Lior Bar-El
Sinai Scholars Essay
4/10/16
The First Roman Jewish War
The First Roman Jewish war was a conflict with great ramifications. It resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and started the transformation from a Judaism centered on temple sacrifices to a Judaism dominated by Rabbis and the interpretations of scripture. Militarily, this conflict was important as it saw diverse militaries fighting with contrasting tactics. The Jewish rebels fought with irregular tactics (ambushes), while the Roman military utilized more conventional approaches (siege warfare). Although the Jewish and Roman forces differed in their tactics during battle against each other, their strategies off the battlefield were surprisingly similar. …show more content…
The only primary text describing this war was written by Flavious Josephus, a Jewish-Roman philosopher. Outside of the writings of Josephus, the only primary sources of the war are limited to archeological findings, which present evidence that has been interpreted in various, sometimes conflicting, ways by scholars. It is not unusual when examining a conflict that occurred in antiquity to have a limited amount of information, but it is still important to examine the sources from which our knowledge of events stem. Josephus authored his account of the events in his work “The Jewish War” around the year 75 AD while living in Rome, several years removed from the actual war. He was living in the society of the victors of the war, and in addition was a close friend of Titus (the son of the current emperor at the time and the head of the Roman military campaign in Judea). Josephus wrote from within the upper echelons of power within Roman society, which should be kept in mind throughout the examining of his work as a source on the War (Briley …show more content…
Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient times to the Present. New York: Liveright Pub., 2013. Print.
Briley, Terry Ray. Josephus the Historian and the Man: An Analysis of Josephus as an Historian of the Jewish War Against the Romans ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 1990.
Hernández, Prisco R. JOSEPHUS: THE JEWISH WAR/JERUSALEM'S TRAITOR: Josephus, Masada and the Fall of Judea. 89 Vol. Fort Leavenworth: Department of the Army Headquarters, 2009.
Josephus, Flavius, William Whiston, and Paul L. Maier. The New Complete Works of Josephus. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999. Print.
Klassen, William. "The Archaeological Artifacts of Masada and the Credibility of Josephus." Text and Artifact in the Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity: Essays in Honour of Peter Richardson 9 (2000): 456.
Roth, J. (1991). The logistics of the roman army in the Jewish war. (Order No. 9209887, Columbia University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Yadin, Yigael, Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit bi-Yerushalayim, and Ḥevrah la-ḥaḳirat Erets Yiśraʼel ṿe-ʻatiḳoteha. Masada: The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963-1965: Final Reports. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society,
Sinai Scholars Essay
4/10/16
The First Roman Jewish War
The First Roman Jewish war was a conflict with great ramifications. It resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and started the transformation from a Judaism centered on temple sacrifices to a Judaism dominated by Rabbis and the interpretations of scripture. Militarily, this conflict was important as it saw diverse militaries fighting with contrasting tactics. The Jewish rebels fought with irregular tactics (ambushes), while the Roman military utilized more conventional approaches (siege warfare). Although the Jewish and Roman forces differed in their tactics during battle against each other, their strategies off the battlefield were surprisingly similar. …show more content…
The only primary text describing this war was written by Flavious Josephus, a Jewish-Roman philosopher. Outside of the writings of Josephus, the only primary sources of the war are limited to archeological findings, which present evidence that has been interpreted in various, sometimes conflicting, ways by scholars. It is not unusual when examining a conflict that occurred in antiquity to have a limited amount of information, but it is still important to examine the sources from which our knowledge of events stem. Josephus authored his account of the events in his work “The Jewish War” around the year 75 AD while living in Rome, several years removed from the actual war. He was living in the society of the victors of the war, and in addition was a close friend of Titus (the son of the current emperor at the time and the head of the Roman military campaign in Judea). Josephus wrote from within the upper echelons of power within Roman society, which should be kept in mind throughout the examining of his work as a source on the War (Briley …show more content…
Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient times to the Present. New York: Liveright Pub., 2013. Print.
Briley, Terry Ray. Josephus the Historian and the Man: An Analysis of Josephus as an Historian of the Jewish War Against the Romans ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 1990.
Hernández, Prisco R. JOSEPHUS: THE JEWISH WAR/JERUSALEM'S TRAITOR: Josephus, Masada and the Fall of Judea. 89 Vol. Fort Leavenworth: Department of the Army Headquarters, 2009.
Josephus, Flavius, William Whiston, and Paul L. Maier. The New Complete Works of Josephus. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1999. Print.
Klassen, William. "The Archaeological Artifacts of Masada and the Credibility of Josephus." Text and Artifact in the Religions of Mediterranean Antiquity: Essays in Honour of Peter Richardson 9 (2000): 456.
Roth, J. (1991). The logistics of the roman army in the Jewish war. (Order No. 9209887, Columbia University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.
Yadin, Yigael, Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit bi-Yerushalayim, and Ḥevrah la-ḥaḳirat Erets Yiśraʼel ṿe-ʻatiḳoteha. Masada: The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963-1965: Final Reports. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society,