Editing History of Israel (section)

===Byzantine period (390–634)===
{{Main|Palaestina Prima|Palaestina Secunda}}
{{Further|Jewish revolt against Heraclius|Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem|Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem}}
[[File:Bernat, Martin Saint Helena & Heraclius taking the Holy Cross to Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|upright |Heraclius returning the True Cross to Jerusalem, 15th-century painting by Miguel Ximénez]]
The Roman Empire split in 390 CE and the region became part of the Eastern Roman Empire, known as the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Under Byzantine rule, much of the region and its non-Jewish population were won over by [[Christianity]], which eventually became the dominant religion in the region. The presence of holy sites drew [[Christian pilgrimage|Christian pilgrims]], some of whom chose to settle, contributing to the rise of a Christian majority. Christian authorities encouraged this pilgrimage movement and appropriated lands, constructing magnificent [[Church (building)|churches]] at locations linked to biblical narratives.<ref name="Irshai-2005">{{Cite book |last=Irshai |first=Oded |title=Israel: People, Land, State |publisher=Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi |year=2005 |isbn=9652172391 |editor-last=Shinan |editor-first=Avigdor |location=Jerusalem |pages=95–129 |chapter=The Byzantine period}}</ref> Additionally, monks established monasteries near pagan settlements, encouraging the conversion of local pagans.<ref name="Bar-2005" />

During the Byzantine period, the Jewish presence in the region declined, and it is believed that Jews lost their majority status in Palestine in the fourth century.<ref name="Kessler20102">{{cite book |author=Edward Kessler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87Woe7kkPM4C&pg=PA72 |title=An Introduction to Jewish-Christian Relations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-70562-2 |page=72 |quote=Jews probably remained in the majority in Palestine until some time after the conversion of Constantine in the fourth century. [...] In Babylonia, there had been for many centuries a Jewish community which would have been further strengthened by those fleeing the aftermath of the Roman revolts.}}</ref> While Judaism remained the sole non-Christian religion tolerated, restrictions on Jews gradually increased, prohibiting the construction of new places of worship, holding public office, or owning Christian slaves.<ref name="Limor-2022">{{Cite book |last=הר |first=משה דוד |title=ארץ-ישראל בשלהי העת העתיקה: מבואות ומחקרים |publisher=יד יצחק בן-צבי |year=2022 |isbn=978-965-217-444-4 |editor-link=Moshe David Herr |volume=1 |publication-place=ירושלים |pages=210–212 |language=he |trans-title=Eretz Israel in Late Antiquity: Introductions and Studies |chapter=היהודים בארץ-ישראל בימי האימפריה הרומית הנוצרית |trans-chapter=The Jews in the Land of Israel in the Days of the Christian Roman Empire}}</ref> In 425, after the death of the last [[Nasi (Hebrew title)|''Nasi'']], [[Gamaliel VI|Gamliel VI]], the ''Nasi'' office and the [[Sanhedrin]] were officially abolished, and the standing of yeshivot weakened. The leadership void was gradually filled by the Jewish center in [[Asoristan|Babylonia]], which would assume a leading role in the Jewish world for generations after the Byzantine period.<ref name="Irshai-2005" />

During the 5th and 6th centuries CE, the region witnessed a series of [[Samaritan revolts]] against Byzantine rule. Their suppression resulted in the decline of Samaritan presence and influence, and further consolidated Christian domination.<ref>M. Avi-Yonah, ''The Jews under Roman and Byzantine Rule'', Jerusalem 1984 chapters XI–XII</ref> Though it is acknowledged that some Jews and Samaritans converted to Christianity during the Byzantine period, the reliable historical records are limited, and they pertain to individual conversions rather than entire communities.<ref name="Ehrlich-2022" /><ref>Safrai 1998: 73–75</ref>

In 611, [[Khosrow II]], ruler of [[Sassanid Persia]], [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628|invaded]] the Byzantine Empire. He was [[Revolt against Heraclius|helped by Jewish fighters]] recruited by [[Benjamin of Tiberias]] and [[Siege of Jerusalem (614)|captured Jerusalem]] in 614.<ref>History of the Byzantine Jews: A Microcosmos in the Thousand Year Empire By Elli Kohen, University Press of America 2007, Chapter 5</ref> The "[[True Cross]]" was captured by the Persians. The Jewish [[Himyarite Kingdom]] in Yemen may also have provided support. [[Nehemiah ben Hushiel]] was made governor of Jerusalem. Christian historians of the period claimed the Jews massacred Christians in the city, but there is no archeological evidence of destruction, leading modern historians to question their accounts.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Loewenberg |first1=Meir |title=When Iran Ruled Jerusalem |magazine=Segula |date=January 2013 |pages=30–38 |url=https://www.academia.edu/9448222 |access-date=22 October 2019 |archive-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231030012/https://www.academia.edu/9448222 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Archaeology Versus Written Sources: the Case of the Persian Conquest of Jerusalem in 614 by Yuri Stoyanov in ACTA MUSEI VARNAENSIS VIII-1, pp. 351–358</ref><ref>The Persian Conquest of Jerusalem (614 c.e.)—An Archaeological Assessment by Gideon Avni in Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 357 (February 2010), pp. 35–48</ref> In 628, Kavad II (son of Kosrow) returned Palestine and the True Cross to the Byzantines and signed a peace treaty with them. Following the Byzantine re-entry, [[Heraclius]] massacred the Jewish population of Galilee and Jerusalem, while renewing the ban on Jews entering the latter.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schäfer |first=Peter |title=The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YBarWAR2qVkC |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2003 |page=198 |isbn=9780415305877 |quote=He had promised the Jews ... amnesty ..., but was unable to hold to this. At the insistence of the leaders of the Christians, who had not forgotten the period of Jewish rule from 614 to 617, he once more expelled the Jews from Jerusalem and had to allow large numbers of them to be executed.}}</ref>