8 - Narrative of Crisis

Summary

The Jews were certainly not the only people under Roman rule to endure economic and administrative pressure. Like all other peoples under the Caesars they also faced inevitable adaptations due to the dynamic cultural exchanges in the vast imperial domains. Similar situations elsewhere prompted numerous uprisings, and some provinces remained restive for generations (see below). Yet conflicts generally took the form of pulses of violence and destruction, often during the early period of the occupation or near remote provincial frontiers. They seldom evolved into prolonged wars throughout a country that compromised entire legions for several years and reduced the local administrative and economic systems to chaos, as did the First Jewish Revolt. The reasons for this distinction must be uncovered in the peculiar motivation of the rebels in Judea.

Inter-class tensions, increasing economic stress, heavy taxation, ethnic antagonism, and oppressive Roman governors could all be found in first-century Judea. These hardships undoubtedly contributed significantly to the rising tensions that climaxed with the general revolt. Yet, could such factors, however stressful, have provoked an uprising of such scale and nurtured the perseverance of the rebels through years of suffering and against severe losses and increasing certainty of failure? This chapter examines various non-ideological aspects of the political, social, and material stress and the potential influence of each in the decision and determination of Judean Jews to fight Rome.