Bar Kokhba

The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome

Lindsay Powell

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781473890022
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

BAR KOKHBA is the search for the truth of the epic struggle between two strong-willed leaders over who would rule a nation. One was Hadrian, the cosmopolitan ruler of the vast Roman Empire, then at its zenith, who some regarded as divine; the other was Shim’on, a Jewish military leader in a district of a minor province, who some believed to be the ‘King Messiah’. It is also the tale of the clash of two ancient cultures. One was the conqueror, seeking to maintain control of its hard-won dominion; the other was the conquered, seeking to break free and establish a new nation: Israel. During the ensuing conflict – the ‘Second Jewish War’ – the highly motivated Jewish militia sorely tested the highly trained professional Roman army. The rebels withstood the Roman onslaught for three-and-a-half years (AD 132 - 136). They established an independent nation with its own administration, headed by Shim’on as its president. The outcome of that David and Goliath contest was of great consequence, both for the people of Judaea and for Judaism itself. So, who was this insurgent Shim’on known today as ‘Bar Kokhba’? How did Hadrian, the Roman emperor who built the famous Wall in northern Britain, respond to the challenger? And how, in later ages, did this rebel with a cause become a hero for the Jews in the Diaspora longing for the foundation of a new Israel in modern times? This book describes the author’s personal journey across three continents to establish the facts. BAR KOKHBA is lucidly written by the author of the mould-breaking Augustus at War and the acclaimed biographies Germanicus and Marcus Agrippa. Drawing on archaeology, art, coins, inscriptions, militaria, as well as secular and religious documents, Lindsay Powell presents a fascinating account of the people and events at a crucial time in world history.

Chapter 1

‘An Explorer of Everything Interesting’

‘Click!’

A young couple stopped momentarily to take a selfie in front of the bust of a famous Roman emperor (fig. 1). It was a fine work of art indeed, and one certainly worth photographing. The greyish-white stone figure was bare-chested with his head turned slightly to the left. Large ringlets of hair formed a pronounced arc over the forehead, like a tiara.1 With the pupils precisely drilled into the surface of the stone looking up and to the left, the eyes seemed almost to be squinting, as if focusing on an object far away in the distance. The nose was long and thick. The lips suggested a contemplative rather than a relaxed mood. The full moustache and neat beard, formed of distinct rows of thick, tight curls, hugged the cheeks and jawline of the fleshy face. Out of the finest marble, the unknown ancient sculptor had carved the countenance of a strong but reassuringly sensible ruler. His subject was, of course, the very well-known Emperor Hadrian.2 He was also the reason for my visit. I was on a quest to know more about him, his times and a war.

Figure 1. The trademark beard and the curls of the hair on this portrait bust of Hadrian make him one of the most instantly recognizable of Roman emperors. The bust of his lover Antinous stands beside it at the British Museum.

I was standing in the Wolfson Gallery – ‘Room 70’ on the plan – of the British Museum in the pulsating heart of London. Exquisite artefacts from the time of the Roman Empire surrounded me. Glancing at my wristwatch, I noticed that it was still on Texas time. I had flown to England two days before and forgotten to adjust it. Adding six hours to the time, I saw that it was a few minutes to 2.00 pm. I made my way to a discreet, almost hidden door at the end of the adjacent gallery. I pressed the button on the intercom and explained that I had an appointment with Dr Thorsten Opper, Senior Curator of Greek and Roman Sculpture. If anyone knew about Hadrian it was him. He had organized the Hadrian: Empire and Conflict exhibition in London in 2008.3 Without doubt, it was one of the museum’s best-ever special events and one that made a lasting impression on me. I had closely studied the book he had written for the exposition before our meeting.

A few minutes later I was greeted politely at the ‘secret door’. I followed Thorsten Opper down the concrete steps of the fire-escape staircase. It felt as though I was walking behind the scenes of an epic film set, where usually hidden technicians worked to ensure the production on the other side of the wall went without a hitch. In the busy staff cafeteria, normally inaccessible to the public, we sat at a table. Over cups of coffee I excitedly discussed with this leading expert on Hadrian what was known of this memorable Roman and his times. As we talked, I flipped through pages of notes I had assembled during my preliminary research.

