more timeline stuff...UPDATE

NEWSFLASH...
The timeline is DONE!
It's a bit involved, but you can now read right up to the 'bitter end' regarding the first Jewish War.

ALSO...I have now completed "part 2" of my musings on James, Luther and canonicty. Check it out by scrolling down...


cheers,

TM
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TIMELINE OF RELEVANT PEOPLE & EVENTS:

63BC..........Rome intervenes in the Jewish civil war, essentially annexing the territory for itself.
40BC..........The Roman Senate confers the title "King of the Jews" on Herod the Great. Herod is a ruthless/despotic client king, who's considered, at best, a "half Jew." He spends much time consolidating power, disposing of would-be political enemies, and trying to ingratiate himself in the eyes of the populace via impressive building works.
37BC..........Beginning with Herod the Great & extending through the many years of direct Roman procuratorship, the high priesthood ceased being an office held for life and became a political appointment--conferred upon a limited number of aristocratic priestly families, all of which had a political and economic vested interest in the continued rule of Rome and/or the Herodian dynasty. Apocalyptic sects such as the Essenes saw this as further proof of wholesale corruption of the Temple and worship life of the people. Many such sects advocated withdrawal from society, boycotting of the Temple services, and awaiting God's immanent judgment/intervention. Some scholars wonder if the later prophet known as John the Baptist (6BC -- 30AD) may have been affiliated with such groups.
35BC..........Herod the Great builds the Antonia Fortress immediately adjacent to the Temple. This was no accident, as it was considered that the Temple would be a likely focal point of civil unrest among the populace. 600 Roman soldiers were quartered there. As an additional precaution, the vestments of the high priest--worn only on Yom Kippur--were kept there.
19BC..........Herod the Great undertakes the massive improving/beautifying the Temple. There were 10,000 skilled laborers and according to Josephus (Ant. 15.11.2) the laity could not enter certain parts of the building, therefore 1000 Levites were specially trained as builders and masons, and carried out their work so efficiently and carefully that at no time was there any interruption in the sacrifices and other services. The work was started by leveling larger portions of the Temple Mount, so that the new building might be erected on a broader base. It was also made much taller, so that the white stone gleamed in the bright Palestinian sun and could be seen from miles away. It was, to be sure, a wonder to behold (Lk 21:5). It wasn't completely finished until 63AD, and was sadly almost entirely destroyed a mere seven years later. All that remains is the western wall, known today as the Wailing Wall.
4BC............Death of Herod the Great. His vast territory was divided between his surviving sons. In the same year, young Jewish dissidents smashed the golden eagle over the main entrance of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Pharisee teachers claimed it was an idolatrous Roman symbol.
4BC............(approx) Jesus of Nazareth is born. [for an explanation of how Jesus could be born "BC...before Christ" see:
http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/birth.htm
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6AD...........Rome creates the 'province' of Judea by deposing Herod's son Archelaus, and subjecting the territory to DIRECT Roman rule....including the institution of a Roman census and taxation.
6AD...........(according to Josephus) the "fourth philosophy" is born. This is a Jewish sect led by Judas the Galilean and a Pharisee named Saddok. This party espouses the general beliefs of Pharisaism, coupled with an intense hatred for being subjected to Roman taxation & rule. Although the leaders are executed and the group is scattered, some scholars see the seeds of later zealotry in this group.
18AD.........Caiaphas appointed as high priest by the Roman prefect Valerius Gratus. Caiaphas was the son inlaw of Ananus (note: spellings of this name vary). Caiaphas served until 36AD.
26AD.........(approx) Pontius Pilate appointed as Prefect of Judea (till approx 36 AD). Pilate is either unaware of, or antagonistic to Jewish sensibilities, as he attempts to display the pagan Roman military symbols/ensigns in Jerusalem. The Jews protested and laid their necks bare to the sword before Pilate relented. Pilate also raided the Temple's treasury, at least once, to pay for building projects in Jerusalem. Faced with a protesting mob, he had his soldiers (in disguise) mingle with the crowd and club them into submission at a prearranged signal.
33AD.........(approx) Jesus of Nazareth is crucified for the crime of insurrection ("King of the Jews"). After the resurrection, Jesus appears several times, including a special appearance to his brother James (1Cor 15:7).
33AD.........(approx) Stephen is stoned; a young Pharisee named Saul (later, St. Paul) oversees the execution.
34AD.........(approx) Saul/Paul is converted on the road to Damascus.
37AD.........Emperor Tiberius dies. Caligula becomes emperor.
