| Jewish–Roman wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Roman Empire |  Judean provisional governmentJewish Zealots Jewish rebels  Judea underBar Kokhba | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| TitusVespasianMarcus LupusMarcius TurboLusius QuietusHadrianSextus Julius Severus | Hannan Eleazar ben Hanania Bar Giora Eleazar John Artemion Lukuas Julian and Pappus Simon bar Kokhba † Eleazar of Modi'im | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 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. | Great revolt: 25,000+ Jewish militias 20,000Idumeans Kitos War: loosely organized tens of thousands Bar Kokhba revolt: 200,000–400,000b militiamen | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Great revolt:Legio XII Fulminata lost itsaquila and Syrian contingent destroyed – about 20,000 casualties; thousands of Roman civilians slain Kitos War: 240,000 killed in Cyprusa,[1] 200,000 killed inCyrenaicaa Bar Kokhba revolt:Legio XXII Deiotariana destroyed, Legio IX Hispana possibly disbanded,[2] Legio X Fretensis – sustained heavy casualties | Great revolt: 1,356,460 Jewish civilians and militia killed by Romans[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 | ||||||||
| 350,000[6]–1,400,000[7] fatalities | |||||||||
| [a] per Cassius Dio[8] [b] according to Rabbinic sources [c] per Josephus[9] | |||||||||
TheJewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scalerevolts by theJews ofJudaea against theRoman Empire between 66 and 135 CE.[10] The conflict was driven by Jewish aspirations to restore the political independence lost when Rome conquered theHasmonean kingdom, and unfolded over three major uprisings: theFirst Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), theKitos War (116–118 CE) and theBar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE). Some historians also include theDiaspora Revolt (115–117 CE) which coincided with the Kitos War, when Jewish communities across theEastern Mediterranean rose up against Roman rule.
The Jewish–Roman wars had a devastating impact on theJewish people, turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a dispersed and persecuted minority.[11] The First Jewish-Roman War ended with the devastatingsiege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, including the burning of theSecond Temple—the center of Jewish religious and national life. Roman forces destroyed other towns and villages throughout Judaea, causing massive loss of life and displacement of the population.[12] The surviving Jewish community lost all political autonomy under direct Roman rule.[13] The laterBar Kokhba revolt proved even more devastating. The Romans' brutal suppression of this uprising led to the near-total depopulation ofJudea through a combination of battlefield casualties, mass killings, and the widespread enslavement of survivors.[14][15]
These catastrophic events expanded and strengthened theJewish diaspora, driving profound religious and cultural transformations that would shapeJudaism for millennia. With the Temple'ssacrificial cult no longer viable, other forms of worship developed, centered onprayer,Torah study, and communalsynagogue gatherings, enabling Jewish communities to preserve their identity and practices despite dispersion. As Jewish life in Judaea became untenable, two major shifts occurred: within theLand of Israel, the cultural center shifted northward toGalilee, while internationally,Babylonia and other diaspora communities across theMediterranean andNear East gained unprecedented importance, eventually comprising the majority of the Jewish population. These developments laid the foundation forRabbinic Judaism, which emerged as the dominant form of Judaism inlate antiquity and was responsible for the codification of theMishnah andTalmud.
