-->''Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God Himself, Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice...We were the very first that revolted, and we are the last to fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom.''
-->--credited to Elazar Ben Yair at Masada


These were a series of revolts by the Jews against TheRomanEmpire, which ended with the Jews uprooted from the province of Judea and scattered. This began the Diaspora era, in which the Jews were scattered across the globe. They were not to return to their ancient lands as a nation again until the founding of the State of {{Israel}}.

Despite the tragedy of this episode, there is one thing Jews can take pride in. No one had given Rome [[DyingMomentOfAwesome a fight like that]] for generations. The defense of the province of Judea was ferocious to the point of fanaticism and required the utmost effort -- so much so that the final victory was considered worthy of a Triumph for Titus (he declined it, saying there was no honor in defeating people forsaken by their own god), the Roman general in command, and lifted him to [[TheEmperor the highest rank]]. The Arch of Titus in Rome today, while not intended as such, comes off accidently as a [[WorthyOpponent backhanded tribute to the valor of the Jews]].

This war was ritualistically mourned by Jews through the ages. It was the beginning of the custom of pouring part of the Passover wine on the ground in mourning for the lost Temple as well as the CatchPhrase "Next Year In Jerusalem". It was also the beginning of adjustments in Jewish doctrine which included the end of the priesthood, and the increase in the prestige of the Rabbinate, with their expertise in the study of Literature/TheTalmud.

* {{Badass Israeli}}tes: Of course, the next...say...1800 years were a tale of Jewish dispersion and military weakness. They got better, of course.
* BerserkButton: In 66, Gessius Florus, the Procurator ordered a massacre in the market of Jerusalem [[ForTheEvulz for no clear reason]], which the Jews regarded as the [[ThisIsUnforgivable last straw]]. Whereupon the Jews rose and slaughtered the soldiers responsible. The Romans considered that a ThisMeansWar.
* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Masada
* CatchPhrase: More than one CatchPhrase referencing the Jewish revolt including "Next year in Jerusalem" and "Masada shall not fall again"
* ColdBloodedTorture: A lot of the prisoners were [[FateWorseThanDeath crucified]].
* CycleOfRevenge
* DavidVersusGoliath: Which is appropriate as Jerusalem is the "City of David".
* DownerEnding: From the Jewish point of view
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: The whole war really.
* TheEmpire: Rome
* TheEmperor: Titus. Apparently the Romans decided that being able to conquer [[BadassIsraeli Jews]] automatically made a person such a {{Badass}} that he deserved to be Emperor.
** They may have had a point...
** Being the eldest son of the previous Emperor probably helped a bit too.
* TheExile: the Jews
** Thus beginning TheHomewardJourney .
* [[ForeignMoneyIsProofOfGuilt Jewish Money is Proof of Rebellion]]: Coins were minted at the time by the Jews as a TakeThat to TheRomanEmpire. On them are {{Catch Phrase}}s like ''Jerusalem the Holy'', ''Freedom of Zion'', and ''For the redemption of Zion''.
* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Titus received this for many centuries, with non-Jews like [[TheDivineComedy Dante]] viewing him as "the good Titus, who, with the aid of the Supreme King, avenged the wounds" of Christ. The Jews [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation begged to differ]].
* HonorBeforeReason: Masada.
** Or not. Considering the way Romans normally treated prisoners of war suicide was perhaps not that unreasonable an option to embrace.
* [[IWillFightNoMoreForever I Will Fight No More for Two Thousand Years]]: After which time they [[ArabIsraeliConflict changed their minds]] and became {{Badass Israeli}}s again.
* KillEmAll
* LaResistance: The Jews
* LastStand: The whole war
* LetsGetDangerous: The Jews, ''Very Dangerous''. Don't [[BerserkButton make them mad]], even if you [[TheRomanEmpire own the whole Mediterranean]]. [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry You Wouldn't Like Them When They're Angry]].
* PatrioticFervor
* PrinciplesZealot, ObstructiveZealot, and any other kind of Zealot: TropeNamer
* {{Privateer}}: A number of Jewish raiders scoured the local seas and made them unsafe. Which is odd because even {{Badass Israeli}}s are not [[NationalStereotypes usually]] thought of as a naval people. But this really did happen and it added to making life miserable for TheRomanEmpire.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown
* OccupiersOutOfOurCountry: Subverted. The occupiers stayed.
* TheQuisling: Josephus. While it is perhaps rather unreasonable to be angry at him for not committing suicide (and for not preferring revolution to the peace and prosperity he believed Rome to have brought), he seemed just a wee bit too comfortable with the Romans ruling his native land.
* RapePillageAndBurn
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The extreme Zealots, who were reportedly killing fellow Jews whom they deemed too tepid in revolutionary fervor, at the very moment Jerusalem was falling to the Romans.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Something of a [[CycleOfRevenge mutual]] RoaringRampageOfRevenge, taken SerialEscalation.
* TheRomanEmpire
* ShellShockedVeteran: Many Roman historians claims that many Roman soldiers ended up as this due to the last war's brutality that was so brutal even to them.
* [[ChurchMilitant Synagogue Militant]]
* TheSiege: Jerusalem and Masada are the most famous.
* StoneWall: Masada is a literal example of this: a fortress built atop a towering mesa. No projectiles could come close to reaching the top, and it took a 30-foot high ramp[[hottip:*:Not including the natural bedrock slope it was built on.]] for the battering ram to reach it. It also lacked both the weaponry and manpower to fend off the Romans when they ''did'' reach the fortress.
* TakingYouWithMe
* TearJerker: For a lot of Jews it is this, and thinking of it that way is not unknown among gentiles either.
* TheRemnant: The modern Rabbinical Judaism. And Christianity.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Who would ever have believed such a small country could have stood up to Rome?
* UrbanWarfare
* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Factionalism tended to hurt the Jewish cause. Appropriate, given the TropeNamer.
** Put two Jews in a room together and pose a question, any question, and you are guarenteed at least three different answers. ''Very'' old Jewish joke probably dating to this period.
----

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Roundly mocked in ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'', also managing to skewer the increasingly-fractious British Left of the 1970s (a criticism that would grow [[HarsherInHindsight all too painful]] in [[MargaretThatcher the '80s]]).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* The miniseries ''Masada''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* Avalon Hill's ''The Siege of Jerusalem''