The
Bar Kokhba revolt (
Hebrew:
מרד בר כוכבא;
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,[SUP]
[3][/SUP] 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. Some historians also refer to it as the
Second Revolt of Judea, not counting the
Kitos War (115–117 CE), which had only marginally been fought in Judea.
The revolt erupted as a result of ongoing religious and political tensions in Judea following on the failure of the First Revolt in 66−70 CE. These tensions were related to the establishment of a large Roman presence in Judea, changes in administrative life and the economy, together with the outbreak and suppression of Jewish revolts from Mesopotamia to Libya and Cyrenaica.[SUP]
[4][/SUP] The proximate reasons seem to centre around the construction of a new city,
Aelia Capitolina over the ruins of Jerusalem and
the erection of a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] The Church Fathers and rabbinic literature emphasize
governor of
Judaea Rufus' role in provoking the revolt.[SUP]
[6][/SUP]
In 132, a revolt led by Bar Kokhba quickly spread from
Modi'in across the country, cutting off the Roman garrison in Jerusalem.[SUP]
[7][/SUP]
Roman Governor Rufus then unsuccessfully engaged the early phase of the uprising. Rufus is last recorded in 132, the first year of the rebellion; whether he died or was replaced is uncertain, but
Gargilius Antiques is recorded as the Roman Prefect of Judea during the conflict.[SUP]
[8][/SUP]
Initial rebel victories over the Romans established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judea for over two years, as Bar Kokhba took the title of Nasi ("prince"). Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was regarded by many Jews as the
Messiah, who would restore their national independence.[SUP]
[9][/SUP] This setback, however, caused Roman Emperor Hadrian to assemble a large scale Roman force from across the Empire, which invaded Judea in 134 under the command of Roman General
Sextus Julius Severus. The Roman army was made of six full
legions with
auxiliaries and elements from up to six additional legions, which finally managed to crush the revolt.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokhba_revolt
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