Arch of Titus

Coliseum

Roman Forum

Ancient Jewish Rome

The Jewish Community of Rome is probably the oldest in the world, with a continuous existence from classical times down to the present day. The first record of Jews in Rome is in 161 BCE, when the Judean generals and aristocrates said to have gone there as envoys from Judah Maccabee. The Roman Jews are said to have been conspicuous in the mourning for Julius Caesar in 44 BCE. On the death of Herod in 4 BCE, 8,000 native Roman Jews are reported to have escorted the Jewish delegates from Judea who came to request that the Senate abolished the Herodian monarchy.

Two synagogues were seemingly founded by "freedmen" who had been slaves of Augustus (d.14 CE) and Agrippa (d.12 BCE) respectively and bore their names. Although the position of the Roman Jews must have been adversely affected by the great Roman-Jewish wars in Judea in 66-73 and 132-135, the prisoners of war brought back as slaves ultimately gave a great impetus to the Jewish population.From the second half of the first century CE, the Roman Jewish community seems to have been firmly established. A delegation of scholars in 95-96, led by the Patriarch Gamliel II, found as its religious head the enthusiastic but unlearned Theudas.

The total number of Jews in Rome has been estimated as high as 40,000,

The tour guide will lead you through the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, by the end of the tour, you will also visit the church of St Peter's in chains, the home of the famous statue of Michaelangelo, Moses.

Entrance to the Colosseum and Forum Euro 12.00