Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)

The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), a major rebellion against Roman rule in the province of Judaea. Led by Titus, the Roman forces besieged the city, which had become the stronghold of Jewish resistance. After months of conflict, the Romans breached the city's defenses, culminating in the destruction of the Second Temple, the razing of the city, and the mass killing, enslavement and displacement of its inhabitants. The siege marked the effective end of the Jewish revolt and had profound political, religious, and cultural implications for the Jewish people as well as broader historical consequences.
In the winter of 69/70 CE, Titus led a force of approximately 50,000 troops, including four legions and auxiliary forces, into Judaea. By spring, this army encircled Jerusalem, whose population had swelled with Passover pilgrims and refugees from across the province. The city, already weakened by infighting among rival factions led by John of Gischala, Simon bar Giora and Eleazar ben Simon—who had seized control after the collapse of the moderate rebel government—was cut off from supplies, leaving its inhabitants to suffer from starvation and disease. Despite strong resistance from the defenders, the Romans broke through the city's walls, forcing the defenders into the temple precincts.
In the summer month of Av, Roman forces breached the Temple Mount and destroyed the Second Temple—an event commemorated annually in Jewish tradition on the fast day of Tisha B'Av. The Romans ultimately captured the entire city, quelling the remaining resistance and inflicting a heavy toll on the population, with tens of thousands killed, enslaved, or executed. The city was systematically destroyed, leaving only the three towers of the Herodian citadel standing as a symbol of its former grandeur. A year later, the Roman victory was celebrated with a grand triumph in Rome, during which hundreds of captives were paraded alongside the spoils of the temple, including the menorah. Monumental structures, such as the still-standing Arch of Titus, were erected in the city to commemorate the conquest.
The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple marked a major turning point in Jewish history, carrying profound consequences that reshaped Jewish culture, religion, and identity. With the temple's destruction, Jewish worship adapted, giving rise to Rabbinic Judaism, which emphasized prayer, Torah study, and synagogue gatherings in place of the sacrificial rituals once performed in the temple. The fall of Jerusalem also played an important role in the development of early Christianity, as the movement increasingly distanced itself from its Jewish roots. After the war, Legio X Fretensis established a military camp on Jerusalem's ruins. A few decades later, the Romans re-founded Jerusalem as the colony of Aelia Capitolina, dedicating it to Jupiter and extinguishing Jewish hopes for the restoration of the temple. This set the stage for another major Jewish rebellion—the Bar Kokhba revolt.
In the centuries leading up to the siege, Jerusalem served as the religious and national center of the Jewish people, both for those in Judaea and for the wider Jewish diaspora. By the time of the Jewish revolt, the city had reached a peak in size and population, making it one of the largest cities in the Roman East. Covering approximately 450 acres (1,800 dunams)—nearly twice the size of today's Old City—Jerusalem is estimated to have been home to tens of thousands of inhabitants, with population estimates ranging from 25,000 to over 150,000.
At the center of Jerusalem stood the Second Temple, the focal point of Jewish worship and national identity. It succeeded Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586/7 BCE and was rebuilt in the late 5th century BCE during the Return to Zion. In the 1st century BCE, Herod (r. 37–4 BCE) expanded and renovated the temple, transforming it into one of the largest sanctuaries of the ancient world.
The writings of Greco-Roman historians attest to Jerusalem's significance and splendor. The 2nd-century BCE Greek historian Polybius described the Jews as a nation residing around a temple called Jerusalem, while Tacitus, a Roman historian from the first century CE, wrote that "Jerusalem is the capital of the Jews. In it was a temple possessing enormous reaches." Jewish sources likewise celebrate the grandeur of the city and its temple. One rabbinic tradition states, "There is no beauty like the beauty of Jerusalem," while another declares, "He who has not seen Jerusalem in its splendor has never seen a beautiful city in his life. He who has not seen the Temple in its full construction has never seen a glorious building in his life." The Roman writer Pliny the Elder described Jerusalem at the time of its destruction as "by far the most famous of the cities of the East".
During Judaism's Three Pilgrimage Festivals—the holidays of Passover, Sukkot (Tabernacles), and Shavuot (Weeks)—Jerusalem's population swelled, as tens of thousands of visitors from Judaea and from abroad traveled to the city to observe religious rituals at the temple. An obligatory half-shekel contribution was collected each year from Jewish adults in Judaea and the diaspora for the temple. The steady influx of pilgrims to Jerusalem contributed to the city's economic prosperity and prominence.
Jerusalem was divided into several distinct districts, including the lower city, a densely populated area; the upper city, a wealthy quarter inhabited by Jerusalem's elite, including priestly families; and the Temple Mount, the religious and political heart of the city. The city's strategic location, flanked by the Kidron Valley to the east and the Hinnom Valley to the south, provided natural barriers that made direct assaults difficult. Complementing these natural defenses was a series of fortification walls, built and expanded throughout the city's history. The first wall, built in the second century BCE by the early Hasmonean kings on the foundations of an earlier wall constructed by the kings of Judah, enclosed both the lower and upper city, forming the core of Jerusalem. As the city grew, the second wall was built further north, extending protection to newer neighborhoods and commercial districts. In the decades leading up to the revolt, the city expanded even further northward, prompting the construction of the third wall. This wall, initiated by King Herod Agrippa (r. 41–44), was intended to enclose the newly developed northern suburb of Bezetha, but its construction was halted by Emperor Claudius out of fear of a Jewish revolt or due to Agrippa's death. However, after the revolt began in 66 CE, Jewish rebels hastily completed the third wall to fortify the city against the impending Roman assault. Due to its rushed construction, the third wall was weaker than the earlier walls, leaving a vulnerable point in the city's defenses that the Romans would later exploit during the siege.
In addition to its walls, Jerusalem contained several fortified structures that played crucial roles in its defense. Herod strengthened the city's fortifications with massive defensive complexes, many of which remained intact at the time of the revolt. At the northwestern corner of the Temple Mount, he built the Antonia Fortress, a military stronghold that overlooked the temple area and served as a key strategic point. In the upper city, Herod's Palace was another fortified complex, enclosed by walls and protected by three towers: Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne. Also located in this area was the Hasmonean Palace, another prominent structure in the city.
Jerusalem's natural defenses were weakened by its reliance on imported food, as local agriculture could not sustain its population; instead, the city depended on supplies from Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and beyond. During the war, this dependence increased due to the arrival of refugees and insurgents, making the city more vulnerable to famine. The city's water supply relied on large pools that collected rainwater runoff and channels directing water from sources such as the Gihon Spring, while an aqueduct system brought additional water from the vicinity of Bethlehem.
