WI/AHC: A Jewish Roman Emperor

The Emperor Caius gave the Jewish King Agrippa I the "ornamenta praetoria" (praetorian rank, without the actual office).
The Emperor Claudius then gave the same Agrippa the "ornamenta consularia" (consular rank) and gave his brother praetorian rank.
In 75 AD his son Agrippa II was given praetorian rank.
Another relative, Julius Alexander, was consul after receiving part of Cilicia from Vespasian in 72AD.
His son Julius Agrippa was quaestor of Asia and another relative (apparently a great-grandson of King Herod the Great), Julius Alexander Berenicianus, was consul and proconsul of Asia in 132AD.

My question is - what would be necessary for one of these men, or one of their family, to become Emperor?
If men of Jewish blood could reach the consulate, is there any chance a man of Jewish faith would be able to make the jump from consul to Emperor?
And if so, what would this result in? Forcible conversions? Civil war? Prompt dethronement?
 
Could it not be simply that emperor constantine instead of seeing what he believes is the christian god during battle instead has visions of the jewish god?
 
I would not rule it out entirely, but it would require some fairly early changes. First, you'd need a better-managed province of Judea, overall. It needs to be less unruly, and less likely to break out into open revolt. Once the First Revolt happens, a man of Jewish faith ascending to the Imperial throne becomes impossible - Jewish blood, perhaps, but not Jewish faith.

Next, you'd need the Antipatrid household to maintain significant political power both in Rome and in greater Judea (even if parts of greater Judea are subsumed as provinces at times), as they are the only really likely candidates for a Jewish Emperor.

Then, you'd need the Julio-Claudians to fall (not at all unlikely even with the butterflies of the changes in Judea), and for a period of general unrest to come, where emperors replace one another through warfare. It is incredibly unlikely to happen with the first such civil war, but more likely over time. Ultimately, an Antipatrid could maneuver himself into position as a general and be in place when one such civil war starts, and then seize the Roman throne. This same Antipatrid could not be the same as the person ruling Judea proper, I don't think, because you wouldn't be able to sell him as a proper Roman Emperor if he is King somewhere, at least for a long, long while. They could, however, be closely related - cousins or even brothers.

The next hurdle is really being the Emperor and convincing the Roman people to accept the Emperor as rejecting the Roman gods, considering the markedly religious role of the Roman head of state. He could probably hold power for some time, but, in the end, the religious tension would probably ultimately lead to either his own overthrow or, if he were particularly strong, the prevention of his heirs from taking the throne. Overall, while a single religious Jew, if a strong general and emperor, could actually make a significant impact in Roman history, I sincerely doubt he could establish a Jewish dynasty.

He might expand the power of Judaism and, depending on its closeness to Judaism in a given TL, Early Christianity, and expand their influence in Roman society, possibly leading to a large number of converts and maybe leading toward a more Jewish outlook in Roman society as a whole (leading, possibly, to a Christian Rome where Christianity never purges the Jewish element).

It's a lot easier to get an ethnic Jew who worships the Roman gods or no gods at all, who is despite this relatively friendly with religious Jews, than to get an actually religious Jew to take control. Even more easy is, given the already-spoken terms of a stronger Judea, you could give the Antipatrids the role of Roman kingmaker in a society where civil wars are common - greater Judea is a wealthy region in this time, and, if maintained by a mostly-hereditary dynasty, would be a beacon of stability in a chaotic Empire, one whose support could quite possibly make or break a claimant to the Imperial throne.
 
Could it not be simply that emperor constantine instead of seeing what he believes is the christian god during battle instead has visions of the jewish god?

Why would he? Judaism was, and still is, an ethnic religion. It appeals only to members of a certain ethnicity, and isn't meant for anyone else. Christianity, however, is a proselytizing religion. It always seeks new converts.

As to OP's question, IIRC Agrippa was loved by the Jews and was a friend of Claudius, which mean that he has the potential to become very successful, however he died shortly after taking office, and Judea reverted to direct Roman control. Prevent his death, and he might be able to found a successful dynasty, butterflying away the Jewish revolt and thus giving Jews more power within the Empire. Perhaps in one of the civil wars Rome is destined to face, a descendant of Agrippa manages to gain support from Roman governors and officials in the East and march on Rome, becoming Emperor. Although that is still somewhat unlikely, as the position of Emperor is partially a religious one.
 
