This is a silver zuz denarius issued by the jewish rebels during the bar kokhba revolt which was crushed by hadrian. During the revolt itself, the jews gained enormous amounts of land, only to be pushed back and crushed in the final battle of bethar. Geographical update on the area of the bar kokhba revolt. Mered bar kokhba was a rebellion of the jews of the roman province of judea, led by simon bar kokhba, against the roman empire. According to buchholz, apopt is written in this context in order to explain the issue of theodicy. Bar kokhba, jewish leader who led a bitter but unsuccessful revolt 25 ce against roman dominion in judaea. Eleven bronze coins of the barkokhba revolt, twelve arrowheads and fragments of two papyrus documents were recovered in. Yet as victories go, simon bar kochbas was a pyrrhic one. He held the title of nasi, which could be a messianic allusion or could simply refer to the one in charge of army, administration and economy.
The image of bar kokhba in traditional jewish literature is a history of the perceptions that later jewish writers living in the fourth through seventeenth centuries formed of this legendary herovillain whose actions, in their eyes, had caused enormous suffering and disappointed messianic hopes. Hadrian, like most roman emperors, did not take too kindly to uprisings, so he dropped the hammer on judea. The sobriquet bar kokhba, son of a star, was given to him in accord with num. Click download or read online button to get the bar kokhba revolt ad 2 5 book now. The bar kokhba revolt was a rebellion of the jews of the roman province of judea, led by. The hidden call for the bar kokhba revolt august 10, 2016 tisha bav aelia capitolina, bar kokhba, makkot 24b editors in recent years, a growing consensus has emerged that the bar kokhba revolt should be connected to romes establishment of the city of aelia capitolina on the ruins of jerusalem. What can coins minted by the rebels and jerusalems roman rulers tell us about the chain of events that eventually led to todays lag baomer bonfires. The image of bar kokhba in traditional jewish literature. And without the support of the galileans, simon bar kokhbas revolt was doomed. Lewis, the documents from the barkokhba period in the cave of.
Pdf finds from the bar kokhba revolt from two caves at en gedi. Rare coin from ancient jewish bar kokhba revolt discovered in cave the coin is believed to have been minted between the third and fourth year of the bar kokhba revolt 64 ce. On lag baomer, israeli children celebrate the jewish rebels victory over the romans 2,000 years ago. The second jewish revolt the bar kokhba war, 26 ce brill. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
Indeed, it could be said that bar kokhbas dream was not fulfilled until the state of israel was founded on 14 may 1948. Killing more than half a million jews and destroying almost a thousand villages, the bar kochba revolt 235 was a major event in jewish history and a blotch on the reputation of the good emperor hadrian. When the romans finally crushed the bar kokhba rebellion, the pax romana was harsher than ever. Since the bar kokhba revolt did not have a historian who devoted a comprehensive book to the event, mor used a variety of historical materials including. Bar kokhba was able to establish a shortlived jewish state using his initial numerical advantage over the romans. Bar kokhba was an imperious dictator who was in charge of both the army and the economy during the jewish revolt against rome. So the bar kokhba revolt must have begun after 117 ad. Nearly 600,000 jews were killed, according to the roman historian cassius dio, and more than 1,000 towns and villages were razed. When discovered by roman soldiers, they resisted, in some cases successfully.
Jewish leader simon bar kokhba quickly amassed a large following after being hailed as the new messiah. Actually, none of the overstruck coins bears a date later than 2 ad, and therefore we can say that the revolt began in. The documents from the barkokhba period in the cave of letters plates. The revolt was preceded by years of clashes between jews and romans in the area. When betar fell on the 9th of av, 3893 3 ce, bar kochba and many thousands of jews were killed. The revolt established a threeyearlong independent jewish state in which bar kokhba ruled as nasi prince. Pdf the bar kokhba revolt and hadrians religious policy. May 03, 2018 rare coin from ancient jewish bar kokhba revolt discovered in cave the coin is believed to have been minted between the third and fourth year of the bar kokhba revolt 64 ce. In 2 ce he began a revolt that pushed the romans out of much of judaea whilst killing many jewish christians.
The first has chosen exactly the bar kokhbas revolt as its conclusion, whereas. Fought circa 26 ce, it was the last of three major jewishroman wars, so it is also known as the third jewishroman war or the third. Permission is granted to copy, distribute andor modify this document under the terms of the gnu free documentation license, version 1. I only wish that the jewish rebellions against the roman empire 2,000 year ago would merit a motion picture on the scale of spartacus, especially the bar kokhba revolt of 25 ce. In ad 2, shimon ben koseba, a rebel leader who assumed the messianic name shimon bar kokhba son of a star, led the people of judaea in open rebellion, aiming to establish their own independent jewish state and to liberate jerusalem from the rom. Simon bar kochba led a rebellion against rome from 3 5 a. Second jewish revolt, ad 25, jewish rebellion against roman rule in judaea. Largestever collection of coins from barkokhba revolt found. Schiffman, from text to tradition, ktav publishing house, hoboken, nj, 1991.
