By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

Ancient Rome has gone down in Jewish history as the ultimate enemy of the Jewish people. Even the Babylonians, who destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem, were not considered as evil. Perhaps that’s because the Jewish population was able to rebuild the Temple about 70 years later and did not suffer two centuries of repression under the Babylonians. Yet, as Barry Strauss writes in his military history “Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire” (Simon and Schuster), the many Jewish revolts against Rome also pitted Jew against Jew. Those who supported the empire not only accepted Roman rule, but saw the rebellions as increasing the oppression under which they lived.
Although Strauss notes that many books have been published about these rebellions, his work offers a different angle to the conflicts: he focuses on how Judea’s location near the Parthian empire – the empire that was Rome’s enemy – played a role in encouraging rebellion. Why would Judea hope for help from Parthia? A substantial number of Jews still lived in that area. The hope – one that was never realized – was that Parthia would wage war against Rome at the same time as the rebels, or that the Jews of Parthia would help the rebels succeed in their task. 
Among the topics Strauss discusses are the role Herod played in the changing relationship between Rome and Judea, the revolt that led to the destruction of the Second Temple, the siege of Masada, the lesser known Diaspora Revolt and the Bar Kokhba rebellion. For those who enjoy military history, the author does an excellent job offering details about the number of those who fought in the battles and descriptions of the different military actions that took place. This includes the numbers of men who fought (and died) on both sides, the results (which include those slaughtered once the battle was over and the numbers of those who were taken as slaves) and what was done to the areas that revolted (usually meaning the destruction of property and land). 
Strauss also looks at the difference between the Jewish population that supported rebellion and that which didn’t. He notes that “Diaspora Jews surely were good citizens, at least until they were subjected to humiliation by Rome following the Great Revolt. In Judea things were different: there, Jews were divided. Some were content to collaborate with Rome, a great empire and brutal one when crossed. Some just wanted to stay out of trouble. And some had a passionate, militant love of liberty.” The cause of liberty was complicated by the idea that these were the end of times and that a messiah – at this time in Judaism meaning a king – would arise and help them gain their independence. Although these Jews may have looked to Parthia for help, Strauss believes that neither Rome nor Parthia wanted an independent Judean kingdom. 
The author does not believe that war/rebellion was inevitable; however, both sides made mistakes that were costly. It does seem unlikely that the rebels could have succeeded, but they believed that God was on their side. This belief was aided by the memory of the successful Maccabean revolt in 167-160 B.C.E. and the prophetic promise that the Temple would be rebuilt. Since it happened once, they saw no reason to doubt that it would happen again. However, Rome sought to keep its empire intact in any way possible, including torturing and then murdering those who fought against it. The empire was also willing to punish all Jews for the actions of the rebels. 
Strauss notes that, during this time, there were two competing Jewish sects: rabbinic Judaism and Jewish followers of Christ. By the time of the Bar Kokhba rebellion, they had very different opinions about the empire. Some rabbis supported the Bar Kokhba rebellion, although after that loss, rabbinic authorities pushed against warfare, choosing other ways for Judaism to survive. The followers of Christ sought to distance themselves from the Jewish rebels and rejected the idea that Bar Kokhba was the messiah since they believed that the true messiah – Jesus – had already appeared. However, at least in Eastern Rome, followers of Christ still considered themselves Jewish. Strauss notes that “Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah argued that they, not other Jews, were the true representatives of the people Israel.” This led to an increase in the divide between the two groups, which would later lead to them becoming two separate religions.
In his epilogue, Strauss discusses why the Jewish population rebelled far more often than others in the empire. He sees it as a combination of the legacy of messianism, the Torah, Jewish supporters in the Roman diaspora and Jewish connections in the Parthian empire. He notes that it took centuries for the Jewish population to decide that survival need not depend on warfare. A different group – the rabbis– found an alternative method: “the Jewish people could survive by means of spiritual rather than material armor. It was a bold strategy, but a necessary one. And it worked... the Jewish people has survived for two thousand years since the Roman conquest of its national homeland.” 
“Jews vs. Rome” opens with a useful chronology and cast of characters (although far more people appear in its pages than are listed there) and features a “Glossary of Place Names” at the end of the work. The book will appeal to those who love military history since its emphasis is on the details of each battle and its aftermath. However, Strauss doesn’t stint on the political intrigue that was happening in Rome and Judea as people strove for power. The author does note when the historical record is scanty and which evidence can be most trusted. He also writes of new archeological evidence that opens a different slant on particular events. Readers interested in learning about the Jewish rebellions of that time will find much of interest.