Jewish – Roman wars The Jewish – Roman wars were a series of large - scale revolt s by the Jews of Iudaea Province and the Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE . The revolts integrated nationalist , religious and ethnic elements , all spiraling towards violence upon polytheist Roman and Greek population and Roman representatives and symbols . While the Great Revolt of Judea ( 66 - 73 CE ) and the Bar - Kokhba Revolt ( 132 - 135 CE ) were nationalist rebellions , striving to restore an independent Judean state , the Kitos War was more of an ethno - religious civil , mostly fought outside of Judea province . Hence , some sources use the term Jewish - Roman Wars to refer only to the First Jewish – Roman War ( 66 – 73 CE ) and Bar Kokhba revolt ( 132 – 135 CE ) , while others include the Kitos War ( 115 – 117 ) as one of the Jewish – Roman wars . The Jewish – Roman wars had an epic impact on the Jews , turning them from a major population in the Eastern Mediterranean into a scattered and persecuted minority . The Jewish - Roman Wars are often cited as a disaster to Jewish society . The events also had a major impact on Judaism , after the central worship site of Second Temple Judaism , the Second Temple in Jerusalem , was destroyed by Titus ' troops . Although having a sort of autonomy in the Galilee until the 4th century such as the School of Jamnia and later a limited success in establishing the short - lived Sassanid Jewish Commonwealth in 614 - 17 CE , Jewish dominance in parts of the Southern Levant was regained only in the mid - 20th century , with the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 . Sequence . The Jewish – Roman wars include the following : Background . Following increasing Roman domination of the Eastern Mediterranean , the client kingdom of the Herodian dynasty had been officially merged into the Roman Empire in the year 6 CE with the creation of Roman Judea . The transition of the Tetrarchy of Judea into a Roman province immediately brought a great deal of tensions and a Jewish uprising by Judas of Galilee erupted right away as a response to the Census of Quirinius . Though initially pacified ( the years between 7 and 26 being relatively quiet ) , the province continued to be a source of trouble under Emperor Caligula ( after 37 CE ) . The cause of tensions in the east of the Empire was complicated , involving the spread of Greek culture , Roman Law and the rights of Jews in the Empire . Caligula did not trust the prefect of Roman Egypt , Aulus Avilius Flaccus . Flaccus had been loyal to Tiberius , had conspired against Caligula ' s mother and had connections with Egyptian separatists . In 38 CE , Caligula sent Agrippa to Alexandria unannounced to check on Flaccus . According to Philo , the visit was met with jeers from the Greek population , who saw Agrippa as the king of the Jews . Flaccus tried to placate both the Greek population and Caligula by having statues of the emperor placed in Jewish synagogues . As a result , extensive religious riots broke out in the city . Caligula responded by removing Flaccus from his position and executing him . In 39 CE , Agrippa accused Herod Antipas , the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea , of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help of Parthia . Herod Antipas confessed and Caligula exiled him . Agrippa was rewarded with his territories . Riots again erupted in Alexandria in 40 CE between Jews and Greeks . Jews were accused of not honoring the emperor . Disputes occurred also in the city of Jamnia . Jews were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it . In response , Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Temple of Jerusalem , a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism . In this context , Philo wrote that Caligula " regarded the Jews with most especial suspicion , as if they were the only persons who cherished wishes opposed to his " . The governor of Roman Syria , Publius Petronius , fearing civil war if the order were carried out , delayed implementing it for nearly a year . Agrippa finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order . However , only Caligula ' s death at the hands of Roman conspirators in 41 CE prevented a full scale war in Judaea , that might have well spread to the entire Eastern Roman Empire . Caligula ' s death didn ' t stop the tensions completely and in 46 CE an insurrection by the Jews broke out in Judeaea province . The Jacob and Simon uprising was instigated by two brothers Simon and Jacob and lasted between 46 - 48 CE . The revolt , which concentrated in the Galilee began as sporadic insurgency and when climaxed in 48 CE was quickly put down by Roman authorities and both brothers executed . History . Great Revolt . The Great Revolt began in the year 66 CE , originated in the Greek and Jewish religious tensions , later escalated due to anti - taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens . In response to Roman plunder of the Second Jewish Temple and execution of up to 6 , 000 Jews in Jerusalem , a full - scale rebellion erupted . The Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by rebels , while the pro - Roman king Agrippa II together with Roman officials fled Jerusalem . As it became clear , the rebellion was getting out of control , Cestius Gallus , the legate of Syria , brought the Syrian army , based on XII Fulminata , reinforced by auxiliary troops , to restore order and quell the revolt . Despite initial advances , the Syrian Legion was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon with 6 , 000 Romans massacred and Legio aquilla lost - a result that shocked the Roman leadership . The experienced and unassuming general Vespasian