Rom und Judaea

For a long time, the province of Judea was accorded a special role within the Roman Empire. This was based on the religious principles of Judaism and on the exceptional literary tradition, in particular the scriptures of the New Testament, the works of Josephus, the Mishna and the Talmud. However, non-literary sources such as archeological excavations, Jewish coins, papyri from the Judean desert and numerous inscriptions have led to new insights. In spite of all the military conflicts between Rome and parts of the Jewish people, this results in a new image of the entire province, which Rome did not perceive as differing fundamentally from the other territories. Thus the province of Judea was not given special status.