusalem, aided by the city's Jewish population. At the beginning of the Seleucid occupation, Antiochus granted the Jews a charter allowing Jewish autonomy and the return of Jews to Jerusalem, gave certain privileges to the priests, forbade foreigners and impure animals from the Temple precinct, and allocated official funds for religious practices in the Temple (the acquisition of sacrifices, oil and incense

Incense

Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...

).

It was under Seleucid rule, however, that the effects of Hellenization became more pronounced. These were most sharply felt under Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....

, who came to power in 175 BCE. In 167 BCE, with tensions between Hellenized and observant Jews at their peak, Antiochus outlawed Jewish rites and traditions and desecrated the Temple, sparking off the Maccabean Revolt.

Social and religious state

The influence of Hellenistic culture was already felt during Ptolemiac rule, a trend which only increased with the Seleucid conquest. Hellenic customs were especially popular among traders and the wealthy, those who could benefit most from imperial trade and the common language, customs and culture shared by all Hellenistic Poleis. This did not necessarily mean they renounced Judaism, but there did exist a growing and discernible gap between these and their observant brethren. As identification with Greek culture could not have been uniform, some scholars maintain that the Hellenized party mentioned in accounts of the Maccabean revolt were most likely only the most extreme of Hellenized Jews, those who not only adopted the external trappings of Greek culture, but had also internalized its values and were willing to give up the basic tenets of the Jewish faith.

In 175 BCE, Jason

Jason (high priest)

Jason of the Oniad family, brother to Onias III, was a High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.Jason became high priest in 175 BCE after the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes to the throne of the Seleucid Empire....

(Greek name, previous name was Jesus which is Greek for Joshua

Joshua (name)

Joshua is a Biblical given name derived from the Hebrew Yehoshua . Although it is often etymologized as related to the root for "salvation," e.g. as "Jehovah rescues" or "Jehovah is salvation"., the form of the word does not support this etymology. It is more likely Yeho-Shua, "YHWH's gift," with...

), brother of high priest

Kohen Gadol

The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...

Onias III

Onias III was a Jewish High Priest, the son of Simon II. He is described as a pious man who, unlike the Hellenizers, fought for Judaism. Seleucus Philopator defrayed all the expenses connected with the sanctuary and was friendly to the Jews...

, petitioned Antiochus IV to take his brother's place. He also sought to turn Jerusalem into a Polis, seeking to build both a Gymnasium

Gymnasium (ancient Greece)

The gymnasium in ancient Greece functioned as a training facility for competitors in public games. It was also a place for socializing and engaging in intellectual pursuits. The name comes from the Ancient Greek term gymnós meaning "naked". Athletes competed in the nude, a practice said to...

and an Ephebion in the city. In return for a bribe, Jason's petition was granted. Onias fled and his son, Onias IV

Onias IV

Onias IV is the designation given to the son of Onias III and the lawful heir of the legitimate high priests. He had reason to hope that the victory of the national party under Judas Maccabeus would place him in the office of his fathers; but being disappointed in his expectations by the election...

, established the Temple of Onias in Egypt. The Polis status was beneficiary to the affluent elite whose members could stand for election in the various civic institutions. Turning Jerusalem in a Polis, therefore, further enhanced the status of the wealthy Hellenized elite, successors of the assimilated elites hostile to Ezra and Nehemiah. By now, however, a substantial change had taken place from those earlier days. The economic and priestly elites had grown closer, so much so that in the Hellenistic period the priests were themselves a central part of the Hellenized upper stratum of Jerusalem society. While Gentile cities throughout the region adopted Hellenism with zeal, the majority of Jerusalem's population rejected Greek customs. Jason took no explicit steps against the Jewish faith and the Temple continued to function as usual, with no pagan sacrifices nor the introduction of foreign idols

Idolatry

Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...

. There was, nevertheless, great unrest among the learned at the fact that the office of high priest and supreme leader was being held by one who had so utterly distanced himself from the faith.

In the early 2nd century BCE, therefore, a rift existed in Jerusalem between an economically weak, observant majority lacking civic rights, and a small Hellenized minority closely linked to the Seleucid authorities and in control of the economy, trade, local administration and even the Temple itself. Tensions were exacerbated by Antiochus' edicts against the Jewish faith, especially those introducing idol worship in the Temple and banning circumcision

Circumcision

Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....

, and in 167 BCE a rural priest, Mattathias

Mattathias

Mattathias ben Johanan was a Jewish priest whose role in the Jewish revolt against the Syrian Greeks is related in the Books of the Maccabees...

of Modiin, led a rebellion against the Seleucid Empire.

Urban landscape

Little is known of Jerusalem's urban landscape in the Hellenistic period. Least is known of the 3rd century BCE when the city was under Ptolemaic rule. One source providing an insight into Jerusalem of the period are the writings of Hecateus of Abdera who lived at the end of the 4th century BCE. Hecateus was in the entourage of Ptolemy I Soter

Ptolemy I Soter

Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...

, founder of the Ptolemaic Kingdom

Ptolemaic Kingdom

The Ptolemaic Kingdom in and around Egypt began following Alexander the Great's conquest in 332 BC and ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. It was founded when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt, creating a powerful Hellenistic state stretching from...

, when he met a group of Jewish exiles who had voluntarily left for Egypt. Hecateus' writings praise the character, education and political talents of the head of this group, a priest named Hezekiah, who was apparently the source of Hecateus' information about both Jerusalem and Jewish customs. Jerusalem is praised as both big and beautiful, as the only fortified city in Judea, as large as 50 stadion

Stadion (unit of length)

The stadion, Latinized as stadium and anglicized as stade, is an ancient Greek unit of length. According to Herodotus, one stade is equal to 600 feet. However, there were several different lengths of “feet”, depending on the country of origin....

s and inhabited by 120,000 Jews. Hecateus described the Temple standing in the middle of the city (an indication he had not seen it himself), its dimensions, mentions the eternal flame

Eternal flame

An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....

, the altar and the Menorah. Hecateus also emphasized the lack of any idols or a sacred grove

Sacred grove

A sacred grove is a grove of trees of special religious importance to a particular culture. Sacred groves were most prominent in the Ancient Near East and prehistoric Europe, but feature in various cultures throughout the world...

and the prohibition on priestly consumption of wine in the hall.

Another source purporting to describe Ptolemaic Jerusalem is the Letter of Aristeas

Letter of Aristeas

The so-called Letter of Aristeas or Letter to Philocrates is a Hellenistic work of the 2nd century BCE, one of the Pseudepigrapha. Josephus who paraphrases about two-fifths of the letter, ascribes it to Aristeas and written to Philocrates, describing the Greek translation of the Hebrew Law by...

, an account of the translation into Greek of the Septuagint. The author, supposedly an Alexandrian Jew in the service of Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos...