The Jewish–Roman wars include the following:[16]
Rome gained control of Judaea, then an independent kingdom ruled by theHasmonean dynasty, in 63 BCE.[17][18] That year, the Roman generalPompey intervened in asuccession war between brothersHyrcanus andAristobulus, who were fighting for the throne following the death of their mother, QueenSalome Alexandra.[19][20] Pompeybesieged and conquered Jerusalem, committing a religious violation by entering the Temple'sHoly of Holies,[21][22] a space reserved exclusively for theHigh Priest who entered it only once a year onYom Kippur.[23] After the Roman conquest, Judaea became a client state: the monarchy was abolished, and Hyrcanus was reduced to serving solely as High Priest.[22][24] Parts of the former kingdom were detached and incorporated into theprovince of Syria, likely in an attempt to weaken the Jewish population economically and pave the way for future annexation.[25] Fifteen years later,Julius Caesar visited the region and improved Jewish status, restoring some territories to Jewish control and appointing Hyrcanus asethnarch.[26]
Antigonus II Mattathias, Aristobolus's son, reclaimed Judaea's throne in 40 BCE with popular[27] and Parthian support.[28] Meanwhile, theRoman Senate appointedHerod, anIdumean noble from a family that had converted to Judaism a century prior, as "King of the Jews".[29] It took Herod three years to conquer the kingdom, capturing Jerusalem through siege and ending Antigonus' brief reign.[30] He ruled Judaea as aclient kingdom, maintaining close ties with Rome, though he faced widespread Jewish resentment.[29] After his death in 4 BCE, his realm was divided among his sons:[28]Archelaus became ethnarch of Judaea,Samaria, and Idumaea, whileHerod Antipas governed Galilee andPerea.[31] Archelaus' misrule led to his removal within a decade, and in 6 CE Judaea was annexed as aRoman province.[32][33][34]
In 6 CE,Quirinius, the governor of Syria,conducted a census in Judaea, triggering an uprising led byJudas of Galilee. Judas led what Josephus described as the 'fourth philosophy,' rejecting Roman rule and affirmed God's sole kingship.[35] During the tenure ofPontius Pilate (c. 26–36 CE), several incidents provoked unrest: the introduction of military standards into Jerusalem, the diversion of Temple funds to build an aqueduct, and a soldier's indecent exposure near the Temple.[36]
Although initially pacified (the years between 7 and 26 being relatively quiet), the province continued to be a source of trouble under EmperorCaligula (after 37). The cause of tensions in the east of the empire was complicated, involving thespread of Greek culture,Roman law, and therights of Jews in the empire. Caligula did not trust the prefect ofRoman Egypt,Aulus Avilius Flaccus. Flaccus had been loyal toTiberius, had conspired against Caligula's mother, and had connections with Egyptian separatists.[37][better source needed] In 38 Caligula sentHerod Agrippa toAlexandria unannounced to check on Flaccus.[38][better source needed] According toPhilo, the visit was met with jeers from the Greek population, who saw Agrippa as the king of the Jews.[39][40] Flaccus tried to placate both the Greek population and Caligula by having statues of the emperor placed in Jewish synagogues.[41][42] As a result, extensive religiousriots broke out in the city.[43] Caligula responded by removing Flaccus from his position and executing him.[44] InAntiquities of the Jews,Josephus mentions that in 39 CE Agrippa accusedHerod Antipas, the tetrarch ofGalilee andPeraea, of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help ofParthia. Antipas confessed, and Caligula exiled him. Agrippa was rewarded with his territories.[45]
Riots againerupted in Alexandria in 38 between Jews and Greeks.[46] Jews were accused of not honoring the emperor.[46] Disputes occurred also inJamnia.[47] Jews were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it.[47] In response, Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in theTemple in Jerusalem,[48] a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism.[49] 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".[49] Fearing civil war if the order were carried out,Publius Petronius—governor ofRoman Syria—delayed implementing it for nearly a year.[50] Agrippa finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order.[46] However, only Caligula's death at the hands of Roman conspirators in 41 prevented a full-scale war in Judaea, that might have spread to the rest of the eastern part of the empire.[51]
Caligula's death did not stop the tensions completely, and in 46 an insurrection led by two brothers, theJacob 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.[52]
