- Jotapata
Jotapata (also Yodfat, Yodefat, Tel Yodfat, Iotapata, Jodeptah, Yotvah, Tell Jafat, Yotapatha, or Jotbah) was an ancient fortified Jewish village in the
Galilee , north ofSepphoris ,Israel , mostly known for the bloody and ruthless battle in the year67 , as related by Josephus Flavius in his book,The Wars of the Jews , the only account of this battle.iege of Jotapata
Jotapata played a major role in the
First Jewish-Roman War (AD66 -73 ). The city housed Josephus' army, and was widely fortified. When the Roman army, led byVespasian , arrived, it camped on the northern side, the only access to the citadel. Vespasian had three legions — Legio V "Macedonica", X "Fretensis", and XV "Apollinaris" — and supporting troops, for a total of about 60,000 men. After an unsuccessful direct attack, Vespasian ordered to lay a siege.The siege lasted 47 days, with a strong resistance on Jews' side (Vespasian himself was wounded), but in the end the fortress fell by treachery. An estimated 40,000 were killed, while 1,000 women and children were sold as slaves. While the few dozen surviving fighters committed suicide, Josephus managed to survive this pact. See
Josephus problem .wide image|TelYodfat.jpg|2290px|Panoramic view from peak of Tel Yodfat. The moshav is a quarter way from the left.=See also=*
Yodfat References
Primary sources
*
Josephus , "The Wars of the Jews", .econdary sources
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=571&letter=J JewishEncyclopedia.com]
External links
* [http://pace.cns.yorku.ca/York/york/placePopup?id=276&descOnly=true Basic archealogical report]
* [http://haggai.tripod.com/~haggai/Tours/yodfat.html more background on battle]
* [http://www.archaeology-classic.com/Israel_E/Yodfat.html additional pictures]
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/jotapata.html Jotapata]
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