Jewish Revolts And Judaism In The Roman Empire

An eyewitness account of the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire from AD 66–70 provides an essential background for an understanding of the beginnings of both Christianity and modern Judaism.

The contributions of this volume reflect on a wide range of literary, archaeological, documentary, epigraphic and numismatic sources and their bearing on the historical context of the Jewish revolt against Rome and on our own historical methods.

During the first and second centuries A.D., the supremacy of the Roman Empire was aggressively challenged by three Jewish rebellions. The facts surrounding the initial uprising of A.D. 66-74 have been filtered through the biased accounts of Judeao Roman historian Flavius Josephus. Primary information regarding the subsequent Diaspora Revolt (A.D. 115-117) and the Bar Kochba Rebellion (A.D. 132-135) is limited to fragmentary anecdotes emphasizing the religious implications of the two insurrections. In contrast, this analytical history focuses objectively on the military aspects of all three Judean uprisings. The events leading up to each rebellion are detailed, while the nine appendices cover such topics as the nature and number of the Jewish rebels and the factual reliability of the controversial Josephus. One appendix hypothesizes an alternative history of the war between Jerusalem and Rome.

Even though relations between the Jewish people and the Roman state were sometimes strained to the point of warfare and bloodshed, Jewish military service between the 1st century BCE to the 6th century CE is attested by multiple sources.

A definitive account of the great revolt of Jews against Rome and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple “A lucid yet terrifying account of the 'Jewish War'—the uprising of the Jews in 66 CE, and the Roman empire’s savage response, in a story that stretches from Rome to Jerusalem.”—John Ma, Columbia University This deeply researched and insightful book examines the causes, course, and historical significance of the Jews’ failed revolt against Rome from 66 to 74 CE, including the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Based on a comprehensive study of all the evidence and new statistical data, Guy Rogers argues that the Jewish rebels fought for their religious and political freedom and lost due to military mistakes. Rogers contends that while the Romans won the war, they lost the peace. When the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, they thought that they had defeated the God of Israel and eliminated Jews as a strategic threat to their rule. Instead, they ensured the Jews’ ultimate victory. After their defeat Jews turned to the written words of their God, and following those words led the Jews to recover their freedom in the promised land. The war's tragic outcome still shapes the worldview of billions of people today.

In The Wars of the Jews Flavius Josephus conveys significant understanding of the first Jewish Roman War, along with the upheavals that ensued afterwards.

The First Jewish Revolt against Rome is arguably the most decisive event in the history of Judaism and Christianity. The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE by the Roman General Titus forced a transformation in structure and form for both of these fraternal religions. Yet despite its importance, little has been written on the First Revolt, its causes, implications and the facts surrounding it. In this volume, Andrea M. Berlin and J. Andrew Overman have gathered the foremost scholars on the period to discuss and debate this pivotal historical event. The contributions explore both Roman and Jewish perspectives on the Revolt, looking at its history and archaeology, and finally examining the ideology and interpretation of the revolt in subsequent history and myth.