(309 – 246 BCE), describes a visit to the city, including the Temple Mount

Temple Mount

The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...

and the adjacent citadel, the Ptolemaic Baris

Ptolemaic Baris

The Ptolemaic Baris was a citadel maintained by Ptolemaic Egypt during its rule of Jerusalem in the 3rd century BC. Described by only a few ancient sources, no archaeological remains of the citadel have been found and much about it remains a matter of conjecture.- Persian origins? :After the...

. The Letter of Aristeas, however, is apparently a later creation of the mid 2nd century BCE. It most likely dates to the Seleucid or Hasmonean periods, nor is there any certainty that it is a genuine eyewitness account.

Both 1 & 2 Maccabees and Flavius Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews tell of a building boom during Seleucid rule. Jason, turning Jerusalem into a Polis, also constructed the constituent architectural elements of a Greek city, including a Gymnasium and an Ephebion. Since the earliest day of archaeology in Jerusalem, great efforts have been invested in locating and identifying these buildings, but to no avail. A prime example is the attempt to locate the Acra, the citadel established by Antiochus IV Epiphanes to house the Seleucid garrison in Jerusalem.

Hasmonean Kingdom

The Hasmonean period in Jerusalem was characterized by great contrasts: independence and sovereignty, territorial expansion and material prosperity on the one hand, civil wars and a growing social gap on the other. Jerusalem, now the capital of an independent entity, prospered and grew. Various public buildings and government institutions were built. Traditional Jewish pilgrimages contributed to her economic stature and increased immigration, from home and abroad, made her grow in both population and size. Jerusalem became a bustling political, religious, creative and cultural center - both Jewish and Hellenistic.

Political state

Although the Hasmonean

Hasmonean

The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...

rebellion broke out in 167 BCE and the Temple purified from pagan influences in 164 BCE, Jerusalem nevertheless remained dominated by the Seleucid garrison which held out in the Acra for a further 25 years. Only in 141 BCE did Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Maccabaeus

Simon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. The name "Thassi" has an uncertain meaning...

occupy the Acra and, according to Josephus, raze it to the ground.
From 140 BCE to 63 BCE Jerusalem was the capital of first an independent state and then an independent kingdom. As attested in 1 Maccabees, it began its own year count, distinct from the Seleucid system:
Simon's appointment was made possible by a consensus among the clergy, religious leaders, traditional aristocratic families and esteemed elders. To emphasize popular legitimacy and support for his appointment, Simon established a grand tribunal which would later be known as the Great Sanhedrin. The Hasmonean leader was at once the high priest (despite not being of the Zadok family), the supreme military leader as well as the Nasi
Nasi
Nāśī’ is a Hebrew title meaning prince in Biblical Hebrew, Prince in Mishnaic Hebrew, or president in Modern Hebrew.-Genesis and Ancient Israel:...

of the Jews. For the first time, both religious and political leadership rested with one man.

The Maccabees

The Maccabees

The Maccabees are a indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009...

were able to exploit the internal conflicts plaguing both Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms to expand the territory under their control. Jerusalem evolved from the capital of a small Jewish province into one commanding a large territory, home to various peoples. This growth brought about a decisive change in leadership when Judas Aristobulus declared himself king. Aristobulus, his brother Alexander Jannæus and their successors, were in effect priestly kings, yielding considerable influence in both domestic and international affairs. They controlled an area similar in size to modern day Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, including parts of Transjordan

Transjordan

The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...

. In 161 BCE Judas Maccabeus

Judas Maccabeus

Judah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...

had also secured an alliance with the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

, an alliance which would last up to Jannæus' reign, successive leaders renewing it and adopting a pro-Roman policy. Jannæus, however, chose to discontinue the alliance, apparently because the Seleucid threat to Judean independence had disappeared only to be replaced by a Roman one.

There is evidence to indicate that the Hasmonean kingdom converted subject peoples to Judaism, including the Iturea

Iturea

Iturea is the Greek name of a region in the Levant during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It is mentioned only once in the Christian Bible, while in historical sources the name of the people, the Itureans , occurs...

ns in the Golan

Golan

Golan was a biblical city in Land of Israel. It was in the territory of Manasseh in the Bashan.Golan was the most northerly of the three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River . Manasseh gave this city to the Gershonite Levites .According to the Bible, the Israelites conquered Golan from the...

and the Hauran

Hauran

Hauran, , also spelled Hawran or Houran, is a volcanic plateau, a geographic area and a people located in southwestern Syria and extending into the northwestern corner of Jordan. It gets its name from the Aramaic Hawran, meaning "cave land." In geographic and geomorphic terms, its boundaries...

and the Edomites of the Judean hills, underscoring the kingdom's status as a regional power. The new converts were considered, at least in theory, full Jews deserving the equal rights afforded to citizens of the kingdom. Several Edomites, for example, were even to reach senior positions in the administration in Jerusalem.

In 67 BCE a quarrel broke out between Aristobulus II

Aristobulus II

Aristobulus II was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea, 66 BC to 63 BC, from the Hasmonean Dynasty.-Family:Aristobulus was the younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Alexandra Salome. After the death of Alexander in 76 BC, his widow succeeded to the rule of Judea and...

and Hyrcanus II

Hyrcanus II

Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea in the 1st century BC.-Accession:Hyrcanus was the eldest son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Alexandra Salome...

, sons and successors of Alexander Jannæus. Both parties appealed to Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great), who was campaigning in the region at the time, for his assistance. Pompey decided to side with Hyrcanus (and his adviser Antipater

Antipater the Idumaean

Antipater I the Idumaean was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great. According to Josephus, he was the son of Antipas...

), and Aristobulus and his followers barricaded themselves in the Temple Mount

Temple Mount

. In 63 BCE Pompey and the Roman army arrived in Jerusalem, besieged the Temple

Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)

-Bibliography:** Josephus, Flavius. William Whiston, A.M., translator . . Auburn and Buffalo, New York: John E. Beardsley. Retrieved 15 July 2010.*****...

and then took it by storm, bringing an end to Jewish sovereignty. In 40 BCE, Rome granted Herod

Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...

, Antipater's son, the title of King of Judea. Aided by Roman troops, Herod took Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem (37 BC)

Herod the Great's Siege of Jerusalem was the final step in his campaign to secure the throne of Judea. Aided by Roman forces provided by Marcus Antonius , Herod was able to capture the city and depose Antigonus II Mattathias, ending Hasmonean rule...

from Antigonus II Mattathias, ending Hasmoean rule.

Social and religious state

It was during Hasmonean rule that two conflicting religious factions, the Sadducees

Sadducees

The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...

and the Pharisees

Pharisees

The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...

, took form in Jerusalem. The Sadducees were composed mainly of members of the upper strata of Jerusalem society which included most of the priestly families, especially those receptive to Greek culture. They were centered around the Temple and their main religious concerns were those of religious impurity and Temple rituals. The Pharisees, by contrast, were led by sages and were more socially oriented, advocating the cause of the disadvantaged. Their main interests lay with Torah law and its practical application in daily life. Pharisaic interpretation of the Torah was independent of the Temple, as it fostered religious thought independent of the priestly hierarchy. The Pharisees were led by the Zugot.

