Description

This work is a highly interdisciplinary examination of Republican and early imperial policymaking in relation to Roman Jews and their cult. While there has been a modern presumption of early imperial favor toward first century Roman Jews, this author argues that under the emperor Claudius Roman Jewish life became practically impossible. Moreover, this came about not because of the supposed turbulence-prone character of Roman Jews but because of the combination of absolute imperial power with profoundly tendentious upper-class and imperial attitudes toward the Jewish cult in Rome. Scholars interested in Diaspora Judaism and/or Roman studies will clearly benefit from this book. It should also prove useful as a text for courses in Judaism and first century religious life in the Roman empire.