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The Jewish War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great Revolt, or the First Jewish-Roman War was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of living in Judaea, against Rome.

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< People : Josephus -- John of Giscala -- Eleazar ben Simon -- Simon bar Giora -- Eleazar ben Yair -- Ananus ben Ananus -- Joshua ben Gamaliel -- Matthias ben Theophilus -- Phannias ben Samuel -- Agrippa II -- Berenice -- Tiberius Alexander -- Nero -- Gessius Florus -- Cestius Gallus -- Vespasian -- Titus -- Cerialis -- Lucilius Bassus -- Lucius Flavius Silva >

< Events : Battle of Beth Horon -- Destruction of the Second Temple -- Fall of Masada >

• This page is edited by Samuele Rocca, Israel

The Triumph of Titus and Vespasian (1540 Romano), art

Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (1626 Poussin), art

Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (1637 Poussin), art

Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (1846 Kaulbach), art

Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (1850 Roberts), art

The Destruction of Jerusalem (1859 Ge), art

Vespasian Hearing from One of His Generals of the Taking of Jerusalem by Titus (1866 Alma-Tadema), art

Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (1867 Hayez), art

The Triumph of Titus (1885 Alma-Tadema), art

The Jewish War began in the year 66 CE, initially due to Greek and Jewish religious tensions. The Roman military garrison of Jerusalem was overrun by rebels, who later defeated the Roman army, under the leadership of Cestius Gallus the Roman governor of Syria, at the Battle of Beth Horon. While the moderate leaders of the rebellion organized a government in Jerusalem, the rebellion spread to the whole of Judaea. The emperor Nero handled the command of the Roman army to Vespasian, who was assisted by various clients–kings, including the Jewish King Herod Agrippa II. In 67 CE, Vespasian moved against the Jewish stronghold in Galilee, under the overall command of Josephus (Joseph ben Mattatihu). The Roman army overwhelmed the Jewish forces in various sieges, as at Jotapata and Gamla. Josephus surrounded and later in the war would side with the Romans. By the end of the year Galilee was restored to Agrippa II. The next year, in 68 CE, Vespasian moved against Judaea, and the neighboring regions. However the fall of Nero and the Year of the Four Emperors brought a stalemate in the war. Meanwhile in Jerusalem, the moderate Jewish leadership was defeated and killed by the extremist Zealots, under the leadership of John of Giscala, Simon bar Giora and Eleazar ben Simon. In 70 CE, Titus, the son of Vespasian who was left behind by his father, now emperor, to continue the Jewish War, besieged and conquered Jerusalem. The vast majority of the population was killed or enslaved, the city was burned, and the Temple razed down. The Jewish War ended only in 73 CE, with the conquest of the fortress of Masada. There a group of Sicarii hold on under the leadership of Eleazar ben Yair. The Roman commander, Flavius Silva succeeded in conquering the fortress. According to Josephus the Sicarii preferred to commit suicide together with their families, rather than be enslaved by the Romans.

