The Jewish War: Revised Edition (Penguin Classics)

A superbly detailed and evocative record of the Jewish rebellion against Rome between AD 66 and 70

Originally a rebel leader, Flavius Josephus changed sides after he was captured to become a Rome-appointed negotiator. He was uniquely placed to observe the turbulent events of the Jewish-Roman War, from the siege of Jerusalem to the final heroic resistance and mass suicides at Masada. Josephus’ account of a war marked by treachery and atrocity 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.

Josephus was born in 37 AD. He was one of the Jewish leaders at the time of the revolt of the Jews in the reign of Nero. His two most important works are The Jewish War and The Jewish Antiquities.