Is it true that there were many holy men around the time of Jesus and Jesus definitely would have been forgotten if not for his defiance of the Romans and their Judean puppet state which was the cause of his spreading popularity and cult?

by Bloodmeister

https://np.reddit.com/r/HistoryWhatIf/comments/4dgwg0/would_we_know_anything_about_jesus_if_ro

comment: "Probably not. There were any of a number of holy men in the region with similar ideas as Jesus around the same time. The crucial difference with Jesus was that he defied the Romans and their Judean puppet state. That's why he gained popularity in the region and ultimately how his regional cult spread through the Empire to eventually take Constantine into its fold. If it weren't for the Romans, Jesus would have been utterly forgotten."

talondearg

The problem with this explanation is that there were any number of Judeans who defied the Roman state and were executed. Judas of Galilee, Menahem ben Judah, Theudas, 'the Egyptian', all messianic claimants or otherwise opponents of Roman rule in Judea. None of these led to an ongoing religious movement which successfully integrated Gentiles.

So, no - 'defiance of the Romans' is not a sufficient cause to explain the spread of Jesus, and especially for the development of the Jesus cultus after his death.