Josephus’ account of a war marked by treachery and atrocity is a superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70. Originally a rebel leader, Josephus changed sides after he was captured to become a Rome-appointed negotiator, and so was uniquely placed to observe these turbulent events, from the siege of Jerusalem to the final heroic resistance and mass suicides at Masada. His account provides much of what we know about the history of the Jews under Roman rule, with vivid portraits of such key figures as the Emperor Vespasian and Herod the Great. Often self-justifying and divided in its loyalties, The Jewish War nevertheless remains one of the most immediate accounts of war, its heroism and its horrors, ever written. It took seven years and several Roman legions to suppress the Jewish rebellion of A.D. 66. Recent excavations at Masada curiously corroborate some details of Josephus' history. which so grimly evidences the turbulence of the New Testament period. In a war which was sullied by every kind of treachery and atrocity, Josephus, though a Jewish governor of Galilee, sided with the Romans.