The Origins of the War

When in 4 BCE Herod the Great died, the kingdom was divided between his three sons Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Herod Philip. Herod Archelaus, appointed by the Roman Emperor Augustus as ethnarch, received Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea. Herod Archelaus' brothers were appointed to the lesser title of tetrarch. Herod Antipas received Galilee and Peraea, while Herod Philip received the northern territories around the Golan region. Herod Archelaus was an ineffective ruler. Already in 4 BCE, the population of Judaea rebelled against his rule. Herod Archelaus' brothers fared much better. Herod Philip ruled his territories till 33 CE. Herod Antipas, who ruled till 39 CE, and, as his father, he urbanized his kingdom. Herod Antipas founded the city of Tiberias, named in honor of Tiberius. In 6 CE, after ten year of unhappy rule, Herod Archelaus was dismissed by Augustus and sent in exile to Gaul. His territories were administered by a Roman governor, a praefectus of equestrian rank, who was responsible to the Roman governor of Syria of superior senatorial rank. Most of these early governors were quite successful in their task. The only exception was the cruel and corrupt Pontius Pilate, who ruled Judaea between 26 to 36 CE. In 41 CE Judaea reverted to an independent status under the rule of Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great and the Hasmonean Mariamne. The young prince was educated at the Imperial court in Rome. There he became friend with the future emperors Caligula, and Claudius. Agrippa I was well rewarded by his imperial friends. In 33 CE he was given by Caligula the territories of Herod Philip, at the latter's death, and in 39 CE he received the territories of Herod Antipas, after the latter was exiled to southern Gaul. Finally Claudius gave to Agrippa Judaea itself, the core of the kingdom. Agrippa I ruled for three peaceful years from 41 to 44 CE. At Agrippa I's death, the emperor Claudius annexed the whole kingdom, and appointed an equestrian governor, with the rank of procurator. Most of these Roman Governors of Judea were quite a sad lot, sometime cruel and often corrupted, most of the times unaware of the complexity of Jewish culture and religion, with the conspicuous exceptions of Tiberius Alexander (the nephew of Philo of Alexandria) and Marcus Antonius Felix (the husband of the Hasmonean Drusilla). In these years the tension between the Jews and the Romans rose high. On one side the priestly aristocracy, who sided with the Romans, although tried genuinely to protect the subjects from Roman oppression, was seen as collaborators by most of the Jews. The fact that the Roman governor dismissed at his whim the High Priest, the supreme authority of the Jews, lowered his moral authority in the eyes of most of them. On the other side the extremist movements of the Zealots and of the Sicarii took foot between the population. According to Josephus, the revolt, which began at Caesarea Maritima in 66 CE, was provoked by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue. The Roman garrison did not intervene and the long-standing Greek and Jewish religious tensions took a downward spiral. The situation was exacerbated when Gessius Florus, the governor of Judaea stole money from the coffers of the Temple. The infuriated population brought Gessius Florus to flee back to Caesarea Maritima. It was the beginning of the Jewish War.

The Battle of Beth Horon: The Defeat of Cestius Gallus

The clash between Gessius Florus and the population of Jerusalem developed in a full fledged war. Gessius Florus asked from the citizens of Jerusalem to welcome two cohorts coming from Caesarea Maritima to Jerusalem to garrison the city. The former and influential High Priest Ananus ben Ananus convinced the population to accept. However the auxilia once more misbehaved. This time the population insulted the soldiers, which reacted violently. Immediately the civilians reacted and it begun a strife between the soldiers and the population. Gessius Florus fled back to Caesarea. The soldiers remained besieged in the Antonia Fortress. Then King Herod Agrippa II came to Jerusalem to calm the population to quell the rebellion. However, the population received him with insults and accusation of collaboration. Meanwhile the High Priest Mattathias ben Theophilus ceased the sacrifice to the emperor. This was the real beginning of the insurrection. Although the new government was composed of moderate leaders, as Josephus, who wished peace with Rome, though the fortresses of Masada and Herodium were occupied by the extremist Sicarii, which by now, strong of their military successes, could influence the population against their moderate leadership. Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Agrippa II still tried to send his own soldiers to make a show of force with the mob. The obvious result was that Agrippa II's soldiers were attacked and joined the besieged auxilia in the Antonia Fortress.

At this point, Cestius Gallus, the Senatorial governor of Syria organized an expedition against Jerusalem. He organized the expeditionary corps at Ptolemais which included a whole legion, the XII Fulminata, and a huge contingent of auxilia. Through Caesarea Maritima, Cestius Gallus, together with his expeditionary army, arrived not far from Jerusalem. Cestius Gallus’s army camped on Mount Scopus. The Roman army then tried to attack Jerusalem, well defended, without success. When Cestius Gallus army retreated, they were attacked by the rebels. In the Battle of Beth Horon, the Roman army was defeated in an ambuscade, and Cestius Gallus had to flee to Caesarea. The Jewish victory of Beth Horon resulted in a rebellion inside Agrippa II's kingdom. Some cities as Tiberias, the capital, took the side of the rebels. Others, as Sepphoris, remained neutral. The rebellion extended from Galilee to the northern part of Agrippa II kingdom to the Golan, dominated by the city of Gamla. One of the effects of the Battle of Beth Horon was the creation of a well defined Jewish moderate leadership; all major parties were represented in the government. This leadership included Sadducees, or members of the priestly aristocracy, as the former High Priest Ananus ben Ananus, Joseph Ben Gurion, who were given the organization of the defense of Jerusalem; Jehoshua Ben Sapphias and Eleazar ben Anania, who were given the command of Idumaea, and of course the young Josephus (Joseph Ben Mattatihu), who was given the command of Galilee. The moderate leadership also included the Pharisee leader Simon ben Gamaliel and John the Essene. On the other side, the Herodian ruler Agrippa II and his sister Berenice remained staunch allies of the Romans.

