Conquest of Jerusalem (614)
| date | 614 |
|---|---|
| place | Jerusalem |
| output | Persian victory |
| consequences | Annexation of Jerusalem and Palestine Prima by the Sassanid Empire |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| unknown | unknown; approx. 20,000 Jewish fighters |
| losses | |
|
unknown |
unknown; many fallen Jews |
With the conquest of Jerusalem , the Persian Sassanids took the city from the Eastern Romans in 614 .
prehistory
The Eastern Roman Empire was attacked by the Persian Sassanids under Chosrau II from 603 . The Persian troops quickly achieved great successes. Roman Mesopotamia was conquered by 610 and the Persians then invaded Syria. In 613 Damascus and Antioch had been conquered after a large imperial army had been destroyed by the Persians.
Conquest of Jerusalem
Jerusalem was conquered in July 614 by the Sassanids under General Shahrbaraz after a 21-day siege. It is said that around 20,000 Jewish and numerous local Arab fighters were involved. During and after the conquest of the city, many residents were killed and numerous churches destroyed. The Holy Cross , one of the most important relics, was brought to Persia, as many Christians as the Patriarch Zacharias .
Jerusalem was now led by a Jewish “council of the righteous” under the leadership of Nehemiah ben Hushiel . After a few months there was an uprising among the Christian population. Many Jews were killed; the survivors fled to Shahrbaraz in Caesarea. After 19 days, he recaptured the city.
In 629, Jerusalem was regained by Emperor Herakleios , who had successfully taken action against the Persians since 622, after he had fought against the new Persian King Ardaschir III in the summer of 629 . had notified the revolting Shahrbaraz. On March 21, 630, the emperor entered the city with the Holy Cross. This event received a great deal of attention in the Christian world.
swell
- Antiochos Strategos, Chronicle , in: FC Conybeare: Antiochus Strategos, The Capture of Jerusalem by the Persians in 614 AD. In: English Historical Review 25 (1910), pp. 502-517 ( online )
literature
- Elliot Horowitz: Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence. Princeton 2006, pp. 228ff.
- Elliot Horowitz: "The Vengeance of the Jews Was Stronger Than Their Avarice": Modern Historians and the Persian Conquest of Jerusalem in 614. In: Jewish Social Studies. New Series, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1998), pp. 1-39.