Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege

By the year 70 of the Common Era (CE), the province of Judea had been in revolt against Rome for nearly 4 years. The protests and riots that began in 66 CE had quickly turned into open rebellion. The standard Roman punitive force under Syrian legate Cestius Gallus, having failed to capture Jerusalem, was wiped out at Beth Horon. General Vespasian was given command of the Roman army in the region and ordered to crush the rebellion and restore order. Turmoil in Rome, however, saw Vespasian recalled to become Emperor. In early 70 CE, Emperor Vespasian dispatched his son Titus (a future Emperor) along with four legions to end the rebellion in this important province. Titus arrived in Jerusalem in April to find the city still at war with itself. Throughout the rebellion, differing Judean factions had fought a bitter internecine war among themselves. The primary factions fighting each other in Jerusalem at this time were controlled by Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala. With the arrival of Titus and his legions, however, they were now faced with a common threat to their immediate survival.

The brutal siege of Jerusalem lasted nearly five months. During the siege, city walls were breached one-by-one, much of the city devastated, and the Temple-central to both the Jewish religion and the defense of the city-destroyed and burned. With the capture of Jerusalem, Titus had effectively ended the Judean revolt, with the last of the rebels finally cornered and eliminated in the legendary siege of Masada in 73 CE.