| Image1: | Arch of Titus Menorah.png |
| Conflict: | Jewish–Roman wars |
| Date: | 66–135 CE (70 years) |
| Place: | Roman Judea, Egypt, Cyprus, Cyrenaica, Mesopotamia |
| Result: | Roman victory:
|
| Territory: | Roman Judea (Iudaea) remained under Roman control, renamed and merged into the province of Syria Palaestina |
| Combatant1: | Roman Empire |
| Combatant2: | Judean provisional government Jewish Zealots Jewish rebels Judea under Bar Kokhba |
| Commander1: | Titus Vespasian Marcus Lupus Marcius Turbo Lusius Quietus Hadrian Sextus Julius Severus |
| Commander2: | Hannan Eleazar ben Hanania Bar Giora Eleazar John Artemion Lukuas Julian and Pappus Simon bar Kokhba Eleazar of Modi'im |
| Strength1: | Great revolt: 30,000 (Beth Horon) – 60,000 (siege of Jerusalem) Kitos War: forces of the eastern legions Bar Kokhba revolt: 6–7 full legions with cohorts and auxiliaries of 5–6 additional legions – about 120,000 total. |
| Strength2: | Great revolt: 25,000+ Jewish militias 20,000 Idumeans Kitos War: loosely organized tens of thousands Bar Kokhba revolt: 200,000–400,000b militiamen |
| Casualties1: | Great revolt: Legio XII Fulminata lost its aquila and Syrian contingent destroyed – about 20,000 casualties; thousands of Roman civilians slain Kitos War: 240,000 killed in Cyprusa,[1] 200,000 killed in Cyrenaicaa Bar Kokhba revolt: Legio XXII Deiotariana destroyed, Legio IX Hispana possibly disbanded,[2] Legio X Fretensis – sustained heavy casualties |
| Casualties2: | Great revolt: 1,356,460 civilians and militia killed[3] – perhaps hundreds of thousands of non-Jewish civilians (mostly trapped visitors) killed; enslavement of 97,000–99,000c Kitos War: 200,000 killed[4] Annihilation of Jewish communities in Cyprus, Cyrenaica and Alexandria Bar Kokhba revolt: 580,000a killed,[5] 985 Jewish strongholds and villages destroyeda |
| Casualties3: | 350,000[6] –1,400,000[7] fatalities |
| Notes: | [a] per Cassius Dio[8] [b] according to Rabbinic sources [c] per Josephus[9] |
The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by Jewish subjects against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE.[10] The term primarily applies to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136)—nationalist rebellions striving to restore an independent Jewish state. Some sources also include the Diaspora Revolt (115–117), an ethno-religious conflict fought across the Eastern Mediterranean and including the Kitos War in Judaea.
The Jewish–Roman wars had a devastating impact on the Jewish people, transforming them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a dispersed and persecuted minority.[11] The First Jewish-Roman War culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem and other towns and villages in Judaea, resulting in significant loss of life and a considerable segment of the population being uprooted or displaced.[12] Those who remained were stripped of any form of political autonomy.[13] Subsequently, the brutal suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt resulted in even more severe consequences. Judea witnessed a significant depopulation, as many Jews were killed, expelled, or sold into slavery.[14] Jews were banned from residing in the vicinity of Jerusalem, which the Romans rebuilt into the pagan colony of Aelia Capitolina, and the province of Judaea was renamed Syria Palaestina. Collectively, these events enhanced the role of Jewish diaspora, relocating the Jewish demographic and cultural center to Galilee and eventually to Babylonia, with smaller communities across the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and beyond.
The wars also had a major impact on Judaism, after the central worship site of Second Temple Judaism, the Second Temple in Jerusalem, was destroyed by Titus's troops in 70.[15] The destruction of the Temple led to a transformation in Jewish religious practices, emphasizing prayer, Torah study, and communal gatherings in synagogues. This pivotal shift laid the foundation for the emergence of Rabbinic Judaism, which has been the dominant form of Judaism since late antiquity, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud.[16]
The Jewish–Roman wars include the following:[17]
See main article: Jacob and Simon uprising and Alexandrian riots (38 CE). Following increasing Roman domination of the Eastern Mediterranean, the client kingdom of the Herodian dynasty had been officially merged into the Roman Empire in 6 CE with the creation of the Roman province of Judaea. The transition of the Tetrarchy of Judaea into a Roman province immediately brought a great deal of tensions and a Jewish uprising by Judas of Galilee erupted right away as a response to the Census of Quirinius.
