Jewish military history


Jewish military history focuses on the military aspect of history of the Jewish people from ancient times until the modern age.

Ancient Israelites

While complete details in the Biblical account of a system of fighting forms are not extant, the Midrashic, Talmudic, and Rabbinic accounts testify to fighting and combat strategies used by the ancient Israelites as well as legendary depictions of Israelite combatants.

Conflicts documented in steles

Merneptah Stele

The Merneptah Stele was discovered in 1896 and is dated to. The last 3 of the 28 lines of the text deal with a separate campaign in Canaan. It mentions a victory over Israel by the lines: "The Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe: Ashkelon has been overcome; Gezer has been captured; Yano'am is made non-existent. Israel is laid waste and his seed is not;"

Mesha Stele

Mesha Stele was discovered in 1868-70 and was created around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab. Mesha tells how Kemosh, the God of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length Kemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab.

Tel Dan Stele

Tel Dan Stele was discovered in 1993-94 and was created in 870–750 BCE. It consists of several fragments making up part of a triumphal inscription in Aramaic, left most probably by Hazael of Aram-Damascus, an important regional figure in the late 9th-century BCE. Hazael boasts of his victories over the king of Israel and his ally the king of the "House of David".

Assyrian battles with Israel and Judah

Sennacherib's campaign in Judah was a military conflict in 701 BCE between Kingdom of Judah and the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the conflict is part of the greater conflict of Sennacherib's campaigns. The conflict is considered one of the greatest victories of Judah at that time, from being a vassal state of Assyria, to beating the Assyrian empire and being completely independent.

Battle of Qarqar

The Battle of Qarqar took place in 853 BCE, and was fought by Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria, and a coalition of 11 kings including Ahab, king of Israel. In the Kurkh Monoliths, it is mentioned that the Israelite forces constituted 10,000 troops and 2,000 chariots.

Siege of Jerusalem

In 721 BCE, the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria and carried away the citizens of the northern kingdom into captivity. The virtual destruction of Israel left the southern kingdom, Judah, to fend for itself among warring Near Eastern kingdoms. The siege took place in approximately 701 BCE by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. The siege failed and Jerusalem survived until its eventual destruction by the Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar.

Siege of Lachish

The siege of Lachish occurred in 701 BCE, by the Neo-Assyrian empire, and ended with the conquest of the town. The towns inhabitants led into captivity and the leaders of Lachish tortured to death. The town was abandoned, but resettled after the return from Babylonia.

Battle of Megiddo

The Battle of Megiddo is recorded as having taken place in 609 BCE with Necho II of Egypt leading his army to Carchemish to fight with his allies the Assyrians against the Babylonians at Carchemish in northern Syria. This required passing through territory controlled by the Kingdom of Judah and Necho requested permission from its king, Josiah. Josiah refused to let the Egyptians pass and a battle took place in which Josiah was killed. The battle is recorded in the Bible, 1 Esdras, and the writings of Josephus.

Jewish–Babylonian war

The Jewish–Babylonian war was a military conflict between the Kingdom of Judah and Babylonia that lasted from 601 to 586 BCE. The conflict marked the end of the Kingdom of Judah and Jewish independence until the Hasmonean revolt. After Babylonia invaded Jerusalem it destroyed the First Temple, and started the Babylonian exile.

First siege of Jerusalem

In 605 BCE Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon defeated Pharaoh Neco at the Battle of Carchemish, and subsequently invaded Judah. To avoid the destruction of Jerusalem, King Jehoiakim of Jerusalem, in his third year, changed allegiances from Egypt to Babylon. He paid tribute from the treasury in Jerusalem, some temple artifacts, and some of the royal family and nobility as hostages. In 601 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar failed to invade Egypt, the failure led to rebellions among states in the Levant including Judah. Nebuchadnezzar sieged Jerusalem in 597 BCE, and managed to get in and capture king Jehoiachin, and all of the Aristocracy of Jerusalem. The siege resulted with fall of Jerusalem and destruction of the First temple. Then Nebuchadnezzar exiled 10,000 of the officers, and the craftsmen, and 7,000 soldiers.

Second Siege of Jerusalem

In July 587 BCE, Zedekiah rebelled against Babylonia, making an alliance with Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar sieged Jerusalem again, starving the people. The siege resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of the Kingdom of Judah.

