The Courageous Roman Who Defied an Emperor for the Jewish People

Petronius lived two thousand years ago, and though he wasn't a follower of any rebbe, his actions earned him a place among the righteous among the nations. His life was nearly the cost of his bravery.

His full name was Publius Petronius. He was a Roman consul renowned for championing slave rights. In 39 CE, thirty years before the destruction of the Second Temple, Petronius was appointed as the Roman governor of Syria, a role also overseeing Judea.

In 40 CE, some freed Roman slaves gathered in Yavne, erecting an altar for the emperor's worship. At the time, the Roman emperor was the infamous Caligula, who fancied himself a god and relished such homage. However, this did not endear him to the Jews of Yavne. In Yavne was an ancient yeshiva, which later also housed the Sanhedrin after the Temple's destruction. Unclear who acted, but one morning the Romans found their altar vanished—the heavy stones dismantled and removed, the ground plowed, leaving no trace. A message sent to Rome enraged Caligula.

As expected, the report to the emperor exaggerated claims that the Jews opposed him and Roman rule entirely, ready to revolt, while the Jews were simply following their law: idol worship was forbidden in the Land of Israel. Yavne was a Jewish city, with no room for an idolatrous altar. Enraged, the emperor ordered a statue of himself, no less, be placed in the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem's Temple.

These events unfolded amidst a challenging time for the Jews and their relationship with the emperor. A year prior, the Roman governor of Egypt, Flaccus, had unleashed severe persecution against Alexandria’s Jews. Agrippa I, appointed King of Judea by Caligula, returned from Rome’s visit on a ship to Alexandria, greeted unpleasantly: the port was plastered with posters for a theater show mocking him as a foolish jester begging for alms. The performance ended with an announcement that Jews must place emperor statues in their synagogues or face eviction. Members of the Jewish council, the local great court, were brought to the theater, and upon refusing this cruel demand, were stripped and whipped as the crowd enjoyed the spectacle. Jews dispatched a delegation to Caligula, led by Philo, but the emperor dismissed them with a wave. With such precedence, Caligula was unlikely to consider disputes in Yavne or Jerusalem.

King Agrippa of Judea, grandchild of Herod the Great, somewhat friendly with Caligula, was en route to Rome. He represented a ray of hope but such dealings would take time, and breaking imperial law could bring ruin upon Judea. Known for whimsically wishing entire populations out of existence, Caligula could destroy the whole Senate on a whim.

Petronius emerged as the savior. Unable to ignore the emperor's insult, he gathered forces and marched to Akko, where thousands of pleading Jews awaited, beseeching him to respect the Temple's sanctity. Petronius listened earnestly, promising to contemplate, then led troops to Tiberias, trailed by Jews from Akko to Tiberias, staunchly pleading mercy for the Temple. Recognizing that disappointed requests might spark rebellion, Petronius devised a strategy: delaying. He scheduled a meeting with Jewish leaders in a week and goldsmiths for the future statue two weeks later. Highlighting statue-creation challenges, he ordered gold from Egypt and hammers from Edom, simultaneously sending Caligula a letter outlining the “major challenges” and the tax and grain supply risks rapid actions posed.

Caligula wasn't mad but cunning. Realizing Petronius was stalling, he sent an urgent courier carrying a sheathed sword—a clear order frequently from Caligula: a directive for Petronius to commit suicide to avoid a humiliating public execution. Regardless, Caligula announced a postponement of the statue decree, intending his personal Eastern journey would involve personally erecting an imposing self-statue in the Jewish Temple.

Yet Caligula, despite being emperor, didn’t control fate. That very day, Caligula died, sparing Petronius from suicide, saved the Jews from the statue decree, and granted the Jewish people some years of peace under Agrippa’s reign, a pious and benevolent leader.