Judaea Falls under Roman Control

Tacitus

Histories 5.9.1–3

ca. 100–110

The first Roman to subdue the Jews and set foot in their temple by right of conquest was Gnaeus Pompey: thereafter it was a matter of common knowledge that there were no representations of the gods within, but that the place was empty and the secret shrine contained nothing. The walls of Jerusalem were razed, but the temple remained standing. Later…

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In this excerpt, the Roman historian Tacitus, who provides an overview of Roman rule in Judaea from Pompey (63 BCE) through the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE), notes that after Pompey first entered the Temple in Jerusalem, it became known that the Jewish Temple lacked any material representation of the Jewish God.

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