{N}THE ROMAN EMPIRE{/}

{K}ROMAN INTERVENTION (64){/}
For some years the Roman Empire had been in full expansion and had made a foothold in the Middle East. Nevertheless, at this same moment a power struggle developed in Rome that would bring the Republic to its end. The rivalries between the conservative party and the party of the people led to bloody confrontations and numerous banishments over a period of six years (88-82). New disagreements brought Silas and Pompey into opposition with one another. Silas became very uneasy about the very rapid promotion of a young general whom he himself had previously supported.
At this time the East again threatened Rome. The barbarian Thracians infiltrated into Macedonia. On the frontier with Bithynia , Mithridates again raised a threat supported by his son in law, the king of Armenia. Finally, pirates who frequented the southern coast of Asia Minor intercepted cargo ships carrying wheat from Egypt to supply Rome. Pompey was the most logical person to confront this triple threat, but the Senate feared him. Finally they had to capitulate to the demands of this young general. Pompey was granted the high command of the navy and of land troops up to 70 Kms. from the coast. He sailed with 500 ships and 20 legions under his command.

{K}POMPEY IN THE EAST{/}
In less that three months Pompey had put an end to the forays of the pirates and destroyed their fortified cities. He then reorganized this region as the Province of Cilicia (67). Then he conquered Mithridates and transformed his kingdom into the Roman Province of Pontus. After that he turned toward Syria. The waning Seleucid Empire was an easy prize for the Parthians. If these traditional enemies of Rome could take command of the Syrian-Palestine corridor, they would have an open door to the Mediterranean. With the same blow they would cut the land bridge connecting Egypt with the Roman provinces of Asia Minor. The risk was very great. Pompey then sent Aemilius Scaurus to reconnoiter the situation. When the legate arrive in Palestine he took the side of Aristobulus in his conflict with his brother John Hyrcanus. 
Having been advised by his emissary, the Roman general went to Syria where he took control without fighting a single battle. Then he turned it into a Roman province. From there he turned toward Jerusalem. He was approached on one side by Antipater, Hyrcanus II, and Aretas of Nabatea, and by Aristobulus on the other, each asking him to arbitrate their conflict. However, since Pompey did not declare himself for one party or the other, Aristobulus took the initiative and captured Jerusalem and made it his fortress. Pompey reacted immediately, ordering Aretas to return to Nabatea, then he himself marched on Jerusalem where Aristobulus had dug himself in with his men. After three months siege he stormed the city, savagely laying it waste. Pompey, as if indifferent to what had just happened, visited the Temple like a tourist, even entering the Holy of Holies. And just as had happened in the days of Nebuchadnezzar when the destruction of the sanctuary was viewed by pious Jews at that time as a punishment for Israel's infidelities, so Jews at this time believed that this present divine punishment resulted from the scandalous behavior of the Hasmonean high priests.

{K}A NEW DEAL OF THE CARDS{/}
Pompey reorganized the region. He confirmed Hyrcanus in his role as high priest, but limited his authority to {N}Judea{/}, Galilee, and Perea in Transjordan. He took away the coastland cities, placing them directly under the jurisdiction of the provincial roman governor. He made Samaria an autonomous jurisdiction and formed into a confederation the cities of Abila, Canatha, Hippos, Gadara, Dion, Pella, Amatonte, Gerasa, Philadelphia, and Scythopolis (the only one located on the west bank of the Jordan). This confederation of ten free cities took the name of {N}Decapolis{/} [Mk_5,20]. Pompey entrusted the rule of the entire territory of Syria-Palestine to Aemilius Scaurus and returned to Rome in the year 61 BC. He had already sent Aristobulus and his two sons there as hostages.
Four years later Gabinius, the procurator of Syria, divided the territories entrusted to Hyrcanus into five districts which he placed directly under the provincial government. Sepphoris was then designated as the principal city of the district of Galilee.

