The Jewish Revolts Against Rome, A.D. 66-135: A Military Analysis

295 Pages·2010·1.76 MB·English

by  James J. Bloom

The Jewish Revolts
Against Rome,
A.D. 66–135
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The Jewish Revolts
Against Rome,
. . 66–135
A D
A Military Analysis
JAMES J. BLOOM
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Bloom, James J., 1939–
The Jewish revolts against Rome, A.D.66–135: a military
analysis / James J. Bloom
p.    cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-4479-3
softcover : 50# alkaline paper 
1. Jews—History, Military.  2. Rome—History, Military.
3. Jews—History—Rebellion, 66–73.  4. Jews—History—Bar
Kokhba Rebellion, 132–135.  5. Josephus, Flavius.  I. Title.
DS111.6.B56  2010
933'.05—dc22 2010013727
British Library cataloguing data are available
©2010 James J. Bloom. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: Marble relief of Roman Emperor Titus Flavius
Vespasianus, AD 9-79, Sevilla, Spain (Art Archive/Gianni
Dagli Orti); background ©20¡0 Shutterstock
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
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For Jake, Zach, Zoey, Charlie and Sammy,
with the hope they will eventually read
their grandpop’s efforts.
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Contents
Preface and Introduction 1
I. THE FIRST REVOLT, A.D. 66–74
1. The First Revolt: Causation and Inevitability 16
2. Foundation for the Roman Involvement in Judaean Affairs 23
3. Herod the Great: Judaea Becomes a Roman Client State 35
4. Adding Insult to Injury: Roman Misrule and Escalating
Disturbances in Judaea 47
5. Opening of the First Revolt 65
6. Jewish War Preparations, Preliminary Skirmishes 80
7. Josephus Assumes Command in Galilee: His Unstable
Tenure and Challenges to His Authority 92
8. Vespasian Versus Josephus 114
9. The Naval/Amphibious War 129
10. Mopping Up in Galilee as Discord in the Jewish Camp
Boils Over 135
11. Suspension of the Roman Campaign; Romans Lay
Foundation for the Reduction of Jerusalem 148
12. Death Throes: The Final Phases 156
13. Aftermath of the First Revolt 174
vii
viii Contents
II. THE SECOND AND THIRD REVOLTS
14. Interwar State of Affairs, A.D. 73–115 179
15. Kitos (Quietus) War or Tumultu Iudaico (The Tumult of
the Jews) 191
16. Bar-Kokhba Revolt 201
17. Subsequent Rebellions and Conclusions 217
APPENDICES
Appendix A. Josephus’s Reliability as a Source for the Military
History of the First Jewish Revolt 221
Appendix B. Disposition of Roman and Allied Forces, A.D.
66–73 227
Appendix C. Jewish Combat Effectiveness in the First Revolt 230
Appendix D. Factions, Parties and Patron Allegiance in the First
Jewish War: John of Gischala Versus Flavius Josephus 233
Appendix E. The Jewish Rebels—Zealots, Bandits, Sicarii, and
Others: Organization, Motivation, Unit Strengths 238
Appendix F. Josephus’s Presumptive Life Story 241
Appendix G. Estimating Numbers in the First Jewish Revolt 246
Appendix H. Epic Stuff: Some Treatments of the First Revolt
in Novels, Theater and Motion Pictures 250
Appendix I. Judaea Invicta—The Revolt That Might Have Been:
A Reflection on the Elements for an Alternative Outcome 259
Critical Bibliography 267
Complete Bibliography 273
Index 279
Preface and Introduction
Preface
“Peace was his real goal. He knew that Roman power was irresistible, but,
when driven to provide for a state of war, he tried to ensure that, if they
would not come to terms, the Jews should at least give a good account of
themselves.”
Flavius Josephus, The Jewish War4.320
(circa 75 C.E.), writing about Ananus,
the leader of the middle-of-the-road transitional
Judaean war council of Jerusalem, 66 A.D.
In the ninth year of the Christian era, the Teutonic warrior Arminius
inflicted an appalling defeat on Roman legions guarding the empire’s Rhine
frontier. While this was an astonishing blow to Roman self-confidence, it
palls in comparison to the setbacks endured in quashing the three rebellions
of the empire’s Jews in the first and second centuries A.D. The fight in the
Teutoberger Wald has received a good deal of attention from military histo-
rians devoted to Roman imperial themes. The Jewish revolts, regrettably for
those interested in ancient warfare, have been primarily tackled by historians
exclusively involved with the religious implications—the birth pangs of Chris-
tianity, the death throes of Temple-based Judaism. It seems that this 70-year
struggle is consigned to a backwater in the military history of the Roman
Empire. This should not be so.
Rome’s hard-fought, brutal subjugation of the three Jewish revolts in the
first and second centuries A.D. comprises an unaccountably blank chapter in
the literature on early imperial Roman combat operations. This study should
help redress that omission. My goal is to provide readers with a methodical
review of the background, organized combat forces and armed bands, per-
sonalities, and military campaigns of the Jewish rebellions which, over the
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