The Jewish War began in 66 AD and culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70. When under the proconsul Gessius Florus in 64, the injustice, oppression and tyranny had reached a climax. The Jews were confident that God would come to their rescue and vindicate their cause. There is no doubt that this Zealot rebellion movement was filled with a theocratic ideal and fervent messianic hopes. By 66, dissatisfaction turned into open rebellion. The conflict started up in Caesarea and above all in Jerusalem. In November of 66 Jewish Zealots had driven all Roman forces from Jerusalem and had actually slain more than 600 Roman troops. The Roman occupation forces, but also the high priest who tried to smother the rebellion, were no longer equal to the situation and were slaughtered.
The bull-necked emperor Nero gave two simple commands - destroy Jerusalem - level the temple. Nero picked the heavy, plodding fifty seven year old commoner, Vespasian, who would be assisted by his energetic son Titus. The conquered nations comprising the Roman Empire watched with incredulity as the Jews, single-handed, fought the Roman Goliath. Josephus was given the task to commander the Jewish forces. The Jews were so close to winning the war that Rome was forced to use her full military weight against them to insure victory. The Romans knew the world was watching and knew that the stakes were high. If the Jews were to win their independence the whole empire would be in revolt. The extreme Jewish patriots were not satisfied with the tame manner in which Josephus conducted his preparations; they had grounds to suspect that the aristocrat, who had formally belonged to the peace party, had not his heart in the undertaking. The bloody business of massacre and counter-massacre succeeded one another with unrelenting horror. Jews were killed in Caesarea, Scythopolis, Ascolon, Tyre, Alexandri. Josephus ends up turning collaborationist for the Romans.
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