Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Knopf (2007), Edition: First, 624 pages
Description
A magisterial history of the titanic struggle between the Roman and Jewish worlds that led to the destruction of Jerusalem. Martin Goodman--equally renowned in Jewish and in Roman studies--examines this conflict, its causes, and its consequences with unprecedented authority and thoroughness. He delineates the incompatibility between the cultural, political, and religious beliefs and practices of the two peoples and explains how Rome's interests were served by a policy of brutality against the Jews. At the same time, Christians began to distance themselves from their origins, becoming increasingly hostile toward Jews as Christian influence spread within the empire. This is the authoritative work of how these two great civilizations collided and how the reverberations are felt to this day.--From publisher description.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member maimonedes
I read this book because of my particular interest in the history of the Land of Israel, with the hope of finding some new insights into the 700-year conflict between Rome and the Jews, that started with Pompey’s conquest of Judea in 67 BCE and continued through the Roman imperial and Byzantine
The book’s prologue gives an excellent summary of the great Jewish revolt against Rome in 67 AD and the subsequent war, which ended (more or less) with the siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in the year 70. The author then takes up the story again in part three of the book (chapter 11) with the immediate aftermath of the war, the two subsequent Jewish revolts against imperial Rome (115 and 132 AD) , and the subsequent relationships between the successors of Rome - the Byzantine empire and the Church – and the Jews.
In between, these two accounts (chapters 1 through 10), the author provides in exhaustive detail a profile of the two peoples and societies. After a three-chapter overview, he covers in the second part of the book a series of specific topics – identities, communities, perspectives, lifestyles, government, and politics – in a level of detail that far exceeded my needs or expectations. For each topic, he deals first with the Romans and then with the Jews, pointing out any similarities and contrasts between them. Throughout this systematic methodology, the author does not highlight the relevance of any of these detailed comparisons to the causes or the progress of the conflict, with the effect of creating (for this reader) a somewhat numbed impatience. Nor does this detail seem to be necessary for appreciating the the hoped-for insights, that are certainly to be found in the book.
When you read about the great revolt from the point of view of Jewish history, you hardly stop to think about Vespatian’s transformation, from Roman general in charge of putting down the revolt in 67 to emperor in 69 – except insomuch as the pause in the Roman assault that accompanied Vespatian’s withdrawal to Alexandria provided an opportunity for the Jews to regroup in Judea after their setbacks in the Galilee in the early part of the war. Goodman provides a detailed description of what was actually a civil war in Rome, the year of the 3 emperors (68) and Vespatian’s eventual coup that left him in the imperial seat. He points out that Vespatian - up to that point “an obscure senator of mediocre talent and minimal prestige” - needed to give his claim the kind of legitimacy that mattered to the Roman populace – a victory over foreigners. Hence his instruction to his son Titus to prosecute the war as rapidly and comprehensively as possible, so that he would be able to preside over a triumph in Rome. “Titus had his eye less on Jerusalem than on Rome, and the need to to proclaim to the population …that his father, the new emperor.. was not a thuggish nonentity propelled to power by a slaughter of Roman citizens in civil conflict, but a hero of the Roman state who had won victory in Judea.”
The destruction of the Temple in 70 – a state that has existed from then until the present day – is such an existential feature of Jewish consciousness, that it does not occur to ask the question which Goodman addresses “Why did the Romans not permit the subsequent re-building of the temple ?” Judaism, after all was – unlike Christianity until Constantine – a “permitted” religion. Throughout the Roman empire, temples were – sometimes deliberately, sometimes by accident – destroyed and rebuilt all the time. Why not the Jewish temple ? In addition to raising the issue – an insight for this reader by and of itself – the author attempts to answer this question with an extended perspective of the motives and needs of the Flavian dynasty – Vespatian, Titus, Domitian – and the continuation of their oppressive policy towards the Jews by Trajan. Although this may not provide a definitive answer , it does give essential background to understanding the subsequent conflicts – the “War against Quietus” of 115 and the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-5.
