by Vasily Rudich

Routledge Monographs (2015) h/b 350pp £100 (ISBN 9780415161060)

As R. says himself in his preface, this is not strictly a history of the Jewish War; it is specifically a discursive exploration of the part probably played by religious dissent in the development of the revolt of AD 66 to 70. One says ‘probably’ because, as R. makes very clear, not only are the sources full of gaps but the main one, Josephus, deliberately plays down or hushes up this aspect so as to appeal more to his Greek and Roman readers. Religious extremism sets its adherents not only against the cultural enemy (Rome) but also against the majority of co-religionists who, for a quiet life, are happy to coexist with the Romans provided they leave them alone to practise their faith, which mostly they do; the fanatics, on the other hand, will murder their own people with…