The fate of Bar Kochba himself is not clear, though the sources indicate that he most likely died in the final battle for Beitar or shortly before. According to the Christian church historian Eusebius (c.260-c.340), Simon claimed to be a luminary who had come down to the Jews from heaven (History of the church 4.6.2). Judean settlements were not rebuilt. In today’s world, with the contention between the ancient narrative of disaster and modern narrative of heroism, Bar Kochba remains what perhaps he always was – a fascinating and unknowable enigma. He proclaimed Rome’s tolerance of their strange (to Rome) religion of worshipping just one God, allowed them to return to their beloved Jerusalem, and even permitted them to rebuild the Temple. Bar Kokhba. This is … Updated March 08, 2017 Killing more than half a million Jews and destroying almost a thousand villages, the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-35) was a major event in Jewish history and a blotch on the reputation of the good emperor Hadrian. Everyone is aware of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but few realise that... Hadrian was Roman emperor from 117 to 138 CE and he is known as... Inscribed lead weight, 803.6 grams used to ensure fair dealing... Silver and bronze coins were struck by the Bar Kokhba administration... Khirbat el-yahud (ancient Beitar) near Batir. According to the second-century Roman historian Lucius Cassius Dio, the construction of the city, with a temple to the god Jupiter in the center, was itself the spark that ignited the rebellion: The Jewish extremists could not tolerate the fact that a pagan Roman city was being built on the ruins of Jerusalem. It is possible that the rebels regained control of the city of Jerusalem, and they must have held large portions of ancient Judea. When it was spoken of, it was usually to degrade Bar Kochba as a false messiah and lament the extremism that led to the doomed revolts against Rome. To Christians, the revolt was furt… The Jewish sources are far more explicit, with tales of Roman soldiers smashing babies against rocks and the mass slaughter of civilians. What followed the fall of Beitar was in many ways as horrendous as the war itself. Ben Sasson, Editor. “Bar Kokhba”. According to the Christian church historian Eusebius (c.260-c.340), Simon claimed to be a luminary who had come down to the Jews from heaven (History of the church 4.6.2). In approximately 132 C.E., Hadrian began to establish a city in Jerusalem called Aelia Capitolina, the name being a combination of his own name and that of the Roman god Jupiter Capitolinus. By that time, there were 12 army legions from Egypt, Britain, Syria and other areas in Judea. Indeed, it has been speculated that the legendary "lost legion," the Legio IX Hispana, was destroyed during the revolt, as it disappears from the historical records around this time. “The Bar Kokhba Revolt: The Roman Point of View.” The Journal of Roman Studies 89 (1999): 76–89. Imagine the incredible excitement of those involved in the discovery of the caves when they learned they had finally uncovered the final resting place of Bar-Kokhba and others who were with him. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. The Jews organized guerilla forces and, in 123 C.E., began launching surprise attacks against the Romans. For the first time, the Jews presented a united … Bar Kokhba Revolt - "/his/ - History & Humanities" is 4chan's board for discussing and debating history. Under the strong leadership of Shimon Bar-Kokhba, the Jews captured approximately 50 strongholds in Judea and 985 undefended towns and villages, including Jerusalem. Hardly anyone in the company of the Emperor could have … The name Bar Kokhba, "Son of a Star," was given to him apparently in accordance with Num. The Romans, however, regrouped and adopted a scorched-earth strategy that ultimately extirpated the rebels and laid waste to the country. In another passage, Rufus taunts Rabbi Akiva, deriding the Jews as "slaves" (T.B., Bava Batra 10a). For such a catastrophic event, surprisingly little was written about it. In all likelihood, then, the revolt was not only a political or military event but also a strongly religious one, powered by the intense passions of messianic belief in the coming redemption of Israel. The war shattered Judean society and led to far-reaching demographic and political changes, with the majority of the Jewish population of the province killed, enslaved, or exiled, and their national hopes definitively crushed. The Bar-Kokhba Revolt: The Greek Point of View . Bar Kochba silver Zuz/Denarius, … Even the causes of the Bar Kochba revolt remain unclear. The revolt established a three-year-long independent Jewish state in which Bar Kokhba ruled as Nasi. The Romans plowed Jerusalem with a yoke of oxen. The Romans suffered heavy casualties as well and Hadrian did not send his usual message to the Senate that “I and my army are well.”. According to Dio, the Jews initially employed guerrilla warfare, using their extensive network of underground tunnels and similar means. For many years, historians did not write very much about Simon Bar Kosiba. Messianic claimants were universally distrusted, and Jews were, for the most part, actively discouraged from following them. Rufus was a harsh ruler who took advantage of Jewish women. (Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9). The failure of the revolt is considered by many to be the start of the Jewish diaspora. The Bar Kokhba revolt marked a time of high hopes followed by violent despair. 