Classic era

Maccabees

The Maccabees were a Jewish warrior community who spearheaded a national liberation movement that fought for and won independence from Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Hellenistic Seleucid dynasty, who was succeeded by his infant son Antiochus V Eupator. The Maccabees founded the Hasmonean royal dynasty and established Jewish independence in the Land of Israel for about one hundred years, from 164 BCE to 63 BCE.

Jewish–Roman wars

The Jewish–Roman wars followed the Roman annexation of Iudaea, taking place from 66 to 135 CE. Those were the First Jewish–Roman War, Kitos War and finally Bar Kokhba revolt.

Himyarite Kingdom

In modern day Yemen, the Ancient Himyarite Kingdom appears to have abandoned polytheism and converted to Judaism around the year 380. Accompanied with a strong military prowess, they proved to be a matching force to the Christian empires of Byzantium and Axum for 200 years. After having conquered a major part of the Arabic peninsula, the Himyarite Empire has been annexed by the Kingdom of Axum.

Revolt against Gallus

In mid-4th century Jews of Galilee launched the Revolt against Gallus, aiming to defeat Roman troops across Galilee.

Exilarch revolt in Persia

, who came into Exilarch office at the age of fifteen, took advantage of the confusion into which Mazdak's communistic attempts had plunged Sasanian Persia, to obtain by force of arms for a short time a sort of political independence for the Jews of Babylon. King Kobad, however, punished him by crucifying him on the bridge of Mahuza c. 502.

Byzantine period

In early 7th century Near Eastern Jews launched Jewish revolt against Heraclius, in hopes of gaining an autonomy in Jerusalem with Persian Sasanian support.

Khazar Khaganate

The Khazars were a Turkic nomadic people who around the 7th century converted to judaism. They built a prosperous empire, and maintained it for a few hundred years, until their defeat by the Kievan Rus in the 9th century.

Later communities

According to a number of accounts various Middle Eastern and Asian Jewish communities, who were either known for their fighting prowess,

Samuel ibn 'Adiya Arabian warrior poet

Poet and warrior; lived in Arabia in the first half of the 6th century CE. His mother was of the royal tribe of Ghassan, while his father, according to some, was descended from Aaron, or, according to others, from Kahin, son of Harun and progenitor of the Jewish tribes of Kuraitza and Nathir. Samuel owned a castle near Taima, built by his grandfather 'Adiya and called, from its mixed color, Al-Ablak. It was situated on a high hill and was a halting-place for travelers to and from Syria.
More than for his poetic talents Samuel ibn 'Adiya is famous for his connection with the warrior-poet and prince Amru al-Kais, which won for him the epithet "faithful", and gave rise to the saying, still common among the Arabs, "more faithful than Samuel." Samuel ibn 'Adiya's reputation as a poet rests upon one of the first poems in the collection called the "Hamasa." It is full of warlike vigor and courage, and manifests a high ideal of honor. Another poem attributed to him has been published in Arabic and Hebrew, with an English translation, by H. Hirschfeld.

Jews of China

There are many theories surrounding when Jews first settled in China. Despite trading in China since at least the 9th century, many modern scholars “unanimously” believe an actual community was founded in Kaifeng City, Henan province during the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty. However, one of the three stelae left by the community claims “they entered and settled in China during the Han Dynasty", almost 800 years earlier.
The stele dating 1489 states that Song Dynasty founder Emperor Taizu went on military campaigns to “pacify the Under Heaven” during the early years of his reign. When the armies successfully gained control of China and solidified the power of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizu bestowed the “sinicized” Jewish soldiers with land “to settle and enjoy their occupation in the villages”. Jewish soldiers continued to serve in the Chinese military through the Southern Song Dynasty. The stele dating 1512 states “those who subdued the enemy and resisted aggression and were ‘boundlessly loyal to the country’” were successful in their endeavors. The term “boundlessly loyal to the country” refers to the famous tattoo on the back of General Yue Fei, a noted patriot and martyr. So the loyalty of the Jewish soldiers was compared to that of Yue Fei. The same source even claims that "Israelites" served in Yue Fei's armies and helped to combat the Jurchen armies invading China during that time.
Modern scholars that translate the 1489 stele mention how a physician named Ancheng received a sizable amount of money from “Prince Ding of Zhou prefecture” to rebuild the community’s destroyed synagogue in 1421. In 1423, Ancheng was given the surname “Chao” by the emperor himself, received the “rank of Military Commissioner in the Embroidered Uniform Guard” and was promoted to “Assistant Military Commissioner of Zhejiang." However, a journal entry from 1965 formally corrected a translation error that proceeding authors still make today. The physician Ancheng was “apparently a romantic fabrication” and the actual person was “a common soldier named An San, who belonged to the Honan Central Bodyguard Division”. He had warned the Yongle Emperor of a plot against him by Prince Zhou, An’s military commander and benefactor of the Jewish community, and was subsequently promoted and given the “properly Chinese name Chao Ch’eng, and in due course became a notable leader of the community and ancestor of the principal Jewish clan.”