Although the leaders of the Maccabean Revolt were fiercely anti-Hellenistic, by the second generation of Hasmonean leaders (c. 130 BCE, the time of John Hyrcanus) Greek culture was once again becoming popular. The Hasmoneans themselves became Hellenized, adopting at the very least the external trappings of Greek culture

Culture

Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...

, administration, clothing and speech. This is particularly evident in the adoption of Greek names. While the first generation Hasmoneans were named John, Jonathan, Judah and the like, later leaders were called Hyrcanus, Aristobulus, Alexander and such. King Alexander Jannæus, in particular, emphasized the Hellenistic nature of his kingdom. He backed the Sadducees and rejected Pharisaic demands to separate the role of king from that of the high priest. Expelling the Pharisees from the Sanhedrin, Jannæus triggered a civil war in which he made use of gentile mercenaries against the Pharisees. Josephus (The Jewish War 1, 4) reported fifty thousand casualties in this civil war, which only ended through mediation by Simeon ben Shetach

Simeon ben Shetach

Simeon ben Shetach or Shimon ben Shetach was a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of Alexander Jannæus and his successor, Queen Alexandra Salome , who was Simeon's sister...

who was both a Pharisaic leader, Chief of the Court

Av Beit Din

Av Beit Din, Av Beis Din, or Abh Beyth Diyn . was the second-highest ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Commonwealth period. He presided over the Sanhedrin in the absence of the Nasi, and was the chief of the Sanhedrin when it sat as a criminal court...

of the Sanhedrin, and brother to queen Salome Alexandra

Salome Alexandra

Salome Alexandra or Alexandra of Jerusalem , was the only Jewish regnant queen, with the exception of her own husband's mother whom he had prevented from ruling as his dying father had wished, and of the much earlier usurper Athaliah...

, Jannæus' wife and successor. Under Salome some equilibrium was briefly restored between the monarchy and the Pharisees who controlled the Sanhedrin, but factional rifts reasserted themselves after her death, eventually leading to a state of constant civil war.

Urban landscape

Now the capital of an independent entity, Jerusalem of the Hasmonean period grew in size, population and wealth. Not only did ritual pilgrimages to the city intensify, but an influx of people from both home and abroad saw the resident population grow as well. City limits expanded and new fortifications were built. The urban landscape of Jerusalem came to reflect its status as a national capital, home to a dynastic royal family. New palaces were built, as were the institutions required to run the kingdom.

Hasmonean walls and fortifications

With Jewish independence restored in the mid 2nd century BCE, the Hasmoneans quickly launched an effort to populate and fortify the Upper City, the western hill abandoned after the Babylonian sacking of Jerusalem. According to 1 Maccabees 10, 10-11, "Jonathan dwelt in Jerusalem and began to rebuild and restore the city. He directed those who were doing the work to build the walls and encircle Mount Zion with squared stones, for better fortification; and they did so.", while according to chapter 13, 10, Simon Maccabeus "assembled all the warriors and hastened to complete the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it on every side." These date the construction of the Hasmonean city wall, also known as the first wall, between 142 and 134 BCE. Encompassing the City of David and the western hill, the walls were not entirely new but also incorporated elements of the earlier fortifications, such as the Iron Age "Israelite Tower

Israelite Tower

The Israelite Tower is an archaeological site in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter. The site features remains of the city's Iron Age fortifications which were later incorporated into the Hasmonean city walls. It was excavated by Israeli archaeologist Nahman Avigad during the 1970s...

" unearthed in the Jewish quarter. The wall stretched from the Tower of Hippicus (near the site of the modern Tower of David

Tower of David

The Tower of David is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.Built to strengthen a strategically weak point in the Old City's defenses, the citadel that stands today was constructed during the 2nd century BC and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt by,...

) eastward toward the Temple Mount, and south to the Southwestern Hill (modern Mount Zion

Mount Zion

Mount Zion is a place name for a site in Jerusalem, the location of which has shifted several times in history. According to the Hebrew Bible's Book of Samuel, it was the site of the Jebusite fortress called the "stronghold of Zion" that was conquered by King David, becoming his palace in the City...

, a misnomer), then east to the Pool of Siloam

Pool of Siloam

Pool of Siloam is a rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David, the original site of Jerusalem, located outside the walls of the Old City to the southeast. The pool was fed by the waters of the Gihon Spring, carried there by two aqueducts.-History:The Pool of Siloam is mentioned...

, and finally north, meeting the wall of the Temple Mount.

Remains of the first wall can still be seen in several places:

In the citadel known as the Tower of David.
In Mamilla
Mamilla
Mamilla was an early neighbourhood constructed outside Jerusalem's Old City west from the Jaffa Gate, and now refers to the $400 million commercial and housing district developed in selected parts of the area....

, west of the contemporary city walls, where remains of Hasmonean fortifications were unearthed.
In the Jewish Quarter, in and around the "Israelite Tower" and the remains of what may have been the "Gennath gate" mentioned by Josephus.
At the base of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount.

Once the walls were complete, the Upper City became the residence of Jerusalem's rich and affluent citizens.

Fortress palaces

Hasmonean Jerusalem featured two major landmarks of which no remains have been found. One of these was the Hasmonean Baris

Hasmonean Baris

The Hasmonean Baris was a citadel constructed north of Jerusalem's Temple Mount in existence during the Hasmonean period.-History:Nehemiah refers to a "birah" on or adjacent to the Temple Mount. This may have been the predecessor or identical to the Hellenistic fortress mentioned in the Letter of...

, a citadel which is thought to have stood at the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount, occupying the probable site of the earlier Ptolemaic Baris

Ptolemaic Baris

and which was later demolished to make room for Herod's Antonia Fortress

Antonia Fortress

The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem on the site of earlier Ptolemaic and Hasmonean strongholds, named after Herod's patron Mark Antony...

. According to Josephus "this citadel was built by the kings of the Asamonean race, who were also high priests before Herod, and they called it the Tower, in which were reposited the vestments of the high priest, which the high priest only put on at the time when he was to offer sacrifice." Herod's construction of the Antonia left no trace of the Hasmonean citadel.

The other notable structure researchers have been trying to locate is the Hasmonean Palace. Josephus' description is quite precise: "over the gallery, at the passage to the upper city, where the bridge joined the Temple to the gallery." It is quite possible, therefore, to locate the approximate position of the palace, in front of the Temple slightly north of the modern Jewish Quarter. This location would make both topographic

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

(on a lofty spot) and administrative (adjacent to the wealthy and priestly quarters in the upper city) sense. Overlooking the Temple, it would provide the king and high priest an observation point into events there within.

