In 165 BCE, after the religion-driven Maccabean Revolt, the independent Hasmonean Kingdom was established. In 64 BCE, the Roman Republic conquered Judea, turning it into a Roman province. Although coming under the sway of various empires and home to a variety of ethnicities, the area of ancient Israel was predominantly Jewish until the Jewish–Roman wars of 66–136 CE. During the wars, the Roman Empire expelled most of the Jews from the area and formed the Roman province of Syria Palaestina, beginning the Jewish diaspora. After this time, Jews became a minority in most regions, except Galilee. The area became increasingly Christianized after the 3rd century, although the percentages of Christians and Jews are unknown, the former perhaps coming to predominate in urban areas, the latter remaining in rural areas. Jewish settlements declined from over 160 to 50 by the time of the Muslim conquest of the Levant. Michael Avi-Yonah says that Jews constituted 10–15% of Palestine's population by the time of the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem in 614, while Moshe Gil says that Jews constituted the majority of the population until the 7th century Muslim conquest (638 CE).