Why Judah Was Attacked in 70 CE By the Romans Or The Occupation of Judah by Rome

 Nadene Goldfoot                     

              Pompey (106 BCE-48 BCE) Roman General

Pompey took Jerusalem in 63 BCE. This occurred during his campaigns in the East, following the Third Mithridatic War. Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem marked a significant turning point, leading to the end of Jewish independence and the incorporation of Judea into the Roman Republic as a client kingdom, according to Military Wiki | Fandom. 

He captured Jerusalem and the Temple from Aristobulus' supporters. Judah Aristobulus I, or Aristobulus I, was the High Priest of Israel and the first Hasmonean king of Judaea, reigning from 104 BCE until his death the following year. He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader.  Pompey left the shrine intact, although entering the Holy of Holies.  Judea was made tributary and stripped of the territories acquire by the Hasmoneans.  Aristobulus and his family were taken to Rome to grace Pompey's triumph.  Pompey effectively terminated Jewish independence enjoyed since Simon the Macabee.  Simon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and the first prince of the Hasmonean dynasty. He reigned from 142 to 135 BC.               

           Bar Kokhba also known as Simon bar Kokhba, was a Jewish leader who led a revolt against the Roman Empire in Judea from 132 to 136 CE. The revolt, known as the Bar Kokhba revolt, was ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in significant loss of life and the devastation of Jewish communities in Judea. He died in 136 in battle to keep Jerusalem.  

The Romans first became involved in Judah with Pompey's conquest in 63 BCE, but it became a Roman province in 6 CE. This period of Roman rule ended in 135 CE after the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, which led to the renaming of the province to Syria Palaestina.  It went from Judah to Judaea, the Roman spelling.   From 63 BCE to 6 CE, Judaea experienced a period of Roman influence, transitioning from a semi-autonomous vassal state to a Roman province. In 63 BCE, Pompey's Roman army conquered Jerusalem, ending the Hasmonean kingdom and establishing Roman authority. While initially maintaining a degree of self-governance,                                        

     Herod Archelaus, ruler of Judea from 4 BCE to 6 CE; son of Herod and Malthace the Samaritan.  Under Herod's last will, Archelaus was appointed ruler over the greater part of Herod's kingdom with the title of King.  When Archelaus went to Rome to get Augustus' ratification of Herod's will, disturbances broke out all over the land of Eretz (Judah) and a Jewish delegation requested Augustus to dethrone the Herodian dynasty.  Augustus abolished the title of king but confirmed Archaelaus as "ethnarch" of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria.  Archelaus' rule was marked by a severity which led to his removal from office by Augustus and his exile to Gaul where he died in 16 CE.  

Judaea's status shifted when it became a Roman province in 6 CE after an appeal against the rule of Herod Archelaus. Herod Archelaus was the ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea, including the cities Caesarea and Jaffa, for nine years. He was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace the Samaritan, brother of Herod Antipas, and half-brother of Herod II.  An ethnarch is a historical term denoting a ruler of a people or province, particularly within empires like the Roman or Byzantine Empires. It signifies a position of authority over a specific ethnic group, often subordinate to a larger empire or kingdom. 

The Jewish revolt against Rome in 66-73 CE, culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, was sparked by a combination of factors including Roman oppression, religious tensions, and social unrest. Specifically, the revolt was triggered by Roman mishandling of Judea, including corrupt and brutal procurators, desecration of the Temple, and heavy taxation

Before the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, no Roman legion was permanently stationed in Judah. While Roman forces were present and involved in maintaining order, the specific unit that crucified Jesus was a Roman auxiliary cohort called Cohors I Sebastenorum, made up of non-Roman soldiers. Legions were not permanently stationed in Judea until after the First Jewish Revolt (66-73 CE).

 Cohors I Sebastenorum was an auxiliary cohort of the Roman army, primarily composed of Samaritans. It was stationed in Judea, and likely formed by Herod the Great. The unit is known from military diplomas and inscriptions, and its name refers to the city of Sebaste (ancient Samaria.)     That would be Samaria that was the surrounding land of Judah!  Originally, Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, founded in about 880 BCE by the Jewish king Omri on a hill he bought from Shemer, recorded inI Kings 16;24).  The site, 7 miles  NW of today's Nablus (Shechem) was on an elevated piece of land of about 25 acres.  

Remember that Samaria withstood the siege of the Syrians but fell in  721 BCEto Sargon II of Assyria who resettled the land with Cutheans who intermingled withthe remnanats of the former Jewish population.  Who were the Cutheans?  Cutheans were a group of people from the ancient Babylonian city of Cuthah (also spelled Kutha or Cuthaeh). The Assyrian king, after conquering the Northern Kingdom of Israel, relocated them to Samaria as colonists. They are also referred to as Cuthites in some texts, and are associated with the Samaritans, a group that emerged in Samaria.                                                

So the Roman army was made up of Samaritans, a mixture of Jews and Babyloniansof Cutheans (Cuthahans) who occupied Judah before the Jews rebelled.  

Following the revolt, Legio X Fretensis was stationed in Jerusalem. Legio X Fretensis was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded by the young Gaius Octavius in 41/40 BCE to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic. X Fretensis is then recorded to have existed at least until the 410s.

Resource: 

The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia