First Jewish–Roman War
First Jewish–Roman War | ||||||||
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Part of the Jewish–Roman wars | ||||||||
Judaea and Galilee in the first century | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Roman Empire |
Supported by:
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Radical factions: | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
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Zealots:
Edomites:
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Strength | ||||||||
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Judean provisional government forces:
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Sicarii:
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Casualties and losses | ||||||||
10,000+ soldiers killed | 25,000–30,000 killed |
10,000–20,000 Zealots and Idumeans killed Thousands of Sicarii killed | ||||||
According to Josephus, 1.1 million non-combatants died in Jerusalem and 100,000 in Galilee; 97,000 enslaved.[4] White[5] estimates the combined death toll[clarification needed] for the First and Third Roman Jewish Wars as being approximately 350,000.[6] |
The First Jewish–Roman War (66–74 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt[7] (Hebrew: המרד הגדול, romanized: ha-Mered Ha-Gadol) (Latin: Primum Bellum Iudaicum) or the Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire fought in the province of Judaea, resulting in the destruction of Jewish towns, the displacement of its people, and the appropriation of land for Roman military use, as well as the destruction of the Jewish Temple and polity.
The revolt began in 66 CE, during the twelfth year of the reign of Nero, originating in the oppressive rule of Roman governors, the widening gaps between the wealthy aristocracy and the downtrodden masses, and Roman and Jewish religious tensions.[8][9] The crisis escalated because of anti-taxation protests and clashes between Jews and pagans in mixed cities.[10] The Roman governor Gessius Florus seized money from the Second Temple's treasury and arrested numerous senior Jewish figures. This prompted widespread rebellion in Jerusalem that culminated in the capture of the Roman garrison by rebel forces as the pro-Roman King Herod Agrippa II and Roman officials fled. To quell the unrest, Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, brought in the Syrian army, consisting of the Legion XII Fulminata and auxiliary troops. Despite initial advances and the conquest of Jaffa, the Syrian Legion was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon with 6,000 Romans massacred and the Legion's aquila lost. In 66, a Judean provisional government was formed in Jerusalem led by former High Priest Ananus ben Ananus, Joseph ben Gurion and Joshua ben Gamla. Yosef ben Matityahu (Josephus) was appointed as the rebel commander in Galilee and Eleazar ben Hanania as the commander in Edom. Later, in Jerusalem, an attempt by Menahem ben Yehuda, leader of the Sicarii, to take control of the city failed. He was executed, and the remaining Sicarii were ejected from the city. Simon bar Giora, a peasant leader, was also expelled by the new government.
The Roman general Vespasian was given four legions and tasked by Nero with crushing the rebellion. Assisted by forces of Agrippa, Vespasian invaded Galilee in 67 and within several months had claimed the major Jewish strongholds of Galilee, Jodapatha and Tarichaea.[11] Driven from Galilee, Zealot rebels and thousands of refugees arrived in Jerusalem, creating tensions between the mainly Sadducee Jerusalemites and the Zealot rebel factions that soon erupted into bitter infighting. In 69, Vespasian marched on Rome and crowned himself as emperor, leaving Titus to besiege Jerusalem in 70 CE. Following a brutal seven-month siege, during which Zealot infighting resulted in the burning of the entire food supplies of the city, the Romans finally succeeded in breaching the defenses in the summer of 70. Following the fall of Jerusalem, Titus departed for Rome, leaving the Legion X Fretensis to defeat the remaining Jewish strongholds, including Herodium and Machaerus. The Roman campaign ended with their success at the siege of Masada in 72–74.
The Roman suppression of the revolt had a significant impact on the local population, with many rebels perishing in battle, displaced, or being sold into slavery. The temple of Jerusalem and much of the city was destroyed by fire and the Jewish community was thrown into turmoil by the devastation of its political and religious leadership.
Background
[edit]Judaea, an independent kingdom under the Hasmonean dynasty, was conquered by the Roman general Pompey in 63 BCE.[12] His intervention was presented as a means of resolving a civil war between the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobolus, both competing for the royal throne.[13][14] During his conquest of Jerusalem, Pompey entered the Holy of Holies[15]—an act of desecration, as only the High Priest was permitted entry. The Jewish monarchy was abolished, and Hyrcanus was recognized only as High Priest.[16] In 40 BCE, Antigonus II Mattathias, Aristobolus's son, briefly regained the throne with Parthian support,[17] but was deposed by Herod in 37 BCE. Herod, appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate, governed Judaea as a client king of Rome until his death in 4 BCE.[18] After his death, his kingdom was divided among his sons,[17] with Archelaus serving as ethnarch of Judea (including Jerusalem), Samaria, and Idumaea, and Herod Antipas governing Galilee and Perea.[19] Archelaus's misrule led to his deposition within a decade in 6 CE, and Judaea was subsequently annexed as a Roman province under the name Iudaea.[20][21]
In the six decades passing from the establishment of the province to the revolt, the relationship between the Jewish population and the Roman authorities was marked by numerous crises.[20] Many disputes stemmed from perceived religious offenses by the Roman authorities.[22] With the onset of direct Roman rule in 6 BCE, the official census instituted by Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria, triggered an uprising led by Judas of Galilee. Judas was a leader of what Josephus refers to as the "fourth philosophy,"[23] a movement that rejected Roman rule and affirmed the sole kingship of God. During this time, there was an increasing desire among the Jewish population for independence and rebellion, likely influenced by messianic hopes and memories of the successful Maccabean revolt against the Seleucids, which inspired the belief that a similar victory against the Romans might be possible.[24] Under Pilate's administration (c. 26–36 CE), incidents such as the introduction of military standards into Jerusalem, the diversion of Temple funds for an aqueduct, and a soldier's indecent exposure near the Temple provoked unrest and bloodshed.[22] These conflicts often escalated during pilgrim festivals when the city was crowded with worshippers.[25]
Under Caligula's reign (37–41 CE), Roman policy in Judaea underwent a significant, albeit brief, disruption.[26] Caligula's insistence on the imperial cult intensified anti-Jewish sentiment, culminating in violent outbreaks in Alexandria in 38 CE.[26] Tensions escalated further following a dispute at Jamnia, where the Jewish community dismantled an altar to the emperor erected by non-Jewish residents. This led to a crisis in 40 CE when Caligula ordered a statue of himself to be placed in the Jerusalem Temple, a demand that clashed with Jewish religious beliefs and provoked widespread outrage.[25][26] A Jewish delegation from Alexandria, who had initially come to Rome for a separate matter, redirected their efforts to persuade the emperor to abandon his plan.[27] Only Caligula's death prevented an open conflict, but the episode deepened Jewish resentment toward Roman rule.[25][26]
Between 41 and 44 CE, Herod Agrippa, with the support of Emperor Claudius, successfully unified the territories once ruled by his grandfather, Herod the Great.[25] This period saw a brief restoration of Jewish self-governance, with Agrippa acting as a client king. Following his death in 44 CE, however, Judaea reverted to direct Roman rule under procurators, with its administrative territory expanded to encompass Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Galilee and Perea.[25][28]
The second provincial era, which began with relatively stable rule under the first Roman procurators, soon saw a significant deterioration in the situation. Around 48 CE, the Roman authorities executed Jacob and Simon, the sons of Judas of Galilee.[29] In the following years, violent clashes took place between Jews and Samaritans. By the early 50s CE, violence had infiltrated Jerusalem itself. The sicarii, a group of radical Jewish assassins, exploited the dense pilgrim crowds during religious festivals to carry out targeted killings and intimidate the urban population.[25] They also targeted affluent landowners in rural areas, destroying their property, likely as a means of sending a message to discourage cooperation with the Romans.[30] Religious fanaticism gained traction among the masses during this period, leading to the rise of numerous prophetic figures. One notable incident involved "the Egyptian," a prophet who gathered a large following with plans to march on Jerusalem, but was dispersed by procurator Antonius Felix.[31]
By the time Gessius Florus assumed office as procurator in 64 CE, the situation in Judaea had already deteriorated significantly.[32] A native of Asia Minor, Florus secured the position through his wife, a friend of Nero's murdered wife. Tacitus regarded him as a poor choice for the role,[33] while Josephus portrays him as a ruthless official who plundered the region and inflicted harsh punishments.[34][35] His connections to the imperial family afforded him considerable freedom in his governance.[35] During Passover, likely the year after Florus's appointment, Cestius Gallus, the governor of Syria, visited Jerusalem, perhaps to address complaints against Florus, but he took no action to change the procurator's policies.[36]
Course of events
[edit]Outbreak of the rebellion
[edit]In the spring of 66 CE, ethnic violence broke out in Caesarea. Local Jews attempted to buy the land next to their synagogue from its Greek owner.[37] Despite an offer far exceeding the land's value, the owner refused and instead built workshops on the site, obstructing access to the synagogue.[37] When young Jews attempted to stop the construction, Florus intervened on behalf of the Greek.[37] Prominent Jews then offered Florus eight talents to halt the work, which he accepted before traveling to Sebaste, allowing construction to proceed anyway.[38] The following day, on Shabbat, a local performed bird sacrifices in front of the synagogue, provoking violence between the communities. Local cavalry tried to intervene but was unsuccessful, and Jews who went to Florus in Sebaste to complain about the incident were arrested.[39]
Shortly after, further violence broke out in Jerusalem when Florus withdrew 17 talents from the Temple treasury under the pretext of "imperial needs." This provoked protests and ridicule from the crowd, with some mocking Florus by passing around a basket to collect alms for him.[40] When Jewish leaders refused to surrender those who had mocked him, Florus ordered his troops to sack the Upper Agora, where they whipped, crucified, and killed over 3,600 people, including wealthy Jews who were Roman citizens belonging of the equestrian order.[41] A second massacre occurred when Jews from the city went out to greet two cavalry squadrons approaching from Caesarea. The soldiers pursued the panicked residents back into Jerusalem, killing many as they tried to reach the Antonia Fortress. Florus, attempting to reach the fortress himself, was blocked by the angry population, who also severed access between the Temple and the Antonia. Eventually, Florus fled the city, leaving behind a cohort of 500 to 1,000 soldiers.
