Recommends: Jews vs. Rome by Barry Strauss
Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World's Mightiest Empire
The Roman Empire fell long ago, but its decisions and actions still ripple. Decisions made by a Caesar two millennia ago reverberate today. An emperor’s imperial policy to handle the Jewish population living in Judea, a province on the eastern borders of the empire, combined with his paranoia toward the Jewish population living in Parthia, the Roman Empire’s greatest rival, caused an eternal ripple effect.
The choices and actions of Jews, and later Jewish Christ Followers — the Roman label for early Christians — influenced the decisions of a Roman Emperor we still experience. And they were not a collective unit. It was a complex myriad of choices and actions made by a diverse group comprising Roman Jews, Jewish rebels, rabbinic Jews, elite Jews, the Sicarii, Jewish Christ Followers, Parthian Jews, poor Jews, Jewish warriors, and other factions. This group fought, often violently, among themselves over how to handle the Roman Empire. Their choices and actions influenced the decisions of Roman emperors, feeding that eternal ripple effect.
Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire by Barry Strauss delivers a compelling and engaging look into the beginning of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the quagmires of the middle east, and fomentation of the Judeo-Christian West.
Background
Barry Strauss is a revered military historian, a classicist, and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Fellow Institute.1
Jews vs. Rome focuses on 63 BCE to 136 CE. It looks primarily at Israel2 along with Parthia.3 Israel is a term dating back to the thirteenth century BCE; it derives from the Jewish patriots of that era who preferred it over the label Judea.
Strauss uses firsthand ancient sources and archaeological evidence for this work. A major primary source is Josephus’s The Life, The Jewish War, and Antiquities of the Jews; he also uses biblical accounts from both Jewish and Christian sources like Old and New Testaments and the Talmud; along with other ancient sources like Suetonius and Tacitus; and, perhaps most fascinating, recently unearthed letters of people who lived during and were directly affected from the ongoings of that time.
To generalize, the core of the conflict stems from the Jews’ refusal to worship the polytheistic deities of the Roman Empire. Also contributing was their disdain for Rome’s pagan and hedonistic culture. The former upset the Roman elite and certain emperors, but the bigger worry came from Israel’s location on the eastern edges of the empire near Parthia, Rome’s chief rival, which was friendlier to the Jews and Israel. Among the Jews, as mentioned, division existed. Certain Jews, like Josephus, aligned with Roman interests. They did not want rebellion; they wanted to practice their faith without Roman overreach while enjoying Roman protection. Then you had a group like the Sicarii, hardcore revolutionaries with a flair for assassinating Romans, Roman Jews, and Jews showing any favorability towards Rome.
Certain emperors had a live-and-let-live attitude: let the Jews practice their faith, as long as they paid the tribute and swore loyalty to Rome over Parthia. Other emperors demanded that the Jews reject their one God and worship the gods of the Roman Empire or even went so far as to try to place statues of themselves inside the holiest areas of Jewish worship.
Those tensions ignited regional wars, a notable one being the fall of Jerusalem, still lamented today by Jews, at the hands of Titus. Yet despite Rome’s best efforts to erase the Jews from the earth, those efforts only solidified Jewish convictions and faith.
Readability
Strauss commands a rare talent among historians; he writes compelling, readable, and deeply engaging books while upholding rigor and depth. Pop history books such as Salt: A World History or The 48 Laws of Power deliver fungible factoids yet lack substance. Meanwhile, many rigorous histories can be dry. Strauss meshes rigor and readability to make for engaging reading.
The other element making Strauss special: he teaches perspective. Part of that perspective is how he treats the lens of a historian or biographer. He gives us grains of salt. For instance, when Josephus claims the number of soldiers at a battle, or the number of deaths, we learn that at times he’s either accurate, wildly inaccurate, or a plausible middle ground. The other part of that perspective emerges when Strauss details the recently unearthed letters of those living and affected during those periods. Some letters give pause — young lives brutally lost, or tidbits of a random person lost to the time of history, leaving us wondering, “What happened to him or her?”
