Hebrew: המרד הגדול,
ha-Mered Ha-Gadol), was the first of three
major rebellions by the Jews of
Iudaea Province against the
Roman Empire (the second was the
Kitos War in
115–
117; the third was
Bar Kokhba's revolt,
132–
135).
It began in the year 66, stemming from Greek and Jewish religious tension.
[1] It ended when
legions under
Titus besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, looted and burned
Herod's Temple (in the year
70) and Jewish strongholds (notably
Gamla in
67 and
Masada in
73), and
enslaved or
massacred a large part of the Jewish population.
The defeat of the Jewish revolts by the Roman Empire substantially altered the
Jewish diaspora, as many Jews were scattered or sold into
slavery after losing their state.
Contents
[hide]
[edit] First Jewish successes
According to
Josephus, the revolt, which began at
Caesarea in
66, was provoked by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local
synagogue.
[2] The Greek-speaking Roman garrison did not intercede. In an act of defiance, the son of
Kohen Gadol (High priest)
Eliezar ben Hanania ceased prayers and sacrifices for the
Roman Emperor at the Temple and subsequently led a successful attack on the Roman garrison stationed in
Jerusalem. The pro-Roman king
Agrippa II and his sister
Berenice fled Jerusalem to
Galilee, where later they gave themselves up to the Romans.
Cestius Gallus, the
legate of
Syria, brought reinforcements to restore order, but was soundly defeated at the
Battle of Beth Horon. While retreating,
Legio XII Fulminata even lost its
aquila.
[edit] The fall
Emperor
Nero appointed general
Vespasian instead of Gallus to crush the rebellion. Vespasian made
Caesarea Maritima his headquarters and with his legions — among them
X Fretensis and
V Macedonica, 60,000 professional soldiers — methodically cleared the coast and the North. Some towns gave up without a fight. By the year
68, Jewish resistance in the North had been crushed.
The leaders of the collapsed Northern revolt,
John of Giscala and
Simon Bar Giora, managed to escape to Jerusalem. Brutal civil war erupted: the
Zealots and
Sicarii executed anyone advocating surrender, and by
68 the entire leadership of the southern revolt was dead, all killed by the Jews, none by the Romans.
After the death of Nero and with the backing of the army,
Vespasian was proclaimed emperor in
69 and left for Rome to take the throne from
Vitellius in a brief Roman civil war, the so-called
Year of the four emperors.
[edit] The fall of Jerusalem
Main article: Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The siege of Jerusalem, the capital city, had begun early in the war, but had turned into a stalemate. Unable to breach the city's defenses, the Roman armies established a permanent camp just outside the city, digging a trench around the circumference of its walls and building a wall as high as the city walls themselves around Jerusalem. Anyone caught in the trench attempting to flee the city would be captured,
crucified, and placed in lines on top of the dirt wall facing into Jerusalem.The two Zealot leaders,
John of Gischala and
Simon Bar Giora only ceased hostilities and joined forces to defend the city when the Romans began to construct ramparts for the siege. Tens of thousands of crucified bodies encircled Jerusalem by the end of the siege.
[3]
Titus Flavius, Vespasian's son, led the final assault and
siege of Jerusalem. During the infighting inside the city walls, a stockpiled supply of dry food was intentionally burned by Jewish leaders to induce the defenders to fight against the siege instead of negotiating peace; as a result many city dwellers and soldiers died of starvation during the siege.
Zealots under
Eleazar ben Simon held the Temple,
Sicarii led by Simon Bar Giora held the upper city. Titus eventually wiped out the last remnants of Jewish resistance.
The treasures of Jerusalem (detail from the
Arch of Titus).
By the summer of
70, the Romans had breached the walls of Jerusalem, ransacking and burning nearly the entire city. The Romans began by attacking the weakest spot which was the third wall. It was built shortly before the siege so it did not have as much time invested in its protection. They succeeded towards the end of May and shortly afterwards broke through the more important second wall. The
Second Temple was destroyed on
Tisha B'Av (
July 29 or
July 30),
70.
Tacitus, a historian of the time, notes that those who were besieged in Jerusalem amounted to no fewer than six hundred thousand, that men and women alike and every age engaged in armed resistance, everyone who could pick up a weapon did, both sexes showed equal determination, preferring death to a life that involved expulsion from their country.[
citation needed] All three walls were destroyed and in turn so was the Temple. John of Giscala surrendered at
Agrippa II's fortress of Jotaphta and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The famous
Arch of Titus still stands in Rome: it depicts Roman legionaries carrying off the
Temple of Jerusalem's treasuries, including the
menorah.
