The Roman Conquest of Judea

The period of Roman control over Judaea began in 63 BCE, when Pompey besieged Jerusalem and conquered Judaea as part of his larger project of annexing what remained of the Seleucid-controlled East. Pompey’s involvement in the region began in the midst of the war between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II over succession to the throne of Judaea (see “Queen Salome Alexandra” and “Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II”). Both brothers sought his backing. Pompey ultimately sided with Hyrcanus and appointed him both high priest and ethnarch as a reward for his enthusiastic support. (On these titles, see COMMUNAL ORGANIZATION AND LEADERSHIP.)

Pompey’s siege of Jerusalem and entry into the Temple are described in detail by Josephus, and aspects of these events are also mentioned in the works of the Roman orator Cicero, the Greek historian Appian, and the Roman historian Tacitus. Although Josephus acknowledges that Pompey’s exposure of the holy of holies was painful for Jews, he states that Pompey did not take any of the Temple’s riches and that he immediately allowed the Temple to be purified and the sacrificial rites resumed. This could very well be construed as evidence of the author’s apologetic tone toward his Roman benefactors, even though the writings of Cicero and Tacitus also note that the Temple was not plundered. In contrast, the Roman historian Dio Cassius, in Roman History 37.16.4, relates that Pompey plundered the Temple treasury. Writing in the second century CE, Appian, unlike other sources, states that Pompey destroyed Jerusalem.