Simon bar Kokhba

Simon bar Kokhba (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎‍; romanized as Shimon bar Kokhva), also called Simon bar Koseba (שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא Šīm‘ōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ‎‍) or simply Bar Kokhba, was a Jewish military leader in Judea. He lent his name to the Bar Kokhba Revolt, which he initiated against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Though they were ultimately unsuccessful, Bar Kokhba and his rebels did manage to establish and maintain a Jewish state for about three years after beginning the rebellion. Bar Kokhba served as the state's leader, crowning himself as nasi (lit. 'prince'). Some of the rabbinic scholars in his time believed him to be the long-expected Messiah.

In 135, Bar Kokhba was killed by Roman troops in the fortified town of Betar. The Judean rebels who remained after his death were all killed or enslaved within the next year, and their defeat was followed by a harsh crackdown on the Judean populace by the Roman emperor Hadrian.

Name

Documented name

Documents discovered in the 20th century in the Cave of Letters give his original name, with variations: Shimon bar Kosevah (שמעון בר כוסבה), Bar Kosevaʾ‎ (בר כוסבא) or Ben Kosevaʾ‎ (בן כוסבא‎). It is probable that his original name was Shimon bar Koseva. The name may indicate that his father or his place of origin was named Koseva(h), with Khirbet Kuwayzibah being a likely nominee for identification; others, namely Emil Schürer, think the surname may have been an indication of his place of birth, in the village known as Chozeba (maybe Chezib) but might as well be a general family name.

Nicknames

During the revolt, the Jewish sage Rabbi Akiva regarded Simon as the Jewish messiah.