Tensions in Iudaea grew after direct Roman rule was reestablished. The upper class favored the Romans because it guaranteed their privileged position, but the rural class did not and their yearning for independence and revolution grew. Vivid memories of the Hasmonean kings, fueled by eschatological and messianic expectations, created dangerous delusions about the prospects of rebelling. Rebels and brigands operated in the countryside and were a great nuisance to the Romans. To add fuel to the fire, when Herod's grandson Agrippa I, who had been appointed king in 41 CE and had been a popular ruler, died in 44 CE, the emperor refused to let his son succeed him and Iudaea returned to unpopular direct Roman rule. The discontent erupted in the Great Jewish Revolt in 66 CE that lasted for four years and culminated in the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. The city was taken and the temple was destroyed.