How Rome Came To Be In Possession Of Jerusalem

Thus setting the stage for Jesus of Nazareth

(Public domain)

Jerusalem is a city that is well acquainted with warfare. It has been sieged, destroyed, rebuilt, besieged, destroyed, and rebuilt over and over again. Over the centuries, Jerusalem has been at the center of numerous conflicts. It passed between the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and finally, the Romans. It was Rome who was in possession of Jerusalem under the watchful gaze of Pontius Pilot and the Herodian kings during the time of Jesus Christ. While this is common knowledge, few people know how exactly Rome came to hold the ancient city in the first place.

Rome acquired Jerusalem during one of their usual rounds of conquest and conflict. However, the manner in which they came to own the city is less known. In fact, Rome didn’t initially want to possess the thorny city. Unlike many cities that fell into Rom’es gullet, the Eternal City didn’t set out to seize the Jewish stronghold. But an opportunity presented itself to the Roman general Pompey that he could not turn down.

Hasmonean Conflict

In 64 BCE, Pompey the Great, Rome’s greatest general at the time, managed to annex the former Seleucid province of Syria. (The Seleucid Empire was a successor state to Alexander the Great’s empire.) The Seleucid…