Josephus records several omens believed to have foretold the destruction of Jerusalem in the months and years preceding it, including a "a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year", which scholars link to Halley's Comet, thought to have been visible over Jerusalem during the winter and spring of 66 CE. Other reported signs included a brilliant light around the temple's altar near Passover, a cow giving birth to a lamb, and the eastern gate of the inner sanctuary mysteriously opening on its own. Additionally, Josephus describes heavenly armies appearing in the sky before sunset, and, during Shavuot, priests hearing a commotion, a crash, and a voice declaring in the temple: "we are departing from here." Another ominous sign was the warnings of Jesus ben Ananias, a peasant who prophesied for seven years and five months about the disaster that would befall the city, beginning four years before the outbreak of the revolt.
In the spring and summer of 66 CE, a series of clashes in Judaea escalated into the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War. Tensions flared following a violent confrontation between Jews and Greeks in Caesarea, which was soon followed by the arrival of Roman prefect Gessius Florus in Jerusalem. Florus demanded access to temple funds, sparking outrage that led to two massacres of the city's population. Soon after, Eleazar ben Hanania, the young captain of the temple, halted the traditional sacrifices offered on behalf of the Roman emperor, and Jewish rebels set fire to the high priest's house, the palaces of Agrippa II and Berenice, and the public archives, which contained debt records. The insurgents then captured the Antonia Fortress, killing its Roman garrison. Agrippa's supporters sought refuge in Herod's palace and later reached ceasefire with the rebels. The Roman cohort stationed in the adjacent towers was massacred despite being promised safe passage; only their commander, who pledged to convert to Judaism, was spared. The Sicarii faction captured and executed the high priest and his brother, but after their leader was killed, they fled to Masada.
In response to the widespread rebellion in Judaea, Cestius Gallus, the Roman governor of Syria, led an army of approximately 30,000 soldiers to suppress the uprising. Upon reaching Jerusalem, he established a camp on Mount Scopus, north of the city, and launched an assault, burning the northern suburb of Bezetha. However, his forces failed to breach the Temple Mount and were driven back. For unclear reasons, Cestius ordered a retreat, and his army was ambushed by Jewish forces in the mountain pass at Bethoron, suffering catastrophic losses equivalent to an entire legion.
After Gallus' defeat, the Jews formed a moderate government in Jerusalem, which divided the country into military districts and appointed commanders to oversee various regions. They also fortified Jerusalem’s defenses, completing the unfinished third wall to protect the city’s northern side. Also active and, at times, in opposition to the moderate commanders, John of Gischala (Gush Halav) led a rebel faction in the Galilee, while Simon bar Giora, another prominent leader, commanded forces in other parts of Judea. Both would later become key figures in the siege of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Roman emperor Nero tasked Vespasian, an unassuming but skilled general, with crushing the rebellion in Judaea.
In mid-67 CE, Vespasian landed at Akko-Ptolemais and launched a campaign to subdue the rebels in Galilee. As the Romans advanced, Jerusalem became overcrowded with refugees and rebels, including John of Gischala and his men. The Zealots, allied with John, toppled the moderate government, executed prominent figures accused of Roman sympathies, and seized control of the temple. As Ananus ben Ananus organized an offensive against them, the Zealots sought help from the Idumeans, who entered Jerusalem during a storm, massacred moderate leaders, and solidified Zealot control through widespread terror and purges.
In spring 68 CE, having secured control over Galilee, Vespasian resumed his campaign, aiming to isolate Jerusalem by first subduing its surrounding regions. He postponed the siege of Jerusalem to let the Jewish factions further weaken each other while awaiting the spring harvest to secure supplies. However, Nero's suicide soon plunged Rome into turmoil, triggering the "Year of the Four Emperors" (68–69 CE), a period in which four successive rulers vied for the imperial throne. As the empire remained in chaos, Vespasian completed his conquest of Judea and Idumaea, leaving only Jerusalem and a handful of strongholds in rebel hands. In 69 CE, he was proclaimed emperor in the east and later departed for Rome to secure his rule. Command of the campaign was then entrusted to his son, Titus, who took charge of suppressing the revolt.
A fortified stronghold, Jerusalem might have held for a significant amount of time, if not for the intense civil war that broke out among the rebels. By spring 69 CE, Simon bar Giora's forces encamped outside Jerusalem, attacking deserters, while inside, the Galilean Zealots terrorized the population with murder, rape, and plunder. In desperation, John's rivals allowed Simon to enter, hoping he would defeat him. Instead, his arrival escalated the conflict into a full-scale three-way factional war, during which three rival factions—led by John of Gischala, Eleazar ben Simon and Simon bar Giora—each seized control of different sections of the city. John of Gischala held most of the Temple Mount and part of the southeastern hill. Eleazar ben Simon, commanding a smaller force, controlled the inner courtyard of the temple, which was fortified by an enclosing wall. Simon bar Giora, with the largest force, dominated the rest of the city. As infighting intensified, food storage facilities were set on fire, destroying essential provisions that had been stockpiled in anticipation of the Roman siege.
By the winter of 69/70, Titus had arrived from Alexandria and established Caesarea as his main base. His forces included the legions previously commanded by Vespasian—V Macedonica, X Fretensis, and XV Apollinaris—along with the XII Fulminata, which had suffered defeat in 66 CE. Additional support came from detachments of III Cyrenaica and XXII Deiotariana legions from Egypt, twenty infantry cohortes, eight cavalry alae, Syrian irregulars, and auxiliaries from allied vassal kings. According to Tacitus, "a strong force of Arabs", driven by longstanding enmity toward the Jews, also joined the campaign. This combined force, estimated at a minimum of 48,200 soldiers, was significantly larger than the one deployed for the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 CE.
At the same time, infighting continued in Jerusalem. According to Josephus, the city was engulfed in a three-way civil war, with each faction inflicting harm on the others. Tacitus corroborates this account, noting that the city was divided among three generals and three armies. Initially sharing control of the Temple Mount, Eleazar ben Simon broke away from John of Gischala's faction and fortified himself in the temple's inner court, taking hold of the stores of edible offerings to the temple. John attacked from below, while Simon Bar Giora's forces, who continued to hold the upper and lower city, assaulted John's position. Both sides resorted to artillery, inflicting heavy casualties, including priests and worshippers.
In early Nisan 70 (March/April), Titus departed from Caesarea with Legio XII Fulminata and Legio XV Apollinaris, marching toward Jerusalem. Tiberius Julius Alexander, a Jewish-born equestrian governor and general who had renounced his faith and ancestral traditions, served as Titus' second-in-command. The Roman army advanced through Samaria, reaching Gophna, located 13 miles (21 km) north of Jerusalem. Legio V Macedonica, led by Sextus Vettulenus Cerialis, marched southward toward Jerusalem via Emmaus, while A. Larcius Lepidus Sulpicianus approached from the west through Jericho with Legio X Fretensis. After resting at Gophna, Titus' force camped in the "Valley of Thorns" near Gibeah, three miles from Jerusalem. Mirroring the strategies of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar II, Pompey, and Herod in their previous sieges of the city, Titus set his sights on the city's north-northeast side. This area was more accessible, as, unlike other parts of the city, it lacked the protection of a ravine.
