Editing Ebionites (section)

===Disappearance===
After the end of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], the importance of the [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|Jerusalem church]] began to fade. [[Jewish Christianity]] became dispersed throughout the [[Jewish diaspora]] in the [[Levant]], where it was slowly eclipsed by [[Gentile Christianity]], which then spread throughout the [[Roman Empire]] without competition from Jewish Christian sects.<ref name="Brandon 1968">{{Cite book |last=Brandon |first=S. G. F. |title = The fall of Jerusalem and the Christian church: A study of the effects of the Jewish overthrow of A. D. 70 on Christianity |publisher = S.P. C.K. | year = 1968 | isbn = 0-281-00450-1 }}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2014}} Once the Jerusalem church was eliminated during the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]], which ended in 136 CE, the Ebionites gradually lost influence and followers. Some modern scholars, such as [[Hyam Maccoby]], argue the decline of the Ebionites was due to marginalization and [[Persecution of Christians|persecution]] by both Jews and Christians.<ref name="Maccoby 1987"/> Maccoby's views as expressed in his works from the 1980s and 1990s have, however, been nearly universally rejected by scholars.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gregerman |first=Adam |date=2012-02-09 |title=It's 'Kosher' To Accept Real Jesus? |url=https://forward.com/culture/151028/its-kosher-to-accept-real-jesus/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427064939/http://forward.com/culture/151028/its-kosher-to-accept-real-jesus/ |archive-date=2016-04-27 |access-date=2023-03-11 |website=The Forward |language=en}}</ref> Following the defeat of the rebellion and the subsequent expulsion of Jews from Judea, Jerusalem became the Gentile city of [[Aelia Capitolina]]. Many of the Jewish Christians residing at Pella renounced their Jewish practices at this time and joined the mainstream Christian church. Those who remained at Pella and continued in obedience to the Law were labeled heretics.<ref name="Gibbon 2003">{{Cite book |first=Edward |last=Gibbon | title = The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire| publisher = Random House, NY| year = 2003 | isbn = 0-375-75811-9| author-link = Edward Gibbon| title-link = The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire| at = [https://web.archive.org/web/20070906220839/http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/g/gibbon/edward/g43d/chapter15.html Chapter 15, pp. 390–391]}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2024}} In 375, Epiphanius records the settlement of Ebionites on Cyprus, but by the 5th century, [[Theodoret|Theodoret of Cyrrhus]] reported that they were no longer present in the region.<ref name="Wace 1911"/>

The Ebionites are still attested, if as marginal communities, down to the 7th century. Some modern scholars argue that the Ebionites survived much longer and identify them with a sect encountered by the historian [[Abd al-Jabbar ibn Ahmad]] around the year 1000.<ref name=Pines1966>{{Cite book| author = Shlomo Pines|author-link = Shlomo Pines| title = The Jewish Christians Of The Early Centuries Of Christianity According To A New Source | publisher = Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities II, No. 13| year = 1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yIUAQAAMAAJ|oclc=13610178}}</ref> There is another possible reference to Ebionite communities has them existing around the 11th century in northwestern [[Arabia]], in ''[[Sefer (Hebrew)|Sefer]] Ha'masaot'', the "Book of the Travels" of Rabbi [[Benjamin of Tudela]], a rabbi from Spain. These communities were located in two cities, [[Tayma]] and "Tilmas",<ref name="Adler 1907">{{Cite book| first = Marcus N. |last=Adler| title = The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela: Critical Text, Translation and Commentary|pages=70–72| publisher = Phillip Feldheim| year = 1907}}</ref> possibly [[Saada]] in Yemen. The 12th century Muslim historian [[Muhammad al-Shahrastani]] mentions Jews living in nearby [[Medina]] and [[Hejaz]] who accepted Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed traditional Judaism, rejecting mainstream [[Jesus in Christianity|Christian views]].<ref name="Shahrastani 1842">{{Cite book| first = Muhammad |last=al-Shahrastani| title = The Book of Religious and Philosophical Sects, William Cureton edition|page=167| publisher = Gorgias Press| year = 2002| author-link = Muhammad al-Shahrastani}}</ref> Some scholars propose that interactions between Ebionite communities and early Muslims played a role in shaping the [[Jesus in Islam|Islamic perspective on Jesus]].<ref name="RGG"/><ref name="Schoeps 1969">{{Cite book| first = Hans-Joachim |last=Schoeps| title = Jewish Christianity: Factional Disputes in the Early Church. Translation Douglas R. A. Hare| publisher = Fortress Press| year = 1969}}</ref>