The Victor Davis Hanson Show – "Jews vs. Rome: VDH Interviews Barry Strauss on New Book"

Date: August 20, 2025
Host: Victor Davis Hanson
Guest: Barry Strauss, Corliss Dean Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, historian, and author
Main Theme: A deep dive into Barry Strauss' new book Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion against the World's Mightiest Empire. The discussion centers on the ancient Jewish revolts against Rome, contextual implications for Jewish identity and resilience, and resonances with the modern Middle East.

Episode Overview

In this special episode, Victor Davis Hanson interviews Barry Strauss about his latest book, which chronicles the two centuries of Jewish resistance against the Roman Empire. The conversation weaves together ancient history, archaeological finds, religious identity, and contemporary commentary, exploring why the Jews stood uniquely defiant compared to other subjugated peoples of Rome.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Book’s Origin & Modern Resonance

• Strauss began writing in 2020, inspired partly by Middle Eastern tensions, including the Israel-Iran conflict. He contrasts modern Iranian hostility toward Israel with ancient alliances (Cyrus the Great, Parthian and Sassanian Empires) that were supportive of the Jews.
  • Quote (Barry Strauss, 03:43):
    "The current regime, the Islamic Republic and its hostility, you know, it's deadly hostility to Israel is not in the mainstream of Iranian history."
• Hanson notes the timeliness: the historical narrative challenges prevalent contemporary misconceptions regarding Jewish indigeneity in Israel.

The Major Jewish Revolts – Key Players, Motivations, and Consequences

• The first revolt (Great Jewish Revolt, 66–73 AD) occurred under the deranged emperor Nero, whose greed and local administrators’ brutality inflamed tensions.
  • Quote (Strauss, 05:30):
    "The temple in Jerusalem was fabulously wealthy and Nero wanted to get his hands on that money."
• Subsequent revolts, including those under the "good" emperors (Vespasian, Titus, Hadrian), show even reasonable rulers contributed to brutality and suppression.
• Jerusalem’s fortifications: The rebels genuinely believed they could withstand Rome, partly expecting possible Parthian support.
  • Quote (Hanson, 06:35):
    "It wasn't just a feudal idea. They thought that they really could outlast Rome, didn't they?"
• Internal dissension among Jewish factions sabotaged their chances, including destroying their own grain supplies during sieges, leading to shortened resistance and catastrophe.
  • Quote (Strauss, 07:05):
    "They cut their own throats because the rebels inside Jerusalem came from several different factions and they preferred to fight and kill each other rather than fighting the Romans."

Aftermath of the Temple’s Destruction & the Jewish Diaspora

• The Second Temple’s destruction in 70 AD had enormous psychological and religious repercussions but also inspired apocalyptic hopes and new adaptations—birthing Rabbinic Judaism and stages in the formation of Christianity.
  • Quote (Strauss, 08:30):
    "This is not our first rodeo. The first Temple was destroyed… And so they believed that the second Temple... would also be repaired within 70 years."
  • Timestamps:
    • Hope of restoration and apocalyptic writings: 08:30
    • Emergence of Christian interpretation: 09:23
• Rome imposed a humiliating tax on all Jews in the Empire—payment to Jupiter—intended as deterrence but fueling new grievances.
  • Quote (Strauss, 09:50):
    "They impose the notorious Jewish tax on Jews, not just in Judea and not just on rebels, but on every Jew around the Roman Empire..."

Uniqueness of Jewish Resistance

• Hanson queries why Jews, comparatively few in population and resources, resisted Rome so tenaciously, unlike other subject peoples.
  • Strauss points to deep messianic, apocalyptic, and Torah-rooted beliefs, as well as the role of the diaspora providing outside support and future revolutionary hope.
  • Roman political missteps, refusal to allow Temple rebuilding, and insensitive religious affronts, especially Hadrian’s transformation of Jerusalem into a pagan city, exacerbated tensions.
  • Quote (Strauss, 14:01):
    "The Romans really mishandled the situation. First of all, this humiliating tax, second, the refusal to allow the Jews to rebuild the temple..."

The Role of Early Christianity

• Early Jewish Christians generally did not participate in the revolts, seeing Jesus’ message as a spiritual alternative to temple-focused redemption.
  • Quote (Strauss, 14:19):
    "The followers of Christ did not participate in the revolt. Perhaps that's true... They want to show that the Christians are loyal Romans."

Sources: Josephus — The Patriot-Apostate

• Josephus, a well-born, well-connected general turned Roman client, is the chief firsthand source for these events.
• He fought Rome at Yotapata, was captured, switched sides after claiming prophetic vision, and spent his later years writing defenses and histories for both Roman and Jewish audiences.
  • Quote (Strauss, 16:35):
    "Josephus then changes his tune. He says he's had a dream, a vision from above that Rome is fated to win and to survive, the Jews should go over to the Romans."
  • Survivability of his accounts is confirmed by archaeology.

Masada – Symbolism and Memory

• Masada’s last stand, though minor militarily, became a powerful nationalist symbol via Josephus’s rhetoric, modern Zionist poetry, and modern Israeli ceremony.
  • Quote (Strauss, 18:37):
    "(Josephus) puts speeches in the mouth of the Jewish leader there... some of the greatest defenses of freedom that survive from the ancient world..."

The Modern Relevance of Ancient Jewish Homelands

• Hanson and Strauss underscore that ancient Judea—thoroughly, indisputably Jewish—reminds us of the deep-rooted nature of Jewish history in this land, challenging the modern "settler colonial" narrative.
  • Quote (Hanson, 20:05):
    "It really reminds everybody that it was for thousands of years the historic homeland of the Jews. Absolutely, yeah. And you don't get that in modern journalism to the same effect."
  • Strauss agrees, noting many today are either ignorant or "ill disposed" to this historic reality.

