A Brief History of Palestine - PowerPoint Presentation

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A Brief History of Palestine Forged in Continuous ConflictWeek 4

Slides may be found at

www.wllc.org/adult-education.htmlSlide2

Palestine has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including the Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites,

Philistines

, Hyksos, Hittites,Tjekker, Ancient Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, early Muslims (Umayads, Abbasids, Seljuqs, Fatimids), Crusaders, later Muslims (Ayyubids, Mameluks, Ottomans), the British, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (1948–1967, on the "West Bank") and Egyptian Republic (in Gaza), and modern Israelis and Palestinians.Slide3

Last Time: The Exiles

734 B.C. Assyria invades Israel and begins deporting populace.

724 B.C. - Judah becomes Vassal of Assyria in return for Military Aid (2 Kings 16:7-9) . Assyria deports at least 27,290 Israelites.Sargon II repopulates with GentilesNo edit was ever issued for the return of the people of the Kingdom of Israel – Lost 10 Tribes605 B.C. Babylon defeats Assyria. 604 B.C. Exiles Jews to Babylonia.597 B.C. 2nd wave of deportation by Nebuchadnezzar 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem – destroys Temple of Solomon539 B.C. Exile ends – Cyrus the PersianSlide4

Last Time: Palestine Under the Persians and Greeks

539 B.C. Cyrus the Great of Persia defeats The Babylonians. Ends Captivity (Ezra

1:7)Jews prospered under Persian Rule which lasted until 332 B.C. when Alexander the Great defeats Darius II and takes the entire Persian Empire.Hellenization: The spread of Greek language and culture across the world.201 B.C. (Syrian Greeks) gain control168 B.C. Antiochus IV implements aggressive Hellenization (de-Judaization) Slide5

Last Time: The Maccabean RevoltHellenized Jews wanted to abolish Jewish practices and adopt Greek ways; opposed by Traditional Jews.

Attempted coup for office of High Priest.

Antiochus IV outlawed Jewish Religious Rites, ordered worship of Zeus164 B.C. Judah Maccabee drives out Seleucids, restores worship in Temple – celebrated as ChanukahUshers in 100 year period of Self-Rule until Roman occupation in 63 B.CMerger of Priesthood and Political Rule – Rise of the Sadducees, Pharisees, etc.Slide6

753 B.C. - Rome founded as a kingdom

509 B.C. - Start of Republic, period of expansion

209 B.C. - all of Italy under Roman rule264 B.C.-241 B.C. conquest of Sicily 1st Punic War218 B.C.-201 B.C. 2nd Punic War, Hannibal defeated 149 B.C. Macedonia under Roman Rule146 B.C. Carthage destroyed end of 3rd Punic War63 B.C. Syria made a province; Fall of Jerusalem44 B.C. Julius Caesar assassinated27 B.C. Octavian named Emperor Augustus Caesar

Rome – Quick HistorySlide7

Judea Under Roman Rule36 B.C. Herod appointed Client-King by Romans – Brutal madman; considered a “half-Jew”, Rebuilt the Temple.

4 B.C. Birth of Jesus

4 B.C. Herod the Great dies; Romans divide Kingdom; Archelaus became ethnarch of the tetrarchy of Judea, Herod Antipas became tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, and Philip became tetrarch of territories east of the Jordan.6 A.D. Judea becomes a Roman Province – Archelaus removed16 A.D. Pontius Pilate - 5th Prefect of Judea. 36 A.D. deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius18 A.D. Caiaphas - appointed High Priest of the Temple. 36 A.D. deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius30 A.D. Death of JesusSlide8

Judeans Under Roman Rule300 B.C. – 300 A.D. Greco-Roman period

Romans

keep Greek as Official language of EmpireJews allowed Religious FreedomJews exempt from serving in, or supporting, Roman ArmyJudeans taxed to pay for Herod’s building projectsJudeans include both Gentiles and Jews – Herod also built pagan templesMost Judeans never saw a Roman soldier in everyday lifePrefect kept his personal cohort at his residence in Caesarea on the coast. Only brought troops to Jerusalem once per year, at time of Passover.Passover recalls the freeing of the Jews from foreign oppression, but also looks ahead.Prefect had only two responsibilities: Keep peace and collect taxesSlide9

Comparison of Pagans and Jews

Pagans

JewsEthnic backgroundNon-SemiticSemiticReligionpolytheisticmonotheisticReligious BasisPractices and SacrificesPractices, Sacrifices, and partially text-based – TorahDevotionPeriodicContinuousSlide10

1st Century Jewish Sects

Pharisees

SadduceesEssenes4th PhilosophyFocusGenerate rules to enable Jews to better keep the LawSacrifices in the TempleIndividual purity,Separation from corrupt waysIsrael is the land given to Jews by God; foreigners must be expelledAll of the above agreed that the Law of Moses as set forth in the Torah must be followed

Disagreements were: which aspect were most important, and how the Law should be followed

Oddly enough, the only Pharisee to leave us any writing was Paul

Essenes formed their own communities (Qumran), shunned Jerusalem and the Temple as corrupt

Dead Sea Scrolls (Essene writings) discovered in 1946

Sadducees were the real power – they ran the Temple – they had the ear of the Roman Prefect

Sadducees left us no writings

Disastrously, 4th Philosophy (also known as Zealots) had its way in 70 A.D.Slide11

Pax Romana

27 B.C. – 180 A.D. A “miracle” never been so many centuries of widespread peace before

Not necessarily local peace, especially for Palestine and HispaniaSlide12

Jewish RevoltsJudaea was the stage of three major rebellions against Roman rule:66–70 A.D. - first rebellion, followed by the destruction of Herod's Temple and the siege of Jerusalem

(

Josephus) Josephus was commander of the rebels in Galilee. Vespasian crushed Josephus’ troops. 97,000 enslaved.115–117 A.D. - second rebellion, called Kito’s War, in Egypt, Libya, Judea, Cyprus, (Lukuas or Andreas) Spread to Mesopotamia and Syria; Jews expelled from Cypus 132–135 A.D. - third rebellion, Bar Kokhba's revolt (Simon Son of a Star); When ended, 580,000 Jews were dead (Cassius Dio) “Romans killed until the blood reached the nostrils of the horses” (Talmud)Following the suppression of Bar Kokhba's revolt, the emperor Hadrian changed the name of the province to Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem became Aelia Capitolina to erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the region. Jews forbidden to enter the city except for day of

Tisha

B’AvSlide13

Constantine the GreatConstantine (272 A.D. – 337 A.D.)

Declared Emperor in the West 306 A.D.

311 A.D. Edict of Toleration – with Licinius and Galarius grants and indulgence to the Christians. Christians, who had "followed such a caprice and had fallen into such a folly that they would not obey the institutes of antiquity", were granted an indulgence. "Wherefore, for this our indulgence, they ought to pray to their God for our safety, for that of the republic, and for their own, that the commonwealth may continue uninjured on every side, and that they may be able to live securely in their homes.“ (Eusebius, History of the Church)312 Battle of Milvian Bridge – “In this sign, conquer” Defeats Maxentius.313 A.D. Edict of Milan – He and Licinius agree to treat Christians benevolently.Defeats Licinius to reunite Empire by 324 A.D., after 1st split 380 A.D. Christianity made state religion by Theodosius I – Edict of

ThessalonicaSlide14

Roman Empire DividesNever regarded as 2 empires, just 2 administrative districts

Divides 3 times. 3rd time final.Empire in the West later falls under attacks by Visigoths, Huns, and VandalsLast attempt to reunite under Eastern Emperor Justinian failed. Slide15

Next Time: The Crusades