Published on August 27, 2025 (Episode 421)
Introduction
In 1960, Yigael Yadin—formerly chief of the Israeli general staff and by then a prize-winning archaeologist—visited the home of Israel’s President David Ben-Gurion. “Mr. President,” he said, “I have the honor to tell you that we have discovered 15 dispatches written or dictated by the last president of ancient Israel over 1800 years ago.”
Yadin was announcing the discovery of letters from Simon Bar-Kosiba, better known as Bar-Kokhba, who led the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome from 132 to 135 AD. Bar-Kokhba had become, by then, a symbolic figure: a unifying hero for the founding generation of the Israeli republic—many of whom detested each other politically but found inspiration in this enigmatic ancient leader.
But while the Bar-Kokhba Revolt would be symbolically potent across the millennia, it was far from the most consequential of the Jewish revolts against Roman rule. This long series of wars—stretching from the reign of Augustus through to Hadrian—unleashed forces that would reshape world history. Among their unintended consequences were the creation of Rabbinic Judaism, the destruction of the Second Temple, and the rise of Christianity.
These were not inevitable outcomes. They emerged from the chaos of rebellion, siege, and reinvention.
With me to talk about these momentous events is Barry Strauss. His new book, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire, traces the full arc of this conflict—from Herod to Titus, from Josephus to Bar-Kokhba. Along the way, we discuss the many revolts and rivalries that shaped ancient Judea, Herod the Great as builder and paranoiac, the Talmudic memory of the temple’s destruction, and the moment when Jewish sacrifice in the Temple ceased—forever.
This is Barry’s fourth appearance on Historically Thinking.
About the Guest
Barry Strauss is the Corliss Page Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and the Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies Emeritus at Cornell University. He is the author of numerous books on the ancient world, including The War That Made the Roman Empire and Ten Caesars.
For Further Investigation
Barry Strauss, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire (Simon & Schuster, 2024)
A previous conversation with Barry Strauss on his book The War That Made the Roman Empire
Martin Goodman, Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations
Seth Schwartz, Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 BCE to 640 CE
Yigael Yadin, Bar-Kokhba: The Rediscovery of the Legendary Hero of the Second Jewish Revolt Against Rome
Fergus Millar, The Roman Near East: 31 BC–AD 337
Josephus, The Jewish War, translated by Martin Hammong, edited by Martin Goodman (OUP, 2017)
The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Ta’anit 4:6 – on the destruction of the Temple
Listen and Discuss
What would Judaism—or Christianity—have become if the Temple had not been destroyed? How do we evaluate historical revolts that fail militarily but succeed symbolically or spiritually? Share the podcast and discuss this with a friend.