King Agrippa II, the Jewish vassal king of Chalcis, hurried from Alexandria to pacify the people during a gathering in Jerusalem, initially appearing successful in convincing them of the folly of waging war against Rome.[42][43]
But so it was, that our ancestors and their kings, who were in much better circumstances than we are, both as to money, and strong bodies, and [valiant] souls, did not bear the onset of a small body of the Roman army. And yet you, who have now accustomed yourselves to obedience from one generation to another, and who are so much inferior to those who first submitted, in your circumstances will venture to oppose the entire empire of the Romans?[44]
Following his speech, Agrippa and his sister Berenice wept, and the crowd declared they were not at war with Rome but with Florus.[45] Agrippa warned that refusing to pay tribute and dismantling the porticoes connecting the Antonia Fortress to the Temple constituted rebellion, urging their restoration and payment of taxes to avoid further accusations. Convinced, the people began the reconstruction, and officials collected the 40 talents owed.[45] However, when he tried to convince them to comply with Florus until a new Roman governor could be appointed, he was forced to leave the city in disgrace, amid insults and stones being thrown at him.[42][43][45]
At this point, Eleazar ben Hanania, one of the Temple clerks, persuaded the priests to cease accepting gifts or sacrifices from foreigners.[46] This act ended the practice of offering sacrifices on behalf of Rome and its emperor, a practice in place since the time of Augustus. According to Josephus, this event stopped the sacrifices marked the foundation of the war against Rome. While some historians view this act as a declaration of war on Rome, others argue it was neither directed at Rome nor intended as a declaration of war.[47] Around this time, rebels in the south launched a surprise attack on the fortress at Masada, killing the Roman guards and establishing their own garrison there.[46]
Subsequently, the leaders of Jerusalem, along with the high priests and heads of the Pharisees, attempted to dissuade the populace from engaging in rebellion with Rome, but their efforts were unsuccessful. They then sought to quell the uprising by requesting Florus and Agrippa to dispatch troops to Jerusalem. In response, Agrippa II dispatched 2000 cavalry to Jerusalem recruited from Auranitis, Batanaea, and Trachonitis.[48] These forces, along with the moderates, controlled the Upper City, while the Lower City and the Temple Mount fell under rebel control.[49] After a few days of fighting, the rebels captured the Upper City, forcing the moderates to take refuge in Herod's Palace, while others fled or hid.[50]
The rebels then set fire to the house of former high priest Ananias, the palaces of Agrippa and Berenice, and the public archives, where debt records were kept.[51] By destroying the archives, the rebels aimed to gain the support of Jerusalem's poor and debtors.[52][51] Shortly afterward, they captured Herod's Palace and agreed to a ceasefire with the moderates and Agrippa's forces but refused any compromise with the Roman soldiers. The Romans retreated to the towers of Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne, just north of Herod's Palace.[53] Later, when the besieged Roman soldiers surrendered their weapons in exchange for safe passage, the rebels massacred them, sparing only their commander Metilius, who pledged to convert to Judaism and undergo circumcision.[46]
As events in Jerusalem escalated, ethnic violence spread across Judaea, Syria, and neighboring regions. On the same day as the garrison massacre, according to Josephus, the non-Jews of Caesarea conducted an ethnic cleansing of the local Jewish population, killing approximately 20,000. The remaining survivors were arrested by Florus.[54] News of the massacre sparked further ethnic violence, leading Jewish groups to attack neighboring villages and cities, particularly those in the Decapolis, such as Philadelphia, Heshbon, Gerasa, Pella, and Scythopolis.[54] Archaeological evidence from Gerasa and Gadara confirms the destruction of public buildings during this period.[54] These cities were likely targeted due to their Greek or Macedonian origins and cultural influence, though some had Jewish residents as a result of the conquests of Alexander Jannaeus in the first century BCE.[54]
Violence also broke out in Alexandria, Egypt, where clashes erupted after Greeks attacked Jews gathered in an amphitheater, capturing some alive and prompting retaliation from other Jews in the city.[55] When peaceful efforts by the governor of Egypt, Tiberius Julius Alexander—a Jew estranged from his heritage—failed, he deployed military forces against the Jews, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths.[56]
According to fourth-century church fathers Eusebius and Epiphanius of Salamis, Jerusalem's Christians fled to Pella before the beginning of the war.[57]
Gallus' campaign
[edit]At this stage of the events, Cestius Gallus, the Roman legate of Syria, decided to march to Judaea. He led a military force from Antioch, including Legio XII Fulminata, 2,000 men from each of the other three legions stationed in Syria, six infantry cohorts, and four cavalry units.[48] He was also accompanied by a considerable number of royal troops, totaling between two and three legions, which included 2,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry archers from Antiochus IV of Commagene, a similar number of foot soldiers and fewer cavalry from Agrippa II, and 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry from Sohaemus of Emesa.[48] Gallus further bolstered his ranks with irregular forces from various cities, such as Berytus, where the troops, motivated by hostility toward the Jews, made up for their lack of formal training.[58][48]
After establishing a base in Akko-Ptolemais,[59] Cestius Gallus launched a campaign against Jewish villages in Galilee, burning the city of Chabulon along with other nearby settlements, before marching to Caesarea.[60] His forces captured Jaffa, Jerusalem's port, massacring its inhabitants and setting the city ablaze.[60] He also sent a cavalry force to ravage the toparchy of Narbata, near Caesarea.[61] In Galilee, the Romans were warmly received by the residents of Sepphoris, who opposed the revolt.[61] From there, Gallus proceeded toward Jerusalem, passing through Antipatris and Lydda and leaving devastation in their wake. Lydda, largely deserted as most of its residents were in Jerusalem for the festival of Sukkot, was destroyed, and those who remained were killed.[62] Continuing his march through Bethoron and Gabaon, Gallus's army was ambushed by Jewish forces, suffering significant losses. Among the Jewish fighters, Monobazus and Candaios—relatives of the king of Adiabene—as well as Niger the Perean and Simon bar Giora.[63] Agrippa II made a final attempt to negotiate peace with the rebels, but his efforts failed.[64] Gallus advanced to Jerusalem and encamped on Mount Scopus, a strategic position providing a clear view of the city center.[64]
In late Tishrei, Gallus advanced into Jerusalem, causing the rebels to retreat into the inner city and the Temple.[64] Upon entering, Gallus set fire to the Bezetha district and the Timber Market, intending to intimidate the population.[65] He then set camp in the Upper City.[65] Despite Josephus' suggestion that Gallus could have captured Jerusalem with greater resolve,[48][66] he ultimately chose to retreat after some initial engagements.[48]
Gallus's withdrawal from Jerusalem towards the coastal plain turned into a rout, with the loss of 5,300 infantry—equivalent to a full legion—and 480 cavalry—equivalent to a whole cavalry ala.[48][67] This culminated in a decisive engagement at Bethoron, where the Roman army suffered heavy casualties and lost an aquilla.[citation needed], at the same route where the Maccabees had defeated a Seleucid army two centuries earlier.[68] The rebels pursued the Romans to Antipatris,[67] forcing them to abandon their baggage and heavy weaponry, including artillery and battering rams, which, along with other spoils of war, were plundered by the rebels.[69]
Scholars have compared this Roman failure to the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE,[67], though it was much larger in scale, resulting in three times the losses.[70] Fergus Millar writes that Gallus' defeat is particularly significant as a rare instance where Roman regular forces suffered such a loss the population of an existing province.[48] The unexpected victory shifted the momentum toward the pro-revolt factions. The rebels grew more confident,[70] while moderates and previously undecided individuals were swept up in enthusiasm. Although some elites fled to join the Romans,[71] many remained in the city, aligning themselves with the triumph.[citation needed] Around the same time, a pogrom unfolded in Damascus, where the city's men, fearing betrayal from wives who had converted to Judaism, secretly planned an attack on the Jewish population. They confined the Jews to a gymnasium and then, according to Josephus, killed thousands within hours.[72]
Judean provisional government
[edit]Following Gallus's defeat, a popular assembly, possibly functioning alongside the Sanhedrin,[73] convened at the Temple, establishing a provisional government in Jerusalem. Ananus ben Ananus (Hanan ben Hanan), a former High Priest, was appointed as one of the government heads and began fortifying the city alongside Joseph ben Gurion.[74] Joshua ben Gamla assumed a prominent leadership role. Josephus, then known as Yosef ben Mattityahu, was appointed commander of Galilee and Gaulanitis,[73] while Yosef ben Shimon was assigned to Jericho.[74] Yohanan the Issene became commander over Jaffa, Lydda, Emmaus, and the Thamna region in western Judea. Eliezer ben Hananiya and Joshua ben Zafia jointly commanded Idumaea, with Niger the Perean, a hero of the Gallus campaign, under their command. Menasseh oversaw Perea, and Yohanan ben Hananiya was tasked with Gophna and Acrabetta, in northern Judea.[74]
John of Gischala, initially opposed to the war according to Josephus, later became a bold and skilled leader who clashed with Josephus, though his efforts to remove him failed.[75] In the meanwhile, Simon Bar Giora waged a personal campaign against the wealthy in the northern parts of Judea. Jerusalem's leaders later drove him to Masada, from where he continued raids into Idumaea.[75] His faction took refuge in Masada and stayed there until the winter of 67–68.
