Jewish revolt against Heraclius
This article's lead section may be too long. (December 2016) |
Jewish revolt against Heraclius | |||||||||
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Part of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Byzantine Empire |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Emperor Heraclius Patriarch Zacharias (614) (POW) Abba Modestus (from 617) |
Shahrbaraz Nehemiah ben Hushiel Benjamin of Tiberias | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
Byzantine Empire
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Sasanian Empire
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Tens of thousands | Tens of thousands |
History of Israel | |
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538–333 BCE | |
Hellenistic period | 333–164 BCE |
Hasmonean dynasty | 164–37 BCE |
Herodian dynasty | 37 BCE–6 CE |
Roman Judaea
Jewish-Roman Wars ) | 6 CE–136 CE |
The Jewish revolt against Heraclius was part of the
Following the Battle of Antioch in 613, Shahrbaraz led his forces through Palaestina Secunda and into Palaestina Prima provinces.[2]: 123 In 614, Shahrbaraz conquered Caesarea Maritima, the administrative capital of the Palaestina Prima province.[3]: 206 The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias would shortly capture Jerusalem without resistance.[3]: 207 After only a few months a Christian revolt occurred. Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his council of sixteen people were killed along with many other Jews, some throwing themselves off the city walls.[3]: 69–71 [4][5]: 169 Christians were able to briefly retake the city before the walls were breached by Shahrbaraz's forces who lay siege to the city.[3]: 207 According to the Armenian bishop and historian Sebeos the siege resulted in a total Christian death toll of 17,000,[3]: 207 Christian sources later exaggerated the extent of the massacre, claiming a death toll as high as 90,000.[3]: 207–208 In addition, 35,000 or 37,000 people including the patriarch Zacharias are said to have been deported to Mesopotamia.[3]: 69–71 [2]: 123 [6] The city is said to have been burnt down. However, neither widespread burning nor destruction of churches have been found in the archaeological record.[7][8][9]
Bands of Jews from Jerusalem, Tiberias, Galilee, Damascus, and even from Cyprus, united and undertook an incursion against Tyre, having been invited by the 4,000 Jewish inhabitants of that city to surprise and massacre the Christians on Easter night. The Jewish army is said to have consisted of 20,000 men. The expedition, however, miscarried, as the Christians of Tyre learned of the impending danger, and seized the 4,000 Tyrian Jews as hostages. The Jewish invaders destroyed the churches around Tyre, an act which the Christians avenged by killing two thousand of their Jewish prisoners. The besiegers, to save the remaining prisoners, withdrew.[10] The Jews had hoped that Khosrow II would give them all of the Land of Israel in exchange for their support. By 617 CE the Persians had reversed their policy and sided with the Christians over the Jews, probably because of pressure from Mesopotamian Christians in Persia itself.[3]: 208 [11]
By 622 CE, the
Archaeological work doesn't support the written sources, which claim that the conflict led to large-scale massacres perpetrated against Christian and Jewish communities in Jerusalem and the destruction of churches in the city (see below).
Demographic impact
Some historians believe the war reduced and weakened the Christian population not just in Jerusalem but across the Near East, allowing the success of the following Arab invasion. However, over the past thirty years the archaeological evidence has not supported the ancient manuscripts which record the devastation of the Christian community in Jerusalem.[19]: 353
Jerusalem is said to have been burnt down. However, neither widespread burning nor destruction of churches have been found in the archaeological record.[8][7] Despite the claims of large scale destruction, the archaeological evidence does not reveal layers of destruction associated with the Persian conquest.[8] There was also no hard evidence found for the widespread destruction of churches.[8]
A significant number of burial sites were allocated according to Strategius. A mass burial grave at
- ... all excavated sites in Jerusalem show a clear pattern of continuity, with no evidence for destruction by the Persian conquest of 614 or the Arab conquest of 636.[8]
Demographic continuity might have resulted from population exchange by the victorious Jewish rebels, but apparently also the Christian habitation remained relatively constant, despite the disturbance by the Persian conquest, and no significant impact on the population of Jerusalem was made during the following period of Sassanid dominance.[8][19]: 353
Background
Jews and Samaritans were persecuted frequently by the Byzantines (eastern Romans) resulting in numerous
The territory is said to have had a substantial indigenous Jewish population at this time.
