For the siege by Nebuchadnezzar that led to the destruction of the First Temple, see Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC). For other sieges upon the city of Jerusalem, see Siege of Jerusalem.
The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire (66–73 CE). Roman forces led by Titus besieged the Jewish capital, the revolt's main stronghold. After months of fighting, they breached the defenses, destroyed the Second Temple, and razed the city, killing, enslaving, or displacing much of its population. The city's fall marked the effective end of the revolt and had far-reaching political, religious, and cultural consequences.
In winter 69/70 CE, after a succession war in Rome, the campaign in Judaea resumed as Titus led at least 48,000 troops—including four legions and auxiliary forces—back into the province. By spring, this army had encircled Jerusalem, whose population had surged with refugees and Passover pilgrims. Inside the city, rival factions led by John of Gischala, Simon bar Giora and Eleazar ben Simon fought each other, destroying food supplies and weakening defenses. Although the factions eventually united and mounted fierce resistance, Roman forces breached the city walls and pushed the defenders into the temple precincts.
In the summer month of Av (July/August), the Romans finally captured the Temple Mount and destroyed the Second Temple—an event mourned annually in Judaism on Tisha B'Av. The rest of Jerusalem fell soon after, with tens of thousands killed, enslaved, or executed. The Romans systematically razed the city, leaving only three towers of the Herodian citadel and sections of the wall to showcase its former greatness. A year later, Vespasian and Titus celebrated their victory with a triumph in Rome, parading temple spoils—including the menorah—alongside hundreds of captives. Monuments such as the Arch of Titus were erected to commemorate the victory.
On the eve of the revolt, Jerusalem was a thriving metropolis and the spiritual and political center of the Jewish people in both Judaea and the diaspora.[1][2] By then, the city had reached its greatest extent,[3] covering about 450 acres (1,800 dunams)[4][5]—nearly twice the size of today's Old City—and housing tens of thousands of residents.[a] Its renown spread throughout the Roman world.[9] Roman author Pliny the Elder called it "by far the most famous city of the East",[10][1] while the historian Tacitus described it as "the capital of the Jews", with a temple of "enormous reaches".[11][1] The city was divided into several districts: the Lower City, a densely populated area; the Upper City, a wealthy quarter inhabited by the city's elite, including priestly families;[12][13][14] and the Temple Mount, the religious and political heart of Jerusalem. Its core was the Second Temple, a structure central to Jewish religious and national identity.[1][b] King Herod, who ruled Judaea between 37 and 4 BCE, greatly expanded and renovated the Temple, transforming it into one of the largest sanctuaries of the ancient world.[16] The temple complex also served as a center of political activity, hosting popular assemblies and judicial bodies, and functioned as one of the city's largest marketplaces.[17] An obligatory half-shekel tax was collected annually from Jewish adults to support the Temple.[18][19] During Judaism's Three Pilgrimage Festivals,[c] tens of thousands of visitors from both Judaea and abroad traveled to Jerusalem to participate in temple rituals.[3][18][19] This regular influx of pilgrims contributed significantly to the city's prominence and prosperity.[8]
Jerusalem's strategic location, flanked by the Kidron Valley to the east and the Hinnom Valley to the south, provided natural barriers that made direct assaults difficult. These natural defenses were reinforced by a series of fortification walls, constructed over the city's long history. The "First Wall", built in the second century BCE by the Hasmonean kings on the foundations of an earlier wall from the time of the kings of Judah,[20] enclosed both the lower and upper city, forming the core of Jerusalem. As the city expanded, the "Second Wall" was built further north to protect new neighborhoods and commercial areas. In the early 40s CE, continued growth prompted the construction of the "Third Wall", initiated by King Herod Agrippa to enclose the northern suburb of Bezetha.[21][d] Its construction was halted by Emperor Claudius, either due to fears of Jewish rebellion or Agrippa's death. It was eventually completed in haste at the outbreak of the revolt.[23][13]
The city also featured several fortified structures. At the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount stood the Antonia Fortress, an important military stronghold and palace that overlooked the temple complex.[24][5] In the western part of the upper city, north of Herod's Palace, stood another fortified complex—now the site of the Tower of David—enclosed by walls and protected by three towers: Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne.[25][13]
Jerusalem's ability to withstand a siege was limited by its reliance on imported food from Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and beyond, as local agriculture could not sustain the population,[26] though the city did maintain food reserves.[27][28] Its water supply depended on large pools that collected rainwater runoff and channels directing water from sources like the Gihon Spring. Additionally, an aqueduct system brought water from the vicinity of Bethlehem and further south.[29] During the war, the arrival of refugees and insurgents increased the city's vulnerability to famine.[26]
In the spring of 66 CE, following clashes between Jews and Greeks in Caesarea Maritima,[30] Roman procurator Gessius Florus arrived in Jerusalem and seized temple funds. This act sparked widespread unrest, which the Romans suppressed by massacring civilians.[31] After Florus fled the city and pro-Roman client king Agrippa II failed to dissuade the population from rebellion, Eleazar ben Hanania, a temple official, stopped the daily sacrifices offered on behalf of the emperor.[32][33] Jewish insurgents seized control of the Antonia Fortress and set fire to the high priest's residence, the city's royal palaces, and the public archives containing debt records.[34][35] The Roman garrison in Jerusalem was killed,[36] and the radical Sicarii faction executed the high priest and his brother before withdrawing to the desert stronghold of Masada.[37]
In response, the Roman governor of Syria, Gaius Cestius Gallus, advanced on Jerusalem with an army of approximately 30,000 soldiers,[38] reaching Mount Scopus and burning the northern suburb of Bezetha.[38][39] He then retreated unexpectedly and was ambushed by Jewish forces at Bethoron, suffering the loss of nearly an entire legion.[40][41][42] Following Gallus's defeat, a provisional Jewish government was established in Jerusalem, appointing military commanders across the country and completing the city's third wall.[43]John of Gischala in Galilee and Simon bar Giora in Judea led independent rebel factions outside the central government's authority.[44]
In 67 CE, Roman general Vespasian was appointed by Emperor Nero to suppress the revolt.[45][46] He launched a methodical campaign across Galilee, subduing rebel strongholds one by one. Meanwhile, Jerusalem became unstable as refugees and rebel factions—including John of Gischala and his followers[47]—poured into the city.[48] The Zealots, led by Eleazar ben Simon, soon enlisted the Idumeans, who helped them overthrow the moderate leadership in a violent purge.[49][50] By 68 CE, Vespasian had subdued most of Judaea,[38] but Rome was thrown into chaos following Nero's suicide, sparking a succession war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.[51][52] Vespasian postponed the siege of Jerusalem to let the Jewish factions weaken each other through infighting and to wait for the spring harvest.[53] In 69 CE, Vespasian was declared emperor by his troops and prepared to return to Italy to secure the imperial throne,[54] entrusting command of the campaign to his son, Titus.[55]
Meanwhile, a civil war erupted in Jerusalem.[28] By spring 69 CE, Simon bar Giora’s forces camped outside the city, attacking deserters, while radical factions inside terrorized the population.[56] Hoping to weaken John of Gischala, his rivals allowed Simon to enter,[56] but his arrival only intensified the conflict. According to Josephus—a Jewish commander and eyewitness who later chronicled the revolt under Roman patronage—Jerusalem descended into a three-way civil war, with each faction attacking the others; Tacitus likewise notes that the city was divided among three generals and three armies.[57][58] John of Gischala, Eleazar ben Simon, and Simon bar Giora each controlled different sectors: John held most of the Temple Mount and the southeastern hill; Eleazar, the inner court of the temple; and Simon, commanding the largest force, dominated the rest of the city.[59] During the fighting, the factions burned the city's food stores, destroying provisions crucial for the impending siege.[27][28]
Omens before the destruction
Josephus recounts several omens said to have foretold Jerusalem's destruction in the years leading up to it.[60][61] Among those was "a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year"—possibly Halley's Comet, visible over Jerusalem in the winter and spring of 66 CE.[62][63][64] Other signs included a bright light around the temple altar near Passover, a cow giving birth to a lamb, and the heavy eastern gate of the inner sanctuary opening on its own.[65][64] Josephus also mentions the appearance of heavenly armies in the sky before sunset,[66] and during the festival of Shavuot, priests reportedly heard a loud noise, a crash, and a voice from the temple declaring, "We are departing from here."[67][64] Starting four years before the revolt, the peasant Jesus ben Ananias roamed the city, prophesying its destruction for over seven years.[68]
Titus's campaign and the march on Jerusalem
In the winter of 69/70, Titus, the son of Vespasian, returned to Judaea with an army of nearly 50,000 soldiers.