An attempt by Menahem ben Yehuda, leader of the Sicarii, to take control of Jerusalem failed. He was executed, and the remaining Sicarii were ejected from the city to their stronghold Masada, previously taken from a Roman garrison. Headquartered in Masada, the Sicarii terrorized nearby Judean villages such as Ein Gedi.
The Jerusalem temple priesthood[76] minted coins with Hebrew inscriptions in the Paleo-Hebrew script, featuring phrases such as "Jerusalem the Holy" and "For the Freedom of Zion."[77] These coins were dated using a new calendar marking the years of the revolt (years one to five), symbolizing independence from Rome.[77] Their designation as shekels, with denominations like "shekel of Israel", "half-shekel" or "quarter-shekel,"[78] evoked ancient Jewish sovereignty through the revival of a biblical-era weight system.[77] The Jewish Encyclopedia article on the Hebrew Alphabet states: "Not until the revolts against Nero and against Hadrian did the Jews return to the use of the old Hebrew script on their coins, which they did from motives similar to those which had governed them two or three centuries previously; both times, it is true, only for a brief period."[79]
Vespasian's Galilee campaign
[edit]After Gallus' defeat, Emperor Nero assigned the command of the war to Vespasian, a former consul and a seasoned and experienced general.[80] Vespasian's army included three full legions: the V Macedonica and X Fretensis, both of which had fought in Armenia, with the latter being stationed in Syria. The XV Apollinaris, which had also participated in the Armenian campaign, was marched from its station in Alexandria to Ptolemais by Vespasian's son, Titus.[81] The Roman forces were bolstered by 23 auxiliary cohortes and six alae of cavalry, likely drawn from Syria. In addition to these, troops were supplied by local rulers: Antiochus IV of Commagene, Agrippa II, and Sohaemus of Emesa each contributed 2,000 infantry archers and 1,000 cavalry, while Malchus II of Nabatea sent 1,000 cavalry and as many as 5,000 infantry.[81]
Vespasian established his initial base of operations in Akko-Ptolemais, arriving there in the early summer of 67 CE. From this location, the Romans launched their offensive against rebels in Galilee, where a significant Jewish population resided, largely in villages that were easily fortified.[82] While Josephus claims that he gathered an army of 100,000 men, this figure is clearly an exaggeration.[82] Nevertheless, the Romans faced a substantial challenge in the region.[82]
Gabara was captured by the Romans in the first assault, with all males killed due to animosity towards the Jews and the memory of Gallus' defeat.[83] The city and surrounding villages were set on fire, and survivors were enslaved. The Romans then moved to attack Yodfat,[83] a town with an estimated population of 7,000.[84] Around the same time, Vespasian's son Titus led a force to destroy the nearby town of Iaphia, where all male inhabitants, excluding infants, were reportedly slain, and the infants and women were sold into slavery.[85] Cerialis, who commanded Legio V Macedonica, was dispatched to fight a large group of Samaritans who had gathered atop Mount Gerizim, the site of their ruined temple, killing many.[86]
The city of Yodfat fell after a 47-day siege,[87] which Josephus, who led its defense, documented in great detail. When the Romans captured the city, they massacred all those who revealed themselves and hunted down the rest in hiding;[84] Josephus estimates 40,000 died, though modern estimates suggest around 2,000 were killed, with 1,200 women and infants captured.[84] Excavations at Yodfat uncovered a cistern containing the skeletal remains of two adults and one child, along with additional remains believed to belong to the city's massacred defenders, found in a residential area.[87] Josephus writes that he hid in a deep pit with 40 survivors, but when their location was revealed, they committed suicide by drawing lots.[88] Josephus and another survivor received the final lots; however, instead of taking his own life, he chose to surrender to the Romans.[89] Soon after, upon meeting Vespasian, Josephus prophesied the general's rise to emperor, which led Vespasian to spare his life rather than sending him to Nero.[90]
After the fall of Yodfat, Tiberias surrendered to the Romans without resistance.[91] The city's population, which had been divided into pro-revolt and pro-Roman factions,[92] saw the pro-Roman faction prevail as the Roman army approached.[91] By contrast, Taricheae, a port city north of Tiberias, mounted a fierce defense but was eventually subdued. According to Josephus, the native inhabitants of Tarichae did not initially want to fight, but the influx of outsiders to the city became more determined to resist following a decisive defeat outside the walls.[93] After its fall, surviving rebels took to the Sea of Galilee, engaging the Romans in naval skirmishes that resulted in heavy losses for the Jews.[94] Josephus reports that 6,700 were killed in Taricheae, leaving the lake stained red with blood and floating bodies.[95] Afterward, Vespasian separated the local prisoners from the "foreigners" blamed for instigating the revolt; the latter were forced to travel along a guarded route to Tiberias, where, in the city's stadium, 1,200 were executed.[96] Six thousand young men were reportedly sent to work on the Corinth Canal in Greece, some were given as a gift to Agrippa II, and 30,400 were sold into slavery.[96]
The Roman campaign then shifted to Gamla, a fortified stronghold on a steep rocky promontory in the southern Golan.[97][98] Part of Agrippa II's realm, the city was initially loyal to Rome, but later switched allegiance and minted its own revolt coins.[98] Josephus, who claimed to have previously walled the city,[99] now accompanied the Romans and chronicled the siege firsthand.[100] Despite heavy Roman casualties, the city was eventually captured in October 67 after a siege, and was never resettled.[101] According to Josephus, only two women survived the onslaught, with the rest either throwing themselves into ravines or being killed by the Romans.[102] The Romans also captured the fortress on Mount Tabor.[103] In Gush Halav, rebel leader John of Gischala attempted to negotiate a surrender but instead fled with his followers during a brief Shabbat respite granted by Titus. When Titus returned, the city surrendered to the Romans.[104]
By 68, Jewish resistance in the north had been crushed, and Vespasian made Caesarea Maritima his headquarters and methodically proceeded to cleanse the coastline of the country, avoiding direct confrontation with the rebels at Jerusalem. Based on questionable numbers from Josephus, it has been estimated that the Roman vanquishing of Galilee resulted in 100,000 Jews killed or sold into slavery.[105][106]
Judean regrouping and civil war
[edit]Vespasian remained camped at Caesarea Maritima until spring 68, preparing for another campaign in the Judean and Samarian highlands. The Jews who were driven out of Galilee rebuilt Joppa (Jaffa) which had been destroyed by Gallus. Surrounded by the Romans, they rebuilt the city walls and used a light flotilla to demoralize commerce and interrupt the grain supply to Rome from Alexandria.[108]
In his The Jewish War, Josephus wrote:
They also built themselves a great many piratical ships, and turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and Phoenicia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men.[109]
Zealot leaders of the collapsed northern revolt, headed by John of Giscala, managed to escape from Galilee to Jerusalem with the bulk of their forces. Packed with militants of many factions, including remains of forces loyal to the Judean provisional government and significant Zealot militia headed by Eleazar ben Simon, and largely cut off by Roman forces, Jerusalem quickly descended into anarchy with the radical Zealots taking control of large parts of the fortified city. A brutal civil war then erupted, with the Zealots and the Sicarii executing anyone advocating surrender.
