As in the modern era, in Roman antiquity too the so-called "Jewish question" was essentially that of the integration of diaspora Jews into their host societies. Social integration varies, however, in accordance with the organizational principles upon which various societies are established. The thrust of the present study is that in order to understand the marginal position of the Jews within the Roman empire, the mechanisms governing the integration of Roman imperial society at large need first be fleshed out. A general model of social integration of multi-cultural societies is, accordingly, first presented and thereafter serves as the point of departure for an enquiry into the causes of the mal-integration of the Jews in the Roman empire.