Wednesday, April 20, 2022

The Great Revolt

HISTORY: The 2000-Year Legacy of the Jewish Wars (Mervyn Bendle, Quadrant Online). HT Rogue Classicism.

This is quite a good account of the Great Revolt (the first Jewish revolt against Rome) in 66 - c. 73 CE. It is based on the primary sources, especially the accounts by Flavius Josephus, and on the archaeological evidence.

That doesn't mean it tells us what actually happened. The casualty numbers, in particular, look inflated. And there are many unverifiable details. We have no way of knowing what really happened except in the most general terms. But this is a good summary of the primary accounts and the archaeology.

The essay also includes brief accounts of the Kitos War in 115-117 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135 CE.

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