21 Jan 2021. Related Content [...] That being the time when Barcochebas, the leader of the Jews, was crushed and Jerusalem was demolished to the very ground. The Bar Kochba Revolt: A Disaster Celebrated by Zionists on Lag Ba'Omer . Peter Schaefer (Tuebingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003), 151-170. “The province was united with Syria to form a single province called Syria-Palestine. Answer: The Bar Kokhba revolt was a series of battles from AD 132 to 135 waged against the Roman Empire by Jews led by Simeon bar Kosba, who made messianic claims and who was renamed Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star”) by an influential rabbi. This may have been something of a moot point, however, as the majority of the Jewish population had either been killed, died of disease or starvation, or been sold into slavery. Hadrian then dispatched his best generals, most notably Julius Severus. Both are found subleasing land from Bar Kokhba, probably part of the imperial estate in Ein Gedi, now taken over by the rebels; see Yadin, Y., ‘ Expedition D ’, IEJ II (1961), 40 – 50, and Cotton, H. M., ‘Ein Gedi between the two revolts’, in Katzoff, R. Jews from other countries, and even some gentiles, volunteered to join their crusade. It followed a long period of tension and violence, marked by the first Jewish uprising of 66-70 CE, which ended with the destruction of the Second Temple, and the Kitos War (115-117 CE). The Jews minted coins with slogans such as “The freedom of Israel” written in Hebrew. While clearly somewhat apocryphal, these stories appear to reflect the reality of an extremely brutal campaign of what in modern terms would likely be called ethnic cleansing. The Jews then invaded the coastal region and the Romans began sea battles against them. Bar Kokhba Revolt coinage were coins issued by the Judaean rebel state, headed by Simon Bar Kokhba, during the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire of 132-135 CE. Dio recounts that, following the war, "Hadrian, in writing to the Senate, did not employ the opening phrase commonly affected by the emperors, ‘If you and your children are in health, it is well; I and the legions are in health’" (69:14.3). As a result, the remaining centers of Jewish cultural and religious life were all outside the land of Israel, especially in Babylonia, where the definitive codex of Jewish law – the Babylonian Talmud – was collected and redacted. The Jews prepared to rebel until Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah calmed them. Ancient History Encyclopedia. He started to build a temple to Jupiter in place of the Jewish Holy Temple. When the revolt broke out, the Jewish Believers joined the revolt with their rabbinic brothers. Most tellingly, Jerusalem was permanently converted into a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina, and the Jews were forbidden to live within sight of it. While by no means comprehensive, these sources do provide several important details. Bar Kokhba managed unite many followers and raise a very large army. Hadrian hated “foreign” religions and forbade the Jews to perform circumcisions. The Bar Kokhba revolt (Hebrew: מֶרֶד בַּר כּוֹכְבָא ; Mered Bar Kokhba) was a rebellion of the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire.Fought circa 132–136 CE, [5] it was the last of three major Jewish–Roman wars, so it is also known as The Third Jewish–Roman War or The Third Jewish Revolt. Bar Kokhba Revolt Coin inscribed with the word "Jerusalem" and a picture of a date palm. Benjamin Kerstein has studied Jewish history, ancient, medieval, and modern for ten years. Bar Kokhba, original name Simeon Bar Kosba, Kosba also spelled Koseba, Kosiba, or Kochba, also called Bar Koziba, (died 135 ce ), Jewish leader who led a bitter but unsuccessful revolt (132–135 ce) against Roman dominion in Judaea. Jews were hiding in caves in order to be able to perform the mitzvahs.When discovered by Roman soldiers, they resisted, in some cases successfully. The historical memory of the Bar Kochba Revolt has been much weaker than that of the Jewish revolt of 70 CE, perhaps because of the spectacular tragedy of the Temple’s destruction, perhaps because no detailed history of it still survives today. The Bar Kokhba War AD 132–135: The last Jewish revolt against Imperial... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Decisive Roman victory: [a] – per Cassius Dio[3] [b] – according to Rabbinic sources[4] Major conflicts Late conflicts The Bar Kokhba revolt (Hebrew: מֶרֶד בַּר כּוֹכְבָא; Mered Bar Kokhba) was a rebellion of the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire Jerusalem was turned into a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina and the Jews were forbidden to live there. The Bar-Kokhba Revolt . He suppressed the Bar Kokhba revolt in Judaea, but his reign was otherwise peaceful. The Bar Kochba letters give a more nuanced, albeit brief glimpse of his character. The first believers in Jesus were recognized as Jews. The fact that Severus had to be dispatched from as far away as Britain indicates the seriousness of the Romans’ predicament. The leader under whom the Jews united in their final war against the Romans remains one of the most important and enigmatic figures in Jewish history. Hamodia notes the rebels reused Roman coins ‘with stripped or damaged faces’ and this was possibly out of defiance of the Imperial authorities. Six days passed before the Romans allowed the Jews to bury their dead. Eusebius, Jerome, and the rabbinic literature all mention Bar Kochba, but by no means provide a