st a new empire had been
growing up in the west, that of Rome. In the year B.C. 63, two princes
of the Maccabean line fell into a quarrel as to which one should be
king. There was a civil war, which was ended by the Roman general
Pompey, who annexed the country as a province of the Roman Empire.
This was the end of the independence of the Jewish nation.

=The Herods.=--Sometimes Roman provinces were ruled by Roman
governors, and at other times they were left to native kings who were
allowed to do pretty much as they pleased so long as they paid tribute
to Rome. There was a certain Edomite, or Idumean, as the name was
pronounced by the Greeks and Romans, who partly by flattery and partly
by real ability persuaded Romans to make him king over the whole land
of Palestine.

This man is known in the history books as Herod the Great, although
he was sadly lacking in true greatness, being fearfully cruel and
absolutely selfish. He built many beautiful palaces in various Jewish
cities and also rebuilt very beautifully the temple at Jerusalem. He
himself had no interest in religion, but he hoped in this way to win
back with the Jews some of the popularity which he had lost through
his many crimes. It was during his reign that Jesus was born. When
Herod died the land was divided among his sons. When Jesus began his
public career as a teacher one of these sons, Herod Antipas, was the
ruler of the northern part of the country, that is Galilee. Judaea, in
the south, and Samaria between Galilee and Judaea, were directly under
Roman rule with a Roman governor or procurator.

=The Sanhedrin.=--To a certain extent even after the Roman conquest
the Jews were permitted to govern themselves. There was in Jerusalem a
council, or court, of leading priests and rabbis, called the
Sanhedrin. There were in it seventy-one members. When any member died
the others elected some one to fill the vacancy. All Jews everywhere
were supposed to be under the authority of the Sanhedrin. But except
in purely religious matters it had little power outside of Judaea. In
Judaea, however, this court, or council, decided all questions except
those which the Roman procurator reserved for himself. They were not
allowed to condemn a criminal to death. So when the Sanhedrin voted to
put Jesus out of the way it was necessary to take him before Pilate
the Roman procurator and persuade Pilate to ratify the sentence of
death. How galling it was to a proud nation like t