BAR KOCHBA WAR

   In 63 BC, the Roman leader Pompey conquered Judea and Jerusalem, inaugurating a period of relative calm that ended with a revolt in 66 AD. The revolt was put down, and Titus, commander of the Roman forces, conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD. After the revolt of Simon Bar Kochba (132-35), Jerusalem was destroyed, large numbers of Jews were killed or enslaved, and Jewish sovereignty over the area was terminated. Many Jews were dispersed throughout the world (a scattering known as the Diaspora), and the idea of an ultimate return to the Promised Land went with them. Bar Kochba is credited with organizing a nearly total popular revolt against the Roman emperor Hadrian that lasted for some three years. The rebuilding of Jerusalem as a Roman colony and the prohibition of circumcision were contributory factors, but the revolt had been developing for a considerable period. The Roman counterattack, with an army of 35,000, began in 133. In 134-35, the Romans invaded Betar, Bar Kochba's last stronghold, and gradually reduced the remaining hill and cave strongholds. Bar Kochba was killed when Betar fell; records speak of the destruction of 50 fortresses and 985 villages and of 580,000 Jewish casualties, besides those who died of hunger and disease. As a result of the revolt, Judea fell into desolation, its population was annihilated, and Jerusalem was barred to Jews.