{K}BETWEEN POMPEY AND CAESAR, MARK ANTHONY AND OCTAVIAN{/}
Upon returning to Rome,  Pompey celebrated his triumphs with a splendor never before seen. It was at that time that Caesar returned from Spain. Since the conflicts that continued to disturb the city now threatened to erupt into civil war, the two leaders aligned themselves with Cressus, a very wealthy man, to form the first triumvirate in an attempt to save the Republic. While Pompey was reestablishing order in the capital, Caesar was called to Gaul, where he remained eight years. When he returned, the triumvirate fell apart and civil war broke out, this time between him and Pompey. The latter sought refuge in the East where he had supporters. All during this time Hyrcanus and his loyal Antipater supported Pompey. However the day following the battle of Pharsalus (48 BC), Pompey fled to Egypt where he was assassinated. With that, Hyrcanus and Antipater threw their allegiance to Caesar in his Egyptian campaign. Caesar accepted their recognition and granted important privileges to the Jewish community. He gave Hyrcanus the title of ethnarch and ally of the Romans, and named Antipater prefect of Judea. In this capacity Antipater conceded the rule over Jerusalem to his son Phasael, whereas to his other son, the future Herod the Great, he entrusted Galilee. With the assassination of Caesar in 44 BC, opposing forces realigned themselves thus forming a new configuration. In a first move Mark Anthony and Octavian united to snatch away the East from Caesar's assassins.

{K}ANOTHER CHANGE IN THE FRONT{/}
The conniving Antipater and his sons pursued their fortunes amid the storms that shook the Roman Republic. Mark Anthony and Octavian crushed Caesar's assassins at the battle of Philippi whereupon the two proceeded to divide up the Roman world between them. Octavian took Italy and Spain. Mark Anthony received all of Gaul and appropriated the East where he would have to mount a new expedition against the Parthians. In this context it was important for Hyrcanus and his followers to cultivate his relations with Mark Anthony who resided permanently in Egypt. When the Parthians invaded the Province of Syria (40 BC) Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, supported them as a way to revenge the treatment that his father had received at the hands of Hyrcanus II. The Parthians took Hyrcanus prisoner and handed him over to Antigonus who cut off his ears. Mutilated in this way, Hyrcanus could no longer function as high priest. Antigonus immediately appointed himself to that position which he held until 37 BC.
Threatened by the Parthian invasion, Herod fled to Rome. There he ingratiated himself so successfully with Mark Anthony and Octavian that the Senate named him King of the Jews. However, at that moment his reign was in the hands of the Parthians and was the object of fratricidal quarrels among the descendants of Salome Alexandra. With the support of Mark Anthony Herod proposed to reconquer his kingdom. In the meantime, however, Mark Anthony and Octavian had become enemies. Octavian won a declaration of war from the Senate against Mark Anthony and Cleopatra. He became master of the situation when he defeated them at the battle of Actium (31 BC). 
Desiring to reestablish order and peace, Octavian accepted the submission of Mark Anthony's supporters and they returned to him. Herod was one of them and his act of submission is eloquently described by Flavius Joseph. The new King of the Jews went to Octavian to publicly ask for pardon. He cast his crown on the ground, saying that he was no longer worthy to it. However, he went out wearing that crown with which Octavian himself crowned him. Herod also received Jericho and the coastal cities which Mark Anthony had ceded to the queen of Egypt.

{K}ROME: AN ABSOLUTE POWER{/}
The political and social crisis that undermined Rome since the beginning of the century, the civil wars, and the collapse of its institutions had disillusioned Roman society. The majority hoped that some providential leader would eventually arise to put an end to the chaos. Octavian, convinced that he was the leader that all awaited, wasted no effort to take that responsibility. Rome, however, had its traditions and its phobias. Therefore, it was necessary that the race for power not appear as a going back to the time of the kings. The assassination of Caesar was a severe warning to anyone daring to attempt that. Octavian advanced cautiously on his path toward absolute power. He made every effort to appear to respect the institutions of the Republic. In fact, he seemed almost reluctant to accept the honors and powers that were conferred on him.
In the year 43 BC his legions proclaimed him Emperor after his first victory over Mark Anthony, then in 40 he attached this title definitively to his name. In the year 29 he was proclaimed Savior of the state and the Arch of Triumph was erected in the forum in his honor. In 28 he received the title of Leader of the Senate which gave him the right to be the first to speak in Senate debates. On the 16 TH of January in 27 he received the title of {N}Augustus{/} (that is, Divine), which from then on he would use as his family name.
Augustus did not neglect the religious aspect of this process. If the gods were involved in the failures of humans, they were also active in their successes. Octavian always considered himself to be predestined to rule. He was cousin of the Divine Julius (Julius Caesar), and his mother according to some was a descendent of the goddess Venus on the side of her father. Everything was destined for him to receive a number of priestly honors. He was elected Pontifex Maximus in the year 12 BC.

