Byzantine Jerusalem

With the rise of Jesus and the oncoming wave of Christianity, the Temple slowly became rejected as religion became much more spiritual. In addition, many of the prophets, such as Mark and Luke, began to claim that Jesus was predicting events that later occurred, such as the Temple's destruction. These same prophets claim that Jerusalem was the place where Jesus is said to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected, highlighting its importance to Christianity.

In an attempt to drive out Judaism, the Roman Empire had turned Jerusalem into a "Roman town" and named it Aelia Capitolia. During this same stage, the Roman Empire was divided into a tetrarchy from which Constantine arose as the sole leader of the Roman Empire. Constantine was an avid follower of Christianity and released the Edict of Milan which legalized Christianity. It is arguable that Constantine forever changed Christianity from a pacifist religion to one of aggression. Constantine's mother, Helena, was the first Christian pilgrim and started a religious practice that has lasted until today. In 391 BCE, Theodosius names Christianity the state religion and begins to persecute those who do not believe.

The Madaba Map is a mosaic on a church floor that is seen as very important because it is an accurate map of Jerusalem. One of the things it depicts is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which became the axis mundi of the Christian religion and the new location of many of the Old Testament events.

Roman / Herodian Jerusalem

In 63 BCE, Pompey conquered Jerusalem and annexed it for Rome. Following Pompey was the rise of Herod the Great and his violent methods of taking control of Galilee, Samaria, and Idumea, and finally Jerusalem in 37 BCE. Herod's knowledge of the Jewish tradition helped him conquer Jerusalem without the Jews rebelling. Herod the Great was known as a very effective yet paranoid and impulsive ruler. He was obsessed with building projects (such as the Western Wall, additions to the Temple Mount, Robinson's Arch, the Hippodrome, and the Herodian) and consistently did things for the good of Rome, not Jerusalem.

Herod still felt strongly that the Jewish religion should be cherished, as was evidenced from the Temple warning to gentiles to not pass into the Temple. There is lots of debate as to whether or not Herod the Great was a good or bad king. He was only half Jewish and constantly worked for the Romans, yet his building projects provided jobs for the citizens of Jerusalem and his policies often favored the Jewish religion over others.

Hasmonean Jerusalem

Hasmonean Jerusalem began with the end of the Hellenistic Period, known as the Maccabean revolt. The Jews regained control of both Jerusalem and the Temple.  In addition, they began to resume sacrificial and religious practices and Jewish rule was finally re-instated for the first time in centuries. Finally, the holiday Hanukkah was celebrated to celebrate the Jewish victory and the wonders of the Jewish faith. This new Jewish self-rule, which claimed to restore the "Golden Age" and rebuild Jerusalem that was more akin to the kingdom of David and Solomon, lasted about a century. Although the leaders claimed to strive for Jewish ideals and Jewish rule, they quickly became corrupt and began to re-instate Hellenization.

Religious purity became a necessity as native populations were exiled and all foreigners were forced to convert. In addition, a new "Temple Tax"clarified the importance of the Jewish religion. The Promise to David was redirected for the Priests. Finally, another conflict between groups arose between the Sadducees vs. the Pharisees which basically encompassed the priests and aristocracy vs. the common priests and leaders. The end of the Hasmoneans came ultimately with the failure of the last Hasmonean leaders and then the Roman Conquest in 63 BCE by Pompey.

Hellenistic Jerusalem

The Hellenistic period is documented by the Apocrypha and by the historian Josephus. The Hellenistic period began with Alexander the Great's conquests and reached the "Palestine" area in about 333 BCE. The High Priest began to oversee administrative and religious affairs. After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, there was a division of the kingdom between the Ptolemies (Egyptians) and the Seleucids (Syrians). During this period, the Greek "polis" or city structure was developed in Jerusalem. The gymnasium became a center of social and intellectual life, largely replacing the Temple. Hellenization affected Jerusalem's architecture, coinage, house wares, language, philosophy, religion, recreation, and much more. Even the Bible is translated into Greek and features some lines of Greek within the passages.

Antiochus III of hte Seleucids took control of Palestine from the Ptolemies and resisted the conservative High Priest Onias III. Similarly, Antiochus IV thoroughly Hellenized Jerusalem, deposes Onias III, and gives the High Priest position to his brother Jason. He also suppressed Jewish resistance and religion by blatantly disobeying their traditions and looting the Temple, among other methods. The Jewish population received Hellenization in different ways. Some welcomed it, while the more conservative Jews resisted. These opinions led to many conflicts and eventually a large revolt broke out. 

Persian Jerusalem

The Persian Period occurred during the first part of the Second Temple Period, or approximately from 539 to 333 BCE with the coming of Alexander the Great. Biblical literature supports the occurrences in this period, as do archaeological excavations. One important prophet from this period is the prophet Ezekiel who while exiled in Babylon predicted a "mobile god", a journey back to Jerusalem, and finally the construction of another temple that would bring utopian messianism. Ezekiel also reintroduces the new throne of God as being mobile and not tied to a specific place like the Ark of the Covenant had been. The disappearance of the Ark as a whole is an unsolved mystery.

An important character from the Persian Period was King Cyrus of the Persian Empire. Cyrus and the Persian Empire wanted to be liked (unlike the Babylonians) so they acted as liberators and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem (and still pay taxes...) A contradiction of Jewish belief comes when in 2 Isaiah King Cyrus is listed by God as a messiah. This is very controversial because Cyrus is not of the Davidic line. This draws other similarities between Judaism and Zoroastrianism.

The first return of the Jews occurred in late 16th century BCE, as is depicted by the "Yehud" coins in Aramaic. Whether or not the Jewish religion really needed a temple is questionable but construction began on a second temple. The Mt. Gerezimon Neapolis coin, the Elephantine Letter #30, and the Dead Sea Scrolls all allude to the construction of a major temple. However, the new temple ends up paling in comparison to old one due to the poverty and conflict occurring in Persian Jerusalem.

The First Lecture of February

The discussion of the spread of literacy was continued as we studied the Mezad Hashavyah Ostracon, which referenced clothing being stolen from a pledge and how this broke one of the laws referenced in Exodus 22. This growth of literacy leads many scholars to believe that maybe the Bible and its stories did go pretty far back. Another example of literacy was the Torah Amulet which quotes Deuteronomy. These sources, as well as the Bible give oral communication a semi-permanent form. This period is also marked by a decline of the power of the king and a rise in the power or texts.

The "end of Jerusalem" came with the rise of the Babylonian Empire and powerful King Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem was exiled and the splendid Josiah was killed by the Pharoh Neco. During this time, the citizens of Jerusalem struggled to deal with the concept that God would allow their sacred leader to be killed. The first Babylonian exile occurred in 579 BCE and the 2nd, more potent Babylonian exile occurred in 586 BCe when Zedekiah attempted to rebel. During this second exile the temple and all its treasures were burned and looted and all the citizens (except the poor) were forced to evacuate Jerusalem. Evidence of the exile appears on tablets located from Babylon that spoke of the Jerusalem royal family. During and after this catastrophe, the Jewish people were forced to re-evaulate their beliefs and decide whether or not God truly existed and why he would break his promise of eternal protection.