How were the Jewish treated in roman times?

Answer 1

Another answer from our community:

In general, I would say the Jews were treated badly by the Romans, but then the Romans treated everyone badly, and most were treated worse than the Jews.

The ancient Romans destroyed the Jews in Israel because they were afraid of continuous uprisings. The Jews having been spread, however, were allowed to live pretty much as they wished in most times, and were not persecuted, despite the fact that the Jews also would not worship the emperors.

Answer 2

Badly!

The Jews were a tiny and oppressed minority. The Romans crucified thousands of Jews for no reason; the streets would literally be lined with rotting corpses.

This is a very one-sided answer. In fact, there was great variation in time and place. There was no attempt to stamp out the Jewish people. The Romans created an Empire which has been compared with the United States in its willingness to accept and integrate people from every race, culture and religion. --- However, after the revolt of Bar Kokhba, the Roman punishment was terrible (but no more so than upon other groups who tried to overthrow Roman rule -- read Howard Fast's novel Spartacus.) --- To get a true idea of how Jews were treated, refer to studies by modern academic historians. Anti-Roman (or anti-Jewish) polemics written at the time to make political points should be read with skepticism.

Answer 3

The worst crime in the Roman lexicon was revolt. As long as the Jews avoided making trouble, and paid their taxes, the Romans often left them alone. This, however, was punctuated by the occasional period of harsh persecution, whether in response to revolt or not; such as the depredations of Hadrian and others.

Later, after the time of Constantine, there were some persecutions based on the reason that the Jews didn't accept the state religion.

Answer 4

The Romans were rithless when the Jews rebelled.

In 66 there were clashes between Jews and Greeks in Judea. The Romans did not intervene. This caused anti-Roman protests which escalated into widespread anti-taxation protests and there were some attacks on Roman citizens. The Roman governor responded by breaching the Second (Jewish) Temple in Jerusalem, seizing some gold from the temple, and executing up to 6,000 Jews. This sparked the Great Revolt (66-73). The Romans overran Galilee. Then they besieged and then stormed Jerusalem. The the city and the Second Temple were destroyed . A great many people were killed and 97,000 war captives were taken to Rome to be sold as slaves.

The Bar Kohba rebellion occurred because the emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, renamed it Aelia Capitolina (after the name of his clan and the Roman God Jupiter Capitolinus) built a temple to Jupiter in the place of the Jewish Temple and forbade circumcision. After he suppressed the rebellion, Hadrian persecuted Judaism. He banned the Torah law and the Hebrew calendar and executed Judaic scholars. The sacred scroll was burned on the Temple Mount. Hadrian wanted to erase the memory of Judaea. He joined Judea with Galilee and renamed the two areas Syria Palaestina (Palaestina meant land of the Philistines). The Jews were forbidden from entering Jerusalem. During the war half a million Jews died and 50 towns and over 900 villages were destroyed.

Answer 5

During the pagan period, the Jews were well treated and their religion tolerated, in spite of incessant uprisings. Of course, Jewish uprisings were put down harshly, not because they were Jews but because Rome would not brook any challenge to its power. However, this changed when Christian emperors came to power.

Edward Gibbon (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) says that under the reign of Constantine and his Christian successors, the civil immunities which had been granted or confirmed by the pagan emperor Severus were gradually repealed; and a rash tumult, excited by the Jews of Palestine, seemed to justify the lucrative modes of oppression which were invented by the bishops and eunuchs of the imperial court.

Answer 6

Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, the two sons of the Jewish King Yannai (Johanan Hyrcanus, 1st century BCE), got the Romans involved in Judea when they asked them to settle a dispute. At first the Romans were cordial; and they actually became party to a military treaty with Judea (Talmud, Avodah Zara 8b). The Romans didn't interfere much in Jewish internal matters, because the main thing that they wanted was taxes and a quiet populace.
A couple of decades later, however, they unilaterally abrogated the treaty, and placed Roman governors over the land who afflicted the Jews with crushing taxation (Talmud, Yoma 9a).

In the first two centuries CE, things got worse, with the Romans destroying Jerusalem and the Second Temple after the Jewish Zealots attempted to revolt. The Romans sold hundreds of thousands of Jews into slavery (Josephus). From time to time they forbade the observance of the Torah-commands, and they killed several of the leading Sages, despite the fact that the Torah-leaders had advised against revolt (Talmud, Gittin 56a).

Later, Simeon Bar Kochba led a second revolt, in an ill-advised attempt to recreate the independent Judea. The Romans responded by destroying Betar.

See also:

Jewish history timeline

The Jews and the Romans

Answer 7

They were treated like s**t if its reffering to when Hitler was in power.

It was really hard for them during that time because there was nothing that could have been done!

Answer 8

the Romans persecuted and attacked the Jewish people because the emperors found them difficult to govern