[edit] The fall of Masada
Main article: Masada
Remnants of one of several legionary camps at
Masada in
Israel, just outside the
circumvallation wall which can be seen at the bottom of the image.
During the spring of
71, Titus set sail for Rome. A new military governor was then appointed from Rome,
Lucilius Bassus, whose assigned task was to undertake the "mopping-up" operations in Judaea. He used X
Fretensis to oppose the few remaining fortresses that still resisted. Bassus took
Herodium, and then crossed the Jordan to capture the fortress of
Machaerus on the shore of the Dead Sea. Due to illness, Bassus did not live to complete his mission.
Lucius Flavius Silva replaced him, and moved against the last Jewish stronghold,
Masada, in the autumn of
72. He used
Legio X, auxiliary troops, and thousands of Jewish prisoners,[
citation needed] for a total of 10,000 soldiers. After his orders for surrender were rejected, Silva established several base camps and circumvallated the fortress. According to
Josephus, when the Romans finally broke through the walls of this citadel in
73, they discovered that the 967 defenders had all committed suicide, prefering death over defeat.
[edit] The outcome
A coin issued by the rebels in 68, note
Paleo-Hebrew alphabet.
Obverse: "
Shekel, Israel. Year 3".
Reverse: "Jerusalem the Holy"
Josephus claims that 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege, of which a majority were Jewish.
[4] 97,000 were captured and enslaved.
[5] Many fled to areas around the
Mediterranean.
The Romans hunted down and slaughtered entire clans, such as descendants of the
House of David.[
citation needed] On one occasion, Titus condemned 2,500 Jews to fight with wild beasts in the amphitheatre of Caesarea in celebration of his brother
Domitian's birthday.
An ancient Roman coin. The inscription reads
IVDAEA CAPTA. The coins inscribed
Ivdaea Capta (Judea Captured) were issued throughout the Empire in order to demonstrate the futility of possible future rebellions. Judea was represented by a crying woman.
Roman
denarius depicting Titus,
c. 79. The reverse commemorates his
triumph in the
Judaean wars, representing a Jewish captive kneeling in front of a trophy of arms.
The
Jewish Encyclopedia article on the Hebrew Alphabet states: "Not until the revolts against Nero and against Hadrian did the Jews return to the use of the
old Hebrew script on their coins, which they did from similar motives to those which had governed them two or three centuries previously; both times, it is true, only for a brief period."
[6]
Titus reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory, as there is "no merit in vanquishing people forsaken by their own God".
[7]
Before Vespasian's departure, the
Pharisaic sage and
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai obtained his permission to establish a
Judaic school at Yavne. Zakkai was smuggled away from Jerusalem in a coffin by his students. Later this school has become a major center of
Talmudic study. (See
Mishnah)
[edit] Sources
The main account of the revolt comes from
Josephus, the former Jewish commander of
Galilee who was captured by the Romans and forced to witness and record the events of the revolt.[
citation needed] Josephus had been granted citizenship and a pension in Rome and was well accepted at the courts of
Vespasian,
Titus and
Domitian.[
citation needed]
His popular works
The Wars of the Jews (c.
79) and
Jewish Antiquities (c.
94) — especially its autobiographical appendix — are frequently contradictory.[
citation needed] He was loathed by the Jews as a turncoat and Roman apologist and never returned to his homeland after the fall of Jerusalem, living in Rome as an historian under the patronage of Flavius and Titus.[
citation needed]
#2
Armies of the rebellion
Not clear on how many units can be taken from the city of Jerusalem.
I would say if we do this, the rebellion could start off with
4 or five stacks of units. That should be plenty to start.
To compare with the legions of Romans that are there. If the player or A1 decides to be there.
Is there a script for the roman army to influence other states?
Is that called the loyalty script?
I still feel Rome should be a very powerful faction. and not easily conquered by the player, or the A1, even played in med/med stats.
We should stay in some bounds to history if we allow scripts.
#3 Units. ( this will be updated with pics. )
We have two Jewish units.
1. Mercenary slingers. Jewish
2 Mercenary Jewish spearmen
I would suggest to give a better look of slaves.
using the Arab / eastern units.
From swordsman, to spearman, and archers.
also the lowest roman unit types to give the impression of captured roman weapons. 
Proposed Factions Rebellions and Scripting
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by cherryfunk