37AD.........The Jewish historian Josephus is born.
40AD.........Jews destroy a votive altar to the emperor in Jamnia. Caligula responds by ordering the governor of Syria, Petronius, to have his statue erected in the Temple of Jerusalem. Jews threaten to strike, and to offer themselves in mass suicide in order to prevent this. Petronius stalls, and Caligula is murdered in the meantime.
44AD.........Death of Herod Agrippa, King of Judea & Samaria (Acts 12:23). Judea reverts to direct Roman control under the procurator Fadus Cuspius.
48AD.........through 52AD. Serious clashes between Jews & Romans under the procuratorship of Ventidius Cumanus. First, a Roman soldier on duty in the Temple during the feast of Passover made an obscene gesture, provoking a riot among the thousands of pilgrims gathered there. When Cumanus rushed in reinforcements, the crowd panicked and many were trampled to death. A year or two later, when bandits attacked one of the emperor's caravans a few miles from Jerusalem, Cumanus sent troops into the region to make summary arrests of village leaders. This time a soldier provoked anger by tearing up a copy of the Torah and burning it. As news of the outrage spread, thousand descended on the city of Caesarea and demanded the procurator have the offender executed. Next, a Galilean pilgrim was murdered in Samaria on his way to Jerusalem. When Cumanus did nothing, the veteran bandit Eleazar ben Dinai led an angry mob out to exact vengeance. Thereafter, communal violence between Jews & Samaritans spread across central Palestine. Again, troops were sent in; many Jews were killed, imprisoned, and/or executed via crucifixion.
49AD.........(possibly) The whole church meets in council at Jerusalem. James the brother of Jesus presides. (Acts 15). The Emperor Claudius expels the Jews from Rome (for rioting) at about this same time.
50AD..........(circa 50s) "Sicarii" ....literally, 'dagger-men' begin engaging in political assassinations in Jerusalem. Josephus reports: "Mixing with the crowds, especially during festivals, they would conceal small daggers beneath their garments and stealthily stab their opponents. Then when the victim fell, the murderers simply melted into the crowd, undetected. Sicarii primarily targeted upper class Jews seen as 'collaborators' with Rome (Priestly aristocracy, Herodian families, ruling elite, etc)." According to Josephus, political assassinations occurred DAILY during this time. There is a direct line of descent between the Scarii & the Fourth Philosophy, as sons & grandsons of Judas the Galilean were leaders of the Sicarii--including the grandson & Messianic pretender, Menahem. In addition to assassinations, the Sicarii also engaged in kidnapping/ransom.
54AD.........Emperor Claudius is poisoned. Nero becomes emperor.
57AD.........Through 59AD. An interesting glimpse at Judean unrest & politics under Roman procuratorship can be seen in Acts chapters 23-25. Paul is arrested in the Temple courts, but due to his Roman citizenship, he's kept from Jewish hands. Chapter 23 appears to detail a plot from none other than Sicarii. Paul appears before Felix toward the end of his procuratorship, and then Porcius Festus.
59AD.........and onward, there was strife between the different strata of Temple clergy--priests being in contention with the aristocratic high-priesthood. This inter-Temple strife paralleled the economic strife going on throughout Judea. The high-priestly aristocracy retaliated by acts of violence against the lower priests, and by confiscating their tithes--thereby depriving them of their only income and starving them into submission. Commentators infer that James would have had very open/public sympathies for the poor and lower-class priests, perhaps leading to his eventual arrest and martyrdom at the hands of the high priest.
61AD.........through 64AD. While the aristocratic/priestly elite Sadducees were generally considered corrupt collaborators with Rome and the client-king Herodian dynasty, all was not peace & love amongst this group in these years. King Herod Agrippa II handled Sadducean dissent by exercising his prerogative to fire/hire high priests at will. Six high priests succeeded one another during this tumultuous time. Factionalism was rampant: bribes were traded for the top post, and at one point rival supporters of three candidates battled each other in the streets.
62AD.........James the brother of Jesus & leader of the Jerusalem church is martyred. Accounts of his death vary, but evidently in the 3 or 4 month interval between the death of the procurator Porcius Festus and the arrival of his successor Albinus, the High Priest Ananus II took advantage of the lack of direct Roman administration. An illegally called Sanhedrin was convened, and James and others deemed as trouble-makers by the high priestly class were dealt with. The exact 'charges' against James are unclear, but judging from the popular response to his death, it would appear that the charges against him were not based on religious or Torah infractions. Delegations were sent to Herod Agrippa II and to Albinus. Ananus II was deposed as High Priest.
64AD.........Beginning of persecution of Christians in Rome under Emperor Nero.

