A follow up: I had heard, from some source (it may have been Mary Beard's SPQR), that the Romans more or less left the Jews alone because they were "in awe of the sheer ancientness of the Jewish religion", or something along those lines. How true is this claim? What specifically Roman (Republican or Imperial) sources talk about Judaism?

If I may add another follow-up question:

In Ovid's Ars Armatoria (The Art of Love), he recommends taking your date out on the Sabbath, because the (expensive) jewish shops are closed on that day, and you don't have to buy your date anything.

Why and how long have jews had the reputation of having fancy stores - even for ancient Rome standards?