Although initially pacified (the years between 7 and 26 being relatively quiet), the province continued to be a source of trouble under Emperor Caligula (after 37). The cause of tensions in the east of the empire was complicated, involving the spread of Greek culture, Roman law, and the rights of Jews in the empire. Caligula did not trust the prefect of Roman Egypt, Aulus Avilius Flaccus. Flaccus had been loyal to Tiberius, had conspired against Caligula's mother, and had connections with Egyptian separatists.[18] In 38 Caligula sent Herod Agrippa to Alexandria unannounced to check on Flaccus.[19] According to Philo, the visit was met with jeers from the Greek population, who saw Agrippa as the king of the Jews.[20] [21] Flaccus tried to placate both the Greek population and Caligula by having statues of the emperor placed in Jewish synagogues.[22] [23] As a result, extensive religious riots broke out in the city.[24] Caligula responded by removing Flaccus from his position and executing him.[25] In 39 Agrippa accused Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help of Parthia. Antipas confessed, and Caligula exiled him. Agrippa was rewarded with his territories.[26]
Riots again erupted in Alexandria in 40 between Jews and Greeks.[27] Jews were accused of not honoring the emperor.[27] Disputes occurred also in Jamnia.[28] Jews were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it. In response, Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Temple in Jerusalem,[29] a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism.[30] In this context, Philo writes that Caligula "regarded the Jews with most especial suspicion, as if they were the only persons who cherished wishes opposed to his".[30] Fearing civil war if the order were carried out, Publius Petronius—governor of Roman Syria—delayed implementing it for nearly a year.[31] Agrippa finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order.[27] However, only Caligula's death at the hands of Roman conspirators in 41 prevented a full-scale war in Judaea, that might well have spread to the entire empire.[32]
Caligula's death did not stop the tensions completely, and in 46 an insurrection led by two brothers, the Jacob and Simon uprising, broke out in the Judea province. The revolt, mainly in the Galilee, began as sporadic insurgency; when it climaxed in 48 it was quickly put down by Roman authorities. Both Simon and Jacob were executed.[33]
The First Jewish–Roman War began in 66, originating in the Greek and Jewish religious tensions, and later escalated with anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens.[34] In response to the Roman plunder of the Second Jewish Temple and the execution of up to 6,000 Jews in Jerusalem, a full-scale rebellion erupted. The Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by rebels, while the pro-Roman king Herod Agrippa II and Roman officials fled Jerusalem. As it became clear the rebellion was getting out of control, Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, brought the Syrian army, based on Legio XII Fulminata and reinforced by auxiliary troops, to restore order and quell the revolt. Despite initial advances, the Syrian Legion was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon with 6,000 Romans massacred and the legionary eagle lost—a result that shocked the Roman leadership.
The experienced and unassuming general Vespasian was then tasked with crushing the rebellion in Judaea province. His son Titus was appointed second-in-command. Vespasian was given four legions and assisted by forces of King Agrippa II. In 67 he invaded Galilee. While avoiding a direct attack on the reinforced city of Jerusalem which was packed with the main rebel force, Titus's forces launched a persistent campaign to eradicate rebel strongholds and punish the population. Within several months Vespasian and Titus took over the major Jewish strongholds of Galilee and finally overran Jotapata under command of Yosef ben Matitiyahu (Josephus) following a 47-day siege. Meantime in Jerusalem, an attempt by Sicarii leader Menahem to take control of the city failed, resulting in his execution. A peasant leader Simon bar Giora was ousted from the city by the new moderate Judaean government, and Ananus ben Ananus began reinforcing the city.
Driven from Galilee, Zealot rebels and thousands of refugees arrived in Judaea, creating political turmoil in Jerusalem. Zealots were at first sealed in the Temple compound. However, confrontation between the mainly Sadducee Jerusalemites and the mainly Zealot factions of the Northern Revolt under the command of John of Gischala and Eleazar ben Simon became evident. With Edomites entering the city and fighting on the side of the Zealots, Ananus ben Ananus was killed and his forces suffered severe casualties. Simon bar Giora, commanding 15,000 troops, was then invited into Jerusalem by the Sadducee leaders to stand against the Zealots and quickly took control over much of the city.