In winter 69/70, Titus arrived from Alexandria and made Caesarea his main base.[69] His forces included several legions, including V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris, along with XII Fulminata, which had suffered defeat in 66 CE.[70]Tiberius Julius Alexander, Titus's second-in-command, was a Jewish-born equestrian governor and general who had renounced his faith and ancestral traditions.[71] Additional troops came from detachments of the Legio III Cyrenaica and the Legio XXII Deiotariana from Egypt, twenty infantry cohortes, eight cavalry alae, Syrian irregulars, and auxiliaries supplied by allied vassal kings. According to Tacitus, "a strong force of Arabs", driven by longstanding enmity toward the Jews, also joined the campaign.[70] This combined force, estimated at a minimum of 48,200 soldiers,[72] was significantly larger than the one deployed for the invasion of Britain in 43 CE.[73]
At the same time, infighting continued in Jerusalem.[74] Eleazar ben Simon fortified himself in the temple's inner court, seizing the stores of edible offerings.[74] John attacked from below, while Simon Bar Giora's forces, who maintained control over the upper and lower city, assaulted John's position. Both sides used artillery, causing heavy casualties, including among priests and worshippers.[75]
In early Nisan 70 (March/April), Titus left Caesarea with Legio XII Fulminata and Legio XV Apollinaris, marching toward Jerusalem.[76] The Roman army advanced through Samaria, resting in Gophna, located 13 miles (21km) north of Jerusalem.[77] Legio V Macedonica, led by Sextus Vettulenus Cerialis, marched southward toward Jerusalem via Emmaus, while A. Larcius Lepidus Sulpicianus approached from the east through Jericho with Legio X Fretensis.[77] Titus's force then camped in the "Valley of Thorns" near Gibeah, three miles from Jerusalem.[78] Mirroring the strategies of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar II, Pompey, and Herod, Titus focused his assault on Jerusalem's north and northeast, the only areas not protected by ravines.[79][80]
I have heard that the total number of the besieged, of every age and both sexes, amounted to six hundred thousand. All who were able bore arms, and a number, more than proportionate to the population, had the courage to do so. Men and women showed equal resolution, and life seemed more terrible than death, if they were to be forced to leave their country. Such was this city and nation.
Tacitus writes that 600,000 people were besieged in Jerusalem, with men and women of all ages taking up arms. They showed equal resolve, preferring death to expulsion from their homeland.[81][82] Josephus speaks of 1.1 million casualties in the siege,[83][84][85] including many Passover pilgrims who became trapped during the siege.[83][84][86] While rejecting these figures as exaggerated, historian Menahem Stern writes that Josephus's mention of 23,400 armed men in Jerusalem on the eve of the siege was likely realistic.[87] The city also harbored refugees from Judea, Galilee, and Idumaea.[88] The rival factions ended their infighting and united only when the Romans began battering Jerusalem's walls.[89]
Titus conducted a risky reconnaissance with 600 cavalrymen to assess Jerusalem's northern defenses, narrowly escaping an ambush by rebel forces after being cut off from his main group.[79][90] He then advanced to Mount Scopus, northeast of Jerusalem, where he established camps for Legions XII, XV and V.[91] Legion X established its camp on the Mount of Olives,[91] but during construction, while some soldiers were unarmed, they were attacked by a combined force from the rival factions.[92][93][94] The Jews charged across the Kidron Valley, catching the Romans completely by surprise.[95][93] Only Titus's intervention saved the situation, and the Romans managed to repel the attackers.[92] John and Simon reconciled,[92] but their factions continued to maintain separate leadership structures.[96] The rebel leaders upheld their division of the city: John was in charge of defending the Temple Mount, the Ophel, and the Kidron Valley, while Simon's forces defended the city's residential areas.[96][80]
Battle for Jerusalem's walls
Progress of the Roman army during the siege
On 14 Nisan, at the start of the Passover festival, the Romans used the temporary halt in Jewish attacks to move their besieging forces closer to Jerusalem's walls.[97] Meanwhile, on the first night of the festival, John's forces exploited the opening of the temple's inner gates, intended for worshipers, to enter the inner courtyards, overpower the Zealots, and seize control of the temple.[89][97][93] Some fled to hiding places beneath the Temple Mount,[98] while others joined John's faction, with Eleazar retaining a command role under John.[99] Titus offered peace terms, which were rejected.[79]
The Romans began their assault by targeting Jerusalem's third wall.[55] Internal fighting briefly resumed: Simon fought on two fronts—against John in the Temple complex and against the Roman siegeworks.[100] The two factions appear to have reached a truce soon afterward.[101] Once the Romans completed their siegeworks, the Jewish forces launched an offensive, initially gaining the upper hand before being repelled by Roman cavalry. During or soon after the skirmish, Idumean leader John ben Sosas was killed by an arrow, and the first crucifixion of the siege took place when Titus ordered a Jewish captive to be executed before the city wall to intimidate the defenders—a tactic later repeated throughout the siege.[101]
After fifteen days of failed Jewish attempts to burn the siege engines, the battering ram breached the third wall, forcing the defenders to retreat.[102] Within five days, the Romans broke through the middle section of the second wall,[103] but the narrow breach left their troops trapped in the city's alleys.[104] Exploiting their familiarity with their hometown, Jewish defenders inflicted significant losses, forcing the Romans to withdraw.[105][103] Four days later, they returned, widened the breach, and captured the area.[106] They then razed the city's northern section and rested for several days.[107] Meanwhile, more Jews deserted the city.[107]
From Antonia to the Temple Mount
When hostilities resumed, Titus constructed siege ramps at the Antonia Fortress and the towers of the Upper City, while also employing psychological warfare.[108] He staged a four-day parade of cavalry and infantry in polished armor, publicly distributing their pay to demonstrate Roman power.[106] He again offered peace through Josephus, who addressed the people in their "ancestral tongue", likely Hebrew or possibly Aramaic.[106] Josephus argued that the Romans had respected Jewish holy sites, unlike the rebels who endangered them, and urged repentance, claiming that Rome's victories signaled that God now favored the Romans.[109][110] When met with mockery and violence, Josephus responded by recounting Jewish history from the Exodus to the return from the Babylonian exile, asserting that past triumphs came through obedience to divine will, not armed resistance. Comparing himself to the prophet Jeremiah, he warned that their struggle was not against Rome but against God, and urged repentance to spare the city, the temple, and their families.[111][110] The rebels refused to surrender—perhaps trusting in divine protection, overestimating their fortifications, or fearing humiliation and torture if captured.[112]
Within the city, the factions attacked those trying to flee and looted wealthy homes for food, often resorting to torture.[113] At the same time, Roman forces tortured and crucified fugitives within sight of the walls—sometimes in varied positions for the soldiers' amusement. These executions, reportedly exceeding 500 per day at times and depleting the available supply of crosses, were intended to terrorize the besieged into surrender.[114][112] Syrian and Arab auxiliaries reportedly disemboweled refugees in search of swallowed valuables.[115][116]
As grain prices soaring, people scavenged for scraps in the sewers, and a large number of corpses were discarded outside the city.[117] Many in the city died from starvation, while others suffered from related diseases.[85] Josephus mentions children with swollen bellies[118] and deserters who appear to have suffered from dropsy.[119][85] In Lamentations Rabbah, Eleazar bar Zadok recounts how, despite living many years after the destruction, his father's body never fully recovered. The same work also mentions a woman whose hair fell out due to malnutrition.[120][85] After erecting four siege ramps against Antonia,[121] the Romans breached and captured the fortress, subsequently turning their attention to the temple itself.[122]
A scale model reconstruction of the Temple Mount in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, featuring the Second Temple at the center and the Antonia Fortress in the upper right. The stoas, or porticoes, linking the fortress to the temple are visible at the top and on the right side of the platform.
