Great’s empire was broken up into several kingdoms one of which became
ruled by King Antiochus. The weakness of the foreign occupation enabled
the possibility for a successful rebellion against it. The Maccabeean revolt
was against Hellenistic domination. In order to establish autonomy, the
Maccabees employed the same tactics as any other conqueror in antiquity.
Judas Maccabee’s means included killing all males, plundering, taking spoils,
and burning and razing cities (1 Maccabees 5,6). The Maccabees imposed
Judaism on those people they conquered and forced them to pay taxes to
support the temple in Jerusalem (Kautsky 1925:259). The Hasmonians (the
Maccabees) were not and did not claim to be of the Davidic line. Judas
Maccabee sent envoys to Rome successfully persuading them to enter into
an alliance against the Greeks (1 Maccabees 9:21; Antiq 12.10.6). However,
the alliance was only temporary. For a short period of time (about 100 years,
165–63 BC), the Maccabees were able to establish semi autonomy. After the
Romans conquered the Greeks, Judea fell under their occupation.
Roman Occupation and the Emergence of Christianity
Christianity emerged in the context of a theocracy of the Jewish priests under
Roman occupation. In the Foundations of Christianity, Karl Kautsky looks at
the political and economic context in which Christianity emerged. Rodney
Stark (1997:29) in The Rise of Christianitypresents Kautsky’s position in one
sentence only to later dismiss it. He does not seriously engage it. Kautsky
explains the economic base of the Roman Empire. With the increasing efficiency
of agriculture, surpluses emerged which allowed increasing trade and the
development of an artisan class. This created the opportunity for the accu-
mulation of landed property and with it increasing inequality. This surplus
made it possible for some to engage in intellectual labor (Kautsky 1925:48–49).
Like most other empires in antiquity, the Roman Empire had a slave econ-
omy. Aside from the household, larger scale agricultural production as well
as mining used slaves (Kautsky 1925:50–52). The larger the concern, the worse
the condition of the slaves (Kautsky 1925:54). Slaves were obtained through
warfare (Kautsky 1925:56). Ancient Judea was a colony of the Roman Empire,
which exploited their colonies in two ways: usury and plundering (Kautsky
1925:86).
The idea of the Messiah, which is based on Moses and was prophesied as
the Son of Man, became embodied in Jesus. The “Son of Man” was Jesus’
Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity • 213