EVENTS LEADING DIRECTLY TO OPEN CONFLICT WITH ROME...SUMMER OF DISCONTENT

Who's Who:

Gessius Florus: (Florus for short) the Roman procurator of Judea from 64 until 66. Born in Clazomenae, Florus was appointed to replace Lucceius Albinus as procurator by the Emperor Nero due to his wife's friendship with Nero's wife Poppaea. He was noted for his public greed and injustice to the Jewish population, and is credited by Josephus as being the primary cause of the Great Jewish Revolt. Upon taking office in Caesarea, Florus began a practice of favoring the local Greek population of the city over the Jewish population. Gentiles in the ethnically mixed port city of Caesarea 'sacrificed' a rooster in front of a Jewish synagogue, sparking a riot. Florus suppressed the disorder with blatant bias against the Jews.
May 66AD: Florus further angered the Jewish population of his province by having seventeen talents removed from the treasury of the Temple in Jerusalem, claiming the money was for the Emperor (to cover a shortfall in tax revenue). In response to this action, the city fell into unrest and some of the Jewish population began to openly mock Florus by passing a basket around to collect money as if Florus was poor. Florus reacted to the unrest by sending soldiers into Jerusalem the next day to raid the city and arrest a number of the city leaders. The arrested individuals were whipped and crucified despite many of them being from the Jewish ruling class, and were even Roman citizens. This event is known as the "Upper Market Massacre." From this point onward, the bulk of the citizenry were no longer interested in heeding the Jewish ruling class's appeals for calm. The Romans are confronted in the streets by tens of thousands of angry Jews. Florus retreated from Jerusalem taking all but a single cohort of 500 soldiers behind--precariously holed up in the Antonia Fortress.

Cestius Gallus:Roman Governor/Legate of Syria. Gallus was a product of the patronage system. He belonged to the top senatorial class, the millionaire aristocrats who held almost all the most senior posts--men who believed themselves to be 'born to rule.' From within this class, he had risen to the highest summits--the consulship, Rome's supreme magistracy, and the much sought after and highly prestigious governorship of Syria. Gallus was Florus' immediate superior, and should trouble break out in Palestine it would be Gallus who would have to ride in to save the day.

King Herod Agrippa II:Great grandson of Herod the Great, and last of the Herodian dynasty in Palestine. Agrippa was the most powerful Jewish ruler in the region. While his territories amounted to only a fraction of that of previous Herodian client-kings, and did not include the area of Judea & the city of Jerusalem, he was nonetheless a dominant figure in local politics. Most importantly, he held the right (granted by Rome) to supervise the Temple and choose the High Priest.
June 66AD:Agrippa meets with a large delegation of Jews in Jerusalem in an attempt to restore order. He tries to convince them that their quarrel is with Florus personally, not Rome--and that anything short of total allegiance to Rome would be suicidal. Observers from Syria are also present and will report back to Gallus as to the state of affairs in Judea/Jerusalem. At first Agrippa appeared to prevail. He had agreement from the crowds that they would rebuild the parts of the city that had been damaged in the fighting and that they would pay the revenue that Florus had tried to collect. But then the king overreached himself. He told the crowd that Florus should be obeyed until his replacement arrived. The angry crowd turned on Agrippa, and his entourage fled the city.

Eleazar ben Ananias:(note: "ben" means son of___). Agrippa's flight split the Jewish ruling class irrevocably. A minority sided openly with the revolution and attempted to place themselves at the head of it. This group was led by Eleazar ben Ananias, a man of high-priestly family who held the post of Temple Captain in charge of administration and security.
Aug 66AD: Eleazar ben Ananias persuades the Temple priests to refuse gifts and sacrifices from foreigners, which meant abolishing the long-held practice of making daily sacrifices on behalf of the Emperor (and for the good of the Empire). This amounted to the clearest signal yet of open rebellion against Rome. Ironically, the pro-Herodian/Roman majority of the Jewish ruling class was led by the former high priest Ananias, none other than Eleazar's father. [imagine family Thanksgiving dinners at their house!] They immediately tried to get the sacrifices for the emperor restored, but when their advice was rejected at a mass meeting held at the Temple, they began preparing a counter-revolutionary coup. One delegation was sent to Caesarea to confer with the despised Florus, another was sent to Transjordan to obtain armed support from Agrippa. For 7 days in Aug 66AD Herodian troops and aristocratic militia held the 'upper city,' while the revolutionaries held the 'lower city' & Temple.....(which by this time had been converted to a fortress of sorts).