Habbani Jews of Southern Yemen

In 1912 Zionist emissary Shmuel Yavnieli came into contact with Habbani Jews who ransomed him when he was captured and robbed by eight Bedouin in southern Yemen. Yavnieli wrote about the Jews of Habban describing them in the following way.

The Jews in these parts are held in high esteem by everyone in Yemen and Aden. They are said to be courageous, always with their weapons and wild long hair, and the names of their towns are mentioned by the Jews of Yemen with great admiration.

There are a number of legends about the origins of the Jews of Habban. The most prominent is that they descend from Judean soldiers who were stationed in southern Arabia by King Herod of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period. Herod dispatched a unit of Jews in the region to assist the Romans with fighting wars in the area. Unlike the Jews of northern Yemen the Habbani Jews wore: Jambiyya, Matznaph and Avne`t.
Benjamin of Tudela found an independent Jewish warrior tribe living in the highlands of Khorasan near Nisapur, numbering many thousand families, regarding themselves as descendants of Dan, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, under a Jewish prince of the name of Joseph Amarkala ha-Levi. Another independent Jewish tribe bent upon warlike expeditions is mentioned by Benjamin as living in the district of Tehama in Yemen.

Mountain Jews of Daghestan



The Jews of Daghestan lived isolated and in one of the most remote, impenetrable areas in the world for many centuries. They have been historically known for their fierce and war-like nature. In dress and custom they were hardly distinguishable from other Caucasian fighting people in the region. Though they are considered dhimmi by their surrounding Muslim population, the Mountain Jews owned land and were known to be fierce, not hesitating to defend, by sword or the rifle, their family, religion, or personal dignity.

The Jews of Daghestan greatly resemble the other warlike inhabitants of this mountainous region; and they have acquired the virtues as well as the faults of the latter. There is a tradition among the Jews of Daghestan that they are the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes; but the history of their wanderings is now forgotten, the written documents which they once possessed having in the course of time been either lost or destroyed. They differ from their Christian and Mohammedan neighbors in speech, using the Tat language, which is a combination of Persian and Hebrew. Their writing is a mixture of square characters and Rashi. They wear the Circassian dress, and always go heavily armed, even sleeping without having removed their weapons.

It is possible that the Mountain Jews are descendants of Persian-Jewish soldiers who were stationed in the Caucasus by the Sasanian kings in the fifth or sixth century to protect the area from the onslaughts of the Huns and other nomadic invaders from the east. Under the impact of the invading Turkish hordes, later generations of Jewish inhabitants of the Caucasian lowlands were forced to migrate even further north to Daghestan.

Jews of Tirdirma, Mali

According to a West African Arabic record called the Tarikh al-fattash, in 1402 in Tiridirma near the Niger river lived a community of Jews known as the Bani Israeel who were said to have seven rulers, 333 wells, and a well trained army. The record suggests that their presence in the area preceded the rise of Islam.

Jewish soldiers of Islamic Spain

Jewish soldiers assisted Childeric in his war against Wamba. The Moors are said to have entrusted to Jews the guardianship of the conquered cities of Spain. Under Alfonso VI of Castile, in 1086, 40,000 Jews fought against Yusuf ibn Teshufin in the battle of Zalaka, with such heroism that the battle-field was covered with their bodies. Under Alfonso VIII of Castile. there were many warriors among the wealthy and cultured Jews of Toledo that fought bravely against the Moors. Alfonso X., called "the Wise", while infante, had many Jews in his army; and in the capture of Seville the Jewish warriors distinguished themselves so highly that, in compensation for their services, Alfonso allotted to them certain lands for the formation of a Jewish village. He also transferred to them three mosques which they turned into synagogues. The cruel fanaticism of the Moors had alienated the Jews, who were now won over to the Christians by the tolerant rule of the latter. Jews fought bravely at the side of Pedro the Cruel in defense of the cities of Toledo, Briviesca, and Burgos, against Henry de Trastamara, his brother, and had to pay for their loyalty to their king either with their lives and the lives of their undefended wives and children, or, as the Jews of Burgos had to do, with a heavy ransom to the relentless victor.