Jews are thought to have been concentrated in the Galilee during this time period. The Galilee is said to have contained several cities which are thought to have been populated largely by a homogenous Jewish demographic, Tiberias being a center of Jewish learning. In fact the title of the Jerusalem Talmud is something of a misnomer as it was actually compiled in Tiberias,[26] as Jews were banned from Jerusalem.[27]
Timeline
Galilee and Caesarea
Following the
The Sasanian Persians were joined by Nehemiah ben Hushiel[4] and Benjamin of Tiberias (a man of immense wealth), who enlisted and armed Jewish soldiers from Tiberias, Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee, and together with a band of Arabs and additional Jews from southern parts of the country they marched on Jerusalem.[10]
Capture of Jerusalem
The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias would capture Jerusalem without resistance.[3]: 207
The capture of Jerusalem was interpreted by Jewish writers in a messianic context. Sacrifices may even have been renewed on the Temple Mount.[5]: 168–169 Control of the city was handed to Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias. Nehemiah was then appointed the ruler of Jerusalem.[4][7] He began making arrangements for the building of the Third Temple, and sorting out genealogies to establish a new High Priesthood.[28]
Christian rebellion
After only a few months a Christian revolt occurred. Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his council of sixteen righteous were killed along with many other Jews, some throwing themselves off the city walls.[3]: 69–71 [4][5]: 169
Following the outburst of violence in Jerusalem, the surviving Jews fled to Shahrbaraz's encampment at Caesarea. Christians were able to briefly retake the city before the walls were breached by Shahrbaraz's forces who lay siege to the city.[3]: 207 Sources vary on how long the siege lasted. Depending on the source it lasted 19, 20 or 21 days.
According to the Armenian bishop and historian
Unlike Sebeos, Antiochus uses polemical language.
Jewish expedition to Tyre
According to
Jewish control of Jerusalem
The Jews had hoped that Khosrow II would give them all of the Land of Israel in exchange for their support. However they were too few to make this a reality.[2]: 124 For a time they are said to have enjoyed relative dominance in Jerusalem,[4] although it may have been in a state of anarchy.[3]: 208–209 By 617 CE the Persians had reversed their policy and sided with the Christians over the Jews, probably because of pressure from Mesopotamian Christians in Persia itself.[3]: 208 [11] Further Jewish settlers were banned from settling in or around Jerusalem and a small synagogue on the Temple Mount was also demolished.[3]: 209–210 Instead of supporting the Jews, Khosrow is said to have imposed heavy taxes on them.[10][18]: 37
Byzantine return to Jerusalem
By 622 CE, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius had assembled an army to retake the territory lost to the Sasanian Empire.[4] In 628, following the deposition of Khosrow II, Kavad II made peace with Heraclius, but Kavad II would only have a brief reign. The conquered city and the Cross would remain in Sasanian hands until they were returned by Shahrbaraz. On 21 March 630, Heraclius marched in triumph into Jerusalem with the True Cross.[13] Ancient manuscripts date Heraclius' entry into Jerusalem as 21 March 629.[32] Modern scholars increasingly doubt this date for a number of reasons.
Dating Byzantine return
Walter Emil Kaegi puts the death of Kavad II in September 629.
