This research deals with discovering how Herod the Great put the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple Complex to use within the political situation of the Roman Empire and the relation of the Empire...Show moreThis research deals with discovering how Herod the Great put the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple Complex to use within the political situation of the Roman Empire and the relation of the Empire with the Jewish People. As client king for the Roman Empire in Judea it was his job to prepare the Judean people for future incorporation in the Roman Empire, for which he used the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. To prove this was indeed the case I will investigate how Herod used the Hellenistic architectural style – favoured by the Romans – within the Temple Mount Complex while still adhering to the Jewish rules and regulations concerning their Temple. To be able to do so I will be looking at a number of different case studies from various time periods and from approximately the same region as the Jewish Temple and comparing them to Herod’s Temple. These case studies are the Ba’al Temple in Palmyra, Herod’s Caesarea Maritima, Gerasa and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Each of these shall be discussed in some detail, as well as giving a detailed description of the Temple Complex itself. At this point the main similarities to the Temple Mount Complex shall be chosen from the case studies and put next to the information already gleaned from the Complex itself. This will show how Herod managed to maintain balance between the position of Judea and the future position it would hold within the Roman Empire.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
open access
2015-01-19T00:00:00Z
Until recently ‘The archaeology of Judaism’ actually meant the archaeology of Judaism for no later than Late Antiquity. Recently, only the archaeology of Judaism for the medieval period in Europe...Show moreUntil recently ‘The archaeology of Judaism’ actually meant the archaeology of Judaism for no later than Late Antiquity. Recently, only the archaeology of Judaism for the medieval period in Europe has been developing, but almost no attention has been paid yet to the archaeology of Judaism in the Islamic World. Although much seems to be known about Judaism in the Islamic World, when taking a closer look, actually all this knowledge is based on textual sources such as the rabbinic literature and the documents from the Cairo Genizah. Apart from that, there have been specialist studies, focussing on specific objects, or architectural features from more recent times, mainly from an art historical approach. This thesis for the first time aims to give a general overview of all the available material and architectural features that could be associated with Judaism in the Islamic World and the wider diaspora and reconsiders the grounds on which the association of this material with Judaism has been made. It examines what contribution archaeology could make to the knowledge of Judaism, thereby paying attention to some issues related to the social responsibility archaeologists have towards society and presenting the most promising fields for future research.Show less
