Kings like Herod existed, specifically because Rome had a huge problem with Israel, the only land bridge in to Africa, where Egypt was and why it was so critical to trade. This was compounded with what were really the only people in the world ever to take their religion seriously and therefore, were unwilling to simply include more gods in their pantheon.
Israel was a great source of food and taxes to Rome, being a fertile land with extensive trade, but the people were never easy to keep under control because unlike the rest of the Empire, they were not religiously ambivalent.
The unending revolts of Jews were only less harmful to Romans than the revolts of Germania because, unlike Germans, the Hebrews limited themselves to their own autonomy, which allowed the Romans to reconquer them in time instead of revolting and then following Romans all the way back to Rome.
Which is why the Romans were so pissed off they renamed the area after the Philistines. |
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