A History of the Jewish War AD 66}}}74 [Hardcover]

This book revisits the context and causes of the first war between Jews and Romans (AD 66 to 74).The first war between Jews and Romans (A.D. 66 to 74), which saw the fall of Jerusalem's temple (A.D. 70), is among the West's most consequential conflicts. This book revisits its context and causes, its phases and key players.The first war between Jews and Romans (A.D. 66 to 74), which saw the fall of Jerusalem's temple (A.D. 70), is among the West's most consequential conflicts. This book revisits its context and causes, its phases and key players.A conflict that erupted between Roman legions and some Judaeans in late A.D. 66 had an incalculable impact on Rome's physical appearance and imperial governance; on ancient Jews bereft of their mother-city and temple; and on early Christian fortunes. Historical scholarship and cinema alike tend to see the conflict as the culmination of long Jewish resistance to Roman oppression. In this volume, Steve Mason re-examines the war in all relevant contexts (e.g., the Parthian dimension, Judaea's place in Roman Syria) and phases, from the Hasmoneans to the fall of Masada. Mason approaches each topic as a historical investigation, clarifying problems that need to be solved, understanding the available evidence, and considering scenarios that might explain the evidence. The simplest reconstructions make the conflict more humanly intelligible while casting doubt on received knowledge.Part I. Contexts: 1. A famous and unknown war; 2. Historical evidence: understanding Josephus' Judean War; 3. Parthian saviours, sieges, and morale: ancient warfare in human perspective; Part II. Investigations: 4. Why did they do it? Circumstances, conditions, and 'causes'; 5. Nero's war I: the 'blunder' of Cestius Gallus?; 6. Nero's war II: Flavians in Galilee; 7. Flavian war I: the education of Titus; 8. Flavian war II: coins, councils, and the siege of Jerusalem; 9. Machaerus and Masada: a tale of two fortresses. No study of the Jewish-Roman war approal³“