Tacitus writes that those who were besieged in Jerusalem amounted to no fewer than 600,000, that men and women alike of every age engaged in armed resistance, that everyone who could pick up a weapon did, and that both sexes showed equal determination, preferring death to a life that involved expulsion from their country. Josephus puts the number of the besieged at nearly 1 million. Many pilgrims from the Jewish diaspora who, undeterred by the war, had trekked to Jerusalem to be present at the temple during Passover became trapped in Jerusalem during the siege. While rejecting these figures as exaggerated, Menahem Stern writes that Josephus' mention of 23,400 armed men in Jerusalem on the eve of the siege was likely realistic. The city also harbored refugees from various regions of the province, including Judea, Galilee, and Idumaea. The factions vying for control of the city ceased hostilities and joined forces to defend it only when the Romans began using battering rams against the walls.
In preparation for the assault on Jerusalem, Titus undertook a risky reconnaissance mission with 600 cavalrymen to evaluate the city's northern defenses, during which he narrowly escaped an ambush by rebel forces after being cut off from his main group. Soon after, Titus advanced to Mount Scopus, northeast of Jerusalem, where he established camps for Legions XII, XV and V. Legion X set up camp on the Mount of Olives, but as they were constructing their encampment—some soldiers unarmed—they were attacked by a joint force from the rival factions. The Jews charged across the Kidron Valley, catching the Romans completely by surprise. Only Titus' personal intervention saved the situation, and the Romans managed to repel the attackers. John and Simon reconciled, but their factions continued to maintain separate leadership structures. The rebel leaders upheld the previous division of the city into distinct zones of control: John was in charge of defending the Temple Mount, the Ophel, and the Kidron Valley, while Simon's forces defended the city's residential areas.
On 14 Nisan, with the onset of the week-long Passover festival, the Jews halted their attacks, and the Romans took advantage of the pause to move their besieging forces closer to the city's walls. Meanwhile, on the first night of the holiday, John's forces used the opening of the temple's inner courtyard gates, which were meant for worshippers attending the festival, as cover to infiltrate the temple's inner courtyards, subduing the Zealots and bringing them under his control. Some of them fled to hiding places beneath the Temple Mount.
The Romans initiated their assault on the city, beginning with the newly completed third wall. Before the attack, Titus offered peace terms, but they were declined. Internal fighting briefly reignited, with John concentrating on defending the temple complex while Simon fought on two fronts, disrupting the Roman siegeworks. The two factions seemingly reached a truce shortly thereafter. When the Romans completed their siegeworks, the Jews launched an attack, initially gaining the upper hand but eventually being dispersed by Roman cavalry. During the skirmish, the Idumaean leader John ben Sosas was killed, and the first instance of crucifixion took place.
After fifteen days of unsuccessful attempts by the Jews to burn the Roman siege engines, the Roman battering ram finally breached the third wall, forcing the defenders to retreat. The Romans quickly made preparations for the next assault, and within five days, their battering ram breached the middle section of the second wall. However, the resulting narrow gap left the Roman soldiers who entered the city trapped in its winding alleys. Exploiting their familiarity with their hometown, Jewish defenders inflicted significant losses on the invaders. Forced to retreat, the Romans managed to re-enter this part of the city four days later, creating a larger breach that allowed a greater force to enter, ultimately enabling them to capture the area. The Romans then destroyed the city's northern section and took several days to rest. Meanwhile, more Jews deserted the city.
Titus constructed siege ramps at the Antonia Fortress and the towers of the upper city, also employing psychological warfare. For four days, he showcased Roman military strength through a parade of cavalry and infantry in polished armor as they received their pay. He also renewed peace offers through Josephus, who addressed the people in their "ancestral tongue", likely Hebrew or possibly Aramaic. Josephus argued that the Romans respected Jewish sacred places, while the Jews themselves were bent on their destruction. He urged them to repent, asserting that God had sided with the Romans, which accounted for their success. When his appeal was mocked and attacked, he elaborated on Jewish history, arguing that only God could save the Jews from their plight, but their sins and conduct during the war had forfeited divine mercy, resulting in the loss of God's protection.
Within the city, internal violence persisted, with factions attacking those attempting to flee and ransacking wealthy homes for food, often employing torture. Simultaneously, Roman forces tortured and crucified fugitives in view of the city walls—at times in varied positions for soldiers' amusement—resulting in over 500 daily executions that filled the available space for crosses, aiming to intimidate the besieged into surrender. Syrian and Arab auxiliaries reportedly disemboweled refugees in search of swallowed valuables.
With grain prices soaring, people resorted to scavenging scraps in sewers, and a large number of corpses were discarded outside the city. Many in the city died from extreme hunger, while others suffered from related diseases. Josephus mentions children with swollen bellies and deserters who appear to have suffered from dropsy. In Lamentations Rabbah, Eleazar bar Zadok recounts how, despite living many years after the destruction, his father's body never fully recovered. The same work also mentions a woman whose hair fell out due to malnutrition. After erecting four siege ramps against Antonia, the Romans breached and captured the fortress, subsequently turning their attention to the temple itself.
Seventeen days into the month of Sivan, Roman siege operations resumed. John of Gischala countered by undermining Roman siege engines at Antonia, digging tunnels beneath them, and setting the supports alight; this caused the siege engines to collapse. In the city's western section, John's forces also destroyed Roman siege equipment. The Romans responded by constructing new engines and encircling Jerusalem with a 5 miles (8.0 km) circumvallation wall made of stone to block supplies and escape routes, reportedly completing this work in just three days, according to Josephus. Some people attempted to flee the city, either by jumping from the walls or by pretending to fight with rocks in order to surrender to the Romans.
Within the besieged city, Simon bar Giora intensified purges, executing elites and then those advocating surrender. Their mutilated bodies were cast beyond the walls. John and his followers plundered the temple, melting down sacred vessels, consuming consecrated food, and distributing sacred oil and wine to supporters. The famine worsened, killing many; Josephus recounts the story of a woman from Perea named Maria, who, after being plundered by rebels, roasted and cannibalized her infant son. When rebels came, drawn by the smell of food, she offered them the leftovers, leaving them shocked and trembling.
