The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Roman 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 of Jews | Biblical account of infanticide and gendocide |
Massacre during the Samaritan Revolt (36 AD) | 36 AD | Mount Gerizim | Pontius Pilate and Romans | Unknown number of Samaritans | 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] |
Massacre during the First Jewish-Roman War | 66 AD | Judaea Province | Romans | 1,100,000 Jews[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. A devastating depopulation of the Jewish population as the massacre wiped out a large percentage of their population. |
Massacre during the First Jewish-Roman War | 66 AD | Judaea Province | Jewish rebels | Unknown[5] | Massacre of Roman garrisons at Masada, Cypros, and Jerusalem. |
Massacre during the First Jewish-Roman War | 67 AD | Mount Gerizim | Roman troops | 11,600 Samaritans and Jews[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+ (mostly Greek Romans)[7][8][9] | Large scale massacres of both Jews and Romans |
Bar Kokhba revolt | 132-136 AD | Judaea Province | Romans | 580,000 Jews[10] | Decisive Roman victory. Romans enslaved and masacred many Jews of Judaea. Jewish religious and political authority was suppressed and banned Jews from Jerusalem. Renamed and merged Judaea into the Syria Palaestina province. |