As ruler of the Roman world his full – and official – name was Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus.4 Imperator, which means ‘commander’, was once an honour bestowed on a general by his troops for leading them to victory in battle.5 It was originally appended to the hero’s name as public recognition for his achievements and carved on inscriptions, and sometimes shown on coins. Augustus (27 BCE–14 CE) brazenly co-opted it as his first name and, as he established his position of autocratic power, carefully controlled who could be granted use of it. By the time of Hadrian, the title had become the exclusive form of the Roman leader’s name, gradually acquiring the regal and despotic connotations of the modern word ‘emperor’. He also adopted the names Caesar and Augustus. Caesar was derived from C. Iulius Caesar – the Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March 44 BCE – after which his great-nephew inherited the name. His successors also assumed it at the start of their reigns. The cognomen Augustus was an honorific title bestowed on Caesar’s heir by the Roman Senate in 27 BCE for the respectful way he managed his relationship with them. It meant ‘revered one’ or ‘one worthy of reverence’. Neither Caesar nor Augustus carried any formal power as such, but these names brought the bearer great prestige and authority (auctoritas). Hadrian inherited them from the deceased emperor Trajan (Traianus). Hadrian’s full imperatorial name established his position in a long line of ‘First Citizens’ (principes), which set him apart from the ordinary Romans of his day.

Reconstructing his life and movements is more problematic. Opper reminded me of the sources and their limitations, which are always challenging for the historian of the ancient world. The first twelve Caesars were the subjects of biographies by a single writer, the famous Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus), whose gossipy accounts have come down to us virtually complete. Frustratingly, even though Suetonius was the most important administrator during the first five years of Hadrian’s reign – a position in which he would have seen his employer’s private and public correspondence and known a great deal about his life – he did not write a biography of the fourteenth Caesar.6 Blame indiscretion: Suetonius was dismissed from Hadrian’s service for being rather too familiar with his employer’s wife.7

Instead, the most complete account we have is the Vita Hadriani, ‘The Life of Hadrian’. This is the first of thirty books of what has come to be known collectively as the Scriptores Historiae Augustae or Historia Augusta. The titles mean ‘Writers of the Histories of the Revered Ones’ or ‘Augustan History’, but neither was the original name of the document since they were coined in 1603 by the classical scholar Isaac Casaubon. Its own ancient history is murky and still disputed by modern scholars. As a collection, it purports to describe the lives of most rulers from Hadrian through to Carinus (covering the period 117 to 285 CE).8 It may have been written by one author, though six different men (the scriptores) are named.9 The Life of Hadrian is ascribed to Aelius Spartianus, which may be his real name or a nom de plume. He seems to have lived at the time of Diocletian (who ruled 284–305 CE), though the 390s may be more accurate; either way, it means that the author wrote the book well after Hadrian’s death.10

‘When using it as a source for Hadrian’s life and times we know that we have to be careful,’ said Opper. Some of its author’s claims are questionable, he explained, because the accuracy of them may be down to the way the biographer used his source material. Parts of the book may even have been written as satire.11 One of these was Hadrian’s own autobiography, since Spartianus refers to it but, regrettably, nothing of the original text survives beyond what he himself quotes.12 There was an entry about Hadrian in the Epitome de Caesaribus, a history of the Roman Empire from Augustus to Julian written in the fourth century, which has survived in two dissimilar versions: one by Aurelius Victor, the other wrongly attributed to him and of unknown authorship.13 Most importantly, there is also the commentary on events that took place under Trajan and Hadrian recorded by the chronicler Cassius Dio, who wrote during the reign of the Severan emperors (193–235 CE). The passages relating to the war I was researching only survive as a summary of Dio by an eleventh-century epitomator named Ioannis Xiphilinos, better known by his anglicized name of John Xiphilinus.14 His summary is generally believed to accurately relate the words originally scribed by the earlier historian, or at least to omit few facts that were recorded in his source.15

Dr Opper reminded me, however, that ‘evidence of events often missing from the surviving written sources could sometimes be found on inscriptions, or on coins, or deduced from artefacts uncovered by archaeology’. Like a jigsaw with several puzzle pieces missing, this diverse material can be assembled together to form an impression of Hadrian’s life.

Our protagonist was born on 24 January 76 CE (where is uncertain) and named – nine days later, as was the custom – P. Aelius Hadrianus.16 His father had come from Italica in the province of Baetica in the Iberian Peninsula.17 The family was of senatorial rank and, by Roman standards, affluent.18 Tragedy struck him early in his life when his father, Aelius Hadrianus Afer, died unexpectedly in 85 or 86 CE. The 10-year-old boy then became ward of his cousin, M. Ulpius Traianus.19 Trajan’s was an archetypal Roman success story, one all the more remarkable for not being Italian by birth.20 His growing network of connections would help Hadrian advance up the Roman public career ladder (cursus publicus). The military and civilian positions it encompassed were of increasing responsibility and designed to expose a young man to a wide variety of aspects of public service in the empire. For a few it would culminate in election to one of the two annually appointed consulships.21

A Roman in his late teens started his career in public service as a junior magistrate, typically working in a cour...