Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

and Nikopolis, second-century-c.e.Neapolis is much better known. A

theater, a hippodrome, and a temple dedicated to Zeus on Tell er-Ras and

parts of the necropolis have been excavated. Caesarea Maritima continued

to flourish as governor’s seat and mercantile center, with the Latin pres-

ence becoming even more prominent. Soldiers built a new aqueduct and

repaired the old one. Tombstones and military diplomas attest many of the

auxiliary units stationed in the region along with theLegio X Fretensis,and

they provide prosopographic and administrative information. The first

governor of Judea after the conquest of Jerusalem, Sextus Lucilius Bassus,

governor from 71-73 and conqueror of Herodium, is mentioned in a frag-

mentary building inscription found in the vicinity of Abu Ghosh at the

Roman road from Joppa to Jerusalem. Lucilius Bassus also seems to be

named on a milestone reused as support for a pillar in an Umayyad palace.

In Jerusalem, many remains of the Herodian city were gradually re-

moved. Remains of the Temple were completely obliterated from the plat-

form, and large parts of thetemenos(Temple precinct) walls were torn down.

Herod’s palace on the western side of the city in today’s Armenian quarter

was completely razed to make room for the camp of theLegio X Fretensis.

Parts of the Ophel/City of David were used as a dump and a quarry. In other

areas, especially in the northwest and northeast, the Romans slowly began to

rebuild the city. Pottery workshops at the outskirts of Roman Jerusalem

mass-produced building material for the army, including tiles with the

stamp of the Legion. A bakery built into former shops at the southwestern

corner of the Temple Mount catered to the army. Roman soldiers introduced

cremation to the region. Although Jerusalem’s population gradually became

pagan, the city retained its old name, Hierosolyma, until 130/131c.e.Foreign

cults must have found their way into the city after 70c.e., providing the basis

for the second-century paganization under Hadrian.

Archaeological traces of a Jewish presence in the decades between the

two revolts are scant. Often tendencies and impulses from the late

Herodian period continued, such as the first display of the menorah on

lamps dating to the early second centuryc.e., and of grapes, fruit, and

other symbols. Similar designs were used on ossuaries.

The Diaspora between the Revolts

The First Revolt had little direct support from the Diaspora, and the devas-

tating uprisings in Egypt, Cyprus, Cyrenaica, and Mesopotamia during the

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jürgen k. zangenberg

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:14 PM