Editing Sanhedrin (section)

== History ==
=== Early Sanhedrin ===
The first historic mention of a ''[[Synedrion]]'' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Συνέδριον}}) occurs in the [[Psalms of Solomon]] (17:49), a Jewish religious book translated into Greek.

The Hasmonean court in [[Judea]], presided over by [[Alexander Jannaeus]], until 76 BCE, followed by his wife, Queen [[Salome Alexandra]], was called {{lang|grc-latn|Synhedrion}} or ''Sanhedrin.''<ref name="Wanderings p. 191">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/wanderingschaimp0000poto|title=Wanderings: Chaim Potok's History of the Jews|author=Chaim Potok|author-link=Chaim Potok|page=191|publisher=Knopf|date=1978|isbn=978-0-394-50110-9 }}</ref> The exact nature of this early Sanhedrin is not clear. It may have been a body of sages or priests, or a political, legislative and judicial institution. The first historical record of the body was during the administration of [[Aulus Gabinius]], who, according to Josephus, organized five {{lang|la|synedra}} in 57 BCE as Roman administration was not concerned with religious affairs unless sedition was suspected.<ref>Mantel, Hugo. (1972) "Sanhedrin".  in Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Macmillan. 14, p. 836</ref> Only after the destruction of the Second Temple was the Sanhedrin made up only of sages.<ref name="Wanderings p. 191" />

[[Josephus]] describes a ''synhedrion'' for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, [[Aulus Gabinius]] (57 BCE), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Judea and divided the country into five provinces, at the head of each of which a ''synhedrion'' was placed; Jerusalem was the seat of one of these.<ref>''Antiquities'' 14:5 §&nbsp;4</ref> Later, Josephus describes [[Herod the Great|Herod]] (at the time governor of Galilee) as being summoned before the ''synhedrion'', led by High Priest [[Hyrcanus II]], due to having executed alleged criminals without permission from the ''synhedrion''.<ref>''Antiquities'' 14:167–180</ref> Eventually, though, Herod would go on to kill many members of this ''synhedrion''.<ref>''Antiquities'' 14:175</ref>

The [[Mishnah]] describes the Sanhedrin in this period further. The Great Sanhedrin met in the [[Hall of Hewn Stones]] in the Temple in [[Jerusalem]]. It convened every day except [[Jewish Holidays|festivals]] and [[Shabbat]]. Its members included [[Kohen|priests]], [[Levites]], and ordinary Jews whose families had a pure lineage such that their daughters were allowed to marry priests.<ref>[[Sanhedrin (tractate)|Sanhedrin]] 4:2</ref>

=== The trial of Jesus, and early Christianity ===
{{Main|Sanhedrin trial of Jesus}}

A {{lang|grc-latn|Synhedrion}} is mentioned 22 times in the Greek [[New Testament]], including in the Gospels in relation to the [[Sanhedrin trial of Jesus|trial of Jesus]], and in the ''[[Acts of the Apostles]]'', which mentions a "Great {{lang|grc-latn|Synhedrion}}" in chapter 5 where rabbi [[Gamaliel]] appeared, and also in chapter 7 in relation to the stoning death of [[Saint Stephen]]. This body is described as a court led by the High Priest or leading priests, as well as the "elders" and/or [[Pharisees]].<ref name=grabbe>Grabbe, Lester L. "Sanhedrin, Sanhedriyyot, or Mere Invention?" Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman Period 39, no. 1 (2008): 1–19. {{jstor|24670033}}.</ref>

=== During Jewish–Roman Wars ===
After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Sanhedrin was re-established in [[Yavne]]h, with reduced authority, by agreement between [[Yochanan ben Zakai]] and Roman Emperor [[Vespasian]]. Vespasian agreed in part due to the perception that the [[Pharisees]] had not participated in the [[First Jewish-Roman War|first revolt]] to the extent that other groups had. Thus the Sanhedrin in Yavneh was comprised almost exclusively of [[pharisaic]] scholars. The imperial Roman government recognized the Sanhedrin. They regarded the [[Nasi (Hebrew title)|head of the Sanhedrin]] as their own paid government official with the status of a [[Praefectus|prefect]]. Roman legislation severely reduced the scope of its authority, but confirmed the body's ultimate authority in religious matters. In an attempt to quash revolutionary elements, Rome in effect declared one form of Judaism to be the only recognized form of religion. This led to persecution of sectarian groups, and attempts by these groups to find fault with the Sanhedrin before the Roman government. {{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

The seat of the Patriarchate moved to [[Usha (ancient)|Usha]] under the presidency of [[Gamaliel II]] in 80 CE. In 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha. {{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

