Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)

Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)
	Part of the First Jewish–Roman War
	; Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Francesco Hayez. Oil on canvas, 1867.
Date	14 April – 8 September 70 CE; (4 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location	Jerusalem, Judea31°46′41″N 35°14′9″E / 31.77806°N 35.23583°E
Result	Roman victory Main rebel Judean forces subdued.; City of Jerusalem and the Temple of Jerusalem destroyed.; Further Roman expansion into the Levant;
Territorial; changes	Roman rule of Jerusalem restored
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Casualties and losses

The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Judaea. Following a five-month siege, the Romans destroyed the city and the Second Jewish Temple.^[1]^[2]^[3]

In April 70 CE, three days before Passover, the Roman army started besieging Jerusalem.^[4]^[5] The city had been taken over by several rebel factions following a period of massive unrest and the collapse of a short-lived provisional government. Within three weeks, the Roman army broke the first two walls of the city, but a stubborn rebel standoff prevented them from penetrating the thickest and third wall.^[4]^[6] According to Josephus, a contemporary historian and the main source for the war, the city was ravaged by murder, famine, and cannibalism.^[7]

On Tisha B'Av, 70 CE (August 30),^[8] Roman forces overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple.^[9] Resistance continued for another month, but eventually the upper and lower parts of the city were taken as well, and the city was burned to the ground. Titus spared only the three towers of the Herodian citadel as a testimony to the city's former might.^[10]^[11] The siege had a major toll on human life, with many people being killed and enslaved, and large parts of the city destroyed. This victory gave the Flavian dynasty legitimacy to claim control over the empire. A triumph was held in Rome to celebrate the conquest of Jerusalem, and two triumphal arches were built to commemorate it. The treasures looted from the Temple were put on display.^[7]

The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple marked a major turning point in Jewish history.^[7]^[12]^[13] The loss of mother-city and temple necessitated a reshaping of Jewish culture to ensure its survival. Judaism's Temple-based sects, including the priesthood and the Sadducees, diminished in importance.^[14] A new form of Judaism that became known as Rabbinic Judaism developed out of Pharisaic school and eventually became the mainstream form of the religion.^[2]^[13]^[7]^[15] Many followers of Jesus of Nazareth also survived the city's destruction. They spread his teachings across the Roman Empire, giving rise to the new religion of Christianity.^[7] After the war had ended, a military camp of Legio X Fretensis was established on the city's ruins.^[16]^[17] Jerusalem was later re-founded as the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina. Foreign cults were introduced and Jews were forbidden entry.^[18]^[19]^[20] This event is often considered one of the catalysts for the Bar Kokhba revolt.^[21]^[22]

^ Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research. BRILL. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6. OCLC 1170143447. The historical description is consistent with the archeological finds. Collapses of massive stones from the walls of the Temple Mount were exposed lying over the Herodian street running along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The residential buildings of the Ophel and the Upper City were destroyed by great fire. The large urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the Lower City silted up and ceased to function, and in many places the city walls collapsed. [...] Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a new era began in the city's history. The Herodian city was destroyed and a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion established on part of the ruins. In c. 130 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian founded a new city in place of Herodian Jerusalem next to the military camp. He honored the city with the status of a colony and named it Aelia Capitolina and possibly also forbidding Jews from entering its boundaries
^ ^a ^b Westwood, Ursula (1 April 2017). "A History of the Jewish War, AD 66–74". Journal of Jewish Studies. 68 (1): 189–193. doi:10.18647/3311/jjs-2017. ISSN 0022-2097.
^ Ben-Ami, Doron; Tchekhanovets, Yana (2011). "The Lower City of Jerusalem on the Eve of Its Destruction, 70 CE: A View From Hanyon Givati". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 364: 61–85. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0061. ISSN 0003-097X. S2CID 164199980.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Schäfer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference War of the Jews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Si Shepperd, The Jewish Revolt AD 66–74, (Osprey Publishing), p. 62.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Maclean Rogers, Guy (2021). For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-0-300-26256-8. OCLC 1294393934.
^ Bunson, Matthew (1995). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-19-510233-8.
^ The destruction of both the First and Second Temples is still mourned annually during the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av.
^ Rocca (2008), pp. 51–52.
^ Goodman, Martin (2008). Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. Penguin. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-14-029127-8. OCLC 1016414322. The capitulation of the rest of Jerusalem was rapid. Those parts of the lower city already under Roman control were deliberately set on fire. The erection of new towers to break down the walls of the upper city was completed on 7 Elul (in mid-August), and the troops forced their way in. By 8 Elul the whole city was in Roman hands – and in ruins. In recompense for the ferocious fighting they had been required to endure, the soldiers were given free rein to loot and kill, until eventually Titus ordered that the city 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.'
^ Neusner, Jacob (28 November 2017), Hinnells, John (ed.), "Judaism in a Time of Crisis: Four Responses to the Destruction of the Second Temple", Neusner on Judaism, Routledge, pp. 399–413, doi:10.4324/9781351152761-20, ISBN 978-1-351-15276-1, retrieved 22 May 2022
^ ^a ^b Karesh, Sara E. (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. Facts On File. ISBN 978-1-78785-171-9. OCLC 1162305378. Until the modern period, the destruction of the Temple was the most cataclysmic moment in the history of the Jewish people. Without the Temple, the Sadducees no longer had any claim to authority, and they faded away. The sage Yochanan ben Zakkai, with permission from Rome, set up the outpost of Yavneh to continue develop of Pharisaic, or rabbinic, Judaism.
^ Alföldy, Géza (1995). "Eine Bauinschrift aus dem Colosseum". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 109: 195–226. JSTOR 20189648.
^ Goldenberg, Robert (1977). "The Broken Axis: Rabbinic Judaism and the Fall of Jerusalem". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. XLV (3): 353. doi:10.1093/jaarel/xlv.3.353. ISSN 0002-7189.
^ Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (9 December 2019), "The Camp of the Legion X Fretensis", Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period, Brill, pp. 19–50, doi:10.1163/9789004417076_003, ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6, S2CID 214005509, retrieved 19 May 2022, After the destruction of the Herodian city of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion was established on part of the ruins to guard the former center of the revolt. This is clearly stated by Josephus (Jos. BJ, 7:1–5, 17; Vita, 422); it can be understood from the text of a diploma of 93 CE: "(veterani) qui militaverunt Hierosolymnis in legione X Fretense", and it is also clear from epigraphic finds from the town. A bulk of military small finds recovered from several sites around the Old City indicates the presence of the XFretensis in Jerusalem
^ Geva, Hillel (1984). "The Camp of the Tenth Legion in Jerusalem: An Archaeological Reconsideration". Israel Exploration Journal. 34 (4): 239–254. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 27925952.
^ Peter Schäfer (2003). The Bar Kokhba war reconsidered: new perspectives on the second Jewish revolt against Rome. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-3-16-148076-8. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
^ Lehmann, Clayton Miles (22 February 2007). "Palestine: History". The On-line Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces. The University of South Dakota. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2007.
^ Cohen, Shaye J. D. (1996). "Judaism to Mishnah: 135–220 AD". In Hershel Shanks (ed.). Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society. p. 196.
^ Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period: In Light of Archaeological Research. Brill. pp. 54–58. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6.
^ Jacobson, David. "The Enigma of the Name Īliyā (= Aelia) for Jerusalem in Early Islam". Revision 4. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

[:0-1] Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman period: in light of archaeological research. BRILL. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6. OCLC 1170143447. The historical description is consistent with the archeological finds. Collapses of massive stones from the walls of the Temple Mount were exposed lying over the Herodian street running along the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. The residential buildings of the Ophel and the Upper City were destroyed by great fire. The large urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the Lower City silted up and ceased to function, and in many places the city walls collapsed. [...] Following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a new era began in the city's history. The Herodian city was destroyed and a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion established on part of the ruins. In c. 130 CE, the Roman emperor Hadrian founded a new city in place of Herodian Jerusalem next to the military camp. He honored the city with the status of a colony and named it Aelia Capitolina and possibly also forbidding Jews from entering its boundaries

[:4-2] Westwood, Ursula (1 April 2017). "A History of the Jewish War, AD 66–74". Journal of Jewish Studies. 68 (1): 189–193. doi:10.18647/3311/jjs-2017. ISSN 0022-2097.

[:2-3] Ben-Ami, Doron; Tchekhanovets, Yana (2011). "The Lower City of Jerusalem on the Eve of Its Destruction, 70 CE: A View From Hanyon Givati". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 364: 61–85. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.364.0061. ISSN 0003-097X. S2CID 164199980.

