Bar Kochba followed the same strategy that the Jews had followed in the first rebellion against Rome. The Land of Israel seems to have been involved in these battles only to a limited extent. Messianism was abstracted and spiritualized, and rabbinical political thought becam… Ben Sasson, Editor. Judea was made part of the province of Syria. The Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE), [2] Hebrew: מרד בר כוכבא ‎ or mered bar kokhba, was the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judaea Province against the Roman Empire and the last of the Jewish-Roman Wars. They seized towns and fortified them with walls and subterranean passages. Documents discovered in the modern era Rabbi Akiva. They were permitted to enter only on the 9th of Av to mourn their losses in the revolt. With the fall of Jerusalem and then Bethar, a fortress on the seacoast south of Caesarea where Bar Kokhba was slain, the rebellion was crushed in 135. The story of Bar-Kokhba was a legend in Jewish history - some actually believed he wasn't a real person. Answer: The Bar Kokhba revolt was a series of battles from AD 132 to 135 waged against the Roman Empire by Jews led by Simeon bar Kosba, who made messianic claims and who was renamed Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star”) by an influential rabbi. Bar Kochba observed Jewish law, and it may be stated that the documents confirm the close relationship be­tween this “messiah” and tannaitic Judaism. Jews from other countries, and even some gentiles, volunteered to join their crusade. Imagine the incredible excitement of those involved in the discovery of the caves when they learned they had finally uncovered the final resting place of Bar-Kokhba and others who were with him. During the revolt itself, the Jews gained enormous amounts of land, only to be pushed back and crushed in the final battle of Bethar. With the accession of the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 C.E. Bar Kochba silver Shekel/tetradrachm. Due to the large number of Jewish rebels, instead of waging open war, Severus besieged Jewish fortresses and held back food until the Jews grew weak. The Bar Kochba Revolt was a Jewish rebellion, led by Simon bar Kochba, against the Roman Empire that ultimately failed. Yet as victories go, Simon Bar Kochba's was a Pyrrhic one. Thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Bethar during the war. He made anti-religious decrees forbidding Torah study, Sabbath observance, circumcision, Jewish courts, meeting in synagogues and other ritual practices. What is especially significant in these disturbances is the evidence that they were fueled by the very same messianic yearnings that had helped to fan the flames of the Great Revolt, and would soon lead to the Bar Kochba Revolt. Hadrian dispatched General Publus Marcellus, governor of Syria, to help Rufus, but the Jews defeated both Roman leaders. Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא ‎) (died CE 135) was the Jewish leader of what is known as the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE, establishing an independent Jewish state which he ruled for three years as Nasi ("Prince"). Within a short time it had spread throughout the country, and the rebels took Jerusalem, which had not been heavily fortified by the Romans. The Jews then satisfied themselves with preparing secretly in case a rebellion would later become necessary. Simeon Bar Kochba (died 135) led the last Jewish revolt against Roman rule in Palestine, 132-135. After a fierce battle, every Jew in Bethar was killed. To Christians, the revolt was furt… all credit goes to dovahhaty https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCdZY83VtDv0WieDHLyXrlNQ -Bar Kokhba proclaiming open rebellion against Roman rule in Judea. The Romans plowed Jerusalem with a yoke of oxen. The Jews minted coins with slogans such as “The freedom of Israel” written in Hebrew. Bar Kochba. These developments took place despite the separation of Judea from the province of Syria and the appoint­ment of higher‑level Roman governors of senatorial rank. Shimon Bar-Kokhba was the leader of the Jewish revolt against Rome between 132 and 135 C.E. He also began deporting Jews to North Africa. The slogans on the Bar Kokhba coins proclaimed … The Romans suffered heavy casualties as well and Hadrian did not send his usual message to the Senate that “I and my army are well.”