The Bar Kokhba War AD 132136: The last Jewish revolt against Imperial Rome

(Paperback)

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In AD 132, Shim'on Ben Koseba, a rebel leader who assumed the messianic name Shim'on 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 Romans. During the ensuing 'Bar Kokhba War' (AKA the Second Jewish War), the insurgents held their own against the crack Roman troops sent by Emperor Hadrian for three-and-a-half years. The cost of this rebellion was catastrophic: hundreds of thousands of casualties, the destruction and enslavement of Jewish communities and a ban on Jews entering Jerusalem. Bar Kokhba remains important in Israel today because he was the last leader of a Jewish state before the rise of Zionism in modern times. This fully illustrated volume explores the gripping story of the uprising, profiling its rebel leader Bar Kokhba as well as the Emperor Hadrian and his generals, and assesses the impact that this violent rebellion had on the region and those that were displaced.

Reviews

The author is an expert on ancient warfare, and he has succeeded marvelously in writing a book that brings to life the actions, participants, and effects of this ancient conflict. - Military Heritage

Author Bio

Lindsay Powell is the author of Combat: Roman Soldier versus Germanic Warrior (Osprey Publishing, 2014), as well as Eager for Glory: The Untold Story of Drusus the Elder, Conqueror of Germania (Pen and Sword, 2011), Germanicus: The Magnificent Life and Mysterious Death of Rome's Most Popular General (Pen and Sword, 2013) and Marcus Agrippa: Right-Hand man of Caesar Augustus (Pen and Sword Books, 2015). Lindsay is a regular contributor to Ancient Warfare magazine and his articles on armies, battles and generalship of the Roman period have appeared in Exercitus, Military Heritage, Strategy & Tactics and on TheHistoryNetwork.org. His appearances include BBC Radio and History Channel. He is a veteran of the acclaimed Ermine Street Guard re-enactment society, a registered charity. Lindsay divides his time between Austin, Texas and Wokingham, UK.