Hasmonean Burial

Jerusalem of the Second Temple period was surrounded by cemeteries and grave fields. Due to the sanctity of the city and the ritual impurity of the dead, burial was permitted only at reasonable distance from the city walls:
When the city expanded, cemeteries were accordingly relocated. Jewish belief in resurrection

Resurrection

Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...

meant that the bones of every individual were kept separately. The dead were initially interned in burial caves for a year; when only the bones remained, these were given a secondary burial in an ossuary

Ossuary

An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the skeletal remains are removed and placed in an ossuary...

.

A unique ossuary decoration style depicting flowers, especially lillies, and the branches of palm trees was developed in Jerusalem. The ossuaries were then placed in family burial caves, either rock-hewn or manually built. Hundreds of burial caves from the Second Temple Jerusalem are strewn around the city, mainly to the north (Sanhedria

Sanhedria

Sanhedria is a Haredi neighborhood in northern Jerusalem, Israel. It lies east of Golda Meir Street and adjacent to Ramat Eshkol, Shmuel HaNavi, Maalot Dafna and the Sanhedria cemetery....

), east (the slopes of the Kidron Valley

Kidron Valley

The Kidron Valley is the valley on the eastern side of The Old City of Jerusalem which features significantly in the Bible...

), and south of the Old City (Gehenna

Gehenna

Gehenna , Gehinnom and Yiddish Gehinnam, are terms derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom ; one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City.In the Hebrew Bible, the site was initially where apostate Israelites and...

and Ketef Hinnom

Ketef Hinnom

Ketef Hinnom is an archaeological site southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, adjacent to St. Andrew's Church of Scotland. The site consists of a series of rock-hewn burial chambers based on natural caverns...

), and constitute a Necropolis

Necropolis

A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

. A few graves have also been found west of the old city, mainly along Gaza Street

Gaza Street

Gaza Street or Gaza Road is a main street in Rehavia neighborhood, in Jerusalem, Israel.-History:The street is named ’’Gaza Street’’ because it was built on a part of the historical road from Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem to the south Mediterranean coast, including the city of Gaza...

and in Rehavia

Rehavia

Rehavia is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya.-History:Rehavia was established on a large plot of land purchased in 1921 from the Greek Orthodox Church by the Palestine Land Development Company . The area was known at the time as Ginzaria, a native...

. Prominent and affluent families, such as the priestly Bnei Hazir

Bnei Hazir tomb

The Tomb of Benei Hezir is the oldest of four monumental rock-cut tombs that stand in the Kidron Valley, Jerusalem and date to the period of the Second Temple. It is a complex of burial caves. The tomb was originally accessed from a single rock-cut stair-well which descends to the tomb from the...

, built luxurious burial halls in which their ossuaries were placed. Jason's Tomb in Rehavia and the Tomb of Absalom are prime examples.

Hasmonean Water Works

As Jerusalem grew so did the demand for water, of which the city had inadequate supplies. Water works were therefore built to convey water to a storage pool northwest of the Temple Mount, draining both Beit Zeita stream and the Tyropoeon

Tyropoeon Valley

Tyropoeon Valley is the name given by Josephus the historian to the valley or rugged ravine, in the Old City of Jerusalem, which in ancient times separated Mount Moriah from Mount Zion and emptied into the valley of Hinnom...

. The tunnel is 80 meters long, approximately 1.2 foot (0.36576 m) wide, and 12 feet (3.7 m) high at its tallest point. The "Hasmonean tunnel" or "Hasmonean viaduct", as it is known, was unearthed during excavations by the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs in 1985 and is currently accessible through the Western Wall Tunnel

Western Wall Tunnel

The Western Wall Tunnel is an underground tunnel exposing the full length of the Western Wall. The tunnel is adjacent to the Western Wall and is located under buildings of the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel. While the open-air portion of the Western Wall is approximately long, the majority of its...

. The exact mining date has not yet been ascertained, and while some date it as early as the First Temple period, it certainly precedes Herod.

Besides Rock-hewn and plastered cistern

Cistern

A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...

s, a regular feature of many homes, the inhabitants of Jerusalem also made use of public storage pools. These included the Pools of Bethesda

Pool of Bethesda

The Pool of Bethesda is a pool of water in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem, on the path of the Beth Zeta Valley. The Gospel of John describes such a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. It is associated with healing. Until the 19th century, there...

, north of the Temple Mount, and Hezekiah's Pool

Hezekiah's Pool

Hezekiah's Pool located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, was once a reservoir forming part of the city's ancient water system. the pool is dry and surrounded by buildings on all sides...

, north of the Tower of David. Pools north of the Temple Mount probably served the Temple as well, their water used for washing the altar and courtyard of blood, as well as for watering the livestock used as sacrifice. It is unclear exactly when the pools were constructed, but they were certainly expanded during the Hasmonean period due to Jerusalem's increased need for water.

The Hasmonean period also witnessed efforts to deliver water to Jerusalem from further afield. It was probably during Alexander Jannæus' reign that the Lower Aqueduct was hewn, transporting water from the spring of Ein Eitam (near Bethlehem

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

) to the vicinity of the Temple Mount. As Ein Eitam's altitude is only 30 meters higher than that of the mount, this was a significant feat of technology and engineering. The aqueduct had to bypass several ridges to reach its destination and is therefore very twisted, requiring it to maintain a slope of three feet for every mile. To make it shorter, a 400 meters tunnel was carved below the Jabel Mukaber

Jabel Mukaber

Jabel Mukaber is a predominantly Arab neighborhood in southern East Jerusalem. It is bordered by Armon HaNetziv to the west, Abu Tor and Silwan to the north and Sur Baher to the south...

ridge.

Herodian period

Much like other eras in the history of Second Temple period Jerusalem, King Herod's rule was characterized by contrast and contradictions. Like Herod's personality, it was a time of grandeur and excess. The contrast between the pagan city and the holy Temple that stood in its midst, or between the cruel and murderous king versus the entrepreneur who adorned the city in splendor and luxury, have fueled massive interest in the history of the city at one of its most significant points.

Political state

Herod's reign was mostly peaceful and characterized by economic prosperity and a building boom. The king carried great favor with his Roman patrons, towards which he was very generous, and therefore enjoyed considerable freedom of action to fortify both city and state without alarming Rome. Herod ruled Jerusalem for thirty-three years (37–4 BCE), during which he continuously balanced his loyalty to Rome with his commitment and obligations to his Jewish subjects. The Jews, however, despised Herod and called him an "Edomite slave", a reference both to his foreign origins and to his subservience to Rome. Early in his reign Herod sought to acquire legitimacy for his rule by marrying Mariamne

Mariamne (second wife of Herod)

Mariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus...

, a Hasmonean princess and sister of Aristobulus III. Mariamne soon fell out of favour with Herod and he had her executed. He then sought legitimacy by his grand reconstruction of the Temple.

