Revolt against Heraclius
| Jewish revolt against Heraclius | |||||||||
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| Part of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Byzantine Empire |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Emperor Heraclius Patriarch Zacharias (614) (POW) Abba Modestus (from 617) |
Shahrbaraz Nehemiah ben Hushiel  Benjamin of Tiberias |
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| Strength | |||||||||
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Byzantine Empire
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Sasanian Empire
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Tens of thousands | Tens of thousands | ||||||||
Jewish surrender and expulsion
Byzantine Empire
Sasanian Empire
The Jewish revolt against Heraclius was part of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 and is considered the last serious Jewish attempt for gaining autonomy in the Land of Israel prior to modern times. According to a recent theory, the revolt and the general Byzantine-Persian War took place during the Late Antique Little Ice Age, which marked the decline of the classic empires, demographic and economic collapse across the Near East and rise of opportunistic forces, such as Muslim Arabs and Turks.
Following the Battle of Antioch in 613, Shahrbaraz led his forces through Palaestina Secunda and into Palaestina Prima provinces. In 614, Shahrbaraz conquered Caesarea Maritima, the administrative capital of the Palaestina Prima province. The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias would shortly capture Jerusalem without resistance. After only a few months a Christian revolt occurred. Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his council of sixteen righteous were killed along with many other Jews, some throwing themselves off the city walls. Christians were able to briefly retake the city before the walls were breached by Shahrbaraz’s forces who lay siege to the city. According to the Armenian bishop and historian Sebeos the siege resulted in a total Christian death toll of 17,000, Christian sources later exaggerated the extent of the massacre, claiming a death toll as high as 90,000. In addition 35,000 or 37,000 people including the patriarch Zacharias are said to have been deported to Mesopotamia. The city is said to have been burnt down. However, neither wide spread burning nor destruction of churches have been found in the archaeological record.
Bands of Jews from Jerusalem, Tiberias, Galilee, Damascus, and even from Cyprus, united and undertook an incursion against Tyre, having been invited by the 4,000 Jewish inhabitants of that city to surprise and massacre the Christians on Easter night. The Jewish army is said to have consisted of 20,000 men. The expedition, however, miscarried, as the Christians of Tyre learned of the impending danger, and seized the 4,000 Tyrian Jews as hostages. The Jewish invaders destroyed the churches around Tyre, an act which the Christians avenged by killing two thousand of their Jewish prisoners. The besiegers, to save the remaining prisoners, withdrew. The Jews had hoped that Khosrau II would give them all of the Land of Israel in exchange for their support. By 617 CE the Persians had reversed their policy and sided with the Christians over the Jews, probably because of pressure from Mesopotamian Christians in Persia itself.
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Wikipedia