First Jewish–Roman War
The Great Revolt of Judea marked the beginning of the Jewish–Roman wars, which radically changed the Eastern Mediterranean and had a crucial impact on the development of the Roman Empire and the Jews. Despite the defeat of the Great Revolt, tensions continued to build in the region. With the Parthian threat from the East, major Jewish communities throughout the Eastern Mediterranean revolted in 117 CE. The revolt, known as the Kitos War, while poorly-organized, was extremely violent and took two years for the Roman armies to subdue. Although only the final chapter of the Kitos War was fought in Judea, the revolt is considered part of the Jewish–Roman Wars. The immense number of casualties during the Kitos War depopulated Cyrenaica and Cyprus and also reduced Jewish and Greco-Roman populations in the region. The final conflict in the Jewish–Roman Wars erupted in 132 CE in Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba. Although Bar Kokhba was initially successful against Roman forces and established a short-lived state, the eventual Roman effort defeated Bar Kokhba's rebels. The result was an almost complete genocide of the Jews, a ban on Judaism, and the renaming of the province from Judea to Syria Palaestina. Although Hadrian's death (in 137 CE) eased restrictions and persecution of the Jews, the survivors of his campaign were not many. Only a small Jewish community of several thousand survived in Galilee, with smaller communities in other parts of the Mediterranean.
Liberty 1784: The Second War for Independence
The Point of Divergence occurs in 1781, when General George Washington's attempt to trap the British forces under General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown ends catastrophically for the Continental Army when the French fleet is destroyed in the Battle of the Chesapeake. The American Revolutionary War soon collapses, and the British regain control over the colonies and begin a new bloody reign of terror. Washington is brought back to London and is executed for treason. A group of rebels flee westward and set up a colony in the sparsely populated Northwest Territory near what is now Chicago. They call it "Liberty". The British, looking to finish off the rebels, send a very large force under John Burgoyne to destroy them. Burgoyne is desperate for redemption and the Americans are equally desperate to survive.