Bar Kokhba revolt

The Bar Kokhba revolt (Hebrew: מרד בר כוכבא‎ or mered Bar Kokhba), was a rebellion of the Jews of Judea Province, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire. Fought circa 132–136 CE, it was the last of three major Jewish–Roman wars, so it is also known as The Third Jewish–Roman War or The Third Jewish Revolt. Some historians also refer to it as the Second Revolt of Judea, not counting the Kitos War (115–117 CE), which had only marginally been fought in Judea.

The revolt erupted as a result of religious and political tensions in Judea province, bringing the conflict of the Romans and the Jews into its climax. Simon bar Kokhba, the commander of the revolt, was regarded by many Jews as the Messiah, who would restore their national independence. Initial rebel victories over Romans established an independent state of Israel over parts of Judea for over two years, as Bar Kokhba took the title of Nasi ("prince"). This setback however caused Roman Emperor Hadrian to assemble a large scale Roman force from across the Empire, which invaded Judea in 134 under the command of Roman General Julius Severus. The Roman army was made of six full legions with auxiliaries and elements from up to six additional legions, which finally managed to crush the revolt.

Bar Kokhba

Bar Kokhba (Hebrew: בר כוכבא‎, Son of Kokhba) (also Bar Kochba, Bar Kochva, Bar Cochva) is a name of Simon bar Kokhba, the leader of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the second (sometimes counted as the third) of the Jewish–Roman wars.

Bar Kokhba may also refer to:

Simon bar Kokhba

Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא‎) (died 135 CE) was the Jewish leader of what is known as the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire in 132 CE, establishing an independent Jewish state which he ruled for three years as Nasi ("Prince"). His state was conquered by the Romans in 135 following a two and half-year war.

Name

Documents discovered in the 20th century in the Cave of Letters give his original name, with variations: Simeon bar Kosevah (Hebrew: שמעון בר כוסבה‎), Bar Koseva (בר כוסבא) or Ben Koseva (בן כוסבא‎). This may indicate his father or his place of origin was named Kosevah.

The Jewish sage Rabbi Akiva indulged the possibility that Simon could be the Jewish messiah, and gave him the surname "Bar Kokhba" meaning "Son of the Star" in Aramaic, from the Star Prophecy verse from Numbers 24:17: "There shall come a star out of Jacob". The name Bar Kokhba does not appear in the Talmud but in ecclesiastical sources.Rabbinical writers subsequent to Rabbi Akiva did not share Rabbi Akiva's estimation of ben Kosiva. Akiva's disciple, Yose ben Halaphta, in the Seder 'Olam (chapter 30) called him "bar Koziba" (Hebrew: בר כוזיבא‎), meaning, "son of the lie". The judgment of Bar Koseba that is implied by this change of name was carried on by later rabbinic scholarship at least to the time of the codification of the Talmudim, where the name is always rendered "Simon bar Koziba" (בר כוזיבא) or Bar Kozevah (בר כוזבה).

Bar Kokhba (album)

Bar Kokhba is a double album by John Zorn, recorded between 1994 and 1996. It features music from Zorn's Masada project, rearranged for small ensembles.

Reception

The AllMusic review by Marc Gilman awarded the album 4½ stars noting that "While some compositions retain their original structure and sound, some are expanded and probed by Zorn's arrangements, and resemble avant-garde classical music more than jazz. But this is the beauty of the album; the ensembles provide a forum for Zorn to expand his compositions. The album consistently impresses".

Track listing

All compositions by John Zorn