Wikipedia's first sentence called it “series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in palaestina prima province”. Today it says “series of samaritan insurrections in the province of palaestina prima against the byzantine empire”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Revolts by Samaria against the Eastern Roman Empire”. It now reads “5th/6th-century CE revolts by Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2025 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2025
Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire Belligerents Byzantine Empire Dux Palaestinae troops Arcadiani Ghassanids Samaritan rebels Jewish rebels (556 and 572 revolts) Commanders and leaders Asclepiades and Rheges (484 revolt) Governor Procopius (495 revolt) Roman emperor Justinian I (ben Sabar revolt, 529–531) Stephanus and Amantius (556 and 572 revolts) Zacharias of Jerusalem   ( POW ) (Jewish revolt) Unknown leader (484 revolt) Justa (Justa revolt, 495) Julianus ben Sabar (ben Sabar revolt, 529–531) Samaritan and Jewish leadership (556 and 572 revolts) Nehemiah ben Hushiel Casualties and losses ben Sabar revolt: 20,000–120,000 killed 556–572 revolt: 140,000 killed Jewish revolt against Hercalius: 66,509 killed ben Sabar revolt: 20,000–100,000 killed 556–572 revolt: 100,000–120,000 killed Jewish revolt against Heraclius 4,518 killed The Samaritan revolts (c. 484–573) were a series of Samaritan insurrections in the province of Palaestina Prima against the Byzantine Empire . The revolts were marked by great violence on both sides, and brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid allies severely reduced the Samaritan population. The events irreversibly shifted the demographics of the region, making the Christians the dominant group in Palaestina Prima for many decades onward.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1297791307.
The opening as it stood in 2015
The Samaritan Revolts were a series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in Palaestina Prima province, launched by the Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire . The revolts were marked by great violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid allies severely reduced the Samaritan population. The events irreversibly shifted the demographics of the region, making the Christians the only dominant group in the Palaestina Prima province for many decades onward. Some historians draft comparisons between the consequences of the Samaritan Revolts of the 5th and 6th centuries upon Samaritans to the consequences of Jewish–Roman Wars of the 1st and 2nd centuries upon the Jews in the region.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668817173.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Revolts by Samaria against the Eastern Roman Empire Belligerents Byzantine Empire Dux Palaestinae troops Arcadiani Ghassanid Arabs Samaritan rebels Jewish rebels (556 and 572 revolts) Commanders and leaders Asclepiades and Rheges (484 revolt) Governor Procopius (495 revolt) Emperor Justinian I (ben Sabar revolt) Stephanus and Amantius (556 revolt) Justa (Justa uprising); "a Samaritan woman" (495 uprising) Julianus ben Sabar (ben Sabar revolt) Samaritan and Jewish leadership (556 and 572 revolts) Casualties and losses ben Sabar revolt: Severe casualties; ben Sabar revolt: 20–100,000 killed 556 revolt: 100–120,000 casualties The Samaritan revolts were a series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in Palaestina Prima province, launched by the Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire . The revolts were marked by great violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid allies severely reduced the Samaritan population. The events irreversibly shifted the demographics of the region, making the Christians the only dominant group in the Palaestina Prima province for many decades onward. Some historians draft comparisons between the consequences of the Samaritan revolts of the 5th and 6th centuries upon Samaritans to the consequences of Jewish–Roman Wars of the 1st and 2nd centuries upon the Jews in the region.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960477257.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
5th/6th-century CE revolts by Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire Belligerents Byzantine Empire Dux Palaestinae troops Arcadiani Ghassanid Arabs Samaritan rebels Jewish rebels (556 and 572 revolts) Commanders and leaders Asclepiades and Rheges (484 revolt) Governor Procopius (495 revolt) Emperor Justinian I (ben Sabar revolt) Stephanus and Amantius (556 revolt) Justa (Justa uprising); "a Samaritan woman" (495 uprising) Julianus ben Sabar (ben Sabar revolt) Samaritan and Jewish leadership (556 and 572 revolts) Casualties and losses ben Sabar revolt: Severe casualties ben Sabar revolt: 20–100,000 killed 556 revolt: 100–120,000 casualties The Samaritan revolts (c. 484–573) were a series of insurrections in Palaestina Prima province, launched by the Samaritans against the Eastern Roman Empire . The revolts were marked by great violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid allies severely reduced the Samaritan population. The events irreversibly shifted the demographics of the region, making the Christians the only dominant group in the Palaestina Prima province for many decades onward.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1161887100.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in palaestina prima province”. Today it says “series of samaritan insurrections in the province of palaestina prima against the byzantine empire”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Revolts by Samaria against the Eastern Roman Empire”. It now reads “5th/6th-century CE revolts by Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire”. Read the current article and compare.
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2015, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in palaestina prima province
Now
series of samaritan insurrections in the province of palaestina prima against the byzantine empire
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
