Jewish–Roman Wars

The term Jewish–Roman Wars refers collectively to the large-scale revolts launched by Jews living under the rule of the Roman Empire and to the wars by which Rome suppressed them. It usually denotes the following three conflicts:

• The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 or 74)
• The Kitos War (115–117): a revolt by communities of the Diaspora, that is, Jews living dispersed outside Palestine.
• The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135)

In a narrower sense, the term may refer only to the first war, in which the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The course of the first war is known chiefly through The Jewish War, written by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus.

Background

When the Roman general Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63 BC, Judea came under Roman influence. After a period of rule by the Herodian dynasty, the region was governed directly by Roman governors for most of the period from AD 6 onward.

Heavy taxation, misgovernment by the governors, and religious conflict with Gentile culture fostered growing anti-Roman sentiment. Groups such as the Zealots, who advocated armed resistance on the grounds that God alone should be served as king, also gained strength. In 66 the governor Gessius Florus took money from the Temple treasury, an act that sparked an uprising in Jerusalem.

Course of the Wars

The First War

• 66: The rebels drove the Roman garrison out of Jerusalem. The army of Cestius Gallus, governor of Syria, which had marched to suppress the revolt, suffered heavy losses during its retreat.
• 67: Vespasian, sent by Emperor Nero, subdued Galilee. At this time Josephus, who had been in charge of the defense of Galilee, surrendered to the Romans.
• 68–69: The death of Nero and Rome's descent into civil war delayed the suppression of the revolt. In 69 Vespasian became emperor, and his son Titus took over command. During the same period, rival factions fought one another inside Jerusalem.
• 70: Titus besieged and captured Jerusalem, and in the process the Second Temple was burned. The Arch of Titus in Rome bears a relief depicting the carrying away of the Temple furnishings.
• 73 or 74: The fortress of Masada, the last rebel stronghold, fell. Scholars disagree on the year of its fall.

Later Revolts

• 115–117: Under Emperor Trajan, Jewish communities in Egypt, Cyrene, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, and elsewhere rose in revolt and were suppressed.
• 132–135: Under Emperor Hadrian, Simon bar Kosiba led a revolt. He was called Bar Kokhba, meaning "son of the star," and Rabbi Akiva is said to have recognized him as the Messiah. Proposed causes of the revolt include a plan to build a Roman city on the site of Jerusalem and a ban on circumcision, but scholarly opinion is divided. The revolt ended with the fall of the fortress of Betar in 135.

Consequences and Influence

Changes in Judaism: With the Temple gone, the Sadducees, whose position centered on the sacrificial system and the high priest, lost their influence. In their place, rabbis who carried on the tradition of the Pharisees reorganized Judaism around the study of the Law and the synagogue. Johanan ben Zakkai is said to have founded a school at Yavneh (Jamnia). The theory that the canon of the Hebrew Bible was fixed at a council held there was once widely accepted, but many scholars today doubt it.

Changes in Jerusalem and the province: After the Bar Kokhba revolt, Hadrian refounded Jerusalem as a Roman city named Aelia Capitolina and barred Jews from entering it. He is also reported to have renamed the province Syria Palaestina.

Changes in the church: The fourth-century church historian Eusebius recorded that the Christians of Jerusalem fled before the war to Pella, east of the Jordan River, though the historicity of this account is disputed. Many scholars hold that in the course of these wars the importance of the Jerusalem church declined, the predominantly Gentile church grew, and the separation of Christianity and Judaism into distinct religions accelerated. The second-century writer Justin Martyr recorded that Christians who refused to follow Bar Kokhba were persecuted.

Assessment

Relationship to biblical interpretation: In Christianity, the war is frequently discussed in connection with the passages in which Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple (Mark 13:2; Luke 21:20; and others). Eschatological interpretations fall into several schools:

• Preterist interpretation: holds that much of Jesus' eschatological discourse, including Matthew 24:15, was fulfilled in 70.
• Futurist interpretation: Dispensationalism and similar views hold that these passages refer chiefly to events yet to be fulfilled.
• Dual-fulfillment interpretation: some hold that a near fulfillment and a distant fulfillment overlap in these passages.

Dating of the Gospels: The war also figures in discussions of when the Gospels were written, including those connected with the Synoptic Problem. Many scholars date Mark to around 70 and Matthew and Luke to after 70. Conservative scholars, by contrast, argue that these Gospels were written before 70 and that the passages concerning the destruction of the Temple are genuine prophecy.

Historical assessment: As the testimony of an eyewitness to the events, Josephus's account is of great value. It has also been criticized, however, for reflecting the perspective of an author who had surrendered to Rome and enjoyed the patronage of the Flavian imperial house. Within church history, there has been critical reflection on how interpretations that read the destruction of the Temple as a judgment on the Jewish people as a whole were used to justify antisemitism. In Israel today, Masada is remembered as a symbol of national resistance.