Events relating to judaism
The Jewish leader Judas the Maccabee captures Jerusalem and cleanses the Temple
Simon the Maccabee is appointed high priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, with the position declared hereditary in his family
The priestly Sadducees are confronted in the Sanhedrin by a new opposition party - the Pharisees
The Essenes, a Jewish sect, withdraw from secular life to form monastic communities in the desert
Pompey captures Jerusalem, bringing Judaea under Roman control
Herod, appointed king of Judaea by the senate in Rome, establishes his rule over Palestine
Herod the Great, king of Judaea, begins to build a spectacular new Temple for the Jews on the sacred mount in Jerusalem
Saul of Tarsus, later known as St Paul, has a Greek-speaking Jewish father who is a Roman citizen
St Paul, on his travels within the Roman empire, begins converting non-Jews (or Gentiles) to the new Christian faith
The Zealots play a prominent part in the uprising which expels the Romans from Jerusalem
Josephus is in Jerusalem at the start of the rebellion against the Romans, and will later describe its suppression in his Jewish War
The Essenes hide their sacred scrolls in caves near the Dead Sea, to save them from the Romans
Titus recovers Jerusalem for Rome, after four years of Jewish rule

The complete destruction of the Jewish Temple follows the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans
The last of the Jewish insurgents are besieged in the stronghold of Masada, eventually killing each other to end their ordeal
Hadrian, visiting Jerusalem, decides to rebuild it as a Roman city - an act which provokes the final Jewish uprising
Simon Bar-Cochba drives the Romans out of Jerusalem and holds it for three years, until a large Roman army recovers the city
After the Roman recovery of Jerusalem from Simon Bar-Cochba, all Jews are expelled from the city
Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi compiles the Mishnah, a six-part digest of the Oral Torah
Origen, living in Caesarea, compiles the Hexapla, displaying versions of the Old Testament in six columns for comparative study
The earlier of the two Talmuds, consisting of commentaries on the Mishnah, is collected by rabbis in Palestine
The scribes known as Masoretes safeguard the ancient Hebrew of the Torah by their careful copying of the text
Ritual intoning of the psalms, derived from Jewish synagogues, is formalized in Christian worship as Gregorian chant