The First Campaign in Galilee: Jotapata

By the end of 66 CE, the conflict between the Jews and the Romans was assuming the dimensions not only of a national war between the Jews and the Romans, but also of a civil war, first between Jews and Gentiles, and then between Jews. Thus the conflict soon extended in the mixed cities at the peripheries of Judaea. Thus in the mixed Graeco-Gentile city of Caesarea Maritima, the beginning of the Jewish War was the excuse for clashes between Jews and Gentiles, and for the latter an excuse to murder the Jewish residents. At Skythopolis, although the local Jewish community did not side with the rebels, the local Jews were however pitilessly murdered. On the other side, in Jerusalem, the Sadducee moderate leadership was soon contrasted by the Zealots and Sicarii. Thus once Josephus (Joseph ben Mattatihu) assumed the command of the Jewish army in Galilee, he had to face John of Giscala (Yochanan mi-Gush Halav). The latter together with other leaders, including moderates, were quite successful in undermining Josephus’s stands in the eyes of the local population.

The Roman emperor Nero was informed of the beginning of the Jewish rebellion during his visit to Greece. Immediately he called back Vespasian, who had already distinguished himself, during Claudius conquest of Britannia. By the beginning of 67 CE, Vespasian was in Antiochia in Syria. He therefore began to organize the Roman army to quell the Jewish rebellion. Vespasian’s army consisted in the V Legio Macedonica, the X Legio Fretensis, in 23 cohortes of auxilia infantry, in six alae of auxilia cavalry, as well as the armies of the king clients Herod Agrippa II, Antiochus of Commagene, Soaemus of Emesa, and Malichus II of Nabataea. In total Vespasian’s army included no less than 60.000 soldiers. At Ptolemais Vespasian was later joined by his son Titus coming from Alexandria with the XV Legio Apollinaris. Vespasian first began the conquest of Galilee and the rest of Agrippa's kingdom. At Garis, near Sepphoris the Jews faced Vespasian’s army and were defeated in a field battle. Josephus retired to Tiberias, and then he closes inside Jotapata. Soon the siege work began; see Siege of Jotapata. The fortified city was taken and Josephus captured alive. From then onwards the once commander-in-chief of the insurgents in Galilee collaborated with the Roman army. By the end of the war, he was freed, given Roman citizenship with the name of Flavius Josephus.

The Second Campaign in Galilee: Gamla

Not all the Jewish cities in Galilee made a last stand as Jotapata. Thus Sepphoris from the beginning took the Roman side. Tiberias, the most important city of Galilee, which sided with the rebels after the fall of Jotapata, surrendered to Agrippa II. The young Titus, second in command to Vespasian, conquered after a short siege the fortress of Tarichae. Only the settlements of Giscala (Gush Halav) and Har Tavor were besieged by the Romans, otherwise all of Galilee was in their hands. From Galilee, Vespasian moved to the Golan, and he begun the Siege of Gamla, the last major military operation in the North.

