Siege of Jerusalem
Part of the First Jewish-Roman War
The sack of Jerusalem, from the inside wall of the Arch of Titus, Rome
Date March – September 70 Location Jerusalem, Judaea Result Siege succeeds; Temple of Jerusalem destroyed and sacked. Casus belli Roman expansion into the Levant Territorial changes Jerusalem falls to Roman rule
Combatants
Roman Empire	Jews of Judea
Commanders
Titus Flavius Vespasianus	Simon Bar-Giora Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala) Eleazar ben Simon
Strength
70,000 men	13,000 men, split among three factions
Casualties
Unknown	60,000–1,100,000 (mass civilian casualties)

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 was a decisive event in the First Jewish-Roman War, followed by the fall of Masada in 73. The Roman army, led by later Emperor Titus, sieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by Jewish rebels in 66. Jewish-Roman War can refer to several revolts by the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire: The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the First Jewish Revolt. ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 13,000? Casualties Unknown 600,000–1,300,000 (mass civilian casualties) The first Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great... The Kitos War (115—117) is the name given to the second of the Jewish-Roman wars. ... Bar Kokhba’s revolt (132-135 CE) against the Roman Empire, also known as The Second Jewish-Roman War or The Second Jewish Revolt (out of three Jewish-Roman Wars), was a second major rebellion by the Jews of Iudaea. ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 13,000? Casualties Unknown 600,000–1,300,000 (mass civilian casualties) The first Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great... sack of jerusalem on inside wall ot arch of titus in rome, italy This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Detail from the Arch of Titus showing spoils from the Sack of Jerusalem The Arch of Titus is a triumphal arch with a single arched opening, located on the Via Sacra just to the south-east of the Forum in Rome. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s - 70s - 80s 90s 100s 110s 120s Years: 65 66 67 68 69 - 70 - 71 72 73 74 75 Events The building of the Colosseum starts (approximate date). ... Panoramic view from Mt. ... Desert hills in southern Judea, looking east from the town of Arad Judea or Judaea (יהודה Praise, Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is a term used for the mountainous southern part of historic Palestine, an area now divided... The Jerusalem Temple (Hebrew: beit ha-mikdash) was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. ... Casus belli is a modern Latin language expression meaning the justification for acts of war. ... The Levant Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... Map of the southern Levant, c. ... For other uses, see Titus (disambiguation). ... // History In May of 66 C.E., the Roman procurator, Florus, sent troops to plunder Jerusalem, and the Jews retaliated, overpowering Roman garrisons all over Jerusalem. ... John of Giscala (aka: Johannes ben Levi; birth date unknown; death date after 70) was one of the Jewish leaders in the First Jewish-Roman War. ... Eleazar (or Elazar), (אֶלְעָזָר [My] God has helped, Standard Hebrew ElÊ¿azar, Tiberian Hebrew ʾElʿāzār) refers to a number of persons in the Hebrew Bible and in Jewish history: A son of Aaron, and a Levite priest. ... Panoramic view from Mt. ... Centuries: 1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century Decades: 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s - 70s - 80s 90s 100s 110s 120s Years: 65 66 67 68 69 - 70 - 71 72 73 74 75 Events The building of the Colosseum starts (approximate date). ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 13,000? Casualties Unknown 600,000–1,300,000 (mass civilian casualties) The first Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great... Combatants Jewish Zealots Roman Empire Commanders Elazar ben Yair Lucius Flavius Silva Strength 960 15,000 Casualties 953 Unknown, if any Masada (a romanization of the Hebrew מצדה, Metzada, from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on... The Roman Empire is the name given to both the imperial domain developed by the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... For other uses, see Titus (disambiguation). ... Panoramic view from Mt. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ...

Siege

Despite early successes in repelling the Roman sieges, the Zealots fought amongst themselves, lacking proper leadership, discipline, training, and preparation for the battles that were to follow. Zealotry denotes zeal in excess, referring to cases where activism and ambition in relation to an ideology have become excessive to the point of being harmful to others, oneself, and ones own cause. ...