Following a false message that the Judean provisional government had come to terms with the Roman Army, delivered by the Zealots to the Idumeans, a major force of some 20,000 armed Idumeans arrived to Jerusalem. It was allowed in by the Zealots and thus, with Idumeans entering Jerusalem and fighting by the side of the Zealots, the heads of the Judean provisional government, Ananus ben Ananus and Joseph ben Gurion, were killed with severe civilian casualties in the notorious Zealot Temple Siege, where Josephus reports 12,000 dead. Receiving the news of the carnage in Jerusalem, Simon bar Giora left Masada and began pillaging Idumea, setting his headquarters in Na'an; he met little resistance and joined forces with Idumean leaders, including Jacob ben Susa.
Nero's death and hiatus
[edit]In the spring of 68, Vespasian began a systematic campaign to subdue various rebel-held strongholds in Judea proper, recapturing Afeq, Lydda, Javneh, and Jaffa that spring. He continued into Idumea and Perea and to the Judean and Samarian highlands, where Bar Giora's faction was causing major concern to the Romans. The Roman Army took Gophna, Akrabta, Bet-El, Ephraim, and Hebron by July 69.
While the war in Judea was in progress, great events were occurring in Rome. In the middle of 68, Nero's increasingly erratic behavior finally lost him all support for his position. The Roman Senate, the Praetorian Guard, and several prominent army commanders conspired for his removal. When the Senate declared Nero an enemy of the people, he fled Rome and committed suicide with the help of a secretary on June 9.[110] The newly installed emperor Galba was murdered after just a few months by his rival Otho, triggering a civil war that came to be known as the Year of the Four Emperors. On July 1, 69 CE, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, first in Egypt, then by the legions in the Levant, and eventually throughout the East.[111] Josephus, who predicted Vespasian's rise to power, was freed.[111] Military operations in Judaea paused as Vespasian traveled to Alexandria and later to Rome to secure his position.[111] Command of the war was handed by a council at Berytus to Vespasian's son Titus.[110] Vespasian was officially recognized as emperor in the winter of 69/70.[110]
Siege of Jerusalem
[edit]After nearly a year of halted military operations, activity in Judaea resumed in the summer of 69 CE,[110] with the primary objective being the conquest of Jerusalem. On the eve of the siege, the city spanned approximately 170 hectares (420 acres)[112] and, according to one estimate, had a population of around 80,000.[112] The Zealot factions were weakened by civil war within the city but could still field significant troops. John of Giscala had assassinated Eleazar and began a despotic rule over the city. Simon bar Giora was invited into Jerusalem to stand against the Zealot faction of John and quickly took control of much of the city. Infighting between the factions of bar Giora and John followed through 69.
By the winter of 69/70, Titus had returned from Alexandria and established Caesarea as his main base.[110] Titus' forces included the legions previously commanded by Vespasian—V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris—along with the XII Fulminata, which had suffered defeat in 66 CE.[113] Additional support came from detachments of III Cyrenaica and XXII Deiotariana legions from Egypt, twenty infantry cohortes, eight cavalry alae, Syrian irregulars, and auxiliaries from allied vassal kings. According to Tacitus, "a strong force of Arabs," driven by longstanding enmity toward the Jews, also joined the campaign.[113]
Titus advanced his Roman legions on Jerusalem, conquering towns and creating a wave of refugees. The rebels avoided direct confrontation and were mostly interested in their own control and survival.
The siege of Jerusalem turned into a stalemate. Unable to breach the city's defenses, Roman armies established a permanent camp just outside the city, digging a trench around the circumference of its walls and building a wall as high as the city walls themselves around Jerusalem. Anyone caught in the trench attempting to flee the city would be captured and crucified in lines on top of the dirt wall facing into Jerusalem, with as many as 500 crucifixions occurring in a day.[114] The two Zealot leaders, John of Gischala and Simon Bar Giora, only ceased hostilities and joined forces to defend the city when the Romans began to construct ramparts for the siege.
During the infighting inside the city walls, a stockpiled supply of dry food was intentionally burned by the Zealots to induce the defenders to fight against the siege, instead of negotiating peace; as a result many city dwellers and soldiers died of starvation during the siege. Tacitus, a contemporary historian, notes that those who were besieged in Jerusalem amounted to no fewer than 600,000, that men and women alike and every age engaged in armed resistance, that everyone who could pick up a weapon did, and that both sexes showed equal determination, preferring death to a life that involved expulsion from their country.[115] Josephus puts the number of the besieged at nearly 1 million. Many pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora who, undeterred by the war, had trekked to Jerusalem to be present at the Temple during Passover became trapped in Jerusalem during the siege and perished.[116]
In the summer of 70, following a seven-month siege, Titus used the collapse of several of the city walls to breach Jerusalem, ransacking and burning nearly the entire city. The Romans began by attacking the weakest spot: the third wall. It was built shortly before the siege so it did not have as much time invested in its protection. They succeeded towards the end of May and shortly afterwards broke through the more important second wall. During the final stages of the Roman attack, Zealots still held the Temple while the Sicarii held the upper city.
On the eighth day of the month of Av, Roman forces breached the Temple's outer court.[117] Josephus writes that Titus, after deliberating with his officers, resolved to preserve the Temple.[118] However, a Roman soldier hurled a burning piece of wood into the northern chamber, igniting a fire that ultimately consumed the entire Temple structure.[119][117] According to Josephus, Titus tried to stop the Temple's burning,[120] but modern scholars generally treat this explanation with skepticism.[27] Nevertheless, Goodman has argued that Josephus's account could be plausible, especially considering the difficulty of containing a fire in the intense heat of Jerusalem during the summer.[27] Josephus describes how some priests, overwhelmed by grief and despair at the sight of the Temple engulfed in flames, leapt into the fire.[121] The Romans subsequently burned the remaining porticoes and gates,[122][121] and secured their victory by placing their standards near the eastern gate.[123][121]
All three walls of Jerusalem were eventually destroyed as well as the Temple and the citadels; the city was burned, with most survivors taken into slavery; some of those overturned stones and their place of impact can still be seen. John of Giscala surrendered at Agrippa II's fortress of Jotapata while Simon Bar Giora surrendered at the site where the Temple once stood. The Temple treasures, including the Menorah and the Table of the Bread of God's Presence, which had previously only ever been seen by the High Priest of the Temple, were paraded through the streets of Rome during Titus' triumphal procession, along with some 700 Judean prisoners who were paraded in chains, among them John of Giscala and Simon Bar Giora. John of Giscala was sentenced to life imprisonment while Simon Bar Giora was executed. The triumph was commemorated with the Arch of Titus, which depicts the Temple's treasures being paraded.[124][125] With the fall of Jerusalem, some insurrection still continued in isolated locations in Judea, lasting as long as 73.
Last strongholds
[edit]In the spring of 71 CE, Titus departed for Rome, leaving three rebel strongholds still under Jewish control: Herodium and Masada in the Judaean Desert, and Machaerus in Perea.[126][127] Sextus Lucilius Bassus, the newly appointed legate of Judaea, was tasked with capturing these final centers of resistance.[126] Bassus first seized Herodium before crossing the Jordan to capture Machaerus, a heavily fortified hilltop fortress near the Dead Sea.[126] The fort surrendered following a Roman siege marked by the construction of a circumvallation wall, small siege camps, and an incomplete assault ramp, traces of which still exist.[128] Bassus then pursued approximately 3,000 rebels led by Judah ben Ari in the forest of Jardus, near the Dead Sea, and swiftly defeated them.[129] However, Bassus fell ill and died before completing his campaign.
