Jewish–Roman wars
| Jewish–Roman wars | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Roman Empire |
Judean provisional government Jewish Zealots Jewish rebels Judea under Bar Kokhba | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Titus Vespasian Marcus Lupus Marcius Turbo Lusius Quietus Hadrian Sextus Julius Severus |
Hannan Eleazar ben Hanania Bar Giora Eleazar John Artemion Lukuas Julian and Pappus Simon bar Kokhba † Eleazar of Modi'im | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
Great revolt: 30,000 (Beth Horon) – 60,000 (siege of Jerusalem) Kitos War: forces of the eastern legions Bar Kokhba revolt: 6–7 full legions with cohorts and auxiliaries of 5–6 additional legions – about 120,000 total. |
Great revolt: 25,000+ Jewish militias 20,000 Idumeans Kitos War: loosely organized tens of thousands Bar Kokhba revolt: 200,000–400,000b militiamen | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Great revolt: Legio XII Fulminata lost its aquila and Syrian contingent destroyed – about 20,000 casualties; thousands of Roman civilians slain Kitos War: 240,000 killed in Cyprusa, 200,000 killed in Cyrenaicaa Bar Kokhba revolt: Legio XXII Deiotariana destroyed, Legio IX Hispana possibly disbanded, Legio X Fretensis – sustained heavy casualties |
Great revolt: 1,356,460 Jewish civilians and militia killed by Romans – perhaps hundreds of thousands of non-Jewish civilians (mostly trapped visitors) killed; enslavement of 97,000–99,000c Kitos War: 200,000 killed Annihilation of Jewish communities in Cyprus, Cyrenaica and Alexandria Bar Kokhba revolt: 580,000a killed, 985 Jewish strongholds and villages destroyeda | ||||||||
| 350,000–1,400,000 fatalities | |||||||||
|
[a] per Cassius Dio [b] according to Rabbinic sources [c] per Josephus | |||||||||
The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Judaea against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The conflict was driven by Jewish aspirations to restore the political independence lost when Rome conquered the Hasmonean kingdom, and unfolded over three major uprisings: the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), the Kitos War (116–118 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE). Some historians also include the Diaspora Revolt (115–117 CE) which coincided with the Kitos War, when Jewish communities across the Eastern Mediterranean rose up against Roman rule.
The Jewish–Roman wars had a devastating impact on the Jewish people, turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a dispersed and persecuted minority. The First Jewish-Roman War ended with the devastating siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, including the burning of the Second Temple—the center of Jewish religious and national life. Roman forces destroyed other towns and villages throughout Judaea, causing massive loss of life and displacement of the population. The surviving Jewish community lost all political autonomy under direct Roman rule. The later Bar Kokhba revolt proved even more devastating. The Romans' brutal suppression of this uprising led to the near-total depopulation of Judea through a combination of battlefield casualties, mass killings, and the widespread enslavement of survivors.
These catastrophic events expanded and strengthened the Jewish diaspora, driving profound religious and cultural transformations that would shape Judaism for millennia. With the Temple's sacrificial cult no longer viable, other forms of worship developed, centered on prayer, Torah study, and communal synagogue gatherings, enabling Jewish communities to preserve their identity and practices despite dispersion. As Jewish life in Judaea became untenable, two major shifts occurred: within the Land of Israel, the cultural center shifted northward to Galilee, while internationally, Babylonia and other diaspora communities across the Mediterranean and Near East gained unprecedented importance, eventually comprising the majority of the Jewish population. These developments laid the foundation for Rabbinic Judaism, which emerged as the dominant form of Judaism in late antiquity and was responsible for the codification of the Mishnah and Talmud.