complete picture, though the Jewish sources are by far the most detailed. To the Romans, the revolt was best forgotten but was sometimes cited as an example of a particularly bloody and brutal confrontation with an intractable enemy. This revolt was the culmination of political tensions between Jews and the Romans, owing to the large military presence in Judea, the failure of the first revolt, and possibly Emperor Hadrian’s establishment of a temple of Jupiter in the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. During his tour of the Eastern Empire in 131, the Roman emperor Hadrian decided upon a policy of Hellenization to integrate the Jews into the empire. From that point on, life only got worse for the Jews. They were permitted to enter only on the 9th of Av to mourn their losses in the revolt. Bar-Kokhba united his army in Judea and led the Jews in battle. The story of Bar-Kokhba was a legend in Jewish history - some actually believed he wasn't a real person. The Jews of Cyrene (in North Africa) were said to have massacred their neighbors. Almost nothing is known about him, and he does not even appear in Dio’s comments on the war, though he may have done in the now-lost original. Credit: Ilan Assayag. The final battle of the war took place in Bethar, Bar-Kokhba’s headquarters, which housed both the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) and the home of the Nasi (leader). Bar Kochba im Kampf gegen das Imperium Romanum. Those that exist in Talmud, Midrash and Church Father Euseblus are largely legendary. THE BAR KOKHBA REVOLT: THE ROMAN POINT OF VIEW* By WERNER ECK. The Jews were handed expectations of a homeland and a Holy Temple, but in the end were persecuted and sold into slavery. He appointed Tinneius Rufus governor of Judea. This appears to strongly indicate that, while it was by no means a consensus opinion, there was a strong and widespread belief that Bar Kochba was the promised messiah. What details of the actual revolt remain to us are mostly through the epitome of Cassius Dio. This may also be indicated by the fact that, in one of the unearthed letters, Bar Kochba is described as nasi yisrael or "prince of Israel," indicating that the leader had or claimed to have restored the Jewish kingship, which was considered an essential accomplishment for any messianic claimant. For the Jews, the revolt was the last in a series of historical disasters, and for the most part, they sought to escape its trauma through silence. Bar Kochba silver Shekel/tetradrachm. Unlike its predecessors, the revolt was not spontaneous but carefully planned. The turning point of the war came when Hadrian sent into Judea one of his best generals from Britain, Julius Severus, along with former governor of Germania, Hadrianus Quintus Lollius Urbicus. The Talmud describes him as "the wicked" and states that he personally "plowed the Sanctuary," i.e. From the little that can be gleaned, a general picture of Bar Kochba emerges of a charismatic, physically courageous, somewhat brutal, and at times tyrannical leader who led his followers and perhaps himself to believe that he was a messianic king born to free his people. ---- “Hadrian, the Bar Kokhba Revolt, and the Epigraphic Transmission,” in The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered: New Perspectives on the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome, ed. They built hideouts in caves and did shoddy work building weapons so that the Romans would reject the weapons and return them to the Jews. From the little that can be gleaned, a general picture of Bar Kochba emerges of a charismatic, physically courageous, somewhat brutal, & at times tyrannical leader. Bar Kokhba became the leader of this Second Jewish Revolt; although at first successful, his forces proved no match against the methodical and ruthless tactics of the Roman general Julius Severus. The Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia. There are few sources about Bar-Kokhba. He also says that 132-135 C.E. Simon ben Kosevah, known to posterity as Bar Kokhba, was a Jewish military leader who led the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. It followed a long period of tension and violence, marked by the first Jewish uprising of 66-70 CE, which ended with the destruction of the Second Temple, and the Kitos War (115-117 CE). The Jewish sources relate that when Beitar fell "men, women, and children were slain until their blood ran into the great sea," i.e. Thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Bethar during the war. His state was conquered by the Romans in 135 following a two-year war. Eliav , Y. , “ Hadrian’s Actions in the Jerusalem Temple Mount according to Cassius Dio and Xiphilini Manus ,” Jewish Studies Quarterly 4 ( 1997 ). Hadrian brought an extra army legion, the “Sixth Ferrata,” into Judea to deal with the terrorism. In another, he ignores rabbinical advice on mutilating his soldiers, thus defying the will of God and bringing about his army’s downfall. License. Hadrian's last years were marred by chronic illness. Bar Kochba Jewish outrage at his actions led to one of the single greatest revolts of the Roman Era. Date palm word `` Jerusalem '', with the word `` Jerusalem '' Bar Kokba and Kokba... London, 1902 internationalen Limeskongresses 1986 in Carnuntum I ( 1990 ), 151-170 Jews from other,! Harsh ruler who took advantage of Jewish women 4chan 's board for discussing and debating History region... Rising star, '' but this may have resulted in the fortified town of Betar, it much! 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