Why would he? Judaism was, and still is, an ethnic religion. It appeals only to members of a certain ethnicity, and isn't meant for anyone else. Christianity, however, is a proselytizing religion. It always seeks new converts.

Actually, Jewish proselytizing was a big enough deal in Hellenistic lands that the "proselyte" was developed to refer to that specific situation (of a Greek-faithed person becoming Jewish), and Judaism certainly was pretty enthusiastic about conversion (often forced) during the expansionist days of the Kingdom of Israel. The "never proselytizing at all" attitude is mostly from the days when Jews lived as a persecuted minority, and trying to convince Christians and Muslims to convert could lead to the death of everyone involved.
 

Wolfpaw

Banned
May well lead to a Judaism that embraces many trappings of OTL's Roman Catholic Church, only with Hebrew serving in same liturgical role as Latin/Greek.
 
For the I-II centuries A.D.:
- a person of Jewish religion (a religious Jew) becoming an emperor is impossible;
- a person closely related to any king becoming an emperor is out of the question;

iirc Titus had a love affair with a 'Jewish queen' Berenice, but was forced to send her away from Rome.
So even having a 'Jewish royal' lover/mistress was outrageous for the son of the emperor or/and the emperor.
 

amphibulous

Banned
The Emperor Caius gave the Jewish King Agrippa I the "ornamenta praetoria" (praetorian rank, without the actual office).
The Emperor Claudius then gave the same Agrippa the "ornamenta consularia" (consular rank) and gave his brother praetorian rank.
In 75 AD his son Agrippa II was given praetorian rank.
Another relative, Julius Alexander, was consul after receiving part of Cilicia from Vespasian in 72AD.
His son Julius Agrippa was quaestor of Asia and another relative (apparently a great-grandson of King Herod the Great), Julius Alexander Berenicianus, was consul and proconsul of Asia in 132AD.

My question is - what would be necessary for one of these men, or one of their family, to become Emperor?

A bat. From, oh, Arcturus.
 
A bat. From, oh, Arcturus.

Well, until I actually came across these men I would imagined any descendant of Herod's attaining the consulate would be completely ASB. Without hindsight an Emperor ditching the Roman faith and adopting Christian might seem ASB, but with the right set of events did happen and did make sense, with lasting results.
 
Well, until I actually came across these men I would imagined any descendant of Herod's attaining the consulate would be completely ASB. Without hindsight an Emperor ditching the Roman faith and adopting Christian might seem ASB, but with the right set of events did happen and did make sense, with lasting results.

By the point of Constantine, the traditional Roman faith has already waned.
 

amphibulous

Banned
Well, until I actually came across these men I would imagined any descendant of Herod's attaining the consulate would be completely ASB. Without hindsight an Emperor ditching the Roman faith and adopting Christian might seem ASB, but with the right set of events did happen and did make sense, with lasting results.

That's a good answer and I'll try not to make with the bat jokes. Ok:

1. Julius Alexander is only minutely Jewish; he was an apostate to the faith, and most of his ancestry was anything but Jewish - his famous ancestor Herod The Great wasn't Jewish enough already to get the throne with Roman backing

2. Becoming consul didn't really mean much other than "The Emperor likes me" at this point.

But if a guy who isn't a religious Jew and who has some small degree of Jewish blood is Jewish enough for you, yes, it's possible. But this isn't really very Jewish. Adoption of the Jewish religion instead of Christianity is out though - Judaism was never widely adopted the way xtianity was.
 

amphibulous

Banned
Were they not numerically equal at the time of Constantine?

Our figures are very uncertain, but the Jews were almost all "Jews by inheritance" - and by definition Jews were outsiders to the Roman world - they were such pains in the ass that the Romans imposed the Diaspora. Whereas the Xtians were converts to their religion, often from **inside** Rome - even the upper classes. Xtianity was growing, it had the potential to be a uniting factor and political tool - Judaism very definitely not.

Plus, realistically, not even an emperor is going to be able to persuade a large number of adults to become circumcised...
 
I once read somewhere that despite the Jewish revolts, many non-Jews within the Roman Empire were actually interested in Judaism even going as far as to adopt Jewish customs though Male circumcision was one of the issues that led to Christianity eventually being adopted by the Romans.

Other possible routes worth considering is a Roman Emperor who establishes an official religion or system derived from movements like the Noahide-like Sebomenoi / God-Fearers or even a movement where the Judaizers break off from Pauline Christianity evolving into a seperate religion that does not subscribe to Replacement Theology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebomenoi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaizers

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahidism
 
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