Titus surrounded the city, with three legions (V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, XV Apollinaris) on the western side and a fourth (X Fretensis) on the Mount of Olives to the east. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover, and then refusing them egress. After Jewish sallies killed a number of Roman soldiers, Titus sent Flavius Josephus, a former Jewish commander now loyal to Rome, to negotiate with the defenders; this ended with Jews wounding the negotiator with an arrow, and another sally was launched shortly after. Titus was almost captured during this sudden attack, but escaped. For other uses, see Titus (disambiguation). ... The Roman legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) is a term that can apply both as a transliteration of legio (conscription or army) to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly (and more commonly), to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of... This coin was issued by Roman emperor Gallienus to celebrate the V Macedonica, whose symbol, the eagle, is crowned of wrath by Victoria. ... Legio XII Fulminata, also known as Paterna or Antiqua, was originally levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC and accompanied him during the Gallic wars until 49 BC. They were stationed in Pharsalus in 48 BC and probably fought in the Battle of Pharsalus. ... Legio XV Apollinaris (devoted to Apollo) was a Roman legion. ... Legio X Fretensis (Of the sea streits) was a Roman legion levied by Augustus in 41/40 BC to fight during the civil war; X Fretensis is recorded to exist at least until 260 AD. Its symbol was the bull (Latin: Taurus – holy animal of the goddess Venus, the mythical... This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... Passover (Hebrew: פסח; transliterated as Pesach or Pesah), also called חג המצות (Chag HaMatzot - Festival of Matzot) is a Jewish holiday which is celebrated in the northern spring. ... Josephus, also known as Flavius Josephus (c. ...

In mid-May Titus set to destroying the newly built Third Wall with a ram, breaching it as well as the Second Wall, and turning their attention to the Fortress of Antonia just north of the Temple Mount. The Romans were then drawn into street fighting with the Zealots and sustained heavy enough losses that they were ordered to retreat. Josephus failed in another attempt at negotiations, and Jewish attacks prevented the construction of siege towers at the Fortress of Antonia. Food, water, and other provisions were dwindling, but small foraging parties managed to sneak supplies into the city, harrying Roman forces in the process. To put an end to the success of these foragers, orders were issued to build a new wall, and siege tower construction was restarted as well. The Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת, Har haBáyit). ...

After several failed attempts to breach or scale the walls of the Fortress, the Romans finally launched a secret attack, overwhelming sleeping Zealot guards and taking the Fortress. This was the second highest ground in the city, after the Temple Mount, and provided a perfect point from which to attack the Temple itself. Battering rams made little progress, but the fighting itself eventually set the walls on fire, when a Roman soldier threw a burning stick onto one of the Temple's walls. Destroying the Temple was not among Titus' goals, possibly due in large part to the massive expansions done by Herod the Great mere decades earlier. Most likely, Titus had wanted to seize it and transform it into a pagan temple, dedicated to the Roman Emperor and to the Roman pantheon. But the flames spread quite quickly and were soon unquenchable. Even if the flames were manageable, the Roman soldiers wanted vengeance. The Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av, at the end of August, and as the flames spread into the residential sections of the city, along with the Roman legions, Jewish resistance crumbled quickly. Most of the remaining Jews escaped through hidden underground tunnels. Some Jews made a final stand in the Upper City. This defence halted the Roman advance as they had to construct siege towers just to assail the remaining Jews. The city was completely under Roman control by the September 7 and most of the remaining Jews that had fled Jerusalem, were hunted down and massacred. The Jerusalem Temple (Hebrew: beit ha-mikdash) was the center of Israelite and Jewish worship, primarily for the offering of sacrifices known as the korbanot. ... Replica battering ram at Ch teau des Baux, France A battering ram is a weapon used from ancient times. ... Hordos (Hebrew: הוֹרְדוֹס, ; Greek: , ; trad. ... Roman Emperor is the term historians use to refer to rulers of the Roman Empire, after the epoch conventionally named the Roman Republic. ... Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... Tisha BAv (תשעה באב tish‘āh bə-āḇ) is a major annual fast day in Judaism. ...

The destruction of the Temple is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av, and the Arch of Titus, depicting and celebrating the sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome. Tisha BAv (תשעה באב tish‘āh bÉ™-āḇ) is a major annual fast day in Judaism. ... Detail from the Arch of Titus showing spoils from the Sack of Jerusalem The Arch of Titus is a triumphal arch with a single arched opening, located on the Via Sacra just to the south-east of the Forum in Rome. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ...

Destruction of Jerusalem

Sulpicius Severus (363–420), referring in his Chronica to an earlier writing by Tacitus (56–117), claimed that Titus favored destroying the Jerusalem Temple to help uproot and demolish both the Jewish and Christian sects. Some scholars argue that this was not completly effective, and that the destruction of Jerusalem liberated the Christian church to fufill its destiny as a universal religion offered to the whole world^[1]. The account of Josephus, generally considered unreliable in this case, described Titus as moderate in his approach and, after conferring with others, ordering that the then-thousand-year-old Temple be spared. (Solomon's Temple dated to the 10th Century BCE, though the physical structure was Herod's Temple, about 90 years old at the time.) According to Josephus, the Roman soldiers grew furious with Jewish attacks and tactics and, against Titus' orders, set fire to an apartment adjacent to the Temple, which soon spread all throughout. Saint Sulpicius Severus (born around 360, died between 420 and 425), wrote the earliest biography of Saint Martin of Tours. ... Events Perisapora is destroyed by Emperor Julian. ... For other uses, see 420 (disambiguation). ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... // Events By place Roman Empire War between Rome and Parthia broke out due to the invasion of Armenia by Vologases, who replaced the Roman supported ruler with his brother Tiridates of Parthia Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus becomes a consul in Rome. ... Trajan subdued a Judean revolt, then fell seriously ill, leaving Hadrian in command of the east. ... Solomons Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Beit HaMikdash), also known as the First Temple, was, according to the Bible, the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. ... Herods Temple in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Second Temple along with renovations of the entire Temple Mount. ...