After the conquest and destruction of Gamla, the settlement of Giscala (Gush Halav) surrendered to Titus and that of Har Tavor was conquered. Yet the most important consequences of the Jewish War, were not in Galilee, which by now was buck under the joint control of Agrippa II and the Romans, but in Jerusalem. In fact the defeat of Gamla and the fall of Galilee was the dead toll for the moderate government in Jerusalem. Thus the loss of Galilee brought a civil war between the moderate priestly ruling class, which made off the government, and the Zealots extremists. The latter seized power, with the help of the Idumeans. The two former High Priests, Ananus ben Ananus, leader of the House of Annas, and Joshua ben Gamaliel, leader of the House of Boethus, were murdered. In few days the Zealots overthrow the moderate government and instituted in Jerusalem a reign of terror. The war, however, continued. Vespasian, once secured the kingdom of Agrippa II moved to Perea and the Decapolis. The Gentile cities of Gadar and Gerasa, in the hands of the Jews, were conquered. Vespasian then marched on to Judaea. There the cities of Lydda and Emmaus as well as Yamnia, part of the Imperial domain were conquered. By the end of 67 CE, Perea, Decapolis and Judaea were in the hands of the Romans. Only Jerusalem and some fortresses as Masada and Herodium as well as Idumea stood alone in facing the onslaught of the Roman army.

The Year of the Four Emperors

The Jewish War did not end in 68 CE. At the beginning of the year, Vespasian brought back the army to Caesarea Maritima to rest in winter camp. But there, he was announced the suicide of the emperor Nero, and the appointment by the army of Galba. By the beginning of the spring, Vespasian army completed the conquest of southern Judaea and of Idumaea. Gophn and Acrabata were conquered as well as the Idumean center of Hebron. The year 69 CE, the "Year of the Four Emperors" saw a definite stalemate in military operations in Judaea. By the end of 69 CE, Vespasian, a few months before just a military commander, had ascended to the Imperial purple. In Rome, after a few months, Galba was murdered by the praetorians, who appointed Otho as the new emperor. However the western legions proclaimed Vitellius as emperor. Soon Vitellius army defeated in the first battle of Bedriacum the rival army of Otho. The latter did commit suicide in Rome, while Vitellius entered in the capital. However the civil war was not finished. In the East, the Roman army, strong of its successes in Judaea proclaimed Vespasian as emperor. Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice supported the Flavian rise to imperial power (Tacitus, Historiae II.81). In particular Berenice was instrumental in securing the support to Vespasian of her former brother-in-law, the powerful Roman governor of Egypt, the Praefectus Egypti, Tiberius Julius Alexander. Vespasian ruler of the East, once in possession of Egypt, could control the food supply to Rome, as its main source was Egypt itself. Vespasian was preparing to the conquest of Rome. Thus first Vespasian left Caesarea Maritima for Alexandria. Vespasian joined forces as well with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus, a general in Pannonia. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian gained control of Egypt. Vitellius was defeated at the second battle of Bedriacum, and Vespasian was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. Thus Vespasian left the East for Rome. It is his son Titus, who begun the siege of Jerusalem.

The Fall of Jerusalem

The years 68 and 69 CE witnessed a vicious civil war between the various groups of Zealots. Three main groups confronted each other in Jerusalem. John of Giscala (Yohanan mi-Gush Halav), who escaped from Galilee, challenged the leadership of Eleazar ben Simon in Jerusalem. Moreover a third new group was organized under the leadership of Simon bar Giora, who arrived at Jerusalem from Masada. Each group dominates a different part of the city. Thus John of Giscala dominated the Temple Mount, Simon bar Giora dominated the Upper City, and Eleazar ben Simon dominated the Temple itself. When a group of pilgrims arrived to the Temple, to celebrate Passover, it was the occasion for John of Giscala to wipe out the party of Eleazar ben Simon. By now only the opposing leaders, John of Giscala and Simon bar Giora, had to join hands and to stand the final clash with the Romans. However during the savage civil war between the different factions all the provisions were burned. There was no more food in Jerusalem, already besieged. The two Zealot leaders, John of Giscala and Simon bar Giora then, although too late, decided to coordinate their efforts in the defense of Jerusalem, as the Roman army approaches.

The Siege of Jerusalem lasted six months. Vespasian's son Titus led the military operations. King Herod Agrippa II, Berenice, Tiberius Alexander and the "traitor" Josephus were among the Jewish leaders who actively supported the Romans. After repeated assaults Jesusalem fell. The city suffered great destruction. Most of the population was killed or reduced into slavery; the Temple was burnt and left in ruins. Both John of Giscala and Simon bar Giora were taken prisoners alive and reserved for Titus' triumphal procession in Rome.