Seventeen days into the month of Sivan (May/June), Roman siege operations resumed. John of Gischala countered by tunneling beneath the siege engines at Antonia, setting their supports on fire and collapsing them,[123] and by destroying more equipment in the western sector.[123] The Romans rebuilt their machines and, according to Josephus, completed a 5 miles (8.0km) long circumvallation wall of stone in just three days to cut off supplies and escape routes.[123] Some attempted to flee by jumping from the walls or by pretending to fight with rocks in order to surrender.[124]
Within the city, Simon executed elites and supporters of surrender, their mutilated bodies thrown beyond the walls.[125][126] John and his followers plundered the temple, melting down sacred vessels, consuming consecrated food, and distributing sacred oil and wine to supporters.[127] The famine worsened, killing many. Josephus recounts the story of Maria from Perea, who, after being plundered by rebels, roasted and cannibalized her infant son. When rebels came, drawn by the smell of food, she offered them the leftovers, leaving them shocked and trembling.[128][129]
From the captured Antonia Fortress, the Romans attempted to breach the temple complex.[122] Though initially successful, they were driven back by the Jewish defenders after an intense 12-hour battle.[122][130] According to Josephus, on 17 Tammuz (June/July), the daily temple sacrifice (Tamid) ceased due to a lack of priests or lambs.[131][132][133] The Jewish forces withdrew into the Temple courtyards, while Titus renewed his peace offers, again through Josephus, but without success.[134][133] Josephus recounts offering John permission to bring sacrificial animals from outside the walls, to which John allegedly replied that he did not fear the city's capture, calling it God’s property. Though possibly fictional, the story reflects the Jewish belief, dating back to the Kingdom of Judah, that Zion was divinely protected.[133]
Some priests and upper-class Jews surrendered and were sent by Titus to Gophna.[135][136][137] Later, they were brought back with Josephus to urge others to surrender, prompting many to flee to the Romans, according to Josephus.[138][137] The Romans then built four ramps targeting the temple's defenses.[128] The defenders set fire to several stoas connecting the temple to Antonia to obstruct access, while the Romans burned another nearby stoa.[139] After several days of failed attempts to breach the temple's walls with battering rams, the Romans set fire to its gates and porticoes, forcing the defenders to retreat to the inner court.[140] According to Josephus, Titus then convened his commanders to decide the temple’s fate, opposing those who urged its destruction.[141] He reportedly ruled that such a magnificent structure should be preserved as an ornament of Roman rule—though events soon proved otherwise.[142][141]
Destruction of the Second Temple
According to Josephus, on 8 Av (July/August), Roman forces breached the temple's outer court.[143] On the tenth of Av (late August[55]), a Roman soldier hurled a burning piece of wood into the northern chamber, igniting a fire that ultimately consumed the entire temple structure.[144][143][145] When the fire broke out, Josephus states that Titus, awakened from a nap, rushed to the scene and ordered it extinguished.[146] Amid the chaos, however, many soldiers either did not hear or deliberately ignored his orders; some even encouraged others to spread the flames.[145] Titus and his officers entered the temple, witnessing both the heikhal and the Holy of Holies, and again commanded that the fire be stopped. But his troops, motivated by confusion, hatred, and greed, continued to loot and set the structure ablaze.[147]
Josephus's version has long been questioned by scholars and has generated significant debate.[148][149][150] A sharply contrasting account appears in the writings of Sulpicius Severus, a fourth-century Christian historian from Gaul. Possibly relying on Tacitus's Histories,[e] Severus claims that Titus deliberately ordered the temple's destruction in order to eradicate the religions of both Jews and Christians.[153][152][154] Other sources—including Valerius Flaccus and the Babylonian Talmud—also suggest that Titus may have been directly responsible for the act.[155]
As a result, the question of whether the temple was destroyed intentionally, and the extent of Titus's responsibility, remains unresolved.[149] While Josephus's account has received some support—historian Martin Goodman, for instance, considers it plausible given the difficulty of controlling fire in Jerusalem's dry summer heat[148]—most modern scholars reject his version.[149] Historian Lester L. Grabbe calls it "unbelievable", arguing that a Roman commander known for harsh discipline, including the use of the death penalty, would not have tolerated his soldiers openly disobeying orders in his presence.[156] In antiquity, the destruction of temples was regarded as sacrilegious,[f] leading some scholars to suggest that Josephus may have downplayed Titus's role to preserve the emperor's reputation.[148] Others, including Fausto Parente and Lester L. Grabbe, argue that Josephus's version may have been intended to discourage Jews from seeking vengeance for the temple's destruction.[158][159]
Several modern historians interpret the destruction as intentional and ideologically motivated. Historian Doron Mendels argues that the Romans likely targeted the temple because they saw it—and Jerusalem more broadly—as central for Jewish rebellion.[160] Historian James Rives maintains that the goal was "not only to forestall future revolts but also to eliminate the anomalous cultic organization that hindered the integration of Jews into the empire".[161] Historian Steve Mason contends that the temple's destruction was viewed by Titus and the Flavian regime not as an embarrassment, but as a military necessity. He notes that Rome had destroyed temples in Carthage and Corinth in the past, and there is no evidence that Titus felt any guilt over the act. On the contrary, Mason points to a laudatory poem by Valerius Flaccus, which celebrates Titus, describing him as "begrimed with the dust of Jerusalem, scattering firebrands and causing havoc in every turret".[162]
As the temple burned, chaos engulfed its courtyards. Ancient accounts state that the priests continued their ritual duties until they were killed, with many reportedly accepting death willingly.[163] Josephus writes that two priests, Meirus son of Belgas and Joseph son of Daleus, threw themselves into the flames and died with the temple.[164] The Greco-Roman historian Cassius Dio writes that "the Jews defended themselves much more vigorously than before, as if they had discovered a piece of rare good fortune in being able to fight near the temple and fall in its defense"; they soon "met death willingly, some throwing themselves on the swords of the Romans, some slaying one another, others taking their own lives, and still others leaping into the flames".[165] The Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a later rabbinic work, relates that the sons of the high priests, seeing the sanctuary ablaze, cast the Temple keys toward heaven, declaring themselves unworthy custodians before leaping into the fire: "they held on to one another, were drawn into the fire, and burned."[166] Cassius Dio recounts that as the temple burned and defeat became inevitable, many Jews chose suicide, viewing it as a form of victory and salvation to die alongside the temple.[165][167]
Roman soldiers looted and killed indiscriminately, showing no mercy even to those who begged for their lives.[168] At one point, many Jews, including poor women and children (about 6,000, according to Josephus), sought refuge in a colonnade in the outer court. The Romans set the structure ablaze, and all perished.[169][170] Josephus attributes the tragedy to "false prophets" who urged people to ascend the Temple Mount, claiming it would bring salvation.[169]
The Romans then systematically destroyed the rest of the Temple Mount,[171] razing the remaining porticoes, treasuries, and gates.[172][173] The soldiers carried their military standards into the temple court, offering sacrifices before them.[174][173] They then hailed Titus as imperator, looted the remaining valuables before the temple was fully consumed, and seized such an immense amount of plunder that the gold standard in Syria reportedly depreciated by half.[175][174] A group of priests tried to surrender, but Titus had them executed, saying it was fitting they die with the temple.[174] With the destruction of the temple complex complete, the Romans turned to destroy the rest of the city.[176][177]
After the temple's destruction, some rebels sought a parley with Titus, meeting on a bridge overlooking the ruins, possibly at what is now Wilson's Arch.[178] Hoping to save the city, they were met with a rebuke from Titus—through an interpreter, possibly Josephus—for their repeated ingratitude and rejection of peace since Pompey's time.[178] He offered them a final chance to surrender, but they demanded safe passage to the desert with their families.[179][180] Offended, Titus ended the talks and declared that no further terms would be given.[179]
A day later, Titus authorized the burning and sacking of what remained of the city.[179][180] Roman soldiers set fire to the city archives, the Acra fortress, the council chamber, and the Ophel district;[179] the blaze spread through the Lower City, reaching Helena of Adiabene's palace and the Pool of Siloam.[181][182] Titus granted protection to the family of King Izates of Adiabene, though they were later taken as hostages to Rome.[179][180] The Romans found little plunder, as the rebels had already removed anything of value.[183] The rebels then retreated to Herod's Palace, massacred those inside, and looted its contents.[183] They captured two Roman soldiers, killing one and nearly executing the other, who escaped and was later spared but dishonorably discharged by Titus.[183] Josephus's pleas for surrender were mocked as the rebels hid in tunnels, hoarding food and killing intruders.[183]
Jerusalem's Upper City was the final district to fall.[150] On 20 Av, the Romans launched another assault,[184] constructing siege ramps to the northwest and northeast.[150] At the same time, a group of Idumaean leaders secretly approached Titus to negotiate surrender. He accepted, hoping it would encourage wider capitulation. However, Simon uncovered the plan, executed the five envoys, and imprisoned the remaining leaders.[184][180] Despite this, many Idumaeans escaped to the Romans—Roman citizens among them were released, while others were sold into slavery.[184] A priest named Jesus son of Thebuthi surrendered items from the sanctuary, including two lampstands, golden tables, garments, and precious stones. Another priest, Phineas, secured a pardon by handing over priestly vestments and spices used in ritual offerings.[185][186][180] These objects were later paraded through Rome during Titus's triumph, alongside hundreds of chained Jewish prisoners.[187][188]
