In the Old Testament, the Jews were called Hebrews. They kept very accurate and exhaustive records of their tribal affiliations until the final diaspora by Rome in about 70 AD, at which time they were essentially scattered to the winds and the genealogical records were lost. The patriarch Judah is considered to be the most pre-eminent, as attested to by the special blessing of Jacob and by the fact that the Messiah is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. When they lost track of who belonged to which tribe, they all ascribed themselves to the tribe of Judah, the diminutive of which is Jew, and their religion is called Judaism.