25 Word Summaries – Baker chapter on “Rebellion”
Introduction (242-244)
Tensions over nationalism, religion, and money provoked Jewish rebellion and brutal Roman repression Vespasian solidified a new dynasty, after his troops sacked the sacred Temple.
Money and religion were sources of tension between Rome and Judaea. Rome’s imperial power and brutality eventually caused the Jews to rebel, but Vespasian became emperor.
A Roman Province (244-251)
Judaea’s tension with Rome over religion and money increased over time . As taxes rose, the protection the Pax Romana gave was not worth the price.
Judaea was a time bomb because the Jews were taxed heavily, citizenship was a rare privilege, and the reality of Pax Romana was unfair.
Romans used the Pax Romana in Judaea to excuse the oppression and taxation of the Jews. In reality, Rome excluded and impoverished their people.
After the buildup of religious and financial tension in Judaea and the harsh reality of the Pax Romana, Judaea became a ticking time bomb.
Outbreak (251-257)
After Florus’ soldiers stole from the Temple, Jewish rebellion gained strength and spread. Both Florus and Gallus failed to suppress the rebellion.
Florus’s treatment of Judaea resulted in the spread of rebellion. Jewish leaders provoked riots and wars, causing Jews to split into Nationalists and Moderates.
Following Florus’s sacrilege at the Temple, Jews resisted in Jerusalem and expelled Roman forces from Judaea. Jewish nationalists had turned rebellion into war.
Florus’s theft of Judaea’s property enraged the Jews. The Jewish nationalists not only drove Florus out of Judaea, but also ambushed Gallus’ legions at Beth-Horon.
Florus’s greed led to the theft of religious treasures, which transformed one successful religious uprising into a mass Jewish rebellion. Jews celebrated their success.
Florus’s ignorance of Jewish religion led him to spark a rebellion, marking the greatest defeat of Roman forces by people of an established province.
Josephus, Commander of Galilee (257-268)
Vespasian’s war of terror climaxed at Jotapata, where Josephus commanded both nationalists and moderates. Josephus survived the mass suicide to collaborate again with Rome.
Fearing the spread of the revolt and benefitting from Judaea’s internal conflicts. Vespasian successfully attacked Josephus’ army in Jotapata, and provoked the mass-suicide pact.
Roman fear of spreading rebellion prompted them to wage a war in Judaea. Vespasian’s victory in Jotapata led to a Jewish mass-suicide.
Fearing the spread of rebellion, Romans looked to Vespasian to wage war of terror against the moderates and nationalists in Jotapata, culminating in mass-suicide.
In fear of widespread rebellion, Rome attacked the Jews at Jotapata, and Josephus (a moderate) surrendered after mass suicide. Romans achieved success on the 47th day.
The Jewish rebellion provoked the Roman war of terror, and Vespasian’s attack on Jotapata concluded with the Jewish mass suicide and Josephus’s surrender.
Fearing revolt, Rome waged a war of terror in which Vespasian and Josephus faced off at Jotapata, ending in Roman success and Jewish mass-suicide.
Reversals of Fortune (268-275) M 5/4
Fortunes reversed. Nero fell; Vespasian became emperor, but needed victory in Judaea. Jewish extremist John toppled Hanan, while moderate Josephus survived to aid Titus.
After Nero’s death, Vespasian became emperor and wanted a prize for Rome. He turned to Josephus and Titus for help. Meanwhile, extremists killed Hanan.
While revolutionaries took control of Jerusalem, Vespasian became emperor by defeating Vitellius. To prove his merit, Vespasian launched an attack on Jerusalem with Josephus’s aid.
Josephus gambled to reverse his fate, Rome cycled through leaders while replacing Nero, and Vespasian needed a safe victory to win support.
Vespasian becoming emperor fulfilled Josephus’s prophecy, proving him useful for Rome. The death of Hanan brought chaos to Jerusalem and the victory Vespasian needed.
Josephus’ gamble worked: Vespasian defeated Vitellius and became emperor in 69 AD. Titus, after releasing Josephus for negotiation, besieged Jerusalem, hoping to justify Vespasian’s rule.
Jerusalem (278-285)
Titus besieged Jerusalem. Siege engines broke through the walls and reached the temple. The soldiers razed the city, and crushed the Jewish rebellion.
The Jewish extremists refused to surrender, leading the Romans to starve them. Then Judeaea’s protective walls fell and the Romans overtook, enslaved, and killed 1,197,000 Jews.
Vespasian’s rule gained legitimacy when Titus besieged and razed Jerusalem and its temple. Romans killed or enslaved thousands, and the Temple’s money funded the Colosseum.
Josephus wanted the Jews to surrender, yet John refused. Jewish tunnels collapsed, producing the destruction of the Temple and suppression of Jewish rebellion.
After starving out Jerusalem, the Romans capitalized on the collapse of the tunnel, triumphantly besieged Jerusalem, and burned the Holy Temple.
Epilogue (285-288) W 5/6
After the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the Jewish death toll totaled over one million. Romans enslaved survivors, and used profits to pay for the Colosseum.
Romans hailed Vespasian and Titus as heroes for quashing the Jewish rebellion. The Flavians used their plunder to build the Colosseum, a monument to Roman supremacy.
Vespasian became emperor; Titus succeeded him. Josephus reported the revolt. Money looted from Jerusalem paid for Vespasian’s Colosseum. Romans executed Simon and Imprisoned John.
Following Judaea’s fall, Romans enslaved or killed thousands. Vespasian and Titus celebrated a triumph. Josephus gained citizenship, and the Temple money funded the Colosseum.
After the death and enslavement of Jews, and the citizenship of Josephus, Titus and Vespasian celebrated a triumph and built the Colosseum, a symbol of Roman strength.