The Jewish Diaspora: Rome

The Jewish community in the Roman Diaspora dates back to the second century BCE and was comparatively large. Several synagogues and catacombs are known. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the community remained at some distance from the new, rabbinical Judaism of Judaeae, maintaining several archaic traits. The history of the Jewish community of ancient Rome is known from several classical, Latin and Greek sources. Some additional information on cult practices can be found in the Talmud. The inscriptions found in the catacombs are valuable sources of information on the synagogues.