In the spring and summer of 66 CE, a chain of events inCaesarea andJerusalem sparked what would become the First Jewish–Roman War. The conflict began with a local dispute in Caesarea over land adjacent to a synagogue, which escalated when a Greek resident deliberately provoked the Jewish community by sacrificing birds at the synagogue entrance.[53] The situation worsened when procuratorGessius Florus plundered the Jerusalem Temple treasury and ordered brutal crackdowns that killed thousands in the city.[54] AfterAgrippa II, a pro-Roman Jewish king, failed to relax the crowds and fled the city,[55][56]Eleazar ben Hanania, the Temple captain, halted sacrifices for Rome—effectively declaring rebellion.[57][58] The crisis spiraled into widespread ethnic violence across the region, with massacres of Jewish communities in several mixed cities,[59][60] while Jewish forces retaliated against Greek cities and seized key fortresses. In Jerusalem, the rebels drove out and killed the remaining Roman forces; afterward,Menahem ben Judah, leader of theSicarii, attempted to seize power but was assassinated, leading to the Sicarii's expulsion to the desert fortress ofMasada.[61]
At this stage, the Roman legate of Syria,Cestius Gallus, assembled a force including theLegio XII Fulminata and auxiliary troops from regional vassals,[62] devastating Jewish settlements such asChabulon,Jaffa andLydda.[63] However, after initial successes, he withdrew from the city for unclear reasons and wasdecisively ambushed at theBethoron Pass,[64] suffering losses equivalent to a full legion. This unexpected defeat proved a turning point, bolstering rebel morale[65] and leading to the establishment of aprovisional government in Jerusalem.[66] Led by former High PriestAnanus ben Ananus,[67] this new administration divided the country into military districts, appointed regional commanders,[67] and beganminting coins with nationalist Hebrew inscriptions, such as "For the Freedom of Zion".[68][69] While the government publicly supported the revolt, they seem to have secretly hoped to restore order and negotiate with Rome.[70] During this period, several rebel leaders emerged, includingJohn of Gischala in Galilee[71] andSimon Bar Giora in Judea.[72]
After Gallus' defeat,Nero appointed the experienced commanderVespasian to lead the Roman response.[73][74] He assembled a massive force including three legions and numerous auxiliary troops.[73] Arriving inAkko-Ptolemais in the summer of 67 CE,[75] Vespasian launched a systematic campaign in theGalilee.Yodfat, a key stronghold, fell after a grueling47-day siege,[76] with thousands killed or captured.[77]Josephus, who had been the commander of the Galilee, surrendered after the city's fall and later gained Roman favor by claiming prophetic visions of Vespasian's rise to power,[78] ultimately becoming a historian underFlavian patronage and the main source for the war.[79][80]Taricheae mounted fierce resistance before falling in an event of mass killing, with its survivors facing execution, slavery, or other severe punishments.[81]Gamla, a fortified city in theGolan, was the next Roman target. After a prolonged siege, it fell in the autumn of 67 CE. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the Romans succeeded, leaving the city in ruins and its population nearly exterminated.[82][83] Other Roman successes included the recapture ofMount Tabor,[84]Gush Halav,[85]Mount Gerizim,[86] andJaffa, where they suppressed rebel piracy and restored imperial control.[87]
While the Romans pacified the north, Jerusalem plunged into civil war as refugees and zealots poured in from the Galilee.[88] The radicalZealot faction, allied with John of Gischala, who arrived in the city with his followers from the north, overthrew the moderate government. WithIdumeans joining the Zealots, Ananus ben Ananus was killed, and his forces suffered heavy casualties;[89] many moderates were executed[89][90] or forced to flee.[91] The Zealots instituted revolutionary changes, including selecting a new High Priest by lot rather than from traditional aristocratic families.[92] Upon learning of the turmoil in Jerusalem from deserters, Vespasian chose not to advance on the city, reasoning that internal conflict would weaken the Jews.[93]
After a lull in military operations due tocivil war and political instability in Rome, Vespasian returned to Rome and was proclaimed emperor in 69 CE. After Vespasian's departure, his sonTitus besieged the center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in early 70. As conditions within Jerusalem deteriorated catastrophically—with widespread famine, disease, and factional violence—the Romans employed psychological warfare, including mass crucifixions of escapees and parades displaying their military might. 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. However, they eventually penetrated the Jewish defenses, fighting through to theTemple Mount and destroying the Temple. The Romans then methodically razed the rest of the city, sparing only theWestern Wall and a few towers.[94][95] Archaeological findings corroborate these accounts of widespread destruction. Titus returned to Rome, where he and his father celebrated atriumph in the summer of 71, during which the Temple menorah and other spoils from the Temple were paraded through the city. The triumph also featured hundreds of captives,[96] including Simon bar Giora, who was executed at the end of the procession.[97][98]