Lucius Flavius Silva succeeded him and directed the siege of Masada in 72–73 or 73–74 CE,[130][127] deploying Legio X Fretensis, auxiliary forces, and thousands of Jewish prisoners[citation needed]—totaling about 10,000 troops. After the defenders refused to surrender, Silva established siege camps and a circumvallation wall around the fortress, along with an siege ramp, features that remain among the best-preserved examples of Roman siegecraft visible today.[130][127] The siege lasted between two and six months during the winter season.[127] According to Josephus, when the Romans breached the walls, they found that 960 of the 967 defenders had committed mass suicide.[citation needed] Masada remained garrisoned by Roman troops until the early 2nd century CE, leaving behind archaeological evidence, including documents.[130]
Aftermath
[edit]Demographic impact
[edit]The Roman suppression of the revolt had a significant demographic impact on the Jews of Judaea, as many perished in battle and from siege conditions, and multiple cities, towns and villages were destroyed. The destruction was not uniform across the country; certain areas suffered more extensive devastation than others. The Jewish population in several mixed cities was eliminated. In Galilee, according to Josephus, two of the four largest cities, Tarichaea (probably Magdala) and Gabara, were destroyed, while Sepphoris and Tiberias reconciled with the Romans and experienced minimal harm. The scope of destruction also varied in Transjordan and in central Judaea. Among all the regions, Judea proper experienced the most severe destruction, yet some cities, like Lod, Yavne, and their surroundings, remained relatively undamaged. The most severe devastation was concentrated in the Judaean Mountains, culminating in the complete destruction of Jerusalem, resulting in an estimated loss of more than 90% of its population.[34]
According to Moshe David Herr's estimation, one-third of the Jewish population in Judaea perished during the revolt. This figure encompasses those who died in battles with the Romans, during intra-Jewish civil strife, and in massacres perpetrated by gentiles in mixed cities. Additionally, victims succumbed to famine and epidemics, particularly in Jerusalem during its long siege. About another tenth of the Jewish population in Judaea was captured by the Romans, and their fate was often tragic, with many enduring harsh treatment, execution, or forced labor. Strong young men were compelled to serve as gladiators in stadiums and circuses across the empire, while others were sent to brothels or sold as slaves.[34]
The social ramifications of the war were profound, leading to the complete disappearance or loss of status of entire social strata. The most impacted were the classes closely associated with Jerusalem and the Temple. The aristocratic oligarchy, consisting of the families of the High Priesthood and their affiliates, who wielded significant political, social, and economic influence and amassed great wealth, suffered a total collapse.[34] Despite the heavy losses and the destruction of the Temple, Jewish life continued to thrive in Judea.[131] However, continuing dissatisfaction with Roman rule eventually led to the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–136, which appears to have resulted in the destruction and depopulation of Judea proper.[132]
Jerusalem
[edit]During the war, Jerusalem—praised by Pliny the Elder in the 70s as "by far the most famous city of the East and not of Judaea only"[133][134]—was utterly destroyed, as confirmed by both historical accounts and archaeological findings. Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege of Jerusalem, 97,000 were captured and enslaved, and many others fled to areas around the Mediterranean. A significant portion of the deaths was from illnesses and hunger brought about by the Romans. "A pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as destroyed them more suddenly."[4]
Roman historian Tacitus, when describing the siege of Jerusalem, reports "We have heard that the total number of the besieged of every age and both sexes was six hundred thousand. [...] Both men and women showed the same determination; and if they were to be forced to change their home, they feared life more than death",[135] which indicates that the besieged believed that those who survived the siege would be displaced.[136]
Seth Schwartz writes that it is unlikely that many Jews survived in Jerusalem or the surrounding area. Many of the Jewish rebels were scattered or sold into slavery.[132] He refutes Josephus' estimates of a death toll of 1.1 million as implausible. According to his calculations, the total population of Judea at that time was around 1 million, with approximately half being Jews. Moreover, he points out that sizeable Jewish communities continued to exist in the region even after the war, including in Judea, despite the severe damages incurred.[137] According to Schwartz, the reported figure of 97,000 captives taken during the war is much more reliable. This would suggest that a sizeable segment of the population was either driven out of the country or, at the very least, displaced.[132]
Roman military presence and colonies
[edit]The ruins of Jerusalem were garrisoned by Legio X Fretensis, which remained stationed there for nearly two centuries.[126][138] Along with the legion, the Roman forces included cavalry alae and infantry cohortes.[126] This significant military presence prompted a change in the province’s administrative structure, requiring the appointment of a senatorial governor of ex-praetorian rank.[126] Vespasian also settled 800 Roman veterans in Motza, which became a Roman settlement known as Colonia Amosa or Colonia Emmaus. He strengthened Roman control over the province by giving Caesarea colony status[138][97] and Neapolis city status.[138]
Economic consequences
[edit]Destruction of Temple-based economy
[edit]The revolt affected Judaea's economic and social environment, as well as, to a lesser extent, the Jewish world at large. With the influx of pilgrims and wealth from the Roman and Parthian Empires, which concentrated vast wealth in Jerusalem, the Second Temple had developed into a massive economy by the first century, but the destruction of the city and the temple brought this to an end. Additionally, according to Josephus and other scholars, the Romans confiscated and auctioned off all Jewish land or all land held by Jews who had participated in the insurrection.[132]
The Jewish Tax
[edit]Following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the Romans imposed a new tax, the Fiscus Judaicus, on all Jews across the Empire.[139][140] This tax required Jews to pay an annual sum of two drachmas, replacing the half-shekel previously donated to the Temple. The funds were redirected to the maintenance of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus in Rome.[139] Over time, the tax evolved into a broader levy on Jews, implicitly holding all Jews—whether in Judea or the diaspora—responsible for the revolt, even though most had no role in the conflict.[141] Under Domitian, the enforcement of the tax became even more severe, as noted by Suetonius.[142] Evidence of the Fiscus Judaicus is preserved in receipts found in Egypt, with records dating from 70 CE to 116 CE. The tax ceased in Egypt during the Diaspora Revolt, which resulted in widespread suppression and the near-total annihilation of Egyptian Jewry.[143]
Religious consequences
[edit]The destruction of the Temple marked a turning point in Judaism, ending the practice of sacrifice as a central component of Jewish religious life,[144] and halting the line of High Priests.[144] In the absence of the Temple, Judaism responded by more devoted observance to the commandments of the Torah, and by making the synagogue the center of Jewish life.[145] Synagogues, which were present before the revolt, acquired prominence and replaced the Temple as a major meeting place for Jews, and rabbis took the place of high priests as the Jewish community's leaders. The rabbis filled the void of Jewish leadership in the aftermath of the Great Revolt and, through their literature and teachings, helped Judaism adapt in the absence of the Temple.[145][146] Because of the rabbis' dominance after 70, the era is sometimes known as the "Rabbinic period".[145]
The conventional understanding posits that the Essenes, whose settlement at Qumran was destroyed during the war, and the Sadducees, who were primarily composed of members from the Jerusalem aristocracy, might have ceased to exist after the revolt. Nevertheless, there are no direct sources explicitly confirming their disappearance, and hints in later rabbinic and patristic literature suggest the possibility of continued Jewish sectarianism, including Sadducee and Essene-related groups, in the following centuries.[147]
Establishment of Yavne as a rabbinic center
[edit]According to rabbinic sources, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai (Ribaz), a prominent Pharisaic sage, was smuggled out of besieged Jerusalem in a coffin by his students. After predicting Vespasian's rise to the throne, he sought and obtained permission from the future emperor to establish a rabbinic center in Yavne. While the specific details of Ben Zakkai's escape remain difficult to corroborate, the story bears some similarities to Josephus' account of his own escape and predictions, even though inconsistencies exist. Nonetheless, the writings of Josephus confirm the escape of several dignitaries from Jerusalem during the siege, making it plausible that Ben Zakkai was among them.[148]
Under the leadership of Ribaz, Yavne emerged as a prominent rabbinic center where various enactments were issued to reshape Jewish life and adapt it to post-destruction reality. This allowed the development of an organized and authoritative system of rabbinic scholarship, which became the basis for the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism as the dominant form of Judaism in the centuries that followed. In keeping with Pharisaic beliefs, the Rabbinic approach emphasized the role of the oral tradition as a supplement to the written Torah, resulting in the development of the Mishnah (redacted in the early 3rd century) and later Talmud as primary sources of Jewish law and religious guidance.[148] According to one theory, now largely discarded, a council at Yavneh also finalized the canon of the Hebrew Bible.[149]
