Constructs of Identity in Hellenistic Judaism by Erich S. Gruen

Author:Erich S. Gruen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2016-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

17.Herod, Rome, and the Diaspora

The Roman Empire in the Near East at the time of Augustus was a patchwork rather than a system. It constituted not so much an organized structure as a circuitry of relationships and dependencies. The influence of Rome manifested itself most conspicuously in provinces and governors. But that was only part of the grid. An intricate set of associations was also held with what we conventionally term “client kings”. The institution was malleable and fluid, a matter of mutual interest. No formal duties, no uniform constitutional principles underpinned the responsibilities of the parties to such arrangements. Only conventional practices, still in process of evolution in the Augustan Age, linked a number of rulers, especially in the east, to Roman hegemony.1430 In this nebulous network, Herod has served as chief exemplar. Modern reconstructions regularly depict him as the quintessential instance of the client king, a loyal and trustworthy satellite of empire.1431 The assessment can benefit from further scrutiny.

One item deserves notice before proceeding. The phrase “client king” is almost never employed by the Romans—let alone, by the kings. Customary usage took a much more polite form: socius et amicus populi Romani (ally and friend of the Roman people).1432 Some kings did refer to themselves as philorhomaioi. But this need signify nothing more than the reciprocal response to the label amicus populi Romani.1433 The eastern rulers gained great advantage from association with the western power. But they did not normally represent themselves (nor consider themselves) as mere lackeys of Rome.

Herod, the ruler of whom we know most, had numerous constituencies to take into account. Within Judaea alone sectarian divisions could complicate matters. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes had their own agendas. The Hasmonaean legacy—and indeed the surviving members of the Hasmonaean dynasty —added further complications. And the wider Herod’s kingdom became, the more multi-ethnic were the communities that had a place in his realm. The king had to walk a fine line. The goodwill and, occasionally, the material and military resources of Rome played a critical role in Herod’s acquisition and maintenance of authority. He could not and would not cross the western power. Yet to be perceived as a Roman puppet carried its own hazards. It might foster resentment and discord at home from subordinates for whom too tight an embrace by Rome was less than fully welcome. Contemporary circumstances suffice to remind us of that form of dilemma. A number of current rulers or leaders need to walk a comparable fine line between dependency upon American power on the one hand and reassurances to diverse constituencies on the other that they do not take orders from the U.S.

Herod had his problems in this regard. One need refer only to the incident of the trophies. The theatre or amphitheatre built by Herod in Jerusalem contained a number of inscriptions honoring Augustus and trophies seized from various foes that attested to the princeps’ victories. This struck some of Herod’s subjects as undesirable, indeed intolerable. They convinced themselves—or at least claimed—that the trophies concealed images to be worshipped.

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