With Jerusalem destroyed, the Romans launched an operation aimed at eliminating the last pockets of resistance: the rebel-held desert fortresses ofHerodium,Machaerus, and Masada.[99][100][101] UnderSextus Lucilius Bassus, the Romans swiftly captured Herodium, secured the surrender of Machaerus,[102][103] and then eliminated rebel forces in the Forest of Jardes.[104] After Bassus's death, his successorLucius Flavius Silva led thesiege of Masada in 73 or 74 CE.[105][106] This massive engineering effort on an isolated, fortified rocky plateau near theDead Sea included a complete circumvallation wall and an enormous siege ramp, which still stands today.[106][101] According to Josephus, when the Romans finally breached the fortress walls, they discovered that the Sicarii defenders, led by Eleazar ben Yair, had chosenmass suicide over capture—960 men, women, and children died by their own hands, with only seven survivors.[107][108]
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In 115 CE, a wave of large-scale Jewish uprisings, known as the "Diaspora Revolt", erupted almost simultaneously across several provinces in theEastern Mediterranean.[109] At that time, EmperorTrajan was further east, engaged in amilitary campaign against theParthian Empire inMesopotamia.[110][111] The uprisings, which followed decades of ethnic tensions that sometimes escalated into violence,[112] appear to have been influenced by events in Judaea, including the destruction of the Temple[110] and the arrival of insurgents after the First Jewish–Roman War, spreading revolutionary ideas among local Jewish communities.[113] Also fueling the unrest weremessianic expectations of divine redemption,[110][114][115] the humiliating Jewish Tax,[110] and what seems to be an attempt to create a mass movement of Jews from thediaspora into Judaea.[116][114]
InLibya, Jewish forces launched attacks against Greek and Roman populations under the leadership of either Andreas (according toDio/Xiphilinus) orLukuas (according toEusebius) – possibly the same individual known by both names.[117] Dio describes extreme brutality by the Jewish forces in the Libyan region ofCyrenaica, but these accounts are likely exaggerated.[117] In Egypt, the uprising reportedly began with clashes between Jewish communities and their Greek neighbors,[118] escalating when Lukuas and his followers arrived from Cyrenaica. They plundered the countryside and overcame local resistance, prompting Greeks, supported by Egyptian peasants and Romans, to retaliate with a massacre ofAlexandria's Jews.[119] In both provinces, the Jews destroyed public sites such as the shrine ofNemesis near Alexandria[120][121] and temples in Libya,[122] while also securing control of waterways in Egypt.[120] InCyprus, Jewish rebels under Artemion's leadership reportedly devastated the island and the city ofSalamis.[123][124] Eusebius also mentions Roman violence against Jews inMesopotamia, but modern analysis of the available evidence suggests this was part of broader local uprisings against Roman rule, with Jewish involvement likely influenced by their favorable status under Parthian control.[125]
The uprisings in Egypt and Libya were suppressed byMarcius Turbo, who was redirected from the campaign against the Parthians.[126] In late 116 or early 117,[126] he arrived in Egypt with substantial land and naval forces, including Roman legions, auxiliaries, and local recruits.[127] Turbo carried out extensive and brutal military campaigns, reportedly annihilating the Jewish population.[127][128] In Mesopotamia, another general,Lusius Quietus, was involved in subduing local insurgency. Following this, he was appointed governor of Judaea.[129] It was around this time that localized unrest, referred to in rabbinic sources as theKitos War after Quietus, occurred in the province.[129] However, the evidence in ancient sources is so limited that the details of these events remain unclear.[129] The uprisings in the diaspora were likely quelled by summer or autumn 117 CE,[127] though it is possible that unrest in Egypt continued into the winter of 117/118 CE.[130]
The aftermath brought devastating consequences for Jewish communities. A campaign ofethnic cleansing led to the near-complete extermination of Jews from Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and Egypt.[128][131] Trajan implemented a new registry cataloging confiscated Jewish properties.[132] Alexandria's wealthy and influential Jewish community was effectively destroyed, with survivors limited to those who fled early in the uprising.[133] The city's grand synagogue, celebrated in theTalmud, was destroyed,[134][135] and its Jewish court likely abolished.[122] Some Jews may have escaped to Judaea and Syria.[136][137] The physical impact was equally severe. Archaeological evidence shows such extensive damage toCyrene thatHadrian needed to rebuild the city early in his reign.[138] A festival commemorating the victory over the Jews continued in Egypt eighty years later, c. 200 CE.[127] In Cyprus, Jews were permanently banned; Cassius Dio noted that even in his time, during the third century, Jews faced death if found on the island, even due to shipwreck.[122][139] Jewish communities only gradually re-established themselves: in Egypt during the third century (though never regaining their former influence),[140] and in Cyprus and Cyrenaica by the fourth century.[122][141]
