The Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD marked one of antiquity’s most brutal and consequential showdowns. What began as a rebellion against Roman rule ended with the destruction of the Second Temple, the slaughter of thousands, and a scar on Jewish history that would ache for centuries. For Rome, it was another example of imperial discipline and ruthless efficiency. For the defenders, it was the ultimate act of desperation, faith, and doomed defiance.
The Jewish–Roman War had already raged for four years by the time the Roman general Titus arrived before the walls of Jerusalem. The city, divided by factions and faith, faced the most professional army the ancient world could muster. It was less a siege than an inevitability drawn out by hunger, treachery, and fanaticism.
Forces
| Side | Leaders | Estimated Troops | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Empire | Titus (son of Emperor Vespasian) | Around 60,000 (including auxiliaries) | Legions X Fretensis, XII Fulminata, XV Apollinaris, V Macedonica, Syrian auxiliaries, and cavalry |
| Jewish Defenders | John of Gischala, Simon bar Giora, Eleazar ben Simon | Around 20,000–25,000 | Zealot factions, Sicarii, Temple Guards, local militias, and civilians armed with whatever remained |
The Roman legions encircled the city like a slow, tightening noose. The defenders were split into factions that fought each other as much as the Romans. Ironically, when unity was needed most, Jerusalem found itself at war with itself.
Arms and Armour
Roman Forces:
- Weapons: Gladius (short sword), Pilum (javelin), Scutum (shield), Ballistae, Onagers, siege towers, battering rams
- Armour: Lorica segmentata, bronze helmets, greaves, reinforced sandals
- Tactics:
- Formation warfare and siege engineering
- Construction of circumvallation walls to trap the defenders
- Psychological warfare through crucifixion and attrition
Jewish Defenders:
- Weapons: Locally forged swords, daggers (notably the sicae used by the Sicarii assassins), spears, slings, and captured Roman arms
- Armour: Minimal – mostly leather and scavenged Roman pieces
- Tactics:
- Guerrilla strikes and night raids
- Hit-and-run tactics within the city’s maze of walls
- Religious fervour that often replaced military discipline
The Siege
Jerusalem was heavily fortified, with three concentric walls and the Temple complex forming an inner citadel. Titus, keen to make a political statement rather than a drawn-out war, aimed to crush resistance swiftly. Yet the city’s defenders were tenacious, fortified by faith and the conviction that God would not abandon His people.
Famine soon became the city’s worst enemy. Accounts from Josephus describe unthinkable scenes of starvation and madness. Mothers turned against their children. The Temple, once a beacon of hope, became a fortress and slaughterhouse.
The Romans, methodical as ever, built siege ramps and walls of their own, ensuring nothing entered or left the city. When at last they breached the outer defences, house-to-house fighting erupted. The defenders fought with religious fury, but exhaustion and hunger made resistance increasingly hopeless.
When the Romans stormed the Temple, the flames rose so high they could be seen for miles. According to Josephus, Titus did not intend to destroy it, but the chaos of battle made restraint impossible. The Second Temple, the heart of Jewish worship, was reduced to ash.
Timeline of the Siege
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| April 70 AD | Titus begins the siege during Passover, trapping thousands inside the city |
| May 70 AD | Romans breach the third (outermost) wall |
| June 70 AD | Second wall falls after fierce fighting |
| July 70 AD | Starvation rampant, factions still fighting inside Jerusalem |
| August 70 AD | The Temple is set ablaze and destroyed |
| September 70 AD | The Upper City falls; survivors are enslaved or executed |
Archaeology
Modern excavations around the Temple Mount and the Western Wall continue to reveal traces of the siege’s devastation. Charred remains of homes, Roman arrowheads, and stone ballistae have been unearthed throughout the area. Beneath the rubble, layers of ash and collapsed masonry mark the city’s fiery end.
One notable find is a fragment of an inscription from Legion X Fretensis, the very unit that garrisoned Jerusalem after its fall. The Romans left their signature not just in stone, but in cultural erasure.
The Western Wall itself, now the most sacred site in Judaism, is a physical survivor of that destruction – the last fragment of a temple complex Titus could not entirely erase.
Contemporary Accounts
The most detailed account comes from Flavius Josephus, a Jewish commander who defected to the Romans and later chronicled the war. His words are often equal parts horror and justification:
“The soldiers were overcome by the fury of battle and by the hatred of the Jews. The slaughter was so great that the blood flowed down the temple steps like a river.”
Tacitus, with his usual Roman disdain for provincial revolts, remarked dryly:
“Few wars have shown more obstinate bravery in attack or defence.”
The Romans saw the fall of Jerusalem as divine justice; the Jews saw it as divine abandonment. Both sides, in their own way, believed the gods had spoken.
Legacy
The destruction of Jerusalem reshaped the ancient world. The Jewish people were scattered, beginning the long and painful diaspora. Rome celebrated its triumph with the construction of the Arch of Titus, depicting the looted menorah and temple treasures.
For the Romans, it was a lesson in the cost of rebellion. For the Jews, it was a wound that became identity – the day faith was tested by fire.
In the centuries that followed, the site of the Temple would see churches, mosques, and conflict layered upon it like sediment of history’s grief. The siege was not just the end of a war, but the start of an enduring tension between empire and faith.
Seven Swords Takeaway
As a historian, one can’t help but note the bitter irony. The Romans, masters of order and engineering, turned one of the ancient world’s holiest cities into a monument to ruin. Yet in trying to erase it, they immortalised it.
Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, but its story never did.
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