From the captured Antonia Fortress, the Romans launched an assault to breach the Temple Mount complex. Though initially successful, they were eventually repelled by the Jewish defenders after an intense 12-hour battle. On 17 Tammuz, according to Josephus, the daily temple sacrifice (Tamid) ceased due to a lack of priests, or lambs. Jewish fighters sought refuge in the temple courtyards while Titus, unsuccessfully, renewed peace offers through Josephus. Some members of the priestly and upper classes surrendered, and were sent by Titus to the village of Gophna north of Jerusalem. Later, during the siege, they were called upon, along with Josephus, to persuade their fellow Jews in the city to surrender. According to Josephus, this led to great numbers fleeing to the Romans. The Romans then built four ramps targeting the temple's defenses. The Jewish defenders set fire to several stoas connecting the temple to Antonia to obstruct Roman access, while the Romans burned another nearby stoa. After several days of failed attempts to breach the temple's stones with battering rams, the Romans set fire to its gates and surrounding porticoes. The Jewish defenders retreated to the inner court. According to Josephus, at this stage, Titus convened his commanders to decide the temple's fate. On the eighth day of the month of Av, Roman forces breached the temple's outer court.
According to Josephus, on Av 10th (late August), a Roman soldier hurled a burning piece of wood into the northern chamber, igniting a fire that ultimately consumed the entire temple structure. Josephus claims that Titus attempted to halt the fire, but his soldiers ignored or disobeyed his orders; however, this claim is contested by both ancient sources and modern scholars. As a result, the question of whether the destruction was deliberate or accidental, and in particular, Titus' role in the destruction, remains unsettled.
As the temple burned, chaos erupted in its courtyards. Josephus describes how some priests, overwhelmed by grief and despair at the sight of the temple engulfed in flames, leapt into the fire. Cassius Dio recounts that as the temple burned and defeat became inevitable, many Jews chose suicide, viewing it as a form of victory and salvation to die alongside the temple. Roman soldiers looted and killed indiscriminately, showing no regard for whether individuals begged for mercy or resisted their advance. At one point, many Jews, including poor women and children (approximately 6,000, according to Josephus), sought refuge in a colonnade in the outer court. The Romans set the structure ablaze, and all perished. Josephus attributes the tragedy to "false prophets" who urged people to ascend the Temple Mount, claiming it would bring salvation. The Romans then moved to systematically destroy the rest of the Temple Mount, razing the remaining porticoes, treasuries, and gates. The soldiers carried their military standards into the temple court, offering sacrifices before them. They then hailed Titus as imperator, looted the remaining valuables before the temple was fully consumed, and seized such an immense amount of plunder that the gold standard in Syria reportedly depreciated by half.
Later, a captured priest and the temple treasurer surrendered various temple treasures to the Romans, including golden lampstands, tables, sacred vessels, priestly garments, and spices. The temple treasures were later paraded through Rome during the triumphal procession in summer 71, alongside hundreds of chained Jewish prisoners.
Josephus' claim that the temple's destruction resulted from chaos and a single soldier’s impulse, rather than a deliberate order, has been met with skepticism and sparked scholarly debate. He reports that earlier, when consulting his officers, Titus opposed those advocating for the temple's destruction, arguing that Rome should preserve such a magnificent structure as an ornament of its rule. When the fire broke out, Josephus states that Titus, awakened from a nap, rushed to the scene and ordered it extinguished. However, amidst the chaos, his soldiers either did not hear or ignored his orders, while some even encouraged others to spread the flames. Titus and his officers entered the temple, witnessing the heikhal and the Holy of Holies. He again commanded the fire be put out, but the soldiers—driven by confusion, hatred, and greed—continued looting and burning the structure.
A contrasting account comes from the 4th-century Christian historian Sulpicius Severus, a native of Gaul, who, possibly drawing on Tacitus' Histories, claims that Titus deliberately ordered the temple's destruction to eradicate the religions of both Jews and Christians. Additional sources, including Valerius Flaccus and the Babylonian Talmud, also suggest that Titus may have been directly responsible.
Josephus' account has some scholarly support, with Goodman arguing that it is plausible, particularly given the difficulty of containing a fire in Jerusalem's intense summer heat. However, modern scholarship largely rejects his version. Since temple destruction was widely seen as sacrilegious in antiquity, some scholars argue that Josephus may have downplayed Titus' role to protect his reputation. Additionally, the Romans may have targeted the Temple and Jerusalem as they were central to Jewish uprisings.
With the destruction of the temple complex, the Romans began systematically destroying Jerusalem. Titus rejected offers from Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala to leave the city for the desert. Instead, he ordered the razing of extensive sections of Jerusalem, including the Acra, the Ophel, the council chamber of the Sanhedrin, with the destruction and fire reaching the palaces built by the royalty of Adiabene. Soon, the entire lower city, extending down to the Pool of Siloam, was set ablaze.
Jerusalem's upper city, a wealthy and heavily fortified district separated from the temple by a deep valley, was the last area to be conquered. On the 20th of Av, the Romans launched their assault, constructing siege ramparts to the northwest and northeast. During this time, the Idumeans sought reconciliation with Titus, but some were executed or captured by Simon bar Giora. Within eighteen days, the siege ramp was completed, forcing many Jews to flee into underground hideouts while Roman soldiers massacred civilians in the streets and homes without distinction. By early September, the fall of the upper city sealed the conquest of Jerusalem.
With the fall of Jerusalem, Titus ordered the city's complete destruction, reducing it to ruins. Only the three imposing towers of Herod’s palace—Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne—were spared, serving as a monument to the city's once-formidable defenses. Additionally, a section of the western wall of the first wall remained intact, providing protection for the Tenth Legion, which was now stationed there. Josephus writes:
The rest of Jerusalem, however, was systematically leveled, erasing nearly all traces of its former grandeur. The devastation was so complete that, as Josephus describes:
The historical account is strongly supported by archaeological evidence from 70 CE, with extensive remains across the city confirming the widespread destruction. Ronny Reich wrote that "While remains relating to the destruction of the temple are scant, those pertaining to the Temple Mount walls and their close vicinity, the upper city, the western part of the city, and the Tyropoeon Valley are considerable. [...] It was found that in most cases the archaeological record coincides with the historical description, pointing to Josephus' reliability".
In the 1970s and 1980s, a team led by Nahman Avigad discovered traces of great fire that damaged the upper city's residential buildings. The fires consumed all organic matter. In houses where there was a beamed ceiling between the floors, the fire caused the top of the building to collapse, along with the top rows of stone, and they buried everything that remained in the home under them. There are buildings where traces remain only in part of the house, and there are buildings that have been completely burned. Calcium oxides have been discovered in several locations, indicating that a lengthy burning damaged the limestones.
One of the most significant discoveries in the Herodian Quarter is the Burnt House. Excavations at the site unveiled thick layers of ash covering its basement and revealed kitchen tools, pottery, and a weight inscribed with the name of the priestly Kathros family, suggesting the structure may have functioned as part of their villa, located in its basement. Among the finds was the skeletal arm of a young woman, who was killed during the siege.
The fire left its mark even on household utensils and objects that were in the same buildings. Limestone vessels were stained with ash or even burned and turned into lime, glass vessels exploded and warped from the heat of the fire until they could not be recovered in the laboratory. In contrast, pottery and basalt survived. The layer of ash and charred wood left over from the fires reached an average height of about a meter, and the rock falls reached up to two meters and more. The great urban drainage channel and the Pool of Siloam in the lower city became clogged with silt and stopped working, and the city walls collapsed in numerous places.
