Rebels Against Rome: The Legendary Martyrs of Lod

In the year 80 CE, Josephus Flavius penned his work "The Jewish War," documenting 180 years of Jewish-Roman relations and conflicts. Little did he know that roughly thirty years after his death, another dreadful war would erupt between the Jews and the Romans, and that fifteen years later, an even more devastating one would occur.

The revolt's banner was raised in the city of Cyrene, in what is now Libya near modern-day Benghazi, where there was a relatively small Roman garrison. Jews united under the leadership of a commander named Andreas, destroying the Roman force and killing the Roman population. According to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, Jews killed two hundred and twenty thousand Romans, some of whom were tortured to death. Dio Cassius was known to dislike Jews, so his accounts might not be entirely accurate. What is clear is that the revolt began with great force in Cyrene.

Jews in the Land of Israel heard whispers of a chance to rid themselves of Roman rule, and many joined the revolt. Jewish sages did not support this rebellion, just as they had not supported the previous one. They did not want to risk the little that remained—the scholars and the common people. However, it was difficult to prevent those suffering under Roman oppression from expressing their revolt or to demand they continue to endure humiliation and beatings from Roman governors.

The Roman governor in the land, Lucius Quietus, was an African prince who joined the Romans. He was a formidable and enormous man, often likened to a gorilla in size and ferocity. No one could stand against his wrath. A decade earlier, as a commander in service to the emperor, he slaughtered Jews in Babylon. Now he roamed the land like a madman, executing people on a whim. This massacre became known as "The Quietus War," and as a mark of mourning, our sages decreed that the traditional adornments for bridal wreaths be left off.

The rebels, seeking vengeance against that madman, succeeded in reaching his daughter, the African princess, and executed her. Her body was left on the main road between Jerusalem and Lod. Until now, Quietus had been enraged; now he was entirely out of control. He declared that if the murderers were not surrendered, he would destroy all the Jews in the Lod district. The Jews of Lod had no idea who the murderers were and therefore, even if they wanted, could not comply with his demands. They were in despair. A squad of soldiers surrounded Lod and its surroundings, awaiting the order to enforce the verdict.

At that time, two prominent and wealthy men from Alexandria, Papos and Lulianos, lived in Lod. They decided to sanctify Hashem and save all the people of the city. They approached the legions and declared: We killed the princess. It was clear to all that they had not actually killed her, but that they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Jewish people. They were immediately detained, and the legions dispersed from Lod. Quietus scheduled a public trial the next day to publicly crucify the "murderers" in the amphitheater of Emmaus. However, he did not live to see the next day's sun rise. That very day, two envoys arrived urgently from Rome. The emperor had heard that Quietus was planning a rebellion and summoned him for trial. He was shackled, taken to Rome, and eventually executed.

And Papos and Lulianos? They remained in the Roman prison. It was clear they had not killed the deposed governor's daughter, and most likely, her case was not of great concern to the new governor. At some point, the Romans offered them a deal: Join us for a feast and show us that you are part of our culture, and we will release you. Papos and Lulianos, who were already resigned to their martyrdom, replied: We will not drink with you; we do not agree with your culture. The Romans, angry, executed them. This occurred on the 12th of Adar, a date commemorated in the Megillat Taanit as a day to remember the holy martyrs who became known as the "Martyrs of Lod."

Papos and Lulianos were not great Torah scholars but possessed a high spiritual level. During those times, the son of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi suffered a severe illness, reaching a state of clinical death. His soul ascended to the heavens, and he was privileged to see things beyond mortal reach. The more significant the person experiencing this, the more genuine the insights. Among the revelations, the Talmud in Bava Batra states: "No creature can stand in the company of the martyrs of Lod." Like the Ten Martyrs, like Rabbi Akiva and his companions, they achieved an eternal and exalted stature in the world to come.

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