Josephus had acted as a mediator for the Romans and, when negotiations failed, witnessed the siege and aftermath. He wrote:

Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), [Titus] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in garrison [in the Upper City], as were the towers [the three forts] also spared, in order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall [surrounding Jerusalem], it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.

And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judaea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change. For the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste. Nor had anyone who had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again. But though he [a foreigner] were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it.

Fulfillment of Christian prophecy

Christians believe that the events surrounding the siege and the destruction of Jerusalem, are the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy, cast approximately 40 years before the event took place. The Olivet Discourse prophecy is found in Luke 21, Matthew 24, and also the "little Apocalypse" of Mark 13. Eusebius records in The History of the Church that the Christians who lived in Jerusalem at the time fled during the withdrawal of Cestius Gallus four years before the calamity took place. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... The Olivet discourse or Little Apocalypse is a passage found in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew (24), Mark (13) and Luke (21), occurring just before the narrative of Jesuss passion beginning with the Anointing of Jesus. ... The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second New Testament Gospel, ascribed to Mark the Evangelist. ... Eusebius is the name of several significant historical people: Pope Eusebius - Pope in AD 309 - 310. ... Gaius Cestius Gallus (d. ...

Some Christians also believe that the events surrounding 70 are the fulfillment of various prophecies in the Old Testament. For example, Isaiah 10:3 talks about a "day of visitation", when "desolation comes from far"; and the prophet Daniel foresaw a day when "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Dan 9:26). Some believe that the Jews were punished for not recognizing the "day of visitation" espoused by Jesus, since they rejected him as their Messiah. Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... The Book of Isaiah (Hebrew: Sefer Yshayah ספר ישעיה) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, believed to be written by Isaiah[1]. // The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew Arabic: Al-Masih, المسيح), Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ...

Messianic claims did shape the ultimate schism between Judaism and Christianity, which came about sixty years later in the course of the Bar Kokhba's revolt (132–135). Schisms among the Jews: // First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ... Bar Kokhba’s revolt (132-135 CE) against the Roman Empire, also known as The Second Jewish-Roman War or The Second Jewish Revolt (out of three Jewish-Roman Wars), was a second major rebellion by the Jews of Iudaea. ... Events The messianic, charismatic leader Simon bar Kokhba starts a war of liberation against the Romans, which is crushed by emperor Hadrian. ... For other uses, see number 135. ...

The Christian church was different after the fall of Jerusalem. Before the fall, the church was prominently Jewish. After the fall, the Christian church was on its own.

See also

• Jewish-Roman wars
• Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
• Solomon's Temple
• Second Temple
• Herod's Temple
• Western Wall
• Council of Jamnia
• Siege of Jerusalem (1099)
• Siege of Jerusalem (1187)

Jewish-Roman War can refer to several revolts by the Jews of Judea against the Roman Empire: The First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the First Jewish Revolt. ... The hexagonal prism detailing the campaign of Sennacherib against Judah In 721 BCE, the Assyrian army captured the Israelite capital at Samaria and carried away the citizens of the northern kingdom into captivity. ... Solomons Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Beit HaMikdash), also known as the First Temple, was, according to the Bible, the first Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. ... Drawing of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great A stone (2. ... Herods Temple in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Second Temple along with renovations of the entire Temple Mount. ... Western Wall by night Wailing Wall redirects here. ... After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai relocated to the city of Yavne/Jamnia and founded a school of Jewish law there, becoming a major source for the later Mishna. ... Combatants Crusaders Fatimids Commanders Raymond of Toulouse Godfrey of Bouillon Iftikhar ad-Dawla Strength 1,500 knights 12,000 infantry 1,000 garrison Casualties Unknown At least 40,000 military and civilian dead The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099 during the First Crusade. ... The Siege of Jerusalem took place from September 20 to October 2, 1187. ...

References

1. ^ Noll, Mark (1997). "Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity." Intervarsity Press.

• Nigel Cawthorne, History's Greatest Battles: Masterstrokes of War, p 31-37 ISBN 1-84193-290-6.

External links

• Resources > Second Temple and Talmudic Era The Jewish History Resource Center - Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• The Temple Mount and Fort Antonia
• Map of the siege of Jerusale (archive link, was dead; history)