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LEISTAI IN JUDAEA
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LEISTAI IN JUDAEA
Ancient social bandits?
1 Introduction
From the beginning of Roman involvement in the general area of Syria-
Palestine under Pompey the Great in 64 bc to the outbreak of the Jewish
War, 130 years later, the history of the region was marked by unrest, protest
and rebellion. As far as unrest is concerned, during this period tensions
within Jewish society alone provided more than sufficient provocation. In
addition, from time to time general events symptomatic of the collapse of
the neighbouring Hellenistic monarchies strained the fragile peace. Roman
intervention made the situation worse. Even the alteration in status of Palestine
(down to ad 6, ruled by Roman client-princes) to that of a regular
imperial province (provincia Iudaea) in no way contributed to the stability of
the land. 1 Insensitive governors injured the religious feelings of pious Jews; 2
double taxation burdened the Judaean peasants once they had to contribute
not only to the Temple but also to Roman officials. 3 Power struggles within
the Jewish ruling class were accompanied by conflict within the social elite
and their dependants in the general population. 4 At times, clashes between
Hellenised and non-Hellenised communities threatened peaceful co-existence,
especially in the cities. 5 Groups of religious fanatics awaited, in apocalyptic
anticipation, the end of this world and the beginning of a better one to
come6 – the very conditions that brought forth Christianity as just one of
these messianic movements.
However one may interpret the terms, one can say that ‘bandits’, ‘robber
bands’ and ‘banditry’ were features of everyday life in Judaea towards the
end of the Second Temple Period. Evidence for this is to be found not only
in the writings of Flavius Josephus, our main source for the history of the
region at this time, but also in the New Testament. 7 Jesus of Nazareth
was treated by the Jewish and Roman authorities alike as a leistes and was
crucified between two leistai. 8 As far as his followers were concerned, he was
a king; to his opponents he was a common bandit. His case – in its equating
of leistes and, in its widest sense, usurper – shows that, with the leistai of
Judaea we are not dealing with bandits as common criminals. Yet insurgents,
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