In spite of all that the Jews had suffered from their opposition to the Romans, they could not make up their minds to submit quietly to foreign rulers.
Trajan, who became Emperor quite at the close of the first century, treated them with great severity, and even forbade them to read the Law. In consequence, a rebellion broke out, a.d. 115, at Cyrene, in Africa, where the Jews had been settled for many years: it quickly spread over Libya into Alexandria: in the struggle, the country was plundered and ruined, whilst thousands of people were killed on both sides: but finally, after a great slaughter, the Romans got the better of the rebellious Jews. The next year, the Jews in Mesopotamia took up arms, and filled the country with terror. Trajan sent against them a famous general, who, after killing great numbers of the people, forced the rest to submit to the Roman power: the successful general was then made governor of Judæa, that he might keep the Jews still residing there, in submission. Soon afterwards, there was a still more dreadful insurrection in the isle of Cyprus, where the Jews massacred an incredible number of the inhabitants: a Roman general called Adrian, then went into Cyprus, and defeated the Jews after an obstinate battle. Trajan now published an order, that all Jews should leave the isle of Cyprus, and never return to it.
When Trajan died, a.d. 117, Adrian became Emperor; he forbade the Jews to circumcise their children, and sent strangers to settle in the land of Judæa, and rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which he meant to ornament in the Roman style, and call by some Roman name. These measures so enraged the Jews, that they again broke out into open rebellion: their leader was Coziba, one of the banditti who infested the country; and under his command, all kinds of violence were committed against the subjects of Rome. Coziba pretended that he himself was the person spoken of by Balaam, when he said, "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel": and in consequence, he called himself Barchocheba, or "the son of a star." Even before this time, several impostors had pretended to be either the promised Messiah, or the Elias who was to prepare his way; but Coziba was the first whose pretensions led to any important consequences.
Coziba promised to deliver his countrymen from the power of Adrian, and to make them once more an independent and glorious nation: such a Messiah as this exactly suited the false ideas of the Jews, and they acknowledged Coziba to be the Christ, the Son of God. The Rabbi Akibha, chosen by the impostor to be his forerunner or messenger, publicly anointed him as the Messiah, the king of the Jews; placed a crown upon his head; coined money in his name; and collected for him a body of 20,000 disciples. By calling upon all the descendants of Abraham to help "the Hope of Israel," promised to their common forefather, an immense army was soon assembled at Bither, a town near Jerusalem, chosen by Coziba to be the capital of his new kingdom.
Adrian, not believing that after all they had gone through, the Jews could raise an army, thought little of this revolt at first; and when at length he did send against them a powerful army, it was totally defeated. The news of this misfortune caused great astonishment and dismay at Rome: and Julius Severus, one of the greatest generals of his time, was sent to put an end to this dangerous rebellion,—a matter which he found it difficult to accomplish; but at length, in an attack upon Bither, Coziba was killed; a dreadful slaughter of men, women, and children followed; and Akibha and his sons were put to a cruel death by the Roman conqueror.
The Jewish historians say, that between battle, famine, sickness, fire, and other calamities, the number of Jews that perished in this war was greater than the number of the Children of Israel who originally came out of Egypt: and they also declare, that their terrible sufferings under Nebuchadnezzar and Titus, were not so great as those inflicted upon them in the reign of Adrian. Both these statements are probably exaggerated; but they show that the misery of the unhappy Jews at this time, was most extreme.
Chapter II.—STATE OF THE JEWS TO THE END OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
The repeated provocations which, by their rebellions, the Jews gave to the Romans, could not, of course, tend to make their conquerors deal mercifully with them: thus did they, time after time, draw upon themselves those miseries, which were a chastisement for all their sins against God; and especially of that crowning one, the Crucifixion of "the Lord of Life and Glory."