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Archaeology & Anthropology 2018 Global Journal of Research and Review
ISSN: 2393-8854 Page 43
October 01-02, 2018
London, UK
1 st Edition of international Conference on
Archaeology and
Anthropology
In 1914, Juster showed that there was some clear evidence
for Jewish military service in the Roman Empire. Since then,
especially in the first decade of the 21st century, others have
followed suit and written articles which brought new evidence
to light, in order to strengthen this assertion. However, through
the ages, many scholars tried to claim that there were no such
soldiers in the Roman army or at least, if there were, they were
a negligible minority in Jewish society. They usually bring up
Josephus’ writings, where he describes Jews repeatedly being
granted exemption from military service in the second half of the
1st century BCE. But these exemptions never encompassed the
entire Jewish population under Roman rule. Exemptions were
given only to certain communities for a limited time. If there was
a general exemption for all Jews, from all classes and all across
the Empire, Josephus would have mentioned it in his writings. In
addition, Josephus, who sat in Rome, with all the archives of the
empire in his disposal, could not find even one local exemption
after the year 14 BCE. So one can infer that such exemptions
were not in existence after the year 14 BCE. That, by itself, is the
best evidence that Jewishmilitary service existed in the armies of
the early Roman Empire. More importantly, the way the writings
were phrased highlights how the Romans perceived Jews and
Judaism, and their ability to see the difference between Jews as
individuals, and between different streams and sects in Judaism.
The exemptions raise some further assumptions. Firstly, on how
the Romans conducted their affairs in the east. Secondly, about
the difference between the administrative staff in the provinces
and the politicians in the form of the province’s governor. Thirdly,
about the Romans’ caution in not causing any precedents and
countering any of the old laws. Much more can be learned from
these exemptions as will be brought forward in the lecture.
Haggai Olshanetsky
Bar Ilan University, Israel
Glob J Res Rev 2018, Volume 5
DOI: 10.21767/2393-8854-C1-003
Jewish exemption from military service, and the way the
romans perceived the Jews and Judaism in the late Roman
republic and the early empire