Aug 14, 66AD: The revolutionaries within the city (which by this time include the Sicarri) are joined by 'Zealots' from the countryside, to the extent that now the Herodian troops and aristocratic militia are vastly outnumbered. The upper city is over-run. The houses of the High Priest Ananias and Herod Agrippa are burned to the ground, along with the 'public records building' which stored records of contracts and debt. Those counter-revolutionaries that didn't flee the city were now holed up in the Royal Palace with the cohort of 500 Roman soldiers.

Menahem: Son (or grandson, history is unclear) of none other than Judas the Galilean. Menahem arrived in Jerusalem with a group of battle-hardened Zealots fresh from overwhelming the garrison at Masada and making off with Roman weapons. He arrived just in time to take command of the siege of the Royal Palace. Sep 6, 66AD the Herodians holed up within the Royal Palace seek terms with the Revolutionaries. King Agrippa's troops and any other Jewish defenders were permitted to surrender and leave, but no terms were offered to the Romans. Around this time Ananias was caught hiding in an aqueduct. He was brought forth and summarily executed. With his death, the counter-revolution was crushed. Menahem seemed to have everything, charisma, family pedigree, and military prowess. Perhaps these are the reasons Eleazar distrusted him. Regardless, Eleazar was not into power-sharing, and so had Menahem apprehended and killed. With that, what was left of Menahem's zealots retreated to Masada where they waited out the rest of the war. In the meantime, Eleazar promised the 500 Roman soldiers safe passage if they would surrender. They did, but as soon as they were in the open Eleazar reneged on his promise and had all but one slaughtered.

Oct-Nov 66: Cestius Gallus marches from Syria with a professional army 30,000 strong made up of Roman soldiers and auxiliary troops provided by area client kings. At first this looks like the beginnings of the restoration of Roman authority, as Gallus marches right up to the outer walls of Jerusalem. He then, however, suddenly retreats. Josephus felt that if Gallus had pressed the attack, the "war" could've been over in short order. Gallus, however, must've felt that his troops were too exposed--both from the rear, what with bandits hiding out in the hill country, and from the oncoming winter. Regardless of the reasons, Gallus withdrew his troops and retreated. This was catastrophic, as it exposed this professional army to the hit & run raids of guerilla warfare. The retreat turned into a rout, and in a running engagement which became known as the Battle of Beth-Horon, Gallus' force was severely mauled. In the process he lost supplies, weapons, siege equipment, and nearly 6,000 men.

Winter 66/67AD: With the defeat of Cestius Gallus, many who had been sitting on the fence regarding the revolt are won over in Jerusalem. Preparations for all-out war with Rome are begun. Eleazar ben Ananias is dispatched as a military governor in the south, Josephus is given charge of the north (Galilee), and a new High Priest is chosen--Ananus ben Ananus (aka Ananus II)--with full leadership powers given to him. This is the same Ananus II who HAD been high priest in the early 60s and had had James the brother of Jesus killed. Historians think that of all of the ruling elite, Ananus II was perhaps the most anti-Roman, hence his rise to power at this point. Meanwhile, the Roman general Vespasian is given command of the Judean campaign. Vespasian was a battle-hardened general who immediately set about strengthening the northern position--sending his son Titus to fetch further reinforcements and bring them to him. During the battles fought in Galilee it soon became obvious that the rag-tag rebels were going to be no match against the full might of Rome, as the rebels suffered defeat after defeat--and indeed, some villages openly welcomed the Roman legions as restorers of peace and order. It was during this period and the battle of Jotapata that Josephus is captured. The details of his capture are VERY mysterious. Most historians believe that to some degree or other he betrayed the 'cause.' Regardless, as he is brought forth to Vespasian, he "prophesies" that Vespasian will become Emperor. This not only saves his skin, but as time goes on and thanks to his full support & collaboration with Rome against the Jews, Josephus is adopted into Vespasian's family (given the family name of Flavius), and allowed to chronicle the details of the Jewish War. By the end of 67 AD the whole of northern Palestine was once again under Roman rule.

John of Gischala: The fiasco of the first year of war was disastrous for the leaders of the rebellion in Jerusalem. The fanatical nationalists blamed (probably for good reason) the current leadership, and accused them of having a lack of drive to conduct the war. A bloody civil war broke out in Jerusalem in the winter of 67/68 AD. The head of this current band of Zealots was John of Gischala. Through murder and treachery, John of Gischala was able to overthrow what was left of the old aristocratic governing party, including the High Priest Ananus II. A new High Priest was chosen by lot--a "man of the people"--Phannias from Aphthia. From here on out, there is nearly non-stop bloodshed and treachery in Jerusalem, as one faction of Zealotry vies for power against another. Josephus reports in his annals that no atrocity was committed by Rome against the Jews that hadn't already been committed against them in some far worse way by fellow Jews. During this time Vespasian's generals counseled that an attack against Jerusalem should be launched, but Vespasian felt that by letting Jews fight Jews first would, in the long run, result in an easier victory for Rome.

June 68 AD: Then everything changed. News of the death of Emperor Nero reached Vespasian. After the death of Nero in 68, Rome saw a succession of short-lived emperors and a year of civil wars. Galba was murdered by Otho, who was defeated by Vitellius. Otho's supporters, looking for another candidate to support, settled on Vespasian. Suddenly the Roman general had bigger fish to fry...and the revolt in Judea could wait. After several important moves to consolidate power and secure allegiances, Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Roman Senate in December of 69 AD. Dealing with the Jewish revolt was now the job of Vespasian's son Titus.

Passover, 70 AD, the Siege of Jerusalem: Meanwhile the Jews had become embroiled in yet more civil conflict of their own, splitting the resistance in the city among two factions; the Sicarii led by Simon Bar Giora, and the Zealots led by John of Gischala. Titus seized the opportunity to begin the assault on Jerusalem. He surrounded the city, with three legions on the western side and one on the Mount of Olives to the east. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover, and then refusing them exit. Jewish raids continuously harassed the Roman army, one of which nearly resulted in Titus being captured. After attempts by Josephus to negotiate a surrender had failed, the Romans resumed hostilities and quickly breached the first and second walls of the city. To intimidate the resistance, Titus ordered deserters from the Jewish side to be crucified around the city wall. By this time the Jews had been thoroughly exhausted by famine, and when the weak third wall was breached bitter street fighting ensued. The Romans finally captured the Antonia Fortress and began a frontal assault on the gates of the Temple (which by this time had been converted to something of a 'divine fortress.') According to Josephus, Titus had ordered that the Temple itself should not be destroyed, (scholars today doubt Josephus' word) but while the fighting around the gates continued a soldier hurled a torch inside one of the windows, which quickly set the entire building ablaze. The later Christian chronicler Sulpicius Severus, possibly drawing on a lost portion of Tacitus' Histories, claims that Titus favoured destruction of the Temple. Whatever the case, the Temple was completely demolished, after which Titus's soldiers proclaimed him imperator in honor of the victory. Jerusalem was sacked and much of the population killed or dispersed. Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish. 97,000 were captured and enslaved, including Simon Bar Giora and John of Gischala. Many fled to areas around the Mediterranean. Titus reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory, as he claimed there is "no merit in vanquishing people forsaken by their own God.

Masada: As mentioned earlier, following the treacherous murder of Mennahem, his band of Zealots retreated to the mountain stronghold of Masada, taking no further part in the war until the end. There they were led by yet another descendant of Judas the Galillean, Eleazar ben Yair. (I know, you need a scorecard to keep all of the 'Eleazar's' in order). The siege of Masada was extremely difficult, since the rock on which the city was built was so high and precipitous on every side. The Romans, using slave labor, constructed a ramp (still visible to this day) leading up along side the mountain, so as to enable use of their siege machines. As to how the Jews on Masada met their end, we can only speculate. Josephus tells us that Eleazar, upon seeing that further resistance was fruitless once Rome breached the outer walls, instituted an elaborate mass-suicide plan...so that when the Romans broke through, all they saw were dead bodies. Archaeologists, however, tend to disbelieve this. There seems to be just as much evidence for the idea tht when Rome broke through, they slaughtered everyone and burned every building. Regardless, by 73 AD, the war was over.

Post-script: Ironically, in spite of the crushing defeat suffered at the hand of the Romans, roughly 60 years later the Jews would fight a second war against Rome, the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136). Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was acclaimed as a Messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel. The revolt established a Jewish state over parts of Judea for over two years, but a Roman army of 12 legions with auxiliaries finally crushed it. The Romans then barred Jews from Jerusalem.