The political events that fashioned the world of the New Testament are known, largely, through the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. His works reveal a degree of political and religious fragmentation in first century Palestine that resonate with the gospel narratives. In both The Jewish War (JW Book 1) and Jewish Antiquities (ANT Book 14), Josephus provides an authoritative account of the arrival of Rome, the end of the Hasmoneans, and the rise of the Herodian dynasty.