Rome and Judea in Transition : Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. : 9781433121036 : 1433121034 : 31 May 2013 : Rome and Judea in Transition is the first English-language book to study exclusively the first century and a half of Roman-Judean political relations (164?37 B.C.). It presents a comprehensive reassessment of the Late Republic's involvement in the Levant, the motives of Hasmonean diplomacy, and the development of the Jewish high priesthood. Therefore, it is of interest to classicists, ancient historians, biblical scholars, and students of Judaica alike. Previous studies have often mischaracterized this period as a consistent unfolding of Rome's hegemonic will at Jewish expense. By contrast, this book argues that the Republic harbored no imperial designs on Judea prior to Pompey's opportunistic intervention in 63 B.C., and that Rome's subsequent intermittent meddling in the region's governance did not significantly alter the dynamics of the Hasmonean state. Only with the Parthian inva