Josephus' account of Jerusalem's inhabitants attempting to escape through underground passages after the city's fall aligns with archaeological findings beneath the stepped street in the Tyropoeon Valley. Excavations revealed a drainage channel large enough for a person to crawl through, filled with intact cooking pots and coins from the revolt. In several places, paving stones had been removed, possibly providing access for refugees to hide or escape through the sewer system.
At the base of the Temple Mount walls, large stones and rubble, toppled by the Romans during their razing of the temple complex, have been uncovered. Near the southern section of the Western Wall, massive stones from the temple complex were discovered, having been thrown onto the Herodian street running alongside the wall. Among these stones is the Trumpeting Place inscription, a monumental Hebrew inscription marking the spot where a priest would blow a trumpet to signal the beginning and end of Shabbat. During the temple's destruction, Roman legionnaires threw it down from its original position.
After Jerusalem's fall, Titus ordered the killing of those who resisted, while many elderly and weak prisoners were massacred despite his orders. Younger survivors were confined on the Temple Mount, where their fate was determined: rebels and brigands were executed, the tallest and most handsome were selected for Titus' triumph in Rome, prisoners over 17 were sent in chains to Egypt, many were distributed across the empire for execution by the sword or wild animals, and those under 17 were sold into slavery.
Starvation claimed many lives in captivity; Josephus claimed to have saved his brother, as well as many friends. The Romans searched underground tunnels, killing survivors and discovering the corpses of those who had starved or killed one another, and engaged in looting. Eusebius stated that Vespasian ordered the eradication of all members of the Davidic line, to prevent any potential Jewish royal resurgence.
John of Gischala surrendered and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Simon Bar Giora was caught after he and his companions, hiding in an underground passage, ran low on food. He emerged at the site of the destroyed temple, dressed in a white tunic and purple mantle. Terentius Rufus had him captured and sent to Titus in Caesarea. Both were later transported to Rome in preparation for the triumph.
After the conquest, Titus embarked on a regional victory tour. In Caesarea Philippi, he staged spectacles featuring war prisoners, including executions by wild animals and gladiatorial combat. He later marked his brother's birthday in Caesarea, where 2,500 Jewish captives were killed in similar games. More captives were executed during Vespasian's birthday celebrations in Berytus.
Josephus wrote that 1.1 million people, the majority of them Jewish, were killed during the siege – a death toll he attributes to the celebration of Passover. It has also been noted that the revolt had not deterred pilgrims from visiting Jerusalem, and a large number became trapped in the city and perished during the siege. Before and during the siege, according to Josephus' account, there were multiple waves of desertions from the city.
Tacitus later wrote:
Josephus' death toll figures have been widely criticized as exaggerated by modern scholars. Seth Schwartz, for instance, estimates that Palestine's total population at the time was around one million, with roughly half being Jewish, and notes that sizable Jewish communities remained in the region after the war, even in Judea, despite its devastation. Guy Rogers, meanwhile, suggests that a more reasonable estimate for the number of deaths during the siege is tens of thousands, possibly around 20,000–30,000.
Many of the people of the surrounding area are also thought to have been driven from the land or enslaved. Josephus goes on to report that after the Romans killed the armed and elderly people, 97,000 were enslaved. Josephus records that many people were sold into slavery, and that of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 40,000 individuals survived, and the emperor let them go wherever they chose.
Captives from Jerusalem are documented in Italy following the revolt. A tombstone from Puteoli, near Naples, records a captive woman from Jerusalem named Claudia Aster, whose name is thought to derive from Esther. The Roman poet Martial also references a Jewish slave he owned, describing them as originating from "Jerusalem destroyed by fire."
In the summer of 71 CE, a triumph was held in Rome to celebrate the victory. This triumph was unique in Roman history, being the only one dedicated to subjugating an existing province's population. It is also the most thoroughly documented Imperial triumph, described in vivid detail in Josephus' account in Book VII of The Jewish War. The triumph drew a vast crowd, with one scholar estimating the number of spectators at around 300,000 or more.
At dawn, Vespasian and Titus, adorned in laurel crowns and purple robes, emerged from the Temple of Isis in the Campus Martius, and proceeded to the Porticus Octaviae, where they were met by senators, chief magistrates, and equestrian order members. A tribunal with ivory chairs, traditionally reserved for magistrates and priests with imperium, had been prepared, where Vespasian and Titus took their seats, unarmed and crowned with bays. In response to the acclamations by troops, Vespasian signaled for silence, and offered prayers of thanksgiving, followed by Titus. After dismissing the troops to breakfast, they proceeded to the Porta Triumphalis, performed sacrifices, donned triumphal robes, and began the procession.
The procession showcased an elaborate array of artworks, including purple tapestries, rugs, gems, divine statues, and decorated animals. Multi-story scaffolds displayed golden frames, ivory work, and tapestries illustrating scenes from the war. Vespasian and Titus rode together in triumphal chariots, with Domitian riding beside them separately. Particularly significant were sacred items from the temple, such as the menorah, the golden Table of Showbread, and Jewish religious texts. 700 Jewish captives were paraded as symbols of conquest, according to Josephus, "to make a display of their own destruction". The triumph culminating in the execution of Simon bar Giora who was scourged and hanged at the Mamertine Prison in accordance with Roman custom.
After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the city and its temple, there were still a few strongholds in which the rebels continued holding out, at Herodium, Machaerus, and Masada. Both Herodium and Machaerus fell to the Roman army within the next two years, with Masada remaining as the final stronghold of the Judean rebels. In 73/74 CE, the Romans breached the walls of Masada and captured the fortress, with Josephus claiming that nearly all of the Jewish defenders had committed mass suicide prior to the entry of the Romans. With Masada's fall, the revolt was fully suppressed.
To commemorate their victory, the Flavian emperors commissioned grand construction projects in Rome. In 75 CE, five years after the fall of Jerusalem, the Temple of Peace—also known as the Forum of Vespasian—was completed. Dedicated to Pax, the goddess of peace, the monument housed the Temple menorah and the Table of Showbread, both seized as spoils from the Jerusalem Temple.
Monumental construction celebrating the victory continued under Domitian (r. 81–96 CE), during whose reign two triumphal arches were built to commemorate the triumph and glorify his dynasty. Still standing today in the Roman Forum is the Arch of Titus, constructed shortly after Titus' death in 81 CE along the Via Sacra, the city's main thoroughfare. According to its inscription, the arch was dedicated by the Senate and People of Rome to the deified Titus and his father, the deified Vespasian. The bas-reliefs on the arch depict Roman soldiers carrying sacred objects from the Jerusalem Temple, including the seven-branched menorah, the Table of Showbread, a golden cup, and two silver trumpets, during the triumphal procession. The opposite relief shows Titus riding in a quadriga, crowned with a laurel wreath by the goddess of victory, Victoria, while Virtus, the personification of bravery and military strength, leads the chariot. The menorah depicted on the arch was later chosen as the official emblem of modern Israel.