Moshe and David Aberbach argued that following the suppression of the revolt, the Jews, "largely deprived of the territorial, social and political bases of their nationalism", were forced to "base their identity and hopes of survival not on political but on cultural and moral power."[150]
Literary reactions to the destruction
[edit]The religious reaction to the destruction was also evident through changes in halakhah (Jewish law), midrashim, and the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, all of which mention the agony of the temple's destruction.[131]
Broader diaspora effects
[edit]After the revolt, Roman authorities intensified their efforts to quell any potential uprisings in Jewish diaspora communities, targeting individuals deemed as troublemakers in Egypt and Cyrene.[141] In 72 CE, the Jewish temple at Leontopolis—founded two centuries earlier by Onias IV following the loss of his high priesthood in Jerusalem—was closed by the Roman authorities.[141]
After the fall of Jerusalem, Titus "funded expensive spectacles and used Jewish captives as a display of their own destruction" in southern Syria and Judaea.[151][152] According to Nathanael Andrade, these events served to unify the ethnically and culturally diverse populations of Greek cities, while simultaneously marginalizing Jews, who were perceived as a threat to the Greek way of life. Additionally, these spectacles led Greeks to view the Romans as their defenders against Jewish uprising.[152]
Upon arriving in Antioch after his victory in Jerusalem, Titus faced a crowd demanding the expulsion of Jews. He refused their request when he appeared before them in the theater. The crowd then asked for the removal of the Jewish privileges from public inscriptions, but Titus declined once more.[153][152]
Glen Bowersock writes that the aftermath of the revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem brought Jews to the Arabian Peninsula, leading to the establishment of settlements in southern Yemen, along the coast of Ḥaḍramawt, and most notably in the northwestern Ḥijāz, particularly in Yathrib (later Medina), where they became prominent representatives of monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia.[154]
International and Imperial repercussions
[edit]Vespasian's rise to power, following a period of civil conflict and lacking the prestige of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, made a victory over the Jews crucial for both securing Rome's glory and diverting attention from internal struggles.[27] The Flavian dynasty he founded—continuing under his sons Titus and Domitian until the latter's death in 96 CE[155]—leveraged this victory to solidify their claim to imperial rule.[156] Following the revolt, a triumph—the only one in Roman history celebrating the subjugation of an existing province's population[157]—was held in Rome to mark the fall of Jerusalem.[156] Rome's city center was transformed with monuments commemorating the victory,[140] including two triumphal arches: the Arch of Titus on the Via Sacra and another at the Circus Maximus.[156]
The Flavian dynasty issued an extensive series of coins inscribed with the title Judaea Capta ("Judaea has been conquered”), commemorating the conquest and subjugation of the province.[158] These coins displayed the emperor's portrait on the obverse, while the reverse featured symbolic imagery: a mourning woman, representing the Jewish people, seated beneath a date palm, symbolizing the province of Judaea.[158]
According to Philostratus's Life of Apollonius, Titus refused to accept a wreath of victory offered by the groups neighboring Judaea, on the grounds that he had only been the instrument of divine wrath.[159]
Further wars
[edit]The Great Revolt of Judea marked the beginning of the Jewish–Roman wars, which radically changed the eastern Mediterranean and had a crucial impact on the development of the Roman Empire and the Jews. Despite the defeat of the Great Revolt, tensions continued to build in the region.
In 115 CE, large-scale Jewish uprisings, known as the Diaspora Revolt, erupted almost simultaneously across several eastern provinces, including Cyprus, Egypt, Libya, and Mesopotamia, with limited activity in Judaea. The causes of the revolt are complex and uncertain,[160][161] but they can be attributed to the destruction of the Temple and the imposition of the Jewish Tax following the First Jewish–Roman War.[160] Refugees and traders from Judaea—including sicarii who fled to Egypt and Cyrenaica around 71 CE[162][163]—are believed to have spread the ideas rooted in the First Revolt, as evidenced by the discovery of coinage from that revolt in these regions.[162] The uprisings were marked by extreme violence and took two years for the Romans to suppress, resulting in heavy casualties and the near-total ethnic cleansing of Jewish communities in Cyprus, Egypt, and Libya.[164][165]
The third and final conflict in the Jewish–Roman Wars, known as the Bar Kokhba revolt, erupted in Judaea in 132, concentrating in Judea proper and led by Simon bar Kokhba. Initially successful, Bar Kokhba established a short-lived state and minted coins featuring symbols and slogans proclaiming Jewish independence, similar to those from the First Revolt. However, Roman forces, under Emperor Hadrian, eventually crushed the revolt; The result was a level of destruction and death that has been described as a genocide of the Jews, with many sold into slavery or fleeing to other areas around the Mediterranean. After the fall of the final stronghold at Betar and the death of Bar Kokhba c. 135 CE, Hadrian's punishment included banning Jews from Jerusalem, enforcing laws that persecuted Jewish practices such as Shabbat observance and circumcision, and renaming the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina. The revolt also sealed the fate of the Jerusalem Temple, preventing its rebuilding for the foreseeable future. Although Hadrian's death in 137 eased restrictions and persecution of the Jews, the Jewish population of Judea had been greatly reduced.
Sources
[edit]The main primary source for the Jewish revolt is Josephus (c. 37–100 CE), born Yosef ben Mattityahu, a Jewish historian of priestly descent and a native of Jerusalem, who provides an eyewitness account of many events.[166] Appointed commander of Galilee early in the war, he took refuge in a cave after the Siege of Yodfat in 67 CE, joining a suicide pact that he later abandoned when only one other participant remained alive.[167] He surrendered to Vespasian, securing his life by prophesying Vespasian's rise to emperor.[167] Freed by Vespasian, Josephus spent much of the rest of the war urging Jews to surrender and witnessed the destruction of the Temple. He later gained Roman citizenship, a pension, and land in Judaea, married multiple times, and had several children.[167] After the fall of Jerusalem, he never returned to his homeland, living in Rome as a historian under imperial patronage, where he authored his works.[144]
Josephus' first work, and the primary account of the Jewish revolt, was The Jewish War, which he began writing shortly after the war ended and completed by the summer of 79 CE.[168] This work was, in part, a gesture of loyalty to Vespasian and his sons, Josephus' patrons. It served their political aims by portraying them in a favorable light. At the same time, while avoiding directly condemning Vespasian and Titus, he documents actions such as their killing of prisoners of war.[169] Josephus used the text to present his actions and positions positively, engaging in self-praise while disparaging his opponents. The narrative minimizes the collective responsibility of the Jewish people for the revolt, attributing it instead to a rebellious minority, the corruption of Roman governors, and the workings of fate. Through this, Josephus delivered a message to the Romans, urging moderation in their response to the Jews, whom he portrayed as not inherently rebellious, while also warning Jews in both Judaea and the Diaspora against entertaining ideas of rebellion or vengeance against Rome. Josephus' second major work, Antiquities of the Jews offers a detailed history of the Jewish people, tracing their origins from creation to the beginning of the revolt, and it complements the narrative found in The Jewish War.
Another work by Josephus relevant to the war is his later autobiographical text Life,[170] written as a rebuttal to A History of the Jewish War by the Jewish historian Justus of Tiberias. The latter work, which survives only in quotes by Josephus,[170] Eusebius[171] and Jerome,[172] was highly critical of Josephus' The Jewish War, prompting a sharp response from Josephus. In Life, Josephus defends himself against Justus's criticisms and provides a detailed account of his actions in Galilee during the revolt, allowing for comparisons with his earlier work and revealing differences in their portrayals of events. Other accounts of the revolts, though not as accurate as Josephus, come from the Histories of Tacitus, The Twelve Caesars of Suetonius and the Strategemata of Frontinus.
Another account of the revolt comes from a 4th-century chronicle written in Latin by an anonymous author, erroneously thought to be Hegesippus in the past and thus commonly referred to as Pseudo-Hegesippus. However, such work is usually seen as nothing more than a rewriting of The Jewish War of Josephus with blatant anti-Jewish and pro-Christian alterations, and is therefore dismissed as unreliable by scholars.[citation needed]
According to Fergus Millar, the revolt represents "the best-attested series of operations by the Roman army in the entire history of the Empire."[144]
See also
[edit]- Jewish and Samaritan revolts
- Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus, 352
- Samaritan revolts, 484–572
- Jewish revolt against Heraclius, 614-617/625
- Related topics
- First Jewish Revolt coinage
- History of the Jews in Italy
- History of the Jews in the Roman Empire
- Josephus problem
- List of conflicts in the Near East
- List of Jewish civil wars
- Religious persecution in the Roman Empire
- Sicaricon (Jewish law)
References
[edit]- ^ Josephus (c. 75), War of the Jews 6.5.4
- ^ Josephus, The Wars of the Jews VI.2–VI.3
- ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 20, Chapter 9, Section 1
- ^ a b Josephus. BJ. 6.9.3., Perseus Project BJ6.9.3, .
