The Identity of the Leaders of the Second Jewish Revolt and Bar Koseba's True Role in the Insurrection

This paper demonstrates that Bar Koseba was not necessarily the only leader of the uprising at its inception; the insurrection's leadership possibly included Jews who had previously served in the Roman army. The theory that there were numerous leaders in the beginning agrees with Dio's description and explains why, unlike Jewish-Christian sources, no Roman author named Bar Koseba occurs in any of the accounts. This interpretation answers further questions regarding the archaeological evidence from the war, such as how the revolt could have lasted so long despite the limited geographical area in which rebel coins were discovered, and why there are hidden complexes in the Galilee but no rebel coins or destruction layers. This is owing to the likely withdrawal of numerous provinces from the uprising once, or in the following months after, Bar Koseba came to power, a theory that fits well with the scrolls discovered in the Judaean Desert that are linked to the conflict.