3 - Italy: Rome and the Jews

Summary

The arm flung out westwards from our imaginary crescent has passed through Asia Minor into the Greek islands and mainland. If it is extended further westwards into Italy we still find that Jews are present among the different peoples. In Italy Rome stands out as supremely important and it could be argued that from about the middle of the second century bc the history of the Jews is inseparable from the history of Rome.

Our next task therefore is to outline the history of Rome during the four centuries with which we are concerned. It is convenient to begin the period from 264 BC, when Rome became master of all Italy, and to end it with a brief reference to the reorganization of the now widespread empire by the emperor Diocletian (AD 284-305), which marked the beginning of a new political era.

THE ROMAN CONSTITUTION

One of Rome's most distinctive, perhaps most valuable, bequests to posterity is her well articulated if rather complex constitution. In a past upon whose history a heavy accretion of legend had already adhered in classical times, Rome had been ruled by kings. In the later times, still those of classical Roman history, their overthrow was regarded as an essential, creative and archetypal liberation, so that even to seem to aspire to anything like kingly rule met with bitter and automatic hostility.

It was far otherwise with the ancient council of the kings, the senate, which survived the dismissal of the tyrants with honour.