Social and religious state

Herod once again turned Jerusalem into a Hellenistic city, including all the constituent elements and institutions of a Polis. He built a large theatre

Theatre of Ancient Greece

The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was...

, instituted wrestling tournaments in honor of the Emperor, staged spectacles where men fought wild animals, and encouraged gentile immigration to Jerusalem. Herod adorned his Hellenistic architecture with decorations depicting pagan gods and his currency carried pagan motifs. Nevertheless, Herod's efforts did not go entirely unappreciated by his subjects :
Jerusalem was at once a grand pagan city and the center of Jewish life at its peak. Temple ritual continued unabated in the new and lavish building. Huge number of pilgrims, perhaps as many as a million, filled the city streets during Passover

Passover

Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...

, supposedly in an atmosphere described by the Talmud as :

Philo

Philo

Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....

, himself a Hellenized Jew, described Jerusalem during festivities:
The pilgrims were economically crucial. They came from all corners of the empire, bringing with them the latest news and innovations, conducting both retail

Retail

Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...

and wholesale

Wholesale

Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services...

trade and providing a living for large segments of the local population. Jerusalem was prosperous and the material wealth and luxury of the affluent and priestly classes were also at their peak. This is testified by archaeological finds such as Mikvaot (ritual baths) in the privacy of priestly homes and the discovery of rare glassware in excavations in the Herodian Quarter, in the current Jewish Quarter. This prosperity trickled down to the lower classes as well, with the masses enjoying the benefits of the increased trade, the incessant exchange of currency and the very peace that allowed the free exchange of goods. The economic welfare and the widespread Jewish hostility towards Herod allowed internecine warfare between the Pharisees and Sadducees to subside.

Indeed, Jewish Jerusalem was united in its hatred of King Herod. Herod was a cruel ruler who employed spies and informants, foreign officials and customs agents. There were boundaries, however, that Herod refrained from crossing: he did not enter the Temple Mount precinct, nor placed foreign idols in the Temple, nor performed pagan sacrifices in the city. Jerusalem was Herod's showcase and he invited powerful individuals from Rome to view its splendor. Jerusalem did indeed make the desired impression and Roman historian Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...

described her as:
In the religious sense, popular preoccupation with the Halakah laws of impurity and defilement is evident. Archaeological findings indicate widespread use of stone

Rock (geology)

In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...

vessels, a material that according to Judaism cannot be defiled, in many homes, especially those attributed to the priestly class. Excavations throughout the city have located many Mikvaot, including several large public baths beside the main street leading up to the Temple. These apparently served the pilgrims prior to their ascent to the Temple Mount. The ban on idols and graven images seems to have been closely followed as well, for these are absent in even the most luxurious homes, where only geometrical designs are found.

At this time Jerusalem also saw an influx of gentiles, some of whom desired to convert to Judaism. Philo wrote of the phenomenon:
Similar sentiments can also be found in the writings of Strabo

Strabo

Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...

, Cassius Dio and other Roman historians.

Urban landscape

Ninety percent of all archaeological finds in Jerusalem dating from the Second Temple Period are of Herodian origin. This is a testament to both the quantity and quality of Herodian construction as well as to Herod's insistence on prior removal of ancient remains in order to allow construction to take place directly on the bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

.
The outline of Herodian Jerusalem can be summarized thus: In the east, the city bordered the Kidron Valley, above which was built the huge retaining wall of the Temple Mount compound. The Temple Mount was in fact a huge plaza, in the center of which stood the Temple. The courtyard was surrounded by colonnades on all four sides, with the grand Royal Stoa

Royal Stoa (Jerusalem)

The Royal Stoa was an ancient basilica constructed by Herod the Great during his renovation of the Temple Mount at the end of the 1st century BCE...

at its south. At the north-west corner of the compound stood the Antonia Fortress

Antonia Fortress

The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem on the site of earlier Ptolemaic and Hasmonean strongholds, named after Herod's patron Mark Antony...

. At the Antonia begun a wall that surrounded the northern parts of the city. At the foot of the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount (the modern Western Wall

Western Wall

The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the western side of the Temple Mount...

) lay the main commercial street of the city. At the southern part of the street stood Robinson's Arch

Robinson's Arch

Robinson's Arch is the name given to an arch that once stood at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. It was built during the reconstruction of the Second Temple initiated by Herod the Great at the end of the 1st century BCE. The massive stone span was constructed along with the retaining...

which bore a large staircase leading from street level to the Royal Stoa. In the southern wall

Southern Wall

The Southern Wall is a wall at the southern end of the Temple Mount and the former southern side of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It was built during King Herod's expansion of the Temple Mount platform southward on to the Ophel.-Construction:...

of the mount stood the Huldah Gates

Huldah Gates

The Huldah Gates are the two sets of now-blocked gates in the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount, situated in Jerusalem's Old City. The western set is a double arched gate , and the eastern is a triple arched gate...

, the main entrance to the sacred compound. To their south extended an area of ritual baths serving the pilgrims ascending the mount, and a street leading down to the City of David and the Pool of Siloam

Pool of Siloam

. West of the compound lay the deep channel of the Tyropoeon

Tyropoeon Valley

, and beyond it the Upper City, residence of the priests and the affluent. The latter was connected to the Temple Mount by a bridge built on what is today known as Wilson's Arch

Wilson's Arch (Jerusalem)

Wilson's Arch is the modern name for the ancient stone arch whose top is still visible today, where it is supported against the Northeast corner of Jerusalem's Western Wall, so that it appears on the left to visitors facing the Wall...

. At the southwestern part of the upper city stood King Herod's Palace and to its north, at the present site of the Tower of David, a citadel with three towers, the Hyppicus, the Phasael and the Mariamne. It was at this citadel that the walls of Jerusalem met, one surrounding the city from the south and another approaching from the east and the Temple Mount.

Somewhere in the city, possibly in the upper city or to its north, stood the theatre and other Hellenistic institutions. Remains of any of these structures have yet to be found.

Herodian city walls

At or about the start of Herod's reign, a second wall was constructed in Jerusalem. This relatively short wall was built to include a new neighborhood which had grown adjacent to the Antonia within the city walls. The "second wall" run from north from the Antonia, east to the area where the present Damascus Gate

Damascus Gate

Damascus Gate is the main entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located in the wall on the city's northwest side where the highway leads out to Nablus, and from there, in times past, to the capital of Syria, Damascus; as such, its modern English name is Damascus Gate, and its modern Hebrew...

stands, and then south along the eastern bank of the Tyropoeon to the Garden Gate (near the point at which the four quarters of the Old City currently meet). This path excludes the Calvary

Calvary

Calvary or Golgotha was the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early first century walls, at which the crucifixion of Jesus is said to have occurred. Calvary and Golgotha are the English names for the site used in Western Christianity...

