Bar Kokhba : The Jew Who Defied Hadrian and Challenged the Might of Rome

In AD 132 began the bloody 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. With a foreword specially written by bestselling archaeologist Eric H. Cline, Lindsay Powell tells the compelling story of the rebel whose legend helped found a nation: Israel.