Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them. Proverbs 17.11
I just finished a great book by Barry Strauss on the history of the "Jews and Rome." It covers two centuries of Jewish revolts against the Romans. This period of history had profound impacts on the world which are as relevant today as ever.
The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale, violent revolts by the Jewish population against Roman rule in Judea and the surrounding region between 66 and 135 CE. Sparked by religious, social, and political tensions, these wars unfolded over three major uprisings: the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), which ended with the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple; the Kitos War (115–117 CE), involving widespread revolt and devastation in diaspora communities; and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE), culminating in the crushing defeat at Betar and the near-total depopulation of Judea. Consequent Roman suppression led to immense loss of life, enslavement, exile, and the renaming of the province from Judea to Syria Palaestina, contributing decisively to the spread of the Jewish Diaspora and reshaping both Jewish and regional history for centuries.
The final stand of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire occurred at the fortified city of Betar, which fell after a prolonged Roman siege in 135 CE, on Tisha B'Av, the Jewish fast day. The defeat at Betar marked the end of the revolt and led to a brutal Roman campaign of annihilation,
The last revolt, the Bar Kokhba revolt climaxes with the battle at Betar. The story about Betar is in the last chapter of Barry Strauss's book. It inspired me to the produce this blog post.
The fall of Betar in 135 CE marked the gruesome climax of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the final Jewish uprising against Roman rule. This catastrophe, remembered as one of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history, not only annihilated hopes for national restoration but also dramatically shaped the future religious landscape of the region, including the growth of Christianity.
The Siege and Horror of Betar
Betar, a fortress southwest of Jerusalem perched atop steep hills, became the last refuge for tens of thousands of Jewish fighters and noncombatants fleeing Roman vengeance. Simon bar Kokhba, declared by some sages as the Messiah and leader of the Jewish forces, gathered his people for a final stand. Roman Emperor Hadrian committed major legions—including V Macedonica and XI Claudia—to besiege the city, encircling it with siege walls and massive camps that cut off Betar’s vital spring.
The siege lasted several months, culminating in a brutal assault. Jewish tradition and historical accounts report staggering, almost surreal atrocities. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, “the Romans went about slaughtering until a horse was sunk in blood up to its nostrils, and blood moved boulders weighing forty "sela" for miles”. Contemporary sources also recount mass killing, indiscriminate butchery of men, women, and children, and corpses left unburied for days—eventually permitted burial only by the mercy of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The city, ruins today, was never rebuilt.
Aftermath: Suppression and Erasure
With the annihilation of Betar, Rome’s campaign of retribution spread throughout the land. Hadrian ordered the razing of Jerusalem, turning it into the pagan city of Aelia Capitolina, and banned Jews from entering except on Tisha B’Av—the annual fast day commemorating both Temple destructions and now the fall of Betar as well. Furthermore, Hadrian renamed the province from Judea to “Syria Palaestina,” a calculated move meant to obliterate Jewish ties to the land and accelerate Jewish dispersion. The area’s remaining settlements were destroyed, refugees were hunted and enslaved, and Jewish national aspirations vanished for centuries.
Betar, Tisha B’Av, and National Mourning
The horrors at Betar became part of the bitter tapestry of Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning. Alongside the destructions of the First and Second Temples, the massacre at Betar stood as a searing reminder of the dangers of messianic hope and the relentless suffering inflicted by Rome. Rabbis refocused Jewish life on spiritual practice, scholarship and diaspora existence, distancing themselves from political rebellion.
Impact on the Growth of Christianity
As a spiritual and messianic movement, Christianity was deeply affected by the fall of Betar and the Bar Kokhba revolt. Many Jews had recognized Bar Kokhba as the Messiah before his defeat, but his death and the revolt’s failure shattered hopes for a political deliverer and discredited militant messianism within Judaism. Christianity—already diverging with its belief in a suffering, spiritual Messiah—gained new ground as Judaism’s focus moved away from revolutionary action and physical restoration towards prayer, learning, and communal survival. The Christian message of redemption beyond national boundaries was well suited to the new reality of exile and oppression.
The obliteration of Judea’s Jewish character further favored Christianity’s growth. With Jews banned from Jerusalem and Judea rechristened "Syria Palaestina," the center of Christianity shifted from its Jewish roots to a broader, more universal faith, attracting converts throughout the empire. The deep trauma of Betar, recounted annually at Tisha B’Av, played a silent but significant role in the religious transformation of the region.
Conclusion
The horrors of Betar—mass slaughter, rivers of blood, national erasure, and exile—ended one era and catalyzed another. The tragedy helped drive Judaism towards spiritual resilience and diaspora existence, while opening a path for the rapid expansion of Christianity, whose vision of a suffering Messiah resonated deeply in a world marked by loss and defeat. The catastrophe and its reverberations remain etched in the memory of two great faiths, shaping history down to our own day.
Epilogue:
The irony shouldn't be lost!
Hamas never stood a chance! Jews virtually invented and perfected guerilla warefare tactics, especially fighting from tunnels, over 2000 years ago during the Roman wars.
Jewish resistance in the Roman period stands as a key early example of guerrilla and tunnel warfare perfected nearly two millennia ago. Israel and the IDF knows Hamas's tactics better than Hamas itself does!
Jewish fighters during the Roman period are considered pioneers of guerrilla warfare, notably during the Jewish-Roman Wars (66–73 AD and subsequent revolts). They used hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, and strategic attacks on Roman supply lines rather than direct open battle against the superior Roman legions. These tactics frustrated the Romans and allowed Jewish rebels to hold out far longer than conventional forces might have.
A distinctive feature was their extensive use of underground tunnels as hideouts and defensive positions. These tunnels served to evade Roman patrols, store supplies, and launch surprise attacks. Historical accounts and recent archaeology confirm how central subterranean warfare was, especially during the siege of Jerusalem.
Jewish rebels combined local knowledge of terrain, fortified hideouts, and subterranean networks into a cohesive resistance strategy, which effectively leveraged guerrilla warfare principles centuries before modern guerrilla movements. While not the sole inventors, the Jewish use of tunnels and irregular tactics mark a notable early development in these forms of combat, demonstrating both tactical innovation and resilience against a powerful empire.
Bar Kokhba coins are ancient Jewish coins minted during the Second Jewish Revolt (132–136 CE) against the Roman Empire, led by Simon Bar Kokhba.