(Golgotha), where the crucifixion of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

took place, as this would have taken place place outside the city walls. As much is testified by the New Testament:

Herodian Citadels

The Antonia
Antonia Fortress
The Antonia Fortress was a military barracks built by Herod the Great in Jerusalem on the site of earlier Ptolemaic and Hasmonean strongholds, named after Herod's patron Mark Antony...

was Jerusalem's main fortress, dominating the Temple Mount and housing the city's garrison. It was built by Herod over the Hasmonean Baris before 31 BCE and was named after Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

. It shared the same features as the Hellenistic tetrapyrgion, although rectangular. In each of its corners stood a tower, one of which was taller than the others.

The Herodian Citadel stood at the present site of the Tower of David
Tower of David
The Tower of David is an ancient citadel located near the Jaffa Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem.Built to strengthen a strategically weak point in the Old City's defenses, the citadel that stands today was constructed during the 2nd century BC and subsequently destroyed and rebuilt by,...

. Herod built the citadel, sometimes referred to as the "Towers Citadel", on a hill already fortified in Hasmonean times. Herod built three towers at the site, naming them Hyppicus, Phasael
Phasael
Phasael was a prince from the Herodian Dynasty of Judea.-Origins and early career:...

and Mariamne
Mariamne (second wife of Herod)
Mariamne I, also called Mariamne the Hasmonean was the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus...

, after his friend, brother and wife. It was at the Hyppicus that the "first wall", approaching from the south, turns east towards the Temple Mount, and also where the "third wall", constructed in the mid-1st century CE, would meet the "first wall".

Josephus provides a detailed description of the towers in the fifth book of his Bellum Judaicum, commenting:

All three towers were square. The Hyppicus Tower was 13 meters wide at its base and 40 meters high. Its lower half was solid, above which stood a water reservoir, and above this a two storied palace. The tower was crowned with battlements and turrets. The Phasael Tower was 20 meters wide and also featured a 20 meters high solid base. This was topped by a peristyle

Peristyle

In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...

surrounded by bulwarks, above which stood another smaller tower containing several rooms and a bathhouse and topped with battlements. Josephus remarked "that this tower wanted nothing that might make it appear to be a royal palace". The third tower, the Mariamne, was similar to the other two in that it had a solid base, and also featured a second decorated story. The base of only one tower survives, identified as either the Hyppicus or the Phasael.

North of the citadel stood the "Towers Pool", another water storage facility which may have been hewn during the Hasmonean priod.

Herod's Palace. South of the Herodian citadel stood the King's palace, "which exceeds all my ability to describe it". Nevertheless, Josephus does provide a detailed description of the grandeur and luxury of Herod's residence: the magnificent halls decorated in gems, silver and gold, the ceilings made of decorated wooden beams, with enough beds to house a hundred guests. It was dotted with open courts and colonnades.

Josephus laments the destruction of the palace, not at the hands of the Romans which later sacked the city, but by warring parties from within. No remains of the palace have been positively identified, though excavations in the Armenian Quarter, south of the Tower of David, have unearthed a system of massive retaining walls thought to belong to the Herodian structure.

Temple Mount

The Temple built upon the end of the Babylonian Captivity was a modest one, small and simple. Herod, seeking to ingratiate himself with his subjects and to glorify his own name, massively expanded both the Temple and very mount on which it stood. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size.

The Temple was the masterpiece of Herod's massive building enterprise, built of white and green marble, and perhaps even blue marble used to portray waves. The building was continuously improved, even after Herod's death and up to its very destruction in 70 CE.

Unlike the earlier structures which stood at the site, there are in fact many archaeological finds, including inscriptions, supporting Josephus' account of Herod's Temple. Herod expanded the Temple courtyard to the south, where he built the Royal Stoa, a basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

used for commercial purposes, similar to other forums

Forum (Roman)

A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...

of the ancient world.

Other structures

The Upper City was the name given to neighborhoods constructed on the hill currently referred to as Mount Zion, particularly those parts which reside inside the city's Medieval walls, beneath today's Jewish and Armenian Quarter

Armenian Quarter

The Armenian Quarter is one of the four quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the four quarters, with the smallest number of residents....

s. It is higher in altitude than the City of David and the Temple Mount

Temple Mount

. During Herod's reign this was the residence of the priestly class as well as the affluent and overlooked the Temple. It was connected to the Temple compound via a large bridge, the sole remains of which can be seen in Wilson's Arch, next to the Western Wall.

The Herodian street was Jerusalem's main artery, stretching north from the Pool of Siloam

Pool of Siloam

, under Robinson's Arch, along the Western Wall, and under Wilson's Arch. Archaeological excavations alongside the Western Wall have revealed that the street terminated at a square near the Antonia, though there are visible remains (such as pre-prepared paving stones) indicating that the street was not yet complete.

The street was built over a drainage system constructed of large and beautifully dressed white stones. From the Pool of Siloam the street climbed up moderate steps that led up to today's Western Wall plaza. Various shops and stores were situated along its central portion, at the foot of the Temple Mount (along today's Western Wall). Among these were likely shops where sacrificial animals could be bought as well as exchangers allowing pilgrims to exchange currency and provide them with the Half Shekel ritual tax each Jew was annually obliged to pay for Temple maintenance. At the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount stood the street's most important junction. From there it was possible to turn east towards the Huldah Gates

Huldah Gates

, north - up the street, or to ascend Robinson's Arch to the Royal Stoa. Several remains of the street can still be seen in several places: at the Pool of Siloam, in the Western Wall Tunnels, and at the Jerusalem Archaeological Park at the foot of the Temple Mount. The latter features sections of the street buried by the collapse of Robinson Arch's at the time of the Roman sacking of Jerusalem.

Although ancient sources describe Herodian Jerusalem's Hellenistic institutions such as the theatre, any remains of these have yet to be found. These were most likely built on the plane north of the upper city. Michael Avi Yonah placed the theatre in the upper city itself, near the palace of Herod. Archaeologist Yosef Patrich has suggested that the Herodian theatre in Jerusalem was made of wood, as was customary at Rome at the time, which may explain the lack of finds.

Herodian water works

The aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

, a method of conveying water to the city, was an integral part of Roman city planning. Already quite large, Jerusalem needed to satisfy the needs of countless pilgrims annually, requiring much more water than was available. Water was taken from Ein Eitam and Solomon's Pools

Solomon's Pools

Solomon's Pools , are located immediately to the south of al-Khader and about 5 kilometres southwest of Bethlehem. The pools consist of three open cisterns, each pool with a 6 metre drop to the next, fed from an underground spring. With each pool being over 100 metres long, 65 metres wide and 10...

