ra17 king of the Jews: in the years of tumult ~~~~

THAT FOLLOWED THE ROMAN OCCUPATION OF JUDAEA, AS ROME BECAME ENMESHED IN A DEBILITATING CIVIL WAR BETWEEN POMPEY MAGNUS AND HIS ERSTWHILE ALLY JULIUS CEASAR, EVEN WHILE REMNANTS OF THE CHASMONAEAN DYNASTY CONTINUED VYING FOR THE FAVORS OF BOTH MEN, THE SITUATION FOR THE JEWISH FARMERS AND PEASANTS WHO HARROWED AND SOWED G D'S Land steadily worsened.

The small family farms that for centuries had served as the primary basis of the rural economy were gradually swallowed up by large estates administered by landed aristocracies flush with freshly minted Roman coins. Rapid urbanization under Roman rule fueled mass internal migration from the countryside to the cities. The agriculture that had once sustained the meager village populations was now almost almost wholly focused on feeding the engorged urban centers, leaving the rural peasants hungry and destitute.

The peasantry were not only obligated to continue paying their taxes and their tithes to the Temple priesthood, they were now forced to pay a heavy tribute to Rome. For farmers, the total could amount to nearly half their annual yield. At the same time, successive droughts had left large swaths of the countryside fallow and in ruin as much of the Jewish peasantry was reduced to slavery. Those who managed to remain on their wasted fields often had no choice but to borrow heavily from their landed aristocracy, at exorbitant interest rates.

Never mind that Jewish law forbade the charging of interest on loans; the massive fines that were levied on the poor for late payments had basically the same effect. In any case, the landed aristocracy expected the peasants to default on their loans; they were banking on it. For if the loan was not promptly and fully repaid, the peasant's land could be confiscated and the peasant kept on the farm as a tenant toiling on behalf of its new owner.
18 nov 2015 - bewerkt op 21 nov 2015 - meld ongepast verhaal
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