. Bar Kochba Jewish outrage at his actions led to one of the single greatest revolts of the Roman Era. The failure of this effort was another great disappointment for the Jewish community of Palestine. The main conflicts took place in Judea, the Shephela, the mountains and the Judean desert, though fighting also spread to Northern Israel. In 135 C.E., Hadrian’s army besieged Bethar and on the 9th of Av, the Jewish fast day commemorating the destruction of the first and second Holy Temples, the walls of Bethar fell. The historical memory of the Bar Kochba Revolt has been much weaker than that of the Jewish revolt of 70 CE, perhaps because of the spectacular tragedy of the Temple’s destruction, perhaps because no detailed history of it still survives today. Killing more than half a million Jews and destroying almost a thousand villages, the Bar Kochba Revolt (132-35) was a major event in Jewish history and a blotch on the reputation of the good emperor Hadrian.The revolt was named for a man called Shimon, on coins, Bar Kosibah, on papyrus, Bar Kozibah, on rabbinic literature, and Bar Kokhba, in Christian writing. , “ The Bar Kokhba Revolt: The Roman Point of View,” Journal of Roman Studies 89 (1999). When he left in 132, the Jews began their rebellion on a large scale. Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem and the Bar Kokhba revolt. The Bar Kochba Revolt: A Disaster Celebrated by Zionists on Lag Ba'Omer On Lag Ba'Omer, Israeli children celebrate the Jewish rebels' victory over the Romans 2,000 years ago. History Until 1880: Israel Pocket Library. Kantor, Morris. The tannaim were divided, some supporting his rebellion, others not. Bethar was a vital military stronghold because of its strategic location on a mountain ridge overlooking both the Valley of Sorek and the important Jerusalem-Bet Guvrin Road. Military aspects of the revolt were led by Simon Bar Kosiba (Bar Kokhba), who is named “Simon, Prince of Israel” on some revolt coins. Yet as victories go, Simon Bar Kochba's was a Pyrrhic one. The Bar Kokhba Revolt and Hadrian’s Religious Policy Giovanni Battista Bazzana The many scholarly opinions collected in a volume published ten years ago and devoted to the study of the period between the two Jewish uprisings of 66 and 132 were all in agreement on the thick darkness that still enshrouds the historical contours of the fateful war associated with the name of Bar Kokhba1. There are few sources about Bar-Kokhba. To be sure, other social, economic, and political causes were at work, especially a general decline in relations between Jews and their neighbors in the Hellenistic world, but when these finally led to the of a rebellion, it was the belief in a messianic future that made possible the leap of faith to the belief that the revolt might succeed. Rufus was a harsh ruler who took advantage of Jewish women. he had to spend his first year mopping up the last of the rebels. Silver Sela, mint of Jerusalem, undated year 3 (134/5 CE). ), virtually all of Hadrian’s decrees were rescinded…The latter years of Roman rule, in the aftermath of the Bar Kochba Revolt and on the verge of the Christianization of the empire, were extremely fertile ones for the development of Judaism. The caves helped Jews fight against the Romans during two revolts; one revolt occurred around the time the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem (approx. This rebellion later became known as the Bar-Kokhba revolt. The sobriquet Bar Kokhba, “Son of a Star,” was given to him in accord with Num. The war began as a guerrilla struggle against Rome in 13… The Bar Kokhba Revolt broke out in 132 C.E., 62 years after the subjection of Judea and Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple by Titus, and continued for three and half years. The rebellion was crushed by the Roman commander Julius Severus. It is possible that sacrifices were now reinstituted and that work was begun on rebuilding the sanctuary. The nature of the revolt, how it was suppressed cruelly by the Romans, and the death of Bar-Kokhba were described briefly in the writings of classical historians and in various wors by Church Fathers. The Romans sought to extinguish Jewish presence in Jerusalem by renaming it Aelia Capitolina, and by changing Israel to Palestine. Fought circa 132-136 CE, 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. (ed. To the Romans, the revolt was best forgotten but was sometimes cited as an example of a particularly bloody and brutal confrontation with an intractable enemy. The failure of the revolt is considered by many to be the start of the Jewish diaspora. Obverse: the Jewish Temple facade with the rising star, surrounded by "Shimon". The Jewish Time Line Encyclopedia. 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