Nehemiah ben Hushiel
Encyclopedia
Nehemiah ben Hushiel was the son of the Jewish Exilarch
, placed as the symbolic leader of Jewish troops within Sassanid army in 608 CE, according to Jewish sources. This army participated in Khasrau II's campaign in the Levant. The joint military effort of Sassanid troops and local Jewish militias resulted in a short lived Jewish authonomy. Nehemiah is related as a Messianic leader in some Jewish writings of the middle ages
.
Nehemiah's Jewish army and the Persians, commanded by Shahrbaraz
, were joined by the wealthy Jewish leader Benjamin of Tiberias
and a force of Tiberian Jews. The combined forces successfully captured Jerusalem in 614 CE
. Nehemiah had then been appointed the ruler of Jerusalem. He began the work of making arrangements of the rebuilding of the Temple, and sorting out genealogies to established a new High Priesthood.
However, the Christian population in the city remained strong and after only three years a riot occurred, in which a mob of the young Christians united and killed Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his "council of the righteous". They dragged their bodies through the street and dumped them over the city wall.
Exilarch
Exilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community in Babylon following the deportation of King Jeconiah and his court into Babylonian exile after the first fall of Jerusalem in 597 BCE and augmented after the further deportations following the destruction...
, placed as the symbolic leader of Jewish troops within Sassanid army in 608 CE, according to Jewish sources. This army participated in Khasrau II's campaign in the Levant. The joint military effort of Sassanid troops and local Jewish militias resulted in a short lived Jewish authonomy. Nehemiah is related as a Messianic leader in some Jewish writings of the middle ages
Apocalypse of Zerubbabel
Sefer Zerubbabel is a medieval Hebrew apocalypse written at the beginning of the 7th century in the style of biblical visions placed into the mouth of Zerubbabel, the last descendant of the Davidic line to take a prominent part in Israel's history, who laid the foundation of the Second Temple in...
.
Nehemiah's Jewish army and the Persians, commanded by Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz
Shahrbaraz or Shahrwaraz was a general, with the rank of Eran Spahbod under Khosrau II . His name was Farrokhan, and Shahrbaraz was his title...
, were joined by the wealthy Jewish leader Benjamin of Tiberias
Benjamin of Tiberias
According to Jewish sources Benjamin of Tiberias was a man of immense wealth, who enlisted and armed many soldiers during the Jewish revolt against Heraclius in the 7th century Palaestina province of the Byzantine Empire...
and a force of Tiberian Jews. The combined forces successfully captured Jerusalem in 614 CE
Siege of Jerusalem (614)
The Siege of Jerusalem in 614 was part of the final phase of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persian Shah Khosrau II appointed his generals to conquer the Byzantine controlled areas of the Near East, establishing a strategic alliance with the Jewish population of the Sassanid Persia...
. Nehemiah had then been appointed the ruler of Jerusalem. He began the work of making arrangements of the rebuilding of the Temple, and sorting out genealogies to established a new High Priesthood.
However, the Christian population in the city remained strong and after only three years a riot occurred, in which a mob of the young Christians united and killed Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his "council of the righteous". They dragged their bodies through the street and dumped them over the city wall.
See also
- ExilarchExilarchExilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community in Babylon following the deportation of King Jeconiah and his court into Babylonian exile after the first fall of Jerusalem in 597 BCE and augmented after the further deportations following the destruction...
- Mar-Zutra III
- Jewish revolt against Heraclius
- Apocalypse of ZerubbabelApocalypse of ZerubbabelSefer Zerubbabel is a medieval Hebrew apocalypse written at the beginning of the 7th century in the style of biblical visions placed into the mouth of Zerubbabel, the last descendant of the Davidic line to take a prominent part in Israel's history, who laid the foundation of the Second Temple in...
- Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628
- Siege of Jerusalem (614)Siege of Jerusalem (614)The Siege of Jerusalem in 614 was part of the final phase of the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars. The Persian Shah Khosrau II appointed his generals to conquer the Byzantine controlled areas of the Near East, establishing a strategic alliance with the Jewish population of the Sassanid Persia...