Bar kokhba, jerusalem, aelia capitolina, hadrian, cassius dio, eusebius, epiphanius, pausanias, appian, numismatics. The obverse shows a bunch of grapes and the objects on the reverse are trumpets. Oct 11, 2017 roman emperor hadrian builds pagan shrine on temple mount, sparks bar kochba revolt duration. It is not necessary here to repeat the e ects of the barkokhba revolt on the jews of. Read rabbi akiva, bar kokhba revolt, and the ten tribes of israel by alexander zephyr available from rakuten kobo. Starting in the central town of modiin, the revolt quickly spread. Bar kokhba remains an important historical figure in israel today because he was the last leader of a jewish state before the rise of zionism in modern times. Roman emperor hadrian builds pagan shrine on temple mount, sparks bar kochba revolt duration. To be sure, other social, economic, and political causes were at work, especially a general decline in relations. Finds from two caves that were excavated in ein gedi in 2002 are described. Fought circa 26 ad, it was the last of three major jewishroman wars, so it is also known as the third jewishroman war or the third jewish revolt. The revolt was named for a man called shimon, on coins, bar kosibah, on papyrus, bar kozibah, on rabbinic literature, and bar kokhba, in. Second jewish revolt bar kochba forum ancient coins.
When the jewish christians refused to take part in his revolt against rome, bar kokhba persecuted and killed them. In april 1949 i published an article on the eleazar coins of the bar. This second jewish revolt or bar kochbah uprising ended with hadrians destruction of jerusalem, the founding of aelia capitolina on the site, and dispersal of the jews throughout the roman empire. The largest cache of rare coins ever found in a scientific excavation from the period of the barkokhba revolt of the jews against the romans has been discovered in a. The question of the conquest of jerusalem by the bar kokhba. If the inline pdf is not rendering correctly, you can download the pdf file here. Jews were hiding in caves in order to be able to perform the mitzvahs. Nearly onethird of the roman army, under the leadership of general julius severus, descended mercilessly upon the nation. Eleven bronze coins of the bar kokhba revolt, twelve arrowheads and fragments of two papyrus documents were recovered in. Among the weapons was a unique spearhead, after which the caves of the spear were named. Since the bar kokhba revolt did not have a histori see more. Although rabbi akiva had proclaimed bar kokhba as king messiah, this messianic hopeful was eventually killed and the revolt bearing his name was put down and the temple mount left. These latter coins would intimate that bar kokbas name was simeon, similar examples of the omission of this name being afforded by the names ben zoma and ben azzai, each of whom was also named simeon. Barkokhba was an imperious dictator who was in charge of both the army and the economy during the jewish revolt against rome.
Actually, none of the overstruck coins bears a date later than 2 ad, and therefore we can say that the revolt began in 2 ad. What can coins minted by the rebels and jerusalems roman rulers tell us about the chain of events that eventually led to. Since the bar kokhba revolt did not have a historian who devoted a comprehensive book to the event, mor used a variety of historical materials including literary sources jewish, christian, greek and latin. From some documents evidence was also found for nonjews enlisting in bar kokhbas forces, though it is not conclusive. Preparing for sukkot shimon to yehudah, son of menasheh, at qiryat arabayyah i have delivered to you two donkeys in order that you dispatch along with them two men to yehonathan, son of bayan, and to mesabalah in order that they pack up and deliver to the camp, to you, palm branches and citrons. The fortress of betar was the last holdout of the bar kochba rebellion. Bar kokhba revolt coinage, support the foundation of aelia capitolina as the. Pdf werner eck has shown jrs 1999 that the jewish rebellion. The bar kokhba revolt by aharon oppenheimer the bar kokhba revolt, which took place in 25 c. Rare coin from ancient jewish bar kokhba revolt discovered in. 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. Bar kokhba revolt coinage were coins issued by the judaean rebel state, headed by simon bar kokhba, during the bar kokhba revolt against the roman empire of 25 ad during the revolt, large quantities of coins were issued in silver and copper with rebellious inscriptions, all being overstruck over foreign mostly roman coins, when a file was used to remove the designs of the original. The debacle of the first revolt against rome was followed by a period of relative calm. Since bar kokhba was proclaimed as messiah and messiah was expected to build ezekiels temple, then perhaps the platform is the remains of the temple of bar kokhba.
The construction work that triggered the bar kokhba revolt. The revolt lasted from ad 25 and this example was minted in ad 45 at an as yet uncertain mint. The jews were handed expectations of a homeland and a holy temple, but in the end were persecuted and sold into slavery. The bar kokhba war reconsidered princeton university.
The second jewish revolt the bar kokhba war, 26 ce. Sep 09, 2009 the largest cache of rare coins ever found in a scientific excavation from the period of the bar kokhba revolt of the jews against the romans has been discovered in a cave by researchers from the. Alexander zephyr is the author of the state of israel. From letters and documents unearthed in the judean desert we know the real name of the leader to have been simeon bar kosiba. These finds accord well with other remains from the. This revolt began as small, spontaneous clashes between jews and roman forces. The bar kokhba war reminds us that freedom is not free. Exiled from jerusalem, the jewish population now centered in galilee. So the barkokhba revolt must have begun after 117 ad. Indeed, it could be said that bar kokhba s dream was not fulfilled until the state of israel was founded on 14 may 1948. During his tour of the eastern empire in 1, the roman emperor hadrian decided upon a policy of hellenization to integrate the jews into the empire. Cotton, 2002 in the documents from the bar kokhba period in. The revolt did not begin until it had found its leader. Simon ben kosevah, known to posterity as bar kokhba hebrew.
Finally, in ad 2, the misrule of tinnius rufus, the roman governor of judaea, combined with the emperor hadrians intention to found. Bar kochbas temple commentary a testimony of jesus. Documents from the second jewish revolt against the romans. From yavne to the bar kokhba revolt binyamin lau on.