The Jewish War
By (Author) Josephus
Revised by E. Mary Smallwood
Translated by G. Williamson
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Classics
1st May 1982
17th September 1981
United Kingdom
General
Non Fiction
Ancient history
933.05
Paperback
512
Width 130mm, Height 198mm, Spine 21mm
357g
Penguin Classics relaunch Josephus' account of a war marked by treachery and atrocity is a superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70. Originally a rebel leader, Josephus changed sides after he was captured to become a Rome-appointed negotiator, and so was uniquely placed to observe these turbulent events, from the siege of Jerusalem to the final heroic resistance and mass suicides at Masada. His account provides much of what we know about the history of the Jews under Roman rule, with vivid portraits of such key figures as the Emperor Vespasian and Herod the Great. Often self-justifying and divided in its loyalties, The Jewish War nevertheless remains one of the most immediate accounts of war, its heroism and its horrors, ever written.
Josephus was born in 37 AD. He was one of the Jewish leaders at the time of the revolt of the Jews in the reign of Nero. His two most important works are The Jewish War and The Jewish Antiquities.