Goodman also has a point of view on the well-aired question of whether Josephus’ contention that Titus did not intend the temple to be destroyed should be taken at face value or not (he thinks it should); and throughout the latter part of the book, he provides similarily valuable gloss on the perspectives of Josephus and other ancient historians.
This was a worthwhile read; however, it would have been a much shorter and more accessible book if some of the mass of detail in its central chapters had been better harnessed in service of its core theme, the conflict between Rome and Jerusalem.
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periods, until the Muslim conquest of The Holy Land in 638. With his eminence in the fields of both Roman studies and Jewish studies, the author seems uniquely well-placed to shed light on this.The book’s prologue gives an excellent summary of the great Jewish revolt against Rome in 67 AD and the subsequent war, which ended (more or less) with the siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple in the year 70. The author then takes up the story again in part three of the book (chapter 11) with the immediate aftermath of the war, the two subsequent Jewish revolts against imperial Rome (115 and 132 AD) , and the subsequent relationships between the successors of Rome - the Byzantine empire and the Church – and the Jews.
In between, these two accounts (chapters 1 through 10), the author provides in exhaustive detail a profile of the two peoples and societies. After a three-chapter overview, he covers in the second part of the book a series of specific topics – identities, communities, perspectives, lifestyles, government, and politics – in a level of detail that far exceeded my needs or expectations. For each topic, he deals first with the Romans and then with the Jews, pointing out any similarities and contrasts between them. Throughout this systematic methodology, the author does not highlight the relevance of any of these detailed comparisons to the causes or the progress of the conflict, with the effect of creating (for this reader) a somewhat numbed impatience. Nor does this detail seem to be necessary for appreciating the the hoped-for insights, that are certainly to be found in the book.
When you read about the great revolt from the point of view of Jewish history, you hardly stop to think about Vespatian’s transformation, from Roman general in charge of putting down the revolt in 67 to emperor in 69 – except insomuch as the pause in the Roman assault that accompanied Vespatian’s withdrawal to Alexandria provided an opportunity for the Jews to regroup in Judea after their setbacks in the Galilee in the early part of the war. Goodman provides a detailed description of what was actually a civil war in Rome, the year of the 3 emperors (68) and Vespatian’s eventual coup that left him in the imperial seat. He points out that Vespatian - up to that point “an obscure senator of mediocre talent and minimal prestige” - needed to give his claim the kind of legitimacy that mattered to the Roman populace – a victory over foreigners. Hence his instruction to his son Titus to prosecute the war as rapidly and comprehensively as possible, so that he would be able to preside over a triumph in Rome. “Titus had his eye less on Jerusalem than on Rome, and the need to to proclaim to the population …that his father, the new emperor.. was not a thuggish nonentity propelled to power by a slaughter of Roman citizens in civil conflict, but a hero of the Roman state who had won victory in Judea.”
The destruction of the Temple in 70 – a state that has existed from then until the present day – is such an existential feature of Jewish consciousness, that it does not occur to ask the question which Goodman addresses “Why did the Romans not permit the subsequent re-building of the temple ?” Judaism, after all was – unlike Christianity until Constantine – a “permitted” religion. Throughout the Roman empire, temples were – sometimes deliberately, sometimes by accident – destroyed and rebuilt all the time. Why not the Jewish temple ? In addition to raising the issue – an insight for this reader by and of itself – the author attempts to answer this question with an extended perspective of the motives and needs of the Flavian dynasty – Vespatian, Titus, Domitian – and the continuation of their oppressive policy towards the Jews by Trajan. Although this may not provide a definitive answer , it does give essential background to understanding the subsequent conflicts – the “War against Quietus” of 115 and the Bar Kochba revolt of 132-5.
Goodman also has a point of view on the well-aired question of whether Josephus’ contention that Titus did not intend the temple to be destroyed should be taken at face value or not (he thinks it should); and throughout the latter part of the book, he provides similarily valuable gloss on the perspectives of Josephus and other ancient historians.
This was a worthwhile read; however, it would have been a much shorter and more accessible book if some of the mass of detail in its central chapters had been better harnessed in service of its core theme, the conflict between Rome and Jerusalem.
