Session 15 | The Later Roman Period – Political and Social History
#54-58
#54. Introduction
There were numerous changes within the society in Palestine following the failure of the Great Revolt. From this time until the Byzantine period, the most important and dreadful political endeavor was the 2nd Jewish Revolt, known as the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-135 CE). The catalyst for this rebellion, as well as the effects of its failure, will be central to the content of this lecture. The subsequent readings express various facets of the Bar Kokhba Revolt through the writings of a Roman historian, a Christian historian, and Bar-Kokhba himself.
#55. Bar Kokhba
Authentic letters written by the leader of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, Simeon, the son of Kosiba were discovered approximately 40 years ago in the Judean desert. The rebellion which he lead was characterized by guerilla warfare, where the rebels took refuge in caves throughout the Judean hills and desert. Y. Yadin and his team excavated one such cave near the Dead Sea. It yielded the correspondence of Bar Kokhba, some of which are provided below. This corpus of Hebrew and Aramaic documents was written predominantly on papyrus – a type of paper made by pressing cut papyrus stalks together.
Bar Kohkba Letter
TRANSLATION
#56. Cassius Dio
Cassius Dio was a Roman historian living in the 2nd to 3rd centuries CE. His treatment of the Bar Kokhba Revolt in his Historia Romana is invaluable since it offers the Roman perspective on the causes of the rebellion.
Question
What sparked the Jewish uprising according to Cassius Dio? List the reasons. What phrases in the text betray the Roman standpoint of the author?
#57. Eusebius
Eusebius, a 3rd to 4th century Christian scholar and bishop in the coastal city of Caesarea, wrote extensively on the history and geography of Palestine. The following passage is taken from his Ecclesiastical History, which tells of the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt. Notice his description of Bar Kokhba that may be confirmed by the Bar Kokhba letters read above.
Question
How does Eusebius’ description of the effects of the rebellion upon Judea differ from that of Cassius Dio?
#58. Peter Schaefer
Peter Schaefer, a German scholar of Judaism in antiquity, surveys multiple primary sources in the following article in an attempt to recreate the political and cultural atmosphere present in Palestine in the days prior to the Bar Kokhba Revolt. An element of his work that is particularly useful is the emphasis he places upon exploring the multi-faceted nature of Jewish society at this time. On this last point, pay close attention to his discussion of Hellenized Jews.