2nd century
Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia
The Jewish Revolt of AD 115 was a large-scale uprising that began in Cyrenaica and spread across several eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern communities. Jewish rebels in Cyrenaica seized control and attacked the Greek population, while refugees carried the conflict to Egypt, where violence engulfed Alexandria. Jewish communities in Cyprus and Mesopotamia also revolted. Roman suppression was extremely violent and was followed by the sharp reduction of Alexandria’s Jewish community and extensive rebuilding in Cyrenaica.
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The Story
The revolt of AD 115 emerged from tensions that had developed between Greek and Jewish communities under Roman rule. In Cyrenaica, local Jews seized control and massacred members of the Greek population. The immediate causes of the uprising remain obscure in the account, but the movement quickly became a wider challenge to Roman authority rather than a localized communal disturbance.
Greek refugees from Cyrenaica fled to Egypt and helped provoke a retaliatory massacre of the Jews of Alexandria. The Jewish population of Cyrenaica then invaded Egypt and besieged Alexandria. Jewish communities in Cyprus and Mesopotamia also joined the revolt, while the Jewish population of the homeland did not participate according to the account.
Roman forces eventually suppressed the revolt with great bloodshed. Alexandria retained a Jewish community, but it was apparently so reduced that the city’s Jewish question ceased to have major importance. In Cyrenaica, archaeological evidence indicated extensive destruction in the cities, and Hadrian later undertook a substantial rebuilding programme and introduced new settlers.
2nd century
Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia
The Jewish Revolt of AD 115 was a large-scale uprising that began in Cyrenaica and spread across several eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern communities. Jewish rebels in Cyrenaica seized control and attacked the Greek population, while refugees carried the conflict to Egypt, where violence engulfed Alexandria. Jewish communities in Cyprus and Mesopotamia also revolted. Roman suppression was extremely violent and was followed by the sharp reduction of Alexandria’s Jewish community and extensive rebuilding in Cyrenaica.
Continue exploring
The Story
The revolt of AD 115 emerged from tensions that had developed between Greek and Jewish communities under Roman rule. In Cyrenaica, local Jews seized control and massacred members of the Greek population. The immediate causes of the uprising remain obscure in the account, but the movement quickly became a wider challenge to Roman authority rather than a localized communal disturbance.
Greek refugees from Cyrenaica fled to Egypt and helped provoke a retaliatory massacre of the Jews of Alexandria. The Jewish population of Cyrenaica then invaded Egypt and besieged Alexandria. Jewish communities in Cyprus and Mesopotamia also joined the revolt, while the Jewish population of the homeland did not participate according to the account.
Roman forces eventually suppressed the revolt with great bloodshed. Alexandria retained a Jewish community, but it was apparently so reduced that the city’s Jewish question ceased to have major importance. In Cyrenaica, archaeological evidence indicated extensive destruction in the cities, and Hadrian later undertook a substantial rebuilding programme and introduced new settlers.