A second triumphal arch, built in 80/81 CE, once stood at the southeastern edge of the Circus Maximus, a major chariot-racing stadium in Rome. Overlooking earlier conquests of Jerusalem, its inscription proclaimed that Titus "subdued the Jewish people and destroyed the city of Jerusalem, a feat either sought in vain by all generals, kings, and peoples before him or entirely untried." The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheater, was built in Rome between 70 and 82 CE and is believed to have been partially financed by spoils from the Jewish War.
The Flavians issued a series of coins, named Judaea Capta ("Judaea has been conquered"), to commemorate their victory. These coins served as a key component of Flavian imperial propaganda throughout the Roman Empire and were produced over a period of 10 to 12 years. The obverse featured portraits of Vespasian or, more frequently, Titus, while the reverse depicted allegorical imagery centered on a mourning female figure representing the conquered Jewish people. She is shown seated beneath a palm tree, a symbol of Judaea. The reverse designs varied, sometimes portraying the female figure bound or kneeling before the victory goddess Nike (Victoria).
After Jerusalem's fall, its ruins were garrisoned by Legio X Fretensis, which remained stationed there for nearly two centuries. Their presence in the ruined city is well attested through various inscriptions, tiles, and bricks bearing the legion's stamp, though the exact location of their encampment within the city remains unknown. The establishment of a Roman garrison likely discouraged Jews from returning. Josephus wrote that Titus compensated him with properties elsewhere, as those in Jerusalem would be of no value due to the Roman military presence. He also noted that during the revolt, every tree in the vicinity of the city was cut down, leaving the landscape "as bare as virgin soil".
In Josephus's account of Eleazar ben Yair's speech at Masada (73/74 CE), he quotes Eleazar describing the scene in the ruined city, where "hapless old men sit beside the ashes of the shrine, and a few women, reserved by the enemy for basest outrage." Epiphanius, a Christian bishop who flourished in the 4th century, records what may be authentic testimony of a small, impoverished Jewish community residing on Jerusalem's southwest hill between the revolts. Excavations in Shuafat, 4 kilometers north of Jerusalem's Old City, uncovered evidence of a settlement established after the destruction, designed in the Roman style but hosting a substantial Jewish population. At the onset of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the settlement was partially burned, and its inhabitants fled.
Around 130 CE, six decades after Jerusalem's destruction, a new Roman colony, Aelia Capitolina, was founded on the city's ruins, an act described by historian Martin Goodman as the "final solution for Jewish rebelliousness". The founding of the colony, reportedly coupled with the construction of a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount, is widely regarded as a key trigger for the Bar Kokhba revolt, which erupted in 132 CE. Supported by the Sanhedrin, Simon Bar Kosiba (later known as Bar Kokhba) established an independent state that was conquered by the Romans in 135 CE. The revolt resulted in the extensive depopulation of central Judea, more so than during the First Jewish–Roman War. The Jewish communities of this region were devastated to an extent which some scholars describe as a genocide. However, the Jewish population remained strong in other parts of Palestine, thriving in Galilee, Golan, Bet Shean Valley, and the eastern, southern, and western edges of Judea. Emperor Hadrian wiped the name Judaea off the map and replaced it with Syria Palaestina.
Following the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Romans continued the construction and development of Aelia Capitolina, which became a modest provincial town. The colony was dedicated to Capitoline Jupiter, with temples to Roman deities replacing the city's former Jewish character. Its population consisted primarily of Roman legionaries, veterans, and other non-Jewish settlers. Jews were banned from the city and its surrounding areas.
For the next five centuries, Jews were only permitted to enter Aelia Capitolina on Tisha B'Av to mourn the destruction of the temple. This restriction continued after the Roman Empire's conversion to Christianity. A Christian pilgrim from Bordeaux who visited Jerusalem in 333 CE recorded that Jews would come annually to anoint a perforated stone, "bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart." A brief exception occurred during Emperor Julian's reign (361–363 CE), when Jews were allowed to return and possibly began reconstructing the temple. However, this project ended when construction materials were destroyed by an earthquake or fire, and Julian died soon after. Jews were permitted to permanently resettle in Jerusalem only after the city was conquered by Umar around 638 CE. The Temple Mount appears to have remained largely in ruins until 693 CE, when Abd al-Malik commissioned the construction of the Dome of the Rock on the site.
The destruction of the Second Temple sparked profound theological reflection on its meaning. Drawing from biblical interpretations of Jerusalem's destruction in 586/587 BCE at the hands of Babylon, many Jews viewed their suffering as a divine consequence of moral or religious transgressions, a belief reinforced by the biblical account of the earlier catastrophe. The idea that exile resulted from disobedience but that repentance could restore divine favor had been reinforced when the Persian king Cyrus allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the temple centuries earlier. However, while the First Temple was restored within sixty years, the Romans did not permit a similar reconstruction, leaving Jewish expectations unfulfilled.
Ancient sources recount that, amid the destruction, the temple's priests upheld their ritual service until they were slain, with many reportedly embracing their deaths willingly. Josephus recounts that two priests, Meirus son of Belgas and Joseph son of Daleus, threw themselves into the fire and perished alongside the temple. Cassius Dio writes that "the Jews defended themselves much more vigorously than before, as if they had discovered a piece of rare good fortune in being able to fight near the temple and fall in its defense"; they soon "met death willingly, some throwing themselves on the swords of the Romans, some slaying one another, others taking their own lives, and still others leaping into the flames." In Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a later rabbinic work, it is stated that the sons of the high priests, seeing the sanctuary in flames, threw the temple's keys from the rooftop toward heaven, declaring themselves unworthy custodians, no longer fit to partake of the king's provisions. "They held on to one another, were drawn into the fire, and burned." According to Cassius Dio, many perceived their destruction alongside that of the temple as "a victory, salvation, and happiness."
According to rabbinic texts, some Jews responded to the catastrophe with asceticism. They mourned the loss by abstaining from meat and wine, while others withdrew to caves, where they engaged in fasting and ascetic practices while awaiting apocalyptic deliverance.
In the decades following Jerusalem's destruction, Jewish apocalyptic literature experienced a resurgence, mourning the temple's loss, seeking to explain its fate, and expressing hope for the city's restoration. Some of these works interpret the destruction of 70 CE through the lens of figures associated with the First Temple's fall in 587/6 BCE or its aftermath, as this earlier catastrophe left a deep imprint on the Hebrew Bible, drawing Jews who endured a similar disaster to reflect on it.
