内容简介：

　　公元66年至70年，犹太起义者与罗马帝国之间爆发了一场轰轰烈烈、局面复杂的战争，大片的犹太人聚居地遭到摧毁，耶路撒冷经过数月围困终被攻陷，著名的犹太圣殿在大火中化为废墟，有超过100万犹太人丧生。

　　作为亲历者，约瑟夫斯以全景式的笔触详尽描述了整个战争过程。包括安条克四世与亚撒曼家族对耶路撒冷的争夺，以及这如何招致了罗马人和庞培的介入；继而，希律是如何推翻哈希曼王朝，成为犹太人的王，犹太人又是如何借希律之死发动了起义；战争爆发后，犹太人是如何加强防卫，罗马人是如何作战并占领了那些犹太城镇，溃逃到耶路撒冷的犹太起义者又是如何发生了激烈内斗；在耶路撒冷，百姓是如何在暴力、饥荒与围城中苦苦挣扎，以及罗马人是如何破城并焚毁了圣殿。最后，全书以罗马军队扫除起义军残余、马萨达要塞的犹太人集体自杀的惨烈事件作结。

　　记录战争之余，书中还穿插讲述了犹太地区的地理、圣城与圣殿的结构、犹太人的宗教与生活习俗、罗马人的战术与战争工事等方方面面，并生动刻画了众多人物形象，为那段历史及其背景提供了一份宝贵资料。

　　作者简介

　　公元1世纪的犹太学者、历史学家和军事家。公元37年出生在耶路撒冷的一个显赫家庭，其父是一名祭司，其母是哈希曼王朝的后裔。受过高等教育，年轻有为，于公元62年被耶路撒冷当局派往罗马，帮助释放关押在那里的犹太囚犯，以其娴熟的谈判能力成功完成使命。

　　公元66年，犹太人发动了反叛罗马帝国的起义。起初，约瑟夫斯出任加利利地区的犹太指挥官，与罗马人作战；一年后，随着约塔帕塔战事的惨败，他向罗马将军韦斯巴西安投降。公元69年，韦斯巴西安登上罗马皇帝大位后，恢复了约瑟夫斯的自由，并使其获得罗马公民身份。当公元70年罗马军队围攻耶路撒冷时，约瑟夫斯作为随军翻译为罗马人效力，试图敦促犹太人投降，他也因此成为耶路撒冷陷落和圣殿倒塌的目击者。

　　约瑟夫斯的记录几乎是讲述公元1世纪犹太战争的唯一史料。其主要著作还有《犹太古史》《驳阿庇安》《生平》。

Brief introduction of contents:

Between 66 and 70 AD, the Jewish insurgents and the Roman Empire broke out in a fierce and complex war, a large number of Jewish settlements were destroyed, Jerusalem was finally captured after months of siege, the famous Jewish Temple was reduced to ruins in the fire, and more than 1 million Jews were killed.

As a witness, Josephus describes the entire war in detail in panoramic style. The struggle between Antiochus IV and the Asamanites over Jerusalem, and how this led to the intervention of the Romans and Pompey; Then, how Herod overthrew the Hashemans and became the king of the Jews, and how the Jews used Herod's death to launch an uprising; How the Jews fortified themselves when the war broke out, how the Romans fought and captured the Jewish towns, and how the Jewish insurgents who fled to Jerusalem fought among themselves; In Jerusalem, how the people struggled with violence, famine, and siege, and how the Romans destroyed the city and burned the temple. Finally, the book ends with the tragic events of the Roman army sweeping away the remnants of the rebels and the mass suicide of the Jews at the Masada Fortress.

In addition to recording the war, the book also intersperses various aspects of the geography of the Jewish area, the structure of the holy city and the temple, the religion and living customs of the Jews, the tactics of the Romans and the war fortifications, and vividly portrays many characters, providing a valuable information for that period of history and its background.

About the author

1st century Jewish scholar, historian, and strategist. Born in Jerusalem in 37 AD to a prominent family, his father was a priest and his mother was a descendant of the Hashiman dynasty. Highly educated and young, he was sent to Rome by the Jerusalem authorities in 62 AD to help free the Jewish prisoners held there, successfully completing his mission with his skilful negotiating skills.

In 66 AD, the Jews rebelled against the Roman Empire. At first Josephus served as the Jewish commander of Galilee, fighting against the Romans; A year later, following the disastrous battle of Jotapata, he surrendered to the Roman general Vespasien. When Vespasien ascended the Roman throne in 69 AD, he restored Josephus' freedom and granted him Roman citizenship. When the Roman army besieged Jerusalem in 70 AD, Josephus served as an interpreter for the Romans, trying to urge the Jews to surrender, thus becoming a witness to the fall of Jerusalem and the fall of the Temple.

Josephus' account is almost the only historical account of the Jewish wars of the 1st century AD. His major works include the Ancient History of Judaea, Refutation of Appian, and Life.