Strauss is honest about his work. He leans on his strength in military history, his expertise of deciphering archaeological evidence to recreate battles, and his study of firsthand accounts, whether it is Josephus or the letter of a woman written before she was slaughtered. That he uses to paint a possible picture of what happened. Yet he’s careful to note that he’s giving perspective and not fact. That honesty draws the reader to engage with the book.
Who Would Like It - Why Read It
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The conflict is polarizing, complex, and confusing. Jews vs. Rome offers a framework to grasp key elements.
A large and vocal portion of the Left shouts “Free Palestine,” demands an end to genocide (while remaining noticeably silent when the man they hate most, Donald Trump, negotiated the ceasefire they demanded), and chants “From the River to the Sea!” Their position, beyond shouting downloaded Leftist talking points, are standard anti-Western tropes: the Israelis (a euphemism for Jewish whites) were colonizers who, for racist reasons, sought to displace, oppress, and commit genocide against Palestinians (a euphemism for brown people), and impose the wicked values of the West. When pressed for details for this imperialistic, racist, colonial assault on the indigenous people of color in Palestine, the position is often vague, ambiguous, and murky.
The Right is more divided on the issue. Some fear a forever war. Others, especially the more online Right, are bedfellows of the progressive Left conclusions. They espouse a conspiratorial paranoia about Zionism, deep-state Israeli actors funded by AIPAC,4 and view Israel as an evil aggressor against Palestine. The source of their position is less ambiguous than their progressive bedfellows; they tend to point to the post-World War II order or to nineteenth-century Zionism.
Antisemitism is found on both sides, particularly among the progressives and those on the Right blathering conspiracies about an Israeli deep state. Each side proffers profound misunderstandings and has a bent of Howard Zinn-style history where anything Western or American is evil.
The conflict is complex. It is not a result of a group of Jews who out of innate racist motivation and conniving, sought to displace, oppress, and commit genocide against brown people. Nor does the conflict stem from a nineteenth-century group of Zionists or Mossad agents attempting world domination.
The conflict spans three thousand years. Jerusalem was the ancient home of the Jews, and constant strife has been a feature of the area, particularly during the period Strauss covers. The conflict helped fuel antisemitism, arguably contributed to what David Mamet, among others, has called a Jewish Guilt, and directly shaped the West we live in. Understanding it is tough, yet Strauss offers accessible clarity on the matter.
If You Think of the Roman Empire
If you’re the kind of guy who always backs a vehicle into a parking space, then it’s innate that you think of the Roman Empire.
If you’re a woman married to a man who backs his vehicle into a parking space, then you likely want to know why he is preoccupied with the Roman Empire. Or if you wish to find a man who backs his car into a parking space, brushing up on the Roman Empire will boost your chances.
In all seriousness, if you wonder about the Roman Empire and wish to learn more, then anything by Barry Strauss is great. You will not go wrong with Jews vs. Rome, as it shows the ripple effects of that empire.
Faith
If you’re a Christian (like me) and wish to learn more about early Christianity, the time of Jesus, and the culture and environment he lived in, Jews vs. Rome is excellent. It includes plenty of names, battles, and places, providing rich context for biblical history.
I’m not Jewish, yet I imagine the history Strauss details will resonate with Jewish readers. The fall of Jerusalem, its causes, the early Jewish rebels and later the rabbi’s who saved Judaism against Rome’s attempt to eradicate it — Strauss delivers a wonderful history.
Strongly Recommended
This work was my second time with Strauss, and now I want to read everything by Barry Strauss. He’s engaging and he leaves you with a deep understanding. When most of us read history, months later, we forget the names and dates. That’s natural. Yet great historians have a way of making the gist stand out. Strauss has that knack. How he engages the reader, he gives you a vivid picture to remember.
I strongly recommend this work.
The Hoover Fellow Institute is home to Victor Davis Hanson, Shelby Steele, Niall Ferguson, Thomas Sowell, Stephen Kotkin Andrew Roberts, and many more.
The Romans called it, Judea.
Modern day, Iran.
American Israel Public Affairs Committee