=== After Bar Kokhba Revolt ===
[[File:Ancient Galilee.jpg|thumb|[[Galilee]] in [[Late Antiquity|late antiquity]].]]
Rabbinic texts indicate that following the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], southern [[Galilee]] became the seat of rabbinic learning in the [[Land of Israel]]. This region was the location of the court of the Patriarch which was situated first at [[Usha (city)|Usha]], then at [[Bet Shearim]], later at [[Sepphoris]] and finally at [[Tiberias]].<ref name="LightstoneReligion2002">{{cite book|author1=Jack N. Lightstone|author2=Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion|title=Mishnah and the social formation of the early Rabbinic Guild: a socio-rhetorical approach|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s42kv4NGBU4C&pg=PA192|access-date=18 July 2011|date= 2002|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-88920-375-4|page=192}}</ref>

The Great Sanhedrin moved in 140 to [[Shefa-'Amr|Shefaram]] under the presidency of [[Shimon ben Gamliel II]], and subsequently to [[Beit She'arim (Roman-era Jewish village)|Beit She'arim]] and later to [[Sepphoris]], under the presidency of [[Judah ha-Nasi]] (165–220). Finally, it moved to [[Tiberias]] in 220, under the presidency of [[Gamaliel III]] (220–230), a son of Judah ha-Nasi, where it became more of a consistory, but still retained, under the presidency of [[Judah II]] (230–270), the power of excommunication.

During the presidency of [[Gamaliel IV]] (270–290), due to Roman persecution, it dropped the name Sanhedrin; and its authoritative decisions were subsequently issued under the name of ''[[Yeshiva|Beth HaMidrash]]''.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

In the year 363, the emperor [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] (r. 355–363 CE), an apostate from Christianity, ordered the Temple rebuilt.<ref>Ammianus Marcellinus, ''Res Gestae'', 23.1.2–3.</ref> The project's failure has been ascribed to the [[Galilee earthquake of 363]], and to the [[Jew]]s' ambivalence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, as is an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the common view among Christian historians of the time.<ref name="Solomon">See [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/julian-jews.html "Julian and the Jews 361–363 CE"] and [http://www.gibsoncondo.com/~david/convert/history.html "Julian the Apostate and the Holy Temple"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051020130904/http://www.gibsoncondo.com/~david/convert/history.html|date=2005-10-20}}.</ref> As a reaction against Julian's pro-Jewish stance, the later emperor [[Theodosius I]] (r. 379–395 CE) forbade the Sanhedrin to assemble and declared [[Semicha|ordination]] illegal. Capital punishment was prescribed for any Rabbi who received ordination, as well as complete destruction of the town where the ordination occurred.<ref name="A History">{{cite book|title=A History of the Jewish People|author=Hayim Ben-Sasson|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-674-39731-6}}</ref>

However, since the [[Hebrew calendar]] was based on witnesses' testimony, which had become far too dangerous to collect, rabbi [[Hillel II]] recommended change to a mathematically based calendar that was adopted at a clandestine, and maybe final, meeting in 358 CE. This marked the last universal decision made by the Great Sanhedrin.

[[Gamaliel VI]] (400–425) was the Sanhedrin's last president. With his death in 425, [[Theodosius II]] outlawed the title of [[Nasi (Hebrew title)|Nasi]], the last remains of the ancient Sanhedrin. An imperial decree of 426 diverted the patriarchs' tax ({{lang|la|post excessum patriarchorum}}) into the imperial treasury.<ref name="A History" /> The exact reason for the abrogation of the patriarchate is not clear,<ref name="LangeGerber1997">{{cite book|author1=Nicholas Robert Michael De Lange|author2=Jane S. Gerber|title=The illustrated history of the Jewish people|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00dela|url-access=registration|access-date=18 July 2011|date=1997|publisher=Harcourt Brace|isbn=978-0-15-100302-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00dela/page/79 79]}}</ref> though Gamaliel VI, the last holder of the office who had been for a time elevated by the emperor to the rank of [[prefect]],<ref name="Chisholm1911attribution">{{EB1911|wstitle=Jews| volume= 15 |last= Abrahams |first= Israel |author-link= Israel Abrahams | pages= 487–410; see page 403 |quote= III. – From the Dispersion to Modern Times}}</ref> may have fallen out with the imperial authorities.<ref name="LangeGerber1997" /> Thereafter, Jews were gradually excluded from holding public office.<ref name="Edersheim1856">{{cite book|author=Alfred Edersheim|title=History of the Jewish nation after the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXQpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA551|access-date=18 July 2011|year=1856|publisher=T. Constable and Co.|page=551}}</ref> A law dated to 429, however, refers to the existence of a Sanhedrin in each of the Eastern Roman provinces of [[Diocese of the East|Palestine]].<ref name ="Levine2018">{{cite contribution|author=Lee I. Levine|contribution=The Jewish patriarchate|contribution-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8133|access-date=2 May 2024|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|title=Oxford Classical Dictionary|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8133 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |editor=Tim Whitmarsh|place=Oxford}}</ref>