Jewish-Roman Wars
In 63 A.D., Roman general Pompey marched into Jerusalem, capturing it and making Judea a Roman province. At first, Jews were allowed considerable freedom as long as they remained loyal to Rome. However, excessive taxes soon pushed Jews off their land, leading some to become bandits and steal from the Romans. Eventually, increasingly oppressive Roman rule led to the three Jewish-Roman Wars, all of which were major revolts by the Jews against the Romans. Though the Jews had a common enemy, throughout these revolts many fought amongst themselves, with different factions turning on one another and provoking each other into action. These quarrels, mostly between the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, and the Essenes, weakened the Jews, possibly even costing them the war.
The First Jewish-Roman War, also called the Great Revolt, started when the Romans plundered the Second Jewish Temple and executed 6,000 Jews. An enormous rebellion erupted, and Romans brought in troops from Syria to deal with the Jews, but were defeated. However, when the veteran general Vespasian and his son, Titus, took command of the Roman army in 67 A.D., they were able to invade Galilee, leading to a long siege in which Romans broke through two out of the three walls of Jerusalem. Eventually, when the Zealots burned the food supply of the entire city to try to get the other Jews to attack, the Romans were able to destroy the weakened Jewish forces in the summer of 70 A.D. Taking control of the city, Romans destroyed the Temple, and after some minor struggles at other Jewish strongholds the war ended in 73 A.D.
Following Jewish defeat, Judea was settled by Greeks and Romans, and Jews were forced to set up new communities outside of Judea. Jewish populations in Israel and Judea dropped dramatically as more and more Jews joined the Diasporic movement. Some of the places the Jews moved to were Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia (most of these, especially Egypt, already had significant Jewish populations). In these nations, Jewish revolts against the Romans started the second Jewish-Roman War, the Kitos War.
The Kitos War began in 115 A.D., when Jewish rebels ambushed a group of Roman soldiers returning from battle against the Parthians. Cities with significant Jewish populations joined the fight, helping to pick off small Roman garrisons. The revolts were led by a Jew named Lukuas, and included a series of bloody massacres of Romans and Greeks. However, Romans eventually regained control and crushed all revolts. Upon defeat, many Jews were scattered or enslaved. Romans also banned the Torah, and started seeking out and executing rabbis and Jewish scholars.
The third and final Jewish-Roman War, the Bar Kokhba Revolt, was led by Simon bar Kokhba, who was regarded by many Jews as the Messiah until their defeat. It started in 132 A.D., when the rebels cut off the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. The Romans reacted quickly, sending in a huge force to deal with the revolt. After fierce fighting by both sides, as well as long periods of time in which rebels were forced to hide in underground secret cave systems, the revolt was brutally crushed in 135 A.D.
After the war, Romans changed the name of Israel to Palestine and banned Jews from living there. Jews started to become less attached to Israel and Judea, as they were no longer even allowed inside Jerusalem except for one day every year. As a result, many lost their ties to their homeland as it became increasingly Roman. Also, many important leaders and towns were destroyed, and the majority of the Jewish population, as in the other wars, was killed, exiled, or enslaved. Meanwhile, the religious center strayed from Judea to Babylonia, a place many Jews in the Diaspora had inhabited throughout the revolts. For the first time in over a thousand years, Jewish life in Judea was over, and Jews struggled to find new homes throughout this tragic continuation of the Diaspora.
The First Jewish-Roman War, also called the Great Revolt, started when the Romans plundered the Second Jewish Temple and executed 6,000 Jews. An enormous rebellion erupted, and Romans brought in troops from Syria to deal with the Jews, but were defeated. However, when the veteran general Vespasian and his son, Titus, took command of the Roman army in 67 A.D., they were able to invade Galilee, leading to a long siege in which Romans broke through two out of the three walls of Jerusalem. Eventually, when the Zealots burned the food supply of the entire city to try to get the other Jews to attack, the Romans were able to destroy the weakened Jewish forces in the summer of 70 A.D. Taking control of the city, Romans destroyed the Temple, and after some minor struggles at other Jewish strongholds the war ended in 73 A.D.
Following Jewish defeat, Judea was settled by Greeks and Romans, and Jews were forced to set up new communities outside of Judea. Jewish populations in Israel and Judea dropped dramatically as more and more Jews joined the Diasporic movement. Some of the places the Jews moved to were Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia (most of these, especially Egypt, already had significant Jewish populations). In these nations, Jewish revolts against the Romans started the second Jewish-Roman War, the Kitos War.
The Kitos War began in 115 A.D., when Jewish rebels ambushed a group of Roman soldiers returning from battle against the Parthians. Cities with significant Jewish populations joined the fight, helping to pick off small Roman garrisons. The revolts were led by a Jew named Lukuas, and included a series of bloody massacres of Romans and Greeks. However, Romans eventually regained control and crushed all revolts. Upon defeat, many Jews were scattered or enslaved. Romans also banned the Torah, and started seeking out and executing rabbis and Jewish scholars.
The third and final Jewish-Roman War, the Bar Kokhba Revolt, was led by Simon bar Kokhba, who was regarded by many Jews as the Messiah until their defeat. It started in 132 A.D., when the rebels cut off the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. The Romans reacted quickly, sending in a huge force to deal with the revolt. After fierce fighting by both sides, as well as long periods of time in which rebels were forced to hide in underground secret cave systems, the revolt was brutally crushed in 135 A.D.
After the war, Romans changed the name of Israel to Palestine and banned Jews from living there. Jews started to become less attached to Israel and Judea, as they were no longer even allowed inside Jerusalem except for one day every year. As a result, many lost their ties to their homeland as it became increasingly Roman. Also, many important leaders and towns were destroyed, and the majority of the Jewish population, as in the other wars, was killed, exiled, or enslaved. Meanwhile, the religious center strayed from Judea to Babylonia, a place many Jews in the Diaspora had inhabited throughout the revolts. For the first time in over a thousand years, Jewish life in Judea was over, and Jews struggled to find new homes throughout this tragic continuation of the Diaspora.