ABSTRACT
One of the earliest stories of conversion to Judaism takes place in the kingdom of Adiabene, a small semi-autonomous entity to the west of the Tigris bordering on the Parthian empire, in the years leading up to the Jewish revolt against Rome in 65–70. Queen Helena journeyed on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to sacrifice at the Temple, also providing great quantities of food to the people of the city during a famine. The episode of the kingdom of Adiabene, Queen Helena and her son Izates takes place in the final years leading up to the Roman siege of Jerusalem. After the aggressive nationalism of the Hasmoneans, the later conversion of Adiabene and its rulers is but a faint echo of these earlier times, eclipsed by the fateful uprising of the Jews against Roman occupation. Maimonides praises Obadiah and his courage in becoming a convert for he understands what he has given up and left behind.