TheBar Kokhba revolt (132–135/136 CE[142]) was the last major Jewish revolt and organized effort to regain national independence.[143][144] The immediate catalysts for the rebellion included Emperor Hadrian's decision to establish the pagan colony ofAelia Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem,[145][146][147] extinguishing Jewish hopes for the Temple's restoration, and possibly also the imposition of a ban oncircumcision.[147]
Under the leadership ofSimon bar Kokhba, the rebels launched a highly organized resistance, initially achieving substantial military success. Unlike previous revolts, Jewish forces were well-prepared, employing guerrilla tactics, fortified hideouts, and an extensive network ofunderground hideout systems and tunnels.[147] Bar Kokhba was declared "Nasi (Prince) of Israel" and was supported by prominent figures, includingRabbi Akiva, one of the most revered sages of the time, who identified him as theMessiah, a figure inJewish eschatology who stems from theDavidic line and will restore theKingdom of Israel and usher theMessianic age. The rebels succeeded in establishing a short-lived independent Jewish state, exerting control over much of southern and central Judaea. As a symbol of sovereignty, they issued coinage bearing Jewish iconography and inscriptions affirming independence, reminiscent of those minted during the First Jewish Revolt.[148]
The insurgency presented an acute challenge to the Romans. Hadrian took the time to assemble a vast force underSextus Julius Severus, comprising six full legions, auxiliaries, and reinforcements from up to six additional legions, and then launched a campaign of systematic devastation of Judaea. In 135 CE, after a brutal siege, the Jewish fortress ofBetar fell and Bar Kokhba died. Some rebels, having retreated intorefuge caves in theJudaean Desert, were besieged and starved by Roman forces.
The revolt had catastrophic consequences for the Jewish population in Judaea, resulting in massive loss of life, widespread enslavement, and extensive forced displacement. The scale of devastation surpassed even that of theFirst Jewish–Roman War, leavingJudea proper in a state of desolation.[14][149][150] Shimeon Applebaum estimates that about two-thirds of Judaea's Jewish population perished in the revolt.[151] Within a century after the revolt ended, the Roman historianCassius Dio (c. 155–235) wrote: "50 of their most important outposts and 985 of their most famous villages were razed to the ground. 580,000 men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out. Thus, nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate."[152][153] Archaeological evidence indicates that many sites in Judea suffered damage, destruction, or abandonment,[154][155] to the extent that Jewish settlement in Judea was almost completely eradicated by the revolt's end.[156] Recent works, including one byHannah Cotton[157] and another by Dvir Raviv and Chaim Ben David, support the figures given by Dio, concluding that his data was based on Roman records available at the time.[153][158]
The Jewish-Roman wars profoundly transformed the Jewish people, converting a once-prominent population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a dispersed and persecuted minority.[159] These conflicts caused extensive casualties and destruction throughout Judea and led to mass displacement and the enslavement of many. While the First Jewish-Roman War devastated Jerusalem—destroying the center of Jewish political, national, and religious life—the Bar Kokhba revolt had even more catastrophic consequences, effectively depopulatingJudea, the core of the Jewish homeland, of its Jewish population. The defeat also ended aspirations for Jewish political independence in the region for nearly two millennia.[160]
The consequences for the Jews of Judaea were catastrophic, characterized by widespread destruction and mass slaughter, which some historians regard asgenocidal in scope.[161] According to surviving ancient accounts, hundreds of thousands of Jews perished,[162][163] while countless others were enslaved or exiled.[164] The region of Judea, distinct from the broader Roman province, was heavily depopulated, with surviving Jewish communities primarily concentrated in Galilee. As a result of the wars, many Jews dispersed from Judaea to regions such asNorth Africa,Spain,Greece,Italy,Babylonia, andArabia, expanding the Jewish diaspora.[165]
The defeat marked a turning point in Jewish history, leading to a shift in messianic expectations and the development of a more cautious, conservative rabbinical approach to political resistance. The war and its aftermath accelerated the emergence ofearly Christianity as adistinct religion from Judaism.[166] Roman reprisals included severe religious restrictions, such as bans on circumcision andShabbat observance. Hadrian completed the transformation of Jerusalem into Aelia Capitolina, barring Jews from entering and settling foreign populations there. At the former Jewish sanctuary on theTemple Mount he installed two statues, one ofJupiter and another of himself.[167]