Show Less
LibraryThing member davidpwithun
This book was not only an excellent comparison and contrast of the Greco-Roman pagan world with that of early Judaism, but also a great introduction to the first century Mediterranean world in general, explaining very well the cultural contexts out of which Christianity and post-Temple Judaism both
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grew. The only two faults I can find with the book are: 1. there is not enough discussion of the repercussions of the relationship between Greco-Roman pagans and ancient Jews on the Middle Ages and the modern world and 2. the author portrays the break between Judaism and Christianity as a little too clean, perhaps presupposing much later forms of Christianity (Scholastic Roman Catholicism and Protestantism) and tries just a little too hard to show the Christian Roman Empire as inherently antisemetic (for instance: how is a law issued by St. Constantine which gave the death penalty to Jews who stone Christians antisemetic? seems simply sensible to me). Overall, great book; I do recommend. Show Less
LibraryThing member PaolaF
Hugely informative and interesting! Maybe it gets a little bogged down in detail in some places - it's not a quick read! - but as a relative newcomer to this period in history, I very much enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member vguy
His main point: origin of antisemitism almost an accident, a by product of new emperor Vespasian's need to have a victory to prove his credentials. This followed on equally random acts of incompetence by Roman military leaders on the ground in Judea. The anti- Jewish stance then maintained by
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subsequent emperors (with 1 or 2 exceptions) and then picked up and magnified by Constantine and the Church. Previously Jews had just been another minority religion within the Empire and tolerated as such. Convincing case but seems amazing that something so long-lasting and intense should have such shallow roots. The main bulk of the book is more a cultural comparison of the Roman and Jewish world-views, more info than I really wanted. I personally felt much more at home in the pre-Christian Graeco-Roman world, with its scepticism and love of pleasure and the arts; the Jewish world felt disturbingly like fundamentalist America or, unsurprisingly, settler/orthodox Israel today. Show Less
LibraryThing member zen_923
This is a Well-written account of the similarities and differences as well as the history of both cities. The book gives plenty of interesting information as well as good pictures in an engaging manner. I bought this book expecting a history of the jewish revolt against Rome but it gave me so much
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more. This book is highly-recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member la2bkk
A well researched and comprehensive analysis of the history of Roman-Jewish relations from the first century BC through the third century A.D. The author is commendably objective in his presentation of both sides of these often complex relations over time. This is a complicated yet highly
I would have rated this book far higher except for the fact that it contains a significant amount of minutia that does not move the story forward in a compelling fashion. To the contrary, much of the middle section of the work bogs down and can become a bit tedious.
Recommended for those with a particular interest in this fascinating period- but be prepared for a substantial time commitment. As for those with a more general interest, there are probably better books out there.
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informative work.I would have rated this book far higher except for the fact that it contains a significant amount of minutia that does not move the story forward in a compelling fashion. To the contrary, much of the middle section of the work bogs down and can become a bit tedious.
Recommended for those with a particular interest in this fascinating period- but be prepared for a substantial time commitment. As for those with a more general interest, there are probably better books out there.
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LibraryThing member stillatim
This is exhausting stuff--Goodman knows a lot about this period, and he has put it all in this book, which would have been better served divided in two, or perhaps three. The 'comparison' stuff is unhelpful; saying 'the Roman political system was like this, and the Hasmonean political system was
Having said all of that, it'll be a great reference work if I ever need to look up something about the second temple era, the end of it, or even early imperial Roman history.
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like that' over and over, just subbing out 'political system' for something else gets very tedious, very quickly. I read it because Goodman's history of Judaism was very, very good, and because I'm teaching some stuff in this vague arena this semester, so I thought it would be useful. It was not. The imbecilic subtitle doesn't help, but I'm sure that was the publisher's fault. I blame the editor for the generally low standard of prose; again, Goodman can do better, as his more recent big book shows. Having said all of that, it'll be a great reference work if I ever need to look up something about the second temple era, the end of it, or even early imperial Roman history.
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Subjects
Original language
English
Physical description
624 p.; 6.65 inches
ISBN
0375411852 / 9780375411854