Simon bar Kokhba שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא | |
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Prince of Israel | |
![]() Watercolour and gouache impression of Bar Kokhba by Polish-Jewish artist Arthur Szyk (1927) | |
Reign | 132–135[1] |
Born | Simon ben Koseba (שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא)[2] |
Died | 135 Betar, Judea, Roman Empire |
Religion | Judaism |
Occupation | Military leader |
Simon bar Kokhba (Hebrew: שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Kōḵḇāʾ) or Simon bar Koseba (שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ), commonly referred to simply as Bar Kokhba,[a] was a Jewish military leader in Judea. He lent his name to the Bar Kokhba revolt, which he initiated against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Though they were ultimately unsuccessful, Bar Kokhba and his rebels did manage to establish and maintain a Jewish state for about three years after beginning the rebellion. Bar Kokhba served as the state's leader, crowning himself as nasi (lit. 'prince').[3] Some of the rabbinic scholars in his time imagined him to be the long-expected Messiah of Judaism. In 135, Bar Kokhba was killed by Roman troops in the fortified town of Betar. The Judean rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year, and their defeat was followed by a harsh crackdown on the Judean populace by the Roman emperor Hadrian.
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