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Jotapata (also Yodfat, Yodefat, Tel Yodfat, Iotapata, Jodeptah, Yotvah, Tell Jafat, Yotapatha, or Jotbah) was an ancient fortified Jewish village in the Galilee
Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa t...
, north of Sepphoris, Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, mostly known for the bloody and ruthless battle in the year 67
67

Year 67 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, as related by Josephus Flavius
Josephus

Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizenship, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70....
 in his book, The Wars of the Jews
The Wars of the Jews

The Wars of the Jews is a book written by the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus.It is a description of Jewish history from the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid Empire ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BC to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem in the First Jewish-Roman War in AD 70....
, the only account of this battle.

Siege of Jotapata
Jotapata played a major role in the First Jewish-Roman War
First Jewish-Roman War

The first Jewish-Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three Jewish-Roman wars by the Jews of Iudaea Province against the Roman Empire ....
 (AD 66
66

Year 66 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
-73
73

Year 73 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
).






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Jotapata (also Yodfat, Yodefat, Tel Yodfat, Iotapata, Jodeptah, Yotvah, Tell Jafat, Yotapatha, or Jotbah) was an ancient fortified Jewish village in the Galilee
Galilee

Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa t...
, north of Sepphoris, Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, mostly known for the bloody and ruthless battle in the year 67
67

Year 67 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar....
, as related by Josephus Flavius
Josephus

Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizenship, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70....
 in his book, The Wars of the Jews
The Wars of the Jews

The Wars of the Jews is a book written by the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus.It is a description of Jewish history from the capture of Jerusalem by the Seleucid Empire ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BC to the fall and destruction of Jerusalem in the First Jewish-Roman War in AD 70....
, the only account of this battle.

Siege of Jotapata


Jotapata played a major role in the First Jewish-Roman War
First Jewish-Roman War

The first Jewish-Roman War , sometimes called The Great Revolt , was the first of three Jewish-Roman wars by the Jews of Iudaea Province against the Roman Empire ....
 (AD 66
66

Year 66 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar....
-73
73

Year 73 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar....
). The city housed Josephus' army, and was widely fortified. When the Roman army, led by Vespasian
Vespasian

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
, arrived, it camped on the northern side, the only access to the citadel. Vespasian had three legions
Roman legion

The Roman Legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire....
 — Legio V Macedonica
Legio V Macedonica

Legio quinta Macedonica was a Roman legion. It was probably originally levied by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Augustus in 43 BC, and it existed in Moesia at least until 5th century....
, X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis

Legio decima Fretensis of the sea strait") was a Roman legion levied by Augustus in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of Roman Civil War that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic....
, and XV Apollinaris
Legio XV Apollinaris

Legio decima quinta Apollinaris was a Roman legion. It was recruited by Augustus in 41/40 BC. The emblem of this legion was probably a picture of Apollo, or of one of his holy animals....
 — and supporting troops, for a total of about 60,000 men. After an unsuccessful direct attack, Vespasian ordered to lay a siege.

The siege lasted 47 days, with a strong resistance on Jews' side (Vespasian himself was wounded), but in the end the fortress fell by treachery. An estimated 40,000 were killed, while 1,000 women and children were sold as slaves. While the few dozen surviving fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact. See Josephus problem
Josephus problem

The Josephus problem is a theoretical problem occurring in computer science and mathematics.There are people standing in a circle waiting to be executed....
.

See also

  • Yodfat
    Yodfat

    Yodfat , is a moshav shitufi in the Lower Galilee, south of Carmiel, Israel. Yodfat is part of the Misgav Regional Council. Located in the vicinity of the Atzmon mountain ridge, north of Beit Netofa Valley, Yodfat is named for the Second Temple-era Judean city of Yodfat ....


Primary sources

  • Josephus
    Josephus

    Josephus , also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu and, after he became a Roman citizenship, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a first-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70....
    , The Wars of the Jews, iii. 7.


Secondary sources



External links