Rebels

(February 17)

In this lecture we learned about the two revolts in Jerusalem. After Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided among his three sons. Their power was very limited. King Herod was the last to be called king. His sons were Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip. The first two sons were later exiled in their respected regions, and Herod Philip ruled until his death. These rulers were then replaced by Roman procurators who were very inexperienced, but this gave Rome direct Roman rule.
One of these Roman rulers was Pontius Pilot, who was the only Roman governor mentioned in the Gospels because he was the one that ordered Jesus' execution. He was extremely ineffective and only provoked the Jews. He was later recalled back to Rome in 36/37 CE.
The Roman governors in Jerusalem from 6-66 CE were very inexperienced and unskilled. They provoked the Jews and caused growing internal Jewish conflict. During the year of 66 CE, Jerusalem was in open revolt against Rome.
To assert their rebellion, the Jews began making their own money. They constructed the Jewish Revolt Coin to declare their independence from Roman rule. These coins, however, only lasted for about three years. In 67 CE, Vespasian of Rome was delegated to conquer Galilee. When he was later declared emperor in 70 CE, his son Titus takes charge of the revolt in Jerusalem. In this same year, Titus destroys Jerusalem and destroys the Temple. This, as it did when the first temple was destroyed, brings about cognitive dissonance where the people began questioning themselves and their faith.
The second Jewish revolt occurs from 132 to 135 CE under the lead of Bar-Kokhba. Jerusalem revolts for the second time because the center of Judaism was migrated out of Jerusalem. This city was rebuilt as Aelia Capitolina. Jews were forbidden to visit Jerusalem except on the 9th of Ab, which was the date their city was destroyed, to mourn for their defeat.
To start of this revolt, Bar-Kokhba began making revolt coins that were similar to the coins of the first revolt. The problem with this was that many of the words printed on the coins were misspelled. This most likely occurred because Bar-Kokhba was not able to read Hebrew too well. Many of these coins were "overstrikes" as well, meaning that existing coins were stamped on. In addition to this, he wrote revolt letters in multiple languages.
This revolt, as did the first, ended as a loss. The Jews were exiled and the Jerusalem Temple was made into a Roman temple that praised their god Jupiter. Emperor Hadrian punished the Jews heavily.
As a result of the revolts, Aelia Capitolina was built on top of Jerusalem to make this city as Roman as possible. In addition, the rise of synagogues began to appear, most likely due to the destruction of the temple. This led to decentralization.