Repeated murder and oppression. When the Romans crushed the Jewish revolts in the first and second centuries, they killed huge numbers of Jewish civilians as well as most of the Jewish armies. During the Crusades, roughly 1/4 of the Jewish population of Europe was slaughtered, as well as a good fraction of the Jews then in Palestine. During the Black Plague, Jews were repeatedly slaughtered when they were blamed for the plague. When Jews were expelled from countries, large numbers of fleeing refugees died as they searched for new homes. When Russia began intense persecution of Jews in the late 19th century, a leader estimated that 1/3 would convert to Christianity, 1/3 would die, and 1/3 would flee. The Holocaust in the 20th century was outstanding for its slaughter, but not without preced