Bar Kokhba and leadership as seen through the revolt

Abstract

Most of what we know about Bar Kokhba derives from rabbinic and patristic literature, which portrays him as a failed messiah figure. However, the letters and coins found from the revolt itself suggest that Bar Kokhba did not claim to be a messiah figure, but instead was an authoritarian ruler who attempted to control the religious, economic, and military matters of his followers.