Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)

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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, son of the emperor Vespasian, besieged Jerusalem, the Jewish capital and the revolt's main stronghold. After months of fighting, they breached the defenses, destroyed the Second Temple, and razed the city. Much of its population was killed, enslaved, or displaced by the Romans. The city's fall marked the effective end of the revolt and a turning point in Jewish history. In winter 69–70, following a respite in the revolt's suppression caused by a succession war in Rome, Titus led four legions and auxiliary forces, numbering at least 48,200 soldiers, back into Judaea. By spring, this army had encircled Jerusalem, whose population had swollen 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 the city's food supplies and weakening its defenses...

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