Reactions in Contemporary Israel

• Israeli historians and archaeologists were welcoming and eager to share sites and knowledge. Many Israelis, Strauss notes, view the revolts as tragic errors—though he argues history's course is always uncertain.
  • Quote (Strauss, 21:31):
    "A lot of Israelis feel that the revolts were a mistake, that they were tragic, they were quixotic… And I guess my response is to say, who can know?"

The Bar Kokhba Revolt – Messianism and Guerilla Warfare

• Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–135 AD): Smart, messianic leader, caught Rome off guard, required deployment of legions from other provinces, and was crushed at great Roman cost.
  • Quote (Strauss, 22:51):
    "He builds underground shelters, tunnels, caves... The revolt on the Romans completely shocks them. They're unprepared and the blow is devastating."

The Great Diaspora

• Hanson asks when Judea became truly inhospitable to Jews. Strauss explains the full diaspora unfolded gradually, with significant Jewish presence lingering in Galilee and Golan for centuries after the revolts, only diminishing after the Arab conquest.
  • Quote (Strauss, 24:26):
    "For a number of centuries after the Bar Kokhba revolt, there is a large Jewish community in northern Israel..."

On Writing and Scholarship

• Strauss reflects on his path—he began as a Hellenist, but has long loved Roman history, partly inspired by his father's WWII service in Italy.
• Discussion of language skills in classical scholarship: Strauss and Hanson lament that modern scholars often lack the broad linguistic training once deemed essential.
  • Quote (Strauss, 28:05):
    "There's a lot of stuff that isn't translated. It depends what you're going to do..."

Upcoming Work

• Strauss’s next book will examine classical leadership, exploring figures like Leonidas, Themistocles, Caesar, Augustus, Cicero, Agrippa, Herod, Esther, and Cleopatra, analyzing what made them transformational leaders.

Ancient Lessons for Modern Warfare

• Strauss frequently draws on ancient history in analyzing contemporary conflicts, believing classics like Thucydides and Clausewitz essential to grasping the enduring nature of war and strategy.
  • Quote (Strauss, 31:56):
    "I don't really think you can understand war unless you've read the classics. Thucydides from our period, Clausewitz..."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |------------|----------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:43 | Barry Strauss | "The current regime... is not in the mainstream of Iranian history." | | 05:30 | Barry Strauss | "The temple in Jerusalem was fabulously wealthy and Nero wanted to get his hands on that money." | | 07:05 | Barry Strauss | "They cut their own throats because the rebels inside Jerusalem... preferred to fight and kill each other rather than fighting the Romans." | | 08:30 | Barry Strauss | "This is not our first rodeo... they believed that the second Temple... would also be repaired within 70 years." | | 09:50 | Barry Strauss | "They impose the notorious Jewish tax on Jews... every Jew around the Roman Empire now had to pay a tax to the chief God of Rome..." | | 14:01 | Barry Strauss | "The Romans really mishandled the situation..." | | 16:35 | Barry Strauss | "Josephus then changes his tune... that Rome is fated to win..."| | 18:37 | Barry Strauss | "He puts speeches in the mouth of the Jewish leader there... some of the greatest defenses of freedom..." | | 20:05 | Victor Davis Hanson | "...It really reminds everybody that it was for thousands of years the historic homeland of the Jews." | | 22:51 | Barry Strauss | "He builds underground shelters, tunnels, caves... The revolt on the Romans completely shocks them." | | 24:26 | Barry Strauss | "... there is a large Jewish community in northern Israel... until after the Arab conquest..." | | 28:05 | Barry Strauss | "There's a lot of stuff that isn't translated. It depends what you're going to do..." | | 31:56 | Barry Strauss | "I don't really think you can understand war unless you've read the classics..." |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:20 – Why Strauss wrote the book; ancient and modern Iran-Israel relations
• 05:30 – Role of Roman emperors and causes of the great revolt
• 07:05 – Siege of Jerusalem: internal divisions among the Jews
• 08:30 – The Jewish response to the destruction of the Second Temple
• 09:50 – Roman punitive tax and its impact
• 11:34 – Why Jewish resistance was unique in the Roman Empire
• 14:01 – Rome’s mistakes and the Bar Kokhba revolt
• 16:35 – Josephus: firsthand source, complex figure
• 18:37 – Masada and the power of collective memory
• 20:05 – Jewish indigeneity and the modern political implications
• 21:31 – Israeli scholarly views on the revolts
• 22:51 – Bar Kokhba: strategy and Roman response
• 24:26 – The emergence of the diaspora
• 28:05 – The importance of language skills for classical historians
• 29:20 – Strauss’s next book on classical leadership
• 31:56 – Using ancient history to understand modern warfare
• 32:54 – Strauss’s upcoming trip to Israel and public lectures

Episode Tone

The conversation is collegial, wide-ranging, and both scholarly and accessible. Victor and Barry blend historical rigor with reflections on contemporary relevance. The tone is reflective, deeply engaged, and occasionally admiring—especially as they discuss the Jews’ enduring resilience against formidable odds.

Conclusion

This episode provides a learned and lively exploration of the Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire, drawing clear lines from ancient history to today’s debates about Jewish identity, the legitimacy of Israel, and the use of history in public argument. Barry Strauss’s scholarship is positioned as both a corrective to modern misconceptions and an inspiring account of defiance, adaptation, and survival.