TY - JOUR
TI - Judean Piracy, Judea and Parthia, and the Roman Annexation of Judea: The Evidence of Pompeius Trogus
AU - Atkinson, Kenneth
TI - Judean Piracy, Judea and Parthia, and the Roman Annexation of Judea: The Evidence of Pompeius Trogus
AB - Pompey the Great’s 63 BCE conquest of the Jewish kingdom known as the Hasmonean State has traditionally been viewed as an inevitable event since the Roman Republic had long desired to annex the Middle Eastern nations. The prevailing consensus is that the Romans captured the Hasmonean state, removed its high-priest kings from power, and made its territory part of the Republic merely through military force. However, Justin’s Epitome of the Philippic Histories of Pompeius Trogus is a neglected source of new information for understanding relations between the Romans and the Jews at this time. Trogus’s brief account of this period alludes to a more specific reason, or at least, circumstance for Pompey’s conquest of Judea. His work contains evidence that the Jews were involved in piracy, of the type the Republic had commissioned Pompey to eradicate. In addition to this activity that adversely affected Roman commercial interests in the Mediterranean, the Jews were also involved with the Seleucid Empire and the Nabatean Arabs, both of whom had dealings with the Parthians. Piracy, coupled with Rome’s antagonism towards the Parthians, negatively impacted the Republic’s attitude towards the Jews. Considering the evidence from Trogus, Roman fears of Jewish piracy and Jewish links to the Republic’s Parthian enemies were not unfounded.
VL - 2022
IS - Volume 29
PY - 2022
SN - 1897-3426
C1 - 2084-3909
SP - 127
EP - 145
DO - 10.4467/20800909EL.22.009.15779
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/electrum/article/judean-piracy-judea-and-parthia-and-the-roman-annexation-of-judea-the-evidence-of-pompeius-trogus
KW - Pompeius Trogus
KW - Justin
KW - Josephus
KW - Hasmonean State
KW - Seleucid Empire
KW - Nabatean Arabs
KW - Parthian Empire
KW - Roman Republic
KW - Pompey the Great