Ok so a friend and I are writing a story with a Jewish main character. Neither of us are Jewish so ofc we’re doing lots of research but bc it’s historical fiction I’m having a hard time finding what we need.
Our story is set in Rome around 50 BCE so this is abt 100 years before the Roman conquering of Jerusalem. All I can find abt this time period is Jewish citizens were allowed to practice their faith and were exempt from serving in the military but Pagan Romans kindve looked down on them. However, the authenticity of these edicts is questioned by historians and all the other articles I’ve been finding are abt the revolts and wars abt 150 years after our story is set so it’s not super helpful.
My understanding at the moment is that being a Jew in Rome at this time was legal and you could be open abt it but it wasn’t smth you would necessarily want to… flaunt, if that makes sense. Is this correct? Does anyone know any good resources abt this time period? Thx!
