1.) Situation of the Jews at that Time:
The Jews, although being scattered around numerous times, and had times of oppression, persecution, and disastrous wars, had a somewhat normal condition of life. Even after having specific laws and privileges, they were able to preserve their unique customs and lifestyle.
Ever since the first appearance of Christianity, Jews and Christians have been involved in an ideological conflict, which in reality, was a competition for souls, power, and influence. When the Roman Empire finally adopted the Christian Religion as its official one in the 4th Century, opportunities for the Jews became greatly reduced. As of now their economic and social life was drastically limited to about nothing, and they were deprived of access to the political power and the educational institutions. They had little or no contact with Christians, and as time progressed, they were forced to live in separate sections of the city and wear certain clothing. They also suffered from the expulsion from Christian cities and states. It is a miracle that the Jews were able to maintain their way of life and existence under these harsh conditions.
2.) Where Were they Living:
Dispersion has played a major role in the religion of Judaism and Diaspora can be traced back almost as far as the Babylonian exile and the destruction of the first temple in 587 BC. Dispersion and exile have remained closely linked ideas in the Jewish people minds. “Diaspora” means distancing from the homeland, in this case the Land of Israel, which is also the Promised Land of the covenant.
The Essay on The Spanish Inquisition Jews Officials Christians
The Spanish Inquisition officially started in the mid- to late- fourteen hundreds. The Spanish Inquisition was a country wide persecution of Jews for which there are several different reasons as to why it began. The actual reason, or reasons, that motivated the King and Queen are not known at this time, and may never be known for sure. Depending on whom you ask, there are different reasons of that ...
As time progressed into the later Talmudic period, the Jewish world was divided between the conquerors – the Greeks in the East, and the Romans in the West. The Land of Israel (Palestine as called by the Romans) was under Roman rule, while the prosperous cities of Babylon were in the Eastern half of the Empire. Judaism continued to develop in both ends of Israel by the rabbis, who were the priests and scribes of earlier periods. Therefor, Rabbinic Judaism retained its dominance throughout Israel for most of the Middle Ages.
3.) Why:
The reason why the Jews settled in such a wide variety of places in Europe and the Middle East can be traced back to the first Babylonian Exile in the 6th Century BC. The cycle of exile and return is an everlasting imprint in the Jewish mind. However, it caused a dramatic broadening of horizons and affected the conception of GOD: While his home is Jerusalem, he rules over the entire nation and world.
The reason Jews had to settle down in various regions was because as a nation, it was deprived of its own land. As life lived on, Jews spread throughout North Africa, the Middle East, and the Eastern Roman Empire as far as Spain.
4.) Were they Extended the Same Rights and Freedom as Other Inhabitants:
As I have mentioned before, the Roman period in Jewish History was not right. Up until the adoption of the Christian religion, Jews enjoyed a relatively peaceful and non-conflicting way of life. They had the same rights as others and they were allowed to observe their specific customs, beliefs, and traditions.
However, this whole system changed when the Christian religion was adopted in the 4th Century. The ever-rising hostility of the two religions ended in severe curtailment of the Jewish disciplinary rights, restrictions of the rights to build synagogues, and lastly, after the death of the patriarch Gamaliel VI in 425, the diversion of the Jewish tax to the imperial treasury. The Jews had been deprived of political rights, power, and denied access to the educational sources. Resulting from this was the downfall of the economic and social life of the Jews. The continuing worsening conditions in Palestine caused many of the Jews to move into Persian areas, where economic opportunities and the Jewish communal structure allowed them to have a better livelihood while still using ancestral traditions. However, the adoption of Islam in the 7th Century by Muslim Arabs in the Middle East led to the deterioration of the life of Jews in that part of the world. The position of Jews became almost as complex as the life of Jews with the Romans.
The Term Paper on Early Roman History
As Greece reached the height of its prosperity Rome which lye slightly to the west slowly began its rise as a civilization. The Greeks centered their culture around Art and literature whereas opposed to the Romans who settled their culture upon warfare and leadership. Without planning, would rise very steadily as an empire. Shortly before Christ most of the surrounding cities and nations were at ...
5.) Was it a Period of Achievement or a Period of Discrimination:
In the most part, the Roman period in Jewish history can be described as a period of Jewish discrimination. As shown above, there were numerous conflicts between the Jews and the Romans. Surely the climax of these conflicts was the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The war against Trajan (115-117) was a widespread revolt led by a Cyrenian king-messiah, Lukuas-Andreas, which was aimed at freeing Palestine from Roman rule. Having suffered such dreadful losses on the battlefield, Judaism returned to the development of the Torah.
However, the period of discrimination also brought some new elements of achievement. With Jerusalem off limits to the Jews, Rabbinic ideology and practice, which were not dependent on the Temple, priesthood, or political independence, provided a program for autonomous community life. Another achievement was in the field of Jewish law, where the codification laid the foundation for later work. In general, due to numerous oppressions and frequent discriminations, the period since the fall of the Temple in the 8th Century is seen as a period of consolidation for Judaism, not a period of innovative creativity.
Bibliography:
Kindersley, Dorling. History of the World
1998
Lancaster, Brian. The Elements of Judaism
Element 1993
Rayner, John D. A Jewish Understanding of the World
Berghahn Books 1998
Smart, Ninian. The Worlds Religions 2nd Ed.
Cambridge University Press 1998
“Jews” Microsoft ® Encarta. CD-ROM
Microsoft Corporation, 1996. Funk and Wagnall’s Corp., 1996
“Rome and the Jews Part 1” Jewish History. http://web.reed.edu/academic/ departments/classics/jewsandrome1.html (Accessed: November 23, 1998)
The Term Paper on Socialization Of Jewish People Into American Community
Socialization of Jewish people into American community Many different social and ethnic groups have migrated to America to start new lives. Certainly, each of these groups was unique and each group socialized differently. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the dynamics of socialization of Jewish people that came from different communities all over the world. These people had to learn how to ...
“Rome and the Jews Part 2” Jewish History. http://web.reed.edu/academic/ departments/classics/jewsandrome2.html (Accessed: November 23, 1998)
“Time Line for Jewish History” Jewish Student Online Research Center. http://www.us- israel.org/jsource/Hisotry/timeline.html (Accessed: November 24, 1998)
