Jews of Arabia: Ancient Inscriptions Reveal Jewish Diaspora at BAS. Extracts below.
Imagine the scene just after 70 CE: The Zealots have led a disastrous revolt against the Romans, Jerusalem lies in ruins, the Temple has been burned to the ground, and many of your coreligionists have been taken as slaves. What to do?
Then, two generations later, a second revolt occurs (132–135 CE), as a group of fighters led by Simeon Bar-Kokhba takes up arms against the Romans—only to be defeated yet again. In the wake of this warfare, Emperor Hadrian changes the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina—in direct reference to his family name and the Roman god Jupiter—and forbids Jews to live in or near the city. Again, what to do?
To be sure, many Jews remained in the land of Israel, as Jewish life was renewed in the Galilee to the north. Other Jews moved to more amicable locations within the Roman Empire, including the Aegean and Rome itself. Still others moved east to Mesopotamia, away from Roman rule, but this region also turned out to be a hotbed of battles, as the Romans and Persians (first the Parthians, then the Sassanians) fought for control of the Tigris and Euphrates valley during the second and third centuries.
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Click here for an extensive Timeline of Jewish History. Note the dates and events above have not been reconciled with those in the linked timeline. Differences will surely exist.
