Jewish–Persian Capture of Jerusalem

In 614 the Sasanian general Shahrbaraz swept south through Syria toward Jerusalem, and Jews of the Galilee, led by Benjamin of Tiberias and Nehemiah ben Hushiel, joined his army. After a siege of about three weeks the city fell in May 614. The monk Strategius described a terrible slaughter of Christians, and archaeologists have found a mass burial in a cave at Mamilla, outside today's Jaffa Gate, linked to these events. The Persians handed the city to Jewish administration under Nehemiah.

Jewish rule lasted only about three years. Around 617 the Persians changed course to win over the Christian majority; Nehemiah was killed and the Jews were pushed out again. The episode left a mark in Jewish apocalyptic writing: Sefer Zerubbabel names Nehemiah ben Hushiel as the Messiah son of Joseph. In 630 Heraclius retook Jerusalem and punished the Jews harshly for their part in the conquest.