BARCOCHEBAS, or rather BARCOCHAB, a
Jewish impostor, whose real name was Akiba; but he
took that of Barcochebas, which signifies the Son of a
Star; in allusion to the prophecy of Balaam, "There
shall a star arise out of Jacob." He proclaimed himself
the Messiah; and talking of nothing but wars, victo-
ries, and triumphs, made his countrymen rise against
the Romans, by which means he was the author of
innumerable disorders: he ravaged many places, took
a great number of fortresses, and massacred an in-
finite multitude of people, particularly the Christians.
The emperor sent troops to Rufus, governor of Ju-
dea, to suppress the sedition. Rufus, in obedience,
exercised a thousand cruelties, but could not finish his
attempt. The emperor was therefore obliged to send
Julius Severus, the greatest general of that time;
who attained his end without a direct battle: he fell
on them separately; cut off their provisions; and at
last the whole contest was reduced to the siege of Bit-
ter, in the 18th year of Hadrian. The impostor perished
there. This war cost the Romans a great deal of blood.