- ^ White, Matthew (2012), The Great Big Book of Horrible Things, Norton, p. 52
- ^ "Atrocity statistics from the Roman Era". Necrometrics.
- ^ https://www.britannica.com/event/First-Jewish-Revolt First Jewish Revolt, (AD 66–70), Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in Judaea. The First Jewish Revolt was the result of a long series of clashes in which small groups of Jews offered sporadic resistance to the Romans, who in turn responded with severe countermeasures. In the fall of AD 66 the Jews combined in revolt, expelled the Romans from Jerusalem, and overwhelmed in the pass of Beth-Horon a Roman punitive force under Gallus, the imperial legate in Syria. A revolutionary government was then set up and extended its influence throughout the whole country. Vespasian was dispatched by the Roman emperor Nero to crush the rebellion. He was joined by Titus, and together the Roman armies entered Galilee, where the historian Josephus headed the Jewish forces. Josephus’ army was confronted by that of Vespasian and fled. After the fall of the fortress of Jatapata, Josephus gave himself up, and the Roman forces swept the country. On the 9th of the month of Av (August 29) in AD 70, Jerusalem fell; the Temple was burned, and the Jewish state collapsed, although the fortress of Masada was not conquered by the Roman general Flavius Silva until April 73.
- ^ Grant, R. G. (2017). 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. Book Sales. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-0-7858-3553-0.
- ^ שטרן, מנחם (1984). ההיסטוריה של ארץ ישראל: התקופה הרומית-ביזנטית – שלטון רומי מהכיבוש ועד מלחמת בן כוסבה (63 לפני הספירה – 135 לספירה) (in Hebrew). בית הוצאה כתר – ירושלים; יד יצחק בן צבי. p. 297.
- ^ Josephus. BJ. 2.8.11..Josephus. BJ. 2.13.7..Josephus. BJ. 2.14.4..Josephus. BJ. 2.14.5..
- ^ Josephus, De Bello Judaico (Wars of the Jews), book iv, chapter i, § 1
- ^ Goodman 1987, p. 9.
- ^ Berlin & Overman 2002, p. 2.
- ^ Gabba 1999, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 95.
- ^ Gabba 1999, pp. 97–98.
- ^ a b Berlin & Overman 2002, p. 3.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 113.
- ^ Gabba 1999, pp. 127–128, 130.
- ^ a b Goodman 1987, p. 1.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 130.
- ^ a b Goodman 1987, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 133.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 152.
- ^ a b c d e f Goodman 1987, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d Gabba 1999, p. 140.
- ^ a b c d Goodman 2004, p. 16.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 142.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 143.
- ^ Mattern 2010, p. 168.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 145.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 146.
- ^ Tactius, Annals, 5.10
- ^ a b c d The Jewish War, II, 277 Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 124.
- ^ Gabba 1999, p. 147.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, pp. 1, 126.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 127.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 1, 127.
- ^ The Jewish War, II, 14.6
- ^ The Jewish War, II, 14.9
- ^ a b Gabba 1999, p. 148.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 2.
- ^ The Jewish War, II, 357
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, pp. 140–141.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, p. 143.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 144.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Millar 1995, p. 71.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 150.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 152.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 151.
- ^ The Jewish War, II, 427
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 153.
- ^ a b c d Rogers 2022, p. 155.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 158.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 159.
- ^ Eusebius, Church History 3, 5, 3; Epiphanius, Panarion 29,7,7–8; 30, 2, 7; On Weights and Measures 15. See: Craig Koester, "The Origin and Significance of the Flight to Pella Tradition", Catholic Biblical Quarterly 51 (1989), pp. 90–106; P. H. R. van Houwelingen, "Fleeing forward: The departure of Christians from Jerusalem to Pella", Westminster Theological Journal 65 (2003); Jonathan Bourgel, "The Jewish Christians' Move from Jerusalem as a pragmatic choice", in: Dan Jaffé (ed), Studies in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity, (Leyden: Brill, 2010), pp. 107–138.
- ^ Josephus, The Jewish War, II, 18, 9
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 166.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 167.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 168.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 169.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 170–171.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, p. 174.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 175.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 175, 177.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, p. 180.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 182.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 179–180.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 181.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 184.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 184–185.
- ^ a b Gabba 1999, p. 159.
- ^ a b c Ben Zion, S. A Roadmap to the Heavens: An Anthropological Study of Hegemony Among Priests. p45.
- ^ a b Gabba 1999, p. 160.
- ^ Deutsch 2011, p. 368.
- ^ a b c Magness 2012, p. 166.
- ^ Deutsch 2011, p. 361.
- ^ Alphabet, the Hebrew. Coins, and Bibliography 6
- ^ Millar 1995, pp. 71–72.
- ^ a b Millar 1995, p. 72.
- ^ a b c Millar 1995, pp. 72–73.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 214.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, p. 229.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 226–227.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 227.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, p. 230.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 231–234.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 234.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 235–236.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, pp. 242–243.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 241.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 245.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 246–247.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 247.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, pp. 247–248.
- ^ a b Magness 2012, p. 171.
- ^ a b Rogers 2022, pp. 249, 252.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 251.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 252.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 258–259.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 258.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 256–257.
- ^ Rogers 2022, pp. 259–260.
- ^ Broshi, Magen (1 October 1979). "The Population of Western Palestine in the Roman-Byzantine Period". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 236 (236): 1–10. doi:10.2307/1356664. ISSN 0003-097X. JSTOR 1356664. PMID 12338473. S2CID 24341643.
- ^ Byatt, Anthony (1 January 1973). "Josephus and Population Numbers in First Century Palestine". Palestine Exploration Quarterly. 105 (1): 51–60. doi:10.1179/peq.1973.105.1.51. ISSN 0031-0328.
- ^ "Silver Shekel from the First Jewish Revolt, 66–70 CE". The Center for Online Judaic Studies. 31 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Malkin, Irad; Hohlfelder, Robert L. (1988). Mediterranean Cities: Historical Perspectives. Routledge. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7146-3353-4. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
- ^ Josephus. BJ. 3.9.2., Perseus Project BJ3.9.2, .
- ^ a b c d e Millar 1995, p. 73.
- ^ a b c Gabba 1999, p. 163.
- ^ a b Broshi 1999, p. 3.
- ^ a b Millar 1995, p. 75.
- ^ Dimont, Max (June 2004) [1962 for first ed.]. "The Sealed Coffin". Jews, God, and History (2nd ed.). New York: Signet Classic. p. 101. ISBN 0-451-62866-7. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
To make sure that no food or water supply would reach the city from the outside, Titus completely sealed off Jerusalem from the rest of the world with a wall of earth as high as the stone wall around Jerusalem itself. Anyone not a Roman soldier caught anywhere in this vast dry moat was crucified on the top of the earthen wall in sight of the Jews of the city. It was not uncommon for as many as five hundred people a day to be so executed. The air was redolent with the stench of rotting flesh and rent by the cries and agony of the crucified. But the Jews held out for still another year, the fourth year of the war, to the discomfiture of Titus.
- ^ Tacitus, Cornelius (1844) [1844]. "Book 5". The works of Cornelius Tacitus: with an essay on his life and genius, notes, supplements. Philadelphia: Thomas Wardle. p. 504. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
- ^ Wettstein, Howard: Diasporas and Exiles: Varieties of Jewish Identity, p. 31 (2002). University of California Press
- ^ a b Bahat 1999, p. 42.
- ^ The Jewish War, VI, 237–243
- ^ The Jewish War, VI, 254–259
- ^ The Jewish War, VI, 241–243
- ^ a b c Bahat 1999, pp. 42–43.
- ^ The Jewish War, VI, 280–282
- ^ The Jewish War, VI, 316–322
- ^ "Titus' Arch, Emperor Titus' Triumphal Arch in the Roman Forum - Rome Italy". 9 November 2004. Archived from the original on 9 November 2004.
- ^ Civan, Julian: Abraham's Knife: The Mythology of the Deicide in Anti-Semitism, p. 68
- ^ a b c d e f Millar 1995, p. 76.
- ^ a b c d Magness 2012, p. 215.
- ^ Millar 1995, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Tropper, A. Rewriting ancient Jewish history: the history of the Jews in Roman times and the new historical method: p. 92. [1]
- ^ a b c Millar 1995, p. 77.
- ^ a b Schiffman, Lawerence (1991). "Revolt and Restoration," in From Text to Tradition. Ktav Pub. House. pp. 161–162.
