Jewish–Roman wars

Jewish–Roman wars
Menora, the Jewish symbol, taken from Jerusalem by the Roman troops
Date 66–136 Location Roman Judea, Cyprus, Cyrenaica, Mesopotamia Result Roman victories; Jewish genocide and diaspora. Territorial changes Roman Judea (Iudaea) remained a Roman Province, but was renamed Syria Palaestina
Belligerents
Roman Empire	Jewish Zealots; Jewish rebels; Bar-Kokhba's army.
Commanders and leaders
Titus, Vespasian; Marcus Lupus, Quintus Turbo, Lusius Quietus; Hadrian.	Simon Bar-Giora, Elazar Ben-Simon,Yehonatan mi-Gush Halav; Artemion, Lukuas (Andreas), Julian and Pappus; Simon Bar-Kokhba
Strength
Great revolt: 30,000 in Beth Horon, 5 Legions – 60,000 during Jerusalem siege Kitos War: Eastern legions Bar Kokhba revolt: 6–7 full legions and cohorts of 5–6 additional legions – about 120,000 total.	Great revolt: Tens of thousands in local militias. Kitos War: Unknown Bar-Kokhba revolt: 200–250 thousand militia.
Casualties and losses
Great revolt: Legio XII Fulminata lost its aquila and Syrian contingent destroyed – about 20,000 casualties; Kitos War: About 240,000 civilians in Cyprus, more in Cyrenaica; Bar-Kokhba revolt: Legio XXII Deiotariana destroyed, Legio IX Hispana possibly disbanded.	Great revolt: 250 thousand – 1,1 million massacred (per Josephus); enslavement of 97,000; Kitos War: Annihilation of Jewish communities in Cyprus, Cyrenaica and Alexandria; Bar Kokhba revolt: 400,000 – 580,000 civilians and militia massacred, 985 Judean villages razed (per Cassius Dio).

The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Iudaea Province and Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire. Some sources use the term to refer only to the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73) and Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135). Other sources include the Kitos War (115–117) as one of the Jewish–Roman wars; however this revolt started among the Jewish diaspora in Cyrenaica, and only its final stages were actually fought within Judaea Province.

The Jewish-Roman Wars left an epic impact on the Jews, turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean to a scattered and persecuted minority. The events also include a major impact on Judaism, as the central worship of Judaism, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus' troops. Though Samaritans gained some sort of autonomy in the 4th century and later the Jews succeeded in establishing a short living Jewish Sassanid Commonwealth in 614 CE, the actual dominance of Israelites in parts of the Southern Levant was regained only in the early 20th century.

Sequence

The Jewish–Roman wars include the following:

• First Jewish–Roman War (66–73) — also called the First Jewish Revolt or the Great Jewish Revolt, spanning from the 66 CE insurrection, through the 67 fall of the Galilee, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 and finally the fall of Masada in 73.
• Kitos War (115–117) — known as the "Rebellion of the Exile" and sometimes called the Second Jewish-Roman War.
• Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135) — also called the Second Jewish-Roman War (when Kitos War is not counted), or the Third (when the Kitos War is counted).

Aftermath

Further revolts in the Holy Land, renamed Syria Palaestina after 135, now against Constantinople (the Roman capital after 330, often designated the Byzantine Empire) include:

• Jewish revolt against Gallus (351) — the Jewish revolt originating in Sepphoris in the Galilee.
• Samaritan Revolts (484–572) — Samaritan incited revolts, originating largely in Neapolis.
• Jewish revolt against Heraclius (613) — the Jewish revolt originating in Tiberias in the Galilee.

See also

• Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)
• Arch of Titus
• Fall of Masada
• Second Temple
• Siege of Jerusalem (70)
• Legio X Fretensis
• Legio XII Fulminata
• List of conflicts in the Near East