, about 20 kilometers south of Jerusalem crow flies and about 30 meters highter in altitude than the Temple Mount. Like its Hasmonean predecessor, the Aqueduct took a sinuous route in order to bypass ridges laying in its path, although at two locations it was carved as a tunnel: a 400 meters long section under Bethlehem

Bethlehem

and a 370 meters section under Jabel Mukaber. At Rachel's Tomb

Rachel's Tomb

Rachel's Tomb , also known as the Dome of Rachel, , is an ancient structure believed to be the burial place of the biblical matriarch Rachel. It is located on the outskirts of Bethlehem, a Palestinian city just south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank...

the aqueduct split into two, a lower aqueduct running to the Temple Mount and an upper aqueduct leading to the pool near the Herodian Citadel. Until recently the upper aqueduct was thought to have been constructed 200 years after Herod's reign, the work of Legio X Fretensis

Legio X Fretensis

Legio X Fretensis was a Roman legion levied by Augustus Caesar in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic...

which resided in Jerusalem. Recent studies, however, indicate that the Legion only renovated the aqueduct which had been partially destroyed.

Roman Prefects, Procurators, and the Destruction of the Temple

In 6 CE, after Herod's death and a brief period of rule as a tetrarchy

Tetrarchy (Judea)

The Tetrarchy of Judea was formed following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BCE, when his kingdom was divided between his sons as an inheritance...

, Judea was made into a Roman province called Iudaea

Iudaea Province

Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...

, which was first governed by prefects and after 44 by procurators.

Political state under the Prefects

The Roman Prefects of Judea were Equestrians (similar to Roman Egypt) assigned to that position without any connection to the land or concern for its populace. Their rule was subsequently characterized by an increased tax burden, undermining an already delicate political situation. This was further exacerbated after 44 CE with the appointment of Greek Procurators

Procurator (Roman)

A procurator was the title of various officials of the Roman Empire, posts mostly filled by equites . A procurator Augusti was the governor of the smaller imperial provinces...

who were deemed hostile to Judaism

Anti-Judaism

Religious antisemitism is a form of antisemitism, which is the prejudice against, or hostility toward, the Jewish people based on hostility to Judaism and to Jews as a religious group...

. These are supposed to have given a higher priority to making personal gain over the general well-being of their subjects. Contemporaneous literature describes the period as one of anarchy

Anarchy

Anarchy , has more than one colloquial definition. In the United States, the term "anarchy" typically is meant to refer to a society which lacks publicly recognized government or violently enforced political authority...

, agitation and violence

Violence

Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...

, with government activity reduced to mere tax collection. Jewish indignation at Roman rule eventually led to the Great Revolt. This period nevertheless featured a short period of nominal independence

Autonomy

Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...

during the reign of King Agrippa I

Agrippa I

Agrippa I also known as Herod Agrippa or simply Herod , King of the Jews, was the grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus IV and Berenice. His original name was Marcus Julius Agrippa, so named in honour of Roman statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and he is the king named Herod in the...

, between 41-44 CE, which in a sense saw the restoration of the Herodian Dynasty

Herodian Dynasty

The Herodian Dynasty was a Jewish dynasty of Idumean descent, client Kings of Roman Judaea Province between 37 BCE and 92 CE.- Origin :During the time of the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus 134-104 BCE, Israel conquered Edom and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism.The Edomites were integrated...

though there is no indication that the status as Roman province was even temporarily dissolved.

Social and religious state

Under the Roman prefects the tensions between various Jewish parties, diminished by their joint hatred of Herod, resurfaced as both groups became entrenched in their opposing world views. The Sadducees accepted Roman rule as long as the rituals of the Temple and the status of the priests went undisturbed. These, along with the aristocratic, wealthy and affluent, enjoyed the benefits of Roman rule and its protection. The moderate Pharisees, representing the majority of the population, were resentful of the Jewish loss of independence, yet averse to open rebellion which would arouse the wrath of the Roman authorities, burden the population and likely put it in grave danger. As long as Torah scholarship was allowed to continue and the Sanhedrin to operate, the moderate Pharisees, embodied by Beit Hillel

House of Hillel

The House of Hillel , also known as the Academy of Hillel, founded by the famed Hillel the Elder, is a school of Jewish law and thought that thrived in 1st century B.C.E.Jerusalem. The House of Hillel is most widely known for its hundreds of disputes with the Beit Shammai, founded by Shammai, a...

, opposed any rebellion.

As the tax burden increased and Roman contempt towards the sanctity of both Jerusalem and Temple became apparent, so did the strength of a new sect increase. The Zealots, radical Pharisees embodied by Beit Shammai

House of Shammai

The House of Shammai was the school of thought of Judaism founded by Shammai, a Jewish scholar of the 1st century...

, were dedicated to the restoration of Jewish independence and advocated open rebellion. In time their policies became increasingly extreme, their organization took on military form, and they managed to enlist the sympathies of the younger generation of the Pharisees and even some of the Sadducees.

The Essenes

Essenes

The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...

were a monastic cult that had apparently split from the Sadducees and retired from public life. Possibly spurned by the difficult social and political conditions, they set up desert communities where they maintained strict laws of purity and justice. Social anarchy and religious unrest led to a widespread belief in an approaching apocalypse

Apocalypse

An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...

, an "end of days". Other cults and sects sprung up as well, some with their own "prophet" or "messiah". Such were the Fourth Philosophy, a group mentioned by Josephus and related to the Zealots, the Boethusians

Boethusians

The Boethusians were a Jewish sect closely related to, if not a development of, the Sadducees.-Origins according to the Talmud:The post-Talmudic work Avot de-Rabbi Natan gives the following origin of the schism between Sadducees and Boethusians: Antigonus of Sokho having taught the maxim, "Be not...

, an offshoot of the Sadducees, and even Early Christianity

Early Christianity

Early Christianity is generally considered as Christianity before 325. The New Testament's Book of Acts and Epistle to the Galatians records that the first Christian community was centered in Jerusalem and its leaders included James, Peter and John....

. The corrupt Roman prefects and their oppressive conduct contributed to growing resistance and the prolification of extremist groups, such as the Sicarii

Sicarii

Sicarii is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, to an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots, who attempted to expel the Romans and their partisans from Judea using concealed daggers .-History:The Sicarii used...

, opposed not only to Roman rule but also to Sadducee and Pharisee moderates.

Even at these times, however, there were gentiles who were drawn to Judaism and some even settled in Judea. Best known of these was the royal house of Adiabene

Adiabene

Adiabene was an ancient Assyrian independent kingdom in Mesopotamia, with its capital at Arbela...