Heraclius was in Constantinople in 629 where he issued a "novel", or law, that went into effect on 1 April 629.[33]: 186 At Arabissos Heraclius and Shahrbaraz would agree on new borders.[33]: 188 To seal the deal Shahrbaraz's son Niketas and another of his brothers came to live at the Byzantine court, having been held for a time in central Mesopotamia practically as hostages. They arrived along with the True Cross. The Holy Sponge was attached to the cross in a special ceremony in Constantinople on 14 September 629. The Holy Lance followed reaching Constantinople on 28 October 629. It is probable that at this time, Niketas converted to Christianity; as he was his father's heir-apparent, this opened the prospect of the Christianization of Persia should Shahrbaraz be able to maintain his power there.[33]: 188–189, 206
Heraclius would not have entered Jerusalem while the Persian troop presence persisted. Heraclius brother Theodore had encounter resistance at Edessa and Heraclius would not have exposed himself to similar danger. Shahrbaraz had Ardashir III assassinated and took control of the Persian Empire from 27 April 630 to 9 June 630.[33]: 185 The 630 date would also have the advantage of matching the date for the Fast of Heraclius.[14]
Discourse
Reconciliation attempts
Heraclius came as victor into the country and the Jews of Tiberias and Nazareth, under the leadership of Benjamin of Tiberias, surrendered and asked for his protection. It is said that Benjamin even accompanied Heraclius on his voyage to Jerusalem and Benjamin was persuaded to convert, Benjamin obtained a general pardon for himself and the Jews.
Massacre of the Jews
Jews were expelled from Jerusalem and were not allowed to settle within a three-mile radius. A general massacre of the Jewish population ensued.[7][14] The massacre devastated the Jewish communities of the Galilee and Jerusalem.[15][16][17] Only those Jews who could flee to the mountains or Egypt are said to have been spared.[18]: 38
In atonement for the violation of the emperor's oath to the Jews, the monks are said to have pledged themselves to a yearly fast, which is still observed by the
Conversion policy of Heraclius
In 628, Heraclius reportedly rescinded a decision made by his brother which would have exterminated the Jews of Edessa for supporting the Persians. Robert Bonfil suggests that Heraclius’ change of heart in 630 cannot be separated from the "Jewish Question" and the anti-Jewish world view ubiquitous to Christian thought at that time. He sees the decision as being based more on politics than religion.[21]: 81–84 Heraclius is one of the few Byzantine emperors to have had an imperial conversion campaign. The rarity of such campaigns is thought to be due to Christian theological constraints. In Christian apocalyptic literature, some Jews must remain until the end of time.[21]: 878 Christian theologians of the time also had other core theological reasons for rejecting the forced conversion of Jews.[21]: 84–85
In another legend, Heraclius' astrologers are said to have revealed to him that a circumcised people would conquer his empire.[38] Heraclius set out to forcibly convert the Jews of the Byzantine Empire, reportedly advising his friend Dagobert, king of the Franks, to do likewise.[11][39]
Aftermath
Following the defeat of the Persian Empire the territory would not remain in Byzantine hands for long. By 638, the Arabs would conquer Jerusalem.[40] Caesarea would remain under Byzantine control until 640.[41] The Arab Islamic Empire under Caliph Umar conquered the lands of Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Egypt.
In apocalyptic literature
The events of the Persian-Byzantine struggle in the Levant and the consequent Arab conquest inspired several apocalyptic Jewish writings of the early Middle Ages. Helping to popularize the idea of a war messiah, the
The Tiburtine Sibyl records that the Jews of the Byzantine Empire would be converted in one hundred and twenty years, seeming to refer to these occurrences, since about one hundred and twenty years elapsed from the time of the Persian war under Anastasius, in 505, to the victory of Heraclius in 628.[39] Some scholars see similarities between these Christian works and their Jewish counterparts.[44][45]
See also
- List of conflicts in the Near East
- Jewish–Roman wars, 66–136 CE
- Jewish revolt against Gallus, 352 CE
- Samaritan Revolts, 484–572 CE
- Yehud Medinata
References
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In atonement for the violation of an oath to the Jews, the monks pledged themselves to a fast, which the Copts still observe; while the Syrians and the Melchite Greeks ceased to keep it after the death of Heraclius; Elijah of Nisibis ("Beweis der Wahrheit des Glaubens," translation by Horst, p. 108, Colmar, 1886) mocks at the observance.
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the emperor Heraclius, on his way to Jerusalem, promised his protection to the Jews of Palestine. (Abu Salih the Armenian, Abu al-Makarim, ed. Evetts 1895, p. 39, Part 7 of Anecdota Oxoniensia: Semitic series Anecdota oxoniensia. Semitic series--pt. VII) (Abu Salih the Armenian was just the Book's owner, the author is actually Abu al-Makarim.)
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