was then tasked with crushing the rebellion in Judaea province . His second - in - command was appointed his son Titus . Vespasian was given four legions and assisted by forces of King Agrippa II in 67 CE he invaded Galilee . While avoiding a direct attack on reinforced city of Jerusalem packed with main rebel force , Titus ' forces launched a persistent campaign of terror to eradicate rebel strongholds and punish the population . Within several months Vespasian and Titus took over the major Jewish strongholds of Galilee and finally overran Jodapatha under command of Yosef ben Matitiyahu , following a 47 day siege . Meantime in Jerusalem , an attempt of Sicarii leader Menahem to take control of the city failed , himself being executed . A charismatic , but radical peasant leader Simon Bar - Giora was ousted from the city by the new moderate Judean government and Ananus ben Ananus began reinforcing the city . Driven from Galilee , Zealot rebels and thousands of refugees arrived to Judea , creating a political turmoil in Jerusalem . Zealots were at first sealed in the Temple compound . However , the confrontation of the mainly Sadducee Jerusalemites and the mainly Zealot factions of the Northern Revolt under the command of John of Giscala and Eleazar ben Simon . With Edomites entering the city and fighting by the side of the Zealots , Ananus ben Ananus was killed and his forces suffered severe casualties . Simon Bar Giora , commanding 15 , 000 troops , was then invited into Jerusalem by the Sadducee leaders to stand against the Zealots , and quickly took control over much of the city . Bitter infighting between factions of Bar Giora , John and Elazar followed through the year 69 CE . After a lull in the military operations , owing to civil war and political turmoil in Rome , Vespasian was called to Rome and appointed a new Emperor in 69 CE . With Vespasian ' s departure , Titus moved on besieging the center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in early 70 CE . While the first two walls of Jerusalem were breached within three weeks , a stubborn stand prevented the Roman Army from breaking the third and thickest wall . Following a brutal seven month siege , in which the Zealot infighting resulted in burning of the entire food supplies of the city to enhance " fighting to the end " , the Romans finally succeeded in breaching the weakened Jewish forces in summer of 70 CE . Following the fall of Jerusalem , Titus left for Rome , while Legion X " Fretensis " defeated the remaining Jewish strongholds later on , finalizing the Roman campaign in Masada in 73 / 74 CE . Kitos War . The Kitos War ( 115 – 117 ) also known as " mered ha ' galuyot " or " mered ha ' tfutzot " ( Rebellion of the exile ) is the name given to the second of the Jewish – Roman wars . The Kitos War consisted of major revolts by diasporic Jews in Cyrene ( Cyrenaica ) , Cyprus , Mesopotamia and Aegyptus , which spiraled out of control , resulting in a widespread slaughter of Roman citizens and others ( 200 , 000 in Cyrene , 240 , 000 in Cyprus according to Cassius Dio by the Jewish rebels . The rebellions were finally crushed by Roman legionary forces , chiefly by the Roman general Lusius Quietus , whose nomen later gave the conflict its title , as " Kitos " is a later corruption of Quietus . Bar Kokhba Revolt . The Bar Kokhba revolt ( 132 – 136 CE ) , ( or " mered bar kokhba " ) , was the third major rebellion by the Jews of Judaea Province and Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire and the last of the Jewish – Roman Wars . Simon bar Kokhba , the commander of the revolt , was acclaimed as a Messiah , a heroic figure who could restore Israel . The revolt established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judea for over two years , but a Roman army made up of six full legions with auxiliaries and elements from up to six additional legions finally crushed it . The Romans then barred Jews from Jerusalem , except to attend Tisha B ' Av . Although Jewish Christian s hailed Jesus as the Messiah and did not support Bar Kokhba , they were barred from Jerusalem along with the rest of the Jews . The war and its aftermath helped differentiate Christianity as a religion distinct from Judaism ( see also Split of early Christianity and Judaism ) . The rebellion is also known as The Third Jewish – Roman War or The Third Jewish Revolt , though some historians relate it as Second Jewish Revolt , not counting the Kitos War , 115 – 117 CE . Aftermath . The defeat of the Jewish revolt altered the Jewish diaspora , as many of the Jewish rebels were scattered or sold into slavery . 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 . This school later became a major center of Talmudic study ( see Mishnah ) . Hadrian attempted to root out Judaism , which he saw as the cause of continuous rebellions . He prohibited the Torah and the Hebrew calendar and executed Judaic scholars . The sacred scroll was ceremonially burned on the Temple Mount . At the former Temple sanctuary he installed two statues , one of Jupiter , another of himself . In an attempt to erase any memory of Judea or Ancient Israel , he wiped the name off the map and replaced it with Syria Palaestina , supplanting earlier terms , such as Judaea . Similarly , he re - established Jerusalem but now as the Roman polis of Aelia Capitolina , and Jews were forbidden from entering it , except on the day of Tisha B ' Av . Rabbinic Judaism became a religion centered around synagogues , and the Jews themselves dispersed throughout the Roman world and beyond . With the destruction of Jerusalem , important centers of Jewish culture developed in the Galilee and in Babylonia and work on the Talmud continued in these locations .