, Queen Helena

Helena of Adiabene

Helena of Adiabene was queen of Adiabene and wife of Monobaz I. With her husband she was the mother of Izates II and Monobaz II. She died about 56 CE. Her name and the fact that she was her husband's sister indicate a Hellenistic origin...

and her son Monobaz II

Monobaz II

Monobaz II or Monobaz bar Monobaz was the son of Helena of Adiabene and Monobaz I. Like his younger brother Izates bar Monobaz and his mother, Monobaz became a convert to Judaism. He ruled as king of Adiabene after the death of his brother Izates around 55 CE...

supposedly immigrating to Jerusalem and building palaces in the City of David. Monobaz II

Monobaz II

would later also render military assistance to the Jews in their revolt against the Romans, sending men to fight alongside the rebels. The "Tombs of the Kings"

Tombs of the Kings (Jerusalem)

The Tombs of the Kings are a collection of rock cut tombs in East Jerusalem, 820 meters north of the Old City "al-Quds" walls in Al-Shaykh Jarrah suburb ....

, an archaeological site north of the Old City, has been identified as the burial place of Queen Helena.

Urban Landscape

Urban Jerusalem of the early Roman period had two distinct precincts. The first emcompassed the regions within the "first wall", the City of David and the Upper City, and was heavily built up, though less so at its wealthy parts. The second, known as the "suburb" or "Bethesda

Pool of Bethesda

", lay north of the first and was sparsely populated. It contained that section of Jerusalem within the Herodian "second wall" (which was still standing), though it was itself surrounded by the new "third wall", built by king Agrippa I

Agrippa I

:
According to Josephus, Agrippa had intended to construct a wall at least 5 meters think, virtually impregnable to contemporary siege engines. Agrippa, however, never moved beyond the foundations, out of fear of emperor Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

"lest he should suspect that so strong a wall was built in order to make some innovation in public affairs." It was only completed later, to a lesser strength and in much haste, when the Great Revolt broke out and the defences of Jerusalem had to be bolstered. Nine towers adorned the third wall.

Revolt, civil war and destruction

A revolt erupted following the appointment of prefect Gessius Florus

Gessius Florus

Gessius Florus was the Roman procurator of Judea from 64 until 66. Born in Clazomenae, Florus was appointed to replace Lucceius Albinus as procurator by the Emperor Nero due to his wife's friendship with Nero's wife Poppaea...

in 64 CE and his demand to receive the Temple funds. It began in Jerusalem where it was led by local zealots who murdered and set fire to the house of the moderate high priest and a bonds archive in order to mobilize the masses. From Jerusalem the revolt then spread to the rest of the country, especially the mixed cities of Caesarea, Beit She'an and the Galilee

Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...

. Roman suppression of the revolt begun in the north, with an expeditionary force led by the Roman legate of Syria, Cestius Gallus

Cestius Gallus

Gaius Cestius Gallus was the son of a consul in ancient Rome and himself a suffect consul in 42.He was legate of Syria from 63 or 65. He marched into Judea in 66 in an attempt to restore calm at the outset of the Great Jewish Revolt...

, making its way to Jerusalem. Gallus failed to take the city and decided to withdraw. Pursued by rebel scouts, the Roman troops were ambushed in the Pass of Beth-Horon

Beth-horon

Bethoron was the name for two adjacent towns, Bethoron Elyon , and Bethoron Tahton , named for the Egypto-Canaanite deity Horon mentioned in Ugaritic literature and other texts...

, losing the equivalent of an entire legion. Gallus managed to escape but died shortly after.

A popular assembly was then convened in Jerusalem to formulate policy and decide upon a subsequent course of action. Dominated by the moderate Pharisees, including Shimon ben Gamliel

Shimon ben Gamliel

Simeon ben Gamliel was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He succeeded his father Gamliel I as the nasi of the Sanhedrin after his father's death in 50 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple...

, president of the Sanhedrin, it appointed military commanders to oversee the defence of the city and its fortifications. Leadership of the revolt was thus taken from the Zealots and given to the more moderate and traditional leadership of the Pharisses and Sadducees. Lacking sufficient military or administrative skills, these were not military leaders but rather the men deemed able to conclude a negotiated settlement with the Romans. During a brief period of renewed independence, indications are that Jerusalem enjoyed a sense of hope and prosperity. It minted its own coins and a new year count, beginning with its recent liberation, was initiated. This short-lived independence, however, was soon challenged by the Romans. In early 68 CE, Roman General Vespasian

Vespasian

Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...

landed at Ptolemais

Acre, Israel

Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....

and began suppression of the revolt with operations in the Galilee

Galilee

. By July 69 all of Judea but Jerusalem had been pacified and the city, now hosting rebel leaders from all over the country, came under Roman siege. A fortified stronghold, it may have held for a significant amount of time, if not for the intense civil war that then broke out between moderates and Zealots.

Simon Bar Giora

Simon Bar Giora

Simon bar Giora d. 70 CE, was a leader of revolutionary forces during the First Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century Judea.- History :...

and John of Giscala

John of Giscala

John of Giscala , was a leader of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War, and played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70....

, prominent Zealot leaders, placed all blame for the failure of the revolt on the shoulders of the moderate leadership. The Zealots resolved to prevent the city from falling into Roman hands by all means necessary, including the murder of political opponents and anyone standing in their way. There were still those wishing to negotiate with the Romans and bring a peaceful end to the siege. The most prominent of these was Yochanan ben Zakai

Yochanan ben Zakai

Johanan ben Zakai , also known as Johanan B. Zakkai was one of the tannaim, an important Jewish sage in the era of the Second Temple, and a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinical Judaism, the Mishnah. He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time...

, whose students smuggled him out of the city in a coffin in order to deal with Vespasian. This, however, was insufficient to deal with the madness that had now gripped the Zealot leadership in Jerusalem and the reign of terror it unleashed upon the population of the city. Josephus describes various acts of savagery committed against the people by its own leadership, including the torching of the city's food supply in an apparent bid to force the defenders to fight for their lives.

In the summer of 69 CE, Vespasian departed Judea for Rome and in December became Emperor. Command of the Roman legions passed to his son Titus

Titus

Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....

, who now managed the siege of Jerusalem. In the spring of 70 CE, Roman forces breached the "third wall", then the "second wall" and by summer had taken control of the Antonia. The Zealots still maintained control of the temple compound and the upper city, but on Tisha B'Av

Tisha B'Av

|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...

(August 10) 70 CE, Roman forces overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the temple. Jewish resistance continued but a month later the upper city was taken as well and the entire city burnt to the ground, save for the three towers of the Herodian citadel which Titus spared as testimony to the city's former might. According to Josephus, over a million people had died in the siege and subsequent fighting.

Persian Period

Political state

Social and religious state

Urban landscape

Hellenistic Period

Political state

Social and religious state

Urban landscape

Hasmonean Kingdom

Political state

Social and religious state

Urban landscape

Hasmonean walls and fortifications

Fortress palaces

Hasmonean Burial

Hasmonean Water Works

Herodian period

Political state

Social and religious state

Urban landscape

Herodian city walls

Herodian Citadels

Temple Mount

Other structures

Herodian water works

Roman Prefects, Procurators, and the Destruction of the Temple

Political state under the Prefects

Social and religious state

Urban Landscape

Revolt, civil war and destruction

See also