Part 2/11:
By 66 CE, the people of Judea had endured over a century of Roman subjugation. The progressive erosion of their autonomy fueled widespread resentment, leading ambitious factions to believe that a rebellion could cast off the oppressive yoke. Josephus, a figure born into this conflict in 37 CE as Yosef ben Mattiyahu, emerged as an eyewitness to history. His eventual defection to Rome would both chronicle the events and cement his legacy, albeit tinged with the bitterness of betrayal in the eyes of his people.