Upper Sharps Bar Camp

The Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE), also known as the Bar Kokhba War, the War of Betar, and the Third (or Second) Jewish–Roman War, was the last and most devastating of three major Jewish rebellions against the Roman Empire. Led by Simon bar Kokhba, the rebels established an independent Jewish state that lasted over three years before being crushed by the Romans, leading to the near-total depopulation of Judea proper, along with mass killings, enslavement, and displacement.

Resentment toward Roman rule and national aspirations remained high in the Roman province of Judaea following the First Jewish Revolt. Around 130 CE, Emperor Hadrian planned to rebuild Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, a Roman colony dedicated to Jupiter, extinguishing hopes for the restoration of the Temple. This may have been accompanied by a ban on circumcision, though scholars differ on whether it preceded the revolt or followed as punishment. These measures prompted preparations for a guerrilla campaign, including the construction of underground complexes within villages. Simon bar Kokhba was declared nasi ("prince") of Israel, and his administration issued standardized weights and its own coinage.

After an initial attempt to suppress the revolt by the provincial governor, Tineius Rufus, failed, Hadrian dispatched one of Rome's most capable generals, Sextus Julius Severus, supported by an unusually large concentration of forces drawn from across the empire. Following Severus's arrival in 133, the Romans systematically devastated towns and villages throughout the country. In 135, the stronghold of Betar fell after a siege, and Simon bar Kokhba was killed. Many rebels and refugees took shelter in natural caves in the Judaean Desert, but Roman troops besieged these hideouts, starving, killing, or capturing those inside.

The consequences of the revolt were disastrous for Judea's Jewish population. Ancient and contemporary sources estimate that hundreds of thousands were killed, with many others enslaved and displaced. The Romans imposed harsh religious prohibitions, including bans on circumcision, Torah study and Sabbath observance, though these were largely lifted after Hadrian's death. More enduring was the renaming of the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina, an act intended to sever the region's historical association with the Jewish people, and the exclusion of Jews from Jerusalem and its environs. Rabbinic Judaism adopted a non-revolutionary stance, and Jewish messianism became more abstract. The center of Jewish life shifted northwards to Galilee, while the growing diaspora communities, particularly in Babylonia, gained increasing prominence.