List of massacres in ancient Israel

The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in ancient Israel and Judea prior to the establishment of the Roman province of Syria Palæstina.

Name Date Location Responsible Party Deaths Notes
Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC) 63 BC Jerusalem Pompey the Great 12,000 Jews were massacred by invading Romans;[1] event marked the end of Jewish independence
Siege of Jerusalem (37 BC) 37 BC Jerusalem Herod the Great and Romans Unknown Roman troops pillaged and killed all in their path; Herod exterminated the Hasmonean line[2]
Massacre of the Innocents 6-4 BC Bethlehem Herod the Great Unknown, estimated thousands Biblical account of infanticide and gendercide
Samaritan Revolt (36 AD) 36 AD Mount Gerizim Pontius Pilate and Romans Unknown The Samaritans rebelled against the Romans in AD 36. A fanatic assembled them at Mount Gerizim, promising to reveal the sacred vessels which they had been taught were buried there by Moses, and the rebels were ruthlessly massacred by order of Pontius Pilate.[3]
First Jewish-Roman War 66 AD Judaea Province Romans 250,000-1,100,000[4] Jews were massacred by Romans throughout the war; 97,000 enslaved; first of three major Jewish revolts against Romans; resulted in destruction of the Holy Temple.
First Jewish-Roman War 66 AD Judaea Province Jewish rebels Unknown[5] Massacre of Roman garrisons at Masada, Cypros, and Jerusalem.
First Jewish-Roman War 67 AD Mount Gerizim Roman troops 11,600[6] This rout constituted a disaster for the Samaritan community.
Kitos War 115-117 AD Judaea Province and elsewhere Romans and Jewish rebels 440,000+[7][8][9] Large scale massacres of both Jews and Romans
Bar Kokhba revolt 132-136 AD Judaea Province Romans 580,000[10] Decisive Roman victory. Romans enslaved many Jews of Judaea, massacred many Jews, suppressed Jewish religious and political authority, banned Jews from Jerusalem, and renamed and merged Judaea into the Syria Palaestina province.

References

  1. Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 1:149-151
  2. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:403
  3. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  4. , Mladen Popovi The Jewish Revolt Against Rome; Interdisciplinary Perspectivesl. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  5. Jews and Samaritans: The Origins and History of Their Early Relations, pg 223, pub Oxford University Press, 13 Jun 2013, Gary N. Knopper.
  6. Ta'anit 18b; Yer. Ta'anit 66b
  7. Pes. 50a; B. B. 10b; Eccl. R. ix. 10
  8. Orosius, Seven Books of History Against the Pagans, 7.12.6.
  9. The 'Five Good Emperors' (roman-empire.net)
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