{K}THE EMPEROR'S REFORMS{/}
Augustus refused to make new conquests. He was more interested in strengthening existing borders and in pacifying those provinces that had rebelled. In the context of a broad reform, he withdrew a specific number of provinces from the Senate's jurisdiction. These were, in general, rebellious provinces or those that had been most recently annexed. In the future these would be governed by a {N}legate{/} who reports exclusively to the emperor. One day this would include Syria-Judea. The legate was assisted by a procurator for financial affairs.
Along with the provinces, Rome controlled a number of "allied kingdoms" whose kings were appointed or deposed at the disposition of the emperor. He reserved the right to intervene whenever the interests or security of the empire appeared to be threatened. The kingdom of Herod the Great belonged to this last category.

{K}HEROD THE GREAT{/}
Herod was foreign to the Hasmonean dynasty, although he had been educated in the court of Hyrcanus II to whom Herod's father had given his full support. In order to remedy this weakness, Herod chose his second wife from this lineage, Mariamme. She was the granddaughter of both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Since Herod was not a descendent of Aaron, he could not aspire to become high priest. He appointed a certain Hananel to this position. Later however he acceded to the pressures of his wife's family and substituted his young brother in law, Aristobulus III, in that position. Herod was possessed by vicious jealousy and criminal suspicion which drove him to decimate those of Hasmonean lineage. The year after having named Aristobulus as high priest, he had him drowned in the swimming pool of his palace in {N}Jericho{/}. Six years later, in the year 29 BC, he eliminated his wife, Mariamme and his mother in law, Alexandra. In his old age he ordered the death of his two sons by Mariamme. Shortly before his death he also eliminated another son that he had by his first wife Doris.

{K}GRECO-ROMAN MODEL{/}
Contrary to the policy of the Hasmoneans, King Herod did not impose circumcision on the important non-Jewish population of his kingdom. In fact his preferences were with Hellenistic culture which he admired greatly and whose most eminent representatives he gladly welcomed.
This admiration inspired a great program of constructions which attract admiration even today for their grandeur and quality. In less that thirty years he raised up {N}Caesarea{/} Maritima from mere dunes to become his port and royal city. He reconstructed Samaria which he rebaptized with the name of Sebaste (in honor of Augustus). He reinforced the Hasmonean citadel of Jerusalem. He completely reconstructed the building and surroundings of the {N}Temple{/} on whose north side he constructed the Fortress Antonia. He either constructed or restored six fortresses near the Dead Sea (among which Herodium, {N}Masada{/}, and Maquaerus should be included) not to mention the palaces of {N}Jericho{/} and many other buildings both within and outside of his kingdom.
These public works won him the esteem of the Greek population of his kingdom, but they scandalized pious Jews. Just as in the time of Antiochus IV, these theaters, gymnasiums, race tracks, and other public buildings were in their opinion just springboards for the expansion of paganism which became even more evident in the many temples that Herod constructed throughout his kingdom.
It was also during the reign of Herod the Great that an event took place about two years before his death to which certainly no publicity of the period was given, since it was so insignificant in the eyes of its contemporaries. The Wisdom of God is foolishness in the eyes of humans, namely that in a humble little village of Judea the Virgin Mary gave birth to a child whom she had conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus, the Son of God and Savior. In this way the promise that had been made to Abraham and recalled by the prophets and preserved by the poor of Israel would be completely fulfilled at the end of a history that is as rich as it is dramatic.
