Who is bar kokhba

When Hadrian became emperor in C. The Land of Israel seems to have been involved in these battles only to a limited extent. 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.

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. The failure of this effort was another great disappointment for the Jewish community of Palestine.

Soon after, Hadrian founded a city of his own in Jerusalem called Aelia Capitolina, where he erected a temple to the Greek god Zeus. The revolt did not begin until it had found its leader. From letters and documents unearthed in the Judean Desert we know the real name of the leader to have been Simeon bar Kosiba. The tannaim were divided, some supporting his rebellion, others not.

Those who supported him saw him as a messianic figure. The war began as a guerrilla struggle against Rome in C. Within a short time it had spread throughout the country, and the rebels took Jerusalem, which had not been heavily fortified by the Romans.

It is possible that sacrifices were now reinstituted and that work was begun on rebuilding the sanctuary. The Bar Kokhba revolt marked a time of high hopes followed by violent despair. The Jews were handed expectations of a homeland and a Holy Temple, but in the end were persecuted and sold into slavery.

During the revolt itself, the Jews gained enormous amounts of land, only to be pushed back and crushed in the final battle of Bethar. When Hadrian first became the Roman emperor in C. He allowed them to return to Jerusalem and granted permission for the rebuilding of their Holy Temple.

Hadrian quickly went back on his word, however, and requested that the site of the Temple be moved from its original location. He also began deporting Jews to North Africa. The Jews prepared to rebel until Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah calmed them.

The Jews then satisfied themselves with preparing secretly in case a rebellion would later become necessary. They built hideouts in caves and did shoddy work building weapons so that the Romans would reject the weapons and return them to the Jews.

The Jews organized guerilla forces and, in C. From that point on, life only got worse for the Jews. He appointed Tinneius Rufus governor of Judea. Rufus was a harsh ruler who took advantage of Jewish women. In approximately C. He started to build a temple to Jupiter in place of the Jewish Holy Temple. As long as Hadrian remained near Judea, the Jews stayed relatively quiet.

When he left in , the Jews began their rebellion on a large scale. They seized towns and fortified them with walls and subterranean passages. Under the strong leadership of Shimon Bar-Kokhba , the Jews captured approximately 50 strongholds in Judea and undefended towns and villages, including Jerusalem. Jews from other countries, and even some gentiles, volunteered to join their crusade. The Jews then invaded the coastal region and the Romans began sea battles against them.

The turning point of the war came when Hadrian sent into Judea one of his best generals from Britain, Julius Severus, along with former governor of Germania, Hadrianus Quintus Lollius Urbicus. By that time, there were 12 army legions from Egypt, Britain, Syria and other areas in Judea.

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. Only then did his attack escalate into outright war. The Romans demolished all 50 Jewish fortresses and villages.

The main conflicts took place in Judea, the Shephela, the mountains and the Judean desert, though fighting also spread to Northern Israel. 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.

Thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Bethar during the war. In C. After a fierce battle, every Jew in Bethar was killed.

Six days passed before the Romans allowed the Jews to bury their dead. Following the battle of Bethar, there were a few small skirmishes in the Judean Desert Caves, but the war was essentially over and Judean independence was lost. The Romans plowed Jerusalem with a yoke of oxen. Jews were sold into slavery and many were transported to Egypt. Judean settlements were not rebuilt. Jerusalem was turned into a pagan city called Aelia Capitolina and the Jews were forbidden to live there.

They were permitted to enter only on the 9th of Av to mourn their losses in the revolt. In the years following the revolt, Hadrian discriminated against all Judeo-Christian sects, but the worst persecution was directed against religious Jews.

He made anti-religious decrees forbidding Torah study, Sabbath observance, circumcision , Jewish courts, meeting in synagogues and other ritual practices. They also maintained contact with Jews in other areas. Bar-Kokhba led the Jewish army through three and a half years of revolt. He died in a massive battle at Bethar, in the Judean hills.

He was succeeded as ruler by his son Rufus, who was followed by Rufus' son Romulus. Download our mobile app for on-the-go access to the Jewish Virtual Library.

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