To: Ilaine who wrote (102843 ) 6/25/2003 4:24:08 PM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to I suppose that you are right, it was not mandatory for all Jews to leave, but it was a pretty foreseeable result that most would. It is not, after all, terribly impressive that after 300 years, Jews were finally allowed back into Jerusalem. It was the main population center, and its population were the main customers for the a wide swathe of surrounding countrysid. Besides, the country was left a shambles:When the full extent of the uprising was gauged in Rome, the emperor dispatched Julius Severus, victor of the recent war in northern Britain, at the head of two legions, to suppress the rebellion. The war proved protracted and merciless. The rebel forces, perhaps half a million strong, adopted a guerilla-style warfare which denied the Romans a decisive battle, favourable to their cavalry and the use of the phalanx. Drawing troops from everywhere from Egypt to Syria a full-scale invasion force was assembled. Twelve legions were ultimately to be deployed in the province, systematically annihilating hundreds of towns and villages. Jerusalem was retaken only in the third year of the war. Akiba and nine other ‘doctors of the Law’ were executed although some fanatics escaped to Persia. After three years of attrition, Simon and the last of the rebels, plus many refugees, were trapped in the fortress of Bethar, south west of Jerusalem. Hadrian himself joined the besiegers for the final capitulation. Famously, he refused to accept a Triumph for this brutal war. jesusneverexisted.com