Masada: The Last Stand

With the conquest of Jerusalem, in the summer of 70 CE, the Jewish War was finished. Still in the outskirts of Judaea stood Jewish patriots that were not ready to surrender to the Romans, even after the fall of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the Temple. Titus, however, returned back to Rome to celebrate his triumph. In 72 CE Flavius Silva, of Senatorial rank, the new governor of Judaea, also took the command of the Roman army in Judaea. The main challenge was a group of Sicarii, who dominated in the fortress of Masada, near the Dead Sea. This group of 960 persons, under the leadership of Eleazar ben Yair, also included women and children, the families of the freedom fighters. Thus Silva brought there the X Legio Fretensis, as well as six cohorts of auxilia and prepared to besiege the fortress. The siege took place in the winter of 72-73 CE, three years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Romans first diverted the aqueducts of the fortress for their own use. Then they erected a circumvallation wall all around Masada. This wall, built using local stone, was reinforced by towers, erected on the western side and by military camps planned as part of the siege wall. Thus half of the legion, cohorts VI-X, were encamped on the low ground, east of the fortress, and the other half, cohorts I-V, were encamped on the higher ground, to the west. Moreover in this spot, Silva established his headquarters. The auxiliary cohorts were camped in six other camps. Once Masada was isolated from the surrounding area, the Romans then build a ramp on the west side of the fortress. This ramp had an incline of 20 degrees, and was built using as frame strata of timbers and covered with earth filling. Jewish prisoners were used to erect the ramp. Roman military engineers were used to fill valleys with their ramps, as during the siege of Gergovia, than in climbing mountains, and a steeply one at that, with the ramp. Once the ramp was ready, the Romans built a siege tower with a battering ram on the front. This siege tower presented special features: as the ramp was quite steeply the siege tower was built following the same inclination. Once the Romans succeeded in bringing the siege tower near the wall of the fortress, the battering ram destroyed the wall of the fortress. However the Sicarii quickly erected an inner wall of earth and timber, the latter probably taken from the roofs of Herod's palaces. More the Romans battered the wall, more the earth, pressed settled in. Thus the Romans had to change their tactics, and they set fire to the inner wall, hoping to burn down the timber frame. However for a while the wind brought back the fire on the siege tower, which begun to burn. Later on, however the wind changed direction and the inner wall erected by the Sicarii begun to burn down. The Romans were now ready to attack the fortress, but it was not to be. Eleazar ben Yair called on an assembly of his followers, probably inside a building adjacent the western wall, transformed in a synagogue. There the Sicarii were persuaded by Eleazar ben Yair that it was better to commit suicide as free men, than to fall in the hands of the Romans and be enslaved. The Sicarii committed suicide together with their families. Thus the following morning the Romans found only two old women and two children who survived and told what indeed happened. The Jewish War was now over.

Aftermath

By the end of 73 CE with the exception of most of the Gentile cities as Caesarea Maritima, Sebaste as well as Greek cities, most notably Skythopolis, Judaea was completely in ruin. The first step taken by the Flavians was to found colonies in Judaea to control the Jewish subjects. Already Nero had established the colony of Akko-Ptolemais. On its coins are depicted the standards of the Legion III Gallica, Legion VI Ferrata, Legion X Fretensis, Legion XII Fulminata. Thus Vespasian established a colony at Caesarea Maritima, the Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea. Later on Domitian established another Roman colony at Flavia Neapolis, modern Schechem. Flavian Judaea was a Senatorial Province, no more equestrian. This would probably stop the abuses that brought the Jews to revolt in 66 CE. Jerusalem was left in ruin, although the X Legio Fretensis remained there, encamped on the site of Herod's Palace, protected by the three towers of the citadel, which Titus spared from destruction. Jews, however, continued to live in the area around Jerusalem. Galilee was returned to the aging Agrippa II, who died probably in 98 CE. With the death of Agrippa II, the last Herodian ruler, Trajan annexed Galilee to the empire. Moreover in 106 CE, Trajan annexed the neighboring Nabatean kingdom, as the Provincia Arabia.

External links

• Jewish-Roman War Wikipedia

• Jewish Encyclopedia (1906)