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Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations Hardcover – Deckle Edge, October 23, 2007

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Martin Goodman (Author)
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4.2 out of 5 stars 54 customer reviews
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Deckle edge paper
This Book Is Bound with "Deckle Edge" Paper
You may have noticed that some of our books are identified as "deckle edge" in the title. Deckle edge books are bound with pages that are made to resemble handmade paper by applying a frayed texture to the edges. Deckle edge is an ornamental feature designed to set certain titles apart from books with machine-cut pages. See a larger image.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 624 pages
  • Publisher: Knopf; First edition (October 23, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375411852
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375411854
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.6 x 9.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #659,603 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA non-fiction page-turner
By Reader on December 3, 2007
Format: Hardcover
If you have any interest in the ancient world, you will not be able to put this one down. Every page yields new insights. The book is structured as a detailed refutation of everything you thought you knew about the mutual antipathy of the Romans and the Jews resulting in the destruction of the Second Temple. Whatever you thought you knew about Second Temple Judaism will be turned upside down. Whether or not you agree with the author's ultimate conclusion as to why the Temple was destroyed or are swayed by his belief that the aftermath of that destruction is still being felt today, the writer's erudition and plain-speaking, straightforward prose will draw you in.
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4.0 out of 5 starsDifferences yes; but Goodman does not really see it as a necessary clash
By Ralph Blumenau on February 24, 2008
Format: Hardcover
The title of this book and the Prologue about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE might lead one to expect that this book would focus on the direct relationships between Rome and the Judean provinces over which it acquired formal or informal control from about 63 BCE onwards. Had it done that, it would have been much shorter than it is. We will indeed learn what brought the two societies into such violent conflict in the end; but for the most part the Romans tolerated great differences in the life-styles and institutions in the empire they controlled. With the exception of Caligula, they even allowed the Jews freedom from Emperor worship, and they exempted Jews from having to pay taxes in Sabbath years (one in seven) when Jewish law insisted that farm land remain fallow. Even when the ultimate authority was vested in the procurators, the Romans generally preferred to rule through the local Jewish authorities: High Priests, client kings or tetrarchs. These, or more particularly their Jewish subjects, did not like to have the ultimate authority vested in an alien power and may have disliked the culture of these aliens, but as long as their rule was not too intolerable, the two cultures rubbed along reasonably well. It did become intolerable in the end, and about a sixth of this immensely long book will deal with the Jewish revolts and the violent Roman repression. But for its first 400 pages or so, with a formidable display of detailed knowledge of Roman and Jewish society, it is simply interested in comparing and contrasting them, without suggesting that these differences made the final showdown inevitable.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn in-depth look at the two "eternal" cities
By Jonathon R. Howard on December 17, 2007
Format: Hardcover
A fascinating an in-depth look at these two iconic cities. Goodman pulls out all the stops in this exploration of The Roman Empire from the 1st to 4th century CE and it's responses and interactions to one of it's most exotic members, Jews in Palestine. Goodman explodes all the theories you've heard before about why the Jews were persecuted and how antisemitism developed in western Europe. Goodman points out that both Jews and Romans were content with the status-quo that had developed by the beginning of the 1st century CE, and if it hadn't of been for political radicals in Jerusalem, the fall of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty in Rome, and the beginning of Christianity as a faith independent of Judaism history would have played out quite differently. A great read for fans of Roman and Jewish history
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4.0 out of 5 starsMagisterial - with all that can imply!
By Robert Ashton on January 5, 2008
Format: Hardcover
You can be sure that any book which includes on its cover the words "magisterial" (twice), "monumental" and "massive" is not going to be a quick read. Martin Goodman's 550 plus page analysis of the relationship between the Jews and Rome is clearly a work of scholarship. His knowledge of both Rome and the Jews during the Roman Empire is prodigious.

