The Wars of the Jews

In 66 CE, unrest and disquiet among Jewish peoples in Roman-occupied Jerusalem boiled over, first into open rebellion and then into all-out war. The following seven years would see bloodshed on a massive scale, as the Roman Empire sought to re-establish control over Judea. This would culminate in the Siege of Masada, in which a corps of several hundred defenders, alongside non-combatants, held out against the might of a Roman legion — to this day, a symbol of heroism, resilience, and resistance among the Jewish people.

Flavius Josephus was present in Judea at the time of the conflict, and he documented the unfolding carnage. Himself an adherent of the Jewish faith, Josephus examines the tumultuous period across seven books, analyzing first the history of the Jews in the region before chronicling the enormity of the conflict. His work remains a vital component of contemporary understanding of the First Jewish-Roman War even though the original version — written in Aramaic or Hebrew, most probably – did not survive. This version of the book was translated from Greek to English by William Whiston.