In parts inhabited by unbelievers.
By the year 130 CE, the Roman Empire was a mighty superpower on a scale never seen in ancient history. Latin rule stretched from the hills of Scotland to the Nile Valley, from the Iberian Peninsula to the plains of northern Mesopotamia.
Inside the boundaries of Imperium Romanum, many colonies were founded and built. Most were created as either military outposts or as payment for retired legionnaires. However, all were used for strengthening Rome's grasp on its territories.
But one colony in particular was founded, and gave the Romans a very serious and bloody mess.
The colony was called Aelia Capitolina.
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Aelia Capitolina was dedicated in 131 CE and named after its founder, Emperor Hadrian ("Aelius" was his family nomen) and the god Jupiter, for whom a temple was planned in honor of Jupiter Capitolinus (Jupiter's temple on the Capitoline Hill in Rome).
To the average observer, it was to be nothing but a traditional Roman city. Government and merchant business would be done in the forum, chariot racing would be held in the circus, and the gods would be revered in their fashion. So why would this place cause such a ruckus?
Like many Roman colonies, the plan was to build it on the ruins of another city that had been destroyed in battle. In the context of the time period, it was not that big of a deal. But the city in question which was to be built upon was a city whose ownership is still fought over to this day.
Jerusalem.
Yes, the holiest city in Judaism and Christianity, which had been virtually destroyed by Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 70 CE, was to be rebuilt as a pagan city in direct violation of Jewish law. Even worse than that, the temple of Jupiter was to be built on the ruins of the Second Temple, the holiest site in Judaism.
To compare, imagine that Tom Tancredo became President. He finally gets his way and we drop nukes on Mecca. As occupiers of Saudi Arabia, we leave the ruins of Mecca to rot for 60 years. Finally, Tancredo's heirs decide to rebuild the city as an American one with a Christian church on the site of Masjid al Haram (The Sacred Mosque). That just might be the thing to piss off a couple of people.
What happened in Jerusalem in 131 went beyond blasphemy and into the realm of war.
And that's exactly what happened. In 132 CE, Bar Kokhba's Revolt exploded, and for three years would suck resources from the coffers of the Roman Empire. In 133 CE, Rome recalled its "troubleshooter", General Sextus Iulius Severus, from Britain and sent him to Iudaea. After years of bloody conflict, Severus crushed the revolt in 135 CE, killing 580,000 Jews, and burned what was left of Jerusalem to the ground. Casualties were so heavy that Hadrian did not give his usual message of "I and my army are well" to the Senate.
But the totality of the Roman victory was indisputable. In the aftermath, all Jews living in the city were banished to the many corners of the Empire. Reading from the Torah was forbidden, and Rome made all attempts to remove every vestige of Judaism from Jerusalem, including building shrines to both Jupiter and Hadrian on the site of the Second Temple. The victory also had the unintentional side effect of displacing the main center of Judaean Christianity to Caesarea Maritima.
And Hadrian finally built his city of Aelia Capitolina, whose name would stick around for longer than the Western Roman Empire. The province of Iudaea, incorporated by Caesar Augustus in 6 CE, was abolished by Hadrian and absorbed into the new province of Syria Palaestina. Over time, restrictions were relaxed so that Roman Jews could mourn at the Western Wall on Tisha B'Av; however, none were allowed to live in the city for several centuries.
Now that you've read this, you may be asking: why have I forced you to read about some dusty old history?
Because wars started on religious grounds never end well. Unless you've been living under a rock the past week, you know that the Al Askari Mosque in Samarra was bombed in a terrorist attack and virtually destroyed. It has already caused increased violence between Shi'a and Sunni in Iraq, and will likely escalate the civil war beyond anything remotely capable of being controlled. But the more dangerous side is that it could lead to a conflict between Sunni and Shi'a Islam which could make everything that has happened in Iraq thus far look like a picnic.
Bar Kokhba's revolt was for at least one side a fight between Roman paganism and Judaism, and changed the fate of an entire people. Let us hope that Iraqis do not view their neighbors homes as parts inhabited by unbelievers.