July 9

118:
Hadrian, Rome’s new emperor, made his entry into the Imperial City. Regardless
of how history remembers him, for Jews, Hadrian is the Emperor who helped to
start the Third Rebellion against Rome. In this case it was the lead by Bar
Kochba …

July 6

1189: Henry
II, King of England, passed away. 
Compared to those who followed him to the throne, Henry’s treatment of
his Jewish subjects was comparatively benign. (The emphasis is on
“comparatively.”)  Henry levied two
special taxes …

July
1

69: Tiberius Julius
Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to
Vespasian as emperor. This consolidation of Vespasian’s imperial power helped
to seal the fate of Jerusalem since the destruction of the Jewish …

JUNE 23

79:
Vespasian, the Roman general who was in the process of conquering Judea when he
became Emperor, died.

79:
Titus, the Roman general whom the Jews will always remember for the destruction
of Jerusalem and the Temple succeeded his father Ves…

JUNE 22

217 BCE:
Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeated Antiochus III at the Battle of Raphia. The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was part of the
ongoing power struggle between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies for the land
mass that included…