A further and more enduring punishment was implemented by the Romans following the revolt.[168] In an effort to erase the memory of Judea andAncient Israel, according to the prevailing scholarly view, the province of Judaea—whose name carried a clear ethnic association with the Jews, being derived from the LatinIudaei[169]—was officially renamedSyria Palaestina, a name without explicit ethnic connotations.[170][171][172][173][174] Although the Romans often renamed provinces, this instance is notable as the only recorded case in which a province's name was changed specifically in response to a rebellion—a measure not taken after revolts in provinces such asBritannia orGermania.[143][169] HistorianSeth Schwartz writes that the name was intended to "celebrate the de-Judaization of the province."[175]
David Jacobson contends that Hadrian's choice ofSyria Palaestina was a rational administrative decision, reflecting the territorial scope of the province beyond Judea proper. He also notes that the name had ancient precedents and was historically linked to the broader region of greater Israel.[176]Louis Feldman writes that the aim was to "obliterate the Jewish character of the land, with the name of the nearest tribe being applied to the entire area", adding that the termPalestina had previously referred primarily to the coastal region associated with the Philistines and that early Roman authors typically distinguished it from Judaea.[a] HistorianWerner Eck rejects the possibility that the new name reflected demographic changes following the reduction of the Jewish population—noting that a similar case in the history ofPannonia did not lead to a name change—and argues instead that it was exceptionally intended as a punishment directed against the Jews.[169]
The destruction of the Second Temple left a profound and lasting impact on Jewish tradition, shaping customs and observances that commemorate its loss. It is formally observed onTisha B'Av, a major Jewishfast day that also marks the destruction ofSolomon's Temple, along with other catastrophic events in Jewish history, including theexpulsion of Jews from Spain.[178] TheWestern Wall, the most significant surviving remnant of the Second Temple, has long been a focal point for Jewish prayer and mourning, symbolizing both the destruction of the Jewish homeland and hopes for its restoration. It has sometimes been referred to as the 'Wailing Wall' due to the lamentations historically performed there.[178] DuringJewish wedding ceremonies, the groom breaks a glass underfoot to recall the temple's destruction.[179] Other mourning traditions include leaving a section of the home unpainted or refraining from wearing full jewelry on joyous occasions.[179]
TheTosefta records 2nd century sageRabbi Ishmael comparing "the day the Temple was destroyed" to the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt, describing it as a time when the Romans were "uprooting the Torah from among us."[180][181] A Tannaitic tradition attributed to Rabbi Akiva marks theNinth of Av (Tisha B'Av) as the date of both Temple destructions; theMishnah later expands this commemoration to include events from the Bar Kokhba revolt: "Betar was captured and the city was ploughed", referring to the fall of the final stronghold and the Roman transformation of Jerusalem into Aelia Capitolina.[182][183] Another passage in the Mishnah presents the three Jewish revolts as each leading to added mourning practices in the context of weddings: as a result of the "war of Vespasian", "they forbade the crowns of the grooms and the drum"; following the "war of Quietus" (though in another manuscript, Titus), "they forbade the crowns of the brides", while "in the final war", they "forbade brides to ride in a litter inside the city."[184][183]
The destruction of the Temple was a watershed moment in Jewish history, transforming both religious practice and social structure.[185] The Temple stood at the heart of Jewish religious and national life,[186][185][187] serving as the center forsacrificial worship that had been central to Judaism for centuries,[79][188] and as the primary symbol of Jewish sovereignty. Its loss created a vacuum that demanded a reimagining of Jewish life.[185] This episode also ended Jewish sectarianism: TheSadducees, whose authority and prestige were linked to the Temple, vanished as a distinct group, as did the asceticEssenes.[189][b] However, thePharisees, who had generally opposed the first revolt, emerged as the dominant religious force.[192] Their emphasis on prayer, scriptural interpretation, and religious law proved crucial for Judaism's survival. Under their successors, therabbis,[193] Judaism underwent a reconstruction that enabled it to flourish without its central institution. This transformation centered on elements that could be practiced anywhere:prayer as a substitute for sacrifice,Torah study, and the performance of good deeds.[194] Thesynagogue, which had already existed as an institution during the Second Temple period, grew in prominence, becoming a central venue for Jewish worship and communal life.[195][196] These changes established patterns of religious practice that would sustain and shape Jewish life for millennia, even as Jews faced further exile and dispersion from the Land of Israel.[197]
