When Rome Ruled Palestine

by Norman Kotker

In the twelfth year of Emperor Tiberius's reign, a new Roman procurator was sent to the eastern Mediterranean to govern the subject land of Judaea. Some ten years later, he was removed from office for a misdeed and exiled to Gaul, where he may have committed suicide. The man, Pontius Pilate, could never have imagined that his name would be forever fixed in history through a minor event of those years in Palestine - his sentencing to death of an accused rebel, a Jew named Jesus. Palestine was the scene of great political, social, and religious upheaval in the two centuries surrounding the life of Jesus. The Romans under Pompey arrived as conquerors in 63 BCE. Not until CE 135, two centuries later, was Roman mastery of the troublesome Jewish homeland made complete. The Jews, inheritors and guardians of an ancient belief in a single, all-powerful God, were dispersed to many lands. The followers of Jesus, originally a minor sect within Judaism, eventually forged a powerful religion out of the belief that he was the Messiah. As different as they remain, Judaism and Christianity share a common reverence for the Old Testament and for the Holy Land, where Jesus once walked, and where, since 1948, the Jewish state of Israel has flourished. Here is the story of a land in ferment and the growth of these two faiths. It forms an absorbing and important historical chronicle.

94 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2016

Reviews

[Sekhar N Banerjee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not bad

A very sketchy history, sometimes too superficial to offer a distorted image. May be a good read for religious fanatics, but definitely , this book is not for history lovers.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light and easy reading; more of a recap of the New Testament than a history of Rome's occupation of Palestine.

[Bob · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was informative and did bring some insightful historical points that I had not read before. However, the lack of footnotes led me to believe most of the contact was conjecture and not facts. He cited several references at the end of book but several of the sources could be challenged for accuracy. Without cross referencing his sources, this book was of little factual value and more opinions.

[Ron W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book attempts to be a concise overview of Rome's occupation of what is today Palestine and Israel. It does a good job of it, but does leave out quite a bit of history, so it's certainly not suitable for a reader wishing to examine an in depth analysis of Roman occupation of the region over hundreds of years. It is nevertheless interesting.

[sherry revill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief History of Roman Oppression in the Holy Land

Quite a few of the questions I had as a Roman Catholic were answered by this book. It's a little on the brief side but the history it covers backs up the Old Testament and taught me things that were never covered in catechism class or RCIA, like Herod's insanity and the red for the Diaspora.

[George Sr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

SHORT, INACCURATE, AND SUPERFICIAL: If you know nothing about the subject, this book will inform. If, on the other hand, you have some knowledge of the Roman occupation of Judea/Palestine, you would be better served by more scholarly books, such as “The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule,” by Michael Avi-Yonah, or Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations,” by Martin Goodman.

[Jrb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to Christian beginnings

This is very light reading. It reads like a novel and will easily captivate your attention. I was researching on the beginnings of Christianity when I came across this book. Good enough for me.

[Sunny Welker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick overview. Found it interesting .

[Tine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was supposed to be a history book. Instead it is a lot of guesswork and the author is flat out wrong in several places. It reads a lot more like a historical fiction novel.

[gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am interested in Jewish history. This book covers many things about what happened in the area of Jerusalem during the Roman times.
I enjoyed all of it