The Patriarchate was inseparable from the Patriarchal family, a provincial dynasty which displayed the normal trappings and characteristics of such families in late antiquity but which also had a definite Jewish nature. The Patriarchate was a multi-faceted political, social and religious phenomenon, and this book aims to situate it in its Roman and Jewish contexts. It provides an analysis and discussion of the linguistic terminology relating to the patriarchate, presents a narrative history of the Patriarchal family from its beginnings in the 1st century BC through to the evidence provided by Theodoret of Cyra in the 5th century AD, and attends to the historical problems that surrounded the Patriarchate. The work concludes with appendices and an index.