According to rabbinic tradition, a key moment in this transformation took place during the siege of Jerusalem, when the Pharisaic sageYohanan ben Zakkai had himself smuggled out of the city in a coffin. After meeting with Vespasian and prophesying his rise to the imperial throne, Yohanan secured permission to establish an academy at the small town ofYavne.[198] This institution became a leading center of rabbinic activity, where significant enactments were introduced to reshape Jewish life and observance without the temple.[199][200] The priestly class relocated to Galilee and various diaspora communities, where they contributed to the development of synagogue liturgy and may have played a role in the preparation of biblical translations.[201] Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, major centers of Jewish learning emerged in the Galilee and Babylonia, where scholars compiled the foundational texts ofrabbinic Judaism: the Mishnah (early 3rd century) and later, theJerusalem andBabylonian Talmuds, which became primary sources ofJewish law and religious guidance.[202][203]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)These texts, combined with the relics of those who hid in caves along the western side of the Dead Sea, tells us a great deal. What is clear from the evidence of both skeletal remains and artefacts is that the Roman assault on the Jewish population of the Dead Sea was so severe and comprehensive that no one came to retrieve precious legal documents, or bury the dead. Up until this date the Bar Kokhba documents indicate that towns, villages and ports where Jews lived were busy with industry and activity. Afterwards there is an eerie silence, and the archaeological record testifies to little Jewish presence until the Byzantine era, in En Gedi. This picture coheres with what we have already determined in Part I of this study, that the crucial date for what can only be described as genocide, and the devastation of Jews and Judaism within central Judea, was 135 CE and not, as usually assumed, 70 CE, despite the siege of Jerusalem and the Temple's destruction
Land confiscation in Judaea was part of the suppression of the revolt policy of the Romans and punishment for the rebels. But the very claim that thesikarikon laws were annulled for settlement purposes seems to indicate that Jews continued to reside in Judaea even after the Second Revolt. There is no doubt that this area suffered the severest damage from the suppression of the revolt. Settlements in Judaea, such as Herodion and Bethar, had already been destroyed during the course of the revolt, and Jews were expelled from the districts of Gophna, Herodion, and Aqraba. However, it should not be claimed that the region of Judaea was completely destroyed. Jews continued to live in areas such as Lod (Lydda), south of the Hebron Mountain, and the coastal regions. In other areas of the Land of Israel that did not have any direct connection with the Second Revolt, no settlement changes can be identified as resulting from it.
This provoked the last Jewish war, which seems from our meager accounts [...] to have resulted in the desolation of Judaea and the practical extermination of its Jewish population.
The revolt thus left Judaea as a major, and on the surface a highly Romanised, element in the structure of the Empire... A diploma of 139 shows that there were then at least three cavalry alae and twelve cohortes in the province. No other province with no external frontier had so large a garrison. But what the diploma of 139 also shows is that the name 'Iudaea', with its ethnic reference, had already disappeared, to be replaced by a new name, 'Syria Palaestina'.
At the end of the war, a drastic decision was made, probably by Hadrian himself, to change the name of the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina. Our familiarity with the new name may have jaded us to the significance of the change. True, the Romans changed names of provinces quite often ... But never before (or after) was the old name of a province changed as a corollary of a revolt. Not that revolts were not frequent in other provinces as well: the Germani in Germania, the Pannonii in Pannonia, and the Brittones in Britannia all revolted against Rome at one time or another. Yet none of these provinces lost its original name derived from the name of its people. But Judaea, derived from Iudaei, ceased to exist for the Roman government after the Bar Kokhba revolt. It was not because the Jewish population was much reduced as a result of losses suffered during the war that the name of the province was changed; the same was true, for example, of Pannonia, and yet the old name was kept. The change of name was part of the punishment inflicted on the Jews; they were punished with the loss of a name. This is the clear message of this exceptional measure, the one and only example of such a measure in the history of the Empire.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)