The Upper City was the last part of Jerusalem to fall.[150] On 20 Av, the Romans launched another assault,[184] building siege ramps to the northwest and northeast.[150] Meanwhile, several Idumaean leaders secretly sought to surrender, and Titus agreed, hoping to prompt wider capitulation. Simon discovered the plot, executed the envoys, and imprisoned the rest.[184][180] Even so, many Idumaeans escaped to the Romans—Roman citizens were freed, others sold into slavery.[184] A priest named Jesus son of Thebuthi surrendered items from the sanctuary, including two lampstands, golden tables, garments, and precious stones. Another priest, Phineas, secured a pardon by handing over priestly vestments and spices used in ritual offerings.[185][186][180] These objects were later paraded through Rome alongside hundreds of prisoners.[187][188]
Within 18 days, the Romans completed their siege works and, on 7 Elul (August/September), launched their final assault.[189][186] After breaching the Upper City wall, resistance quickly collapsed.[189] The defenders abandoned the towers of Herod's citadel, which Josephus said could only have been taken by famine.[189][186] With their last charge repelled, the rebel leaders fled underground.[186] The Romans raised their standards over the towers and carried out an indiscriminate massacre, killing civilians in streets and homes.[189] Some families were found starved to death, while others were killed outright.[189] The killing ceased only with nightfall. By morning, Jerusalem was entirely engulfed in flames.[189]
Destruction of Jerusalem
By early September, the conquest of Jerusalem was complete.[150] Titus ordered the city's total destruction, reducing it to ruins.[176][190][150] Only the three towers of Herod's citadel—Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne—were spared as a monument to its former strength.[191][g] Additionally, a section of the western wall of the first wall remained intact, protecting Legio X, that was stationed there.[193] The rest of Jerusalem, was systematically leveled, erasing nearly all traces of its grandeur.[190] According to Josephus, the devastation was so thorough that even former residents would not recognize the city, and a visitor might not believe it had ever existed.[194]
The army now having no victims either for Jerusalem slaughter or plunder, through lack of all objects on which to vent their rage—for they would assuredly never have desisted through a desire to spare anything so long as there was work to be done—Caesar ordered the whole city and the temple to be razed to the ground, leaving only the loftiest of the towers, Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamme, and the portion of the wall enclosing the city on the west: the latter as an encampment for the garrison that was to remain, and the towers to indicate to posterity the nature of the city and of the strong defences which had yet yielded to Roman prowess. All the rest of the wall encompassing the city was so completely levelled to the ground as to leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it had ever been inhabited. Such was the end to which the frenzy of revolutionaries brought Jerusalem, that splendid city of world-wide renown.
The historical account is strongly supported by archaeological evidence from 70 CE, with extensive remains across the city confirming the widespread destruction.[195][196] At the base of the Temple Mount, archaeologists have uncovered large stones and rubble toppled by the Romans during their destruction of the temple complex.[196][195]Robinson's Arch, which once supported a monumental staircase leading to the temple precinct, was destroyed immediately following the city's fall.[197] Near the southern section of the Western Wall, a massive pile of stones was discovered—remnants of the temple complex's retaining walls that had been hurled onto the Herodian street below.[195][198] These stones were later dismantled in a systematic operation, likely carried out by the Legio X Fretensis, which removed the upper courses of the retaining walls stone by stone.[199] Among the finds is the Trumpeting Place inscription, a monumental Hebrew inscription that once marked the location where a priest would blow a trumpet to announce the beginning and end of Shabbat.[200]
In the 1970s–1980s, excavations led by archaeologist Nahman Avigad revealed evidence of a massive fire that devastated Jerusalem's Upper City. The flames consumed all organic material, causing beamed ceilings and upper floors to collapse and bury their contents.[201] Findings of calcium oxides indicate prolonged burning that damaged limestone walls, while layers of ash and debris reached up to two meters deep.[201] The fire left its mark even on household utensils and objects within the affected buildings.[201] Limestone vessels were stained with ash or calcined into lime, while glass vessels shattered or warped from the intense heat[201]—most notably a piece by the renowned glassmaker Ennion, discovered in a local mansion.[202] Many of these items were so severely damaged that they proved irrecoverable under laboratory conditions.[201]
Stones from the Western Wall of the Temple Mount thrown onto the street by Roman soldiers
One of the most significant discoveries from this period is the Burnt House. Excavations unveiled thick layers of ash covering its basement and revealed kitchen tools, pottery, and a weight inscribed with the name of the priestly Kathros family, suggesting the structure may have functioned as part of their villa, located in its basement.[203] Among the finds were a spear and the skeletal arm of a young woman, likely killed during the siege.[204][203][202]
Josephus' account of Jerusalem's inhabitants attempting to escape through underground passages after the city's fall aligns with archaeological findings beneath the stepped street in the Tyropoeon Valley. Excavations revealed a drainage channel large enough for a person to crawl through, filled with intact cooking pots and revolt coinage. In several places, paving stones had been removed, possibly providing access for refugees to hide or escape through the sewer system.[205][206] The great urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the lower city became clogged with silt and stopped working, and the city walls collapsed in numerous places.[195]
Captives and executions
After Jerusalem's fall, Titus ordered the killing of resisters, though many elderly and weak prisoners were massacred despite his orders.[176] Survivors in good condition were detained in the Court of the Women, one of the temple's courtyards, where the Roman official Fronto determined their fate: rebels and brigands were executed, the tallest and most handsome were selected for Titus' triumph in Rome, prisoners over 17 were sent in chains to Egypt, many were distributed across the empire for execution by the sword or wild animals, and those under 17 were sold into slavery.[207] Around 11,000 prisoners reportedly died of starvation, either from neglect or refusing food. Josephus later claimed to have rescued his brother and friends, and even intervened to save three men being crucified in Teqoa—though only one survived.[207] The 4th-century bishop Eusebius wrote that Vespasian ordered the eradication of all members of the Davidic line, to prevent any potential Jewish royal resurgence.[208][209]
After most of Jerusalem's remaining population had been killed or enslaved, the Romans searched the underground tunnels for survivors.[209] Many were executed upon discovery, while over 2,000 were found dead from starvation or mutual killings. Soldiers also recovered valuables and prisoners held by the rebels.[209] John was captured after emerging from the tunnels and sentenced to life imprisonment.[209][180] Simon was caught after he and his companions, hiding in an underground passage, ran low on food. He emerged at the site of the destroyed temple, dressed in a white tunic and purple mantle—possibly to evoke a royal claim.[210][180] Terentius Rufus had him captured and sent to Titus in Caesarea.[211] Both were later transported to Rome in preparation for the triumph.[150]
After the conquest, Titus conducted a regional victory tour.[212] In Caesarea Philippi, he held games with Jewish prisoners, featuring executions by beasts and gladiatorial combat. For his brother's birthday in Caesarea, 2,500 captives were killed in similar events, and more died during Vespasian's birthday games in Berytus.[213][214]
During the siege of Jerusalem and its aftermath, the population faced mass extermination—an event described by scholar Shawn J. Kelley as genocide.[215] Josephus claims that 1.1 million people died in the siege, mostly Jews who came for Passover and became trapped in the city as pilgrims kept arriving despite the revolt.[83][84][86] He also records several waves of desertions before and during the siege.[216] Modern scholars generally regard his death toll as greatly exaggerated. Historian Seth Schwartz, for instance, estimates that Palestine's total population at the time was around one million, with roughly half being Jewish, and notes that sizable Jewish communities remained in the region after the war, even in Judea, despite its devastation.[217][h] Historian Guy Rogers estimates the death toll at tens of thousands, likely 20,000–30,000.[84]
Layers of ash and collapsed building materials in the basement of a priestly mansion, known today as the Burnt House
Many in the surrounding region were killed, displaced, or enslaved.[216] Josephus reports that after the Romans killed the armed and elderly, 97,000 were enslaved,[218] while 40,000 survivors from Jerusalem were released by the emperor.[219][180] Evidence of Jewish captives appears in Italy: a tombstone from Puteoli, near Naples, commemorates a woman named Claudia Aster, identified as a captive from Jerusalem—her name possibly derived from Esther.[220][221] The Roman poet Martial also references a Jewish slave he owned, describing them as originating from "Jerusalem destroyed by fire".[222]
Triumph and mop-up operations
About a year after Jerusalem’s fall, in the summer of 71 CE, Titus and Vespasian held a triumph in Rome celebrating their victory in Judaea.[223][224][73][225] This triumph was unique in Roman history as the only one dedicated to subjugating the population of an existing province.[226][224] It is also the best-documented triumph of the imperial era,[73][227][228] described in vivid detail in Josephus' account in Book VII of The Jewish War.[229]
In 71 CE, a triumph was held in Rome to celebrate the victory. It is commemorated on the Arch of Titus, which depicts Roman soldiers carrying spoils from the temple, including the menorah.