[Schäfer-4] Cite error: The named reference Schäfer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[War_of_the_Jews-5] Cite error: The named reference War of the Jews was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] Si Shepperd, The Jewish Revolt AD 66–74, (Osprey Publishing), p. 62.

[:7-7] Maclean Rogers, Guy (2021). For the Freedom of Zion: The Great Revolt of Jews against Romans, 66–74 CE. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-0-300-26256-8. OCLC 1294393934.

[8] Bunson, Matthew (1995). A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-19-510233-8.

[9] The destruction of both the First and Second Temples is still mourned annually during the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av.

[Rocca2008_p.51-52-10] Rocca (2008), pp. 51–52.

[:1-11] Goodman, Martin (2008). Rome and Jerusalem: The Clash of Ancient Civilizations. Penguin. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-14-029127-8. OCLC 1016414322. The capitulation of the rest of Jerusalem was rapid. Those parts of the lower city already under Roman control were deliberately set on fire. The erection of new towers to break down the walls of the upper city was completed on 7 Elul (in mid-August), and the troops forced their way in. By 8 Elul the whole city was in Roman hands – and in ruins. In recompense for the ferocious fighting they had been required to endure, the soldiers were given free rein to loot and kill, until eventually Titus ordered that the city 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.'

[12] Neusner, Jacob (28 November 2017), Hinnells, John (ed.), "Judaism in a Time of Crisis: Four Responses to the Destruction of the Second Temple", Neusner on Judaism, Routledge, pp. 399–413, doi:10.4324/9781351152761-20, ISBN 978-1-351-15276-1, retrieved 22 May 2022

[:5-13] Karesh, Sara E. (2006). Encyclopedia of Judaism. Facts On File. ISBN 978-1-78785-171-9. OCLC 1162305378. Until the modern period, the destruction of the Temple was the most cataclysmic moment in the history of the Jewish people. Without the Temple, the Sadducees no longer had any claim to authority, and they faded away. The sage Yochanan ben Zakkai, with permission from Rome, set up the outpost of Yavneh to continue develop of Pharisaic, or rabbinic, Judaism.

[14] Alföldy, Géza (1995). "Eine Bauinschrift aus dem Colosseum". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 109: 195–226. JSTOR 20189648.

[15] Goldenberg, Robert (1977). "The Broken Axis: Rabbinic Judaism and the Fall of Jerusalem". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. XLV (3): 353. doi:10.1093/jaarel/xlv.3.353. ISSN 0002-7189.

[16] Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit (9 December 2019), "The Camp of the Legion X Fretensis", Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period, Brill, pp. 19–50, doi:10.1163/9789004417076_003, ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6, S2CID 214005509, retrieved 19 May 2022, After the destruction of the Herodian city of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, a military camp of the Tenth Roman Legion was established on part of the ruins to guard the former center of the revolt. This is clearly stated by Josephus (Jos. BJ, 7:1–5, 17; Vita, 422); it can be understood from the text of a diploma of 93 CE: "(veterani) qui militaverunt Hierosolymnis in legione X Fretense", and it is also clear from epigraphic finds from the town. A bulk of military small finds recovered from several sites around the Old City indicates the presence of the XFretensis in Jerusalem

[17] Geva, Hillel (1984). "The Camp of the Tenth Legion in Jerusalem: An Archaeological Reconsideration". Israel Exploration Journal. 34 (4): 239–254. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 27925952.

[Schäfer2003-18] Peter Schäfer (2003). The Bar Kokhba war reconsidered: new perspectives on the second Jewish revolt against Rome. Mohr Siebeck. pp. 36–. ISBN 978-3-16-148076-8. Retrieved 4 December 2011.

[erp-places-19] Lehmann, Clayton Miles (22 February 2007). "Palestine: History". The On-line Encyclopedia of the Roman Provinces. The University of South Dakota. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2007.

[20] Cohen, Shaye J. D. (1996). "Judaism to Mishnah: 135–220 AD". In Hershel Shanks (ed.). Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism: A Parallel History of their Origins and Early Development. Washington DC: Biblical Archaeology Society. p. 196.

[Weksler-Bdolah2019-21] Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah (2019). Aelia Capitolina – Jerusalem in the Roman Period: In Light of Archaeological Research. Brill. pp. 54–58. ISBN 978-90-04-41707-6.

[Jacobson-22] Jacobson, David. "The Enigma of the Name Īliyā (= Aelia) for Jerusalem in Early Islam". Revision 4. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

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