Jewish defenders during the First Crusade

Jews fought side-by-side with Egyptian Fatimid soldiers to defend Jerusalem against the Crusaders during the First Crusade. Saint Louis University Professor Thomas Madden, author of A Concise History of the Crusades, claims the "Jewish Defenders" of the city knew the rules of warfare and retreated to their synagogue to "prepare for death" since the Crusaders had breached the outer walls. However, another source states the joint Jewish-Egyptian forces retreated from the walls and made their last stand against the crusaders by the Temple Mount, only then going to their respective houses of worship once they were overpowered. According to the Muslim chronicle of Ibn al-Qalanisi, "The Jews assembled in their synagogue, and the Franks burned it over their heads."

Piracy against Spanish vessels

In response to the Spanish Inquisition, a number of Spanish Jews who had left turned to piracy against Spanish ships.

Modern times

The Beardlings

In 1794 Colonel Berek Joselewicz raised a cavalry regiment of 500 Jewish volunteers which fought against the Russian Army in the Kościuszko Uprising in Poland.

Nili

was a Jewish espionage-network which assisted the United Kingdom during World War I in its fight against the Ottoman Empire, which occupied Palestine from 1516 to 1918.

Jews in the Imperial German Army

During the First World War, 100,000 Jews served in the German forces. 12,000 were killed in action. Thirty thousand were decorated for valor in battle. Among them was the fighter pilot Wilhelm Frankl, and the future mayor of Hamburg, Herbert Weichmann.

Jewish Legion (British)

The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. The initial unit, known as the Zion Mule Corps, was formed in 1914–1915 during World War I, when Britain was at war against the Ottoman Turks, as Zionists around the world saw an opportunity to promote the idea of a Jewish National Homeland.

Jewish regiment (Russian Civil War)

The Jewish regiment
was an infantry regiment formed in February 1919 during the Russian Civil War 1917–1922 as a part of the forces of ataman Grigory Semyonov which acted in the Transbaikal region.
In the early 20th century, Russian Jews were active in a variety of political movements. Many joined revolutionary movements such as Esers, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Many Jews served in Makhno's "Black" Army. Others turned to counter-revolution.
The regiment was formed by the Chita Jewish community. The staffers and soldiers of the regiment were Jews from various social classes, from craftsmen to traders' sons. Some Jews were reluctant to accept the Soviet regime after being eyewitness to the Red Terror, instability, and upsurge of crime of 1918. Soldiers and staffers celebrated all Jewish holidays and fought on Shabbat. There were 170 soldiers, 7 sergeants, 4 low rank officers, and 2 captains. Most of the soldiers were from Chita and Nerchinsk.
The Jewish regiment took part in many actions against local partisans. The most significant achievement of the regiment was participation in the defeat of the internationalist partisan battalion camped on the northeastern village of Tupik…. The partisans, mostly Hungarians, were former prisoners of war who were sent to the Transbaikal region during World War I.

World War II

Jewish Military Union (Polish)

the Żydowski Związek Wojskowy, Polish for Jewish Military Union was an underground resistance organization operating during World War II in the area of the Warsaw Ghetto and fighting during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It was formed primarily of former officers of the Polish Army in late 1939, soon after the start of the German occupation of Poland.

Anti-Fascist Military Organisation (Polish)

The Antyfaszystowska Organizacja Bojowa Polish for Anti-Fascist Military Organisation was an underground organization formed in 1942 in the Ghetto in Białystok by former officers of the Polish Land Forces. It took part in the Białystok Ghetto Uprising.

Jewish Combat Organization (Polish)

The Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa – a World War II resistance movement, which was instrumental in engineering the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The organization also took part in other resistance activities.

Jewish Brigade (British)

The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group was a military formation of the British Army that served in Europe during the Second World War. Although the brigade was formed in 1944, some of its experienced personnel had been employed against the Axis powers in Greece, the Middle East and East Africa. More than 30,000 Palestinian Jews volunteered to serve in the British Armed Forces, 734 of whom died during the war.