One such work is 2 Baruch, a text preserved in Syriac, which is widely believed to have been originally composed in Hebrew, likely in the late first century CE. It is attributed to Baruch ben Neriah, the scribe and companion of the prophet Jeremiah, who lived during the First Temple's destruction. The book opens with God appearing to Baruch, declaring that Jerusalem's destruction is imminent due to the people's sins and instructing him to warn others to flee. Overcome with despair, Baruch laments that he would rather die than witness the city's fall, calling Jerusalem "my mother", and wonders if the world itself is ending. He pleads that its destruction will erase Israel's legacy, but God reassures him that the true, eternal Jerusalem remains preserved in heaven. Chapter ten of the book contains a lamentation over the city's destruction:
The work concludes with Baruch urging the remaining people in the land to stay faithful to God's law and avoid the fate of those already exiled. He writes to the exiles of the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, describing Zion's destruction, sharing divine promises of justice, and urging them to uphold the Law as they await the approaching redemption, before sending the letter with an eagle.
Another apocalyptic work, 4 Ezra, likely composed a few decades after the destruction, is believed to have been originally written in Hebrew, possibly during the reign of Domitian (81–96 CE). Attributed to the biblical figure Ezra, active during the Return to Zion era (5th–4th century BCE), the work depicts him engaging in a series of dialogues with the angel Uriel, expressing deep frustration reminiscent of the arguments in the Book of Job. This text describes the world's mourning for Zion, "the mother of us all", while Ezra sees Babylon and is deeply shaken upon witnessing "the desolation of Zion and the wealth of those who lived in Babylon". Ezra questions why Israel should remain faithful when obedience has brought suffering, and challenges why their oppressors thrive while they are punished, raising doubts about divine justice. The angel's reply—that Ezra himself has been righteous and will be rewarded—fails to satisfy him.
The second half of the book presents a series of visions depicting the end of days, which some scholars interpret as a resolution to Ezra's doubts. In one of these visions, Ezra sees an eagle with twelve large wings, eight smaller ones, and three heads; as its parts vanish one by one, a lion rebukes it, and it is consumed by flames. The angel explains that the eagle represents the fourth kingdom of Daniel's vision, while the lion symbolizes the Messiah bringing judgment. In another vision, Ezra is commissioned to restore the Law, first warning the people that their suffering comes from disobedience, and then dictating ninety-four books, with twenty-four made public and seventy reserved for the wise. The book concludes by reaffirming the covenant. In the book, Rome is depicted as an unjust empire destined to fall—not by human hands, but through divine judgment, executed by the Messiah. The text conveys that divine justice is not immediately apparent but will be revealed in the long term, when Israel is restored and its enemies punished.
The rabbinic response to the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of Jewish autonomy was woven into rabbinic literature through varied literary forms, including tales, traditions, exegeses, and ethical teachings across centuries. Early rabbinic works, composed by the Tannaim—the rabbinic sages active from the time of the temple's destruction until the early 3rd century—reflect deep sorrow and anguish over its loss. The Mishnah laments that with the destruction, "faithful men came to an end", and since that time, "there has been no day without its curse." Similarly, Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a commentary on the Mishnah, states: "While the temple service existed, the world was blessed, low prices were prevalent and grain and wine were plentiful; people ate until satisfied and domestic animals ate until satisfied. [...] But once the Temple was destroyed, blessing left the world."
The rabbis framed the fall of Jerusalem as the result of a moral and religious crisis, attributing the disaster to internal factors—including factionalism, the misuse of wealth, leadership failures, neglect of communal responsibility, and sin. Their interpretation aligned with the view of the Hebrew Bible—that Jerusalem, which was under divine protection, could only fall as a consequence of Israel's failings. In this perspective, God allowed a foreign power—Rome—to conquer Jerusalem as a punishment for Israel’s sins, which were made manifest through internal divisions and self-destructive actions.
The Babylonian Talmud (Gittin 55b–57a) provides an extensive narrative detailing the destruction of Jerusalem and the factors that led to it. Another account, rich with interpretive homilies, appears in Lamentations Rabbah, particularly in its opening sections. The Yoma tractate of the Babylonian Talmud contrasts the destruction of the First and Second temples, explaining that the Second Temple fell due to the grave sin of baseless hatred (שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם; sin'at ḥinnam):
One of the most famous Talmudic tales explaining the destruction of Jerusalem is the story of Kamsa and Bar Kamsa. In this account, a wealthy man in Jerusalem mistakenly invited his enemy, Bar Kamsa, to a banquet instead of his friend, Kamsa. When Bar Kamsa arrived, he was publicly humiliated and expelled, despite offering to pay for the entire feast. Seeking revenge, Bar Kamsa informed the Romans that the Jews were plotting a rebellion, triggering a chain of events that ultimately led to war. Another Talmudic account describes how three wealthy men—Ben Kalba Sabua, Naqdimon ben Gurion, and Ben Sisit Hakkeset—had enough provisions to sustain Jerusalem for 21 years, allowing the rabbis to negotiate with Rome. However, the revolutionaries (baryoni) rejected compromise and burned the city's food supplies, forcing the population into starvation and making war the only option, ultimately leading to the catastrophe.
Rabbinic literature consistently refers to Titus as "Titus the Wicked," portraying him as an arrogant and blasphemous figure. These texts emphasize that while Israel's enemies may achieve power and renown, they are merely instruments of divine wrath, destined for inevitable punishment. According to a rabbinic legend, upon entering the temple, Titus seized a prostitute, proceeded into the Holy of Holies, unfurled a Torah scroll, and violated her upon it. He then slashed the veil of the Holy of Holies with his sword, causing it to bleed. Later, a yattush (a mosquito or gnat) entered his nose and slowly consumed his brain, which, according to the Babylonian Talmud (Gittin), led to his death after seven years. According to Genesis Rabbah, an autopsy after his death revealed a two-pound bird inside his head, while Leviticus Rabbah recounts that Titus requested a procedure to determine how he had been punished by the God of Israel.
Rabbinic texts also describe visits to the ruins of Jerusalem. One widely cited story recounts how Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues beheld the ruins of Jerusalem. While his companions wept, Rabbi Akiva laughed. When asked why, he explained that just as the prophecies of destruction had been fulfilled, so too would the promises of redemption and rebuilding. Rabbinic texts further depict God, as well as Moses, the patriarchs, prophets, and angelic figures, mourning the destruction.
