Carol Bakhos

Jerusalem’s religious identity evolved from a Roman colony into a Byzantine Christian center, despite Emperor Julian’s brief attempt to rebuild the Jewish Temple.

Primary sources and archaeological remains, such as inscriptions, document the earliest Jewish communal worship spaces.

Jewish clothing in the Roman era consisted mainly of wool or linen tunics and mantles made in accordance with Jewish law. Archaeological finds also include sandals, jewelry, tefillin, and personal items.

Jewish texts from late antiquity on labor, wealth, and poverty reflect a shift from the agrarian economy of the Bible to a more urban system of commerce.

Alexander’s conquest brought the Levant under Greek rule, influencing Jewish life for centuries. His death led to decades of regional war and power struggles among his successors, the Diadochi.

Using Greek and Greek literary forms, Jewish authors expressed Jewish themes and ideas.

Under Greek rule, Jews faced pressures to adopt Hellenistic language and culture, which some integrated and others resisted.

Amid his larger building program, Herod remade Jerusalem into a sprawling, overcrowded, and multilingual city.

Textual and archaeological sources from late antiquity shed light on shifts in identity, institutions, and interpretation.

Jews in Hellenistic Egypt adopted and adapted elements of Greek culture even as they retained their own Jewish traditions.

Conflicts between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties shaped ancient Judea and eventually led to the Hasmonean revolt. 

Knowledge of ancient Jewish history is derived from important collections of historical, literary, and religious material.

Ancient Jewish medical knowledge was embedded in theological texts such as the Talmuds and midrash.

The relationship between the Roman Empire and Judea was fraught from the start. Even as Herod aimed to unite Jews around a renovated Temple in Jerusalem, the incompatibility of the two cultures came to the fore, culminating in revolt.

The biblical festival of Shavuot marks the beginning of the wheat harvest. Ancient Jews debated the date of the festival, which came to be associated with revelation in both rabbinic and Christian tradition.

Ancient synagogues served as central hubs for Jewish prayer, study, and community life. Archaeological evidence and primary texts reveal the evolution of these sacred spaces from the Hellenistic era to Late Antiquity.

Rome's subjugation of Judea was characterized by shifts in Roman policy and major Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire. 

Jewish communities adapted to Christian and Sasanian rule through synagogue-centered life, new leadership models, and growing rabbinic and liturgical traditions.

The Persian period was a time of great change for Jews, both within and beyond the province of Yehud.

Trace the causes and battles of the First Jewish Revolt, from the siege of Jerusalem to the destruction of the Temple and the fall of Masada.

After leading a revolt against the Seleucids, the Hasmoneans assumed the priesthood, formed a monarchy, and expanded their territory and cultural reach.

Led by Mattathias and his sons, the Hasmonean Revolt was a rebellion against Antiochus IV and his efforts to suppress Jewish ancestral practices.

After the Hasmonean Revolt, Jonathan and Simon establish a short-lived independent Judean kingdom, eventually brought down by a succession crisis and Roman intervention.

Sabbath observance served as a key Jewish identity marker in antiquity. Beyond refraining from labor, early Jews organized their lives around a seven-day week involving shared meals, study, and synagogue visits.

When a husband suspected his wife of being unfaithful, the Torah provided instructions on how to either confirm or assuage his suspicions. In time, the rabbis determined the practice was no longer tenable. 

A wide variety of textual and material sources illuminate the emergence of Jewish culture.

Shifts in the geography of Jewish settlement led to the emergence of new population centers.