His conclusion is not new that the Jews, prior to the destruction of the temple in 70, had actually been treated relatively well under the Romans and given, in many ways a privileged position compared to other conquered people. The Romans, like most world powers (the British and now Americans) were arrogant and sure that their ways must be the best - the God or Gods must be on their side! However, he shows convincingly that the strength of the Roman response to the various Jewish revolts and the subsequent opprobrium were driven more by political needs of Vespasian and his successors in Rome then any underlying prejudice to the Jews. He also clearly shows how the longer term anti-Jewish sentiments were created more by the Christians as they tried to separate from what were now the "impious" and "malodorous" Jews and establish that the destruction of the temple was God's punishment for the Jews' murder of Jesus, as he had prophesied.

In its Prologue ("The Destruction of Jerusalem") and its Epilogue ("The Origins of Antisemitism"), Goodman shows his ability to write succinctly and clearly. Many parts of the rest of the book can be more of a struggle as he includes multiple quotes and diverts off the main theme. Just one example of this is his section "Diversity and Toleration".Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsChance, Incompetence, and Politics in the Destruction of the Temple
By Christopher Bryan on March 3, 2008
Format: Hardcover
When I saw that Martin Goodman had written a book devoted to events surrounding the so-called "Jewish war" of 66-70, I expected to be impressed. I have not been disappointed. Goodman writes as an historian. This means, among other things, that he makes a serious effort to bring the past before us for its own sake, and at least partly for the mere delight of examining it. So, in the former part of his study, he offers lucid and informative chapters on the nature and makeup of the Roman Empire at this period; on parallels, differences, and at times surprising similarities between Jewish and Roman identities and communities; on their sensitivities and lifestyles; and on their understandings of law, government, and politics. Each of these chapters is a major essay in its own right, as well as a mine of fascinating and often overlooked information. But while Goodman evidently has a historian's delight in this material, he does also have a specific purpose. The thread that runs through all is the question, What caused the war of 66? Cutting clean across much that has been written on this subject within recent decades, particularly from within the New Testament guild, Goodman's conclusion is, put simply, that there was no particular hostility between Roman and Jew before 66. Romans and Jews were certainly different from each other, but being different does not have to mean being in conflict. Particularly good here is Goodman's use of Josephus, which (contrary to what some critics have suggested) is judicious and apt. It is, as Goodman observes, "remarkable that Josephus' detailed narratives of those sixty years make so little mention of any consistent anti-Roman ideology at the heart of all the variegated disturbances he describes." Why is that remarkable?Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent history on the Mediterranean world in the 1st century

Much has been written about the first century CE - it not only witnessed the emergence of Christianity, but also the demise of the Roman Republic and the birth of the Roman empire. Read more

Published 5 days ago by doc peterson
3.0 out of 5 starsGood book; small font

The book arrived in very good shape right on time, which was great. The only very frustrating thing is that the font is so small, my husband, for whom I bought the book, is having... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Lynne Kessel
5.0 out of 5 starsTo think an entire empire was sent to it's ruin ...

To think an entire empire was sent to it's ruin by the match of Greek teenagers aggravating priests and a brought to it's ruin by a frustrated and tired general.

Published 2 months ago by THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great book!!

Published 2 months ago by asaf ben haim
5.0 out of 5 starsa wonderful assessment of 2 civilizations that shared history at the...

well researched and written, not just for the academic, but also for the layman. a marvelous co-mingling of civilizations that co-existed in time and sometimes even in politics.

Published 7 months ago by Lynn J. Smith
1.0 out of 5 starsNo thank you - way over my head

This author was very knowledgeable BUT, he never kept anything in chronology. He jumped pre Christ and post Christ within the same paragraph. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Roxie
4.0 out of 5 starsWorldly Writing on Rome and Jerusalem

Martin Goodman is one of the current heavyweight historians of the Jewish-Roman period of biblical times. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Dmitri Guerriero
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

This product is great! Thanks a million!

Published 15 months ago by Jay
5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent read.

I found this book excellent and a easy read. I love ancient history especially Roman, and this book adds nicely to my collection. I really don't understand the negative comments. Read more

Published 17 months ago by fieldmouse
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

excellent perspective.

Published 20 months ago by T. Stump

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