Jerusalem Revolt

Today we learned specifically about the revolts that took place in Jerusalem after Rome took over.  After Herod's death in 4 BCE, his kingdom was divided among three of Herod's sons.  The first son, Arachelaus, took control as the ethnarch of Judea.  He was highly ineffective, and ruled from 4 BCE all the way until he was exiled in 6 CE.  Herod's second son, Herod Antipas, took control as the tetrarach of Perea and Galilee, and ruled all the way from 4 BCE until he, too was exiled in 39 BCE.  The last son, Herod Philip, got kind of the bad end of the stick, as he was the tetrarch of Hurea and Trachonitis, ruling from 4 BCE all the way until his death in 34 CE.  He ruled the longest out of his three brothers.  Herodian rulers were gradually replaced by Roman procurators, executing direct Roman rule.  The most famous of these procurators is Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman governor who was best known for deciding on the trial of Jesus.  He was the only Roman governor that was mentioned in the Gospels.  He was known for being a highly ineffective, selfish ruler.  He was so terrible that the Romans recalled him off his throne back to Rome in 36 CE.  The Roman rulers were known for being very inexperienced and corrupt.  Consequently, there was growing Jewish nationalism and declining law and order, thus giving rise to the first Jewish Revolt.  During this time, the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by ruler Titus.  After the Temple was destroyed, there was again a renewed sense of cognitive dissonance that arose, causing Jews to feel a sense of uncertainty and loss of faith.  Ruler Titus built an arch in Rome to commemorate his victory over the Jews, also minting coins with the words "Judea Capta" engraved.  This eventually led to the second revolt, which took place from 132-135 CE.  During this time, Jews were forbidden to visit Jerusalem.  In addition, the emperor Hadrian punished the Jews, imposing a tax for only Jews to pay.  This forced the Jews to either deny their faith, avoiding the tax, or renouncing their faith, but paying taxes to the Romans.  Each way was a lose-lose situation for thew Jews.  In addition, the banishment of Jews from Jerusalem gave rise to the popularity of synagogues, localizing worship in things other than the Temple.