While conquering the world, Rome encountered a great number of peoples around the Mediterranean. We know very little about how these populations viewed their conquerors. The Jews were the only people to offer a comprehensive view of Rome over a great span of time. They expressed it in a rich corpus of Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic sources, reflecting the evolution of the relations between Jews and Romans: from alliance and friendship to tensions and revolt, culminating for the Jews in temporary compliance to foreign domination together with hopeful expectations for redemption. The image of Rome which emerges from apocryphal, Talmudic and Midrashic literature durably shaped the Jewish political, moral and eschatological vision of the world and history.

Translated by: Robyn Frechet