Special Interrogation Group (British)

The Special Interrogation Group was a British Army unit organized from German-speaking Jewish volunteers from the British Mandate of Palestine. The SIG performed commando and sabotage operations against the Nazis behind front lines in the Western Desert Campaign during World War II.

Palestine Yishuv

The Jewish Resistance Movement

was an umbrella group for militant Jewish underground movements in the British Mandate of Palestine. The group existed between the years 1945 and 1946, and coordinated armed attacks against the British military. The group was founded after World War II, disappointed in British policies towards the movement.

Haganah

The Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948.
The predecessor of Haganah was Ha-Shomer established in 1909. It was a small group of Jewish immigrants who guarded settlements for an annual fee. At no time did the group have more than 100 members.
After the 1920 Arab riots and 1921 Jaffa riots, the Jewish leadership in Palestine believed that the British had no desire to confront local Arab gangs over their attacks on Palestinian Jews. Realizing that they could not rely on the British administration for protection from these gangs, the Jewish leadership created the Haganah to protect their farms and Kibbutzim. In addition to guarding Jewish communities, the role of the Haganah was to warn the residents of and repel attacks by Palestinian Arabs. In the period between 1920–1929, the Haganah lacked a strong central authority or coordination. Haganah "units" were very localized and poorly armed: they consisted mainly of Jewish farmers who took turns guarding their farms or their kibbutzim. Following the Arab massacres of 1929, the Haganah's role changed dramatically. It became a much larger organization encompassing nearly all the youth and adults in the Jewish settlements, as well as thousands of members from the cities. It also acquired foreign arms and began to develop workshops to create hand grenades and simple military equipment, transforming from an untrained militia to a capable underground army.

Palmach

The Palmach was the regular fighting force of the Haganah, the unofficial army of the Yishuv during the British Mandate of Palestine. It was established on May 15, 1941 and by the war of 1948 had grown to three fighting brigades and auxiliary aerial, naval and intelligence units. Being a Palmachnik was considered not only as performing military duties, but also as a way of life. Significant leaders of the Palmach include Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Sadeh, Yigal Allon and future prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.
The Palmach contributed significantly to Israeli culture and ethos, well beyond its undoubtedly military contribution. Its members formed the backbone of the Israel Defense Forces high command for many years, and were prominent in Israeli politics, literature and culture.
The Palmach was established by the British military and Haganah on May 15, 1941 to help the British protect Palestine from the Nazi German threat. They were also to assist Allied forces with the planned invasion of Syria and Lebanon, then held by Vichy French forces. British experts trained the Palmach special soldiers and equipped them with small arms and explosives. However, after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1943, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. Instead the whole organisation went underground.

Lehi

, also known as the "Stern Group" or "Stern Gang", was an armed underground Zionist faction in Mandatory Palestine that had as its goal the eviction of the British from Palestine to allow unrestricted immigration of Jews and the formation of a Jewish state. The name of the group became "Lehi" only after the death of its founder, Avraham Stern.

Irgun

was a clandestine Zionist group that operated in Palestine from 1931 to 1948, as a militant offshoot of the earlier and larger Haganah Jewish paramilitary organization. In Israel, Irgun is commonly referred to as Etzel, an acronym of the Hebrew initials. For secrecy reasons, people often referred to the Irgun, in the time in which it operated, as Haganah Bet, Haganah Ha'leumit or Ha'ma'amad.
The group made attacks against Arab and Palestinian groups a central part of their initial efforts. It was armed expression of the nascent ideology of Revisionist Zionism, expressed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky as that "every Jew had the right to enter Palestine; only active retaliation would deter the Arabs and the British; only Jewish armed force would ensure the Jewish state". The organization was a political predecessor movement to Israel's right-wing Herut party, which led to today's Likud party.
The most well-known attack by Irgun was the bombing of King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946. British authorities condemned Irgun as terrorists already in the 1930s.

Israel

Israeli Security Forces

is used to describe a group of organizations which are charged with the preservation of Israel's territory and civilian public. The organizations are independent but cooperate with each other, some are volunteer, some are professional, and others are both. The list includes military institutions, government agencies, law enforcement organizations, and first aid organizations:
The Israel Defense Forces , is the name of Israel's military forces, comprising the: