The Jews under Roman Rule (1890 Morrison), book
The Jews under Roman Rule (1890) is a book by William Douglas Morrison.
Abstract
Morrison's history begins with the Maccabean Revolt and ends with the Bar Kochba Revolt. Part 1 argues that the Zealots were the principal cause of the Jewish Revolt and not the policies of imperial Rome, obviously dependant upon Josephus' interpretation. Part 2, a cultural history of the Jews in the first century CE, addresses the internal structure of Jewish society. Like most Jewish histories of the 19th century, Morrison utilizes Josephus throughout his history as the primary historical source, but he also utilizes historians of imperial Rome such as Suetonius and Tacitus. His approach is not critical. A complete "List of Authorities" is provided on pages xvii and xviii. The text outlines the relationshp between the Romans and the Jews, as well as the Jewish society that evolved under Roman rule, and the invariable influence of Roman rule on its evolution. Morrison uncritically accepts the biblical stories as history; e.g. Herod's execution of John the Baptizer (108) and the bibical account of the trial of Jesus (149). He also uncritically accepts Josephus' interpretation of the Jewish Revolt (167), referring to "the implacable attitude of the Jews" (177). This leads him to condemn the over-enthusiastic Zealots whom he contrasts with the passive obedience of the Pharisees; he does not seem to understand that the Zealots were the arm of the Pharisees. He absolves the emperor and procurator of all blame in the Great Revolt - theirs was a policy of conciliation.
Editions
Originally published in London: Unwin, 1890; and New York, NY: Putnam, 1890. Translated into Italian (1911).
The Jews under Roman rule has been widely published since its first publication in 1890 (23 editions published between 1890 and 1990 in three languages).
1st edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1890. 2nd edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. 3rd edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1893. 4th edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. 5th edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1897. 6th edition: New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1899.
Later editions included one in 1920 (London: T. Fisher Unwin). The Jews under Roman rule has been recently published in paperback editions by Bibliobazaar (2008) and BiblioLife (2008).
Table of contents
Part I. Roman Rule
I. Roman policy before the conquest of Palestine. B.C. 164-63 - the liberation of the Jews from the Syrians II. The Roman Conquest. B.C. 64-41 III. The Roman Vassal King. B.C. 41-4 IV. The Roman Tetrarchs. B.C. 4 to A.D. 37 V. The Roman Procurators. A.D. 6-37 VI. Destruction of the Jewish State. A.D. 37-73 VII. The Final Conflicts. A.D. 73-135
Part II. The Structure of Jewish Society under the Romans
VIII. The Sanhedrin, or Supreme National Council IX. The Temple X. The Synagogue XI. The Law and Tradition XII. The Teachers of the Law XIII. The Pharisees and Sadducees XIV. The Essenes XV. The People XVI. The Messianic Hope XVII. The Jews Abroad