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Simon bar Kokhba

File:Arthur_Szyk_(1894-1951)._Bar_Kochba_(1927),_Paris.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Simon bar Kokhba

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Also known as Bar Kokhba

Jewish leader

Key facts

Reign
132–135
Born
Simon bar Koseba ( שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא ‎ )
Died
135, Betar , Judea , Roman Empire
Religion
Judaism
Occupation
Military leader

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Given name
Simon
Gender
male
Place of death
Betar
Participant in
Bar Kokhba revolt
Image
Arthur Szyk (1894-1951). Bar Kochba (1927), Paris.jpg
Show 7 more facts
Commons category
Simon bar Kokhba
date of death
0135-01-01
date of birth
0050-00-00
name in native language
שמעון בר כוכבא
subject has role
Messiah in Judaism
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~14 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Simon bar Kokhba (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎‍) pronounced Shimon Bar-Kokhva or Simon bar Koseba (שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ‎‍), commonly referred to simply as Bar Kokhva, 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'). Some of the rabbinic scholars in his time believed him to be the long-expected Messiah.

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.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Simon bar Kokhba” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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