After a lull in the military operations, owing to civil war and political turmoil in Rome, Vespasian returned to Rome and was accepted as emperor in 69. After Vespasian's departure, Titus besieged the center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in early 70. While the first two walls of Jerusalem were breached within three weeks, a stubborn stand prevented the Roman Army from breaking the third and thickest wall. Following a brutal seven-month siege, in which Zealot infighting resulted in the burning of the entire food supply of the city to enhance "fighting to the end", the Romans finally succeeded in breaching the weakened Jewish forces in the summer of 70. Following the fall of Jerusalem, Titus left for Rome, while Legion X Fretensis defeated the remaining Jewish strongholds later on, finalizing the Roman campaign in Masada in 73/74.
The Diaspora Revolt (115–117), also known as mered ha'galuyot or mered ha'tfutzot (Rebellion of the exile), is the name given to the second of the Jewish–Roman wars. The Kitos War consisted of major revolts by diasporic Jews in Cyrenaica, Cyprus, Mesopotamia and Egypt, which spiraled out of control, resulting in a widespread slaughter of Roman citizens and others (200,000 in Cyrene, 240,000 in Cyprus according to Cassius Dio) by the Jewish rebels. The rebellions were finally crushed by Roman legionary forces, chiefly by Roman generals Marcius Turbo and Lusius Quietus. Kitos War was a contemporaneous episode of unrest and revolt in Judaea. The Diaspora revolt led to the disappearance of the influential Jewish community in Alexandria and Egypt and in the expulsion of Jews from Cyprus.[35]
———The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136,[36] he|מרד בר כוכבא) was the third major rebellion the last of the Jewish–Roman wars. The establishment of the pagan city of Aelia Capitolina in Jerusalem by the emperor Hadrian is most likely what sparked the uprising. The Jews of Judaea spent a long time preparing for this rebellion in secrecy, carving out hundreds of underground hideout systems beneath their settlements. Simon bar Kokhba was acclaimed as a messiah, a heroic figure who could restore Israel. The revolt established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judaea for more than two years, but a Roman army made up of six full legions with auxilia and elements from up to six additional legions finally crushed it.[37]
The rebels' eventual failure was a catastrophe. The brutal suppression of the revolt resulted in a huge number of people being killed or captured, and Judaea's rural countryside was devastated and depopulated.[38] [39] [40] [41] [42] Judaea was no longer the focus of Jewish life, and the province's name was changed to Syria Palaestina.[43] [44] The Romans barred Jews from Jerusalem, except to attend Tisha B'Av. Although Jewish Christians hailed Jesus as the Messiah and did not support Bar Kokhba,[45] they were barred from Jerusalem along with the rest of the Jews. The war and its aftermath helped differentiate Christianity as a religion distinct from Judaism.[46]
The destruction of the Second Temple ushered in a major time of dramatic reformation in religious leadership, causing the face of Judaism to change. The Second Temple served as the centralized location from which the ruling groups Sadducees and the Pharisees maintained Judaism, with rivaling Essenes and Zealots being largely in opposition. With the destruction of the temple, the major ruling group lost their power—the Sadducees, who were the priests, directly lost their localized power source and were rendered obsolete. Thus only one group was left with all the power: the Pharisees, who were the rabbinic group. Rabbinic power did not derive from the temple or from military prowess but spread to different communities through the synagogues. This changed the way Judaism was practiced on a daily basis, which included changing from sacrificing animals to praying in order to worship God.[47] Rabbinic Judaism became a religion centered around synagogues, and the Jews dispersed throughout the Roman world and beyond.[48] With the destruction of Jerusalem, important centers of Jewish culture developed in the area of Galilee and in Babylonia and work on the Talmud continued in these locations. Before Vespasian's departure, the Pharisaic sage and Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai obtained his permission to establish a Judaic school at Yavne. Zakkai was smuggled away from Jerusalem in a coffin by his students. This school later became a major center of Talmudic study.
Emperor Hadrian undertook punitive actions towards the Jewish community, including barring them from entering Jerusalem, except on the fast day of Tisha B'Av. Jerusalem was re-founded as the Roman polis of Aelia Capitolina, and the Province of Judaea was renamed Syria Palaestina. At the former Jewish sanctuary on the Temple Mount he installed two statues, one of Jupiter and another of himself.[49]
The Jewish–Roman wars had a dramatic impact on the Jews, turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a scattered and persecuted minority. The Jewish–Roman wars are often cited as a disaster to Jewish society.[11] The defeat of the Jewish revolts altered the Jewish population and enhanced the importance of Jewish diaspora, essentially moving the demographic center of Jews from Judea to Galilee and Babylon, with minor communities across the Mediterranean.