The Bar Kokhba Revolt and Its Aftermath, 132–135 CE

Judaea became home to yet another rebellion against the Romans with the Bar Kokhba revolt, which lasted from 132 to 135 CE. (See the map The Second Jewish Revolt, 132–135 CE.) The factors that led to the Bar Kokhba revolt are not entirely clear, although the emperor Hadrian’s ban on circumcision and his plan to build a temple in honor of Jupiter on the ruins of the Second Temple are considered factors. Hadrian acceded to the throne in 117 CE and reigned until 138 CE. Whether he specifically targeted the Jews for persecution is debated. As an expression of his philhellenism, he decreed a ban on circumcision throughout the empire, including in Judaea. When Antoninus Pius (138–161 CE) succeeded him, he permitted Jews to circumcise their sons; however, the ban was in place for others who practiced circumcision, such as Egyptian priests and Arabs.

The leader of the Bar Kokhba revolt was Simeon bar Kosibah, who assumed the title of nesi’ Yisra’el, “prince of Israel.” The name Bar Kokhba, “son of the star,” was a messianic moniker bestowed on bar Kosibah by his supporters. A cache of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek letters written by Bar Kokhba and his associates, found in the Judean desert in the mid-twentieth century, reveals the rebels’ commitment to Torah, the Temple, and the nation of Israel. Scholars are divided as to the extent and seriousness of the revolt, the focal point of which seems to have been Judaea proper. A number of rebel-manufactured coins refer to “Eleazar the priest,” suggesting that the Jewish rebels hoped to retake Jerusalem and renew Temple operations.

After the revolt, Jewish settlement in Judaea declined measurably, and Christian sources report an outright prohibition against Jews living in Jerusalem and its environs. Hadrian built Aelia Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem, and Judaea was renamed Syria-Palaestina. The Jewish nation was again defeated.