page_title: First Jewish–Roman War
section_title: Judea campaign and New Emperor
hierarchical_section_title: First Jewish–Roman War / Timeline / Judea campaign and New Emperor
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of Exhibit at the Diaspora Museum, Tel Aviv - en:Beit Hatefutsot. Replica of Roman milestone found at Shahhat, on a road near Cyrene, with incised inscription mentioning the destruction of highways during the en:Jewish Revolt. The stone was put up when the road was repaired in the reign of Hadrian THE EMPEROR CAESAR SON OF THE LATE TRAJAN WHO VANQUISHED THE PARTHIANS, GRANDSON OF THE LATE NERVA TRAJAN HADRIAN AUGUSTUS, THE HIGH PRIEST, SERVING AS TRIBUNE FOR THE SECOND TERM AND AS CONSUL FOR THE THIRD, HAS REPAVED THE ROAD WHICH WAS OVERTURNED AND SHATTERED IN THE JEWISH REVOLT Español: Reproducción de un miliario romano procedente Sahhat (Libia), la antigua Cirene, colocada en el Museo de la Diáspora en Te-Aviv (Israel), que conmemora la reconstrucción de una calzada dañada durante la rvuelta judía de 115-116, bajo Trajano. Latina: ZPE-172-240 = AE 1951, p. 39 s. n. +104 = AE 1951, 00208&#160;: Imp(erator) Caes(ar) divi/ Traiani Parthici f(ilius)/ divi Nervae nepos/ Traianus Hadr[ianus]/ Aug(ustus) p(ontifex) m(aximus) t(ribunicia) p(otestate) II co(n)s(ul) [III]/ viam quae tum[ultu Iuda]/ico eversa et c[orrupta]/ erat r[estit]uit/ per mil(itum) coh(ortis) [-----
context_page_description: The First Jewish–Roman War, sometimes called the Great Revolt, or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled Judea, resulting in the destruction of Jewish towns, the displacement of its people and the appropriation of land for Roman military use, besides the destruction of the Jewish Temple and polity.
  The Great Revolt began in the year 66 CE, during the twelfth year of the reign of Nero, originating in Roman and Jewish religious tensions. The crisis escalated due to anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens by the Jews. The Roman governor, Gessius Florus, responded by plundering the Second Temple, claiming the money was for the Emperor, and the next day launching a raid on the city, arresting numerous senior Jewish figures. This prompted a wider, large-scale rebellion and the Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by the rebels, while the pro-Roman king Herod Agrippa II, together with Roman officials, fled Jerusalem.
context_section_description: In the spring of 68, Vespasian began a systematic campaign to subdue various rebel-held strongholds in Judea proper, recapturing Afeq, Lydda, Javneh, and Jaffa that spring. He later continued into Idumea and Perea, and eventually to the Judean and Samarian highlands where Bar Giora's faction was causing major concern to the Romans. The Roman Army took Gophna, Akrabta, Bet-El, Ephraim and Hebron by July 69.
  While the war in Judea was in progress, great events were occurring in Rome. In the middle of 68, the emperor Nero's increasingly erratic behavior finally lost him all support for his position. The Roman Senate, the Praetorian Guard and several prominent army commanders conspired for his removal. When the senate declared Nero an enemy of the people, he fled Rome and committed suicide with the help of a secretary. The newly installed emperor, the former Governor of Spain Galba, was murdered after just a few months by his rival, Otho, triggering a civil war that came to be known as the Year of the Four Emperors. In 69, though previously uninvolved, the popular Vespasian was also hailed emperor by the legions under his command. He decided, upon gaining further widespread support, to leave his son Titus to finish the war in Judea, while he returned to Rome to claim the throne from  the usurper Vitellius, who had already deposed Otho.
  With the departure of Vespasian, who had opposed an open siege upon Jerusalem, fearing to lose many troops against the fortified city, Titus advanced his legions upon the capital of the rebellious province. Conquering town after town, Titus quickly advanced through the hill country, while the brutal suppression created an immense wave of Judean refugees, seeking shelter in fortified Jerusalem. The Judean rebels avoided direct confrontation with the Roman troops, as multiple factions were mostly interested in their own control and survival, rather than Roman defeat. Though weakened by the brutal civil war within the city, the Zealot factions could still field a significant number of troops to oppose an immediate Roman conquest of the capital. John tricked and assassinated Eleazar and began a despotic rule over the city. Simon bar Giora, commanding a major force of 15,000 troops, was then invited into Jerusalem by the remaining provisional government leaders to stand against the Zealot faction of John, and quickly took control over much of the city. Bitter infighting between the factions of Bar-Giora and John followed through the year 69.
caption: Roman milestone mentioning the destruction of highways during the revolt
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