At dawn, Vespasian and Titus, wearing laurel crowns and purple robes, left the Temple of Isis for the Porticus Octaviae, where they met Rome's leading officials.[223] Seated on an ivory tribunal, they offered prayers of thanksgiving before proceeding to the Porta Triumphalis, performing sacrifices, donning triumphal robes, and beginning the procession.[223] The event drew an enormous crowd, estimated at over 300,000 spectators.[230][223] The procession showcased an elaborate array of artworks, including purple tapestries, rugs, gems, divine statues, and decorated animals.[231] Multi-story scaffolds displayed golden frames, ivory work, and tapestries illustrating scenes from the war.[232] Vespasian and Titus rode together in triumphal chariots, with Domitian riding beside them separately.[233][234] Particularly significant were sacred items from the temple, such as the menorah, the golden Table of Showbread, and Jewish religious texts.[235] 700 Jewish captives were paraded as symbols of conquest, according to Josephus, "to make a display of their own destruction".[236][213][237] The triumph culminated in the execution of Simon bar Giora, who was scourged and hanged at the Mamertine Prison, in accordance with Roman custom.[234]
Although most of Judaea was pacified, three strongholds—Herodium, Machaerus, and Masada—remained under rebel control. Roman legates were assigned to eliminate these final pockets of resistance.[238] Herodium and Machaerus fell within two years, leaving Masada as the last stronghold. In 73/74 CE, the Romans breached its walls after a prolonged siege, ending the Jewish revolt.[160]
Legio X Fretensis garrisons the ruins of Jerusalem
After Jerusalem's fall, Legio X Fretensis, garrisoned the ruins for nearly two centuries.[239][240] Their presence is confirmed by inscriptions, tiles, and bricks bearing the legion's stamp, though the camp's exact location remains uncertain.[241][i] The establishment of a Roman garrison likely discouraged Jews from returning.[241] Josephus wrote that Titus granted him property elsewhere, since those in Jerusalem were worthless due to the Roman garrison.[243][241] He added that during the revolt, every tree around the city was cut down, leaving the land "as bare as virgin soil."[244]
A small remnant may have remained after the city's destruction. In Josephus's account of Eleazar ben Yair's speech at Masada (73/74 CE), Eleazar describes "hapless old men sit[ting] beside the ashes of the shrine, and a few women, reserved by the enemy for basest outrage".[245][241]Epiphanius, a fourth-century Christian bishop, records what may be authentic testimony of a small, impoverished Jewish community residing on Jerusalem's southwest hill between the revolts.[246][247] Excavations at Shuafat, 4 km north of Jerusalem's Old City, revealed a post-destruction settlement built in Roman style but inhabited by a substantial Jewish population. At the start of the Bar Kokhba revolt, it was partially burned, and the residents fled.[248]
Commemoration in Rome
To celebrate their triumph, the Flavians initiated a series of grand construction projects in Rome.[249] In 75 CE, Vespasian completed the Temple of Peace—a monumental complex dedicated to Pax, the goddess of peace, adjacent to the Forum of Augustus.[250][251] The temple housed the menorah, the Table of Showbread, and other ritual objects from Jerusalem, along with a large collection of artworks.[252][251] Another landmark associated with the triumph was the Colosseum, completed under Titus and financed, according to an inscription, "from the spoils of war"—a reference to the war in Judaea.[253][254]
The Flavians also launched a coinage campaign known as Judaea Capta ("Judaea has been conquered").[255] Issued over a span of 10 to 12 years, these coins became a central tool of Flavian propaganda.[256] The obverse featured Vespasian or Titus,[256] while the reverse depicted a mourning female figure, symbolizing the subjugated Jewish people, seated beneath a palm tree, the emblem of Judaea.[255] In some variations, the figure appears bound or kneeling before the victory goddess Nike (Victoria).[256]
The Arch of Titus, built c. 81 CE on the Via Sacra, is one of the monumental structures in Rome commemorating the victory.
Emperor Domitian (r. 81–96 CE) continued to immortalize the victory, commissioning two triumphal arches that glorified the Flavian dynasty and its military success.[257][258] Most prominent is the Arch of Titus, still standing in the Roman Forum along the Via Sacra, ancient Rome's main thoroughfare.[259][252] Built shortly after Titus's death, the arch was dedicated by the Senate and People of Rome to the deified Titus and Vespasian.[259] Its interior reliefs portray soldiers parading the seven-branched menorah, the Table of Showbread, a golden cup, and silver trumpets, during the triumphal procession.[260][261] On the opposite panel, Titus appears in a quadriga, crowned with a laurel wreath by Victoria, while Virtus, the personification of bravery and military strength, leads the chariot.[261] The menorah depicted on the arch was later chosen as the emblem of Israel.[260] A second triumphal arch, constructed c. 80/81 CE,[262] stood near the southeastern edge of the Circus Maximus, Rome's principal chariot-racing venue.[263][254] Its inscription proclaimed that Titus "subdued the Jewish people and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, a feat either sought in vain by all generals, kings, and peoples before him or entirely untried," overlooking earlier conquests of the city.[263][258]
Aelia Capitolina and the Bar Kokhba revolt
In 129/130 CE, Emperor Hadrian visited Jerusalem and founded the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina on its ruins,[264][265] an act that historian Martin Goodman described as the "final solution for Jewish rebelliousness."[265] This move is widely seen as a trigger for the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE),[266][264] during which rebels led by Simon Bar Kokhba established a short-lived independent Jewish state, which was soon crushed by Rome, nearly wiping out Jewish settlement in Judea. Hadrian renamed the province from Judaea to Syria Palaestina and banned Jews from entering Jerusalem and its vicinity.[267][241] Aelia Capitolina grew into a modest town inhabited by legionaries and non-Jewish settlers, with temples to Roman deities replacing the city's former Jewish character.[264]
For the next five centuries, Jews were permitted to enter Jerusalem only on Tisha B'Av, to mourn the destruction of the temple. A Christian pilgrim from Bordeaux who visited the city in 333 CE noted that Jews would come annually to anoint a perforated stone, "bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart".[268] The ban on Jewish settlement remained in effect even after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity.[268] Under Emperor Julian (r. 361–363 CE), Jews were temporarily allowed to return and may have begun rebuilding the temple, but the effort was halted by a natural disaster and Julian's death.[269] Permanent Jewish resettlement in Jerusalem was only permitted after the Muslim conquest in 638 CE.[270] The Temple Mount appears to have remained largely in ruins until 693 CE, when the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik built the Dome of the Rock.[271]
Fate of the temple treasures
While most of the temple treasures were publicly displayed in Rome's Temple of Peace,[252][251] items such as the purple temple curtains and the Torah scroll were instead deposited within the imperial palace.[272] Rabbinic tradition attributed to Eliezer ben Jose (possibly dated to c. 170 CE) recounts that he saw a golden diadem and the temple curtain in Rome, possibly in Vespasian's private treasury. A slightly later source mentions these objects along with the menorah and the Table of Showbread.[272]
In the 6th century, the Byzantine historian Procopius recorded that "the treasures of the Jews, which Vespasian's son Titus had brought to Rome after the conquest of Jerusalem along with other spoils", were among the war trophies paraded in Constantinople by General Belisarius following his victory in the Vandalic War in 533 CE.[273][272] He states that these had previously been taken to Carthage by the Vandal king Gaiseric, after his sack of Rome in 455 CE. During the procession, a Jewish onlooker reportedly warned that these sacred objects belonged only in the place originally designated by King Solomon, and that their possession had empowered both Geiseric and now Belisarius in conquest. Alarmed by the warning, Emperor Justinian ordered that the items be sent to Christian shrines in Jerusalem.[272] Some later medieval sources claimed that the temple treasures remained in Rome. The seven-branched lamp depicted in the apse mosaic of Santi Cosma e Damiano in the city has been associated by scholar John Osborne with the menorah.[272] If the objects stayed in Constantinople, they were likely lost during the city's sack in 614.[272]
Jewish responses
The destruction of the Second Temple was a turning point in Jewish history,[274] leading to the profound reshaping of Jewish identity and practice.[274] With the loss of the Temple—the center of religious and national life—Judaism had to adapt to a future of displacement and uncertainty.[274] This shift also prompted the decline of sectarianism[275] and the end of the High Priesthood.[276] As sacrificial rites were no longer feasible,[276][277] Judaism developed new forms of worship and practice,[278] with the Pharisees emerging as the central force in reshaping and unifying Judaism,[279] laying the groundwork for the rabbinic tradition that followed. Under the leadership of their successors, the rabbis,[280] Judaism transitioned toward a model focused on Torah study, communal prayer, and acts of loving-kindness,[281][282] marking the beginning of a new religious era that adapted to the absence of both the Temple and a sovereign Jewish state.[278]
The destruction of the temple also sparked profound theological reflection on its causes and significance. Drawing from biblical interpretations of Jerusalem's destruction in 586/587 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar, many Jews saw their suffering as a divine consequence of moral or religious transgressions.[283] The idea that exile resulted from disobedience but that repentance could restore divine favor had been reinforced when the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the temple c. 539 BCE.[283] However, while the Second Temple was rebuilt within sixty years of the destruction of the First, the Romans did not allow a similar reconstruction after its destruction, leaving Jewish expectations unfulfilled.[284]
Apocalyptic literature
In the decades following Jerusalem's destruction, Jewish apocalyptic literature experienced a resurgence,[285] mourning the temple's loss, seeking to explain its fate, and expressing hope for the city's restoration.[286][285] Some works drew on the precedent of Jerusalem's destruction in 587/6 BCE and its aftermath,[287][288][289] as this earlier catastrophe left a deep imprint on the Hebrew Bible, prompting Jews who experienced a comparable disaster to reflect upon it.[290]
Blessed is he who was not born, or he who was born and died. But we, the living—woe to us, for we have seen the afflictions of Zion, and what has befallen Jerusalem. ...
You, farmers, sow not again. And you, O earth, why do you give the fruit of your harvest? Keep within you the sweetness of your sustenance. And you, vine, why do you still give your wine? For an offering will no longer be given in Zion, and the first fruits will not again be offered.
And you, heaven, keep your dew within you, and do not open the treasuries of rain. And you, sun, keep the light of your rays within you. And you, moon, extinguish the multitude of your light. For why should the light rise again, when the light of Zion is darkened?
And you, bridegrooms, do not enter, and do not let the brides adorn themselves. And you, wives, do not pray to bear children, for the barren will rejoice more.
One such work is 2 Baruch,[k] an apocryphal text attributed to Baruch ben Neriah, Jeremiah during the First Temple's destruction. It begins with God revealing to Baruch that Jerusalem's fall is imminent because of the people's sins and instructing him to warn others to flee. Baruch replies that he would rather die than witness the city's fall, calling Jerusalem "my mother",[292] and wondering if the world itself is ending.[293] He pleads that its destruction will erase Israel's legacy, but God reassures him that the true, eternal Jerusalem remains preserved in heaven.[294] Chapter ten of the book calls on nature and humanity to cease their normal labors and joys in mourning over Jerusalem's fall.[295] The work concludes with Baruch urging those remaining in the land to remain faithful to God's law and avoid the fate of the exiles. He writes to the exiles of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, describing Zion's destruction, sharing divine promises of justice, and urging them to uphold the Law as they await the approaching redemption, before sending the letter with an eagle.[296]
Another apocalyptic work, 4 Ezra, is believed to have been originally written in Hebrew, possibly during the reign of Domitian (81–96 CE).[297] Attributed to the biblical figure Ezra, active during the Return to Zion era (fifth–fourth centuries BCE), the work depicts him engaging in dialogues with the angel Uriel, expressing deep frustration reminiscent of the arguments in the Book of Job.[298][299] The text describes the world's mourning for Zion, "the mother of us all",[300] while Ezra sees Babylon and is deeply shaken upon witnessing "the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon."[301] Ezra questions why Israel should remain faithful when obedience has brought suffering, and challenges why their oppressors thrive while they are punished.[302] The angel's reply—that Ezra himself has been righteous and will be rewarded—fails to satisfy him.[303] The second half of the book presents a series of visions depicting the end of days, which some scholars interpret as a resolution to Ezra's doubts.[298][l] The text conveys that divine justice is not immediately apparent but will be revealed in the long term, when Israel is restored and its enemies punished.[298] Rome is depicted as an unjust empire destined to fall through divine judgment, executed by the Messiah.[305] Similarly, one of the Sibylline Oracles, which includes Jewish prophecies composed in the post-revolt era, describes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE as a divine punishment for the destruction of Jerusalem.[306][307]
The destruction in rabbinic literature
The rabbinic response to the events is reflected in rabbinic literature through tales, traditions, exegeses, and teachings over centuries.[308] The rabbis framed the events as a moral and religious crisis, attributing the disaster to internal factors such as factionalism, misuse of wealth, leadership failures, neglect of communal responsibility, and sin.[309] Their interpretation aligned with the biblical view that Jerusalem, a divinely protected city, could only fall due to Israel's failings, with God allowing Rome to conquer it as punishment for internal divisions and self-destructive actions.[310]
Early rabbinic works, composed by the Tannaim—the rabbinic sages active from the time of the temple's destruction until the early third century—reflect deep sorrow and anguish over its loss.[281] The Mishnah laments that with the destruction, "faithful men came to an end", and since that time, "there has been no day without its curse".[311][312] Similarly, Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a commentary on the Mishnah, states: "While the temple service existed, the world was blessed ... But once the Temple was destroyed, blessing left the world."[313]
Due to what reason was the First Temple destroyed? It was destroyed due to the fact that there were three matters that existed in the First Temple: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed. ... However, considering that the people during the Second Temple period were engaged in Torah study, observance of mitzvot, and acts of kindness, ... why was the Second Temple destroyed? ... due to the fact that there was wanton hatred during that period. This comes to teach you that the sin of wanton hatred is equivalent to the three severe transgressions: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed.
The Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 55b–57a) provides an extensive narrative detailing the city's destruction and the factors that led to it.[314][315][316] Another account, rich with interpretive homilies, appears in Lamentations Rabbah, particularly in its opening sections.[315] The Yoma tractate of the Babylonian Talmud explains that the Second Temple fell due to the grave sin of baseless hatred (שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם; sin'at ḥinnam).[317]
One of the most famous Talmudic tales explaining the destruction is the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa. In this account, a wealthy man in Jerusalem mistakenly invited his enemy, Bar Kamsa, to a banquet instead of his friend, Kamsa. When Bar Kamsa arrived, he was publicly humiliated and expelled, despite offering to pay for the entire feast. Seeking revenge, Bar Kamsa informed the Romans that the Jews were plotting a rebellion, triggering a chain of events that ultimately led to war.[318] Another tale describes how three wealthy men—Ben Kalba Sabua, Naqdimon ben Gurion, and Ben Sisit Hakkeset—had enough provisions to sustain Jerusalem for 21 years, allowing the rabbis to negotiate with Rome. However, the revolutionaries (baryoni) burned the city's food supplies, forcing the population into starvation and making war the only option.[318]
Rabbinic literature refers to Titus as "Titus the Wicked",[319] portraying him as arrogant and blasphemous, and emphasizing that although Israel's enemies may gain power, they serve only as instruments of divine wrath destined for punishment.[320] One legend recounts Titus desecrating the temple's Holy of Holies by violating a prostitute on a Torah scroll, then slashing the veil with his sword, causing it to bleed.[321][322] Later, a mosquito entered Titus's nose, consumed his brain, and caused his death.[n][324]
Rabbinic sources reflecting on Jerusalem before its destruction speak of its unparalleled beauty, with one stating, "There is no beauty like the beauty of Jerusalem",[329] and another declaring, "He who has not seen Jerusalem in its splendor has never seen a beautiful city in his life."[330][331] Rabbinic literature also records visits to its ruins.[247] One account describes Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues at the desolate site: while the others wept, Akiva laughed, explaining that just as the prophecies of destruction had come true, so too would the promises of restoration.[332][333] Additional rabbinic texts portray God, along with Moses, the patriarchs, prophets, and angels, as mourning Jerusalem's destruction.[334][335]
Ben Zakkai, Yavneh, and the emergence of the Rabbinic movement
According to rabbinic sources,[o] Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (Ribaz), a prominent sage, was smuggled out of Jerusalem during the siege, hidden in a coffin and pretending to be dead.[284] After meeting Vespasian and prophesying his rise to the imperial throne,[p] he secured the establishment of a rabbinic center in Yavneh. From there, he and his disciples laid the groundwork for a form of Judaism no longer centered on the temple.[339] A passage in Avot de-Rabbi Natan illustrates this shift, recounting how Ben Zakkai consoled his disciple, Joshua ben Hananiah, by teaching that acts of loving-kindness are equivalent to the temple's sacrificial atonement.[340]
The emerging rabbinic approach advocated for a balanced response: Jews were to temper their celebrations in remembrance of the temple's destruction but avoid excessive mourning that disrupted daily life.[341] Some Jews adopted ascetic practices,[341] while others retreated to caves for fasting and awaited redemption.[342][281] A debate in the ToseftaSotah and Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 60b) recounts Rabbi Joshua countering those advocating abstention from meat and wine due to their role in temple offerings.[341] He argued this logic would require abandoning bread, fruit, and water, leaving his opponents speechless.[341] He also reminded them of the rabbinic enactment to leave a small section unpainted when plastering a new home as a memorial for Jerusalem.[342]
Once as Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai was coming forth from Jerusalem, Rabbi Joshua followed after him and beheld the temple in ruins. "Woe unto us!" Rabbi Joshua cried, "that this, the place where the iniquities of Israel were atoned for, is laid waste!" "My son," Rabban Johanan said to him, "be not grieved; we have another atonement as effective as this. And what is it? It is acts of loving-kindness, as it is said, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6).
The period after the temple's destruction saw Ribaz assume a leading role in reshaping Judaism.[339] He is credited with introducing several enactments (taqqanot) which adapted Jewish religious practices to function in the absence of the temple.[343][344][r] Among these, it was decreed that if Rosh Hashanah fell on a Shabbat, the shofar could be blown in any location with a court, rather than only in the Jerusalem temple.[343] Similarly, during Sukkot, the lulav was permitted to be carried outside Jerusalem for all seven days of the festival.[343] The prayer was also formalized, with the Amidah established as a central component, recited three times daily,[345] with its timing correlated with temple sacrifices.[s][349] The priestly class maintained its influence by contributing to synagogue liturgy and possibly to biblical translations.[350] The establishment of the center in Yavneh facilitated the development of a structured and authoritative system of rabbinic scholarship,[351] which played a crucial role in shaping Jewish life by emphasizing the oral tradition as a complement to the written Torah. These rabbinic efforts later culminated in the compilation of the Mishnah and the two Talmuds, which became the primary sources of Jewish law and religious guidance.[352][353]
Legacy and cultural impact
In Jewish tradition and culture
The destruction of Jerusalem marked a profound shift for the Jewish people, with Jewish control over the city not resuming until the twentieth century.[354] However, Jerusalem remained central to Jewish religious life and identity. The Jewish connection to the city was reinforced by a network of symbols, customs, and rituals embedded in literature, prayer, song, and art, preserving the aspiration of returning to Jerusalem and the restoration of Jewish nationhood.[354][355]
Jews praying at the Western Wall, the last remaining part of the Second Temple, during Tisha B'Av, a fast day commemorating the temple's destruction
In Judaism, the destruction is commemorated on Tisha B'Av, a major fast day that also marks the destruction of Solomon's Temple, along with other catastrophic events in Jewish history, including the fall of Betar and the expulsion of Jews from Spain.[356] For three weeks leading up to this day, special prophetic readings are recited in the synagogue, and practices such as weddings, haircuts, and eating meat on the first eight days of Av are prohibited.[357] The Western Wall,[t] the most significant surviving remnant of the Second Temple, has long been a focal point for Jewish prayer and mourning, symbolizing both the destruction of the Jewish homeland and hopes for its restoration.[356] "Next Year in Jerusalem" is a recurring declaration during various points of the Hebrew calendar, notably at the Passover Seder.[357]
A groom breaks a glass underfoot during a Jewish wedding ceremony, a symbolic act commemorating the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem
The destruction is also recalled in lifecycle rituals. At Jewish weddings, the groom breaks a glass to commemorate the Temple's destruction, often accompanied by a recitation of Psalm 137:5–6: "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand wither."[358][359] Other mourning traditions include leaving a section of a home unpainted or refraining from wearing a full set of jewelry on joyous occasions.[358] In late antiquity, some Jewish communities began dating life events from the temple's destruction.[360][u] A common expression of comfort during funerary customs, both in the cemetery and afterward, is "May God comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."[361]
Jews, both individually and in groups, attempted to return to Jerusalem throughout history, with notable cases including Judah Halevi in the twelfth century and the followers of Sabbatai Zevi in the seventeenth century.[362] Pilgrimage to the city continued, evolving through different forms across the centuries.[355] The Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds, compiled in the fourth and fifth centuries CE, provide detailed prescriptions for mourning rituals observed by pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, including guidelines for tearing garments and reciting prayers when witnessing the ruins of Judea, Jerusalem, and the temple.[268]Lekha Dodi, the central piyyut (liturgical song) welcoming Shabbat, composed in sixteenth-century Safed, devotes five of its nine stanzas to Jerusalem, reflecting on its destruction while expressing hope for its restoration.[363] The rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of sacrifices remain central themes in Orthodox Jewish liturgy.[364]
Jewish diaspora communities preserved legends of their ancestors' exile from Jerusalem. A tradition recorded among Jews of Spain holds that their ancestors were taken there following the city's fall to Titus, with the earliest documented reference appearing in Seder Olam Zuta (c. 800 CE).[365] One tradition holds that Jerusalemite exiles named the city of Toledo, linking it to the Hebrew words toledot or tulaytula, meaning "migration" or "wandering".[366] The Abu Albalia family traced its ancestry to Baruch, a skilled silk weaver who, according to their tradition, was sent by Titus to Mérida along with other noble Jerusalemite families at the request of the local governor.[367] Similar traditions appear in medieval Italian sources. The eleventh-century Chronicle of Ahimaaz and later manuscripts of Josippon recount that around 5,000 captives taken by Titus were relocated to various cities in Apulia, including Oria, Otranto, and Trani.[368]
Over time, the destruction became a symbol of Jewish exile and the longing for restoration, a theme that continues to resonate in Jewish thought and literature. Israeli writer Shmuel Yosef Agnon reflected on its lasting significance in his Nobel Banquet Address: "As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile. But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem."[369]
In Christian theology
