Si Sheppard (illustrated by Peter Dennis), “The Jewish Revolt, AD66-74 (Osprey Publishing: Oxford, 2013)

96 Pages

RRP £15.99

In my opinion the hardest thing about getting your head around an historical period that you are unfamiliar is knowing where to begin your learning. A quick search of Google can lead to dozens of websites and book recommendations, all of which can be quite overwhelming. The Jewish Revolts against Rome are no exception. To the initiate these can be particularly confusing for there were actually several “revolts”, and different historians refer to them by different names.

In my opinion one of the best places to start is with this book by Osprey which covers the First Jewish War (also known as the First Jewish Revolt, the Great Jewish Revolt, or just the Jewish War). At a relatively short 96 pages, this offers a quick and simple introduction to the topic. Readers will only need a minimal understanding of Roman history to enjoy this as the author begins the work with a succinct overview of Judaean history up to the arrival of the Roman Empire. The bulk of the book, naturally, is a chronological account of the rebellion. As one would expect from an Osprey book it contains numerous illustrations as well as photographs of locations and artefacts. Several useful battlefield maps are also included which help orientate the reader. By necessity Sheppard does not go into detail about any particular episode, but as an introduction to the topic I think this is actually a virtue for it keeps the book succinct and simple to get to grips with. While this book focuses on the First Jewish War, it also offers a very short overview of later conflicts. Perhaps most usefully for someone looking to understanding the period better it also includes a brief but serviceable bibliography which will help direct readers. Of these I would recommend Neil Faulkner’s Apocalypse, which will be the subject of a future review.

One aspect that I was perhaps a little disappointed in was the lack of good artwork depicting the combatants, particularly the Jews. While the illustrations in this book by Peter Dennis are useful and enjoyable, they are a little lacking in this respect. The illustrations that do depict the Jews in this book are mostly so zoomed out as to be lacking in detail. The few that offer a close-up view are a little generic (think tunic wearing Greek). For example, there are no depictions of the tzitzit which was apparently used extensively by the more devout Jews of the time. However, this perhaps nitpicking an otherwise good selection of artwork and images.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book, even to those who already feel that they have a good understanding of these events. It can usually be found online with a decent discount so you should not need to pay full price.