According to rabbinic sources, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (Ribaz), a prominent sage, was smuggled out of Jerusalem during the siege, hidden in a coffin and pretending to be dead. After meeting Vespasian and prophesying his rise to the imperial throne, he secured the establishment of a rabbinic center in Yavneh (Jamnia). From there, he and his disciples laid the groundwork for a form of Judaism no longer centered on the temple. A passage in Avot de-Rabbi Natan illustrates this shift, recounting how Ben Zakkai consoled his disciple, Joshua ben Hananiah, by teaching that acts of loving-kindness are equivalent to the temple's sacrificial atonement:
The emerging rabbinic approach encouraged a balanced response: while Jews were to temper their celebrations in remembrance of the temple's destruction, they were also discouraged from adopting excessive mourning that would disrupt daily life. A rabbinic tradition in the Tosefta Sotah and Babylonian Talmud (Bava Batra 60b) recounts a debate between Rabbi Joshua and several people who advocated abstaining from wine and meat given their former role in temple offerings. Rabbi Joshua countered that this logic would also require giving up bread, fruit, and water, leaving his opponents without a response. He then reminded them of the rabbinic enactment that when plastering a new home, a small section should be left unpainted as a memorial for Jerusalem.
The period after the temple's destruction saw Ribaz assume a leading role in reshaping Judaism, ensuring its continuity in a new reality. He is credited with introducing several legal enactments (taqqanot), which adapted Jewish religious practices to function in the absence of the temple. Among these, it was decreed that if Rosh Hashanah fell on a Shabbat, the shofar could be blown in any location with a court, rather than only in the Jerusalem Temple. Similarly, during Sukkot, the lulav was permitted to be carried outside Jerusalem for all seven days of the festival. The prayer was also formalized, with the Amidah established as a central component, recited three times daily, with its timing correlated with temple sacrifices. The establishment of the center in Yavneh facilitated the development of a structured and authoritative system of rabbinic scholarship, which played a crucial role in shaping Jewish life by emphasizing the oral tradition as a complement to the written Torah. These rabbinic efforts later culminated in the compilation of the Mishnah and the two Talmuds, which became the primary sources of Jewish law and religious guidance.
After the destruction of the temple, Judaism was forced to move away from its temple-based rituals—including the sacrificial rites, central to Jewish worship—and adapt to a new form of religious practice without its central place of worship. This event also led to the decline of Jewish sectarianism, the abrupt end of the High Priesthood, and the establishment of a restructured religious framework to ensure continuity. The Pharisees emerged as the dominant influence in reshaping and unifying Judaism, laying the groundwork for the rabbinic tradition that followed. Under the leadership of their successors, the rabbis, Judaism transitioned toward a model centered on Torah study, communal prayer, and the performance of good deeds as core religious principles. This shift marked the beginning of a new era in which Jewish faith and practices adapted to the absence of both the temple and a sovereign state.
The destruction of the Second Temple left a profound and lasting impact on Jewish tradition, shaping customs and observances that commemorate its loss. It is formally observed on Tisha B'Av, a major Jewish fast day that also marks the destruction of Solomon's Temple, along with other catastrophic events in Jewish history, including the expulsion of Jews from Spain. The Western Wall, the most significant surviving remnant of the Second Temple, has long been a focal point for Jewish prayer and mourning, symbolizing both the destruction of the Jewish homeland and hopes for its restoration. It has sometimes been referred to as the 'Wailing Wall' due to the lamentations historically performed there. Jewish wedding ceremonies incorporate a symbolic act of remembrance, as the groom breaks a glass underfoot to recall the temple's destruction. Other mourning traditions include leaving a section of a home unpainted or refraining from wearing a full set of jewelry on joyous occasions.
Even after its destruction, Jerusalem remained central to Jewish religious life and identity, symbolizing the hope for return, restoration, and national renewal. Pilgrimage to the city continued, evolving through different forms across the centuries. The Jerusalem and Babylonian talmuds, compiled in the 4th and 5th centuries, provide detailed prescriptions for mourning rituals observed by Jewish pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, including specific guidelines for tearing garments and reciting prayers when witnessing the ruins of Judea, Jerusalem, and the temple. In late antiquity, some Jewish communities began dating events from the temple's destruction. In Zoara, south of the Dead Sea, this system was regularly used in the local Jewish cemetery. One inscription for a woman named Marsa records her death as "17 Elul, the fourth year of shemitah, 362 years after the Temple's destruction." Similar dating methods later marked births, marriages, and other life events.
Jewish diaspora communities preserved legends and historical traditions about their ancestors' exile from Jerusalem. A tradition recorded among Jews of Spain holds that their ancestors were taken there following the city's fall to Titus, with the earliest documented reference appearing in Seder Olam Zuta (c. 800 CE). One tradition holds that Jerusalemite exiles named the city of Toledo, linking it to the Hebrew words toledot or tulaytula, meaning "migration" or "wandering". The Abu Albalia family traced its ancestry to Baruch, a skilled silk weaver who, according to their tradition, was sent by Titus to Mérida along with other noble Jerusalemite families at the request of the city's governor. Similar traditions appear in medieval Italian sources. The 11th century Chronicle of Ahimaaz and later manuscripts of Josippon recount that around 5,000 Jewish captives taken by Titus were relocated to various cities in Apulia, including Oria, Otranto, and Trani.
Over time, the destruction became a symbol of Jewish exile and the longing for restoration, a theme that continues to resonate in Jewish thought and literature. Israeli writer and Nobel laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon reflected on its lasting significance in his Nobel Banquet Address: "As a result of the historic catastrophe in which Titus of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and Israel was exiled from its land, I was born in one of the cities of the Exile. But always I regarded myself as one who was born in Jerusalem." The belief in the eventual construction of a third temple remains a fundamental tenet of Orthodox Judaism.
The destruction of the temple was a defining event in Christian thought, widely interpreted as the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy (in Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13) that the temple would be destroyed. Within the biblical paradigm of sin and judgment, some early Christians saw it as divine judgment against the Jews for rejecting Jesus, marking the end of the Mosaic covenant, which they believed had been replaced by Jesus' atoning sacrifice on the cross.
The fall of Jerusalem is considered an important moment in the separation of Christianity from its Jewish roots. Many Christians distanced themselves from Judaism, a shift reflected in the Gospels, which portray Jesus as critical of the temple's corruption and its leadership. According to 4th-century Christian historians Eusebius and Epiphanius, Jerusalem's Christian community fled to Pella, beyond the Jordan River, after receiving a divine warning, thus escaping the city’s destruction.
Later Christian writers reinforced these interpretations. By the late 4th century, Jerome, a Church Father and biblical scholar, described how Jews were only permitted to enter Jerusalem once a year to mourn the Temple's destruction—after paying a fee. On that day, he wrote, "the people came mourning, the feeble foolish women assemble, and the old men, covered with years and rags, show the wrath of the Lord in their bodies and in their physical appearance." He saw their suffering as a fulfillment of divine punishment, contrasting their misery with the triumph of Christianity, "with the banner of his cross gleaming from the Mount of Olives." Brooke Foss Westcott, a 19th-century Bishop of Durham, described Jerusalem's fall as "the most significant national event in the history of the world," declaring that once the "more perfect Tabernacle" (i.e., Jesus) had been rejected, the Temple was “necessarily doomed to final desolation."
The siege and destruction of Jerusalem has inspired writers and artists through the centuries.