Roman
imperator Pompeius (63BCE) conquers
Jerusalem on his way to Egypt and ushers in a century of indirect Roman administration;
first by client kings and prefects, then by procuratorial rule.
During these tumultuous years, Jewish leadership passes from the Hasmoneans to the Herodians while Jewish independence is ever more curtailed, fomenting social and political rebellions. Radical social and religious movements compete with one another, among them the early Christian community and the violent social banditry of the Zealots.
Jewish resistance culminates in two wars against Rome (66 - 74 C.E. and 132-35 C.E.). In the first war, Titus burns down the Jerusalem temple, an architectural marvel of extraordinary proportions whose remnants (the retaining walls) defied the Roman attempts at its obliteration and are visible until today; the second war (the Bar Kokhba Revolt) ended in the complete destruction of the city and the devastation of Judah.
Image: Titus arch in Rome, depicting the Jewish slaves and sacred implements taken from the ruined Herodian temple that were paraded through the streets of Rome after the Roman general Titus vanquished the Jews in 70CE.