Early Christians interpreted the destruction of the temple as the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy, as recorded in the Gospels. "The Prophecy of the Destruction of the Temple", painting by James Tissot
In some early Christian texts, the destruction of Jerusalem was depicted as divine punishment for the Jewish people's rejection of Jesus, in line with the biblical view that sin results in divineretribution.[370][371] The Gospels—beginning with the Gospel of Mark, composed c. 70 CE—contain prophecies attributed to Jesus foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21), with the Gospel of Matthew possibly alluding to the burning of the city.[372] The Epistle of Barnabas (written between 70 and 135 CE) framed the destruction as evidence that God had rejected the physical temple in favor of a new, spiritual one, embodied in the faith and conversion of Gentile believers.[373]Justin Martyr, writing after 135 CE, interpreted the temple's destruction as punishment for the crucifixion of Jesus, and viewed the second revolt as sealing Jerusalem's desolation—a sign, in his view, that the temple cult and God's covenant with the Jews were temporary and had now been superseded by the Church.[374]
According to fourth-century Church Fathers Eusebius and Epiphanius, the Christian community in Jerusalem fled to Pella across the Jordan after receiving divine instruction, thereby avoiding the city's destruction.[375][376][377] The historicity of this account is debated. Skeptics cite Eusebius's claim of an oracle as evidence of bias and note that Pella was sacked by Jewish rebels during the war. Supporters argue that, like other groups, the Christians may have fled, while another view suggests they surrendered to the Romans and were resettled in Pella.[378]
By the late fourth century, Christian writers further reinforced the view of Jerusalem's fall as divine punishment. John Chrysostom declared that in retribution for the crucifixion of Jesus, "he then destroyed your city... dispersed your people... and scattered your nation over the face of the earth", presenting this as evidence that Jesus had risen and was reigning in heaven.[379][380] Around the same period, Jerome described how Jews were only permitted to enter Jerusalem once a year to mourn the temple's destruction—after paying a fee. On that day, he wrote, "the people came mourning, the feeble foolish women assemble, and the old men, covered with years and rags, show the wrath of the Lord in their bodies and in their physical appearance." He saw their suffering as a fulfillment of divine punishment, contrasting their misery "with the banner of his cross gleaming from the Mount of Olives."[381][382] In the 19th century, Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, described the fall of Jerusalem as "the most significant national event in the history of the world," stating that once the "more perfect Tabernacle" (i.e., Jesus) was rejected, the temple was "necessarily doomed to final desolation."[383]
In art, literature and popular culture
The fall of Jerusalem has inspired writers and artists for millennia. An early medieval depiction appears on the Franks Casket, an eighth-century whalebone box from Anglo-Saxon England, whose back panel portrays the city's capture—seemingly informed by Josephus's account.[384] The scene is labeled with the words "judgement" and "hostage", alongside an inscription interpreted as: "Here Titus and a Jew fight. Here its inhabitants flee from Jerusalem."[384] Medieval Christian literature developed legends in which Vespasian and Titus were depicted as Christian heroes who converted after miraculous healings by Saint Veronica's relic, leading them to avenge the Jews.[385][386] The De Pylato, a Latin prose work possibly from the eleventh century, presents the foundational elements of this legend, influencing works like the twelfth-century La Destruction de Jerusalem and the thirteenth-century Legenda Aurea.[385] A related narrative appears in the fourteenth-century Middle English alliterative poem Siege of Jerusalem, which portrays the event as "a crusade to avenge Christ's death," as described by medieval literature scholar Christine Chism.[387] The destruction of Jerusalem is also mentioned several times in Dante's Divine Comedy, where the "good Titus" is portrayed as an instrument of divine retribution.[386]
'Siege and destruction of Jerusalem', La Passion de Nostre Seigneur (c.1504)
By the seventeenth century, artists began to adopt a more complex and ambivalent view of the event, marking a shift away from earlier anti-Jewish readings.[388][389] In his The Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem (1638), French baroque painterNicolas Poussin drew on Josephus to depict the siege as a scene of chaos and brutality. Rather than portraying Titus as a triumphant conqueror, Poussin depicted him as a conflicted figure, distressed by the ruin of the temple.[388] In contrast, The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (1846) by German painter Wilhelm von Kaulbach follows the medieval Christian tradition, portraying the event as divine punishment, with avenging angels assisting Titus and the figure of the Wandering Jew being driven out by demons.[390] Another nineteenth-century depiction is Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans by Scottish-born orientalist painter David Roberts, who based his dramatic composition on sketches made during his 1839 visit to Jerusalem, though he took theatrical liberties with both the events and the city's topography.[391] Lastly, a painting by Italian Romantic painter Francesco Hayez, created in the 1860s and reflecting the Romantic nationalism associated with Giuseppe Verdi, places the menorah at the center of the temple's destruction.[392]
The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem, by David Roberts (1850)
In early modern England, the destruction of Jerusalem was seen as a mirror for national introspection.[389] Writers across genres came to identify Protestant England with the besieged Jews, while Catholic powers were recast as the modern Romans.[393] The 1618 poem Canaan's Calamity presents the Romans as seeking "this Holy City to defile".[385] Preacher Samuel Rolle compared Jerusalem's destruction to the Great Fire of London, hinting that Romanists may have been behind both.[385] In Paradise Lost (1667), Milton presents Jerusalem's destruction as a redemptive loss, like Eden's fall, pointing beyond judgment to spiritual renewal and the hope of the New Jerusalem.[385] This perspective fostered a more empathetic identification with Jews among the English.[389]
In the modern era, Jerusalem's destruction has been portrayed in art works, novels and films. The destruction of Jerusalem is viewed negatively in Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables (1862), where he declares, "massacred Jerusalem diminishes Titus... Woe to the man who leaves behind a shadow that bears his form."[394]Henry Rider Haggard's The Pearl-Maiden (1901) uses the fall of Jerusalem as its backdrop, telling the story of Mariam, a young Christian woman, and her love for Marcus, a Roman soldier.[395] More recently, the Israeli animated film Legend of Destruction (2021), directed by Gidi Dar, dramatized the siege of Jerusalem using still paintings and a voice cast, with Talmudic figure Ben Batiach as a central character, and the film won four Ophir Awards.[396]
↑ Historian Jonathan Price notes estimates ranging from 25,000 to over 150,000 residents.[6] Archaeologist Magen Broshi estimated the population at around 80,000,[7] while Orit Peleg-Barkat suggests a range of 50,000 to 80,000 people.[8]
↑ It succeeded Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586/587 BCE and was rebuilt in the late fifth century BCE during the Return to Zion.[15]
↑ The holidays of Passover, Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shavuot (Weeks), during which Jews were required by the Torah to offer sacrifices at the temple.
↑ Settled in the first century CE, its name is Aramaic for 'olive grove'.[22]
↑ First proposed by Jacob Bernays in the mid-nineteenth century,[151] this theory remains disputed.[152] Another interpretation suggests that Sulpicius's account was derived from Josephus but was reworked for theological purposes, portraying the temple's destruction as divine punishment of the Jews.[151]
↑ According to Benjamin Isaac, the destruction of sanctuaries has been a common wartime practice dating back to at least the fifth century BCE.[157]
↑ This text was preserved in Syriac, but widely believed to have been originally composed in Hebrew, likely in the late first century CE.[291]
↑ In one of these visions, Ezra sees an eagle with twelve large wings, eight smaller ones, and three heads; as its parts vanish one by one, a lion rebukes it, and it is consumed by flames. The angel explains that the eagle represents the fourth kingdom of Daniel's vision, while the lion symbolizes the Messiah bringing judgment.[304][299] In another vision, Ezra is commissioned to restore the Law, first warning the people that their suffering comes from disobedience, and then dictating 94 books, with 24 made public and 70 reserved for the wise.[299]
↑ These legends speak of a "Yattush", which may refer to either a mosquito or a gnat.[323] According to the Babylonian Talmud, Titus died within seven years.[324][325] According to Genesis Rabbah, an autopsy after his death revealed a two-pound bird inside his head,[326] while Leviticus Rabbah recounts that Titus requested a procedure to determine how he had been punished by the God of Israel.[327][328]
↑ According to legend, Ben Zakkai quoted a prophecy from Isaiah (10:34): "And the Lebanon shall fall by a majestic one." In this context, "Lebanon" is understood to refer to the temple, constructed from the cedars of Lebanon, while "majestic one" is interpreted as referring to Vespasian.[338]
↑ Such enactments appear in Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 4:1–4[342]
↑ The Mishnah and Tosefta[346] acknowledged a correlation between prayer and sacrificial offerings but did not equate the two; Amoraic sources first introduce prayer as a substitute,[347] a notion later expanded to portray it, along with other rituals, as superior.[348]
↑ It has sometimes been referred to as the "Wailing Wall" due to the lamentations historically performed there.[356]
↑ In Zoara, south of the Dead Sea, this system was regularly used in the Jewish cemetery. One inscription, for a woman named Marsa, records her death as occurring on "17 Elul, the fourth year of shemitah, 362 years after the temple's destruction."[360]
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