Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Destruction of the Second
Temple
During the Jewish Revolt of AD 66,
the Romans suffered early defeats
until the emperor Vespasian sent his
son Titus to Jerusalem with four legions.
The siege of the city was bitterly fought.
Eventually, after five months, on 29
August AD 70, the city's defenders were
forced to surrender. In
The Jewish War
,
historian Flavius Josephus describes
how the Temple was set ablaze in the heat of
battle. “When the flames rose up,” he writes, “the
Jews let out a terrific cry and, heedless of mortal
danger, ran to put it out.” But it was in vain, and
the Second Temple was razed to the ground.
Titus
ROMAN EMPIRE AD 117
Maximum extent of the
M
Empire
E
The Antonia Fortress
was built by Herod the
G
t
d37 35BCt
t tth T
l
Arch of Titus
The Romans built the triump
Arch of Titus in the Forum i
Rome, with friezes showing t
victorious troops with their b
from the destroyed Temple.
of
Carved f
limestone, ossu
the bones of the dead. This p
ossuary bears the name Cai
was the name of the Temple
at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus.
The Western Wall
Herod's engineers created the Temple plat-
form by building four walls around a natural
hill and filling in. The Western Wall
(see
p85)
is part of one of those retaining walls.