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, Seth (2014). The ancient Jews from Alexander to Muhammad. Cambridge. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-1-107-04127-1. OCLC 863044259.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Pliny, Naturalis Historia, v. 70
- ^ Goodman 2004, pp. 4–5.
- ^ Tacitus, Histories, Book V, Chapter XIII
- ^ Van Kooten, G. H. (2011). The Jewish War and the Roman Civil War of 68–69 CE: Jewish, Pagan, and Christian Perspectives. In The Jewish Revolt against Rome (pp. 419–450). Brill.
- ^ Schwartz, Seth (1984). "Political, social and economic life in the land of Israel". In Davies, William David; Finkelstein, Louis; Katz, Steven T. (eds.). The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 4, The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0521772488.
- ^ a b c Belayche, Nicole (2001). "Jews and Polytheistic Semitic Traditions". Iudaea-Palaestina: the pagan cults in Roman Palestine (second to fourth century). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. pp. 82–84. ISBN 3-16-147153-9. OCLC 49385579.
- ^ a b Clarysse 2021, pp. 316–317.
- ^ a b Goodman 2004, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Goodman 2004, p. 26.
- ^ Goodman 2004, p. 18.
- ^ Clarysse 2021, pp. 306, 316–317.
- ^ a b c d Millar 1995, p. 70.
- ^ a b c Cohen, Shaye. p. 297.
- ^ Cohen, Shaye. p. 298.
- ^ Goodman, M. (1994). "Sadducees and Essenes after 70 CE". Judaism in the Roman World. Brill. pp. 153–162. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004153097.i-275.38. ISBN 978-90-474-1061-4. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ a b Gurtner, Daniel M.; Stuckenbruck, Loren T., eds. (2020). T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism. Vol. 2. T&T Clark. pp. 694–695, 834–836. ISBN 978-0-567-66144-9.
- ^ L. M. McDonald & J. A. Sanders (eds.), The Canon Debate, Peabody (Mass.), Hendrickson Publishers, 2002, chapter 9: "Jamnia Revisited" by Jack P. Lewis, pp. 146–162.
- ^ Aberbach & Aberbach 2000, pp. 4–5.
- ^ The Jewish War, VII, 96
- ^ a b c Andrade 2013, p. 115.
- ^ The Jewish War, VII, 100–11; Antiquities of the Jews, XII, 122–24.
- ^ Bowersack 2017, p. 102.
- ^ Magness 2012, p. 256.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, pp. 3–5.
- ^ Millar 1995, p. 79.
- ^ a b Magness 2012, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Philostratus, Vita Apollonii, 6.2.9.1
- ^ a b Pucci Ben Zeev 2006, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Smallwood 1976, p. 389.
- ^ a b Horbury 2014, p. 273.
- ^ Smallwood 1999, pp. 190–191.
- ^ Kerkeslager 2006, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Goodman 2004, p. 10.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 469.
- ^ a b c Rogers 2022, p. 471.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 472.
- ^ Rogers 2022, p. 248.
- ^ a b Josephus, The Life of Flavius Josephus
- ^ Eusebius, Church History, Book 10, Chapter 3
- ^ Jerome, De viris illustribus, Chapter 14
Bibliography
[edit]Primary sources
[edit]- Malalas, John. Chronicle.
- Josephus. The Jewish War.
- Pliny. Naturalis Historia.
- Britannica
Secondary sources
[edit]- Aberbach, Moshe; Aberbach, David (2000). The Roman-Jewish Wars and Hebrew Cultural Nationalism, 66-2000 CE. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-333-76458-9.
- Andrade, Nathanael J. (2013). Syrian Identity in the Greco-Roman World. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-01205-9.
- Bahat, Dan (1999). "The Herodian Temple". In Horbury, William; Davies, W. D.; Sturdy, John (eds.). The Early Roman Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 38–58. ISBN 9781139053662.
- Berlin, Andrea M.; Overman, J. Andrew, eds. (2002). "Introduction". The First Jewish Revolt: Archaeology, History, and Ideology. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-62024-6.
- Bowersock, Glen W. (2017). The Crucible of Islam. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674057760.
- Broshi, Magen (1999). "The Archaeology of Palestine 63 BCE–CE 70". In Horbury, William; Davies, W. D.; Sturdy, John (eds.). The Early Roman Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–37. ISBN 9781139053662.
- Clarysse, Willy (2021). "The Jewish Presence in Graeco-Roman Egypt: The Evidence of the Papyri since the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum". In Salvesen, Alison; Pearce, Sarah; Frenkel, Miriam (eds.). Israel in Egypt: The Land of Egypt as Concept and Reality for Jews in Antiquity and the Early Medieval Period. Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity. Vol. 110. Leiden & Boston: Brill. pp. 305–325. ISBN 978-90-04-43539-1.
- Deutsch, Robert (2011). "Coinage of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome: Iconography, Minting Authority, Metallurgy". In Popović, Mladen (ed.). The Jewish Revolt Against Rome: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism. Vol. 154. Brill. pp. 361–371. ISBN 978-9-004-21668-6.
- Gabba, Emilio (1999). "The social, economic and political history of Palestine 63 BCE–CE 70". In Horbury, William; Davies, W. D.; Sturdy, John (eds.). The Early Roman Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 94–167. ISBN 9781139053662.
- Goodblatt, David (2006). Elements of Ancient Jewish Nationalism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780511499067.
- Goodman, Martin (1987). The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt against Rome, A.D. 66–70. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780511552656.
- Goodman, Martin (2002). "Current scholarship on the First Revolt". In Berlin, Andrea M.; Overman, J. Andrew (eds.). The First Jewish Revolt: Archaeology, History, and Ideology. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 15–24. ISBN 978-0-415-62024-6.
- Goodman, Martin (2004). "Trajan and the Origins of Roman Hostility to the Jews". Past & Present (182): 3–29 – via JSTOR.
- Horbury, William (2014). Jewish War under Trajan and Hadrian. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-04905-4.
- Kerkeslager, Allen (2006). "The Jews in Egypt and Cyrenaica, 66–c. 235 CE". In Katz, Steven T. (ed.). The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 4. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77248-8.
- Magness, Jodi (2012). The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon's Temple to the Muslim Conquest. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-01383-3.
- Mattern, Susan (2010). "Counterinsurgency and the Enemies of Rome". In Hanson, Victor Davis (ed.). Makers of Ancient Strategy: From the Persian Wars to the Fall of Rome. Princeton University Press. pp. 163–184. ISBN 978-0-691-13790-2.
- Millar, Fergus (1995). The Roman Near East: 31 BC–AD 337. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-77886-3.
- Pucci Ben Zeev, Miriam (2006). "The Uprisings in the Jewish Diaspora, 116–117". In Katz, Steven T. (ed.). The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 93–104. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521772488.005. ISBN 978-0-521-77248-8.
- Rogers, Guy MacLean (2022). For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-24813-5.
- Smallwood, E. Mary (1976). "The Jewish Revolt of AD 115–117". The Jews under Roman Rule from Pompey to Diocletian. SBL Press. pp. 389–427. doi:10.1163/9789004502048_023. ISBN 978-90-04-50204-8.
- Smallwood, E. Mary (1999). "The Diaspora in the Roman period before CE 70". In Horbury, William; Davies, W. D.; Sturdy, John (eds.). The Early Roman Period. The Cambridge History of Judaism. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 168–191. ISBN 9781139053662.
Further reading
[edit]- Popović, Mladen. 2011. The Jewish Revolt Against Rome: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Leiden: Brill.
- Price, Jonathan J. 1992. Jerusalem under Siege: The Collapse of the Jewish State, 66–70 AD. Brill's Series in Jewish Studies 3. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
- Rajak, Tessa. 1983. Josephus: The Historian and His Society. London: Duckworth.
- Reeder, Caryn A. 2015. "Gender, War, and Josephus." Journal for the Study of Judaism 46, no. 1: 65–85.
- ———. 2017. "Wartime Rape, the Romans, and the First Jewish Revolt." Journal for the Study of Judaism 48, no. 3: 363–85.
- Spilsbury, Paul. 2003. "Flavius Josephus on the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire." The Journal of Theological Studies 54, no. 1: 1–24.
- Tuval, Michael. 2013. From Jerusalem Priest to Roman Jew: On Josephus and the Paradigms of Ancient Judaism. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
External links
[edit]- Works related to The War of the Jews at Wikisource
- Media related to First Jewish-Roman War at Wikimedia Commons
- In Depth Lecture on the First Roman-Jewish War and Destruction of the 2nd Tempe Thinktorah.org