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AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SECOND TEMPLEFollowing the example of the Assyrians, Babylonians and Greeks, the Romans invaded Judea in 63 BCE. In 70 CE, the Romans crushed a revolt and destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem. In 135 CE, the Romans crushed a second revolt led by Bar Kokhba, a charismatic Jewish leader. Four years of battles ended in a bloodbath. The surviving Jews fled Judea. A pagan city was built on the ruins of Jerusalem - renamed Aelia Capitolina by the Roman occupiers-and the name of the Roman province was changed from Judea to Syria-Palestina. Now no Jew would have the right to live in Jerusalem. A new era had begun. The centres of Jewish life and its leadership shifted to the Galilee and abroad. |
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